Puppy Training Tip--Handling Your Puppy's Feet

It's very important that you get your puppy used to having his feet touched while he's still young. We see many dogs at the clinic that need to be sedated in order to have their nails trimmed. They hate it that bad!

Perhaps if their owners had spent a little extra time handling their feet while they were little it would not be such a big issue.

The best way to get your puppy accustomed to having his feet touched is by everyday handling. It only takes a couple of minutes. When your puppy is sitting or laying quietly simply take his paw in your hand.

If he pulls his foot away you don't have to be bossy about it. Most puppies will pull their foot away because it's an instinctive response. Just talk to him quietly and take it slower next time if he seems unsure at first.

Once you have his paw gently touch and squeeze each of his toes. If he is sleeping you may be able to do all his paws at once. If he is awake and sitting up you may only be able to do one paw before he gets too excited and wants to play. That's fine.

Just do a little bit at a time everyday and you will have an adult dog that doesn't mind having his feet touched.

Your vet will thank you!

Critical Periods in Your Puppy's Psychological Growth

Puppies go through developmental stages just like human babies do. English dog trainer Stan Rawlinson outlines them nicely here. Read it over and find exactly at what stage your puppy is at right now.

Notice he says, "the most rapid learning occurs between 7 and 16 weeks." If you are not teaching your puppy anything you are totally missing out on this window of opportunity! What he learns now he'll remember for the rest of his life. The question is: will your puppy remember learning good or bad behaviors?

Many puppy owners think it's cute when their puppy jumps up on them. So they encourage the behavior by giving him lots of pets and praise when he does it. Then the puppy gets bigger and it's not so cute anymore. Now the owner will have a much harder time teaching the dog not to jump on people because he's already learned that it results in him getting attention.

The last paragraph also sums up the training philisophy that I TRULY believe in with all my heart. This is what I've seen work with my dogs. I've personally seen people work against this training method, and they are still having problems with their dogs.

"Being the leader does not mean you have to be big and aggressive. Nor does it mean that there has to be a battle of strength or wills, after which you emerge the victor. Anyone can be the leader. It is an attitude, an air of authority. It is the basis for mutual respect, and provides the building blocks of communication between you and your dog. It never means punishment or overt aggression."

Thank you Stan!

You can read the article here.

What developmental stage is your puppy in? Leave your comments below.