Photo of "Fez" courtesy of LeeAnn Heringer
When should you start training your puppy?
You already have!
Photo
of "Fez" courtesy of LeeAnn
Heringer
When should you start training your puppy?
You already have!
|
Every
second of every day,
It's
never too early to start training. |
 |
Until your vet says your puppy has received sufficient
vaccinations to attend a group class, your training will begin at home. Visit
this page for some tips for getting your new
baby settled in and off on the right paw! Protecting your puppy from disease
doesn't mean you can't socialize him,
you just shouldn't put him on the ground in public places where unvaccinated
dogs have been. If you need help between now and when class begins, email!
We also offer new puppy consults in your home.
When
should you start socializing? Now!
American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior
Position Statement on Puppy Socialization
:
|
“The
primary and most important time for puppy socialization is the first three
months of life… |
This
does not mean that you should take your puppy to the park or for walks
around the neighborhood!
But it does mean that, with your veterinarian's guidance, your vaccinated puppy
can and should attend
puppy classes in a disinfected environment with other vaccinated puppies before
he or she has completed the entire vaccination series. Most local vets advise
that puppies have at least 3 vaccinations, some allow pups to attend after 2.
Talk to your veterinarian about protecting your pup from physical disease while
"vaccinating" him against social deficits.
A
veterinarian's view on puppy socialization
Robert K Anderson DVM article
Why your puppy should be vaccinated against anti-social behavior as well
as disease!
Your
Puppy's Developmental Stages
"It
Takes a Pack to Raise a Puppy" - by Suzanne Clothier
SET
GOOD HABITS IN MOTION!
Teach what you want your puppy to learn.
The most important part of raising your puppy is creating GOOD HABITS and managing the environment to prevent BAD HABITS from forming. Habits, good or bad, are very hard to break. Once a pattern of behavior becomes habitual, it happens without thinking.
A
puppy on auto-pilot is a very easy puppy to supervise.
He does the right things because it's just what you
do.
A puppy who is routinely let out of his crate in the morning and taken straight out the door and into the yard to go to the bathroom will come out of his crate every morning automatically heading for the door. A pup heading straight for the door is far less likely to have an accident than a pup wandering around following his nose.
A puppy who is in the habit of sitting and waiting for his food dish to be set down is practicing self control in the presence of a high value reinforcer. You can choose to manage chaos - struggling to get the food to the floor before he knocks it out of your hands, clawing your arms and spilling it everywhere. Or you can teach your pup to "sit" - "wait" - "ok!" and become a better leader with a calmer puppy in the process.
Think
pro-active not reactive.
You can run around yelling "no" - "stop
it" - "put that down!" or you can create an environment where
the puppy can't help but be good and spend your day praising and rewarding appropriate
behavior instead!
See "Your New Puppy" for some great tips.
