KINDERGARTEN PUPPY TRAINING   

                                              by Laurelle Reilly

Puppy education and the new owner

On bringing a new puppy into your home you are not only responsible for its care and well being, but also for its education, if it is to grow into a well behaved socially accepted companion.

Dogs, though domesticated, still have the same instincts as their great ancestor, the wolf, which has a highly structured society and a need to be part of a group (that is why dogs fit so well into a family situation).  The whole pack shares in the feeding, rearing and training of the young.

 The young wolf pups need to learn to:

·         Hunt, track and fight, and where they should be so as not to scare the prey.

·         How to communicate with other members of the pack.

·         Their place in the pecking order.

·         How to stalk and blend in with the scenery to hide.

·         Greeting patterns when encountering other wolves.

·         How hard or soft to bite when playing with siblings.

·         How to manipulate other pack members to achieve a goal (including their elders into giving them a share of the meal). 

All this and much, much more are learned in a very short time. The young wolves will perfect these skills as they grow.

  After weaning at about 8 weeks old nature makes them a learning machine, they now have the same brainwave patterns as an adult (but with no knowledge) so they can absorb their environment, there is much they must learn quickly in order for the survival of the pack.

At about 16 weeks of age Mother Nature now tells them that they must start to investigate more of their world on their own.  Up until now they have done this as a group.  Because they are not old enough or strong enough to protect themselves from danger, nature gives them a self-preservation urge to run first and ask questions later. Nature does this for the survival of the species. If pups were fearless they would be killed at their first encounter with an enemy, and there would be no future generations. We call this time in their life a" Fear Period " that is why pups bark, raise their hackles and back off, or run away from strange people or places at this age.

If a wolf pup is capable of learning all these things at such a young age, because Mother Nature gives them the ability to be imprinted, we are badly neglecting our domesticated pups that have the same ability, if we do not start imprinting as soon as possible after 8 weeks of age and before 16 weeks when nature takes them into their next stage of development.

  In this course, you will be learning how to establish a predictable environment in which your pup can grow and learn. We will be teaching the pup by using its natural instincts and developing its problem solving abilities, in short, teaching it how to learn.

  PECKING ORDER       

Firstly you must begin to establish your pups place in his new pack (your family), which will be as the lowest subordinate member.  This can be achieved by using similar actions, as a dog would (dog language), so your pup can more easily understand what you are trying to communicate to him.

  DOMINANCE               

FEEDING                 

Because wild pups rely on the higher ranking pack members to feed them, when we feed the pup we are imitating this.  There are rules to feeding - always feed your pup after the family has eaten, as the lowest pack member eats last. (You can also add leftovers when feeding this way,) Recent studies show that the lowest member does not always eat last, but it can't hurt and may help, by feeding this way. Never leave more than your pup can eat in 5 to 10 minutes. If your pup has a ready supply of dog food at hand, he will not look on you as the provider.  When ready to feed use the command word COME or HERE, later on, when it has learned the exercise you can ask your pup to SIT before allowing him to eat.

TERRITORY                   

You have probably heard of the saying 'Let sleeping dogs lie' the reasoning behind this is that where a dog sleeps is its territory.  Pack leaders control the territory.  The rules here are YOU control the territory because you are the Pack Leader. If your pup is sleeping in a doorway or hallway, gently nudge him and ask him to move, even if you could easily walk around him.  Never allow the pup through doorways or gateways first, leaders go first.

GAMES                   

The way a pup learns his place in the pecking order is through games, testing his strength against other opponents, litter mates.  The rules here are play with your pup as much as you like.  Your pup may win on several occasions, but YOU must always win the FINAL GAME, and whatever you were playing with no matter how trivial, must go with the victor. YOU!

POSSESSION              

Every member of your family must always be able to take anything off your pup at any time, whether it is a bone, food, toy or stick.  Remove your pups food dish whilst he is eating and place something special such as a piece of cheese on top before returning it to him.  This stops any conflict occurring, as the pup learns that you always give it back with something extra on it and will soon look forward to you taking his bowl. Ask him to SIT, give him his bowl back and pat him telling him he’s a GOOD DOG.  Try the same procedure with other items.  Always give your dog a stroke or pat while he is eating, to make sure he doesn't become possessive.

HANDLING           

Handle your pup daily. Place him on a non-slip surface, brush him with 2 or 3 strokes, then run your hands over the pup from nose to tail.  Open his mouth, lift his eyelids, look down into his ears, lift each paw one at a time and touch each nail.  Clip one nail each day with a pair or dog nail clippers, lay your pup on his side stroke him and rub his stomach then release him with a GOOD DOG and a quick game. If you do this every day, your pup will grow into an adult that will allow you to medicate, clean his ears, clip his nails or anything else that comes with  general maintenance.

SICK OR INJURED  PUPS 

Our first instinct after treatment or upon recovery of a sick or injured pup  is  to show our affection by feeling sorry for him and over petting the pup waiting on him hand and foot.  These are HUMAN BEHAVIOURS not DOG. An injured or sick dog looses status in the pack and will most probably  go down a position or two in the pecking order, and will have to fight to regain its place on becoming well . Our sick or injured pup is suddenly elevated to leadership status with everyone in the family suddenly changing  their roles.  The pups boosted ego makes him uncontrollable on full recovery,  and your fight to regain leadership must start all over again. Be caring and kind, but the rules stay the same as when he was well.

SOCIALISATION   

It’s very important that you start socialising as soon as possible.  Your pup should be introduced to as many new non-threatening people and places as possible, making each experience a positive one. If your pup appears afraid of a situation, do not force it to investigate but don't backtrack either or your pup may think you too are afraid.  Take your pups mind off what is happening around it by playing with a soft toy or ask your pup to SIT for food reward, then leave in a new direction.  The more mild stress your pup has now, the more it will be able to handle in the future.  Remember that very stressful situations may leave a fear imprint that will take lots of retraining to erase.

BITING                        

All pups bite things, it is their way of investigating and interacting with their environment.  Most puppies have learned to use an inhibited bite (to bite without using very much pressure, to bite softly) whilst still with their littermates.  If in playing they bit a littermate too hard it would retaliate fiercely and the game would end which is not what the first pup intended It would learn never to bite that hard again if it wanted to continue playing. Some pups begin to bite hard again once in their new home because their new human pack doesn't react in the same way.  The pup thinks it is O.K. to start biting harder as the human pack seem to enjoy it by making lots of fuss and waving their arms about .You must learn to imitate the littermate by ending the game.  If the pup bites too hard say "OUCH" stand motionless with no eye contact for 10 or 15 seconds making sure to fold your arms, then resume play.  If the pup bites too hard again say ouch, end the game and leave the room.  (THIS IS A VERY COMPLEX ISSUE, AND ONE THAT CAUSES THE MOST CONCERN FOR NEW PUPPY OWNERS, IT WILL BE DEALT WITH FULLY LATER, UNDER TRAINING.)

"pups with their grandmother"

CHEWING                  

Your pup will go through several chewing stages before it is one year old, and you should teach him what he is and isn't allowed to chew.  Establish a preference for allowable items, but always remember that a pup cannot distinguish between old and new, so don't give your pup old slippers and then get upset when he has just chewed up your new ones.  Make sure your pup has toys of his own such as a rubber bone, Kong, rope knot or other dog toys as well as a hard dog biscuit or knuckle bone occasionally.  When you catch your pup chewing an "illegal" item say NO in a firm voice, but not a threatening one, remove the item and give him one of his own toys and praise him.  Don't force him to take it or you will make him dislike it.  Wipe "illegal" items with methylated spirits and make sure not to get any on his toys. Because a dog will always believe his nose more than his eyes or ears, when he smells something that has a bad memory for him he will avoid it.  Creating a 'scent memory' is easy.  You will need some cotton wool, methylated spirits, and an "illegal" article.  Soak the cotton wool in the methylated spirits and squeeze it out lightly.  Place an illegal article on the floor with some methylated spirit cotton wool in and around it, the trap is set. The moment he sees the article he will come running to investigate and smell or pick up the cotton wool.  Every time the pup smells methylated spirits he will recall this very unpleasant event and will avoid anything that smells like it.  If the pup chews on your furniture wipe the spot with some methylated spirits. 

"Andacht Praetorian Guard CD" "TORIAN" with the grand children and a pup.