Start Your Puppy Right

Participation In Class Is Good, But It’s Not Enough!

If your veterinarian approves, examples of learning experiences for your puppy include:
Ø Go to the beach; let your dog sniff around. (On leash and bring a poop bag!)
Ø Drive to your vet’s office. Ask the receptionist to give your dog a treat. Leave.
Ø Tie a bandanna on your dog. Help keep him calm while you do so.
Ø Give your dog a bath. Warm water! Perhaps skip pup’s head and ears at first.
Ø Put a hat on your head, let pup see you. Give him a treat.
Ø Find a shop window display with a lifelike animal or human. Let your dog see it.
Ø Help your pup sit or stand on a bathroom scale.
Ø Find a construction site; walk up to it, but not so close that your pup is frightened.
Ø Invite a friend or neighbor to ring your doorbell, help your pup sit quietly to greet your friend. Ø Arrange for your dog to spend the night with a trusted friend. Take your pup’s crate.
Ø Learn about noisy children by walking past a schoolyard or a playground – at a distance.
Ø Clip one toenail while your dog licks peanut butter off the refrigerator door.
Ø Put your pup on a low table and “play” veterinarian or groomer. Reward calm behavior.
Ø Play hide and seek in your living room.

Puppy Rule of Twelve: (From Peaceable Paws)
Before your pup is twelve weeks old, he should experience at least twelve new and different:

Puppy Rule of Twelve: (From Peaceable Paws)
Before your pup is twelve weeks old, he should experience at least twelve new and different:

Surfaces to be on wet grass, slippery tile, gravel, bark, grating, and steps.

Objects to investigate inside a car, wind up toy, hollow paper tube, wheelchair.

Locations to Visit if it’s okay with your DVM, go to a friend’s home, park, busy street.

People to Meet assorted sizes, color, gender, and children under supervision.

Sounds to Hear garage door opening, lawnmower, stove timer, various CDs.

Moving Objects cows or horses, gates, roller blades, flag in the wind.

Polite Dogs to See or Meet ones with good manners, no bullies, only a minute or two at a time.

Food Containers eat from food dispensing toys, a dish, and your hand, hand in dish.

Ways for Owners to Handle in lap, on table, touch inside ears, open mouth, use a brush.

Times Alone in Crate when you’re in bathroom, while you put out trash, at a friend’s house.



For More Exposure:

Make a habit of putting a new and different object in your home every few days. Just put it down and let pup investigate without your help. A mirror, ladder flat on the floor to walk through, the vacuum across a hallway so the dog has to walk over it, a big stuffed animal on the floor, a ticking alarm clock, some empty packing boxes and anything else new and interesting.