Puppy love revisited
Follow up on my puppy advice from before, which you can find here:
Leash Training: You can’t take pupster out to the park without a leash. And how many times have you seen a dog tugging his leash and making life hard for his owner? There is a cure. It’s called a pinch collar. Some folks say that these collars are cruel. I disagree. When compared to a choke collar, a pinch collar is more humane and easier to use. With big dogs, you must yank pretty hard to get their attention with a regular choke collar. Plus, too hard of a tug can damage pupster’s throat. A pincher collar takes only a snap of the wrist and only pinches the skin. Even if you’re clumsy and do it too harshly, it will only be superficial damage as opposed to damaging a larynx. Your pup should pay attention to you on a leash. Keep treats with you when training him to use his leash. When you take a couple of steps, hand him a treat without stopping. He’ll learn to pay attention you which is what leash training is all about. This makes life easier on both of you. Only snap his collar if he tugs and you want to keep him close. He’ll soon learn not to tug too much. Leash training is entirely about repetition. Also, take obedience classes. Learning to ‘heel’ requires a leash.
Company: Know your company. If you have people coming over that don’t really like dogs, then put pup in the yard. Some folks are naturally scared of dogs. This makes your dog excited since they can sense these things. When I know company is coming, I put my dogs in the yard. Once company arrives and has settled in, I open the doggy door and pupsters come in and don’t react as excitedly to the new guests. This avoids the mass greeting my dogs give to people when they come in the front door and are tackled by two decent sized dogs. This mass greeting involves jumping, licking, and the fastest moving butts you ever saw. This also teaches my dogs that people who come in when you’re outside are OK.
Set your limits on day one: If you don’t want a full-grown dog on your furniture, never bring the pup on the furniture to begin with. If you don’t want a 230 pound Mastiff crawling into bed with you at 3 a.m. then don’t allow him in your bed as a pup. Much easier to teach them this from the beginning than to let them do it and try to break them of it when they’re bigger (as my wife is now learning, despite my warnings).
Have your dog fixed: Unless you’re a breeder, there is no need to not have pupster spayed or neutered. This can curb behavioral problems, reduces health risks, and prevents aggression. Oh, and did I mention it avoids unnecessary trips to dog pounds.
