4 Mistakes I Made When Training My Puppy

Before bringing home my Siberian Husky, I thought I knew exactly what I was doing when it came to raising a puppy. I had owned dogs for 14 years of my life and had spent 3 years working in a dog daycare. On top of my dog experience, I spent countless hours researching and watching videos on how to train a puppy. Now, Luna is one and a half years old and the mistakes I made when she was younger are becoming more and more apparent. Today I’m sharing with you four training mistakes I made as a new puppy mom.

1. Not Training Recall

When people ask me what I regret not teaching Luna the most, recall is always my answer. Training your dog to come when you call them is so important to ensure their safety in many different situations. I did attempt to train my dog to come to her name, but I gave up too quickly. Now, when I call her, she picks and chooses when she wants to come. This training mistake could lead to her getting lost or injured and because of that, I’m having to teach it to her now, at an older age, making it much more difficult. 

2. Not Crate Training

Crate training is an important part of raising a puppy as it gives your dog a safe place to stay when you can’t have your eyes on them. When I brought Luna home, I began to crate her at nighttime and while I was gone, but she never got to a point where she was fully comfortable being left alone in her crate. She would cry a lot in her crate, which is normal at first, but I would feel really bad. As a result, I started to let her sleep on my bed and I would refuse to go out so that I wouldn’t have to leave her crated at home. Because of my mistake, I cannot crate Luna without it causing her major stress which isn’t fun for either of us. Luckily, she is able to be trusted at home alone now that she’s older, but if I had stuck to the crate training when she was young, it would’ve saved both of us from a lot of anxiety.

3. Feeding Table Food

Puppy dog eyes are real, and dogs know how to use them to their advantage. Luna began begging for food at a very young age, and because she was cute, I would often give in. A small bite of chicken or a little bit of my mashed potatoes won’t hurt her, right? While a lot of human foods are not harmful to dogs, the behavior that comes with feeding them off your plate, is. Because I fed Luna food from my plate so often when she was younger, she now feels entitled to everything I eat! I can’t eat a meal without her begging and if I turn my back while eating, she’ll be quick to steal a bite. Refusing to feed your dog from your plate, and even making them leave the room while you eat, are your best bet to avoid a food thief and it’s definitely one of the biggest mistakes I made when raising my puppy.

4. Never Leaving Her Alone

Like most people, when I brought my puppy home I was OBSESSED with her. I never wanted to leave her alone…ever. One of the advantages of my job is that she gets to come with me, so she was never left home while I went to work. But even after the work day, if my friends invited me out I would often say no, unless I could bring my dog. This has caused major separation anxiety between Luna and I. I’m better about leaving her now, but she is not happy when I do. She will pace back and forth and refuse to leave the front door until I’m home. And when I do make it home, I’m greeted by a screaming husky. I wish that I could leave her home and feel comfortable knowing that she’d find a toy or a comfy spot to curl up, and relax while I’m gone but instead I’m left feeling guilty, knowing that she’s at home and feeling very anxious. Leaving her home more while she was a puppy would’ve taught her that it’s okay to be away from me, but now I have to leave her with the guilt of knowing she’s an anxious mess until I come back.