The Perfect Puppy Plan

[neilsattin]

Please use this thread to discuss the article "The Perfect Puppy Plan".

Have additional thoughts to share, or questions about how to shift things when you're working with a puppy?

This is the place!

[BrownieNJoyce]

Loved this article! Helps me understand what experiences my dog Brownie likely DIDN'T get that contributed to the issues he had when we got him at age 6 a year ago: unable to engage in any play with toys, balls, or tugs (wouldn't put his mouth on anything that wasn't food); shying away from new people; and unable to relax around other dogs (not to mention startling and running away from noises indoors and out and chasing squirrels and cats, dragging me along on walks). The saddest part was that he couldn't play. Brownie has come a long way since then (thanks to NDT) and seems to be emerging into a sort of second puppyhood. He tugs on strips of denim with rawhide tied into them, he chases and retrieves little pink vinyl hair rollers, especially if we put treats in them, and he starts to nibble at me when he wants to play (not something we want to encourage long-term but it seems like a good sign for now). So I hope the words gets out on this approach to raising a puppy so fewer pups get the puppy trained out of them.

[Mel]

Neil, I've learnt so much at your fantastic blog and training DVDs! Thanks for this detailed article on raising puppies as well as the link to the blog article on crate training.

Bindi is 7 months old and I'd like switch her into a bigger crate as well as change its location.

It will be another quieter room which will be new to her especially since she is not a “free-range” pup thus unfamiliar with the rest of the apartment. Her crate is a wire one which I’ve covered up to make it dark and cozy. It's currently at the front door of our apartment which is basically the living room area and I realize that’s not ideal. I'd like to further limit the amount of stress for the pup, like how you advised in The Perfect Puppy Plan.

NDT teaches us to consider how a dog FEELS right? So I am concerned how she will feel in the new context and to a lesser extent, the new crate (with strange rabbit smells which I hope will not linger after disinfecting it with vinegar and baking soda!) The only other place that she’s been in the crate is at my mom’s where we stayed a couple of days.

Pardon me for my ignorance if this sounds stupid and not NDT;-p But I was thinking of doing it as a transition. What if I:
1) First introduce her to the new room - Bring her on leash to the new room, do some down/stays in there, give her some treats in there. Do this for a few minutes over 2-3 days:
2) Next, tackle the crates - let the two crates have one scent in common. Disinfect both the old and new one with vinegar and baking soda. Place the new crate in the new room.
3) Let the old crate stay where it is, but start taking her to the new crate as second "quiet place" (with some treats in it) but not close the crate door on her yet. Then over the course of a few days' visits and finding with yummy treats, I’ll close the door. Then work our way to having her inside for longer and longer. Finally, get rid of the old crate.

Or should I:
1) Switch out the old crate while she's gone for a walk, and voilà! a big crate "magically" appears in its place when she returns.
2) Let her get used to the new crate and its strange smells for a few days, but still at the current location at the front door.
3) Next, I move it to the new room (is it better that she sees me taking it away?) and put a nice meaty bone in the crate. Then I bring Bindi there, she discovers the yummy bone, I shut the crate door and hope for the best?

Maybe I'm overthinking it:-p

[Margot]

Great article Neil.

Maybe you should add something about bite inhibition. Its the thing that was most useful to me when I first found LCKs blog. Letting the pup bite but yelping and turning away when he bites too hard, and above all, not punnishing the pup for it, or for anything else.