Training
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Training |
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Remember that these dogs are retrievers, so it would be going against their nature if they were never allowed to pick things up. Many are great 'carriers' of household objects: toys or one's arm or sleeve. All puppies chew: It is a natural process that enables baby teeth to be expelled. Gentle removal of an unsuitable item and substitution of the puppy's own toy will leave your dog without any feeling of having committed a major crime. If anything precious gets spoiled it is your own fault. REMEMBER - ANTICIPATION AND VIGILANCE.
Your puppy is an instinctive animal. There is no point in getting cross if your puppy chews things if he is unsupervised for long periods The Devil makes work for idle paws! If you do have to be away from home for more than a couple of hours, you will need to arrange for a puppy-sitter. |
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Though Goldens are usually extremely biddable and kind to people, children and other animals, as youngsters they can be lively and boisterous and appear to be in trouble more than they are out of it. Your puppy has no concept of the social graces unless you teach it, and people usually get the dogs they deserve. We strongly recommend obedience classes for you and your puppy to learn to become responsible members of society. Your breeder will be able to advise you of local classes. |
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The very first lesson should be for the puppy to learn his own name and to come when called. There is nothing more infuriating than a dog that won't do so. When the pup is feeling insecure in his new home, he won't venture far from your side. Call him and make a fuss of him when he bounds over and give him a food reward. he will soon get the idea and learn his name and 'come'. Hopefully by the time he has gained the confidence to go off exploring, the lesson will have been learnt and the thought of a treat will bring him back. |
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If he won't come back, keep calm and praise him when he finally comes, even though it may have taken him ages! If he is told off at this point he will associate the punishment with coming to you, not the fact that it was in his own time. |
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Why is Puppy Classes SO Important? |
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PUPPY SOCIALISING – FAD OR FUNDAMENTAL? by Shannon McKay © (McKaynine Training Centre)
How did this concept come about? To fully understand the process of puppy socialising let’s apply this concept to wild canines – which give us the basis for our understanding of natural canine behaviour.
For the purposes of this scenario let’s imagine two litters of wolf puppies. The first litter progresses as any normal litter of wolf puppies would i.e. they remain in the den for 5-6 weeks. Upon emerging they meet the big world outside. Because they stay close to the den until the age of 16 weeks, they spend a lot of time investigating and getting socialised to new objects – such as the wolves in their pack, trees, insects, rocks, thunder, birds etc – which will become an integral part of their everyday life. After the age of 16 weeks they start exploring further afield and encounter different “new” objects. As they are past their maximum socialising period they view these items with great suspicion and caution. These objects would be other wolves, hunters, snakes etc. and this is nature’s way of ensuring that the wolves exhibit necessary caution as adults.
Now let’s have a look at litter two. Instead of coming out of their den at 5-6 weeks they remained inside until 16 weeks of age. After this age they viewed everything outside of their den such as rocks, birds and insects as highly dangerous and to be avoided at all costs! As the only place they could guarantee no contact with these objects is the den, they spend most of their life in their den and undergo high levels of stress when forced to go outside.
By drawing a parallel between the den and your home one can easily understand how puppies that do not experience proper socialising before 16 weeks of age have a MAJOR problem with the world outside of their den! Not only do they not cope with the “big wide world outside” but they also have problems with new stimuli on their own turf. How does it work? A puppies brain is still undergoing “growth” during the socialisation period and the more positive experiences that they have before this age, the larger their “experience bank”. This larger database actually promotes a thought process when the adult dog encounters a totally new experience and not an instant fear reaction of fight, flee or freeze. All under-socialised dogs will be fearful in new situations and how they react to this fear depends primarily on the dog’s breed. In general, bull breeds, terriers and working breeds will fight, gundogs will freeze, while hounds and herding dogs will flee – this is not to say that these dog have no courage as these reactions were bred into these working dogs for their specific working purpose. A good puppy socialising class puts puppies on the path of a thought process as an adult and not a “kill or be killed” mentality.
But my puppy is not destined to be a show dog, so it doesn’t have to get used to different things. While this may have some merit, a well-socialised dog will not go into a flat spin for example when it hears a motorbike whizzing past from behind a wall. As this dog has been exposed to various stimuli during the maximum socialising period it will apply a thought process to this strange noise and probably only show natural curiosity and perhaps a bit of territorial protection. The same dog will not also try to “kill” the new lawnmower or “murder” that vicious-looking pram that came to visit.
Do puppy classes influence aggression? Puppy socialising classes play a critical role in minimising adult dog aggression. As mentioned before, a new situation is met with either a fight, flee or freeze reaction. But by putting your puppy through a good puppy socialising class, they will not instantly go for this option. This is not to say that a mature dog that has gone through puppy socialising will not fight! If there is any challenge or hierarchy confusion, fighting remains the dog’s only way of sorting it out, but a well-socialised dog will not instantly go for this option with a strange dog.
How does that work? Normally just as a puppy is starting to get the hang of “talking dog” with its littermates and mother, it is removed from the litter. Even if it goes into a household with other dogs, these resident dogs most probably also had their canine communication schooling cut short, so we end up with a pack of semi-literate dogs, that encourages “no-brainer” reactions. So the solution may seem to be to leave puppies together until they are past the magic 16 weeks. But no, because this lands us with an even bigger problem – canine bonding. We must still remember that even though puppies are born into a domestic environment, they must still be “tamed” or socialised. By leaving puppies together, they end up imprinting on one another and not on human beings. A canine-bonded dog can be one of the most frustrating dogs to own – ears become ornaments as soon as another dog enters the picture. So what’s the answer? Puppy socialising – as this is a controlled environment where puppies can communicate with one another, without sacrificing any of their human imprinting potential.
In a nutshell, good puppy socialising classes:
What do I look for in a puppy socializing class? Sadly as this concept has become more popular, many dog trainers have offered so-called puppy socialising classes to meet demand. These are more often than not a chaotic affair with puppies either bullying or being bullied for an hour! A good puppy socialising class will:
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Maximise your puppy’s genetic temperament – take them to school! |
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This website was created and maintained by Arnel Sauer. All rights reserved. Copyright 2003No content or photograph's on this website may be used or reproduced in any format, at any time, without the explicit consent of the author / owner. |
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Last Updated: 09/20/2011 08:40:01 AM |
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