Time IS on Your Side!

I received a message from a client who now lives out of state.  We worked together years ago when she rescued her first dog.  I taught a lot of classes back in the late 90's and early 2000's, and she must have attended three or four of them with her dog.  He was a rambunctious adolescent, eager to please, but mouthy, jumpy, and terrible on the leash.  She worked really hard with him and he blossomed into a lovely companion dog, making it to almost 16 years old. She was reaching out because she's getting a new puppy next week from a breeder, another first for her!  She's never had a puppy before, let alone a purebred dog, so she feels like she's got more to learn and fast.  She's already scheduled the puppy's first vet visit and signed up for a round of puppy classes, but those classes don't start until mid-June.  She's already worried that she'll be "behind the curve" with her new puppy by waiting those weeks before classes begin.  She was hoping for some tips on things she could do with her puppy before classes even begin.  Happy to oblige!

While puppy classes are great, they aren't the be all/end all for every dog.  In fact, puppy classes aren't suitable for puppies who are overly fearful (the classes can reinforce their fear); they aren't for puppies who are experiencing aggression (the classes expose other impressionable puppies to unsafe situations); and they aren't for puppies who are easily overwhelmed. Don't get me wrong; puppy classes are great controlled socialization opportunities for the average puppy, but not every puppy will thrive there. So, whether you have a puppy for whom classes aren't an option, or you live in an area where suitable classes aren't available, or like my client, the classes are available but require waiting, there are lots of things you can do with your puppy, on your own, to get them off to a great start.

First and foremost, puppies need to be good with people, so taking your puppy out in public for short periods of time everyday is good for their social development.  Since they aren't fully vaccinated, you'll need to carry them, or put them in a buggy or wagon, to protect them from exposure to pathogens.  Do, however, encourage people of all ages, colors, and abilities to approach your puppy.  If your puppy gets overwhelmed easily, you may need to start with excursions to less populated areas and work you way up to malls and restaurants that allows dogs.  Take treats with you and reinforce your puppy for calm behaviors like looking around, inviting greetings from strangers, etc. 

Puppies also need to be good with handling, whether that handling is being done by you, your groomer, or your veterinarian.  Start handling exercises and cooperative care the moment you bring your new puppy home.  Handle them all over, inspecting ears, mouths, bellies, etc.  You can use a lick mat smeared with peanut butter or baby food if they are really wiggly, but do work daily on being able to look in their mouth, inspect their feet, and touch their ears and clean their eyes. Cooperative care exercises like those I've outlined in previous blog posts are important in helping your puppy understand that holding still and allowing care is in their best interest. And if they feel overwhelmed or uncomfortable, all they have to do is move away from the food; they don't have to jerk away from handling, bite your hand, or skitter away.  They simply have to back away to indicate their discomfort and then you can give them a moment before trying again. 

Those basics that I outlined last week (come, sit, and down) are behaviors you can work on before you ever get to a class.  You should also work on leash walking with your puppy, even though you'll only be walking around for 5 minutes or less, inside your house or in your own yard. Walking nicely on a leash doesn't come easily to most puppies; they don't appreciate collars and harnesses that restrict their movement and leashes that keep them from being able to scamper away!  It will take patience and daily training sessions to get your puppy to the point where they aren't stopping every 5 seconds to scratch at their collar or harness and trying to grab the leash from your hand.  This is all developmentally appropriate, but worth working on at home before attending classes.

Food bowl exercises can be done daily as well.  For at least one meal each day, hand feed your puppy, petting them and handling them while offering them the food. Some puppies get so distracted by the love that they almost can't eat, and that's okay!  You are doing the hand feeding so you can see if your puppy has any questionable behavior around food.  If they are fine with hand feeding, you can start adding food into the bowl while petting them and making noise around them. Still good with that?  Now you can drop food from above into their bowl while they are eating.  Still no problem?  Great! Now, bend down and put your hand on the bowl while they are eating and pet them with the other hand.  All good?  Add some more food to that bowl!  Now, try picking up the bowl, add some more food, and put the bowl back down. You will want to continue to do these exercises around food and mealtimes periodically throughout their first year of life.  While I know there are people who will tell you that dogs should be left alone while they eat, the truth of the matter is that at some point in time, every dog's mealtime will be disrupted by people.  You want to make sure that your kids, grandkids, neighbor kids, and housesitters will all be safe if they are the ones to interrupt your dog's mealtime. 

If you are doing crate training with your puppy (which I truly hope you are!) then you will want to be reinforcing that crate as their safe space throughout the day.  If your puppy loves their crate, readily hopping in there for naps and nighttime sleep, then you may have to do very little to reinforce how great that crate really is. If, however, your puppy doesn't seem to enjoy that crate as much as they should, then you'll need to put in some time helping them to see it from a different perspective.  Put the crate on the floor next to your favorite chair or your bed and grab a book and some treats for yourself as well as for your puppy.  Toss a treat inside your puppy's crate for them to follow in and leave the door open.  When they pop out, sit in your chair or on your bed and reach over to poke a treat through the top or side of the crate so the puppy has to go back inside to get it. Hopefully, if you do this a few times your puppy will see that they can get the treats faster if they just stay inside the crate.  Once that happens, you can begin feeding your puppy meals inside their crate, offering them frozen filled Kongs there, or even an enticing bone.  If they can enjoy those items with the door open, try shutting the door, but do stay with them (perfect opportunity to read that book and have your own snack) so you can open the door if they start to panic or fuss.  Build up to longer periods of time in the crate with the door closed and begin trying to leave the room.  Hopefully, your puppy will accept their crate and be able to rest there for short periods of time everyday.

Your puppy will likely be getting plenty of physical exercise at home, chasing their toys, walking on that leash, and running toward you when you call them.  There isn't any need to push a puppy to do long walks/hikes, fetch for extended periods of time, or run around with your other dog. In fact, over-exercising a puppy can have huge consequences in terms of pain, interfering with normal bone growth and development, and result in an over-tired, obnoxious puppy who can't settle down.  Keep the physical activity age-appropriate, enforce those naps, and put an equal amount of importance on mental exercise for your puppy.  Those brain games and puzzles I love aren't just for adolescent and adult dogs.  There are puzzles specifically designed for puppies, that are easier to solve and more durable for those sharp, puppy teeth.  Get a few puzzles so you can rotate which puzzle you give to your puppy everyday.  You can even use those puzzles to help your puppy wind down and transition from active play to self-directed play before a nap.

See?  So much you can do to train your puppy well before you ever set foot in puppy class.  By doing all of these activities daily with your puppy, he will not only be ready for puppy class, he'll be the star pupil, able to focus on the exercises being taught there with distractions.  For me, I feel like the primary reason to attend puppy classes is to give your puppy the opportunity to play with and interact with other puppies, big and small, while being supervised. The best puppy classes I know are mixed, all breeds welcome, and without an adult dog present to squelch their fun.  I know some instructors like to have their own adolescent or adult dogs attend their puppy classes to show the puppies the ropes, but I do know that the presence of an unfamiliar adult dog can curb some puppy behavior that needs to happen for the benefit of those puppies.  Having the humans there in class is what's needed to redirect puppies, assign time outs, and establish and encourage appropriate play.

I went over all of this with my client, reinforcing that she can use that time before puppy classes begin to get her puppy off to a great start! I know she's going to feel overwhelmed at times, given that this is her first puppy, but frankly, who hasn't felt overwhelmed by a puppy? Puppies are a lot of work, but it feels so worth it when you can see all of your hard work paying off in the form of a dog who is comfortable and capable across situations, able to make their needs known, and behaviorally reliable.

As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

Here's Ozzie at 4 months old, having worn himself out with a Nina Ottosson puzzle toy.  He fell asleep with his little tongue hanging out!