Games to play/things to teach 9 week old puppy?

[Roy]

Hi everyone,

Our pup is learning fast! We picked her up last Saturday and she has gotten used to sleeping in her crate. Nickie walks back to her crate after playtime to take a nap. Only problem is that she barks twice for about 20minutes each time in the middle of night because she got slept on our bed on the first night. Any tips on getting her used to her crate more during the night?

I mainly spent the two months before getting Nickie doing research on the breed and finding a reputable breeder. Unfortunately, I didn't spend too much time reading on training and what games to play with the pup.

What do you guys suggest I teach and what games to play with Nickie?

Right now, we play fetch, tug o war, practicing "sit" and "down". I can't bring her outside of the house just yet because she needs her vaccinations. I know pups soak up a lot during 8-12 weeks and I just want to be sure to teach her everything she needs to know!

[DJ & Chance]

Those games are perfect.  That's about all I did with Chance for the first few months.

Keep ignoring the barking and eventually Nickie will give up!

[Roy]

I think you're right! She used to bark when I laid down on the bed because she wanted to come up but I ignored her and today didn't bother trying to come up!

[Adina P]

What are your plans for socialization?  This is a pretty important period for helping dogs feel at ease in the world at large.  Are you able to take her outside the house at all into safe places that are mostly dog-free?  Friends homes?  Maybe in a carrier?

[Roy]

Good question, Adina. I was browsing through articles during my lunch break today and most of them said that plenty of exposure is important. So far, I've had a good amount of family came over to met Nickie. My girlfriend brings her in the car when dropping and picking me up at work. We've brought her to places like Target and the mall for exposure to other people.

[Stephanie and Ragley]

When they are still so little, you are often able to carry them with you to a lot of places that they won't be able to go in when they are older. I carried Ragley with me EVERYWHERE. I handed her off to people to hold, let them pet her, play with her feet and ears, etc. It was great. Now is an excellent time to start on very brief training sessions to give her a good foundation for basic obedience.

A word on tug-o-war: just make sure YOU are always the one who "wins" that game or you can create a problem down the road when she may have something you do not want her to have and she then thinks it is a game. It is also a good opportunity to teach "drop it", but she needs to know that that is a game she never wins and you are always the one that ends up with the object of interest.

[Roy]

Thank you for the advice, Stephanie. After reading your advice, we brought her shopping with us. Nickie got LOTS of love and hugs from people. She definitely enjoyed the attention and was very calm.

[Marie and Hoka]

Our number one thing to teach is "Thank You", where the puppy gets a treat for giving you what ever he/she is playing with or holding in the mouth. It is SO important to avoid possessiveness/guarding of objects for everyone's safety. We start this from day one. We teach the command "thank you", trade the object for a treat, then give the object right back.This way, he pretty much figures it is always a good deal for him. When he gives up something he can't have back (a dangerous item), I give him something excellent in return as a reward. Hoka will pretty much let me walk right up and take anything away, as he knows he will get something much better most of the time.

[Roy]

Thanks for the advice, Marie! What treat do you give Hoka? I'm looking into another bag or two of treats for Nickie.

[Rica + Margot]

It's also good to practice her name or getting her attention with a cue. Once she gets her name it's never too early to practice recall. We also did our best to reward her when she was acting calm on her own. Oh and you can practice handling her all over her body and introduce her to all sorts of grooming. There's puppy socialization checklists online that can help give you ideas of all sorts of situations to try. Hope this helps :) I already miss those early puppy times, even though they got crazy! Take lots of pictures/videos - they change so fast!

[Roy]

Great tips, Rica! I'm going to start brushing her coat and her teeth tonight :)

[Roy]

Here's a picture of Nickie dropping me off at work!

[Roy]

Here's a picture of Nickie dropping me off at work!