Training your dog should come with patience, and the knowledge that your dog, 1. Needs to be taught our language, 2. WILL make mistakes, and 3. They WILL pee and poop in your house eventually, tear up your rugs, chew up your shoes and cause you mayhem. But in turn, you should pick up that rolled up newspaper and hit yourself in the head. This isn't your dogs' fault, it is YOURS alone.
You KNOW the responsibility of a puppy/dog. Your dog does NOT inherently know the words "NO!" and "BAD!". They only understand tones and body expression. Pointing and yelling only scares them into submission. Submission should be freely given out of respect and love, not because of a rough hand and squeals of pain.
Your dog needs to be taught the rules of the world. Puppies are born a blank slate, with the abilities and knowledge to be sculpted into beautiful and intelligent creatures, capable of being your companion. Your dog may even save your life one day. They deserve to be treated like children, because just like children, puppies have pure innocence. They know nothing of bad or good. They know what they've seen, sniffed, touched, bit. That's it. YOU must teach your puppy/dog the experiences you want them to know.
Beating your dog into submission causes very dangerous dogs, especially to young children. The more you raise your hand to your dog, the more likely they are to associate hand raising with abuse, and eventually, your dog WILL defend themselves. Your dog will defend themselves against adults, teens, children and infants. They can't tell the difference between a helping hand and a hurting hand. YOU must be responsible for what your dog sees when you walk towards him.
Being authoritative without being abusive seems to be a thin line for some. Typically, these people have little patience and require things to be done their way, right now! These rash and often harsh movements do nothing but mentally and physically harm your dog into a dog without confidence.
A dog without confidence is a dangerous dog. A dog without confidence is a dog that will BITE and defend itself to anyone it is afraid of. Your dog needs to feel confident, happy, energetic and loving. If you have these emotions, your dog will too. The more confident you are, the more confident your dog is.
Your dog isn't trying to purposefully disobey you. If your dog doesn't listen, you need to ask yourself a few questions, 1. Have I taught my dog this before? 2. Have they responded correctly to this command before? 3. What am I doing differently? 4. What can I do to set my dog up for success?
What I'm trying to say by posting this blog, is that if YOU or someone you KNOW if abusive to dogs, DO WHATS RIGHT. Stand up to them. Be your dog's hero. Talk for them, be there, stand in the way and do what you KNOW is right! End the violence. Dog abuse in a family isn't just abuse on the dog, it's abuse on the family, even if that person doesn't lay a hand on the animal. They are responsible for the way their children treat dogs in the future, and if you want to prevent more abuse, stop it NOW!
Please, do the right thing. My boyfriend did, he is my hero, and his family dog's hero.
This may be a quite emotional post, but letting emotion's out is the first step to success in developing appropriate relationships with the people and animals around you.
Do the right thing, stand up. SHOUT. ROAR!
Keep those tails wagging,
Keep those tails wagging,
The Scribbler
Choosing the Right Breed for You
Many people have asked me, "How do I know what breed is right for me?" and it comes down to deciding what qualities are endearing in a dog and the qualities in a dog that are actually fit for you and your family. When choosing your next family member (if you don't think this dog will be a member of your family, and that it will spend a great deal outside unsupervised, I highly recommend not getting a dog), please take into consideration the following things:
Does everyone in your family want to get a dog?
Are they all willing to participate in the dogs well being?
Are you financial stable enough to pay for dog food, vaccines, spay/neuter, micro-chipping/tags, etc.
Are dogs allowed in the house/apartment you are living in?
Is there room for your dog to expend energy?
Is there room for your dog to expend energy?
If not, are you and your family members able to dedicate the amount of walking required for the breed?
If you've answered NO to at least half of these questions, I would STRONGLY reconsider adding a dog to your family.
If you answered yes to all of them, we can continue.
The type of dog you pick can be significant to where you live, as well as your lifestyle.
If you aren't a particularly active person, living in an apartment and don't dream of long daily walks, a Border Collie shouldn't be within 100 miles of your choices.
However if you live on a large piece of property, enjoy running and have lots of ideas in keeping your dogs brain working, a Border Collie might be for you.
Some people find that a more rare breed that has beautiful characteristics is more appealing than a dog that fits them physically, which doesn't always work out unless you are willing to adapt to your dogs needs.
For example, a small family of four who adopts a German Short Hair Pointer because their hunting Uncle has 5 of them and they are all very well behaved will begun to struggle after puppy-hood has worn off.
If you are still struggling to find the right breed for you, Animal Planet has a great breed selector that bases it's options on several different indicators. I would suggest using this to help you find the perfect puppy.
As for finding the perfect puppy for your family and lifestyle once you have chosen the breed, the breeder should be able to help you with that aspect.
By the time the puppies are ready to be taken to their new homes, their personalities are beginning to bloom and puppies should show very distinct characteristics. If you are a family with younger children, a more mellow, relaxed puppy of the litter would be the best choice. Likewise, a family with older children might want a puppy with higher energy to keep up with the energy levels of the older children. The breeder should ask questions about a typical family day and match a puppy to that type of day.
When picking a puppy, try doing the following:
Does the puppy allow you to pick it up with out too much fuss, whining or nipping?
Sit down and hold the puppy down on it's back, does it flail, bite and nibble?
Touch the puppy's paws, look at it's teeth- does it allow you to do so?
Do the other puppies seem to yip and cry around that puppy?
If you answered yes to all of these, I would suggest picking a more mellow puppy. The type of puppy described could be difficult to train and might be too "dominant" of a personality for some new dog owners.
Separate questions, comments and concerns are always welcome.
Remember, keep those tails wagging!
The Scribbler
As for finding the perfect puppy for your family and lifestyle once you have chosen the breed, the breeder should be able to help you with that aspect.
By the time the puppies are ready to be taken to their new homes, their personalities are beginning to bloom and puppies should show very distinct characteristics. If you are a family with younger children, a more mellow, relaxed puppy of the litter would be the best choice. Likewise, a family with older children might want a puppy with higher energy to keep up with the energy levels of the older children. The breeder should ask questions about a typical family day and match a puppy to that type of day.
When picking a puppy, try doing the following:
Does the puppy allow you to pick it up with out too much fuss, whining or nipping?
Sit down and hold the puppy down on it's back, does it flail, bite and nibble?
Touch the puppy's paws, look at it's teeth- does it allow you to do so?
Do the other puppies seem to yip and cry around that puppy?
If you answered yes to all of these, I would suggest picking a more mellow puppy. The type of puppy described could be difficult to train and might be too "dominant" of a personality for some new dog owners.
Separate questions, comments and concerns are always welcome.
Remember, keep those tails wagging!
The Scribbler
Bringing Your New Friend Home
I have been thinking about getting a German Shepherd puppy in a few years and I have been going over a check list of things to do before I actually purchase the puppy. This check list is critical for anyone who is thinking about bringing home a new puppy-especially first time buyers/adopters.
Before You Bring Puppy Home:
1. Do you research on a few different breeds. Animal Planet has a great dog breed selector that will help you pick a breed of dog specific to your needs and abilities as an owner.
2. Once you have picked the breed of dog you want, perhaps doing some in depth research about that breed would help you decide if this really is the dog for you! The American Kennel Club has great information about the breed standard which includes the appearance of the dog, it's temperament (The AKC goes off of the ability of the dog to do it's intended job) and some disqualifications in the showing ring (those who show dogs are more interested in these facts than "pet" owners).
3. After affirming that this is the breed for you, the American Kennel Club has links to Breed Rescues, Breeder Referrals and Classified Ads to help you in your search for finding the right dog for you. If you are choosing to adopt a dog, try PetFinder. This is a highly reliable resource that features horses, cats, dogs and many other animals for adoption with contact links to gather more information about the animal you wish to adopt. However if you choose to stick with a Breeder, please take the following things into consideration:
- Are the puppies kept inside on a constant basis (except for supervised outside play time)?
- Do the puppies look healthy and well cared for?
- Are the parents on site and available for temperament checks?
- Have these puppies been certified against any typical Breed diseases or issues?
- Is there a guarantee for their puppy?
- Do they require you to spay/neuter your puppy?
- Does the breeder have the ability to match a puppy with your family based on personality?
4. Prepare your home for your new puppy (or puppies!) arrival with the next stage in the process of Bringing Your New Friend Home.
Bringing home Puppy:
1. If you haven't visited the puppy you or the breeder has chosen, do so at least twice so the puppy becomes familiar with you and your family. This will make the sudden transition from being with Mom to your home a lot more subtle and less stressful for your little pup.
2. Ask the breeder what kind of puppy chow they've been feeding your puppy and the potty schedule the puppy is used too. To ease the puppy into unfamiliar territory, continue to provide familiar objects like food, toys, and blankets to the new environment to stimulate happy memories until new ones can be created with lots of love, play time and training!
3. Buy a crate. Your new puppy will cry, whine and yip for his old family for at least the first night and crate training is the best to way to ensure that he/she isn't getting into anything in the middle of the night in-between potty breaks.
4. Don't overwhelm the pup on the way too and when you arrive home. The puppy may be disoriented if he/she has been given preventative vomit medication for the ride home. Let the puppy explore (obviously, supervised) around the home. Once the puppy has finally settled in, let them initiate play time with the kids or you!
5. If you haven't had a puppy before, I would suggest a puppy training course. Though it can be sometimes expensive, re-call training is PRICELESS when it can save your dog!
6. Finally, ENJOY PUPPY-HOOD! It doesn't last forever, even though the first few nights with every two hour potty breaks, whining and whimpering, and then the sudden onset of chewing it can be a nightmare (especially for unsupervised puppies!). The easier you make it for your puppy to succeed, the happier you and your puppy will be (Thank you, Victoria Stilwell!).
As always there is a possibility that I missed a crucial part in the Bringing Home Your New Friend process so leave comments, ask questions and most of all, keep those tails wagging!
The Scribbler
