What all new puppy owners should know (Photo: woman holding two sleeping puppies)
Your puppy isn’t a puppy for very long. The puppy stage lasts from birth to roughly six months of age. From six months until one to two YEARS of age, you have an ADOLESCENT. That’s a teenager.
While they won’t slam doors or tell you that “you’re the worst mom EVER!” they will test you to see if you’re cut out to be their leader or just their littermate. They BITE their littermates, by the way.
You have six to eight months to treat your puppy like a human baby/teddy bear OR to teach them how to behave calmly and politely in the human world — as a DOG. Most people, sadly, opt for option number one, because it fulfills a void in their lives.
Whose needs are being met? (Photo: small dog sitting on a lap — dog and owner are wearing the same sweater)
How about in this photo? (Photo: a puppy posed on a bed wearing a white bathrobe and “holding” a bottle of sparkling water)
If you choose option one, your puppy will likely do at least five things off of this list:
-bite you and your children
-bark at everything
-cause you joint pain from pulling on walks
-take forever to house train
-scratch up your floors
-counter surf (steal food off of counters)
-chase your kids, cats, and other pets
-destroy couches, remote controls, shoes, and purses
By the time they reach adolescence, they will be heavier, stronger, and have larger teeth. They will pull harder, bite harder, and those nails sure hurt when they jump up on everyone you know.
By taking a photo instead of teaching your puppy not to eat the furniture, you are accepting that behaviour as okay. (Photo: Weimaraner puppy gnawing on the corner of a bed)
If instead, you:
-select a puppy who is the right energy match for you and your family
-set simple boundaries on day ONE of your relationship (when they are still with the breeder)
-teach your puppy right from wrong on the FIRST day they are in your home (sure that photo of them on your kitchen counter at 8 weeks of age isn’t confusing to them at all, is it?!)
You will enjoy your puppy SO MUCH MORE (not only when they are a puppy, but through adolescence and adulthood.)
To be clear, I’m not saying never put your dog on your lap or never show it affection. I’m warning the owners who ONLY give affection and NEVER meet their puppies’ needs (exercise, structure, rules, boundaries.) Remember: if you pause to take a photo of your puppy being naughty, you are missing the opportunity to teach them to NEVER do it again. Don’t be confusing to your puppy. It doesn’t make you a nicer pet parent. It makes you confusing.
If you read ANY social media thread where everyone vents about joint pain from pulling on walks, jumping up, counter surfing, destructive behaviour — you will feel like you’re not alone. Here’s the TRUTH — NONE OF THOSE THINGS EVER NEED TO HAPPEN AND I CAN HELP YOU PREVENT THEM ALL!
Not being cocky. I’m just finally saying this out loud because I am so TIRED of reading threads where people’s answers to counter surfing is COMPRESSED AIR and LOUD NOISES…and their solution to too much barking is THROWING A CAN OF PENNIES NEAR THE DOG TO STARTLE THEM.
STOP doing that and call me for advice.
When your puppy reaches adolescence, it’s super common for this to happen:
“Jenny, sit.” (You’ve taught her to sit in puppy school and she knows what it means…at least, you think she does.)
Jenny doesn’t sit.
Person repeats the command. “Jenny, sit.”
Person gets frustrated and either repeats the command louder, yanks the leash, or pushes the dog’s bum down. Sometimes all three.
Jenny still doesn’t sit.
Human gives up. Human gives Jenny a treat anyway and pets her (both of these are REWARDS, by the way.)
Jenny is now the leader because the person didn’t follow through and rewarded noncompliance.
How to solve this:
1. Teach your puppy to sit in a variety of different places. If Jenny only knows how to sit in your kitchen when you have a cookie in your hand and are in front of her, she may not actually KNOW what SIT means (the word.) She knows what to do ONLY in your kitchen, when you stand in THAT position, and hold the cookie. Teach Jenny to sit in public places and don’t always stand in the same position.
2. Change your mindset. Training isn’t WORK. It’s not sitting at a desk being bored all day. It’s fun. It’s active. And you get to spend positive time with your dog.
3. Bring your calm and confident self to the party every single day. This is harder than it sounds, so if you can’t muster it up for yourself on a daily basis, do it for your dog. You’ve got this!
4. Sit isn’t the most important thing in dog training. Teaching your dog to be calm in public places is way more important. Sit can be taught at any time. It doesn’t have to be the first thing you teach your puppy just because everyone else is doing it.
5. Learn to be more patient. Saying “sit!” (or, ahem, yelling it) seven times will never work because dogs will not follow humans (or other dogs) who are tense, frustrated, or angry. Go to the gym, practice yoga, or take a long walk BEFORE you interact with your dog. It all begins with YOU.
It’s not going to get better with time (Photo: man with his hands on his Chow’s throat. The Chow is showing off his blue tongue. The man is wearing a watch.)
It’s not going to get better with time. Your dog doesn’t turn two and magically become a perfect adult dog and “settle down.”
Every dog is different. Dogs who seem to magically settle down at age two are likely the SAME or LOWER energy level than their owners. The owners likely dedicate a lot of time to training and exercise. They likely worked on their relationship (trust, respect, love) as opposed to simply ALWAYS petting their dog and rewarding hyper behaviour.
There’s ALSO a temperament test that reputable breeders do to MATCH the right dog to the right family. Dogs fall in a range from 1 (very “drivey” - make great working dogs and show dogs) to #6 (aloof and don’t really require humans all that much.) Some people LUCK out (even without the test) and get a #4. Number 4’s make first-time dog owners look like ROCKSTARS because they are easier to train and eager to please.
Is there a difference breed to breed? Yes…but this isn’t a novel. It’s a blog post, so I’d better go before you glaze over.
If you’ve made mistakes (we all have) and want to get some help to stop the jumping up, yanking on the leash, and counter surfing, schedule a FREE call with me. I would LOVE To help you turn your “devil dog” (yes, I just read that on someone’s newsfeed!) into your DREAM DOG!
Let us help your dog become your DREAM DOG (Photo: woman and dog sitting on a busy beach in the sunshine)
Better yet, I’d love to help you and your family SELECT the right puppy/dog for your family and then help you PREVENT any of the bad stuff from EVER HAPPENING.
Have an incredible weekend, Dog Leaders!
Alyssa
Photos by: Anna Dudkova (woman holding two sleeping puppies,) FLOUFFY @theflouffy (small dog sitting on a lap — dog and owner are wearing the same sweater.) Roberto Nickson @rpnickson (a puppy posed on a bed wearing a white bathrobe and “holding” a bottle of sparkling water,) Nathalie SPEHNER @nathalie_spehner (Weimaraner puppy gnawing on the corner of a bed,) Omid Armin @omidarmin (man with his hands on his Chow’s throat. The Chow is showing off his blue tongue,) Alvin Balemesa @alnbal (woman and dog sitting on a busy beach in the sunshine,)