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BABY DOGS I received an e-mail from Julia Dezarov asking if I would do an article on starting a new puppy. I don’t consider myself an expert in this regard, but I will tell you how I have raised my pups. I think they have turned out well. At the end of this, I will list some books and videos which might prove helpful There have been some excellent articles in Everything Golden about various aspects of raising puppies written by Pat Quinn. I would recommend going through those first for the “nitty-gritty” and I will expand on them a bit by writing about some of the things that I do. First, I would like to explain my philosophy on raising pups, actually, on raising all young things. I feel it is far too easy to push a puppy too soon and too fast, for the benefit of our own egos, rather than for the benefit of the pup. If you are interested in having the youngest Golden to accomplish something specific in the field, this is probably the wrong article for you. I have had pups get a JH at six months of age, but they had not been collar conditioned or pushed unduly. It wasn’t a goal I had, I just entered them because I was running an older dog in Master and I thought it would be a good way for the pup to get some marks. A few stories---it seems I always start out this way!!!! I grew up riding and competing with horses, and I saw many young horses that looked good at an early age yet burn out far too soon due to over pressure and/or overwork. I have seen the same with dogs. When I was a young parent, my closest friend at the time had a young daughter a few months younger than mine. I became concerned that my Lisa might have a learning problem since she was so happy but still didn’t read, do complicated puzzles or do what Barbie seemed to be doing at about age three. Sue spent hours working daily with Barbie on all these things. Lisa and I would dance around the house, sing funny songs, go on walks, play with pots and pans, etc. but Lisa wasn’t reading or even trying to read. She did love it when I read to her. We moved away the next year. I heard from Sue (and from other friends) that when Barbie entered kindergarten, she literally had a nervous breakdown and was hospitalized and then needed therapy. She had had too much pressure too soon and too fast. Lisa went on to enter the GATE program when in 4th grade, attend an outstanding university for undergraduate work, and an equally well known one for graduate work. I believe puppies need some time to go on walks, play with pots and pans, and dance around the house. You can even read to them. When a puppy first arrives at my house, I do the same thing whether I am planning to compete in obedience or in the field. I use food to teach them to sit and focus on me. I use food to get them to come to me. I use food to encourage them to learn to heel beside me. I teach them to sit before they receive a meal. They learn to sit before we go in and out doors. They learn to be happy in their crate. Everything is on a very positive basis. If a correction is needed, a “no, no” or sometimes a shake of their scruff usually works well. I have been known to utter a low growl. Gradually, the use of food is diminished with praise replacing it. Then, every so often they are surprised to receive both praise and food! Field persons tend to take their pups with them to trials far before vets seem to agree pups should be out in the wide world. I feel in this regard, it is important to use common sense. I suggest getting their early shots, although they should have immunity for a time through their mothers. I don’t let them wander around----too many big dogs might mistake a little pup for a lovely chew toy. I do let all sorts of persons hold the pup, love up the pup, and I will sit with the pup on my lap and let it be exposed to all the sounds of a trial. It is popped in its crate in the car when I am busy, and it learns to be quiet in that crate. The crate actually is a great place to be, lovely toys (that can’t be readily destroyed), warm blankie, and friends in adjacent crates. A cookie works well at teaching the pup to “kennel” and go eagerly into his crate. My Trev was one of the easiest pups I have had to raise.
He arrived from During set up day, I took him along with me and he followed after me, explored the area, and when he got tired, he went in his crate. While I was judging, friends would get him out, play with him, air him, and socialize him. He settled right into this schedule, and as we continued to other trials, he was quite at home. In the room in the evening, I would do a little obedience with food---the sit, heel, and come I mentioned. He would cuddle up with me while I read or we would play games. During the day, I would get him out on a long lead and take him for walks, explore the area, and, again, visit with lots of different persons. If it was safe, I would let him off the lead and let him follow me about. When he was distracted, I would pop behind a tree or bush (watching him) and when he became worried where I was, I would pop out, get down on my knees and clap and call him, then give him lots of love and attention when he came running over to me. Often, he could find a cookie available. Coming to me when I called became very rewarding. In addition to getting low to the ground to encourage a pup to come to you, you can turn and run (sometimes just moving in place) away from him like a game of chase. As he got a little older, I would take him out with a few of my other dogs and let them romp around. Suddenly, I would call and/or blow my whistle, and all would come running, including Trev. The dogs all then sat and received a cookie so it reinforced that coming when called was good. In addition, he learned that a whistle blown a certain way meant to come to me. I believe in exposing pups to as many different environments as you can. Again, everything is done in a positive fashion and done in areas where a pup can’t get lost or possibly attacked by another dog. I would take a pup to the beach and let him follow me in the sand, wading in and out of the small waves----being careful not to let him get in a situation where the waves could prove frightening. I would take him on horse paths where there were leaves, new scents, dirt, rocks, and various terrain changes. We walked on ice plant, through bushes and high cover. We climbed over low lying logs, walked through puddles and across small creeks. Thinking back, I had a tremendous amount of fun as well as did Trev. Early on, your pup wants to be with you and will follow you eagerly. I just kept reinforcing this. Shopping malls are excellent places to take a pup, although I would usually try to go at a time when it wasn’t too overwhelming. Persons love to visit with a puppy; he sees all sorts of sights and hears various sounds. In front of a grocery, he can hear carts clattering together, trucks being unloaded, and smell various scents. Obviously the pup is on lead. If something worries or frightens the puppy, I do not encourage this by telling him he is okay and a good boy as I feel this just reinforces his fear. I will stand quietly there while he works it out and once he accepts it, I will then praise and move on. If I had an older dog around who was very good with pups, I would include this dog on some of the walks. All of my dogs loved pups, it was just that some wanted to play too wildly when the pup could easily be hurt by being knocked over. I had a couple of big, macho males, who would lie on their backs and let a pup jump all over them, play with their ears and tails, and mock “fight” with them. Even though these males were so gentle, I did not allow this to take place unsupervised. I have known of pups that were unintentionally hurt by larger dogs. When I introduced a puppy to water, I would choose warm weather
(easy for me to say living in At home, the pup would be in the family room with all the other dogs in the evenings. I would have an x-pen set up that I could pop him into if I had to leave the room or if the older dogs were tired of being harassed. The pup would become used to the sounds of a television, of a vacuum cleaner, of persons talking, and of all the other sounds produced by household activity. I made sure the puppy was an active member of the family. He was not stuck outside in a run without any friends around, but was with me a large percentage of the time. His crate was his friend, and he went into it to sleep---often, if I had a crate out with the door open, he would go into it on his own when he decided a nap was needed. Next month I will go into how I start marks, baby blinds, and introduce a pup to birds, sounds of guns, and the activities surrounding field work. There are many good books and videos out there re training pups. For much of the basic good citizen type accomplishments, I would turn to some of the top obedience instructors who have written about this or have videos. I know Connie Cleveland has some good books and videos. Dianne Bauman has a book that is still being used. For common sense methods, “Mother Knows Best” by Carol Lea Benjamin is one I recommend to a lot of persons who want a good, well behaved dog. One of my favorite books, and it is falling apart from being
used, is “Playtraining Your Dog” by Patricia Gail Burnham.
It was published in 1980 and may be hard to get (ISBN 0-312-61689-9), but
what I like best about it is not her obedience instructions but her philosophy
on dog training. Another good book
along these lines is the paperback “Don’t Shoot the Dog” by Karen Pryor.
Marilyn Fender wrote a series of articles on introductory training of
pups for the field for “Online Magazine” published by Dennis Voigt in Jackie Mertens has a video on puppy training that is excellent. It is called Sound Beginnings Retriever Training and can be ordered through YBS Media 1-800-848-5963. It costs $39.95 plus $6.50 SH. It is well worth the money. By Glenda Brown |
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