Keeping my puppy in one room for training?

The absolute priority right now needs to be daily meet-ups with all sorts of dogs, for as long as possible – you really need to pull out all the stops with socialisation. Everything else falls into place more or less quickly depending on the pup, and yours seems quite easygoing when it comes to adapting to life in a human home.

Hi everyone,

I thought you might find this useful for learning how to properly train a dog:

https://urlz.fr/bnIL

Kind regards

He's still only a puppy for now, so don't go wearing him out completely! 🤣 At a push, you can always carry him... (I’d say an hour at the most, but keep an eye on his behaviour—if he’s just plodding along behind you and has lost interest in everything, then it's definitely been too much for him.)

If you haven't had much of a chance to let him off-lead yet, head out to the countryside with a 10m training lead. Even though puppies are more likely to stick with you than adult dogs are, you should definitely test the waters before letting him off completely...

I’m doing the same with my pup who is 4 1/2 months old.

When we first got her (at 9 weeks), she stayed in our utility room when we were out and at night (it’s a proper room, mind you, not just a cupboard or anything).

For the last two weeks, we’ve given her more space while we’re out during the day: the utility room and the kitchen. We’re going to try the same at night soon.

And if all goes well, we’ll gradually give her access to the other rooms on the ground floor. I think it’s still a bit early, not because of house-training (we’ve been lucky: she’s been 100% house-trained since she was 3 months old), but because we’re worried she’ll cause some damage (she’s already had a go at our sofa right in front of us, so goodness knows what she’d be like when we're not there!).

Anyway, it doesn’t seem wrong to me at all, quite the opposite. As long as she has access to more rooms when you’re home, that’s the main thing (and it’s always better than a cage or a crate).

Sounds like a good start to me.

Personally, I don't crate my dogs; as I live in a two-storey house, they have free rein of the downstairs area.

However, it doesn't bother me that you're leaving him in the kitchen, provided of course that he's getting enough quality time with you and plenty of exercise.

Despite their size, dachshunds need a lot of exercise.

Mind you, if the kitchen is his safe space, you shouldn't use the room for punishments (in our house, that's what the downstairs loo is for).

Regarding the whining, it's only been a few days, but if it doesn't stop in the next two or three days, then something isn't right—either the space is too confined or he's not getting enough activity. At the moment it’s just whining, but if it persists, it'll turn into behavioural issues: barking, destructiveness, obsessive behaviours... if it stops soon, then no problem, carry on as you are.

As for house-training, it looks like you're on the right track. Remember to make a real fuss of him when you come home to a clean house after being out. At his age, he can't hold it for more than a few hours (two or three at most), so don't be surprised if you're away for four hours and an accident has happened... 🙂

With a little hunting dog, focus your training on recall; the rest doesn't really matter (well, almost...).

Hunting dogs are easy to socialise and usually pose few problems around the house; the only real difficulty is recall. They quickly lose focus on their owner if they've locked onto a scent. So, take advantage of him being young to work on this. Nose to the ground = get his attention = praise him if he turns away from the trail. You can also practise this at home: rub a bit of dry food on the floor (don't leave it at the end of the trail 😉), watch him, and as soon as he picks up the scent, say "leave it", lure him away, and reward him once he's off the trail.

Welcome to the new addition!