YOUR NEW PUPPY

You have chosen to own a German Shepherd puppy. You have chosen it very carefully over all other breeds. So before you ever get that puppy home, you will have prepared for its arrival by reading everything you can get your hands on having to do with the management of dogs and puppies. True, you will run into many conflicting opinions, but at least you will not be starting "blind".Read study, digest. Talk over your plans with your veterinarian, and other "dog people", and the seller of your puppy. When you get your puppy, you will find that your reading and study are far from finished. You've just scratched the surface in your plan to provide the greatest possible comfort and health of your Shepherd puppy, by the same token, assure yourself of the greatest possible enjoyment of this wonderful creature. You must be ready for the puppy mentally as well as in the physical requirements.

Puppy Training & General Issues

Puppy Training

Your New Puppy

New Puppy

 

THE FIRST DAY & NIGHT

When your puppy arrives in your home, put him down on the floor and never pick him up again, except when absolutely necessary. He is a dog, a real dog, and must not be lugged around like a rag doll. Handle him as little as possible, and permit no one to pick him up and baby him. Quiet possibly your puppy will be afraid for a while in his new surroundings, without his mother and littermates. Comfort him and reassure him, but don't console him. Don't give him the "oh-you-poor-its-bitsy-puppy" treatment. Be calm, friendly, and reassuming. Encourage him to walk around and sniff over his new home. If its dark, put on the light. Let him roam for a few minutes while you and everybody else concerned sit quietly or go about your routine business. Let the puppy come back to you. For his first night with you, I recommend that he be put where he is to sleep every night-say the kitchen, since its floor can easily be cleaned to his heart's content; close doors to confine him there. Prepare his food and feed lightly the first night. Give a bowl with water in it-not a lot, since most puppies will drink the whole bowl dry. Give him an old coat or jumper to lie on. Since a coat or jumper will be strong in human scent, he will pick it out to lie on, thus furthering his feeling of security in the room where he has just been fed.

HOUSE BREAKING HELPS

Now, sooner or later-mostly sooner-your new puppy is going to "puddle" on the floor. First take a newspaper and lay it on the puddle until the urine is soaked up onto the paper.( Save this paper) Now take a cloth with soap and water, wipe up the floor and dry well. Then take the wet paper and place it on a fairly large square of newspaper near you back door. When cleaning up, always keep a piece of wet paper on top of the others. Every time he wants to "squat", he will seek out this spot and use the papers.( This routine is rarely necessary for more than 4days) Now leave him for the night. Quiet probably he will cry and howl a bit; some are more stubborn than others on this matter. But let him stay alone for the night. This might seem harsh treatment, but in my opinion and experience, it is the best procedure in the long run. Just let him cry; he will weary of it sooner or later.

Housebreaking puppy's

House Training

House Training Your Puppy

 

 

BEAT HIM TO THE DRAW

Puppies, like humans infants, wake up at the crack of dawn. So bright and early, your first job is to take him outdoors for a " business trip". Try to keep him out until he has relieved himself. Then give him his first meal of the day, after which you take him out again. Puppies usually want to relieve themselves first thing in the morning, last thing at night, and after every nap.To cut down on "mistakes" take him out often for the first few days, until he learns what going out for-and keep him near his newspapers. Caution: do not force him to rely too much on the newspapers or he will get to the point where he will stay out for hours without doing anything and as soon has you bring him indoors he will rush to his newspapers. Housebreaking is a simple thing if done properly. I have never seen a Shepherd puppy that took more than three days on my procedures. Just cooperate with the inevitable! Anticipate his need before he does. And for the first few mistakes, say nothing to him- especially the first 24 hours. Then when he misbehaves, point to the error and quietly but firmly say "No" or "Pfui". Make it decisive. He must know he has done wrong, but he must not be scared to death. And under NO circumstances must he be slapped, or yelled at, or stamped at in any manor. Just a brisk "Pfui" or "No". Work things in such a way that he doesn't get a chance to misbehave.

TRAINING

Unless you are prepared to give time every day to training, do not buy a GSD, Like children, dogs need discipline, and without this they can become a source of constant worry. A well-trained dog, on the other hand, is a joy to own and something one can feel justifiably proud of. Before your puppy arrives, give careful thought to the name. Choose a name of one or two syllables which has plenty of punch to it, for both correction and praise. Think carefully about the tone of your voice when addressing you dog; make it firm for correction, and higher and happier for praise. Decide on what words you would like to use and always stick to the same ones, keep to simple ones like 'come,' 'sit,' 'stay,' 'down,' 'no,' 'find'.

Clicker Training

Dog Behavior & Obedience Training Articles

ATTITUDE

A great deal has been written about training but seldom anything about the dogs attitude towards it. So put yourself in your puppy's position and see training from a dog's point of view. A puppy lives by instinct, which is the will to survive. Basically this means finding food, warmth, comfort and, most importantly, a pack leader. This must be you. Up until it arrives with you, first its mother, then after weaning, the breeder, has taken on this role. Now it is your turn. Your puppy has come to new surroundings, new smells, new faces and most important, no litter mates. It is on its own in a strange world. So decide on a routine for feeding, playtime, training, sleeping and stick to it. You are channeling its instinct which we call 'fixing'. If adhered to, this process will be of great benefit when more serious training commence.

NOISE

You have put your puppy to bed, in a place of your choice, and it starts crying. Do not go down to comfort it. If you do, it will soon realize that by crying it can get comfort and you have put the first nail in your coffin as a pack leader. On the other hand, do not attempt to stop the crying by shouting at it; the puppy will not have a clue what you mean and you will have simply started a chain of doubts in its mind. Just endure it and in the morning give lots of praise, take it outside for the toilet purpose and have a game, even though you may well be desperately suffering from lack of sleep! After a night or two the puppy will soon stop crying; this is not intelligence but instinct. You have successfully started your 'fixing' program. If however, you have neighbor problems, a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel put in the puppy's bed will help and something with a strong humane odor on it can also help.

HOUSE TRAINING

Base your house training on the same principle. When does your puppy need to relieve itself ? This is usually after waking up, after a feeding and during play. Knowing this, decides in the garden its toilet area is to be and always take the puppy there. I stress the point on 'taking' it out rather then just 'putting' it out. This is most important. If you put the puppy outside the door leave it, all it will do is sit there and cry to be back in, it will wonder what it as done wrong? Another seed of doubt is sown in its poor little mind. So whatever the weather, stay with it, ignoring all overtures to play until the job has been done. The praise it and indulge in some games. The 'fixing' process has taken another step in the right direction. Never chastise a puppy if it goes in the wrong place unless you actually catch it in the act- then give it a firm 'no' and take the puppy outside. It is advisable, if the puppy is in the house, to put some newspaper down near the door during the night as accidents can and do easily happen with a very young puppy. By following this routine you will soon have a house-trained puppy.

Crate Training Your Dog or Puppy

CHEWING

Chewing can sometimes be a problem especially between the ages of six months when the puppy is teething. Make sure that it has plenty of sensible toys,( Nylon Bones) and do not leave anything of a chewable nature around for it to get hold of. Remember, we are talking about dealing with instinct, and not intelligence. This means if punishment is given for what happened an hour ago, the puppy will have no idea why it is being reprimanded, and so the doubts as to how it should behave will continue to grow. Follow the rules suggested, above, on the other hand and the puppy will be learning by the association of ideas. The 'fixing' process will be well underway and you will have made the first important step in becoming pack leader. Puppies and young dogs need something with resistance to chew on while their teeth and jaws are developing- for cutting the puppy teeth, to induce growth of the permanent teeth under the puppy teeth, to assist in getting rid of the puppy teeth at the proper time to help the permanent teeth through the gums, to assure normal jaw development and to settle the permanent teeth solidly in the jaws. The adult dog's desire to chew stems from the instinct for tooth cleaning, gum massage and jaw excersie-plus the need for an outlet for periodic doggie tensions. Dental caries as it affects the teeth of humans is virtually unknown in dogs-but tartar accumulates on the teeth of dogs, particularly at the gum line, more rapidly than on the teeth of humans. These accumulations, if not removed, bring irritation, and then infection which erodes the tooth enamel and ultimately destroys the teeth at the roots. Most chewing by adult dogs is an effort to do something about this problem for themselves. Tooth and jaw development will normally continue until the dog is more than a year old-but sometimes much longer, depending upon the breed, chewing exercise, the rate at which calcium can be utilized and many other factors, known and unknown, which affect the development of individual dogs. Diseases, like distemper for example, may sometimes arrest development of the teeth and jaws, which may resume months, or even years later.This is why dogs, especially puppies and young dogs, will often destroy property worth hundreds of pounds, when their chewing instinct is not diverted from their owner's possessions, particularly during the widely varying critical period for young dogs. Saving your poisons from destruction, assuring proper development of the teeth and jaws, providing for 'interim' tooth cleaning and gum massage, and channeling doggie tensions into a nondestructive outlet are, therefore, all dependent upon the dog having something suitable for chewing readily available when his instinct tells him to chew. If your purposes, and those of your dog, are to be accomplished, what you provide for chewing must be desirable from the doggie viewpoint, have the necessary functional qualities, and above all, be safe for your dog. It is very important that dogs not be permitted to chew on anything they can break, or indigestible things from which they can bite sizable chunks. Sharp pieces, from such as a bone which can be broken by a dog, may pierce the intestine wall and kill. Indigestible things which can be bitten off in chunks, such as toys made from rubber compound or cheap plastic, may cause an intestinal stoppage, if not regurgitated-to bring painful death, unless surgery is promptly performed. Strong natural bones, such as large raw marrow bones from mature beef-either the kind you get from the butcher or one of the variety available commercially in the pet stores-may serve your dog's teething needs, if his mouth is large enough to handle them effectively. You may be tempted to give your puppy a smaller bone and he may not be able to break it when you do-but puppies grow rapidly and the power of their jaws constantly increases until maturity. This means that a growing dog may break one of the smaller bones at any time, swallow the pieces and die painfully before you realize what is wrong. Many people make the mistake of thinking their dog's teeth in terms of the wild carnivores or those of the dog in antiquity. The teeth of wild carnivorous animals, and the teeth found in the fossils of the dog-like creatures of antiquity, have far thicker and stronger enamel than those of our contemporary dogs. All hard natural bones are highly abrasive. If your dog is an avid chewer, natural bones may wear away his teeth prematurely; hence they then should be taken away from your dog when the teething purpose have been served. The badly worn, and usually painful, teeth of many mature dogs can be traced to excessive chewing on natural bones. Contrary to popular belief, Knuckle bones which can be chewed up and swallowed by the dog provide little, if any, useable calcium or other nutriment. T hey do, however, disturb the digestion of most dogs and cause them to vomit the nourishing food they need. A leather rawhide is a good chewable item for dogs it comes in all shapes and sizes and has become quite popular, but some dogs can chew big chunks of rawhide of in one go and it has been found that some dogs have got it stuck in there throats. More recently, some veterinarians have been attributing cases of acute constipation to large pieces of incompletely digested rawhide in the intestine. The nylon bones, especially those with natural meat and bone fractions added, are probably the most complete, safe and economical answer to the chewing need. Dogs cannot break them or bite off seizable chunks; hence are completely safe-and being longer lasting than other things offered for the purpose, they are economical.Hard chewing raises little bristle-like projections on the surface of the nylon bone-to provide effective interim tooth cleaning and vigorous gum massage, much in the same way your toothbrush does it for you. The little projections are raked off and swallowed in the form of thin shavings-but the chemistry of the nylon is such that they break down in the stomach fluids and pass through without effect. The toughness of the nylon provides the strong chewing resistance needed for important jaw exercise and effective help for the teething function- but there is no tooth wear because nylon is nonabrasive. Being inert, nylon does not support the growth of microorganisms and it can be sterilized by boiling or in an autoclave. Nylabone is highly recommended by veterinarians as a safe, healthy nylon bone that can't splinter or chip. Instead, Nylabone is frizzled by the dog chewing action, creating a toothbrush like surface that cleanses the teeth and massages the gums. NYLABONE, & NYLABALL, can be flavored products impregnated solid nylon and are available in most pet shops.

Benefits of Chewing

Chewing is a very natural behavior for puppies and dogs, and there are a number of benefits that chewing offers:

Good dental hygiene: Chewing is good for keeping tartar from building up on the teeth (which helps prevent that dragon breath). When a dog chews on a hard object, it scrapes away the tartar that can build up and cause bad breath, staining, and periodontal disease.

Satisfy the natural desire to chew: Dogs are animals, and animals use their mouths for many things. It's natural for dogs to chew, and chewing on hard chew objects provides an appropriate outlet for your dog's desire to chew.

Relieve Boredom: Chewing is an enjoyable pastime for many dogs, while others may chew to relieve boredom, frustration, or anxiety. If you had to choose between your new couch, your leather wallet, or a bone, which would you rather your dog have?

To Aid in Teething: Puppies chew for several reasons. Puppies like to chew on something hard to relieve the discomfort in their gums as their adult teeth come in. This is called counter pressure. Chewing also helps develop strong jaws, and trains them as youngsters on the items that are acceptable to chew.

Bones

Bones are good choices for dogs to chew as long as they are not too small or too brittle. Chicken bones, for example, are small and could splinter easily, getting caught in your dog's throat or digestive system. The best bones generally come from the femur (leg bone) of a large animal, such as a cow. They are very dense so they don't splinter, yet are a manageable size for a dog to handle. They even come smoked and basted, so your dog has a variety to choose from.

Handmade bones: (such as Booda Velvets and Nylabones), are good choices if you want to keep your dog busy but don't want to give real animal bones. Or, for pets that prefer a softer chew, or for older pets that struggle with hard chews, try a bone that is less dense. Booda Velvets are made with digestible ingredients (such as corn) that are perfectly safe for your dog. They may come in a variety of flavors, and you can find the size that's just right for your dog's preferences.

If you offer your dog a bone, and she doesn't seem to care for it, don't give up! Some pets are finicky about their chews. Maybe she doesn't like the consistency of the bone, or perhaps it's too big or too bland. Whatever her preference, keep trying until you find the right chew item. Just remember those benefits!

Destructive Chewing

Destructive Chewing In Dogs

Prevent Your Puppy From Destructive Chewing

A Couple of NyloneBones Which can be bought in many pet shops.

SOCIALIZATION

Socialization is continually in progress, your puppy is learning to live with you, adapting itself to various noises such as the washing machine, vacuum, television and general sounds associated with the house. Let it find its own level in doing this; do not force it into any situation. Give plenty of praise through when it begins to investigate of its own accord. This is all part of character training and a most important of the puppy's education.

CAR TRAVEL

As car travel is so important nowadays, get your puppy used to it quickly as possible. Begin by sitting it in the car for short periods every day, first of all with you and then on its own. Then take it for short rides so that it enjoys its time in the car, Knowing that it will always be coming back home again. If you find that your puppy is a bad traveler and is drooling quiet alit give it 2 ginger tablets 15 minutes before traveling this usually settles the stomach down.

BASIC DRIVES

With the next stage of training, we must consider the puppy's basic drives. These are pursuit,social and defense; or in other words the chasing, friendliness and guarding instincts. To control pursuit and defense, we must first cultivate a will to please which in turn will lead to a happy worker. Make certain you have a daily playtime. Let your puppy tug at a piece of rag or chase a ball. Find out what toy it really likes and use this as part of your praise when an exercise is correctly done. Sit on the ground and let it jump on you; have a really good rough and tumble, you are now taking the place of its litter mates. Throw its favorite toy one or two meters away from you so that its natural instinct is to bring the article back to you. Give it plenty of praise, both verbal and touch. As soon as its concentration starts to wane, and this will happen very quickly with a young puppy, stop. This play routine is most important as it constitutes part of the praise routine. If the puppy tries to bite or get too excited, calm everything down. The pursuit drive is controlled with recall training, the social drive should be developing in everyday procedures and the defense drive is sometimes which is desirable but must not be allowed to get out of control.

FOOD INSTINCT

When feeding your puppy, make it sit for its food by holding the bowl well above its head while giving the command 'sit'. It will probably jump up to start with but then it will sit. As soon as this happens, praise it immediately put down the bowl of food. The puppy will soon get the idea. Now try recall. Get a friend to hold the puppy, then walk away with the food bowl, rattling it to get the puppy's attention. Put the bowl down in front of you and as you give the command of the puppy's name and 'come', have the puppy released. In these two exercises you are training it by appealing to its basic instinct; food.

CHECK CHAINS

Early lead training is a must, check you have the right type of long-linked check chain. This must be put on correctly. The lead is attached to the ring of the check chain going over the top of the neck.This will ensure that as soon as the pressure is released on the lead the chain will go loose. Always work your dog on the left hand side of you. Here are two diagrams for your help one is of the correct way to put on a check chain and the other is different types of chains you can get for training and use in the show ring.

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SIT & HEEL WORK

Serious heel work can also now begin. At the moment your puppy knows the command of 'sit', but so far in you exercise it has always sat in front of you with the incentive of food to keep its attention. Now it has got to realizes that 'sit' can also mean sitting at your side without the promise of food as a reward. This can be a little muddling at first, and can cause some confession, so the best way to avoid this is to gently enforce the command in the following way:

First bring the puppy round to your left hand side; say its name and a firm command of 'sit'. At the same time give an upward jerk with the lead (held in the right hand), while with the left hand you firmly push down on its croup.

Your puppy is now sitting at your left hand side and so is now ready to begin to learn how to accomplish heel work: Say the dogs name and the command ' heel'. Step forward with your left foot and at the same time give a sharp jerk on the check chain, the puppy will come with you. It will probably bound forward, so stand still and when it has got to the end of the lead, do an about turn giving the command 'heel'.

When it is back with you, praise and continue walking. Do the same again if it bounds forward. Walk two or three times up and down the garden, always finishing with a sit. You will find the puppy's attention going at this stage, so let it off the lead and start a game. To get your puppy concentrating for heel work try having its favorite play article in your left hand. It will look up at you as you move forward it will follow you and the toy. Continue in this way for a few minutes every day and you will soon find your puppy is doing heel work. When it is proficient you can begin to include left and right turns as well as about turn. When you puppy is working well with this, without the use of lead or left hand, then the time has come to start off-lead heel work. If at any time the puppy deviates from your side, then go back on the lead. Keep your sessions short and happy, and always finish with a play routine. Heel work can get awfully boring if it is kept up too long, and this is often the cause of lagging and sluggish heel work.

SIT STAY

We are now ready to start the 'sit' and 'down' stay. Your puppy already knows what 'sit' means, so we will start with this. In all previous exercises we have used the dogs name first and then the command. The 'stay' exercises are static, so do not use the name, simply give the firm command of 'sit stay'.

Get your dog sitting on the left side. With your left hand in front of the dog's nose, give a firm command of 'sit stay'. Move to the front, still holding the lead in the right hand in a position where if the dog tries to move to you, you can give a jerk backwards, repeating the command 'stay'. After a few seconds return to its side. Give a release command and take a step backwards. We use the release command 'O.K.' But anything similar will do. The backward step is to prevent any confusion in the puppy's mind with the heel exercise. After the release give plenty of praise, Repeat two or three times.When your puppy is steady with this, the walking round behind its back, still keeping the lead taut in case it tries to move. Gradually progress by moving two or three paces away from its side and front, releasing the lead pressure at the same time. The left hand in front of the nose comes in very useful when moving away. Gradually increase the distance. Then put the lead on the ground and finally discard it altogether. Never progress to the next stage until your puppy is absolutely steady on the stay. If the puppy at anytime breaks its stay, you know you have failed to consolidate, so you must go back to the beginning. The 'stay' is not a difficult exercise to teach provided you don't rush things, but once the puppy gets in the habit of breaking a stay it is very difficult to correct- so be warned ! Do not try to do to much in any one session; it is much better to concentrate on one exercise in the morning and another in the afternoon.

PLAY

We cannot stress enough the importance of ending your training with a playing session, If Right from the start your puppy thoroughly enjoys its play and its fun article ball,and toys or other articles he associates with play, it will soon realize that working correctly means a fun period to come. This association of ideas is of the utmost importance. If you always insist on immediate obedience before the fun routine you are well on your way to becoming the pack leader.

Do & Don’ts:
DO provide your puppy with a quiet private place to sleep - this should be either a bed or blanket which is warm and draught free.
DO give your puppy toys of its own to play with, it will stop it from playing with things it shouldn’t.
DO give plenty of big bones or sterilized bones; hide chews etc from your pet shop, to cut his baby teeth on. It will also help your puppy stop chewing things it shouldn’t.
DO NOT ever give cooked bones, or poultry, lamb, rabbit and chop bones, because they splinter too easily and can cut the dog’s throat or cause internal damage. Always ensure that your puppy allows you to take bones or food from them without too much fuss.
DO take your puppy out for several short walks a day. It is very important that your puppy should be taken out to meet as many different people and other animals as possible. It is ideal if some exercise can be given in town areas; this allows experience of traffic noise etc and helps to keep its temperament well adjusted, friendly and sociable.
But, DO NOT over exercise your puppy, a total of 1 mile per day is plenty until it is 6 months of age.
DO NOT let your puppy leap in or out of the back of your car, or from steps, stairs or chairs, it could easily injure itself, particularly, it could jar its shoulder. After it reaches 6 months of age it will be more resilient.
DO NOT punish your puppy by hitting him with your hand, newspaper or anything else. A light shake and scolding voice may be necessary occasionally. On a more headstrong puppy a stronger shake holding onto the scruff of its neck and a scolding voice may be necessary. Then walk away from the puppy ignoring it, as its mother would do. Only do this at the TIME of the problem, NOT later, because the Puppy will not understand why it is being scolded
DO ensure that your puppy understands that commands are to be obeyed, it helps by making a big fuss of the puppy when it does things right.
DO NOT shut your puppy away when you have visitors to your home, allow your puppy to meet them and your puppy will learn to accept them as part of the family and learn to welcome visitors, as you do.
Do NOT worry about your puppy becoming too friendly, it will still guard its house and family should the need arise.

 

TRAINING:

DO get your puppy used to a collar and lead as soon as possible. The best way is to put them on they usually accept it. It may take two or three attempts to teach your puppy to walk reasonably calmly.
DO take your puppy to your local dog training classes, once inoculated, this will not only teach your puppy to be sociable and well behaved but will also enable you to own a dog which can go out and about with your family in most situations.
DO teach your puppy the commands, NO, LEAVE, COME & SIT, with these four commands you can deal with most situations and enjoy a well behaved companion.
REMEMBER, the habits you allow your puppy to develop while it is a puppy, you may not be able to live with when it is older.
A puppy on your lap or your sofa for cuddles is great when tiny, but imagine a fully grown GSD jumping on your lap.
REMEMBER have fun, enjoy your puppy and we are sure you will gain a valuable and loyal family friend.

LINKS

MARKOUT - A proven training method for housebreaking your male dog. If your dog is urinating and marking your house, MARKOUT effectively helps housebreak them. ( Effective for all breeds )

KARYNGARVIN - We are Tucson Arizona's first indoor, air conditioned dog training facility. Offering group classes, agility and much more !

House Rules
Your puppy in your household

We hear much about dogs and their ‘dominance’ behaviors and the importance of pack leadership. It is true that dogs live in clearly defined hierarchies. There are leaders and followers. In this article, I will try to help you to understand the way dogs work within these hierarchies and how this affects their behavior. From the day your puppy walked into your home he will have been seeking the comfort and security of knowing his place in the structure of the household. Most of the interactions your puppy has with you and other household members help him to identify his position in the household pecking order. The main way that this is done is by access to resources. Resources include obvious things such as food and toys but there are other factors, which give a puppy signals about his status. These would be access to comfortable and high resting places, attention, the ability to control other household members and the ability of other household members to control him.

Different puppies will have different levels of desire to climb the social ladder and different puppies will have different tactics when doing so. Confident and pushy puppies may use their physical skills to negotiate relationships. Their weight, speed and teeth will give them advantages. But even naturally subordinate puppies will find ways of testing their position and this is often done manipulatively. Insecure and sensitive puppies are the ones most likely to get into trouble because they will constantly need feedback about their status to feel safe and will often become very demanding in their attempts to do this.

There are some simple rules in establishing a stable relationship with your puppy and this will benefit puppies of every type:

Everyone must agree to a set of rules and stick to them. If you do not have a clear set of rules in your household, how is your puppy going to be able to learn what is and is not appropriate? How would you like your puppy to greet visitors? How many times have you guided your puppy through appropriate greeting behavior? How many times has he been allowed to greet household members and visitors inappropriately? Consistency is the key.
Is your puppy allowed to demand attention? Attention seeking or demanding behavior can often be very subtle. Whether it’s subtle or in your face, it is important to know how your reaction will affect your puppy’s behavior. If you have a pushy puppy, allowing him to attention seek may be a clear indicator to him that you are elevating his status in the household. He may then become more demanding and behave very inappropriately when his demands are not always met. If you have a sensitive puppy, you may find that giving your puppy attention when he demands it leads to over attachment and dependency problems. It’s not really fair on your puppy to be allowed to demand attention one minute and then to be ignored the next. Ideally, it’s best to always save your attention for when your puppy is behaving appropriately. Remember that your puppy is likely to repeat any behavior, which is successful in getting attention (positive or negative).
Are you a good pack leader? Dogs look to their leaders for safety, security, social structure and guidance. A good pack leader never needs to use physical reprimands to maintain his position. Fear does not help to build healthy relationships. To be a good pack leader, you need to be confident when handling the puppy. You need to be brave when your puppy is worried. You need to be vigilant, observant and quick when guidance is needed. Being gentle, kind, firm and consistent inspires puppies to respond. Being emotional, stressed or angry inspires fear and a lack of trust. If your puppy does not trust your abilities as pack leader, your puppy will have to make decisions for himself and he can’t be blamed if those decisions are incorrect.
Puppies will do whatever works to achieve their goals. This is normal and natural. It’s really your choice. You can allow your puppy to discover ways of achieving his goals and accept that some of them may not be desirable or you can guide your puppy and teach him appropriate ways to get what he wants. For example: If your puppy wants to go out to the garden to toilet he can:

1...Whine and bark until you let him out.
2...Scratch the door until you let him out.
3...Sit quietly at the door until you let him out.
It is up to you to decide which of these behaviors is desirable in your household. Always be aware that every time you respond to one of your puppy’s behaviors, you are teaching him how to get what he wants!

Having a sociable dog
Socialization is one of the most important parts of raising a well behaved and happy dog. Socialization means providing your dog with positive experiences in situations where he might meet people or other animals. He must also learn how to behave acceptably in these situations. The best and most effective time to socialize a dog is when he is a puppy between the ages of 3 and 14 weeks. Lack of socialization is one of the biggest causes of fear and aggression in adult dogs.

Many people are worried about socializing their puppy before he has completed his full course of vaccinations. Unfortunately, in many cases, that may be too late. There are many good puppy classes which only allow healthy puppies who have received their first vaccination. In some instances vaccination can start as early as 6 weeks of age, although more commonly it is given at 8 or 9 weeks. In addition to this, you can carry your puppy around with you in the day. You can use a baby sling or satchel to make this easier with larger puppies. As long as you are careful to avoid any areas which may be visited by unhealthy dogs, your puppy should not be at risk.

Older puppies and adult dogs need socialization too. It is important never to stop socializing your dog so that he will always be happy to meet new people. If you have taken on an older, unsocialized dog or puppy, do not despair. It is possible to socialize some older dogs, it just takes much more time and patience.

This fact sheet will give you guidance on the best way to socialize your puppy or dog and help you to ensure that you have done everything possible to have a happy and safe dog who will be a pleasure to take with you wherever you go.

When should socialization begin?

Socialization should begin while your puppy is with the breeder or rescue center. Make sure to ask what sort of socialization your puppy has received. Kenneled puppies require a great deal more effort than puppies reared in a busy household as they have not had the chance to learn about normal human activities. If you do take on a puppy over 12 weeks who has not been socialized, you will need to work very hard on making up for this to ensure the dog does not develop behavior problems later in life. It would be useful for owners to get professional advice from a trainer or behaviorist when taking on an unsocailized older puppy or adult dog.

What should I do to socialize my puppy?

From the day you get your puppy, you should expose him to as many different situations as possible. This can be as simple as carrying him with you to the local pub to meet a variety of adults to sitting outside the local primary school to get him used to the sound of playing children. There is more advice in the socialization checklist at the end of this fact sheet.

Puppies also need the guidance of sensible older dogs to help them learn doggy manners. This is very important if they are going to be able to get along with dogs when they get older. If you allow your dog to have free, rough play with other dogs, he could soon learn to be a fighter.

Dogs can be very specific about what they find frightening. For example, many dogs are fearful of people who wear a hat. This is because they probably had no positive experiences with hat-wearing people when they were young or they had a bad experience. One bad experience can stay with a dog for life.

How should I teach my puppy to behave when meeting new people and dogs?

Although it is delightful to see puppies playing with children or other dogs, you need to carefully consider what will be safe and acceptable when the puppy has become an adult dog. Puppies should learn manners and control when in new situations. You will never be welcome anywhere with an over excitable, boisterous adult dog.

Teach your puppy to be gentle, calm and obedient even in the most exciting of circumstances. Be very aware that you can be prosecuted if your puppy or dog injures someone. This can be just by knocking them over or scratching them in play.

Try to avoid situations in which your puppy could be frightened. If he does become frightened, protect him so that he sees you as a source of safety but do not pet him, reassure him or pick him up. The last thing you want is a puppy who thinks that he can get attention by acting fearfully.

Where can I safely socialize my puppy?

During the early days, before your puppy is fully vaccinated, you should avoid allowing your puppy to have access to unvaccinated dogs or areas in which they may be exercised. You can still take your puppy to the park, but carry him.

Socialization checklist

The following checklist is designed to give you some idea of the sort of things your puppy needs to experience safely. You will want to add things which are specific to your own lifestyle. You may feel that certain things are not relevant, but if you ever move or take your dog on holiday, or if you ever need to leave him with someone else, you must be prepared for all eventualities. Interestingly, dogs from the city often get into trouble for chasing sheep in the country when their owners go on holiday. This can be avoided if they are properly socialized with livestock.

PEOPLE

Your puppy should meet as wide a variety of people as possible. Never allow your puppy to jump up or nip at their hands and always ask people to behave in a non-threatening way.

? People of all ages from infants to elderly people.
? People of all races.
? People of all physical abilities. (Wheelchairs and walking sticks)
? People with beards/glasses/hats.
? People running/jogging/skateboarding/cycling/etc.
? People of different sizes.
? People wearing different styles of clothing.
? People with umbrellas.
? People in uniform.

OTHER ANIMALS

It is important that your dog does not become a threat to other people’s pets or livestock. Dogs can learn to live happily with other animals but only if they have been taught how to behave.

? Dogs of all sizes.
? Dogs of all ages.
? Dogs of all appearances from Bulldogs to Great Danes.
? Cats and rabbits.
? Sheep, horses (with riders and without) and cattle.

YOUR ENVIRONMENT

There are many things in your day to day environment which could surprise, frighten or overexcite your puppy. For example, many adult dogs attack the Hoover and hate the postman. By teaching your puppy that these things are safe and positive, you will have fewer problems.

? Normal household appliances.
? Traffic.
? The postman/paperboy/dustbin men/etc.
? Traveling in cars, on buses and on trains.
? The veterinary surgery.
? Loud noises.

Teeth
Why does my puppy keep biting me?

Many puppies nip and bite their owners when they are very young. This is normal, natural and an essential part of their development. They must learn what teeth do or they may not learn how to inhibit their bite when they are older. Depending on your breed or type of dog along with your dog’s individual personality type, the intensity of biting may vary.

How should I deal with the biting?

First look at the environment. Is the puppy getting appropriate and constructive mental stimulation? Is the puppy getting plenty of attention for biting the correct things (toys and chews)? Is the puppy getting enough physical exercise? Is the puppy getting enough sleep?

There are some factors that can increase the biting problem in the household and these are:

Rough games with members of the household.
Rough games with other dogs.
Too much excitement and over stimulation.
Lack of sleep and suitable confinement.
People squealing and pulling their hands back.
Any attention (positive or negative) for biting.
Lack of exercise.
Unsupervised access to children.
Physical punishment. (Or threats such as pointing)
Punishment usually does not work and can make the biting worse. Bright and reactive puppies may respond with increased levels of aggression; sensitive puppies may become fearful; stoic puppies may become withdrawn; insecure puppies may become bullies; demanding puppies will bite more to attention seek.

If your puppy bites, we recommend that you have a command that means ‘enough’. Whatever that command is, it is imperative that it is not used to nag the puppy. The simple rule is that the puppy is given the ‘enough’ command once, calmly but firmly. If biting doesn't’t stop then the puppy must learn a consequence. The consequence must be applied consistently and immediately and must be the same every time. Some consequences we suggest are:

Time out in an indoor kennel, another room or outside for no more than 2 minutes.
Everyone walks out and leaves the puppy in the room for 1 – 2 minutes.
Do something dramatic like shouting really loudly and slamming a door.
Tethering to an object in the room (while supervised) for no more than two minutes.
These are just a few suggestions. The important thing is that your puppy learns what happens every time he bites. Do not allow yourself to become emotional or angry when doing this as the puppy may become anxious and anticipate something dreadful. Just be calm and collected. Be aware that this is an uphill struggle. It may take hundreds of repetitions in all sorts of situations to resolve the problem. Just make sure that you do not allow visitors, relatives and friends to undermine your hard work by encouraging the puppy to play biting games.

There are a number of taste deterrents on the market. Some are much better than others. Your vet will probably be able to provide you with a good one. These can be sprayed regularly on shoes, clothing and even hands to deter biting.

What about chewing in the house?

Again, chewing is a normal and necessary puppy behavior and again, breed/type and personality are related to problems associated with chewing. Simple rules to avoid chewing are:

Always make sure that your puppy is confined to a safe area that he cannot chew when unsupervised.
Always give your puppy tons of attention whenever he is chewing something appropriate.
Never give your puppy attention or offer him an alternative chew item if he is chewing something inappropriate.
Make sure that there are one or two good chew articles available to your puppy at all time. Change them regularly to maintain your puppy’s interest.
Interrupt any inappropriate chewing surreptitiously. When the puppy is distracted, get his attention and ask him to do something for you so that he is getting attention for appropriate behavior. Then get him focused on something appropriate.

Some dogs do inherit or learn inappropriate aggressive behavior. This can manifest at an early age. If your puppy does any of the following, please let us know so that you can get assistance at home:

1..Snapping aggressively.
2..Guarding food, chews or toys.
3..Guarding areas of the house.
4..Growling at family members or strangers.
Showing any sort of behavior that you would consider aggressive.
We do stress though that you need to know the genetic heritage of your breed or type of dog. This will have a great deal to do with the behavior of your puppy. You should have seen and have been able to handle the mother of your puppy and you should have some idea of the way in which the puppy was kept by the breeder.

The best way to have a dog that is not aggressive is to make sure that he is well socialized.