Last week I answered five out ten of the most common puppy raising questions I get from clients. This week I will answer the next five! I will number these as 6-10, so if you have not read part one of this article, make sure to check it out here!
Question 6: Can I take my puppy to the dog park for socialization?
Answer: Short answer, is no. For young puppies, the health risks are high at dog parks and puppies without all their vaccinations should not be in a dog park. In addition to that, dog parks are a recipe for disaster, no matter how lovable your puppy seems. Dog parks contain an unpredictable number of dogs who have an unpredictable number of behavioral problems. This causes a lot of problems for young puppies who are still learning what is acceptable in reference to social interaction. When we take puppies to dog parks for socialization, we are often setting them, and us, up for failure and our puppies often learn three very unhelpful things: socializing with other dogs is overwhelming and scary, self-defense is something they desperately need to survive (as opposed to it being a last resort), and it is okay to invade the personal space of other dogs without permission. Puppies can easily be “scarred for life” by even seemingly calm experiences at dog parks, especially if the puppy is more on the timid side. On top of these concerns, puppies who are more rambunctious can cause problems for other dogs and become hard to get back on leash as young puppies often have not yet learned a reliable recall. For us humans, we need to be paying attention to our puppies and make sure they feel safe and happy. Doing this at a dog park is nearly impossible because you have to keep tabs on sometimes over twenty different dogs.
It is more beneficial to find friends who have dogs and take your puppy to meet those dogs. When your puppy is older, walking past dog parks and teaching your dog to simply observe from a safe distance can be a great training opportunity, but not while your puppy is in its socialization period. During the puppy socialization period, your puppy needs to have positive experiences with calm and happy dogs, preferably ones you know personally, who enjoy being with your puppy and who’s behavior you can keep a close eye on without losing track of your puppy. It is much easier and safer to keep an eye on two dogs, then twenty.
Question 7: Can I take my puppy on walks if it doesn’t have all its shots?
Answer: Yes! You can definitely take your puppy on walks when it has only had some of its shots. However, it should have at least its first and second round of shots before straying too far from home and there are some things you need to keep in mind:
Avoid places with high dog traffic such as dog parks and pet stores. These are health risks to your puppy.
Taking a puppy out of your neighborhood to explore places it doesn’t normally see is very important. However, I would encourage you to find calm, open places where you and your puppy are safe from other dogs but keep your puppy on leash. Also, keep any visits to new places short and fun.
Some puppies simply wish to sniff and explore, make sure that you give them ample time to do this on walks. You can even take your puppy outside and just let it sniff up and down your driveway and the sidewalk in front of your house. Letting your puppy sniff can actually help you with leash skills as your puppy will know that it won’t have to fight for time to sniff and explore. But keep your puppy on lead and stay safe. Make sure your puppy does not get into any harmful substances (including the poop of other dogs), trash, or animals.
Start with short walks. Long walks can be hard on puppies, and not just because they probably walk slower than you. Long walks and hikes should be avoided until your puppy is a bit older due to bone and muscle health. Ask your vet how long they recommend you walk your puppy and avoid hiking with your puppy until it is at a year old. You can still work on trail manners by taking your puppy (preferably waiting until it is at least 3 months old) on walks through grassy locations and working on recall and heel (use a long line and keep an eye out for other dogs, stay safe).
Question 8: How do I get my puppy to calm down?
Answer: There is not one answer to this question, but this is what I tell my clients. Relax, interrupt, reinforce, replace. Here is what this means.
Relax: The first thing you need to do is stay calm and relax (taking a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth can help). We often get frustrated when our puppies become rambunctious, but our level of tension has an impact on the puppy. They can pick up on it and it often makes the situation much worse. An exception to this situation is if your puppy is getting into something it should not have or is potentially in danger. Please do stay calm, but do not wait to remove dangerous objects from your puppy's mouth or stop them from knocking over breakable items that could hurt them.
Interrupt: Once you are calm and have relaxed a bit (you don't have to completely relax, just relaxed enough to make calm, rational decisions), interrupt your puppy with something positive, this is called a positive interrupter. The best option is simply saying its name in a joyful higher pitched tone of voice (you can pat your legs if this helps).
Note: I always suggest doing positive interrupter training with your puppy when you first get it home. During this training, teach your puppy that treats are coming when it hears the positive interrupter. You can then use this to get your puppy's attention later on.
Reinforce: Reinforce your puppy for responding to your positive interrupter. The easiest reinforcer to use is food. But some puppies prefer affection or play.
Replace: This is a step that many forget about. This is because there are two ways to handle “unwanted behavior”, interrupt and reinforce, or interrupt and replace. But for calming your puppy down, I use both combined together. The reason is because your puppy is probably full of energy for one or more of three reasons:
It is tired and about to burn out (think of a toddler refusing to go to bed but then falls asleep as soon as they lay down).
It actually has that much energy and needs an outlet.
It is emotionally strained and needs to release tension.
All three of these problems can be helped by giving your puppy something to do. So, instead of interrupting and simply reinforcing your puppy for responding to you, you are going to add in the "replace" step by giving your puppy something to do, rather than leaving that decision up to your puppy (this "replace" step got its name from puppy chewing protocol where we replace an object the puppy shouldn't be chewing on with something the puppy should be chewing on. Only this time you are replacing your puppy's hyperactive behavior with a specific behavior that you like). Sniffing has been shown to lower dog’s heart rates and calm them down. This is why I encourage people to do “find it” games with their puppies such as a work to eat puzzle. Chewing is also a behavior that helps calm dogs down (it is a common self-soothing behavior and one of the reasons dogs with separation anxiety will chew on furniture). Giving your puppy a stuffed Kong (frozen or partially frozen can make the interaction more challenging) is a great option. This often entertains for longer than a work to eat puzzle and gives them something to chew on.
Some things to keep in mind when doing this are:
How food motivated is your dog? Some dogs are so motivated by food it actually gets them riled up instead of calming them down. In this case, consider finding a toy or chew they can chew on that is not treats (e.g., a stuffed toy, a real meat bone, an antler, etc.) Be careful to keep an eye on your puppy as real bones and antlers can get sharp and you might need to trade your puppy for a new one if a sharp edge appears. Stuffed toys may also be "destuffed" by your puppy, and you need to make sure they do not swallow any of the stuffing.
Has your puppy had exercise? Nothing will work, at least not for very long, of your puppy has not had enough exercise or mental stimulation. Work to eat puzzles can help with mental stimulation, but if your puppy just woke up, it might need a game of fetch or a walk before it can calm down.
How much food has your puppy had? When using forms of entertainment that include food, make sure you are not over feeding your puppy. Use small treats during training, and use low calorie treats, especially in stuffed Kongs. Keep track of how much you feed your puppy at mealtime and compensate for training treats and food puzzles/Kongs.
Question 9: How do I get my puppy to stop destroying things?
Answer: Interrupt and replace. Interrupt your puppy with a positive interrupter (you can give it a treat for responding) then give it something else to do. Again, make sure it has had enough exercise, mental stimulation, and that it is not destroying things or chewing on things due to anxiety. If chewing persists due to anxiety, please contact a trainer who specializes in dog anxiety.
Question 10: Why does my puppy refuse to walk?
Answer: This is more common than you might think, so don’t worry if you get to your driveway and your puppy plops down right there and refuses to move. This is usually because your puppy is overwhelmed or simply does not want to go for a walk. A quick explanation of what to do is reinforce your puppy for small approximations (going outside, moving to the sidewalk, walking a few steps, etc.) and make it clear what you would like your puppy to do (walk right next to you). Make sure your walks are very short and maybe even take a toy to play with your puppy at your destination. Make sure there is nothing scary that you are walking past in the initial phase of your walk. Try not to pick your puppy up as this can add to the problem if your puppy is afraid of something (picking it up doesn't solve the problem but it does teach your puppy that you will force it to do things it finds scary, and this can break trust). If your puppy does not decide on its own to proceed with the walk, you can hang out with it in the front yard and just reinforce it for observing as people and things pass by. For an in depth look into what might cause this and how to address it, check out this article.
I hope these answers have helped you and your puppy learn and grow together! If there are questions you would like me to answer in future FAQ posts, please let me know! You can post a comment or email me at happyats@outlook.com.
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