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| All animals go through a developmental stage early in life where they accept everything around them as a friendly. This is the period where they bond to their parents and family and recognize their surroundings as safe. But then, as they become more mobile and interested in exploring, they simultaneously become more cautious and fearful of objects and animals they have never seen. This developmental change is nature's safety precaution for preventing animals from being eaten by predators. From here on it takes much more time for them to learn to accept new animals as friends and accept new environments and objects into their zone of safety. |
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 In puppy class, we work with puppies while they're still in their prime socialization state. Owners learn how to introduce puppies to different people and pooches, how to train pups to enjoy handling, and how to guide puppies into good behaviors around the house and in public. Most importantly, participants learn to distinguish appropriate puppy behaviors from common inappropriate puppy behaviors than can progress to serious problems interacting in society. |
 This 12 week old lab pup nips playfully when she's excited and gets mouthy whenever she's restrained. Humans often accidentally reward this mouthy behavior by yelling and squirming more, essentially turning themselves into human squeaky toys. As a result, this behavior often progresses as it has in the second puppy (10 months old) in this video. Here, I stand up straight and stationary to make it clear that I'm not playing her game. Then I reward her when she sits calmly instead. |
 This 10 month old's mouthy behavior may not seem dangerous yet, but look at her when she's restrained at the veterinary hospital. Her nipping has escalated to snapping and lunging and will soon progress to a bite. This dog will never receive thorough veterinary care until this behavior is fixed. And her nipping in other situations with people may progress to snapping and biting too. The more practice she gets the worse her behavior will be. |
 Early on, when puppies are small and before they've had a chance to actually break skin, the behavior is easily reversed. Here I address Callie's overly excited greeting behavior by silently standing up straight and stationary so it's clear to her that she's being ignored. I only reward her when she sits and remains calmly seated. Next, to get her used to being petted while remaining calm, I pet her while feeding her treats. My hands are only in contact with her body while she's eating treats from my hand. This way she learns both to hold still to be petted and to make positive associations with petting. |
 Early on, it's also easy to train puppies to hold still for handling procedures such as toe nail trims, wiping feet, grooming, bathing and, ear cleaning, as well as for veterinary examinations. When restraining puppies it's important to avoid releasing until the pup is relaxed. Otherwise we'll reward wiggly behavior and train the pup to struggle more. While the pup's being restrained we can also offer treats. If the puppy is hungry and was taking treats earlier but won't take the treats now, this tells us she's anxious or overly excited. With practice she'll relax and take treats in this situation too. As with in the case above, we start by handling only when she's eating the treats so she clearly learns the association between the two. We start by handling in short bursts being careful not to elicit a struggle response. Then we increase the intensity of the touching and move to more sensitive spots. |
 Here's Callie after her owners have worked with her diligently. Notice that I don't have to give her treats constantly. I can examine her head and then give her treats. I just make sure that my examination is short enough so that she doesn't have a chance to become impatient or unruly. With practice she'll need fewer and fewer treats. She should always get treats for good behavior at the veterinary hospital though because that's a new, more arousing situation for her. |
 When puppies and adult dogs are afraid of people they usually back away. If this fear is not addressed early on, the puppy may at some point learn that barking, growling and lunging work better to keep scary objects away then freezing or fleeing. Some dogs can live for years with high anxiety around people where they just look uneasy and back away. Others gradually learn to bark and then growl and then even bite. And in some cases one major episode at the vet hospital, with one particular stranger, or in a new situation can throw them over the edge |
 To prevent future problems, even when pups don't yet have a problem interacting with or playing with unfamiliar people, we make sure they get treats around as many people as possible. In most pups we just first require they sit when ALL people approach to greet or pet. This helps the pup form the habit of sitting politely rather than jumping. Then reward with treats, which teaches them not only to sit politely but also to associate unfamiliar humans with good things. Note that at first we give treats the entire time the person is petting and then discontinue the treats as soon as the person has stopped. This helps make the positive association between the petter and the treats loud and clear. Once the pup forms the habit of remaining seated and shows no signs of unease when being petted, we decrease the number of treats given during each encounter. It's good to continue giving treats for each encounter for a year and to make sure that your pup encounters people of all sizes, shapes, ages, clothing styles, and ethnicities so that she'll learn to be comfortable and non-fearful around all types of people. |
 Dogs also have to learn that other dogs and animals are safe and how to greet politely. In puppy class we show how to keep your pup's attention around other dogs so they can get greet in a controlled, polite manner. Here's a 9 week old Jack Russell Terrier who thinks he's supposed to growl and bark at dogs nearby. It may be cute in this tiny terrier, but in an adult dog, the danger becomes clear. Whether the dog's lunging and barking because he wants to play, is fearful and is using offense as his best defense, or just doesn't know the appropriate way to greet, if he speeds over to the other dog and gets into the dogs personal space, the other dog may become fearful or aroused and attack. It only takes one such event to teach some pups and adult dogs that other dogs are mean and a greeting means a fight. |
 We let this little lunger greet a calm adult dog first. The adult dog's size is intimidating so Jones naturally greets more slowly. Now it's more clear that this lunging behavior is out of fear. We give Jones treats regularly when he's just around the other dog so he learns that other dogs equal yummy treats. When he's not in greeting range we keep his attention by having him sit for treats or come when called so he doesn't get to practice is growling and lunging. |
 Here he is with Callie. Callie's too rough and things immediately get out of hand. If these two are allowed to play unsupervised Callie will learn to be a bully and Jones may become more fearful of other pups. Instead we reward Jones for sitting around Callie so he gets more comfortable around her first. Next time we'll find a pup plays nicely. It's important to choose your pup's play partners carefully and call them out of play for short breaks before things get out of hand. The habits they develop early on will affect their ability to be around other dogs later in life. |
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 Bring the following:
Puppies that are coughing, sneezing, have diarrhea, or are acting sick should stay home, but their owners should still come to class. These puppies will be able to attend a make-up session later. |
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