Mon 23rd May: Getting back what you give

Coming up: a party for you and your dog!

Having the van available I wanted to go back to AFCD to pick up the remaining Stanley Barracks pups who, although probably from the same litter as Stanley and Sandy, look more like black labradors than pure mongrels.  They are just as sweet-natured though and now have the names Nero and Sooty.

There was also a slightly older pup that I had spotted last Friday but wasn't able to take at the time. This boy, now called Hopper, seemed to have a broken, or at least damaged, back leg and he needed to stay at Acorn to be X-rayed when I took them along for their vaccinations.  I hope the leg can be saved, although even if not he'll be able to cope just as well as three-legged Chance does.

I'm still waiting for Sunday's Whiskers N Paws photos, especially because we tried something new this time.  I often have problems identifying all the puppies and adding their names when the album is posted on Facebook, especially if they are close-ups, so I had the idea of writing name cards and holding them up in front of each individual as they were photographed and I want to see how it turned out.

Playtime is essential for all puppies

Thinking of Whiskers N Paws and all of the lovely puppies and doglets reminds me that I wanted to mention something about adopting a baby pup, especially for those who have never had a dog before, or maybe have but can't remember what the early weeks and months were like.  As I've written so many times before (because it's true and important), the formative period of any animal's life will shape their future character and behaviour, whether it's a human baby or  dog.   A recent case of a doglet that was surrendered to AFCD for "aggressive" behaviour is a perfect example of what I'm talking about because this older puppy is actually a very sweet and easy boy.  What went wrong was a lack of understanding from both sides, and by that I mean the owner not "reading" the puppy correctly and the puppy getting mixed messages from the humans.

It's never too early to start gentle training

This starts in the very early stages of puppyhood when the human parents play roughly with their new "baby", meaning playfighting and encouraging biting and growling because it's sweet and funny and harmless. It may seem that way, but actually it's teaching the puppy that their human family members are up for a play session that allows biting, and once this behaviour is established it's hard to stop. All puppies must understand that playbiting is fine as long as it's directed at another puppy or a toy, but never a human.  Games are important for bonding but they should also be considered as fun training sessions, and these can start at any age.  Be aware that everything you are doing is a lesson, and that your puppy's behaviour is a reflection of your own.   If you are kind, calm and gentle with your puppy, understanding that there is no intentional naughtiness, then you will quickly see equal results.   Puppies don't understand smacking, shouting or any punishment as they can't connect it with anything that they may have done, and all it teaches them is to fear their human.

This sweet doglet was so easy to train

Going back to the "aggressive" doglet, he had simply never been shown that playbiting for attention or fun resulted in the opposite, meaning being ignored. It took a matter of days for him to get the message that petting and attention was the reward for good behaviour, and for all "mouthing" to stop. It was really that easy, and now he is a happy and genuinely sweet boy.