Puppies are so curious; it is part of their development and is an important sign of a healthy puppy. This curiosity doesn’t mean all puppies will be as expressive as some. Still, as a general rule, puppies who are developing in a healthy manner will be curious about new things, at least from a distance. But exploring objects and environments are not the only way healthy puppies show their curiosity. The other way is one that we humans often find a little frustrating. Puppies will often experiment with their behavior to see what responses they get from the people around them. This experimentation is how puppies learn. It is something human children do as well, but it looks different in puppies. Puppies may bite something and watch for your reaction. They may wander around and see how you respond, or they will try a bark and see if it gets your attention; maybe chewing on the couch gets your attention faster? Or maybe chasing the cat works best around mealtime? These situations are frequently puppies exploring their social environment to see how other living beings respond to them.
So, what do you do? Here are three tips for addressing your puppy’s tendency to experiment with behavior.
Tip #1: Be careful what you respond to and how. Some behaviors are destructive and do require an immediate response. However, if your puppy is trying to get your attention, it is essential that you give that attention when your puppy is doing something you like. This often means learning to see the early signs of your puppy’s attempts to get your attention and respond before it feels the need to chew, chase, or bark.
Tip #2: Remove opportunities to engage in unwanted behaviors. Keep the cat in the other room until you complete the introduction process and teach the two to give each other space. Keep shoes put away and kitchen towels up out of reach. Keep food off the counters, and treat bags put away. Anything you don’t want your puppy to get into needs to be concealed and safe.
Tip #3: Ensure your puppy has ample opportunity to do fun things that you either don’t mind or love. Give it a place outside to dig. Cycle toys. Come up with new games. Teach it to ask for your attention via a nose bump on your leg. Things like this will help replace unwanted behaviors. As your puppy experiments, if it has less opportunity to do things you don’t like, and more opportunity to do things you do like, it will have a higher chance of experimenting with behaviors you like, which will help all parties involved.
Be patient, and if something happens and your puppy accidentally learns to bark for your attention. Don’t worry, it will take some time and dedicated work, but it can be fixed. If your puppy is still young, it may even go faster. If you want help, stop by my services page here and schedule a training session today!
Comments