Episode #11 The Puppy Problem

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I'm Amy Jenson, and this is the puppy training podcast episode number 11. The puppy problem. This podcast is for those looking to train their own dog, whether as a family, companions service or a therapy dog. And I'm here to help you every step of the way. This is the puppy training podcasts, and I'm your host. Amy Jensen. Hi, everyone. Today I want to address something that I consider the puppy problem. I want to talk a little bit about what it is, why it's a problem and what I'm doing about it to help solve that problem. So basically, when I say puppy problem, I'm talking about that critical lapse in puppy training. That's some of the most important learning phases in a dog's life, and it occurs when a new pet owner transitions the animal from a breeder's home into their own, and initially, they just don't know what to do. They're not understanding why it's important and what's important, and then deciding to wait and see if it's really necessary, and then subsequently only choosing to seek a professional trainer to come in and help in the way of courses and classes later, after their public begins causing problems, so it's already picked up some bad behaviors. And then it's now entering the challenges of doggy adolescence and families start to panic and think, Oh, I do need some help. Let's get some help. So I believe that that gap in between the breeders home and then when the family finally decides to get some training help, there's a gap in there that could be closed. And that's what I consider the puppy problem. And today we're gonna address that and how I'm going about trying to fix that problem and how that can benefit you, especially if you're planning on getting a new puppy in your home sometime soon. So what I've learned through the years of watching, learning, teaching, coaching and finally putting all together was that dogs go through various vital developmental phases as they grow up and there are lasting consequences. There are either good or bad, that are the outcomes of their experiences, both positive and negative, and this collectively impacts the overall healthiness and eventual happiness of our dogs and our relationship with um so things that need to happen at certain points of time are not always happening And when they do, usually it's too late. So the effects of these mishaps, or behavioral problems like barking, digging, chewing, biting jumping that inevitably persist throughout animal ownership and eventually lead pet parents to give up on the idea of some joyful canine companionship in their home backed if we consider dog developmental phase is the very most important ones are those in the beginning days, weeks and months of a new puppies life. Thes phases are fundamentally critical and have lasting life altering implications, so these initial phases and the human involvement that needs to happen can be orchestrated for success. But often times isn't and when it's mismanaged, mostly because people don't know any butter, this becomes the puppy problem. And it results in a lifetime of many pet owners living with a really hard dog, a dog with behavior issues that they don't know how to reverse. So in order to properly provide the very best start possible, many incredible breeders play their part so amazingly well, and they firmly established these future family pets on the best pathway towards successful family living. But then the new pet parents take over, and they miss out on what matters, leaving actually a dangerous void in puppy progress during some of the most critical phases of that young puppies life. And they only seek help later when it's much more difficult to manage the issues. So upon arriving in a new home, many very important opportunities for successful puppy raising are missed. This is due to a breakdown in what should happen but doesn't and not on purpose, we found this occurs far too often and is largely due to family simply not understanding why their role is so important, or even what it is and how to do it correctly. We're creating this puppy problem ourselves, either because we failed to do what we should when we should, where we should, why we should and how we should. Based on the important puppy educational phases that a puppy goes through. This could be very detrimental to the dog, and the consequences often involve lasting challenges that ultimately leads to either failure and families getting rid of their dogs, which we really don't want to have happen. And we call this the puppy problem that gap between when the puppy goes from the breeder to the families, we just really need to better prepare families forgetting that dog and what to expect so that a lot of this will just be simple, fight and even go away. The great news is this could be fixed, but it requires more education, a smoother transition from breeder homes into that puppies forever home and the immediate implementation and ongoing continuation of proper pet parenting. So we need to get rid of that lapse in time where there's no training. So the breeders do a great job starting those puppies off with some training techniques. And then there's kind of a gap when that puppy first goes home, where the people don't really know what to do or how to do it best. That the puppy kind of gets this break and they get to kind of do what they want or how they want in the There's kind of this battle back and forth of you know what's best for the family, what's best for the puppy and they're trying to figure each other out. If we could close that gap and really make this transition from breeder toe home more seamless and really prepare people for having a puppy and you know this so they know exactly what to do and how to do it and when to do it. I feel like that would be the most beneficial for a family and for the puppy. All right, so I want to give you a brief overview of puppies, life and their developmental phases so that you can see why these, you know, these weeks between that critical gap are so important and why we need to close that gap in their training process. So a puppy when its firstborn, too, about the second week of life. We call it the neonatal face. So the mom keeps him safe and sound. They don't see yet. They don't really here yet. Their motor skills are very limited, and they need. Their moms weren't just to survive, but within a few weeks, a transition into what's called the transition phase from about 14 to 21 days, about two weeks to three weeks, where they start to stand up and they can wag their tell, they startle a sudden sounds, they might start to open their eyes and see, and they're here. Years are starting to hear, but for the record both sides are still mostly limited, so they depend on smell a lot. But you know, about this time the puppies are beginning to walk around, their little bit clumsy. They start to have some control over their body, which is reflected in their desire to go potty away from where they're sleeping. That starts in this transition fase, which is a huge help to house training. And hopefully you're all working with wonderful breeders who make sure that they're puppies are starting to learn where to potty. That helps you when they come home. So the next phase would be what we call the awareness phase. And it's just from about three weeks to four weeks where the puppy improves in seeing and hearing, and they start to understand the small little world that's around them. They might begin to play with littermates, which is a significant step in learning among siblings. This doubles were bye. Inhibition starts to happen, and breeders are more fully engaged at this point, really working to prepare the puppy for, you know, successful transition into the his home, which is still a few weeks away. You know, they're about halfway through their process at this point. So then the puppies move into an initial puppy socialization phase, and that's kind of part of those 3 to 4 weeks. But it extends on up to that eight weak point, which is when most people take their puppy home from a breeder. But it begins, and during this time the puppy will become strongly socialized to the dogs around him. And he discovers that you know he is, in fact, a doc, so he learns to differentiate canines from humans. And these experiences are categorically vital for his future success as a family pet. So developmentally, this is when he obtains a knowledge of what our and when are not appropriate social behaviors with litter mates so that by inhibition that we just mentioned they play together and they'll try to bite each other, and they let each other know what's too hard. And they stopped play. If that happens, and then they just get some general confidence of other dogs and among other things as well. So as this new puppy approaches eight weeks old or so, and it's much more aware of surroundings and is an ideal time for adoption into effect. Family toe happen. Now there's a window from about 8 to 10 weeks, which is the ideal window for that puppy to go home and to start bonding with his new family. Um, and considering that he's mentally mature enough and to adjust to changes, and he has a rapid ability to learn. And many experts believe that this is a very best age for strategically forming strong bonds of people. And that's why most puppies go home between the ages of 8 to 10 weeks. Now this is where that puppy problem starts to come in. That we mentioned previously is that the puppy goes from breeder to family, and if that family is not ready to go and not you know, they don't know exactly what to do or how to do it or when to do it, there's going to be that gap created, which we're calling the puppy problem. So let's keep going with their phases between 8 to 14 weeks, and this is why that puppy problem is such a problem. This is why we call it a problem is because if you're not aware, is a family of these important stages that your puppy is going to go through and you miss out on these. It really, you know, sets your puppy on a path for the rest of his life, and you want to make sure he's on the best path possible. So I'm really here to help you not miss the path that you need to be on with your new puppy. So your puppy's gonna enter that secondary socialization phase between 8 to 14 weeks, but it's extremely important his brain is developing so quickly, and we need him at this point in life to experience all sorts of things we want him to see. See things and sounds here sounds, you know, places, experiences people, and you have to be very specific. So you might say, Well, my puppies met a lot of people. Has he met? Ah, bald person. Has he met a person with really long dark hair? Has he met an elderly person? They look different to the dogs. Has he met a child or even a baby? Does he know all of these Different people are. So when we say introduce your puppy to people, it's great if you take him out and you introduce them to your friends, but we're talking about more specifically he needs to meet and every type of person. So we get very specific in our program at Baxter and Belle about, you know, just giving you lots of ideas of what to introduce your puppy to to make this the best start possible for him. So this is really important that we don't leave our puppies at home until they're immunized. And I have a whole another podcast coming up on that one. But, you know, be careful when you take your puppy out places, but please take them out. Places, please take them out into the world and help them have positive experiences. We want them to have confidence, and we want them to see new things, realize that they can go check it out. And then that bounce back is really healthy. That they recognize, you know, I'm safe. I can check this out. It's totally fine because they're gonna take that attitude with them for the rest of their lives. So if they don't get that in these 8 to 14 weeks, and we're just leaving them in our house and we're not continuing that socialization that the breeders have already started for us, then we have a puppy problem, and it's going to evolve into a bigger and bigger problem. You know, depending on you know how little we've done in this period. So knowing how common this puppy problem is, considering your puppies curiosity and ability to quickly learn this is the time to teach him proper manners and other behavioral responses that will lead to the creation of good habits on a well behaved doc. You know, a lot of people will say I would like a calm puppy will calm. Puppy must be talked. They learn how to be calm, and this is the time to do it next, around the same period of time, your puppies also going to experience his first fear face. This usually happens between 8 to 14 weeks, and during this time, your puppy might be hesitant towards things that previously didn't bother him. He might view things, is potentially dangerous and scary, and not only will he look for someone to help him feel comfortable, but it's hopeful he'll become brave enough to investigate and learn that there's not a need to be afraid. So it's very important during these episodes of hesitancy that we don't force him to go beyond his own sense of security and is doing so will likely only make it worse. And it could potentially be detrimental for the remainder of his life. Remember, these early experiences will have lasting consequences, and it's crucial to actively help him have positive memories to draw from. So after this, the puppy enters the TV in phase. So about 14 to 30 weeks, and for the record, a puppy will have 28 temporary teeth, which will eventually be replaced by 42 adult teeth. During this, TV in process of puppy constantly chews on anything and everything has. His gums are sore, and mouthing is a helpful remedy, so it's best to be prepared of various friendly items. Sichuan. I like to take a wash cloth, get it wet, put a few pieces of hot dogs in the middle, tied in a knot and freeze it for about 10 to 15 minutes. And then my puppy likes to two on that. It's nice and cold on his gums. So later your puppy begins to be in the developmental time known as the Adolescent stays this is everyone's favorite time, right, you guys Okay, so this one's a little stressful. For most put parents, it could be exhausting and overwhelming. I completely feel your pain, and this is another No I want to make is This is often the time this point in time. Once people start to really struggle with their puppy, the this puppy's hitting adolescents, they're starting to push the boundaries on the buttons thistles when people usually go out and find a puppy kindergarten class, or they find a trainer to come and help them, and we're trying to get that to happen much sooner. The reason why is if we can go back and close that gap, and we just have our puppy seamlessly transition from the breeder into our home. We're doing exactly what that breeders already started for us. Our puppy is sitting to say, Please, he's sitting to be created. Nothing in life is free. He just kind of is learning these lessons as he goes. When that puppy hits adolescence, he's still going to go through that hard time of life. But we're going to know howto handle it, and our puppy's going to go through it much more smoothly than he would have had. He had some of these bad habits. All right, you guys, it kind of got a little deep today on this puppy problem. But I feel like it's so important to understand this concept so that all of you hurry. They're planning on getting a new puppy soon, where if you already have a new puppy that you really feel the urgency of getting into my program doing this. Baxter and Bella's puppy Prep online Puppy school right away. Don't delay, Don't wait Sale. I'll get to it in a couple months. There really is this important window that we need to close the gap and help our puppies get off on to the best start possible. If you have a question about anything you've heard on this podcast or any other puppy training questions, visit my sight. Baxter and Bella dot com to contact me