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KEY POINTS FOR RAISING A WELL-ADJUSTED PUPPY © Brooke
Taylor, Neigepearl Shepherds May not be used without express permission OUR VIEWS ON TAKING YOUR PUPPY OUT BEFORE FULLY
VACCINATED The puppy has some antibodies from its mother, as
well as its original 6 week old vaccination. The benefits of socialising your
Shepherd during the critical period of 7 – 16 weeks, far outweigh the small
risk of it catching a disease. Many more dogs are put to sleep for bad
temperaments than they are for contracting a disease. It’s a good idea to
talk to your vets and ask if there have been any recent outbreaks of
parvovirus in your area. Socialisation: learning how to recognise and interact with other animals and humans.
By learning how to interact, the socialised dog develops communication skills
which enable it to recognise whether or not it is being threatened and how to
recognise and respond to the intentions of others. Habituation: becoming accustomed to
non-threatening environmental stimuli and learns to ignore them. Many vets will tell you not to take your puppy
out in public until it is 16-18 weeks old. This is way too old to start
socialising and habituating your Shepherd puppy. Vets are not canine
behaviourists and most are not knowledgeable about breed-specific behaviours,
especially those common to the German Shepherd. A Shepherd puppy that is not taken out or exposed
to certain things until after 16 weeks, is likely to be reactive, aggressive,
fearful, and is much more difficult to correct this behaviour, since the critical window has
passed. German Shepherds are one particular breed where socialisation,
habituation and training is critical for a well-balanced temperament.
If you are unsure of how to get started in this please contact us for more
indepth information. It’s important that your puppy learns good
behaviour by acting appropriately with other animals and different kinds of
people and children. If you ‘play it
smart’ whilst socialising your Shepherd puppy, you greatly reduce the risk of
it picking up a disease. Good, safe places to take your puppy are: -
Short walks up and down
your street -
visiting
friends/family/neighbours who have vaccinated & friendly dogs -
having your friends visit
you and your puppy at home Avoid dog parks and dogs you don’t know. Avoid
coming into contact with people’s houses who have had dogs with parvo, or
people who have recently been around dogs who have been sick. Avoid areas
where the virus has been reported to be caught in. There have been cases
though, where older dogs, who have been vaccinated against parvo, have still
contracted it. The disease occurs more in lower socio-economic areas where
fewer dogs are vaccinated. There have not been any reported cases of parvo on
a beach, which is interesting. A puppy learns from its experiences, so you want
to provide only positive ones. Negative experiences your puppy has with an
aggressive dog (even just being rushed at or lunged at by another dog), can
severely alter their temperament. This can have a permanent affect on them,
and be very difficult to fix. Avoid places where there may be other dogs that
could be aggressive with your puppy. If your puppy has had a negative experience such
as a fright from something or another dog being aggressive, it’s crucial you
remain as calm as possible. Your reaction can make it worse (say if you
scream or console your dog). Your reactions will reinforce their behaviour
and reactions. It’s important that if your puppy is affected by this
experience, to see a good trainer and behaviourist. Contact us for referral
to those specialists we recommend. If you heed the advice about how to handle your
dog in particular situations below, there should be no reason that your dog
should be problematic in those situations. Remember, it is your
responsibility to avoid situations where you put your puppy at risk of a
bad experience. As part of your regular routine, checking ears,
eyes, teeth and paws (in between toes), bathing, grooming, should be done as
often as possible. It is always important to be consistent with how
you train and socialise your puppy and follow it up by joining a good
training club. Remember, each time you take your dog/puppy out
in public, your dog is a representation of its breed. A well-balanced dog is
the result of hard work and dedication by the owner. There is no such thing
as “problem dogs”. Negative behaviours are always the result of poor
leadership, socialision, habituation and training. A few hints on
socialising & HABITUATING your puppy ·
Get your puppy focussed on YOU when working and socialising. YOU must
be the most important person in their life – not anyone or anything else. DO
not allow your puppy to run riot and ignore you. Interrupt times where your
puppy is distracted, by a fun game and getting their focus on YOU. ·
Never console the puppy or pat him if he acts nervous or snappy
out of fear. By consoling or patting him you are telling him that that kind
of behaviour was acceptable. NEVER
‘BABY’ YOUR DOG! If he acts nervous – ignore it and let him work out that
there is no reason to be scared. Do not allow people or other dogs to force
themselves upon your puppy. You would not like it if someone came up in your
face and jumped on you or grabbed you! ·
Correct any bad behavior, such as nipping or biting out of fear.
In serious cases, see a behaviourist. ·
If your puppy is a little wary of people, do not console him or
encourage him to interact when he doesn’t want to. Always allow the puppy to approach people
on their own terms and when they are comfortable. Never force the pup! ·
A stranger looking down straight at the puppy making direct
eye-contact is a very threatening thing in the dog world. Have the stranger not
look directly at the puppy. Tell them to totally ignore the puppy. Once he learns that strangers are OK and
there is nothing to be afraid of, it should start to relax. ·
If socialising with other dogs/pups, always check
with the other owner that their dogs are friendly and will not attack your
puppy. Learn dog behaviour and body language so you can learn to pick a
problem dog from afar. A bad
experience can have long-lasting effects on the puppy and will more than
likely make him nervous of meeting other dogs for a long time to come. Dogs
must always be under full voice control if off lead and
must come when called. Learn how to interpret dog behaviour to avoid problems
when socialising off leash. Personally I am not a fan of off-leash parks. Too
many people do not have their dog under effective control and some dogs do
not behave appropriately. ·
Do not let your puppy be aggressive with another dog or
puppy. There is a difference between
playing and getting too rough. No
owner likes their puppy being beaten up by another pup or dog! Learn the
difference between rough-housing play and aggression. DAY
TO DAY TIPS Exercise and
Getting Out and About A build up of energy and lack
of exercise can cause behavioural problems such as aggression, frustration,
fearfulness and destructiveness, so make sure the dog/pup is well-exercised
and stimulated. GSDs are a working breed and were bred to have brains – and
to USE THEM! Take him out on daily walks and
enclosed areas where they can run safely off lead (and not get hit by a
car!). Make sure that you don’t over-exercise your puppy though. No
forced running i.e. jogging with you on lead or jumping until they are at
least 12 months old, because their joints are still growing and over-doing it
can cause permanent joint problems. If there are other dogs around
or loose, ensure the other dogs are stable and will not hurt the pup. Most
people these days are courteous and will put their dogs on lead. Better to be
safe than sorry in these situations! If there is ever a fight or attack, the
person who has their dog off lead, are the ones liable, even if their dog
didn’t start it! You and your family are the dog’s PACK, not every dog down the street or in the park. YOU are the Pack Leader. During the walk or run, they must still be focussed on you when you request their attention. It’s fair enough to allow them to just ‘be a puppy’, sniff things etc, but ensure that when you ask for your pups’ attention that they give it to you immediately. Give verbal encouragement and make things fun for them – if they are food focussed, use treats or if they are toy focussed, incite a game. Puppies must learn how to act appropriately
in different surroundings, so take them to these places. Always end training sessions on a positive note! Praise When you get your dog’s attention
and they do what you say, reward it with food, verbal praise and a ball/toy game.
Be careful not to over-excite the puppy to the point where it loses focus on
you altogether. Different puppies and dogs respond different levels of praise,
so depending on what yours is like, use whatever works for you and your dog. Avoiding
Separation Anxiety When you come home or leave to
go out without them, don’t touch, make eye contact, or talk to them. Don’t make
time apart such a big deal. If you do, it can develop behavioural problems
such as separation anxiety. Give calm and gentle attention once they
settle down – this may take 5 minutes or even up to one hour! Your dog must
learn to spend time alone where they are not centre of attention. Ignore bad
behaviour. Reward the good! If you have more than one dog,
alternate the dogs inside and outside. They should not learn to be dependent
on each other. It’s very important that when raising a puppy with your other
dog around, that they are taken separately on walks so the puppy can learn
how socialise by themselves and not rely on the other dog for confidence. It’s also a good idea if you
are not at home, to leave a bone or a toy like a kong with food stuffed in
it. They’ll be occupied and busy for a while! HOW TO BECOME A PACK LEADER AND GAIN YOUR DOGS’ RESPECT No pulling on
lead!
Don’t allow the puppy to pull on the lead. The Pack Leader walks in front.
Walk with confident posture and a calm, assertive attitude. Train your dog the basic
commands i.e. sit, heel, drop, come. You don’t want to be dragged down the street! Join
a local dog training club to learn how to make your dog do these things. No jumping! Your dog should always be prepared to accept a reasonable
measure of control and when young children or elderly people are around
it. A boisterous young dog can easily
knock down the very young or elderly. Children may become frightened of dogs
for life and the elderly are very prone to injury. Getting up on couches
or beds!
What’s cute as a puppy is not cute at 30kgs! Don’t encourage behaviours that
you don’t want the dog to do when it is older. Feed your dog
after you and your family! Pack Leaders eat first. If it’s not dinner time
for you and the family, even eat a biscuit or something small yourself then
prepare the dogs’ meal. Never give up if
you give your dog a command and he/she ignores it! Every time you give a
command, you must always carry it through to completion. If you give in, the
dog learns they can get away with ignoring your commands and will not take
you seriously and they think they are the Pack Leader. If commands keep
getting ignored, you can use different methods or a combination of methods to
communicate with the dog and make him do what you want. Don’t give up and let
the dog get away with ignoring an instruction! Make the dog do it! Reward the
dog and praise him when he complies. Never give your
dog anything if they are whinging or carrying on! Whinging and barking at you is
DEMANDING behaviour. Don’t give in to this behaviour as it will reinforce it
and they will keep trying it! If you must, put them outside and ignore them. Do not give the
dog attention/affection unless it is deserved. Reward the dog if it has done something
very good. Make them work to gain food
or praise. Making them sit, drop, stay or heel. Attention is not a given
right – it’s something they must earn. In a pack environment, food and
respect doesn’t come for free! If the dog is in
your way and not moving – walk right through it! As pack leader, you have
“right of way”. By walking around your dog, this is you submitting to your
dog. When pushing through with your legs – don’t fall over! WELL-TRAINED DOGS CAN ONLY COME
FROM RESPONSIBLE OWNERS WHO ARE WILLING TO INVEST TIME & EFFORT INTO THE
DOGS TRAINING PROGRAM! TRAINING NEVER STOPS. IT’S AN ONGOING JOB. ROUTINE AND
CONSISTENCY ARE THE KEYS! These hints and tips are a general guide only. Seek the services of a behaviourist if you have any serious behavioural
or training issues. |
All content copyright 2010 Neigepearl