A Puppy Shouldn't Have to Make Good Decisions All Day

When you bring home a puppy, there's a long list of things you want to teach them. Potty outside. Don't chew the furniture. Leave the kids' toys alone. Settle down while you're eating dinner. Meanwhile, you've brought home a baby dog who has absolutely no idea what the rules of your household are.

A puppy shouldn't have to make good decisions all day before they've learned what the good decisions are. That's where management comes in. By controlling their environment and the opportunities they have to practice certain behaviors, we can make life easier for both the puppy and the family.

Those Funny Puppy Antics Can Become Habits

Puppies are entertaining. They steal things, run around with their treasures and generally find ways to make us laugh. But some of those innocent antics become a lot less entertaining as the puppy grows.

A puppy steals a sock, someone gives chase, and suddenly there's a wonderful new game. Other behaviors, like digging or shredding something, can be rewarding all on their own. The puppy doesn't need you to hand over a cookie for a behavior to be worth repeating. And the more often they practice, the harder those habits can be to change.

Think about the puppy who jumps all over the older dog, pulls at their ears and won't leave them alone. It's funny when they're twenty pounds. It's considerably less funny when they're seventy-five pounds and still think harassing the other dog is their favorite activity. I'd much rather prevent a puppy from rehearsing unwanted behaviors than spend months trying to undo something we've inadvertently encouraged.

The Puppy Pen

I'm a big believer in having a puppy pen set up in the house, ideally with a crate as part of the arrangement. A pen gives your puppy somewhere to play, chew appropriate toys, nap and spend time around the family without having access to everything in the room. It takes away many of the opportunities to make the wrong choices in the first place. A baby gate across a doorway isn't always enough. Given the opportunity, some puppies will happily chew the drywall, a chair leg or baseboards.

The pen isn't just for when you leave the house and it's particularly useful in homes with young children. Puppies naturally explore with their mouths, which means children's toys left on the floor can become puppy toys in an instant. Some of those items can be dangerous if swallowed, and keeping the puppy contained when you can't actively supervise can save everyone an awful lot of frustration.

Young kids can also be irresistible to puppies. The movement, noise and excitement invite play, and puppies often interact with children much as they would their littermates, including mouthing and grabbing clothing. A pen gives everyone a break and keeps the puppy from practicing those behaviors over and over.

Managing Playtime With Other Dogs

Even a wonderfully tolerant adult dog shouldn't be expected to entertain or correct a puppy all day. Gates, crates and pens let you decide when the dogs are together and when they need a break, but you also need to think about where everyone is.

If your adult dog is lying right outside the puppy's pen, play bowing or constantly trying to engage them, the puppy isn't getting much opportunity to practice settling. Instead, you may end up with a frustrated puppy who can see the fun happening inches away but can't participate. Sometimes the adult dog needs to be the one who moves.

If your older dog is comfortable in a crate, having both dogs resting in their own crates nearby may work beautifully. Other times, separate rooms or a gate that creates some distance is the better choice. I want puppies to learn that another dog can be nearby without every moment turning into playtime.

The Art of Doing Nothing

People often tell me they want a Labrador with an off-switch. I want that, and expect that too. Even a puppy with a lovely temperament needs opportunities to practice settling. If every waking moment involves playing, training or being entertained, when does the puppy learn to do nothing?

I like using a leash as a tether while I'm home and able to supervise. Maybe I'm sitting at my desk or having a conversation. The puppy has been outside, had some activity and doesn't need anything in particular. Being next to me doesn't mean I'm going to constantly dispense cookies or entertain them. Sometimes we're just going to hang out.

I may initially reward moments of calm or offer an appropriate chew, but the goal is a puppy who becomes comfortable simply being there. That's the art of doing nothing, and it's an incredibly useful skill. Tethering should always be supervised to prevent entanglement or injury.

Sometimes They Just Need a Nap

Young puppies need an extraordinary amount of sleep. Eighteen to twenty hours a day isn't unusual, particularly when they're very young. It's easy to fill their waking hours with children, visitors, training and play, then wonder why the puppy turns into a little monster by evening.

When a puppy gets so wound up that they're grabbing clothing, biting harder, racing around and struggling to respond, they're likely over threshold. Continuing to redirect them may only add to the excitement. Sometimes a potty trip followed by a quiet break in the puppy pen is exactly what's needed.

That isn't punishment. The pen should be a familiar place where the puppy feels comfortable relaxing, not somewhere they get sent because you're angry. Better yet, build opportunities for rest into the day before the puppy reaches that point.

Freedom Comes Gradually

When my puppies leave for their new homes, they've already had experience with crate conditioning and keeping their sleeping areas clean. But that doesn't mean they're ready to understand that an entire house is now their living space.

House training is a gradual expansion of the area a puppy learns to keep clean. First the crate, then the pen, eventually a room, a floor and finally the house. A puppy who keeps their crate clean may have no idea that the far corner of the living room is also off-limits. Frequent potty breaks, supervision and gradually expanding access help them learn.

The same applies to general household freedom. As the puppy becomes more reliable, they get more opportunities to be loose in the house. If they're suddenly getting into everything, they may simply have more freedom than they're ready to manage. There's no particular birthday when a puppy becomes trustworthy throughout the house, and adolescence can bring a few surprises.

Ultimately, I want an adult Labrador who can comfortably share our home, settle when nothing exciting is happening and doesn't require constant supervision. Those skills develop through training, experience and the habits we allow to form along the way. A puppy pen, crate or gate isn't something you'll necessarily need forever. It's a way to give your puppy a manageable environment while they learn how to live in your home.