We have a new puppy as well. He will be our second dane. The first time around I did all the reading and took a class at Petsmart. The trainer was great for the basics, but we had no socialization bc our class was full of older dogs that were repeating bc the didnt get it the first time. Make sure you take a class full of puppies. Our dane learned to lunge and growl from another dog in the class and now hates all dogs on leash. I learned alot and that enabled me to work at home and I have a very well behaved dog.

Consistency is the key and a very yummy treat, we used salmon ones. We also used a clicker and then weaned off of it.

Here is Max with our new addition Harley, he is 9 weeks in this picture.

I would suggest getting a dog crate. I know people dislike them and think that they are being cruel.

I have a German Shepherd and a Shepherd mix.... and for me they work great. My dogs put themselves in their crate when my boys get to be too much for them. :) It is nice safe place that is their 'den'

It also helps in the house training stage, as dogs often do not prefer to dirty their 'den'

Good luck with your puppy!!! :)

I'm an advocate for crate training as well. Some dogs outgrow their crates but others never do, for one reason or another. Of my four beagles, two of them don't use crates and two of them do, one because he can be aggressive and the other because she can be destructive. But ALL dogs -- puppies or not -- start off in crates here until they get the hang of things, and I think it makes a huge, positive difference!

Check out books by Ian Dunbar. There is also loads of info on dogwise.com. Good luck with your new baby!

Susan

I agree with those who recommend professional training. With our last dog, we took her to classes at PetSmart - a very good program. She was older than the "puppy" class, so we put her into one with older dogs, and she did just fine and socialized very easily.

Our current dog was 9 months when we got her and hadn't been socialized, so we have hired a trainer to come in and work one-on-one with her. As part of the training, we will take her to his business site (he also kennels dogs) and let her get used to being around other dogs. We've just started the program, and I'm liking it already. Since we had been able to teach her some of the basics like sit, down, stay, etc., the trainer can focus on more of the behavioral aspects of her training.

I have to agree about the puppy pads. I got my DGD a mini dachshund a year ago. Being we all work during the day I put down piddle pads for him. As of now he is very well trained........to use a piddle pad. We are having some success with learning to go outside but it's an uphill battle. Thank goodness he is a small dog.

I agree with the crate thing. As for books, "Mother Knows Best" by Carol Leah Benjamin is the best book on dog training I have ever read. She also has some others. She even has a blog. Look her up. She is fabulous.

I sure your head is swimming with people telling you what to do. But just remember a dog is almost like a 2 year old who never grows up. It needs to learn what is acceptable and what is not. Also a good dog is a tired dog and a tired dog is a good dog. Dogs need two things physical exercise and smelling exercise. They cannot watch tv. What they smell is like their tv. Remember you are getting a baby. A puppy is just like a baby and needs lots of attention and praise. Good luck.

The pup on my avatar is 8 months old now. We have had a uphill battle with the training. He is finally coming around a little bit. I wish we had gotten him professional traing. Maybe we still could.

what a cutie!