Arthritis
Atopy (Inhalant Allergy)
Bufo Toad Poisoning
Cat Home Safety Tips
Collar Hazards
Common Things to Watch for
Dental Disease in Pets
Diabetes
Dog Safety Tips
Feline Heartworm Disease
Mallassezia (yeast) Dermatitis
Reasons to Neuter
Noise Phobia in Dogs
Weight Problems in Pets
Otitis (Ear Infections)
Parvo Virus
Pruritis (Itchiness)
Rabies
Seizures and Epilepsy
Senior Pets
Reasons to Spay
Toxoplasmosis, Cats and Women
the rules of living in its new human household?
If you answered "True" please pack up the puppy and return it where you got it
from…..just kidding! Obviously, the answer is FALSE. Puppies have no idea of
what good behavior and good manners are and it’s up to you….the new puppy
parent…to teach it.
In the past, new puppy owners were told to wait until the pup was around six
months old before starting any "formal" training program. Actually, training
should start the day you bring your new pup home.
Why? Because many of the things that puppies do are normal, natural puppy
behaviors. Unfortunately this includes "problem" behaviors such as digging,
chewing, biting hands and feet, jumping, aggression and excessive vocalization
which if not corrected may become a serious problem when the dog is full grown.
In fact, most of the dogs turned over to animal shelters and humane societies within
the first two years of life are given up because of behavioral problems. So it just
makes sense that the sooner a training program is started the greater likelihood that
the puppy grow up to be a well-behaved dog.
Many first time puppy owners have no idea of how or what to teach their new pet.
There are several options open to them including scores of books and dog manuals,
videos on training and group or private training sessions. Here are a few helpful
suggestions to get you started.
Early obedience training such as "sit" , "down", and "stay" should be taught to all
puppies. This establishes the owner as the leader and provides a solid foundation
for the owner to be in control of the pet when it is older.
Puppies have short attention spans so early training sessions need to be very short
but frequent. Nowadays, animal behaviorists recommend "positive reinforcement"
training methods as it is more effective and rewarding to teach good behavior
rather than just punish bad ones. Puppies are easily motivated by food, so using
small treats as motivation greatly aids the training session.
To teach the puppy to sit, hold a small tidbit of food above and slightly behind the
nose while telling the puppy to sit. As it looks up to see the treat the hind end will
go down into a sitting position. Although you may need to guide its rump down
the first few times. Also, do not give the command more than once, otherwise the
pup will learn to not "sit" until he's told five or six times.
You can also use this technique to teach "down" by holding the treat on the floor
and pulling it out in front of the puppy, or alternatively, pushing it between the
puppy’s legs, and of course telling the puppy "down" as it slides into the position.
As the pup masters the tasks the food reward is slowly phased out and given only
intermittently. Of course praise is given each time the puppy correctly performs
the behavior.
The benefits of early obedience training include getting control of the pup’s
behavior and setting the stage for you to become the "leader of the pack" as the dog
matures.
Next, puppies should be taught to allow themselves to be handled and picked up.
This helps the pet become accustomed to being touched which is especially
important later in life when it has to be groomed, examined, or have its nails
clipped or ears cleaned.
So everyday the owner should handle the pup, look into its mouth and ears, pick
up and touch its feet and generally feel it all over. Again, food rewards and praise
should be used liberally to make the puppy associate good things while being
handled.
Puppies chew….a lot! It’s normal. It’s natural. It’s how they explore and learn
about their world. It also helps with teething. It can also become a big problem
when the pup chews up household items or persistently chews on the owner’s
hands, feet or clothing. It can also result in electrocution if the pup chews on a live
wire or in a poisoning if the puppy were to get a toxic substance into its mouth
while chewing on a bottle.
Tips to help with this natural behavior include providing the pup with a variety of
chew toys, proper supervision, and of course, "puppy-proofing" the house as best
as possible, removing any items off of the floor that you don’t want to risk being
chewed on.
Also, when the pup starts to chew on something inappropriate it should be told a
firm "NO" and be given an acceptable substitute such as a Kong [R} toy stuffed with
food, or a chew rope sprayed with vegetable oil and sprinkled with garlic salt.
Chewing on the owner’s hands, feet, or clothing can become a hard to break
behavior in some pets, so it’s best to deal with this behavior right from the
beginning. In the wild puppies will bite their littermates during play and learn to
control the force of their bite through feedback from the other pup’s yipping.
Often times the owner gives no feedback when the puppy is biting or mouthing
and the pup never learns that its bite hurts. So, when the pup starts to bite or chew
the owner should yelp out with a loud "OUCH" and give the pup a more
acceptable chew toy. If the pup is all wound up and won’t stop, it should be
placed in its crate for a few minutes until it settles down.
Speaking of crates, I am a big believer in crate training. I didn’t used to be, but got
over that really quickly after I adopted my dog Nikki and she destroyed my
apartment twice during a separation anxiety attack. Now I recommend crate
training to all of my clients as a way to keep the puppy safe from the house and the
house safe from the puppy.
Crate training also helps to speed up the housebreaking processes too. Make sure
that the crate is not too big or too small and take off any collars or choke chains
before putting the pup into it. Crate training should be used in a positive manner
and many puppies will go into their crate on their own to sleep or get away from
children. It is also best not to use the crate as punishment, so that the pup does not
associate the crate with bad things.
Also, puppies should not be overly confined to a crate as it can cause hyperactivity
and attention seeking behaviors. A rule of thumb is that a puppy can stay in its
crate one hour beyond how old it is in months. And make sure to take the pup
outside to eliminate each time that it is taken out of the crate.
Puppy Aggression. Many puppies become aggressive around food and some even
take to guarding their food bowl. This should be considered unacceptable
behavior and prevented from occurring. This is especially important in households
with young children or if the pup is going to be a large adult.
There are several techniques that owners can do to help prevent guarding behavior
from developing. First of all, be around the pup and handle it when it is eating.
Try feeding small amounts of food by hand and put small amounts of food into the
bowl and then pick it up and add more. Owners should even pet the puppy while
it is eating and of course, never encourage food aggression in their pet. These
techniques can also be applied to teach a puppy not to be aggressive with toys and
allow the owner to remove things from the puppy’s mouth without being bit.
Lastly, socialization is very important and helps the pup to develop into a well-
adjusted adult dog. One of the most important time periods in development is
between 7 - 16 weeks of age. I especially advise clients to socialize their pup with
other dogs during this time period so that the pup will grow up being friendly with
other dogs. I do caution them though on not taking the pup to public parks or
beaches because the puppy is not fully immune to parvo virus until after its last set
of vaccinations. It’s best to socialize the puppy with a friend or relative’s dog that
you know is healthy and immunized.
Puppies should also be exposed to all of the things they will encounter in daily life
including adults, children, men, women, cars, bikes, stairs, the mailman, large
boxes, loud noises and so on. This will help the pup to develop into an adult dog
that doesn’t fear certain items or people.
As you can see, puppy training is much more than just housebreaking and helps
the pup to grow up into a well-adjusted, well-behaved dog that enriches the family
life rather than disrupting it.