New puppy?

I’ve been talking to a lot of people lately with new puppies.   Nothing cuter than a puppy!   I’m excited for all of them!

I also get a lot of questions about what do you DO with a new puppy?    I’m starting a new series today on the care and feeding of new puppies!

If you have any specific questions – drop me a line at Katesdogs@live.com   or leave a comment here in the messages.  I’ll do my best to help.

But a couple thoughts.     Before you get the puppy, think about what life is going to be like when you get him?  Have you had a dog recently?   Has it been a while since you had a puppy?   Shut your eyes and imagine a cuddle bug on your lap, a buddy to walk with, a four legged bundle of joy to chase balls.   Nice?  Oh yeah.   Now also imagine pee and poop on the floor,  constant barking while you are on the phone, howls in the middle of the night, drool, hair,  and someone who tries to knock you over every time you come home.

A tired puppy is a good puppy. (But she wasn’t too tired to climb onto the back of the couch!)

Those things will happen too.   When you smile and think about ball in the park, also think about how you will deal with other issues.   No person, no dog, is perfect.   Even if you think in fond memory, of times past that your last dog was perfect from day one.

The good thing is, you’ll think this puppy was perfect from day one, also.   Eventually.   Later.  Much later.

I hate my nails cut. And I like to be held A LOT. Other than that, I’m fairly perfect! Now.

But for now, in the next few days,  we’ll cover some of the typical puppy issues.

Enjoy!!

Recall or Come When you are called

What could be better than an arm full of love charging full speed to you, any time you want them? Not much, and besides being fun for you both, a good recall can save your dogs life.  And get them out of trouble now and then.

My Odie likes to be the neighborhood alert dog.  “Look! Look! There’s people walking on the road!”  He runs from one side of the fence  to the other to ‘escort’ the mailperson out of the yard. I don’t mind an occasional yip or a couple yaps,  but incessant barking is just unneeded.  So instead of telling him ‘hush’ or something stronger, I say, “Odie, come!”   And he joyfully leaves the fence and his guard status behind, running to me, quietly.

On Alert!

‘Come’ is a great distractor.  And gives you a huge amount of control over your dog.  Redirection is one of the best things you can do when your dog is doing something dog-like that you don’t like.  Once they come, get a treat or a snuggle, then they have most likely stopped the unwanted behavior and you can direct them to something else.

As soon as you get your new dog or puppy, you can start ‘come’ exercises.   An easy one is to simply call their name, (they need to know their names) and add the word come: Stella, Come!  in an upbeat voice.  Come is always a good thing. Always.  Every time.   They should always be glad they came to you.   Never call and punish, or call and do something nasty without a little break in between.

So -with Stella a few steps away from you, you call her name, add the command, and then take a step back, while holding out a treat or toy.  Dogs are curious things and will follow you.  “Good come!”  I like to add in the command again as they get to me, in praise terms, so they understand that Yeah, that’s what that word means! Then take another step back and do it again.

When I get a new dog, or am working with a board and train dog, I will measure out about 30 tiny pieces of mixed  treat and kibble in a bowl, set it on the counter and throughout the day, call the dog that many times.  Then I can look at the bowl at the end of the day and think ‘good teacher! called the dog thirty times’  or ‘lazy! work harder!’   It doesn’t take long for the dog to figure out, that ‘come’ means something wonderful will happen.  And that is your goal, to make the dog think that something wonderful will happen when they come to you.

Next time, I’ll work on answering the question, ‘but what if they don’t come?’ for those unresponsive ones.  You’re welcome.

A dog is not a lawn ornament

Every day, for years and years, as I drove my kids to school, or went to the store, I would drive by a lab chained to his dog house in the back yard.  Rain, snow, heat, didn’t matter. He was always there.  After a few years, there was a mud/dirt track around his house, where he’d paced a path.  Not once in all those years that I drove by did I see him not there.   I hope there were times he was off that chain, taken for a walk, or in the house, or played frisbee with or, well, something.  But I never saw him missing from his small area.

One day when I drove by, he was gone and the dog house was gone.  I’m sure he died of old age. I was SO happy for him.  Finally free. And I prayed HARD there would not be another to take his place.

I want to please you, I just need to know how, and what to do!

Yes, some dogs prefer to be outside.  Some dogs are working dogs, and have a job outside.  I’m talking about living their lives on a three foot chain, out in the back yard.  You know what, someone who wants in your house isn’t going to be intimidated by  a dog fastened with a heavy chain to a sturdy house.  Yeah, he might bark, but he’s probably barking because he’s bored,  or at a squirrel or whatever.  Its not going to alert you, so don’t try telling me he’s your watchdog.

I had someone tell me that when they got their puppy, he came home and peed on the floor.  So they put him outside.  Once a year, they let him in, and he’d pee again!  So out he’d go again. “When he’s housebroken, he can stay in!” they said.  Hopefully they mean it cluelessly and not cruelly.

I got a call from someone who has their dog tied to a chain in the back yard.  Well, he used to be in the house, but then he got to be  what I call “the magic age!” of about 8 months old, and suddenly he turned adolecent and ’forgot’ his puppy manners, got bigger, and it wasn’t so cute when he jumped all over people anymore.  This is a normal stage, but this dog won’t be trained out of it,  Because they put him in the backyard.  Well, he got bored in the backyard and started digging his way out. So they chained him up.  Bye, bye doggie.  Now they want to rehome him because he ‘can’t behave’.

I was so cute and cuddly when I was a puppy. But I got rehomed 4 times in a year because no one could keep up with my exercise NEEDS.

Dogs do not learn anything because they are chained.  Period.  They don’t think  “Oh, I’m on the chain in the back  yard because I jumped on mommy and knocked her over.  Guess I won’t do that again!”  I PROMISE your dog will not come to that conclusion.

Go to training First.   Training and More Exercise should be your first option.  Not the chain in the back yard.   Please.