Pawd-cast #2
January 14th, 2008
Dog Essentials
All dogs regardless or size or stature need four things from us to become a really well balanced, behaved dog:
1. Leadership
Ø Control Environment – Have dog wear leash in home only when supervised or use crate when dog cannot be supervised. Certain things need to be kept off limits until you have establish you are higher up then your dog (bed, couch, bedrooms, ect)
Ø Control Interactions – don’t allow dog to demand attention by nudging your hands or jumping up. Don’t play every time your dog brings you a toy.
You must have them earn all interactions.
Ø Setting Limits/Limit Carrying your small dog or puppy
Ø Dogs are all about eye contact, touch and body language. Dogs do what works. I do A I get B. Never share affection, such as, petting and holding with a dog when they are hyper, jumping, growling, nervous or scared. This reinforces the behavior. Instead redirect with the leash, take dog for a walk or distract.
2. Socialization
Ø Get your dog used to all different people, noises and places. Do this while your dog is on leash and remember not to pet them if they are fearful or excited. Make it no big deal and do it in short positive spurts. Get your dog socialized to other dogs outside of the home so they won’t become dog aggressive. If you have a smaller dog supervise interactions with larger dogs as they could, by their sheer size, inadvertently hurt a small dog by stepping on them or putting their paws on them. Also, some larger dogs can view small dogs as prey rather than another dog, therefore, make sure the large dog is friendly and amenable to playing with your small dog. Again, this should be done under supervision only. Watch the dog parks.
3. Exercise
Ø All dogs need a good energy draining exercise. You need to walk your dog properly at a minimum of 30 minutes a day. Throwing a ball is great after a walk but fetch or playing with another dog should never replace a good structured walk.
4. Job
Ø All dogs need obedience training. Giving them a job through using your obedience commands will help relieve boredom/naughtiness, teach self-control and give you a vocabulary you can use with your dog to reinforce house rules and encourage good behavior.
