Stray Thoughts Spring 2019
Ask the Trainer
Start Socializing and Training Your New Puppy Early
W
hen you bring a puppy home the first thought
on your mind is probably having fun! After all,
the reason we get dogs is that we love them so much
and they bring untold joy to our lives. Our goal as dog
trainers is to ensure that clients and their dogs have the
best possible lives together. To achieve this goal, we
focus on helping people raise a puppy correctly from the
start so that they never develop problems that can lead
to stress, fear, or aggression. The three main areas we
ensure our clients address are socialization, training, and
handling exercises.
will enjoy the process
and will never know
that this isn’t simply
a fun thing you do a
few times a week. We
see way too many
adult dogs that show
aggression in these
types of situations and
our goal is to prevent
your puppy from
getting to that point.
Socializing your puppy is absolutely crucial, but it is often
misunderstood. Socializing a dog entails introducing
them to the various types of people, animals, sights and
sounds they will encounter throughout the rest of their
life. The good news is that this is a lot of fun! Get out in
public and introduce your new pup to your neighbors,
your friends and other animals. It will bring a smile to
their faces and help your pup get used to new people.
Health, safety and stress levels do need to be considered
so please read our Socialization Article for more
information on this topic. Also, be aware that puppies
have a critical socialization period that ends around 16
weeks so it is important to start early!
Handling resources is
similar to the handling
exercises previously
discussed. The
difference here is that
you are handling your puppy’s food, bones and toys. It is
important that they know it is not a big deal when people
pet them while eating or chewing and that humans taking
things away is O.K. Again, if you start early it will be a fun
game. While they are eating or chewing you simply walk
up, pet them, take the resource away, give it back and
then walk off.
Training is something else that should be started
early with your puppy. This doesn’t need to be formal
obedience training – we generally recommend you start
with addressing housebreaking, jumping, nipping, and
other things that might be happening around your home.
Many people enjoy their puppy less than they should due
to these types of behaviors and the sooner you stop them,
the sooner you can start having more fun! Teach your
pup right from wrong and make sure they have plenty of
positive experiences and fun things they are able to do.
When young puppies have an accident, bite, bark or jump
it is crucial to have a set of rules and a plan in place that
everyone in the family follows. It is very confusing and
unfair to a puppy when each person responds differently
to the puppies actions. Set them up for success with a
clear set of rules!
There are three main keys to think about with everything
in this article. The first is to have a good plan in place and
to know what you are doing. Take the time to really learn
how to socialize a puppy, how to train them, and how to
perform the various handling exercises. Learning from
a professional is definitely recommended. The second
key is to start early. If you miss their critical socialization
window or you allow negative behaviors to develop, your
workload will increase. It is so much easier to prevent
issues than to fix them. The third key is to continue all
three of these tasks throughout your dog’s life. Never
stop socializing them, training them or performing your
handling exercises. If you take a year off from handling
your dogs bones you might be in for a surprise when you
try taking a bone from your “teenage” dog.
If you follow the guidelines laid out in this article you and
your pup will have so much more fun together and you
will prevent a lot of stress for both of you!
Handling exercises are also extremely important to work
on with puppies. We break handling exercises down
into two groups – handling the puppy and handling the
puppies resources. Handling the puppy includes things
such as brushing their fur, touching their paws, clipping
their nails, cleaning their teeth, cleaning their ears and
a full examination of their body. When started early this
can be a fun experience for you and your puppy. They
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