Puppies are teachable.

1. Its name.

This is the easiest thing to teach a dog. Why? Because human beings are so consistent in calling a dog by its name that the dog picks up on it in a relatively short amount of time. This illustrates the power of persistence and consistency when teaching a dog, and if you plan on teaching it anything else, think back to how it learned its name: from your consistent use of the word.

2. Basic words.

Words like "sit," "stay," and "down" will be crucial for your dog because it will help you exercise a degree of control over its behavior, protecting both the puppy and your family. When you set out to teach your dog a few words, make sure that you start with the simple, basic ones that your dog will use the most.

3. Socialization.

Even if your dog is living with you out in the country, you need to properly socialize it. That means exposing it to safe conditions in which other dogs and humans will be around. Don't throw your dog "to the wolves," so to speak, simply start your puppy off with incremental situations like walks, then parks, and then more crowded public gatherings. The more a puppy sees how normal it is to have other people and dogs around, the better socialized it will be later in life.

4. Boundaries.

Your puppy can absolutely not get away with aggression toward members of your household, particularly scratching or using teeth. Make sure to instantly correct this behavior every single time by saying a command like "Down!" and using a calm but firm tone of voice. If you don't enforce these boundaries on your dog from its age as a puppy, how do you expect it will learn them?

5. Housebreaking.

Lastly, you'll want to start a relatively young dog off on a housebreaking program. This can be as simple as taking notice of when your puppy uses the bathroom and bringing it outside for these times, and then rewarding the dog once it's done it outside, not inside.

Photo Credits: Brian Hathcock

Is your dog pregnant?

1. Diet fluctuations.

Like humans, pregnant dogs can experience nausea early on in the pregnancy but have an expanded appetite later on. You'll want to make sure to keep an eye on your dog's eating habits - most of the time, your pregnant dog should have a healthier appetite than normal. That's good; you'll want to see that. If your dog is having some issues with eating for a prolonged amount of time (maybe more than a week or so), then you'll want to consult a vet.

2. How to exercise.

Exercise is crucial in dogs - for most dogs you want to work them out until they're exhausted. With pregnant dogs, you'll want to moderate more but still carry on with the exercise routine. Pregnant dogs don't need to worry about fat and weight loss - you don't want them to gain too much fat but you don't want to necessarily keep them looking fit, either. Let the dog exercise moderately with a regular half-hour walk.

3. Vaccinations.

Vaccinations should be avoided when a dog is pregnant, which is why you'll want to report any abnormalities in your dog's behavior or physical makeup to a vet right away during a pregnancy. If you're breeding your dog, you've probably already had the appropriate vaccinations earlier on in your dog's life, but this is something to keep in mind if you've never worked with a pregnant dog before.

4. Learn about labor.

The better you're able to pick up the signs of dog's labor, the better you'll be able to handle the pregnancy. Do your research to find a few things: when your dog might be expecting, how many puppies to expect, and the signs of early labor. These will not only help you be prepared, but have piece of mind as your dog waits around your house for its new litter of puppies.

Ultimately, there's no reason to overreact when your dog is pregnant and try to micromanage its behavior. Remember that pregnancy is a completely natural thing and that a dog's own body will often do much of the regulating for you.

Photo Credits: gopal1035

Discourage puppy bites.

When you're raising a puppy, it's common to realize that you're doing a bit of taming - this is an animal that doesn't necessarily know why it has the surroundings it has. If you're going to relate to your puppy and raise it into a healthy adult dog, then you're going to have to make sure that you know how a puppy learns, and how you can supplement that learning by establishing a few boundaries.

One of the first boundaries you'll have to set with your puppy is nipping - a puppy does much of its exploring with its teeth and mouth and you'll find it's not uncommon to see a puppy that nips nearly everything around the house, including its owners. Let's take a look at the problem of nipping in puppies and see if we can figure out how to stop this behavior, or at least prevent it in the future.

First, you're going to have to understand puppies. Puppies aren't just little dogs - they're young dogs that are doing a lot of learning in a short amount of time. It's going to take a healthy amount of patience to make sure that you set boundaries for your puppy that are both consistent and clear. If you aren't setting any boundaries, then your puppy won't learn that there are limits to its behavior.

Understanding puppies means that you understand how they learn - they do a lot of their exploring with their mouth. Remember that dogs don't have opposable thumbs: they don't have the ability to pick up objects or touch at it with a set of fingers. A dog's feet are for moving and digging, not necessarily for handling objects. That's why many puppies will nip you - to learn more about this important figure in their life. They're not sure how you'll retaliate, either - learning that will be useful information to them.

In order to make sure that this kind of behavior isn't repeated is to set clear boundaries every single time your puppy nips at you inappropriately.

What's the definition of inappropriately?

Any time that the puppy's teeth make any contact with your skin whatsoever.

Once that occurs, make sure that you loudly and clearly say "no," and immediately change your mood. The puppy will have to tell that you're angry not from the words you're using, but from the strong tone of voice it uses. Make sure you also correct the behavior by moving the puppy away and making sure that it can't nip you again.

Photo Credits: me and the sysop