Milestones for a 4 Month Old Puppy
Milestones For A 4 Month Old Puppy
Four months old is one of many wonderful milestones for your puppy. Around this time things begin to fall into place. Potty accidents around the house rarely happen, if at all, crate training is a breeze, unruly barking starts to subside. If you have a new puppy here are the milestones your pup should achieve around this time. Keep in mind that every puppy is different so if your pup hasn’t reached these milestones don’t feel as if you’ve done anything wrong. Patience is key with raising a young puppy.
Puppy Vaccinations
Your puppy gets his rabies vaccination which also signals the time when your puppy’s immune system is well developed. Naturally you will feel more inclined to take your puppy on outings and allow him to interact with other dogs because he is less likely to become ill. If your dog does happen to get sick or show irregular behavior such as lethargy or vomiting a visit to the vet is important because despite this milestone a young puppy doesn’t have the strongest immune system and may need help to overcome a sickness.
Updating Your Puppy’s Feeding Schedule
Your dog’s baby teeth start to fall out and as the teeth disappear so does the puppy’s bitey, nippy, mouthy behavior.
Puppies Losing Their Baby Teeth
Once your pup has got a hang of ringing the bell, move the bell over towards the door you want your dog to go out. Do the same program, but as your dog rings the bell, use your command word, open the door, go outside and reward as you start walking through the door to encourage your dog to follow you. You can do this several times a day, and since you will be outside most of the time your dog will naturally want to relieve himself. Give a reward each time your dog uses the bathroom.
Tip 3: Add the Leash Into The Routine
Soon your dog will expect the door to be opened after ringing the bell, so feel free to add the leash into this routine. Be consistent. Your dog will pick up on the association that ringing the bell equals potty, so follow the same pattern each time. The bell rings. The door opens. They go potty. They get rewarded.
It’s not uncommon for your dog to start ringing the bell more than it should because he just wants to go out or be rewarded. You can prevent abuse of the bell by only rewarding when your dog goes to the potty. If your dog doesn’t potty, bring him back inside. It’s important that he knows the bell is for potty, not for play.