Puppy love:
Training your young dog

HOUSEBREAKING
“The most important advice with housetraining a puppy is that it should be errorless,” says veterinarian and animal behaviorist, Dr. Ian Dunbar. “One mistake means there will be more, so you need to implement a training program the moment you bring the puppy home.”

The best way to do this is to keep your new friend in a confinement area until he’s completely housebroken. At night, or when you have to be away, put him in a bathroom or other small area with his bed, water, chew toys and a doggy toilet. “The purpose of the confinement is to prevent mistakes around the house and to allow the puppy to train himself to use his toilet,” says Dr. Dunbar. During the day when you’re home, keep the puppy near you, on a lead or in his crate, and take him out every hour. “Each time he goes, give him a treat. This teaches him that if he waits until you’re around before he goes, he can cash in on it for something to eat!”

Once you feel the puppy is housetrained, gradually increase the size of the confinement area until he finally has the run of the house. “If he makes a mistake, simply take him back to step one and start over,” says Dr. Dunbar.

Also for puppies in the print article:
WALKING ON A LEASH
BARKING
JUMPING ON PEOPLE
NUTRITION INFORMATION

Here, kitty!:
Training your kitten

Admittedly, it’s more challenging to train a kitten than a puppy, as any cat person will tell you, but it can be done. First of all, keep in mind that behaviors such as sharpening claws and jumping up on things are natural to your kitten, and in fact contribute to his physical well being, helping to exercise and stretch his muscles, condition his claws, and keep his spine in good shape. You can’t discourage these behaviors, but you can redirect them to where they won’t cause problems.

LITTER TRAINING
Your house is a huge place to a tiny kitten, so is it any wonder he might forget where his litter box is? As with puppies, the best way to housetrain kittens is to confine them to a small area after you bring them home. “We keep new kittens in a spare room with their bedding, water bowl, toys and a litter tray,” says Lynne Young who works at the Northumberland Humane Society. “It is easier for the kitten, because the litter box is always in plain view.”

Once your kitty is a little bigger and running around more, place several litter boxes around the house, so he can easily find one when nature calls. “Remember to put them both upstairs and down,” advises Lynne. The extra trays can be removed once the kitten is a few months old and has learned where the main litter box is.

Be sure to clean out the litter box regularly – cats are fastidious creatures and don’t like dirty bathrooms any more than we do. Use a natural litter that absorbs odor and moisture. Clay-based litters are best avoided as they can cause health problems in cats and kittens have been known to ingest litter.

Also for kittens in the print article:
SCRATCHING
JUMPING
CAT TREE ADVICE
NUTRITION INFORMATION

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