Building Your Puppies Confidence
Children: Puppies should be accustomed to children and babies even if you don't have any in your family. Under supervision, allow children to meet your puppy and handle it gently. Arrange to meet a friend with a baby and allow your puppy to see and smell it.
Grooming: Grooming your puppy every day for a few minutes will accustom them to being thoroughly handled. Do this even if they do not appear to need it. Handle the puppy's nails regularly and slightly trim them when necessary.
Visitors: Allow your puppy to meet all of your visitors. Make meeting visitors as pleasurable as possible. Ask your visitors to make some fuss and feed tip bits as they do.
Vet Examination: Examine your puppy every day is the best preparation for the vet visits it will have during its life. Check its teeth, ears, eyes, paws and under its tale. Ask others to do this as well as yourself.
Delivery Men: Aggression towards delivery men and postmen is a common problem for many owners. Let your puppy have positive experiences with these people as early as possible. Carry them out to meet the postman and ask him to feed him tip bits. Repeat this regularly during puppihood.
Cats: It's a good idea to introduce your puppy to cats, even if you don't have one. You don't want a dog that is always barking at cats or getting into scraps with them. This most be done in a well controlled manner as most puppies are far to boisterous for most cats liking. It is best to hold your puppy during these introductions.
Other Dogs : Where possible, introducing a puppy to other dogs at home should be done on neutral territory or in the garden.
Cars: Travel sickness can be a major problem for
owners and often prevents their dog enjoying family outings. Introducing
young puppies to the car is probably one of the most important aspects
of puppy confidence building. Read out article Why is My Dog Getting
Travel Sickness for hints and tips to ensure trouble free travelling.
Other Environments : Take your puppy to other
peoples home or other places where they will experience different
things. Take them to the post office or the newsagent, and places where
they will see and hear traffic. Try train stations or bus stations.
Lead Training: Prepare your puppy for lead training
by firstly introducing the collar for a day or so, then practice short
lead sessions in the garden.
Being left alone: Puppies that are not accustomed to
being left alone are much more likely to suffer separation anxiety later
in life. This can manifest itself in destructiveness, howling/barking
and loss of toilet control. Our article Why does my dog bark when left
alone covers the subject of separation anxiety in detail.
Don't try to achieve this all at once, try and give your puppy a new
experience every day, but don't over do it. Watch out for tell-tale
signs that they are becoming anxious. These include the tale between
their legs, hiding behind you or heavy panting. When this happens you
are probably progressing them to quickly. Remove the puppy from the
situation and look to build up more slowly in smaller steps. With
puppies that are not fully inoculated, ensure your carry them at all
times to avoid contact with areas other dogs may have been. When out and
about, it is sometimes useful to start by just letting your puppy watch
new experiences from the security of the car.
DOGS BEHAVIORAL CATEGORIES
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BARKING AT THE DOOR DOGS EATING STOOLS BARKING WHEN LEFT ALONE GUARDING FOOD
DOGS AND THE POSTMAN JUMPING UP DOGS URININGNATING AGGRESSIVE DOGS DOGS BEING
AGGRESSIVE TO PEOPLE DOGS MOUNTING DOGS CHASING OTHER ANIMALS FEARFUL AND SHY DOGS
TRAVEL SICKNESS HYPERACTIVE DOGS DOGS URINE MARKING
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