Introducing a puppy to the existing pets in a household is accomplished positively if the established house-pet is acknowledged before the puppy is acknowledged.
1. Before bringing puppy home, feed your established pet a partial meal.
2. When you bring the puppy home, bring your pet outside to greet the puppy. If you have a particularly dominant-type pet, arrange this meeting a block or so from your home.
3. Walk the pet with the puppy (however well you can get the puppy to walk!) and let the existing pet sniff the puppy all he wants. Stay outside for forty-five minutes to an hour.
4. Take the pet and puppy into the house and just walk around the house for ten to fifteen minutes, letting everyone get adjusted to a new body in the house.
5. Feed the established pet another partial meal and let puppy watch.
6. Feed the established pet again, and this time put a bowl down for puppy. If the other pet comes to the puppy's bowl, tell him "No." Whenever you feed your animals, feed the older ones first, but make them respect the puppy's bowl.
Showing posts with label puppy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label puppy. Show all posts
Monday, June 30, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
How Confident Is Your Puppy?
There is a simple way to find out how confident your puppy is. Keep in mind, however, to not perform this test if the puppy is from eight to eleven weeks of age, as this is the "fear imprint stage." During this period, sudden noises or unexpected, scary events can have a profound, lasting effect on him.
Wait until the puppy is not paying attention to you. Then, without him seeing you, drop an object down on the floor. It should be something that will make a fairly loud, sudden noise, perhaps a steel pan or container of some sort. Do not throw it down too close to him. Observe his reaction:
A favorable response would have the puppy showing some caution at first, but quickly recovering and then showing some curiosity toward the object. This puppy is confident, well-adjusted, and does not show irrational fear.
An unfavorable reaction would have the puppy howling and bolting in fear, heading for the farthest corner of the room, perhaps even urinating or defecating. This puppy lacks confidence, and could end up being fearful of unexpected situations or persons. A puppy that reacts in this way could become fear-aggressive.
Wait until the puppy is not paying attention to you. Then, without him seeing you, drop an object down on the floor. It should be something that will make a fairly loud, sudden noise, perhaps a steel pan or container of some sort. Do not throw it down too close to him. Observe his reaction:
A favorable response would have the puppy showing some caution at first, but quickly recovering and then showing some curiosity toward the object. This puppy is confident, well-adjusted, and does not show irrational fear.
An unfavorable reaction would have the puppy howling and bolting in fear, heading for the farthest corner of the room, perhaps even urinating or defecating. This puppy lacks confidence, and could end up being fearful of unexpected situations or persons. A puppy that reacts in this way could become fear-aggressive.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Learn How To Bond With Your Puppy
Bonding is the key to a great relationship with your dog. Bonding means gaining your puppy's love and trust. It's usually easy and is a lot of fun. The formula is simple:
1. Be your pup's buddy.
2. Take him for short romps in the woods or park.
3. Pet him and play with him.
Most puppies are very insecure when they first come home from the breeder. Their entire world has been turned upside down. They are suddenly separated from their mother and their litter mates. You can help overcome some of this insecurity by setting up the puppy's crate is in your bedroom. There he will not feel exiled from his pack during the night. In fact, it will help him feel accepted into his new pack.
Do not undermine your puppy's growing trust with overly harsh or badly timed corrections. Trust is essential to bonding and to successful obedience training. Strive toward convincing your dog that you would never harm him or put him in a harmful situation. Owners who have their dog's trust and have formed a close bond with their dog have the highest potential of training success.
1. Be your pup's buddy.
2. Take him for short romps in the woods or park.
3. Pet him and play with him.
Most puppies are very insecure when they first come home from the breeder. Their entire world has been turned upside down. They are suddenly separated from their mother and their litter mates. You can help overcome some of this insecurity by setting up the puppy's crate is in your bedroom. There he will not feel exiled from his pack during the night. In fact, it will help him feel accepted into his new pack.
Do not undermine your puppy's growing trust with overly harsh or badly timed corrections. Trust is essential to bonding and to successful obedience training. Strive toward convincing your dog that you would never harm him or put him in a harmful situation. Owners who have their dog's trust and have formed a close bond with their dog have the highest potential of training success.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Is Your Puppy A Thief?
Commonly, a puppy will pick up a shoe off the floor, which provokes us to chase after him and take the forbidden object away. The dog that is frequently isolated or prohibited from exercise will learn how to ask for negative attention. Negative attention is better to the dog than no attention at all, hence his stealing articles to solicit your attention.
Pick your issues carefully when training your dog. When your dog has an object that you must retrieve, do not under any circumstances chase him. He can and will outrun you while learning how to achieve attention from you. Ignore the behavior unless the object is dangerous to your dog's health. In this case, replacing the object he is holding in his mouth usually works.
When replacement does not work, then you may need to use a can with several pennies in it to startle him into dropping. This "throw can" technique needs to be done so that your dog doesn't see you throw it. The can flew out of the sky and landed near him when he picked up the forbidden object.
Employing the commands "drop it" and "leave it" are helpful with this problem. Teaching the dog to play with only his toys is also important. Having a long line attached to his collar in the house while conditioning your dog out of this behavior eliminates the need for you to chase him to get back whatever he has picked up.
Pick your issues carefully when training your dog. When your dog has an object that you must retrieve, do not under any circumstances chase him. He can and will outrun you while learning how to achieve attention from you. Ignore the behavior unless the object is dangerous to your dog's health. In this case, replacing the object he is holding in his mouth usually works.
When replacement does not work, then you may need to use a can with several pennies in it to startle him into dropping. This "throw can" technique needs to be done so that your dog doesn't see you throw it. The can flew out of the sky and landed near him when he picked up the forbidden object.
Employing the commands "drop it" and "leave it" are helpful with this problem. Teaching the dog to play with only his toys is also important. Having a long line attached to his collar in the house while conditioning your dog out of this behavior eliminates the need for you to chase him to get back whatever he has picked up.
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