Meet Nugget! Nugget has been part of the family since August 1st and is now 11-weeks old!
We’ve been working on:
- Socialization
- Potty Training
- Name Recognition
Nugget is doing great on all 3!
I take him with me everywhere so he can meet all kinds of people. I let them hold him, play with him, and feed him. It’s important to expose puppies to as many people as possible to build confidence and reduce fearful responses in the future. Not all people look the same, so I’ve made sure to introduce Nugget to men, women and children of all ages, colors and sizes, wearing all types of clothing, hats, sunglasses, etc. The more exposure, the more comfortable and friendly your puppy will be when he meets new people.
I make sure to give Nugget access to the proper potty area at least every hour when he is awake. When he wakes from a nap the first place he goes is to the potty area. He is given the clear command “Go Potty” (you can use whatever command you like, this is what I prefer). He also is taken out to potty after meals. If he doesn’t go, he is watched closely (or kenneled) then offered the potty area again every 15 minutes until he goes – then I make sure to tell/show him how happy I am about it!! Nugget got the hang of it very quickly – I’m so proud of him! Consistency is essential for success!
Nugget is hand-fed all of his meals. To build name-recognition, I started by saying his name followed by a piece of food. From there we worked on calming down and eye contact – he now settles down and looks me in the eye when I say his name because he knows food will follow. His own name and paying attention to me have become associated with good things in his mind. Now that he’s getting the hang of it, we can work on things like hand-targeting, sit, down…..the list is endless!
Nugget is an awesome puppy and is on his way to being the best grown up chihuahua he can be! 