A lot of Christmas puppies arrived last month, and others, whose new families decided to wait to get them until after the commotion died down, are moving in this month. This is the beginning of what should be a long and happy relationship. To ensure the happy part, the family has the responsibility of teaching the puppy how to be a good dog.

There are 2 areas in which puppies need constant supervision—house training and chewing. Puppies don’t have any idea what is expected of them, but with patience, gentle correction, and a lot of positive reinforcement they will learn.

Housetraining can be fairly easy if the owners learn to anticipate when the puppy will have to go. The puppy has to go out when it first wakes up, after eating or drinking, after play, before and after confinement, and anytime it sniffs, whines, or walks around with that “gotta go” walk that is easy to recognize. Always go out with the puppy and take it to the area that you want it to use, and praise it when it goes.

Accidents are going to happen no matter how careful you are. Puppies are babies; they don’t have full bladder and bowel control yet. Just clean up the mess; there is no point in scolding the puppy, it won't understand. Never punish a puppy for this; it wasn’t being bad, it just had an accident. Never push the puppy’s nose in the mess. That’s not training, it's just abuse. Anticipating when the pup will need to go, showing it the right way, and praising it afterward, along with better control that comes with age, will have your puppy housetrained in a short time.

Chewing is a natural and necessary activity for a dog, but with puppies it can be a problem. Puppies love to chew, it is part of the teething process. The problem is that puppies chew anything and everything. They don't know the difference between a proper rawhide chew and an expensive shoe or other valuable item; all they know is they both taste good and are good to chew. Keep a good supply of the proper type of chewies handy so that the puppy will have one available at all times. If you find the pup chewing on the wrong thing, just say “no” in a firm voice, and replace the item with a proper chew.

The puppy phase will pass in time, and the time and effort you put in now will result in a happy, well-behaved dog that you will enjoy for years.

Many people find a pet containment crate to be a big help for those times when they cannot supervise the puppy's activities. Most dogs learn to like their crates, and consider it their personal domain and private hideaway. This is only for short-term confinement with a puppy. The theory is that an animal will not soil its own personal space. However, if left in a crate too long, a puppy will not be able to wait, and with no feedback pro or con, will not know if it did right or wrong, confusing the puppy and setting back the training process.