Life with dogs.

When you decide to get a dog, you envision walks along the beach with the families, outside more, a loving obedient dog who plays with other dogs, and children and is gentle with Grandma and Grandad, but what we sometimes get is so different, what were our expectations?

Lets start at the beginning, we get our dogs at 8 weeks, and the first two weeks, you are in love with them, they are so cute, but around the two-week mark we suddenly realise this is not going to be as easy as we first thought, there is pee everywhere, poo everywhere, they aren't sleeping, and while you are using match sticks to keep your eyes open, they are then looking so cute and sleeping throughout the day, you start wondering "what have we done"

Then there are the teeth, wow, you are stroking them and they are so so cute, and then bam their needle-like teeth bite you, and the more you object the harder the teeth bites become, the ripping of clothes, the tripping up over them, you not being able to even go to the toilet without them, you start thinking "when does this end"

You tell everyone who can hear, how amazing your pup is, they never wander off, they follow you everywhere, and they can sit, and give a paw, wow, and have you seen the video of them sleeping, have you seen the photo when he chased a butterfly.

Just as you think yes, I have this nailed, your dog starts to wander off, starts to have selective hearing, keeps chewing through the lead, and starts to mouth you harder, they start digging up your flowerbeds and chewing furniture, and you thought this was over...........

Wrong! your dog has become a teenager, they become a teenager from approximately 8 months to 24 months, so it's no surprise that is the age that most dogs end up in the pounds.

So let's add in your dog was the dog that you got during the lockdown, so they didn't go out in their socialisation period, and let's add into that, barking, lunging, and being scared of everything, you are back to.........what have we done?

Let me help, you can train a dog from any age, I trained Coco my Yorkshire terrier at 7 years old after picking her up from the pound and she is absolutely fantastic, but a major foodie, so makes it easier for me. Ideally, though you need to start working with them the minute they come home, they may look too small and cute, but they are like sponges and are learning every time they explore so at this point its the time you start to leave them for a couple of minutes, to help with separation, take them everywhere tucked into your coat, so they can hear different noises, experience different weathers, people, vehicles, all of this with help with fear. Lots and lots of positive reinforcement, catching the behaviour you want, and ignoring the behaviour you don't want. Treating them like dogs and not like babies.

All the work you put into them up to the 20-week mark, the better it is for you going forward into their teenage years.

Dogs are beautiful, loyal, and far more clever than we give them credit for, it normally us that has to keep up, as the dog already knows what's going on, if you are taking the first step of getting a pup, make sure its right for your family, and you start right, all of which I can help you with at Sharon West Dog Training & Behaviour.