February 11, 2002
Monday

So your puppy is descended from a wolf.

How do we use that to our advantage? Since wolves are always on the move, they can't spend large parts of their lives teaching their young, so their young need to learn fast. This is why puppies have a Golden Age of Leaning, spanning from birth to about five to six months of age. In that time, young wolves are educated by their fellow pack members about what things are acceptable in their universe, and what things aren't. And that's about the amount of time you have, to do the same with your new pup.

So this is the period of time you want your pup to learn that kids are OK. That other dogs are OK. That bikes, and strangers, and cars, and vacuum cleaners are OK. And that all these things are not only OK, they're fun. So make sure that all these interactions are carefully supervised so they don't accidentally go badly, and that treats and praise are heaped on the youngun. The more positive exposure he gets now, and the more often it occurs, the less likely he will be to react negatively - with growling, barking, snarling and biting in Dog Language - later on.

Anytime your puppy shows any signs of nervousness or timidness, don't try to push him through whatever's making him fearful. If you can, back him off a bit, feed him a treat or four, and get him doing other stuff, like sit, down or rollover. In other words, distract him. Then, if you can, set up whatever made him nervous - like a stranger, or a kid, or even better, a kid stranger - so that it dispenses treats. And so he says to himself ' Hey little puppy self, these strangers are fun. Full of food and scratches, they are, by golly. Gotta have more of them in my life, I do, by golly'. Then, once he's back to comfortable, the stranger can make the treat a little harder to get, maybe contingent on petting.

The message that you want to send is that every time this strange thing appears on his horizon, he gets treats and lovin' when he lets it come close. And so he not only stops being frightened by strange new things, he welcomes them.

Next: Treats, and how to use them.

Editor's note: Baby photo of Lilly Langtry by M.C. Kauffman. Lilly Langtry is a member of the Kauffman family.

 

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