puppy booklet pdf.pdf

A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR PUPPY GUARDIANS

www.harmoniousdogs.co.uk

Please note that throughout this booklet the puppy is always referred to as 'he' for ease of reading. The advice is for both sexes.

Introduction How Dogs Learn

Dogs learn through socialisation, habituation, and habit.

Dogs see the world through their nose and part of the dog's brain

is developed to analyse smells. Dogs have up to 300 million

olfactory receptors in their nose, compared to us humans who

have 6 million receptors.

Dogs are experts at reading body language and have extremely

fast reactive time in reacting to what is going on around them,

therefore it is important we need to learn how to read their

signals and interpret their behaviour, to ensure we are able to

provide a safe, secure, family network for everyone in the

household.

The Psychology of learning in dogs can be compared to that of

other species. A dog will always do what is in his best interest at

any one time, They learn through studying us, their guardians,

any children, and other canine members of the family unit

intently, quickly settling into their own place within the family.

Modern training methods used when working with dogs help

them to learn quickly and effectively. Anything that comes

naturally to a dog that is rewarded is likely to be learned

quickly. The level of motivation for the reward can affect the

speed at which a dog masters a new task, therefore if we use

positive rewards that are of higher value to the dog, the task will

be learnt effectively.

When using positive reward-based training you can also use

toys, play, and praise, and try to reward the behaviours that

please you. If your puppy is lying down quietly and you want to

encourage this quiet behaviour, then reward it. These are often

missed opportunities to reinforce good behaviour. Your timing

with a reward is very important, your puppy will learn quickly if

you are clear and consistent. If you want to give your puppy a

treat for sitting, then give him the reward when his bottom is on

the floor. If you want to reward him for not jumping up then

reward him when all four paws are on the floor.

It is important that everyone in the family is consistent and uses

the same sign language and cue words for each task, otherwise,

your puppy will become confused. Remember to use one word for

each behaviour, for example: use the word 'down' when asking

your puppy to lie down, and use the word 'off' when asking your

puppy to get off the furniture or when jumping up at people. Dogs

do not understand English, but they are experts in ready body

language. When you start training with your puppy, begin using

hand signals as a sign language, when he starts to understand

what you want him to do, add your cue word that you would like

to use. Try not to nag at your puppy or keep repeating words over

and over again otherwise your puppy will feel overwhelmed, he

will begin to switch off and this will prevent him from learning.

What is puppy socialisation?

other breeds of dog play, but this is just one element of your puppy's

socialising journey.

Learning about environmental factors is also important as we need to

teach a puppy how to behave in society. These environmental factors

are things like traffic, household appliances, children playing, cats and

other animals, the list goes on.

There is a sensitive period for socialisation and this is up to 16 weeks, so

there is not a lot of time to start socialising your puppy. But done

carefully we can make a big difference to a puppy's future.

Try to make all new experiences a positive one, if your puppy is worried

about something while out, just move on and try again another day, do

not flood your puppy with lots of stimuli in one day.

Remember your puppy is at risk from infection in public areas until his course of vaccinations are complete.

It is important for your puppy to mix with other dogs so he can learn how

Introducing your puppy to a variety of experiences early on in

his life and making new experiences pleasant is very important.

Be sensible, creative, and calm, and observe your puppy's

behaviour.

If your puppy is happy to find out about the world around him,

then great, however, if your puppy looks uncomfortable or

stressed then don't force him, instead give him time to make up

his own mind.

Larger breeds tend to process the world slower, it takes them

longer to process information so give them more time, and allow

them to observe from a distance. Happy experiences are

essential for developing a friendly well-adjusted character in a

puppy.

Make regular trips to the vet just to let your puppy meet the

staff, teach him how to go on the scales, and be weighed without

force. Take along your treats to make visits a positive one.

Introduce your puppy to a variety of noises, begin with a quiet

place, and gradually progress onto busier environments, this

will help to build his confidence, and feel safe and comfortable

with you.

Allowing your puppy to greet other dogs is ok if the other dog is

happy with this, not all dogs are happy being approached by a

bouncy enthusiastic puppy.

If your puppy is on lead try to keep the lead loose, this will help

your puppy to use their body language correctly with

approaching other dogs. A tighten tense lead can make your

puppy feel anxious.

Having your puppy in a harness will allow him to use his body

language more effectively around unknown dogs than if they are

wearing just a collar and lead. Remember the 3-second rule,

after 3 seconds guide your puppy away so the greeting does not

get too exciting and your puppy starts to jump up, this is for

people and dogs.

Supervise children when they are around your puppy. Do not

allow children to roll about on the floor playing rough and

tumble games, one day your puppy will be older, stronger and

more confident and will still want to play roughly, this can be

dangerous and is often the time when children will get hurt. This

kind of play can also lock dogs into a world of juvenile behaviour

and can easily become a learnt behaviour that is carried on well

into adulthood.

Instead, play useful games, teach your puppy to find hidden toys

and invest in some modern interactive dog games. Get the

children involved with caring for the puppy, give them a

responsibility, teach them about feeding, grooming, and

walking, set a good example and show them how to behave

around a puppy sensibly.

Leaving and Greeting your

Puppy

Learning to be alone is a very important stage for a puppy, but

also very scary for a puppy. Dogs are a sociable species and do

not like to be left alone.

Bringing a puppy home away from his littermates and the

security of his mum is very frightening, so it is no wonder

puppies struggle to settle at night.

If you want your puppy to sleep downstairs then this is where

you need to start and continue, but be prepared for a few

sleepless nights and in some cases longer, you can sleep

downstairs with your puppy so they don't feel so alone and they

build in confidence.

Some people like to use crates, these can be useful but do need to

be introduced correctly.

When leaving your puppy during the day, leave the house calmly

without making a fuss. Leave plenty of things to occupy him, a

Kong filled with food and his own toys that are safe for him to

chew on, and provide him with a suitable bed of his own, these

things can all help your puppy to cope with learning to be alone.

When you return home say hello briefly and calmly to your

puppy, and when you are ready to greet him, do so quietly and

calmly and take him straight out to go to the toilet.

When a dog leaves the house, they are normally going on a walk

or some other exciting activity like training or it might be going

to the vet which some dogs love. So, when our dogs see us leave

the house they have no idea where we are going, they do not

understand we need to work or take the children to school or go

shopping, and they feel like they may be missing out on an

exciting activity.

Take your puppy out in the car just for a car journey and then

home again, so they can see that leaving the house does not

mean lots of excitement.

Toilet Training

Puppies don't have bladder or bowel control until about 16-18

weeks and some breeds can be longer. Toilet training is a

developmental stage that every puppy goes through.

Take puppy outside to go to the toilet regularly:

After eating

Drinking

When he wakes up

After playing

After a training session

And once every hour

Try to develop a routine, this way your puppy will learn more

quickly. Always go out with him, even if it is raining, and stay

with him, and praise him when he goes to the toilet.

learn to read your puppy's body language and look for cues that

he needs to relieve himself, such as sniffing the ground or

becoming restless. It is important to take him out to the toilet

before you leave the house and when returning home.

Never punish your puppy for toileting in the house, all this will

do is teach him not to go toilet in front of you and find a place to

hide to go to the toilet where you will not see him.

When cleaning any accidents, you can use a biological washing

liquid or a solution from your pet shop or vet, which will break

down the enzymes in the urine to remove the smell for your

puppy and will help to prevent him from going to the same place

to toilet.

Chewing and Biting

Puppies go through teething much like human children go

through teething and this can be a painful time.

At about 6-8 weeks they will have 28 baby teeth, and at about 4

months old the baby teeth start to fall out making room for the

big adult teeth to cut through. By the time your puppy is about 6

months old, he will have all his adult teeth, but the teething

process can be very painful and create the need to chew more.

All Puppies go through a stage of mouthing and biting this is

completely normal and natural behaviour for puppies, they have

sharp little needle teeth and need to learn how to inhibit a bite,

which means he needs to learn how to control their jaw and be

gentle with his teeth around humans and other animals.

Teach your puppy to chew and play on their own toys, not on our

hands, try not to become frustrated or create an issue with your

puppy if he is mouthing or biting on your hands, instead give him

something he can chew and bite on.

To help with chewing and biting, provide your puppy with:

A variety of different textures to explore with his mouth.

Offer both soft and hard toys.

Interactive games or a Kong filled with his own food.

frozen carrot.

soaking a raggy rope and then freezing it.

Natural chews.

Grooming and Handling your puppy

It is important to start any handling or grooming using force-

free, as any handling can encourage biting especially when

restrained. Puppies struggle to stand still for too long so to help

them you can use:

A natural chew.

Filled Kong.

Licky mat with some paste on it.

Holding treats in your hand and releasing them slowly.

Using these things will help to distract your puppy from the

brush or you be able to examine them.

Do not flood your puppy with prolonged sessions of handling and

grooming, do little sessions to help them become more confident

with being handled.

If your puppy has a coat that will need to be professionally

groomed, book an appointment with a groomer now, who will

take the time to introduce him to this kind of environment before

his proper groom.

Training

Choosing the Right Training Reward

Most puppies are motivated by food. We use training treat in

values, for example:

A dry biscuit might be worth £1.00

A little moist training treat might be £3.00

A piece of cheese or sausage may be worth £5.00

A tasty piece of chicken or liver may be worth £50.00

This will all depend on what your puppy sees as high value each

day as this may change from day to day.

Reward Values:

When coming to training, we would recommend bringing 3

different values of rewards rather than just one, this way when

training your puppy, your puppy will not know what treat is

coming and will try to work harder for the higher value reward.

Dry puppy food is very low value because they eat this every

day as their meal.

Puppy biscuits are low value because they might have these

at home as a general treat.

Small moist training treats are medium value, as you may

use these to do some training at home with no distractions.

your puppy might find cheese, sausages, chicken, or liver as a

high value because he does not have this all time.

Toys that are left lying around all day are not rewarding

enough to work for but are fun to play with at home.

Find a high-value toy (a non-squeaky one) that can be use

when on walks or at training with your puppy.

The high-value toy is special and only comes out for you to

play with your puppy and then gets put away until the next

training session.

Jumping up

Puppies love to jump and climb and some breeds more than

others, and puppies are just beginning to learn about self-control

and self-calm so they find it very difficult not to jump up.

However, if we continue to let them greet us in this way the

behaviour becomes self-rewarding and learned as it is now

something they enjoy and gets your attention.

Here are some guidelines to help with the jumping up:

When leaving and greeting your puppy, do so calmly, to help

your puppy to be calm.

Ignore any jumping up when you are greeting your puppy, by

withdrawing any attention.

Fold your arms and turn away or walk away from your puppy

and busy yourself with something else.

Do not push your puppy down or shout at him, as he will see

this as attention and a challenging game that may make the

behaviour worse.

Reward all four paws on the floor.

You will need to take control of things when visitors arrive,

by popping your puppy behind a stairgate, so they do not get

the opotunity to jump up on visitors

Walking Together

Puppies are not born with the ability to walk on a loose lead.

Puppies that pull excessively can cause an injury to their

neck, spine, shoulders, and hips.

Confident puppies will pull more as they want to investigate

a new smell, and greet people and other animals.

Your aim to help with pulling is to work towards your puppy

having an awareness of being on a lead and not pulling you to

where they want to go.

Using a harness gives you more control over your puppy's

body weight and is giving a signal from the spine, not the

neck. This is kinder and less likely to cause an injury if used

correctly.

Practice walking together with your puppy on a loose lead as

much as possible.

Start by encouraging your puppy to follow a treat in your

hand and gradually release small amounts of treats to your

puppy, when he is walking near you with the lead loose.

Next start rewarding him randomly with every few steps and

dropping the treat on the floor for him, as this will help stop

the jumping and grabbing your hand for the treats.

Remember you are teaching a loose lead not competition heal work.

Stay near by and check in

Letting your puppy off the lead for the first can be scary, but a

young puppy will not go far away from you and especially if you

have a nice high-value tasty treat with you.

Some people use a whistle which can be useful if they are at too

far a distance to call back.

To start with, teach a basic recall:

Have a treat and get your puppy interested in the treat.

Throw the treat away from you.

While he runs off to find the treat crouch down and call him

to you with open arms using a happy tone in your voice.

When he gets to you give him the treat. DO NOT ask him to

sit. (you want to reward the coming back to you not the sit).

Repeat this exercise in another direction.

This recall game will help make your walks more interactive and

make you more fun to be with when on a walk. When out

randomly call your puppy back to you for a treat and sometimes

give him two treats or even three, this way he will not just come

to take the treat and run off again, it will be worth hanging

around just in case there is another treat on offer.

Adolescence and Beyond

Your once cute little puppy will become a teenager. Some young

dogs will sail through adolescence, while others may not.

The important thing to remember is this stage will not last

forever, but we do need to change how we are treating our young

dogs, to help them learn and retain information more easily and

also to make all training sessions stress-free for you and your

teenager.

To help with hormones and boredom, be creative at meal times,

dogs love to seek out and forage for food, this is what they would

naturally do and not be served their food in a bowl every day.

Begin more creative at meal times will give mental stimulation

and they will enjoy using their natural abilities to find food.

Why be creative with feeding?

Dogs love to forage and work for their food.

Gives your dog mental stimulation.

Teaches your dog to problem solve and build confidence.

You spread their daily food allowance throughout the day.

Encourages your dog to eat more slowly which will help aid

digestion.

Can reduce stress and anxiety.

There are lots of different interactive food games on the market.

You can also just scatter feed by throwing some of their food in

the garden.

Alison Garforth A.DipCBM MICB