Prepare Before the Puppy Arrives
Your family should agree on what house rules you want your dog to follow and how to maximize the pup’s socialization opportunities. Design a management and training plan that will reinforce only good behavior from the start. Do not accidentally reinforce behaviors that you do not want. Do you want your pup on furniture? Are you going to let him jump up on people? (Best not to let him, but it is your choice.) Most people delay making these decisions until they have an unruly teen, but adolescence is a truly difficult time to start training. Teach your puppy your house rules when he is small before he becomes bigger with adult teeth.

Get your supplies in advance and work out a crate training schedule. I high recommend teaching your dog to be comfortable in a crate. Crate training is a useful, perhaps vital, tool for housebreaking and training a well-mannered dog. Don’t forget to have lots of vet-approved toys and chews on hand. Discuss and plan for how you will socialize your puppy the first few weeks.

Finally, puppy proof any area of your house the puppy will be allowed to use. Puppy proofing is similar to baby proofing. Leave nothing out for your new pup to get into.

Socialize Your Puppy
You have only a small window of opportunity to socialize your pup. The socialization period is believed to end anywhere from 8 to 12 weeks (approximately). So you want to gradually and carefully expose your puppy to many different environments and experiences as soon as the puppy is used to your house and yard, usually after a couple of days. Missing the crucial step of socialization could lead to fear aggression; aggression toward or extreme fear of other dogs or people; and/or phobia-like behavior. Two very destructive common mistakes people make are:

1. Isolating a puppy too much which can lead to abnormal behavior throughout the dog’s life; or,
2. In place of gradual careful socializing, exposing the puppy to frightening or traumatic experiences that plant the seeds for behavior problems as the dog matures. Note: Anything your puppy finds frightening could be traumatic whether or not the object or being seems harmless to you. Fears often develop of things that are harmless.

You want your puppy to feel confident with and like children, babies, all kinds of people, noises, smells, and sights—bicyclists, people pushing strollers, skateboarders, virtually everything and everybody in our world. You want your pup to be comfortable when a person stares at him, grabs his collar, gives him a kiss or a pat on the head. You want your pup to relate well to other dogs. You want your pup to get used to going to the vet and the groomer; being handled,; getting his nails clipped and his ears cleans; hearing and being near a hair dryer.

When exposing your pup to new people and stuff, always stay within his comfort level. NEVER frighten or force the puppy to do things. Let him approach new people and things when he is ready. Then you can reward his bravery away from the new person or thing. Traumatic or frightening memories are PERMANENT so never force situations. Use good judgment about staying within your puppy’s comfort level. See the body language information on my body language Youtube video or in my training manual to make sure you interpret your puppy’s body language and actions as accurately as possible.

Get into an excellent well-controlled puppy kindergarten class at the earliest age possible. This is a must. Some experts even advise taking two puppy classes at a time to get as many positive interactions with as many dogs as possible. Plan on taking at least three classes to keep your dog social and to master the skills you will need to live happily with your dog for the next fifteen or so years. A good goal is to train to a level where your dog can pass the American Kennel Club (A KC) Canine Good Citizen test (described at http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/).

The website of the www.ccpdt.com Certification Counsel for Professional Dog Trainers can help with your search for a positive trainer in your area. Look for a school that does only positive reinforcement like food, praise and toys (no choke collars, no pinch collars, and no physical or verbal punishments). Also, puppy class time should include supervised off leash play. The play period must be actively supervised to ensure your puppy has a good experience with compatible playmates. Schools vary in quality so check them out as much as you can.

Reinforce Good Behavior from Day One
New puppies will follow you and come to you easily. Reward those behaviors from day one. Reinforce with food, praise, toys, and play whenever your dog comes to you and follows by your side. Play Hide and Seek and other games where the puppy has to approach you. The pup should always be approaching you. NEVER CHASE THE PUPPY.

Prevent your pup from rushing to the door and jumping on people. Put your pup in a crate or safe area away from the door area whenever someone is at the door unless, of course, you are actually doing a training session. Train your puppy to go to crate or other room when people enter to pr event behavior problems later. Eventually you can teach Go To Your Place away from entry area if you like. After your dog has mastered the “sit” skill with distraction—for example, your dog sits calmly on cue when a car, bike, skateboard, child, another dog, or a cat passes him on a walk or when he is in the yard—ask him for a sit when someone is at the door. If he sits calmly, give him praise and a treat. A sit with distraction can go a long way in preventing serious behavior problems later. Everyone will say, “What a well mannered puppy!” when all the pup has learned is sit. (See my YouTube training videos at www.trainyourbestfriend.com for more information about how to reinforce good behavior and training skills.

Crate Training for Successful Housebreaking
Crate training or paper training for housebreaking is a must if you don’t want to live with accidents in the house for the rest of your dog’s life. Read up on housebreaking and consistently follow a schedule. If you do this right from the start, your life will be SO MUCH EASIER. I usually recommend that as soon as the new pup arrives you take as much time off as possible to housebreak and socialize him.

The best way to prevent “accidents” inside is to (1) spend a good amount of time outside; (2) limit your pup’s freedom to cleanable surfaces (like a kitchen floor) while you watch him like a hawk; and (3) crate your pup or put in exercise pen on nonporous surface when you need a break.

A lot of information is available on housebreaking, so I will be brief and only highlight some key points here:

 You do not want the first place the puppy relieves himself to be inside your house. Do not take the pup inside the house until he pees and poops outside. That way he will be more likely to want to return to this outside spot to potty. If you have a yard, set up a comfortable area out in yard with crate and water while you wait for the pup to eliminate.

 Have small extra yummy food rewards on hand. Hide the food out of his sight. Immediately AFTER your pup pees and/or poos, give him a food reward. Then play a game or produce a beloved toy as an extra reinforcer. Doing this will encourage your pup even more to use the potty area outside.

 Keep a record of when the pup tends to eliminate: after play, meals, naps, etc. Then stay on that schedule for the first few weeks.

 When the pup is small, scoop him up in your arms and walk outside to the potty area to avoid any mistakes on the way to the door. I have never had a pup have an accident in my arms.

 For the first year directly supervise all of your pup’s free time in the house. This is training time. If you are not keeping an eye on him, your pup will relieve himself or start destructive behavior. Use gates to limit his access or put him on a leash and tie it to your belt.

 Use a crate, gates, exercise pens, and doors to avoid accidents on carpets and restrict the pup’s freedom to areas with washable nonporous floors.

 Clean all accidents diligently with enzyme cleaner. The smell of an accident is very difficult to remove, and pup will return to that spot if the odor is not completely eliminated.

 Check with your vet to determine how often your pup physically needs to relieve himself based on his age and size. The general rule is the number of months old plus one hour (e.g., an 8-week-old pup can be crated for up to 3 hours). Some people get lucky and the pup sleeps overnight in a crate without accidents. Other people have to get up to take a pup out in the middle of the night. I recommend keeping a crate for overnight in an adults bedroom so you will know if pup has to go out in the middle of the night or has case of diarrhea and can’t hold his bowels as usual. Note: Even adult dogs should NOT go more than 8 hours without a potty break.

 Don’t punish accidents. Instead try to interrupt the pup with some sudden attention-getting noise if you see him start to squat. If you stop him in time, immediately pick him up and take him outside. Reward and praise him after he eliminates outdoors. If he has already started to urinate or defecate inside, he really cannot stop. Just do a better job of supervising.

 After a couple of months of no accidents, allow the pup freedom for a short time in a pup-proofed room. The crate door should be open. If no accidents occur, allow the pup his freedom for increasingly longer periods of time. If accidents do occur, go back to crating your pup for a bit before you try again. Ethical Note: It is abusive to keep a puppy or dog in crate for an excessive amount of time. I don’t recommend crate for adult dogs for long periods of time and not at all for adopted dogs. Puppies and dogs are social animals and require a good amount of time with people and activity. Hire a sitter or barter with a friend if you cannot provide this care yourself. After a few months your dog should be left in a dog proofed space where he can be comfortable and move around.

Avoid Teaching Separation Anxiety
Gradually condition your puppy to be away from you for short periods of time. Having all of your attention and then suddenly being made to spend hours alone could be traumatic for a puppy and lead to problem behavior and anxiety.

Go out of your way to practice time away from you for short periods when you are home. Arrange for the pup to spend time alone with other people for short periods, many different people not just the same few. You want a pup to be confident and feel safe with new people. Just be sure this doesn’t frighten the puppy and do it GRADUALLY with appropriate dog savvy people who are gentle and loving.

Leash Walking
For your pup’s first walks, use a regular harness and six-foot cloth or leather leash. Every dog should wear an ID tag with your telephone number (include cell phone numbers) and street address. This is very important and can save a dog’s life in an emergency situation.

At first just let your puppy get used to his leash and drag it behind him. If your pup starts to chew or bite the leash, immediately distract him with something else; for example, an appropriate chew toy or treat. Reward puppy with treats and praise when they walk by your side. As always any tether or leash could cause strangulation, you must actively supervise when they are on your dog.

Don’t expect your pup to walk like an adult dog. Let him go at his own pace. Remember that this is a baby. If he puts on the breaks and refuses to move, you should trot a couple steps ahead and with happy high-pitched talk encourage the pup to move forward. NEVER DRAG A PUP ON LEASH. If the leash gets tight, just stop and let the pup sniff and explore.

Loose leash walking takes time to master. You have to be very consistent and never allow your dog to be reinforced for pulling. If you never let your new puppy pull you on leash and only move forward when the leash is relaxed, then your puppy will learn the correct way from the start. Your life will be much easier in the long run. Let your dog do what he wants as long as he doesn’t pull on the leash. If your dog pulls, do not follow. As soon as the leash loosens up, start walking again to reward your dog and praise him. On walks, frequently reward and praise any time the dog comes to you, or walks by your side, or even turns to look at you. I also find doing “comes” and “sits” during a walk is helpful. Many people find that a no- pull harness helps stop the pulling for the puppies that are big enough that you are having trouble handling them on leash. Check out the Freedom Harness at www.wiggleswagsandwhiskers.com.

References Materials to Help You with Your New Puppy or Dog
Please check my Web site for my latest list of books, sites, videos, and magazines at www.trainyourbestfriend.com

Puppy Training Checklist the First 12 Months

 Set up many socialization opportunities.

– A happy dog is an adaptable dog. Your job is to give your pup positive associations with everything and everybody, including the mailman, vet and groomer. Devote time to condition your dog to have a positive association with going to vet office and groomer.

–Your dog should meet and play with different types of friendly well-socialized dogs. Do NOT allow your puppy to interact with dogs that bully or play too rough. Do NOT introduce him to inexperienced, under-socialized adult dogs. Avoid areas with possibly aggressive dogs (dog parks and big box pet stores). Again, you want your dog to have a positive association with other dogs and to learn desirable communication and play skills.

–Your dog should meet and have as many positive interactions with as many strange adults (especially men) and their “stuff” as possible. Give your pup a great food treat after each encounter or have the stranger give him a treat. Reward your pup for going to check out new people; never force him. Do not immediately expose your pup to loud overcrowded places that may be overwhelming. Instead gradually over time work up from relatively quiet areas with a few people to noisier, more crowded areas.

–Your dog should have as many controlled, supervised positive interactions as possible with strange boys and girls of all ages and their stuff (toys, rollerblades, etc.). Again, give your pup a great food treat after each meeting and never force your pup beyond her comfort level. You should always control interaction with your pup. Allow only one child at time to meet her and instruct each child to hold her hand low so the puppy can sniff. To reward interaction with children, always give your pup the treat yourself. Do not take chances with out-of-control or rough children. See page on Children & Dogs in my manual.

– Your dog should get out to many different environments and settings. For example,

o stairs (all kinds)
o beaches, lakes, ponds, sprinklers, etc.
o every kind of ground surface and building
o city noises and sights
o boats, cars, bikes, rollerblades, strollers, etc.
o parks, playgrounds
o stores, crowds, fairs
o horses and farm animals
o constructions sounds and sights

–Always remember to stay within your dog’s comfort level.

 Provide your dog/pup with daily mental and physical exercise.

–If you do not choose where your pup directs her energy, eventually the pup will find an outlet in undesirable behaviors. Puppies are clever they need puzzles to figure out and tricky toys to occupy their little brains. Initiate a game like hide and seek, teach your pup tricks, have regular training sessions, visit new places, teach a retrieve, teach swimming, hide activity toys and let your pup find them. Your dog should be mentally and physically tired and fulfilled.

–Bring in a knowledgeable sitter for exercise if you are gone or need some extra help. Instruct the sitter about your training method and rules and make sure the sitter is willing to follow them.

 Teach your dog that hands are good.

–If you feed your dog from a bowl, pick up the full bowl, put a better treat in it, and then put it down again for your pup to eat. Also do this exercise with toys. Take a toy away, give the pup a tasty treat, and then give the toy back. Do this often. If you allow the pup on furniture and beds, teach pup to get on and off when told. Don’t roughly grab and pull your pup around with your hands. You want your dog to think human hands are always a good thing.

– Never allow anyone to tease your dog and take things away without a tasty reward. If you do, problem behaviors such as resource guarding could develop.

– Teach “drop it” and “away.” At some time or other, everyone needs their dog to give up things and not pick up things that are valuable or potentially hazardous. “Drop it” or “away” could save your dog’s life and stop her from swallowing a lethal material. See my YouTube videos on this.

 Develop your dog’s good attitude about being handled.

–Do daily handling exercises. Start these exercises as young as possible and continue them throughout your dog’s lifetime. At first, the sessions should be short. Touch your pup/dog and give her a treat each time you do. Make sure you touch all parts of her body. A fun puppy exercise is to put a t-shirt on the pup, give her a food reward, and then take the t-shirt off.

–Make your pup/dog happily anticipate a bath by going through the motions. Just put your pup in the tub and then give her a treat. At the next session, put her in the tub and run the water, but then take her out and give her a treat. Gradually build up to the complete bath ritual.

– Go through the motions of vet examinations and grooming appointments; for example, look in her mouth and touch her gums and teeth. You could do this before meals or walks or other fun stuff to build a positive association.

– You can improve your dog’s attitude about visits to the vet, groomer, and kennel using the same method. Break the visits down into stages. For example, go to the vet’s location, but give your dog a couple treats in the parking lot and then go home. Then just go as far as the reception area. See if the staff will give your pup some treats. She will learn that these trips are fun.

I personally trim my dog’s nails because I know how much most dogs dislike this and I don’t want my dog to associate nail clipping with vet visits. My dog would volunteer his paw for nail clipping because I conditioned him to enjoy it. You can do this too. Hold her paw up and just show her the clipper. Then give her a treat. Next time, touch her paw with the clipper and then give her a treat. Build up gradually to actually clipping one nail.

–Always give lots of treats after grooming, nail clipping, and baths. It is better to take it slowly with all these things then to have your dog develop a fear or dislike of them.

 Help your dog enjoy a ride in the car.

–Go for lots rides to fun places. Dogs develop a fear of the car because of too few car rides and because rides end where the dog/pup has a bad association (the vet office and groomer or kennel).

–A crate is probably the best way for your dog to travel followed by a seatbelt. Dog in the backseat is the safest place for your dog—and for you.

–Know if your car has airbags and whether an airbag is a danger to your dog.

 Stick to a smart housebreaking plan.

–Be outside with the puppy as much as possible.

–Inside, your puppy should be in a crate, exercise pen, or dog-proofed area. A dog-proofed space should have a nonporous easily cleaned floor and contain nothing a pup can chew or destroy. When in living areas, watch your puppy like a hawk. Use baby gates, ex-pens, crates, short leads to help with this. If need be, bring a crate into the living room so you can relax or tie the pup to you on a lead. Only allow your pup limited freedom when there are no accidents for at least a month.

–When your pup has any accident inside, make sure the scent of urine or feces has been completely removed with an enzyme cleaner. Avoid accidents on carpets and porous areas which hold odor. If the smell is not completely neutralized, the pup will always be drawn back to a spot where he eliminated. Block off carpeted or furnished areas, especially if the puppy already had an accident or damaged anything there. Do not let the puppy in these areas again until he has a good record of no accidents inside the house.

 Manage your dog/pup’s environment.

– The easiest habit to break is a habit that has never started. Your dog will not learn to go through the garbage if she has no access.

–Your puppy’s surroundings should be completely puppy-proofed so she has access only to the things you want her to play with and chew. Puppies and dogs need things to do, but encourage only the games and busy toys YOU want.

–Put your pup in a crate or on leash when you have people enter the house. Do not let the habit of barking and jumping on guests ever start. Try a “sit” in the kitchen and block access to the front door so your pup cannot run and bark at noises and delivery people. Again, try a “sit” and treat away from door or window when you hear delivery people come. In Connecticut I had smart mail people and UPS drivers who would give a biscuit to the dogs. The dogs loved them, but the funny thing is that many owners had a new problem: The dogs would start to run out of yard to follow the trucks because they wanted a biscuit. The lesson is that a “sit” in the kitchen for a treat is much better than loving the mailman.

–Be mindful and prepare for potentially traumatic events like thunderstorms, hot air balloons, gunshots, Fourth of July fireworks and firecrackers, Halloween and any similar event. Always keep your dog in quiet area away from the festivities on Halloween and the Fourth of July. If you hear a loud noise, it never hurts to give the puppy/dog a great food treat AFTER the sound. Read classical conditioning sheet for the how to directions.

 Avoid separation anxiety or attachment issues.

– A time will always come when you will have to be away or the dog will have to stay at the vet.

–Your dog should spend short periods of time daily in her own crate, exercise pen or dog-proofed room.

–Start preparing for pet-sitter visits, stays at a kennel, or whatever you plan to do when you are away. Prepare your pup in gradual stages. Start with a few hours, then overnights, and progress from there. Even if you are rarely away from home your pup/dog should be confident on her own and with other people. A normal healthy dog is confident away from you so keep her in practice.

 Train your dog.

–Sign up for a positive well-supervised puppy class as soon as possible. Observe a class with dogs without your dog before choosing a school. If you have time, take two puppy classes so your puppy gets as many puppy play sessions as possible. Look for a school with at least one Certified Pet Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed on staff. Go to www.ccpdt.com for details.

–Plan on taking three or four levels of reward-based classes over the first two years you have your pup. You want to achieve a level where you can have your dog’s attention and control your dog in ANY setting off leash. This might sound easy, but it is hard to do in real life. To keep your dog safe in the real world, your dog must have a good “stay,” “come,” and at least one rock-solid position like “sit” or “down.” Repeat classes until these skills are achieved.

–Make many behavior requests of your puppy every day once you have trained the basics. Mix it up, mix it up, mix it up. Keep it fresh, be creative and keep challenging the puppy a little bit with your training. Avoid ruts. Ask for a “down” at the door instead of a “sit.” Mix up the order. Keep your pup (and your adult dog) guessing as to what you will ask for next. See your “Easy Way…” sheet in my manual.

 Make good use of meal times.

–Free feeding is leaving food down in bowl for longer than 20 minutes. Never free feed a dog, Leave food bowl down for set amount of time (at most 15 minutes) and then put away.

–Every meal time is a training opportunity. You can practice obedience behaviors and reward your dog with his kibble. You can pair meals with things you want your dog to like, such as handling, grooming, the crate, etc. You can use a portion of the meal for rewards or even all of it if your dog is a good eater.

–During meal time, you can use Kongs or other activity toys so your dog has to work for her food. Hide her food in toys in the yard or the house. Dogs love this and use up some of their mental and physical energy in the process of getting a meal.

 Work on Emergency Call Word. See manual.

–Play games where your pup comes to you. Frequently reward your puppy for coming towards you and following you this will help with recall and leashing walking.

–NEVER punish a dog that has come to you. You are destroying your recall. NEVER pair your recall word with punishing events like leaving house, grooming, and bath. Just go get your puppy or use another word like “house” instead of your regular recall cue.

–Never chase your dog/pup. Never let your puppy play “keep away.” If your pup takes something you do not want her to have, do not chase her. Sit on the floor with toys or food and act like you are having a great time. Eventually the puppy will come to you. Then trade the stolen item for a treat.

–Teach an emergency call work. See the Emergency Call Word Sheet.

 Do not be harsh with your dog/pup.

–If you lose patience, put your dog in a crate or exercise pen to give both of you a break. Never train if you are frustrated or emotional. Keep your voice soft; no need to scare the dog, or the person next to you, with an ugly tone.

–Many people get in the habit of yelling out commands at their dogs. If your dog has learned good skills you will not need to raise your voice, and really, a raised voice is very disruptive in real life. I can whisper or use a subtle hand signal with an unneutered male Rottweiler well over a hundred pounds off leash, and he will happily obey as the result of consistent training.

 Build a trusting relationship with your dog.

–Always step in and take control so your dog will feel safe. Knowing that you will keep her safe is very important to your dog. For example, someone in class had a neighbor roughly handle his newly adopted shy dog without permission. This event escalated the dog’s already existing fear of strangers. Better to risk insulting your neighbor then damage your relationship with your dog. I often step between my dog and other people so I know I am in control if something unexpected may happen or I move my dog to avoid an obviously out of control dog.

 Keep improving your own dog training skills.

I recommend getting a dog magazine with positive training articles to remind you to train and give you ideas. Throw it in your bag for when you are stuck waiting at doctor or in bathroom. It is quick and easy to read a short article, and you get lots of valuable knowledge that way. See my recommended reading list at www.trainyourbestfriend.com.

Observe the dog unobtrusively to determine what this dog experienced the first few months of life. Gather any history on the dog if possible. Did the dog have any good experiences with people within the first few months of life? Did the dog have any good experiences with people up close and with body handling within the first couple months of life? Did the dog have any positive social experience with other dogs the first few months of life? What sensory experiences was the dog exposed to the first few months of life? Anyone or anything the dog did NOT experience or had a BAD experience with the first few months of life may be terrifying. An example being these dogs are often terrified by floor surfaces like tile or wood floors and even grass. Often they are absolutely terrified of people or handling.

Approaching, people entering room or entrance, people approaching in hallway, looking at, talking to or even just talking normally, reaching for the dog, touching collar, approaching dog in crate, petting, moving quickly, picking the dog up, standing from sitting position, leaning over or being on eye level, all can be terrifying for these dogs. Let the dog just get used to your presence without directing any attention towards dog. If dog sniffs you just avert your eyes and don’t reach for or talk to dog. The dog should always be able to move away from you to another area and you can use boxes or crates for them to hide. Never approach them in these spaces.

Note for Foster Homes- try to have other quiet people sit at distance from the dog and ignore as stated above so the dog doesn’t get overly attached to you since you hope to place the dog in another home eventually.

After cooling off period, try dog in quiet area that the dog is used to with one very social easy going dog and see if the dog seems more relaxed. The dog should be able to rest and relax around another dog before considering putting with another dog. Having dog company may make the dog happier and more relaxed but may not make him more social with people. Bring one dog at a time to his area. Don’t risk traumatizing the dog by taking him to another area with dogs. Some puppy mill dogs may have had bad experience in tight cages with other dogs and having to struggle to get food and may not enjoy the company of other dogs.

Anything that the dog didn’t experience the first few months of life may be terrifying for the dog. Grass, traffic, movement, sounds, cars, stairs, floor surfaces, sirens, strollers, vacuums, hair dryer, TV, big objects, and big open spaces are all common fears.

Less is always more with these dogs. Provide as quiet and calm environment as possible. Always let them approach you and don’t force handling.
Definitely read my blog How to Care for an Adopted, Foster, or Generally Fearful Dog (Part I) http://trainyourbestfriend.com/blog/2010/04/ for important tips and resources at www.trainyourbestfriend.com and read my past blogs about our adopted dog that originally came from a pet store before we adopted him at one year old. I have some other videos that may be helpful for those of you that have had your dogs for awhile and they are more comfortable with you so you can work with them a little. My YouTube channel is Jeninow1. Also check out the www.fearfuldogs.com site. There are lots of great blogs and video there.

Seek assistance from experienced positive dog behavior counselor or veterinary behaviorist, if needed. This person should be experienced with fear and not push the dog that could cause harm. Contact me with any questions or for referrals.

Set realistic expectations for these dogs. It is unlikely that they will ever be very social dogs you can take out in the world with you to lots of new places like a dog with a healthier beginning of life. Be satisfied with tiny victories like bonding with family members for playing in yard with your other dog or finding a quiet familiar trail for walking. Rescues -Be honest about what to expect with adopters and seek out quiet homes that are willing to accommodate and make adjustments for the dog’s needs this includes choosing a foster home. These dogs thrive on familiar calm predictable routines. Get them used to any changes very gradually over time.
It is wonderful you have taken the time and effort it takes to rehabilitate these dogs. We live with a “special” dog so we really get how much time and sacrifice is involved. He was only in a puppy mill for the first few weeks of life; most of your dogs were probably there longer. Jeni

Jeni Grant BA, CPDT-KA
Train Your Best Friend, LLC
www.trainyourbestfriend.com

Also see, watch, and listen to the articles in the right column on my recommended book page. If you digest these all, you will already know more about dog behavior than most people including dog professionals. Happy Reading!
http://www.trainyourbestfriend.com/books.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyBCUOynvMg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRL-Dre2vyU

The first thing to recognize is the resilience of each dog is different and backgrounds vary. For some dogs, your home will be the first normal, calm, and safe environment the dog has experienced.

What happened the first sixteen weeks of the dog’s life will have a profound effect on the development, social and coping skills throughout the dog’s life.

Some of the most psychologically damaged dogs I have encountered are dogs that have been extremely isolated in outdoor kennels, tied to doghouses, puppy mill, or breeder dogs, with little exposure to new people and the sights and sounds of the world.

At first provide as quiet and peaceful an environment as possible. For many adopted dogs the effects of past traumas will not emerge for a few months so proceed slowly and always err on the side of caution. Adding too much activity and new stresses in the beginning may create behavior problems that could have been prevented with more gradual transitions.

Think of it as rehabilitating not dog training. Most dog training advice is for completely confident well adjusted dogs, this advice often does not apply in the case of the adopted/foster dog.

In my adult life, I have one way or another adopted all of my dogs. Some proved with time to be very adaptable, and others had deeply ingrained fears and anxieties along with poor coping skills. Each dog is a little different much like people.

I recommend creating a peaceful dog proofed space for the dog away from outside & inside sounds. I find most of these dogs do better in an exercise pen rather than a crate.

Many of these dogs have had bad experiences with confinement in crates, therefore; the added space of the exercise pen can work well for them. Put exercise pen on inexpensive carpet or if dog will chew it or not housebroken a big cut out piece of linoleum.

Play soft classical music or buy Through a Dog’s Ear, music created to relax dogs. Provide lots of safe and fun toys and chew items. Just like babies, dogs should not have anything that can be swallowed. Good toys for stuffing with food and treats are Kong Toys, Busy Buddy toys from the company Premier.

Good foods for stuffing are: peanut butter, fat free cream cheese, fat free plain yogurt frozen with treats frozen in freezer, avoid anything with chemicals and dyes and of course partially hydrogenated oils. For all natural chew items, bigger is better to prevent swallowing small pieces, like bully sticks from better small owner pet stores or online, get ones from the U.S. Merrick Co. makes some good natural treats, smoked stuffed bones. Balls at appropriate size, rope toys as long as dog doesn’t shred them are good. Buster Cube toy dispenses food randomly and is tough toy. These are just a few good toys.

Chewing releases stress and will calm the dog so have lots available. Cover any windows where dog could see people or dogs outside or use baby gates to keep dog from rooms with windows where people, cars, etc. pass.

Feed dog in Ex Pen. If multiple dogs, feed all separately so they can eat without worry.

If the dog is afraid and cautious in house and/or yard, let the dog get comfortable in those spaces first before going out on outings.

When the dog is comfortable in the home environment, go out to very quiet areas and for short periods initially. I usually start with a quiet park trail at a quiet time of day and week. Most dogs do well in a no pull harness with clip on front of chest. Clip to harness and flat collar at first to ensure dog cannot wriggle out of harness. I like either the no pull body harness from the company Premier, or the Sense-ation harness from Softouch Concepts. Read instructions for all of this stuff, because there are important details. Sense-ation harness is only for walking not running, be sure it does not rub behind legs. For extremely fearful dogs that are afraid of handling put on a regular harness that can stay on and clips to leash along the back of dog. Some dogs are so afraid of people they must wear this with permanent leash because of extreme fear of handling. Use 6ft leash for most dogs. NO retractable leashes, these can lead to behavior problems, injury, poor control, and break often. Speaking of which, have your contact information on the dog before you even get the dog home. Use temporary write-on tag if necessary. The most common time for a dog to run away is when he is relocated to a new place or in transit to new place.

So for the first few weeks when this dog is ready, bring lots of irresistible food (ie. diced pieces of boiled chicken) on all outings, I usually bring around 2 cups and save any leftover in fridge for next outing. Let the dog sniff and take his time, so he feels safe in new environment. Detour away from people and other dogs at first, feed while you do this. This will set you up for success. Try to remain calm and relaxed while out, and don’t scold the dog for reacting to things. Keep quiet or use a soft gentle voice.

Avoid dog parks. These are often frequented by dogs with poor social skills and people that are misunderstanding bullying behavior for play behavior or, I hate to say it, are not using good judgment about looking out for the welfare of other people and dogs at the park. A bad experience could damage your dog and be overwhelming for an adopted dog. Wait for at least a few weeks before introducing dog friends and be sure these are mellow dogs and that your adopted dog doesn’t already have a bad association with dogs as many do. Many dogs live wonderful lives with people and not dogs. The exception would be a dog under approximately 6 months old. In this case, you want to be in a very positive and controlled dog class but again stay within the pup’s comfort level, don’t just throw him into a big group of dogs.

If you have other household animals, do gradual supervised introductions over a few weeks. The dog will do better if introduction is slow. Always, err on the side of caution.

If your new dog comes with common ordinary dog behaviors and needs some training, train without punishment. Start with a controlled setting, use a leash if you need a little more control. Use well timed positive reinforcement to teach desirable behaviors. Ignore unwanted behaviors like jumping up, being mouthy. The rewarded behaviors like sit, four paws on the floor, lying down, eye contact, will increase. Go to my blog at www.trainyourbestfriend.com to look for video example links coming soon. Often doing less and staying quiet, relaxed, calm, and still around dogs helps them quiet down. As famous dog expert Jean Donaldson says, the first question about each dog is “Is the dog upset?”, if yes then use classical conditioning to gradually change a bad association with something like car rides into a good association and this solves the issue.

An example of using counter classical conditioning, is to sit in yard with a dog, that gets very agitated any time a person walks by along fence, on leash with lots of over the top yummy food and the moment AFTER the dog looks in direction or you hear or see person walking by you feed the dog continuously until the person has passed and cannot hear person then feed a couple more seconds and stop. You do this each time someone passes and you keep dog out of yard when not working on exercise so the dog doesn’t see people passing without food only to ruin the great new association you are trying to build. Jean Donaldson’t book available online called “Mine!” has an outstanding explanation of how classical conditioning works and all the necessary details. It also has some excellent exercised for handling and restraint for vet visit as well as when necessary muzzle conditioning. These parts of the book are more than worth the price of the book even if your dog doesn’t guard things use the relevant for your dog sections of this book.

If the dog is not “upset”, than you can do normal training using the things that reinforce the dog in other words things the dog likes like food, toys, games, whatever the dog enjoys.

Introduce new things and situations gradually after a few weeks or when the dog is ready for more fearful dogs, when the dog is ready.

Never force a person, dog, or situation on a dog. Fear can create a permanent memory and cause problems in the long run. You want to avoid a behavior problem by introducing new things, people, or dogs, etc. when the dog is ready. Patience and time work wonders with these dogs.

 We have made some good progress recently and Charlie is developing some coping and adapting skills with new things in the home. So after canceling friends that were planning on coming to the house, we had my mother stay over. Worst-case scenario was we all wouldn’t get any sleep but I was hoping since this was one quiet adult that we would do better now. Well, Charlie was very excited about my mother and if I didn’t manage him with great treat rewards and have him go to his bed, he would herd her and block any walking progress and wanted sniff her and nibble on her clothes, which is a nervous habit of his but he did eventually lay down although with big sighs.  Progress!

The first night I knew he would be concerned about being in our room with someone else in the house and indeed he did keep us up for at least an hour whining but he did eventually give up and go to sleep. Progress, less fussing. The next night there was only the briefest whining at door and then he settled in for sleep again with lots of sighing which he does when concerned but we got a good nights sleep. Yes, progress and adapting! Yeah!

 My mother drove home yesterday and this morning when I came down to make coffee I heard Charlie fussing and whining upstairs and I knew he was looking for my mother. I opened the door to the

Grandma Judy with Charlie

room so he could see she was gone. I left him on the guest bed and he stayed there for a while but now we are back to normal.

 Yeah, progress. We are climbing a steep hill to normal but at least we haven’t slid back down to the bottom and the view is improving all the time.

Train Your Best Friend, LLC

www.trainyourbestfriend.com