No Worries

Puppy training, or should I say, training humans to train their puppies is probably one of the most rewarding things I get to do in my dog training career.  At the same time, it can be very challenging for me & the new puppy parents.

Puppies are great!  They have wonderful puppy breath, a zest for life & are easily amused.  If you look

at that from the other side of the coin, they can be in your face, running all over & get into mischief!

No doubt they are a ton of work!  But, if you put a few good dog management tools in place (see our blog post here on that), start out with good puppy socialization exercises (see our blog post here on that), have a lot of good, safe & durable dog toys, chews & bones (see Dexters blog post here on that), see a good dog training coach right away (check us out here), and expect some mistakes  you will be on your way to raising a great dog!

I want to say that again.....raising a great dog.  If you took that puppy plunge, you are a dog parent, and will need to teach your puppy how to live & thrive in our human world.  You know that old saying, "patience is a virtue?"  Try x10 in raising a puppy!  You need to  have a good sense of humour some days & just laugh at some of the puppy antics they can come up with.  If you have that attitude, raising a puppy is truly a blessing.  But its not for everyone.

One of the key components in raising a healthy, happy & safe puppy to become a great family member as an adult dog, is to teach them not to worry.  I know it may seem odd, we think about things like walking politely on a leash, not jumping, potty training etc., which of course are all important & also taught in this process of "no worries."

In more of my personal dog training cases than not, the dogs undesirable behavior, weather lunging at the leash, biting, growling, separation anxiety etc. started because of an underlying fear or anxiety that the dog had.  Therefor, in my professional career as a dog counselor I have been working with these cases & trying to help dog parents cope & change their dogs behavior to something more manageable.  But then there is the other side of that coin, we can work on preventing these behaviors in most puppy cases!

No worries.  A pretty simple concept when you think about it & truly not that hard to implement if you think ahead & think about what your dog is feeling.  Oh yes, they are very emotional creatures & very complex.  A side note for another blog entry.  :)

Here are a few ideas to get you started.  Prevention, prevention, prevention.  Dont wait for a potential problem to happen, have Pavlov on your side.  When reading the list, remember the No Worries mantra!

• Training Methods-We certainly do not want our dogs to be intimidated, or scared of us in anyway!  We are suppose to be their teacher, parent & someone they can trust & turn to in times of uncertainty.  Positive training methods only!
• Thunderstorms-Again, lets not wait for your dog to develop a fear of storms or fireworks, lets work on a prevention plan.  Bang=Chicken Treat/Steak/Salmon etc
• Dogs Barking-Barking Dogs=Chicken Treat/Steak/Salmon etc
• Garbage Truck, Fire Truck, Sirens=Chicken Treat/Steak/Salmon etc
• Kids=Chicken Treat/Steak/Salmon etc

Are you seeing a trend here?  I am not going to wait to see if my puppy is going to have an issue with anything, Im going to actively work on a prevention plan.  I am teaching the puppy that good things happen when potentially scary or unusual things are around.  This in turn helps to teach  your puppy not to worry about life, all is good & in the end, you get a dog who will look up at you when those things are presented to them in life.

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Yes, I do tend to have rewards on me at all times, particularly if Im working with a new puppy, or actively working on changing a behavior.  After time, I will start to vary the times when they get rewarded for these behaviors, but never fully extinguish an opportunity for a reward.  That time can only be determined by your puppy, his experiences &  your follow through.  I want to see a puppy reliably not reacting in a situation & being calm and/or looking at me before I even think about fading the reward system.

I hope you enjoyed this dog training tip!  If you would like more information or dog training help, please visit our website- DogTrainingWithTonya.Com

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