Rachel's Guide to Puppies

 Koopa and I visited the dog park tonight. We hadn't been in quite a while, so we (read: he) was VERY excited. When we got out there, there were just a few dogs surprisingly. We had gone pretty late so that it could cool down just a bit, but with an hour of sunlight left, I expected more people.

Anyway, there were a couple of Chihuahuas, a couple of Boxers and an Aussie. Koopa loves Boxers because they match his energy level when he wants to play. So I was thrilled that there were at least a couple of dogs he could play with. Of the two Boxers, one was a puppy and the other was probably a little older than Koopa. Koopa went straight into play mode as I expected- chasing and then trying to be chased. He would nip at the younger one's cheeks and then run away. Typical puppy play behavior. All of a sudden, both the puppies owners were up and trying to block Koopa from their dog. Then they told him it was "time to go home." I just stood there, completely shocked. He hadn't even gotten really riled up. This was TAME puppy play. Probably the calmest and gentlest I've seen Koopa be with a puppy. I had just been thinking how proud I was that he was going slow with her. So I spoke up and said, "They're just playing. That's how they play. If they were really playing hard, they'd have a hold of each others cheeks and be swinging each other around by them." They just responded saying their two just boxed like Boxers do.

But I'm not rude, and I don't want to upset anyone, so I just took Koopa away. Guess what happened? Baby Boxer comes bounding after Koopa wanting to play more. Surprise, surprise. So that got me thinking that a lot of people baby their puppies and do not let them set their own limits. Dogs WILL set their own limits. If they feel victimized or scared they will squeal or whimper. Other dogs have learned to back off at this point and most will, assuming they've had adequate puppy play experience. If you never let your dogs play, they won't learn their limits or when to back off when they reach other dog's limits.

Aggression is very easy to see. I've included a video of my dog and his best bud going at it and then a clip of a dog fight. Pay attention to the difference in body language in each clip. I can tell you that both my dog and Cassie (the other dog) were bleeding after their play date, but they never showed any aggression toward the other. Dogs play hard, that's a fact of life. You need to learn to be ok with it and not step in when you think things get too rough. After watching these videos you will know when it's a dog fight. Then you can step in.

If you step in during normal dog play and scoop up your dog, he will learn to fear other dogs. This can lead to them becoming unnecessarily aggressive or scared around other dogs.

The best place for your puppy to learn their limits and to learn how to play is a puppy play time. The Petco in Lawrence (and I'm sure Petco and Petsmart in OP) have puppy play times for puppies under 6 months old to come and learn how to play. The one in Lawrence is on Sundays at 2pm. These sessions are FREE....did you read that? FREE SOCIALIZATION!...and are completely necessary for your puppy AND for you to figure out how they play. Go to these sessions and go often.

Here is Koopa and Cassie PLAYING (make sure to watch the whole thing for pointers):

• Things to pay attention to:
• Tails wagging
• "Smiles" on their faces (mouth open, tongues hanging to the side)
• Relaxed bodies
• No raised hackles (the hair down the center of their back)

Now here is the dog fight. What cues should you be looking for here?

• First you have one obviously nervous dog that is whimpering. This raises the energy level of the other dogs and is never good. Socializing your dog usually minimizes this. 
• When the boxer comes over neither one smells the others butt, they also pause for a second without really looking at each other
• Right after the pause, you can hear the growling. That is a very distinctive sound to listen for- quick barking growls. That tells you they are fighting
• If you focus on their mouths you can see their lips are raised, baring their teeth
• Some dogs do this when they're playing. When the sounds are paired with it, you know it is NOT playing
• You can also see their body language is very stiff. Even after they stop fighting at first, you can tell more is about to happen
• Their hackles are also raised
• Another good indicator that it is a fight and not play is if they are both standing up on their back feet, biting and growling at each other
• The owner of the Boxer (Lexi) does the absolute wrong thing- she starts SCREAMING her dog's name. If your dog gets into a fight, do exactly what the owner of the black dog does- speak in a very calm voice and ask your dog to come and sit.

Can you see the difference?

You should start on this soon after you've chosen a name for your dog. It's important for two reasons. First, your dog needs to know his name so he knows you are talking to him. Second, teaching your dog his name this way will help when you are trying to get his attention in the future.

You'll need treats for this first technique. I would recommend getting very small treats- no bigger than your dog's food. There are also low fat ones available so your pup doesn't end up with diarrhea from too many treats! We use the multi-colored ones from the "make your own treat bag" section and Petco. Koopa will do anything for those.

• Say your dog's name in a high-pitched voice that gets their attention
• When your dog gives you eye contact, give them a treat and say, "Good ____ (their name)"
• If saying their name isn't getting their attention, you can make interesting noises (anything that gets their attention), say their name excitedly as soon as they make eye contact, and then reward them with the treat
• Key points:
• Never say their name with an angry tone or they will associate their name with punishment
• This is VERY bad and the opposite of what you're trying to achieve. You want your dog to want to give you their full attention when you say their name
• Make sure that you aren't rewarding half attention. You want your dog to make full eye contact with you after you say their name. If they don't make full eye contact, try again. 
• This is best done in an environment with no other distractions- no loud noises, children playing, etc

The second technique is done without treats. All it involves is saying their name excitedly and giving them praise ANY time they look at you. They do still have to make eye contact. One point about this technique: puppies are somewhat like babies when they're young- they don't really focus on much of anything. This can be very frustrating at first because it seems like they're never paying attention you, but just stick with it. They will randomly look at you, and if you reward them by saying their name happily and praising them, they'll start looking at you more and more.

In the future when your dog is running away from you and you yell their name, chances are (if you trained them on this well enough) that they will turn around and look at you. Let me know which technique works best for you.