This is such an exciting time and critical time in your new pups life. Getting things right from the start will help you develop your dog into a wonderful companion and help to reduce or avoid many of the common problems people encounter.
Puppy development is pretty fast (compared to us humans) and many of the things they learn during early puppyhood will impact and influence their development into adulthood. To enable your puppy to be the best dog he or she can be there are some critical timelines in their early development:
- Socialisation with People -by 12 weeks of age -The Most Urgent Priority
- Learning Bite Inhibition (soft mouth)- by 18 weeks of age- The Most Important Priority (people & dogs)
- Preventing Adolescent Problems —by five months of age -The Most Enjoyable Priority
Puppy training & attending puppy classes
One of the best things you can do for your pup is to attend Puppy training, either in a class environment or as one-on-one private consults.
Ideally look for an Industry Accredited Professional Dog Trainer (meaning their certifications or qualifications are recognised & meet (Australian) industry standards) that uses positive reinforcement-based methods & adheres to a force-free learning approach.
Attending a puppy training class should provide a wonderful opportunity for you & your pup to develop their people and canine social skills in a nonthreatening and controlled setting where they begin to build confidence & resilience.
If you have a shy, fearful or ‘over exuberant’ puppy your trainer should be providing additional support or recommendations, sometimes this can be addressed directly in class & sometimes this may mean that one-on-one sessions are more suitable for your puppy.
Questions to ask BEFORE enrolling in a puppy class
- Does the person presenting the class have a nationally recognised qualification or certification
- Are the puppies on lead, or off lead the entire time – puppy class should never be a ‘free for all’
- How large is the class? Industry best practice (in Australia) recommends a maximum of 4-6 puppies in a single class.
- What will be covered during classes ( you don’t want to be sitting or standing around listening to someone talk for most of the lesson)
Training your puppy at home
Puppies are learning ALL the time even if we aren’t ‘actively training’, esepcially in the home environment.
There is so much for them to learn & this is where most puppies will spend most of their time so helping them learn about the ‘rules of the house’ is important.
From toilet training, to appropriate chew toys, letting go of things they have in the mouth, what rooms they can access and where they can go, such as on the bed, on the couch (or not), where their safe space is, feeding times & places, being able to spend time alone & meeting their enrichment needs including helping them get enough sleep & rest.
To help you navigate this wonderful time Dr Ian Dunbar’s ‘After you get your puppy’ is a great FREE resource that provides lots of information & advice to set you up for success – You can down a copy by clicking the button below
