Why Should People Start Training and Socializing a Puppy and When Should They Start?

Here is the 411 on puppies. A lot of people neglect important needs in the beginning stages of a puppy's life and therefore shelters are flooded with 1-3 year old dogs. In most cases, the reasons dogs end up in shelters are completely preventable given us humans follow some simple guidelines. Hiring a professional dog trainer will give you a distinctive advantage on setting your puppy up for success

Puppy Socialization

When you get your puppy at 8 weeks old the puppy should see 100 new people by the time he or she hits 12 weeks old and then another 100 by the time 18 weeks hits. You should also bring your puppy around other stable dogs. You don't wanna just pick random dogs. Make sure you know the dog. Puppies who get attacked by dog aggressive dogs are likely to be dog aggressive too when they get older. This is why working with a qualified dog trainer is important. Socialization, however, is much more than people and dogs. There is also an environmental component to it as well(this is why professional assistance is needed). There is a saying in the dog training world, "prevention is the best cure for behavioral problems."

After your puppy hits 18 weeks old a lot of windows close and some things good and bad may be set in stone. There is a short time to get it right. Being full time dog trainers, we get a lot of calls a year for behavior problems with adult dogs. Most of these problems could have been prevented if a trainer was hired when the dog was young. Behavioral problems in adult dogs, most of the time can be made better. However it takes WAY longer and they'll never be as good as they could've if the problem was addressed in puppyhood.


Training Your Puppy

Next you're going to wanna start a training program with a professional dog trainer who has a sound understanding of learning theory(classical conditioning and operant conditioning), who is using positive reinforcement(toy or food). Puppies are so moldable and are VERY easy to train. If more people would start the first week they get their dog I am sure there would be a fraction of dog's in shelters. Dog trainers you'll want to avoid are those "yanking and cranking" dogs with a choke chain. They're out there. The good ones won't take young dogs. The bad ones will. What you'll end up with is an insecure, broken dog if these things are used on a puppy.

Everything in a puppy's life has to be 100% positive! The more good experiences they have, the better they'll view the world around them.

Here is a list of things we hear from people who waited too long to address a puppy's problem.

• We were waiting until the weather got better to start training and socializing.
• I was too busy to work with the puppy.
• We bought the dog for my twelve year old daughter. She is responsible for the dog.
• We thought giving the dog a home was enough.
• We wanted to give the puppy a couple of months to get used to us.

With the above being said, we understand dog owners don't intentionally avoid getting help. But rather don't understand that there is a time frame to get it right with puppies. The earlier you start dog training, the better. There are many more different scenarios that we hear daily, but those five are the most common. Dog training and socialization isn't like softball, football, soccer etc. It isn't a seasonal event. A twelve year old in most cases isn't mature and responsible enough to fulfill the obligations a puppy needs to be trained and socialized properly. We encourage children to get involved with a puppy's training but only under parental supervision. Giving a dog a loving home isn't enough. Actually beginning to train with your dog the first week with food and toys will  most definitely speedup the acclimation process! It will also allow the relationship to get off on the right foot.

Puppies need structure, rules, leadership and training so they understand the rules. We MUST remember, they're an animal at the end of the day. Training is a communication system since they don't speak English and we don't speak dog.

This is where training plays such a big role. At K-9 Reincarnation we have a quote we often say to our clients who let puppy's get away with bad manners and it's this, "Do you want him to do that 50lbs from now, a year down the road?"


Things that should be addressed in a puppy development plan

• Normal day to day situations: vacuum cleaner, garage door, objects dropped that create loud noises, stairs, getting on and off appropriate objects, getting in and out of the car, bikes and skateboards etc. These things should all be made to be positively a great experience.
• How to address bad manners without diminishing drive: jumping up, chewing stuff, door dashing, chasing pant legs and any other destructive behavior.
• Puppy Proofing: Is your home ready to accommodate a little furry ball of curiosity?
• House Breaking: How to crate train, how and when to verbally reprimand eliminating in the house, more importantly when and how to reward eliminating outside the house.
• Socialization: How to teach your puppy to greet people and dogs with manners and for the experience to always be positive for the dog. How to encounter things in the environment that may scare your puppy and how to expose them in small doses to teach them it's a positive experience.
• Training: All of our client's puppies learn sit, down, stand, stay, leave it, off and come. When a puppy is taught all of these with rewards at a young age it makes life WAY easier when they're older. 
• Good play habits: There is a right way to play with a puppy and a wrong way. Playing with a puppy the right way can condition a high value reward for obedience when the dog is older. The wrong way can lead to destructive behaviors.

With all of this information above, it can be overwhelming to achieve on your own. If a professional dog trainer is brought in, he or she will be able to prioritize for you. Giving you weekly goals to achieve with your dog will make life easier and happier with a new puppy.

Remember you could possibly have this dog for the next 15 years. Why not start off on the right foot! Socialize and train your puppy so he/she grows up to be a confident, happy and obedient adult dog. If you have questions and need some guidance give us a shout!!

Is it bad to get a dog really excited when playing with toys?

I think a lot of dog trainers discourage playing with a dog when highly aroused b/c they just don’t understand what they’re doing wrong. I used to be one too. Most of the time when people get bitten playing with a dog in drive it’s their fault. The most common mistake is they don’t give the dog steady targets.  Excitement is what we want. Obviously there has to be rules before we can use it as a reward for obedience, but the dog should be obsessed with the game to make it effective as a reward.

For example, when playing tug, give good presentations, the toy moves away in a straight line. This way the dog trusts the target will be there. The most common problem for dog trainers is they start off moving the tug correctly but they ark it into their body right before the dog is about to get it. This causes the dog to start guesstimating where the toy will be. This is where people get bitten by a dog in drive. The dog starts to not follow the target but then cuts the angle and goes where he or she thinks the toy will be. The handler then gets bitten. This has happened to me LOL !
The common concept among clicker dog trainers and escape/avoidance dog trainers is to never get your dog too aroused when playing. I think they’re losing a valuable scenario. If you can get your dog highly aroused over food or a toy and then ask for obedience we will teach the dog impulse control. I actually have a client right now that is doing these exercises b/c her American Bulldog mix couldn’t contain herself. It’s been about two weeks now. When I first came she would get really excited, jumping up etc.. and couldn’t control her behavior. Yesterday, the same dog was listening to cues flawlessly when I entered.

Wanna learn how to play with your dog in a productive manner?

So I guess as a dog trainer I challenge the idea of always trying to keep dogs calm b/c it’s not realistic. Obviously, in the learning stage we’re training in a neutral/sterile environment but once our dogs know their jobs we must up the criteria. Playing with a dog when he or she is aroused and asking for obedience will teach the dog self-control. If I am hiking with my dogs and they see deer, they’re not calm! If we do training exercises with dogs in this state of mind we have a much higher success rate at controlling them in real life scenarios.