Do you have too high expectations for your puppy? We can describe how important it is that puppy training starts from the moment you put your new puppy on your floor for the first time. Only a few hours can start a negative spiral, which can take months to train out due to mishandling from the dog owner's side when welcoming the puppy into the new home.
Are your expectations too high?
"My puppy just needs to settle in." What exactly does the puppy need to get used to when it comes home to its new family? And why do many feel that dogs need to settle in? We have experienced countless home-alone-challenges with dogs from our customers throughout many years as dog trainers. The primary reason we see is that dog owners are led by their human emotions, which we humans are prone to.
The feeling is easy to understand, because puppies are incredibly cute and lovely, and of course, we want the best of the best for the puppy. BUT DID YOU KNOW that in just a few hours, you can start a negative spiral that can take months to train out due to mishandling from the dog owner's side when welcoming the puppy to the new home? If you start reacting to whining or barking and picking up the puppy every time, that is how your puppy will behave to get what it wants for the rest of its life. The puppy depends on you as a dog owner from the start, and therefore you need to be ready from the beginning as a new puppy owner if you want to avoid some of the most common challenges.
Everything you do and don't do is training. The puppy is controlled by your actions, emotions, and it is affected to the extent that it takes it into adulthood. The puppy is much more mature and has already learned to be ignored from the mother. Therefore, it makes no sense to start giving the puppy something that you will take away from it after 1 or 2 weeks. This will mean that the puppy loses trust and that you are not reliable. Suddenly, you will demand something from the puppy that you have not trained, because in your head, it has settled in and can be left alone at home - but that's not how the puppy's brain works.
The puppy is already learning from the moment you put it down on your floor - it will quickly establish your rules and navigate from them. Therefore, train alone at home immediately. Train alone at home from day 1 and be structured from the start. Stick to Plan A throughout the dog's life for what it can and cannot do - so that you do not lose trust in your relationship or create signal confusion. We have nothing against the dog sleeping with its owner if being alone at home has been established FIRST - because what you have taught the puppy from the start will follow the dog - and it will remember the picture of being alone at home is okay and safe. In our Online Universe, we have filmed our puppies from the start to guide you in the right direction.
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Do you have too high expectations?
We go through most of life and expect things. The same happens when we get a lovely ball of fur "puppy" in our home.
As humans, we have a tendency to predict the future and make assumptions about the puppy based on how we want it to be. Your expectations could be, for example, to be alone at home, walk nicely without pulling, ignore other dogs, etc. This scenario will likely go wrong because the puppy is telepathic and therefore cannot navigate according to your mindset. Here comes the disappointment.
What maintains disappointment are the expectations and hopes that you unconsciously have put weight on. Nothing comes by itself, and the responsibility lies with you. A puppy should be trained from the first day you bring it to its new home. There will be UPS AND DOWNS just like with raising children, no matter what - because the puppy must go through developmental phases as it grows. The puppy changes behavior and mind according to where it is in its developmental phase - and if you do not keep up and guide your puppy, you may end up with problems that will take a long time to rearrange. Expect much more of yourself, for you are the creator of your own life - and now also the puppy's life.
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Are you overprotecting your dog?
If you solve ALL problems for your dog, it will never learn to navigate the real world and become dependent on you. In our view, it is the same as bonding incorrectly with your dog and thus the root of many behavioral challenges. Suddenly, the dog becomes dependent on its owner, as it has no idea how to navigate around - because you have prevented it from being curious since there are "dangers" in the world it lives in.
Overprotecting a dog is more than meeting its needs and providing basic care and training. Some dog owners choose to guard their dog, meaning they do not set boundaries or structured demands on the dog. The dog is carried around and not allowed to explore the world, for fear of getting hurt. If dogs are wrapped in cotton, it risks separation anxiety, nervousness towards other dogs or people. If the dog lacks the tools to navigate different situations, it can end up with a frustrated dog that becomes aggressive because its tolerance becomes very low due to fear. We must NEVER make the dog dependent on us as we cannot be available 24/7.
We need to give the puppy/dog confidence and equip them to live in our world and family. This is done through training from 8 weeks, as the puppy is very receptive to learning between 4 and 16 weeks. If the dog is older, it is NEVER too late to change its behavior - but it will take longer to change your bonding - but over time, the dog will accept your new way of seeing life. It is, of course, much harder for you as a human, as you are filled with emotions that the dog does not possess. You have a different mindset than your dog.
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