Puppy Behavior

By Diane Arrington

Got a new puppy? Congratulations! Time to pay attention.

Picture a vase with a wide bottom and a very long, thin neck. The neck of the jar is just about the same circumference as a jellybean. The jar represents the puppy’s social, behavioral and educational well. Raising a puppy is like dropping jellybeans into this jar. Once they’re in there, you can’t get them out.

In a perfect world, a new puppy will come to you from the breeder with a completely empty jar. Then you begin to drop in the beans. You put in Sit, Down, Come When Called and Leave It. Once these are learned, they are permanent. What you teach in five minutes one day will be retained by the puppy until the day she dies.

But obedience exercises are the happy beans. There are also unhappy beans. The unhappy beans are things like ankle-biting, excessive puppy biting, fear of hands, not wanting to be picked up, fear of the leash, fear of loud noises, fear of humans from spanking or other harsh discipline. These beans cannot be removed from the jar either.

Every new puppy owner has a responsibility to the community in which they live to raise his or her puppy into a happy, well-adjusted, well-behaved dog who will be a good citizen of the community. Raising a dog who bites children or attacks other dogs is a disservice to the community.

When raising that new puppy, be careful what beans you place into the vase. Try your best to place only the happy beans in there. Understand that it’s not just about you.

Indulging yourself in Tug-of-War with a Golden or Labrador Retriever just because it’s fun for you develops dog aggression and leads to a dog who won’t give back anything he possesses. This could include the baby’s pacifier, grandma’s dentures, a glass ornament, a battery or the neighbor kid’s favorite plush toy. Chase games with a Shepherd, Border Collie, Australian Shepherd or Cattle dog may be lots of fun, but could lead to a dog who gets out the door one day, chases a child down the street and rips its clothing or bites the child’s legs.

Engaging in wild wrestling games with your Bulldog or Pit Bull teaches your puppy to handle humans roughly. It won’t be appreciated when that new baby comes along and your dog decides to use the baby as a chew toy or wrestling partner.

Teaching your St. Bernard, Mastiff, Rottweiler or Great Dane to shake hands just because it’s cute may lead to a 125-pound dog with paws weighing ten pounds apiece pawing for everything he wants. This will not be cute or funny when he paws your elderly grandmother’s tissue-thin skin and draws blood.

Think! Use your head!

Every time you interact with your puppy, hold a vision of your puppy’s future in your frontal lobe. Are you teaching your puppy a behavior that won’t be so cute when he’s grown? Your first six months together with your puppy are the most critical to your puppy’s future. What you do right now determines whether or not your puppy will live a long and happy life free of behavior problems. Try to drop only the happy beans into the jar until your puppy is developed. After your pup’s basic development is finished at about 1 year of age, then you can indulge yourself and the after-effects won’t be as permanent. -end-

Diane Arrington is Founder and Director of PetPerfect Academy in Dallas, a humane facility for dogs and cats. She is the author of two books and publishes her own newsletter, The Pet Gazette. She can be reached at 972/484-8882 or through her website at www.petperfect.com

Dallas: (972) 484-8882
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