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.

Puppy Training Video

I decided to post this video because I think it demonstrates well the fact that IT'S NEVER TOO EARLY TO START PUPPY TRAINING! The puppy in this video is 10 weeks old. Some people think that their puppy has to reach a certain age before training can begin.

You need to start training your puppy the day he comes home!

To reach the level the puppy is in the video the trainer previously taught him verbal commands and hand signals using the clicker. So the puppy has been taught in previous training sessions what the commands and signals mean. (He's not starting from scratch.)

Notice that the trainer is working off leash and never touches the puppy except to give praise or treats.

The puppy is pretty cute too!

The Puppy is the Parent of the Dog

OK--you might be a little confused by the title of my post. Just think about it a little. What kind of dog is your puppy going to be? It all depends on how well she is socialized. That's all it boils down to.

Not to alarm you, but experts say that your puppy must be fully socialized by the time she is 4.5 months old. Sure--you can work on socialization after that--but everything has been pretty much prewired by then.

Here's some more good news: MANY TRAINING AND BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS ARE CREATED WITHIN THE FIRST WEEK YOUR PUPPY COMES HOME. But don't worry--if you find solutions quickly you'll be much better off. And you've come to the right place for that.

Many puppy owners hope that their puppy will always continue to have the same happy and positive attitude that she did the day they brought her home. They don't worry too much about training and socializing until the dog reaches adulthood (or bites the neighbor, or won't stop barking). By then the great window of opportunity has passed.

Yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks. BUT--modifying temperament problems becomes more difficult as a dog ages. As Ian Dunbar says, "Socialization, confidence building, and temperament training must be accomplished during puppyhood. A spoonful of prevention is worth truckloads of cure."

So get out there and socialize your puppy--the clock is ticking people!