Guest Blog – Eat Sleep Wee Repeat – Training the Tessleymoor Way

Puppies sleep a lot. They also wee a lot. In between these activities they play and they eat. One of these things I really want to cut down but of course, she’s too young to be dry all night. I think I know what I’m doing in terms of puppy toilet training. Or do I?

Well, it would appear not. Damian gets his puppies dry in 24 hours. He fires lots of questions at me: what time is her last drink, her last meal, bedtime, getting up time? As usual, I feel slightly guilty though I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. Well, it turns out, giving your puppy supper (which I think is cute, warm milk, a few biscuits) is not such a good idea. I have children, lots of them (or that’s how it feels). Damian asks if I gave them a drink at 11pm when they were toddlers and then expected them to be dry in the morning? No, of course not.

So supper goes and to be honest, she doesn’t miss it. Damian also insists I get up at 6am to let Lola out. I refuse, you have to draw the line somewhere and anything before 6.45am is the line for me. I can see the difference in the crate in the morning though and after a couple of days, she’s dry all night and puppy toilet training is ticked off.

Training the Tessleymoor Way is all about being decisive and consistent with your dog. Don’t make a fuss. Lola came to me with set meal times but I’ve moved them to fit in with my other dog and she is absolutely fine. I’ve changed her food to Bob and Lush because Meggie the big dog looks great on it and of course Lola loves it too. She sleeps in her crate while I’m working because I need her to be settled so now that’s her routine. It’s not about her, as adorable as she is. It’s about the needs of the pack and her place in it. She’s becoming a contented little puppy because with life’s essentials covered, she knows what to expect.

Posted: September 13, 2018