Happy Pets

Puppy Pet Socialization

Part of the secret of having a well-trained puppy is the ability on your part to think ahead. You won’t be able to take him for a walk outside until he’s completed his injections, at about fourteen to sixteen weeks. This is far too late to introduce your puppy to a collar and lead and the outside world. The socialization of your puppy at an early age is essential if you require a well-adjusted adult dog. I discovered this, to my cost, with Bracken, my first puppy. I never thought of taking him out on to the streets until he was sixteen weeks old. At home, he was perfectly behaved and afraid of nothing and walked well in the garden on a collar and lead. You can imagine my surprise at our first day’s outing. The moment we stepped out of the gate, Bracken flattened himself to the pavement with terror at the sound and sights of traffic. Luckily for me, Labradors are normally bold and friendly by nature, and just a little thought on my part put the whole thing right. Itook him to the gate every day, sat on the ground to reassure him and within a few days he’d gained enough confidence to walk on the lead. But even to this day, at the age of five, he can still be a little wary of strange objects he sees on the pavement. But that taught me a lesson I shall never forget and it has never happened with any of the other dogs I have owned.

Carry your puppy out with you as early as possible, for a walk round the block, to the local shops, anywhere as long as your puppy can see and hear traffic. Encourage people to come and stroke him. It’s in the first two or three months of a puppy’s life that fear of traffic or strangers can build up. The more varied the situations you can introduce the puppy to, the better. Let him watch milk vans, dustbin lorries and roadworks if you have them in your area. Do remember to talk to your puppy. Tell him there’s nothing to be afraid of. You might feel rather stupid explaining what a dustbin lorry is to a puppy but you’ll be amazed how many words your puppy will learn. My dogs often give a bark or two at the sound of the milkman approaching, until I tell them it’s only the milkman. Then they quieten down and get back on their beds. You have, I am sure, heard many dog owners say, ‘He understands every word, you know.’ I am positive that dogs understand far more words than we give them credit for.

The other night, I tried an experiment to prove beyond doubt that my dogs do understand words that we haven’t actually taught them. Before bedtime all our dogs go out into the garden and Buttons is always the last in. I know what she is doing out there, she is hoping to find food. I am afraid Buttons lives to eat and she will not come into the kitchen until she has investigated every inch of the garden and is sure no morsel of food is left out there. She will even sit sometimes with her nose pointing towards the sky, as if it will suddenly rain doughnuts or dog biscuits! So, when she didn’t appear with all the other dogs, I decided to trick her. I stood at the kitchen door and shouted ‘Don’t snatch!’, which are the words I use when I am offering our dogs their biscuits. It means exactly what it says, because Labradors are notorious for grabbing half your hand as well as the biscuit offered. At once I heard Buttons galloping down the garden. She rushed into the kitchen and looked at me expectantly, then she looked at all the other dogs, sniffed around and sat in front of me with a look of disbelief on her face. I had shouted ‘Don’t snatch’; that meant food being handed out; so wherewas it?

It would be quite a worthwhile project to write down each week the new words your puppy has learnt, such as dinnertime, or bedtime, or sit and come. As your list grows, so will your respect for your dog and understanding of his canine intelligence.

Lead Puppy Pet training

While you are showing your puppy the outside world by carrying him about with you, you can be lead training him in the garden. Choose a soft, lightweight leather collar for this purpose. It must be quite humiliating to have something thrust around your neck and to find that, whatever you do, you can’t free yourself. So it’s up to you to make your puppy associate the collar and lead with pleasure. You can start putting the collar on your puppy at quite a young age, seven to eight weeks. Do this before your play, then your puppy won’t have time to think of his collar, he’ll be too interested in his toy and your games together.

Your first lesson of lead training in the garden is the most important. It’s amazing how puppy can remember your mistakes. Choose a time when you are in an exceptionally good mood, so that you can keep the whole thing light and cheerful. Don’t do it on the day you’ve received a gas bill. I am still amazed at the perception of my dogs to my innermost feelings, and if I feel the slightest bit bad tempered or under the weather, they know. To be perfectly honest with you, my dogs have made me a far better person. I’ve had to become good-natured both outside and in, far more active and much more patient. I often need to cajole myself into the right frame of mind before doing any lessons with the dogs by first of all having a game with them, just rolling about on the floor, enjoying myself as much as the dog enjoys himself.

So, when you’ve had a good roll on the lawn with the dog and dusted yourself down, now is the time to begin your lead training, armed with puppy’s favourite toy. Depending on the temperament of your puppy, he will have different reactions to the lead—from sitting and refusing to budge an inch, to trying to drag you round the garden. We’ll deal with the ‘I’m not budging an inch’ puppy first of all. Just put yourself in his place for a moment: there you are with something round your neck and a lead attaching you to a human being—not a very pleasant thought. So it’s up to you to make it a fun time. Throw the toy in front of your puppy. If he still shows no inclination to move you retrieve the toy and continue doing so. I haven’t come across many puppies who can resist this temptation. If your puppy is one of them, then I’m afraid he views you as a dead loss and you must try to relax, let your hair down, have fun. Don’t just stand there like a dried- out lettuce leaf. Do something!

Once you have puppy moving on the lead, give him a command. I use the word Steady. It’s a calming word, unlike Sit and Down, which are quite sharp and should be sharply carried out. You need a calm, relaxed dog on the other end of the lead, so give the command in a calm, reassuring manner. Once your puppy has confidence walking beside you on the lead, you can dispense with the toy. But don’t dispense with your voice. The lead is a physical connection with your dog, the voice is the mental one.

If your puppy tries to drag you round the garden, take action now. It may be quite amusing to see a small, eight-week puppy tugging on the other end of the lead, but it won’t be very amusing when he’s a huge brute of an animal dragging you along the streets. Never let bad habits begin and you’ll have no problems. A small puppy is very easy to handle and doesn’t need jerking or yanking. When he pulls, give a small, playful tug with your command Steady. Try to develop a feeling for your lead. It’s no good letting your puppy throw his weight into the collar. This has a similar effect to putting a horse in front of a cart in a harness. He throws all of his weight into the harness to pull the cart and so your dog throws his weight into the collar to pull you. He is only able to do that if the lead is tight. As soon as you feel the slightest tension on the lead, give your little tug. You must judge the length of your lead yourself. Too much and he’ll be leaping around your legs and tying you in knots. Too little and he’ll be strung up by the neck. It doesn’t matter which side you walk your puppy on, although the accepted side is on the left, but once you’ve chosen, stick to it. To keep swooping puppy from side to side is very confusing for him.

Keep your lead training lessons short and interesting. Always play before and afterwards and remember, you’re teaching your puppy a new English word. It will take time and patience.

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This entry was posted on Monday, June 30th, 2008 at 2:55 am and is filed under Birds, Cat Litter, Cats, Collars, Dogs, Fish, Harnesses, Horses, Kennels, Kittens, Pets, Puppies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.