Who’s Training Who?

      Training your Puppy . . . or Who’s Training Who?

            “I have worked with dogs my whole life, but everyday I learn something new.  When someone adopts a puppy from Spirit Hill Springers, we try to spend some quality time with their new owners at puppy Pick UP in the transition of bringing a new baby into their homes.  I like to prepare each new owner on the ‘what to do’ and the ‘what NOT to do’ tips that I have found to be successful in this transition.  Therefore, to help me in this goal and for thoroughness, I have prepared this page as a reference and as a resource.  Please use it as your own unique circumstances warrant”. . . Spirit Hill Springers

 ** First of all, I want to state that if you are raising your puppy for something other than as a house pet, like hunting, agility, therapy, etc., then you should follow the guidelines that you need to make those programs successful for your dog.  Believe me, training a search and rescue dog is completely different than raising a hunting dog; Different goals, different guidelines. So, if you are interested in one of those fields, please do your own research and follow their training methods appropriately. **

Let’s begin…

*The dog world is not the same as the human world.  Trying to fit your human idealisms onto a dog, or new puppy, is a disaster waiting to happen.  Dogs have clear definitions in their world of right and wrong.  Humans, on the other hand, always want to rationalize a dog’s behavior (good or bad) by  using their own sense of fairness, thus avoiding punishments and strong boundaries that are absolutely necessary in the dog’s world. For a dog, this only causes confusion, usually leading to problems that should never occur if the owner would only understand how the dog sees the mistakes that their human master(s), their “Alpha(s)”, make.  

*The first eight months are the most critical in your puppy’s training.  Everyone has heard the adage, “One dog year is equal to seven in human years.”  While that might be accepted over the total lifetime of a dog, I have found that it isn’t true during the first 12 months.  My breakdown is more like the following:

 Puppy Age:       Human Age:          Puppy Attitude/Development/What you should be doing   

5-11 weeks           1 – 3 yrs                Short attention span / Sleeps a lot / Full of energy / Perfect time to teach them what ‘no’ means     

3-5 months         4 – 7 yrs                 Lots of energy/ Desire to please / Follows commands / Figuring out who is Alpha / Should already                                                                     know most boundaries 

7-8 months         8 – 13 yrs              Getting stronger / Should know where s/he fits in the “pack” / Should be mostly trained as a pet 

9-12 months       14 – 17 yrs             Knows everything / If no apparent Alpha, will dominate other pack members / Strong and                                                                               hard-headed / Difficult to break bad habits (if not properly trained during the previous months)                                                                    /May need professional help to fix problems now

*Be a Pack LEADER.  If you are already a parent of human children, you know that trying to tell a 13-year old anything is almost impossible, much less a 17-year old!  My experience as a mother of four children and having raised a lot of dogs is . . .  there must be an ALPHA or someone that children/puppies understand to be the “Master of the House.”  Without this strong presence in a young puppy/child’s life, they will have no one to emulate, provide direction, teach them properly, and understand where they belong.  The void made by not having a strong parent/leader/Alpha only creates confusion, misunderstandings, and chaos.  In the puppy’s world, someone has to be the leader of the pack . . . it is a totally essential thing and must be there.  If a human parent doesn’t provide this leadership, then the puppy/dog will feel the need to fill it.  Why?  Because in the dog’s world, there must be a pack leader at all times!

What happens if the human parent isn’t the pack leader?  Usually biting, growling, aggression, and other things that the assuming Alpha (your dog) has to do to keep his/her pack (you) in line.  Most ESS would rather be a pack member and NOT a pack leader, so to force them into this position is unfair, mean, and cruel.  You’ve probably seen or experienced a dog that barks loudly, growls and acts all aggressively, then runs away barking and growling loudly as they flee.  These are usually dogs that have no wish to be a pack leader, but feel it necessary to “protect” their humans from strangers/noises/etc. as it occurs.  Owners get upset thinking they have an aggressive dog.  In reality though, it’s because their human haven’t shown them the proper leadership and dominance to be their pack leader, so they must do it unwillingly.

How unfair is that?!

If you can start training your puppy, even as early as a 5-6 weeks, then you are going to be showered with their love and respect for the rest of their lives.  At Spirit Hill Springers, we are already teaching our puppies not to chew on you or your clothes, jump up, whine or growl, what “no” means, etc., BUT new owners must continue the role of Alpha when they get home, or the puppy will soon be running the household.  Trust me, a puppy may seem cute and adorable when they are chewing or jumping up on you and your children at 8 weeks of age, but by 12 weeks, it is no longer fun and can be dangerous.

I talk to new owners about dominance and being the dominant.  This does NOT mean that you have the right to be mean and domineering.  There is a big difference. I like to use degrees of punishment when the need arises.  For instance, you have a puppy chewing you.  First off, I don’t care how old a pup/dog is ~ THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR ~ and should be dealt with immediately.  A puppy chews you for a variety of reasons, at first it might be because you have new tastes and cool clothing to chew on, but if this behavior is allowed to continue, a bigger problem will quickly ensue.  The next step for the puppy is . . . “your reaction” to his/her chewing on you.  If you haven’t already broken this bad habit, then the chewing gets stronger with damage to your clothing or skin.  NOW, you react in an upset fashion and the puppy says to himself, “Ah, I have gotten a passive reaction from this passive human, and I am now dominant over it!”  

I had a case where the parents didn’t fix the chewing problem and they didn’t teach their kids how to stop the bad behavior either (but then, why would they if they hadn’t done it for themselves?)  I get the phone call:   

Owner:                 “The puppy (10 weeks old) is biting the kids.  What do I do?” 

My response:       “Have you told her “no” and dealt harsher with her?”   

Owner:                “I tried, but she doesn’t listen, now the kids are afraid of her.”                                                                                                                                                                                   

My response:     “Afraid?  What do the kids do when the puppy comes around?”                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Owner:                “They scream and run from her.” 

If you don’t see the problem here, then re-read it again.

(Answer:  Their puppy not only didn’t get the early discipline of acceptable/unacceptable behavior, she is now viewing the kid’s reactions as a new kind of “game.”  It’s called, “Chase the kids and they scream and run away.”  What a great game for a puppy who is quickly becoming the alpha in his/her pack (the human family)!  Fortunately, this puppy was still young enough to learn and we changed her behavior.  But remember, the punishments get harsher and more physical as a dog/puppy gets older and stronger, so I always say, “The earlier training begins, the better it is for everyone!”)

*Never tolerate behavior in your puppy that you don’t want to see in your adult dog.  Unfortunately, I hear this more frequently from parents of young children, “Don’t worry, they’ll out grow it.”  This free-spirit attitude is commendable and prevalent among younger parents, but it’s a time-bomb waiting to explode in their faces somewhere down the road (in my opinion) because children need boundaries, guidance, and structure in their lives.  Puppies are the same and more so.  You cannot “talk” to your puppy to explain what you are doing, so everything you do must be spoken in “dog talk.”  Do I think that you are Dr. Doolittle and can actually speak to them, obviously not, but you CAN assume the same mannerisms, disciplines, and rewards that are acceptable for a puppy to understand.  

For example: When a new dog enters the pack, what usually happens?  Answer:  The new dog is immediately descended upon by the rest of the pack and if the new dog doesn’t submit to the bottom willingly (usually by falling to the ground and exposing his/her belly), then a “growl-off” or fight might ensue. THIS HAS TO HAPPEN TO MAINTAIN THE ORDER IN THE PACK. 

So when you introduce a new puppy to your household, including another adult, children, other pets, etc. this puppy must learn where his/her place is in the pecking order of his/her’s new pack.  Every original member of a family (or pack) must be higher in the pecking order for the new puppy to understand where s/he belongs.  Children must be taught that they have dominance over this puppy (Again, this does NOT mean domineering or abuse).  We discuss techniques and offer suggestions at Puppy Pick UP for each family based on their family dynamics.  Please ask, if you need help or we forget to advise you. 

*Punishments can come in many forms*   Most people think that the phrase, “to punish” means to hit or strike.  I completely disagree.  There are many ways to discipline your dog without resorting to the upper end of the punishment scale.  Starting early is the best way to begin as puppies are much more receptive to firm behavior and  sharp noises.  When a puppy is young, you can usually get by with a firm “no” or harsh voice to get the point across, but . . . 

~~ Dogs communicate mostly through body language and voice ~~  These are the most important tools to use in your discipline toolbox!  If dogs are happy, they lick each other and play happily.  If dogs are trying to intimidate or let another pack member know they are unhappy with their behavior, they might 1) curl a lip, 2) growl (there are degrees of this trait from just a low rumble in the back of their throat to a full blown growl!), 3) assume the dominant stance, 4) walk away (if they aren’t ready to stand up to the other dog) , 5) attack the offending pack member, or 6) any combination thereof. 

     While you will not actually do these “doggie” reactions in your response to a situation, you must remember the fundamentals of what each thing represents and use a similar response in your “humanized” version of discipline.  A growl can become your voice that grows in intensity and harshness.  A curled lip (usually the lowest form of discipline) can become just pushing a puppy away or stop playing with him/her.  The dominant stance could become holding your head up and looking meanly at the puppy while changing your own body language to indicate your displeasure (slapping your hands, stomping your feet, “puffing” up your body to look bigger).  As a final resort, you can add a sharp, quick slap (only if necessary) to the above to really get your point across (or your version of attack).  I find that if you finally get to this point, then it is necessary as the puppy is “not getting the message”.  It is perfectly ok to do this, since other pack members are rather harsh to young pups and their mischievous ways when all else fails. 

~~Withdraw your affection/attention~~   Personally, I think this form of discipline can sometimes work the best in certain situations.  If a dog/puppy is doing something that displeases you, it might be that you aren’t paying enough attention to the dog/puppy.  I have found that kids will act out if you are showing too much attention to another sibling, so they act out because “negative” attention from a parent is better than no attention.  If you are upset by a puppy’s behavior, then you can do parts of the above, as well as, withdrawing from your puppy/dog’s request for affection (or a combination of both discipline and then avoidance). 

 ~~Seek professional help quickly if you feel a situation is escalating~~  Every trainer would love to help an evolving bad situation “sooner than later” simply because it is easier to nip something in the bud earlier, before the problem becomes a habit or possibly dangerous.  If you cannot resolve a situation by yourself, or if what you are doing doesn’t seem to be working, it is time for some professional or experienced help.  Spirit Hill Springers has solved many problems just through a phone call.  Others have brought their dog back (where we usually find that it isn’t the dog that is at fault, but the owners who don’t understand “dog culture”.) and we take the time to show the owners what is wrong and how to handle it.  We stand by our dogs and want to see a happy family atmosphere always. 

Always remember:  You are the parent.  You are the leader.  You are in command of that pup/dog.  And if you do that, they will worship you.  

 

*Note: all information and points of view in this article are those expressed solely by Spirit Hill Springers and their affiliates.  Use it only as you see fit in your own unique circumstances *