Is your puppy getting a little bit older?
Maybe you’re ready to get that big puppy pen out of your living or dining room?
But how do you know when it’s the right time?
I get this question a lot in my FB group, Puppy Training with Michele Lennon.
I totally understand…
it can be a real pain to have a big pen up in the middle of your living space.
I’m going to help you with this topic of freedom today.
We’ll go over
Why we restrict freedom Why allowing some exploring IS important
When to give the dog more freedom and HOW to give the dog more freedom
We have a lot to talk about so let’s get started!
Michele here w/ HTTADD
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Let’s talk about why we restrict freedom.
First and foremost it’s for the puppy’s safety.
When your puppy is young he really has the mentality of a very young baby.
But he has the mobility of a toddler!
Those two combined means you’ve got some puppy proofing to do.
That puppy is not going to avoid things that he should not have, like cords or hazardous
plants.
He’s not going to know the difference between his dog toy and your shoe.
Your job is to puppy proof and restrict his freedom to keep him safe.
If you need some tips on puppy proofing, this is a great video with a lot of examples on
how other puppy parents managed this important task.
Of course we also restrict freedom to protect the safety of your home and your belongings.
We don’t want your puppy to ruin your nice things, and the more he is able to chew on
or get into things he shouldn’t,
the harder it will be to break that habit.
We also restrict freedom to help with potty training.
Potty training is really hard to do if your pup has free roam of the house.
Restricting freedom is not meant as a punishment for a potty accident, but it’s for the human
to better watch over the dog and notice signals that she needs to go potty outside.
Dogs are less likely to go potty in areas where they sleep but that doesn’t mean they
won’t.
Some of them are just more likely to hold it.
You can’t count on that but it can be one of the many tools in your toolbelt when working
on potty training.
If you want to know the other fundamentals of potty training, you’ll want to get my
new puppy starter kit.
This free digital kit is one of the best resources you will find on this topic.
The link is in the description below.
Keeping a puppy’s space small, especially when she is young, can help her from being
overstimulated by all the
space, sights,
sounds and smells that your home might have.
You might think that all of those noises are no big deal but to a puppy it’s a lot!
So keeping the space small while she adjusts to your home is a kinder way to help her adjust.
We use that concept outdoors too.
Sometimes puppies get very distracted while out on a potty break and they simply forget
- or can’t go!
That’s normal, and there IS something you can do about it.
I’m going to send you over to this video for all the details on that.
In addition to safety and helping with potty training, restricting space helps with any
puppy anxiety that she might have.
When pups are anxious we really want them to settle down and rest.
But if they have too much space to wander around and pace, they may not be able to do
that.
We use a crate for just this purpose - to encourage rest and relaxation while you are
gone or when it’s time for sleep.
Ok so now I’ve convinced you that restricting freedom is important.
But now I want to tell you that exposing your puppy to new things is ALSO important.
If you’ve tuned into any of my live lessons at 11 a.m.
ET on Mondays, you’ve probably heard me talk about the imprint period.
This is a period up to about 16 weeks of age when the puppy is really forming some fundamental
opinions about the world around her.
During this phase it’s especially important that she is exposed to new things in a positive
way - and I want you to hear me clearly on that one.
I said POSITIVE.
That means taking it nice and slow and letting her get comfortable at whatever pace or distance
is good for her.
Understanding canine body language is going to be pretty important during that process.
Get to know the signs for comfort, fear, anxiety and more.
I have more details on this topic in my online course.
It’s a lot, I can’t possibly cover it all right now!
Yep, the link to the course is below.
In addition to that critical exposure period when they are young, dogs aren’t meant to
be in isolation.
They are social creatures.
That’s partly why we love them - we love the company and companionship and being greeted
warmly when we come home from the grocery store.
So we have to do our part to make sure the dog isn’t so isolated that they aren’t
getting their needs met.
It’s definitely important to give the dog time away from you and help her build up confidence
being alone or resting quietly while you are busy.
If you work from home you might feel like you’ve got the ideal scenario, and you definitely
have it a lot easier than some.
But you working isn’t spending time with your dog.
That doesn’t mean you need to quit your job, but there is a balance.
Take a look at this video for some more good info on creating a schedule that allows you
to get some work done or this video if you work full time outside the home.
The other reason why you want to expose that puppy to new things even when restricting
her freedom is to help her get used to it.
Lack of exposure could lead to over excitement when you do finally introduce a new room.
That’s why I suggest you let her explore the restricted areas in small doses before
you eventually open it up to her full time.
Be sure your exposure sessions are on a leash, for a short period of time and are preceded
and followed by potty breaks.
New areas are exciting and there’s lots of sniffing to discover all the new smells.
That sniffing can rev up your puppy’s system and she will need some more potty breaks.
So, to sum it up… restricting freedom is temporary and should be coupled with plenty
of positive exposure to new things.
Let’s talk about when AND HOW to open up more space.
I can’t give you a specific date or age, but I am going to give you a few tips so that
YOU can figure it out for YOUR individual puppy.
First I want you to understand her developmental age.
You’re going to want to get past potty training, and get past the teething / chewing phase
before you give her a lot of freedom.
For some dogs that chewing phase lasts a lot longer than others.
I’m looking at you, labs!
I also want to make sure you realize that when puppies are very young, they are naturally
compliant.
You are their whole world!
They come to you when you ask them to, they sit nicely and they might even stay when you
ask.
But here’s what I have to say about that.
It’s fine until it’s not fine
That compliance is soon replaced with curiosity and confidence.
And that means the puppy is much more likely to choose the squirrel instead of you, or
get up and move instead of stay put.
So if you see your 10 week old puppy mastering these skills, don’t assume your work is
done.
She’s likely to get a lot less compliant as she grows.
My online course can teach you the fun training games to help your puppy learn these skills
the right way, and for all time.
I can teach you how to use that early compliance in your favor, and keep it going even when
exciting things are all around.
And through these games you’ll build an awesome relationship with your dog.
Ok my next tip is don’t open up space too soon or it’ll be harder to restrict it again.
If you invite your dog to sleep with you in bed but then decide that she’s not quite
ready, it’s going to be a lot harder than the initial crate training.
Once we give our dogs a choice, we have to be prepared for them to have an opinion about
it!
So think very carefully before you get rid of the pen or the crate at night.
I hope that you’ve started to understand the signals to look for when you think it
might be time for more freedom.
Let’s talk about how to do it.
When you decide to open up a new space, start with one area at a time.
If you’ve been exploring these new rooms as part of your exposure sessions, the room
you’re opening should be pretty normal to the dog.
That’s what you want.
You do not want this to be a ribbon cutting ceremony, with all kinds of fanfare and a
dog bursting through the now-open gate.
You want the new space to be so ho - hum to the dog simply says “oh, I think I’ll
wander in here now…”.
OK that’s really humanizing it but you get the idea.
When you open up a new space, do it gradually.
Maybe just expand the puppy pen, or allow it to flow into one additional area of the
room.
For example, take the room where the puppy pen is.
Maybe just open that room up, so the puppy has a little more space, but it’s still
familiar.
You might even choose to leave the puppy pen up, but keep the door open, in case the puppy
wants to go back to her normal spot for a snooze.
Just remember that puppy proofing is very important!
If you are watching the puppy carefully, you’ll notice spots that you missed.
Puppies are good at letting us know where we forgot something!
Do not underestimate the power of a puppy who is much lower to the ground and has a
snout that can fit into tight spaces!
Finally, evaluate any triggers that might cause an accident or hazard.
These are things like kitchen rugs, couch cushions, hanging curtains or shoes.
Your dog might be ready for a new room, but not all the exciting things in it.
Just remove or restrict those items for now, and you’ll likely be able to put them back
down later.
I have two additional tips I want to talk to you about when thinking of giving your
dog more freedom.
More space will not replace training.
If your puppy is struggling with the pen and is doing some whining, jumping or crying when
in there, opening up the space isn’t going to solve this issue.
In fact you could be making it worse by sending the wrong message.
You’ll need to do some training to build the puppy’s confidence in the pen.
That comes with specific training sessions designed to increase the duration in there
while you slowly increase your distance away.
This process does not happen with just time.
It takes training!
If you’re struggling with this, I can help.
I can’t help in a short YouTube video, but I can help as part of my online course.
We just filmed a new segment on this topic and added the lessons to module 1.
You’ll learn three new games to play to help your puppy build up confidence in the
pen,
and you’ll also learn what to do in case of panic or extreme crying while in there.
My last point before I move on is that some puppy proofing might be permanent.
Just because the dog is older doesn’t mean he’s going to magically be trustworthy.
In my house we have gates in a few places, to restrict the dogs’ freedom.
Harper stays in her room and it’s blocked by gates, so the two young dogs don’t run
all over her and hurt her.
She’s an old lady and she deserves her peace.
I have a gate blocking off the upstairs because we don’t allow dogs up there.
Too much stuff to get into!
So you might have to think about any permanent arrangements you want to make in your home.
Just remember what I said earlier: once you open up a new area to your dog, it’ll be
hard to block it off again.
So think it through carefully.
Before I wrap up today I want to share with you two case studies that I think will help
see how you might tackle this process.
Meet Christine and Oscar.
Christine is enrolled in my online course and she and Oscar worked really hard on all
the training games.
It paid off because Oscar walks nicely on a leash and fits in well to Christine’s
human world.
Oscar is 18 months now, but when he first came home he had a crate and a pen.
Christine has an open floor plan and a small apartment, but even though it was small she
wanted to keep Oscar in his own space until he was ready for more freedom.
So she set up that pen surrounding the crate like many people do.
When he was young, Christine and Oscar did a lot of exploring in other rooms.
She always had him on a leash for these training sessions.
This was a great place to practice leash skills AND it helped Oscar get used to the new spots
in the house.
When Oscar got a little older Chrsitine opened up his pen area to include the living room
and kitchen.
The pen was already in that area so this really was just a bigger room that Oscar was already
used to.
Well done, Christine.
Taking it nice and slow!
After that, she and Oscar continued exploring new parts of the house.
Pretty soon these journeys became no big deal for Oscar because he’d done so much exploring.
No big deal means less hunting for things that are interesting but off limits and less
chance of a potty accident.
Slowly Christine moved gates around until Oscar had free roam of most of the apartment.
He got a lot more freedom when he was more trustworthy.
For Oscar that was about a year old.
Did you notice when I said MOST of the apartment?
Just like my household, Christine has some permanent puppy proofing that remains even
though he’s older.
Christine says that the bathroom is always off limits to Oscar, and the bedroom is OK
but only when she is with him.
It’s OK to have different rules for different rooms, as long as you are consistent in teaching
your puppy what they are.
From Christine’s story you can see the benefits of taking the puppy exploring in your own
home.
It helps with leash skills in a less distracting environment,
it normalizes those rooms for when they will eventually be available, and
it’s great to expose your puppy to new things when she’s learning all about the world.
Oh, and these sessions can be done regardless of weather!
Win win!
I have one more story that I think you’re going to like.
Meet Megan and Togo.
Togo is still pretty young.
At the time of this video he’s only 14 weeks old.
Megan really wanted Togo to join the family in the living room in the evenings.
He really wanted that too, but he was having trouble settling down.
The first thing Megan did was to start taking him on leashed exploring sessions in the living
room, so the room wasn’t so new and exciting.
She discovered that he was fine being in the room, but whenever she or the kids would sit
down, he was jumpy and over-excited.
Megan is enrolled in the online course at the PRO level so she reached out for advice.
We taught her the game “sit when I sit” as a way to manage Togo’s freedom in the
living room.
This is an example of what I said earlier:
your puppy might be ready for some freedom but not be quite ready for all the exciting
things that happen in that room.
Yes, humans sitting on couches can be very exciting for some dogs!
So you can see in Megan’s video that she was working on the “sit when I sit” game.
This game is a great one to play with your dog as a training session, which can then
be used during the times you’d like to relax and you’d like your puppy to relax.
One of the reasons this game works so well in Megan’s situation is because it teaches
Togo what she wants him to do instead, and rewards him when he does it!
You can learn more about that concept of managing frustrating behavior in this video.
You can see from these situations that there’s no one size fits all approach to giving your
dog freedom.
You’ll need to take it at her pace, after plenty of training sessions, and take it nice
and slow.
What do you think, are you ready to take your puppy out for some exploring sessions in your
home?
Just remember to keep it nice and calm,
take it slow and add in a lot of extra potty breaks!
I believe in you and I think it’ll go well for you and your puppy!
In the comments below, tell me which area you’ll be introducing to your dog next!