Two Minute Dog Advice

Welcome Wendy Nan Rees, LoveToKnow’s guest dog advice expert, bringing us all weekly two minute tips to help keep your dog healthy, happy, and content. We all certainly have two minutes of our time to read weekly dog advice tips for the betterment of our relationship with our pets. Come back each week for a fresh new tip from a dog expert with a strong background in animal care.

Wendy lives in Los Angeles with her dogs Senator, Cappy and Little Man

Just in case you think, "Oh, look how cute this puppy is," let me remind you just how much work is ahead.

Socializing a puppy is something we do for the life of owning our dogs. It is also the most basic foundation that all of our dogs stand on. For example, when you see a dog that tends to tuck his tail under himself and run away, looking shy and timid, more than likely he was not well socialized at the puppy stage. Or he was yelled at as a puppy.

Another good example: puppies learn from positive experiences so if you begin using the word "No" in the beginning and use it all the time, soon the word will have no meaning. However, it will show the puppy he can get attention from any behavior whether it is good or bad. From the age of 6 to 16 weeks you will get better results using a positive method with a tasty food treat. A little bit of liverwurst works great. It is soft and you can make it into bite sized pieces to train with.

When you see a good behavior, praise your puppy with a high voice. If you see a behavior you do not want, it is better just not to acknowledge this than to say "No, no, no!" The puppy is too young at 6 weeks to understand and you do not want to scare him. They are young and very curious at this age and you want to keep a happy mood, especially if you are going to crate train or use a play pen for when you do not have your eyes on the puppy at all times. It will help both of you in the housebreaking stages, as the younger the puppy the more they have to go out. Every single puppy or dog learns differently, so if you think, "Oh look how cute, I just have to have a puppy," please be sure you have the time and the energy.

Socializing means you literally take your puppy or new dog and you introduce him to everything and everyone you possibly can. From birth to about 17 weeks, you have the ability to imprint, which means you will be imprinted on the brain of the dog, whereas after 17 weeks it becomes training. If you are lucky enough to get your puppy at the early age of 8 weeks, some even get their puppy at 6 weeks, the technique of imprinting is one you really want to accomplish. Once you know what you are doing, this will set the tone for the rest of the life of that dog.

This is why some breeders will not let their puppies leave until they are 12 to 16 weeks old. They want to imprint that litter to ensure certain things are almost guaranteed. For example, you can imprint your puppy so they don't mind getting a bath or having their nails clipped. One wrong move and the puppy will imprint the other way and be frightened. Imprinting is different from training and it takes time, patience and you must understand exactly what it is you are doing to your dog.

I have been blessed with being able to get my dogs at 6 to 8 weeks of age and I learned very early how and why to use the technique of imprinting. The other benefit of this is when it come to training, it will be easier. Well socialized dogs are happy, secure and confident. Never let a young puppy play with dogs whose shots are not up to date, and keep them away from other dogs' feces as they can pick up Parvo, which is a killer, from this habit. Make sure your puppy has the proper immunizations before taking them on an excursion where you may encounter other puppies or dogs.

Places to take your puppy and things to introduce them to:

• Boarding kennels (only to visit). If you have a kennel that you take your older dogs to, call and see if they would be willing for you to come and visit. Hold the puppy and visit with the staff. Holding the puppy allows him to hear barking and loud sounds but feel safe in your arms. You can do this several times and when he is old enough and used to it after a few visits, you will be able to place him on the floor so he can get to know the place.

You may have to travel with your dog in the future and if you do not have the luxury of a private dog sitter then boarding your dog at a wonderful kennel or a great vet's office is fine, but even better when he knows where he is going and are looking forward to it. This will give you peace of mind when traveling.

• Introduce your puppy to postal people.

• Also introduce him to UPS/FED-X and other delivery persons.

• Take your puppy to the groomer. If he is very young, do not leave him there. Just take him and make this a very positive experience. Introduce him to the staff with treats and be sure to use a kind, high voice which is how the mother dog communicates with her babies.

• Let him get to know large animals. I ride horses so I always take my puppies to the barn in the beginning as much as I can. They learn how to be around horses and never to bark unless it is really something to warn us about.

• Traveling in the car and other modes of transportation, if you can. I am not going on an airplane any time soon while my new puppy is so young, but I do want her to be a great traveler as my other dogs are. So we practice going in our travel bag and going to the airport. We spend some time there to get used to the sights and sounds and the smells. Dogs live by their nose so smells are very important.

• Introduce him to the smell of your neighborhood. I am not proud of this, but through a series of errors and miscommunication for which I only blame myself, my new puppy got loose. A guest wanting to play with her did not remember to put her back into her crate. I had to run out on an errand and when I got home, I came into the house to see the puppy missing. I freaked out and started to look in the back yard. To my surprise, Little Man started barking at the front door. I ran down stairs, opened the door, and who do you think was quietly barking at the front door waiting to be let back in? My new puppy! I was never so happy in my whole life. She knew how to come around to the front of the house because daily I take her with my other dogs and walk the first few blocks around my house several times a day, so she can learn the area. As soon as she grows more, we will take longer walks, but my point is that my Little Lady knew how to come home.By taking the puppy and my other dogs all together I was doing two things at once. Little Lady is learning to walk on a leash and she is learning where home is.

• Two other wonderful places to take your puppy are to the pet shop and the supermarket (if they are allowed in your state), so he is not afraid of crowds and never afraid of the shopping carts.

• Try if you can to find a nice dog park at the age of 10 weeks and on to play with dogs you know have had their shots and are very friendly. You can even set up a play date.

• Take your puppy on hikes where you like to go. He may not be able to run alongside for the whole hike, so be sure to have plenty of water and a good carry all bag to place the puppy into. By using the carry bag, he will become use to this also and it will become a traveling den and safe nap zone for him.

• Start teaching your new puppy things like to sit, stay, come, and if you see something cute he does, try turning it into a trick. You can reinforce this behavior with positive love, happiness and a bit of food, though not every time. Love and a belly rub can make your puppy very happy also.

Remember our dogs and puppies offer us the most wonderful unconditional love so all we have to do is offer the same love and security back to them and you are going to have one happy family.

• As many children as you can find.

• Be sure to touch his tail, toes, ears and open the mouth everyday so he gets used to this also.

• Have fun!

I clearly had forgotten just how much work having a puppy is and I am, of course, already enrolled into our puppy class. This is as much for my new puppy as it is for me to have support and for both of us to learn. I found a nice class that is free at my local dog park on Saturdays. Our community offers this and I never even knew about it. Remember, just like humans, every single puppy is going to learn differently. Even though I have three other dogs, I still need to learn what it is that is going to make my new puppy happy and a good learner.

Remember, the animals in your life are not just your pets; they're your friends.~ WNR

• Get Rid of Household Dog Smells
• Keep Fit with Your Dog
• Care for Injured Dogs
• Your Dog Rescue Kit
• Massage for Your Dog
• Visiting Family with Your Dog
• Apple Crumble for Dogs

Wendy Nan Rees (WNR) has been involved in the pet industry for over 25 years, starting when she founded Lip Smackers, Inc. a company dedicated to providing healthy, all natural treats to consumers who are concerned about the well-being of their pets. From The People Cookie Made for Dogs® to her patented product Cedar Green Mist® the air and fabric freshener, Wendy is a true pioneer in the pet industry.

Today, Wendy has a world wide radio show called Wendy's Animal Talk which can be heard on www.healthylife.net live on Tuesday afternoons at 1:00 p.m. Pacific time and 24/7 in online archived shows. To find out more about Wendy and her products go to www.thewildliferadio.com. WNR is also an author and has written several books including The Natural Pet Food Cookbook and Dog Lover's Daily Companion. Wendy's success as an author and dog-treat creator led to numerous television appearances. She was the "Pet Lifestyle Advisor" on Animal Planet's "Petsburgh, USA" and also wrote a monthly column called "In the Kitchen with Wendy" for Your Pet Magazine.

WNR is known for giving fast, easy to digest advice for you and your pets so enjoy her column with us, Two Minute Dog Advice.

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