How to Raise the Perfect Dog Read online

  If your puppy is barking over and over again at the same object, person, or place, then it’s time to step up and claim that item as your own. Use your body, your mind, and your calm-assertive energy to create an invisible wall that your puppy is not allowed to cross. This kind of focused energy and body language is exactly what your puppy is looking for you to give her—a direction. But remember, with puppies you have a chance to prevent unwanted barking before it becomes a habit or a chronic way of relieving stress.

  COMMON PROBLEM 4

  Nipping (24 Percent) and Mouthing (19 Percent)

  Nipping, or play biting, is something that puppies do with their litter-mates, and it is a very instinctual behavior for them. It’s a form of social interaction as well as playful practice for survival in the wild. In nature, a dog’s siblings, mother, or older dogs in the pack will quickly teach her how hard is too hard. Junior loves to roughhouse with Mr. President and Blizzard, but if the pressure in their mouths gets a little too aggressive, he’ll shut them down in an instant. It’s important to keep in mind that a bite that a strapping adolescent pit bull finds to be too much would be extremely painful, perhaps even wounding, to a human. Mouthing, like chewing, is a natural way for puppies to explore the world with their mouths. Neither behavior necessarily indicates an aggressive or dominant temperament. But if you constantly allow your puppy to play-dominate you with her mouth while her harmless baby teeth are tiny and soft, she will learn to use it as a tool to control you when she’s big enough to do some real damage. “If allowed to continue, this playful biting from the pup often turns into serious aggression as an adult,” warns breeder Diana Foster of her juvenile German shepherds. “He has now learned to use his mouth and teeth to get what he wants.”

  With Blizzard, Angel, and Mr. President, I allowed them to explore my hands in the way they would naturally, but only using a soft mouth—no pressure allowed. When they would naturally start to increase the pressure and test the limits of my tolerance, I would gently but firmly cup their necks or the tops of their heads with my hand curved into the “claw” shape that mimics another dog’s mouth. Then I would hold that position until they relaxed. It’s natural for puppies to test limits, but it’s just as natural for them to accept them. All I am doing is mimicking what their mother or Junior or Daddy or even another puppy would do in the same situation.

  It’s important, however, that your timing be precise. Don’t over-correct, don’t pinch, and don’t hold on too long after your puppy has relaxed, because she might interpret that as a further challenge. In attempting this exercise with your puppy, it may be helpful to wear a glove while playing, to make sure you are relaxed and in control at all times. If you are worrying about your own discomfort or injury, you will be projecting a weak energy to the puppy, which she will naturally try to take advantage of! She will not respect any limits you set with her if you are in a weak or unsure state of mind. Puppies are instinctual—if they sense even a split-second gap in leadership, they will move in to compensate for it. Projecting constant calm-assertive energy and a sense of confident leadership during the months of puppyhood is like buying an insurance policy, so that you will continue to be respected in your dog’s eyes for the rest of her life.

  Another advantage of using a glove when teaching your puppy bite inhibition is that you will avoid the common mistake of yanking or pulling your hand away when you sense the dog’s teeth digging into your skin. This kind of motion triggers your puppy’s prey drive and will only increase her excitement. “Too much petting—longer than five seconds at a time—pulling the hands away quickly from the mouth, and raising the hand in a repetitive motion above the dog’s head, which is something children tend to do, will actually encourage play biting,” says Diana. Once Blizzard moved in with the Barnes family, he quickly learned he could dominate Christian with his play biting for this very reason. Blizzard grew at a tremendous rate and was in danger of really hurting Christian. It was actually fourteen-year-old Sabrina who taught Christian how to stay calm during these incidents, and how to make Blizzard submit to him before they continued their play sessions.

  COMMON PROBLEM 5

  Housebreaking Issues (24 Percent)

  We’ve already dealt with housebreaking earlier in this book, where I’ve indicated that housebreaking a puppy is not rocket science, because you’ve got nature working on your side. Most issues with house-breaking that I see occur because the owners didn’t stick to a schedule, didn’t properly sanitize areas where accidents occurred, and, perhaps most important, got caught up in the emotion of a ruined piece of furniture or carpet. Your dog doesn’t understand that you paid a thousand dollars for that sofa, but she does understand that you are in a highly unstable, emotional state, that you are projecting strong negative energy, and that you are directing it right at her.

  In order to prevent this from happening, don’t even give your puppy the chance to create an accident of epic proportions in your home. Until you are sure of her elimination habits, keep her in a safe, contained, easy-to-sanitize area when you can’t be directly supervising her. Use wee-wee pads if necessary, and always sanitize the area under and around the pads. Set her up for success, not failure. If you reduce the drama involved in housebreaking, you may be surprised at how easily it all comes together.

  With all the complaints I hear about the horrors of housebreaking, it’s interesting to me that it’s number five on the list of most common puppy problems, not number one or two. I chock that up to the fact that in America, people take the condition of their homes very, very seriously. They may be a little bothered by a puppy’s jumping, nipping, or barking, but they absolutely, positively refuse to live in a house that smells like pee or poop. They can live with a couple of bite marks on their hands or a few complaints from the neighbors, but a stain on their prized Oriental rug will make them immediately lay down the law. Is there any better evidence of the fact that a puppy can tell exactly how seriously we take the limits we set with her? With all these common problems, if you are on the fence about whether or not you are willing to set the limits necessary to correct them, your puppy will sense your ambivalence, and the unwanted behavior will continue.

  COMMON PROBLEM 6

  Not Coming When Called (23 Percent)

  First of all, we must remember that in your puppy’s world, there is no such thing as a “name.” Another dog’s identity is its scent and energy, and has nothing to do with a sound. We give dogs names for our own convenience, and fortunately for us, dogs as a species are such natural masters of association that they quickly come to connect the unique cadence and syllables of a certain sound with what we want from them when we make that sound. At the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, in Germany, a border collie named Rico proved he could recognize the unique names of more than two hundred different objects.1 Dogs don’t reason, but one of the ways they constantly amaze is that they are simply brilliant at making connections. When a person says about a puppy, “He already knows his name,” however, it’s not in the way a child would know his name—that is, assuming it as part of his identity, or his “me-ness.” The dog understands its name relative to how, when, and why it is communicated and, most important, the energy with which it is communicated.

  When the Obama family named their puppy Bo, I was asked by many in the media, “Won’t that confuse the dog, because it rhymes with No?” Perhaps, but it’s also likely that as long as the name Bo was used in relation to positive things such as playtime, feeding time, walks, and praise or affection, he would have no trouble distinguishing it from a word used in relation to negative things, such as “No.” A dog isn’t a poet—it’s not just the word he’s concerned with, it’s the energy behind the word that sends the message. This is one reason that I always instruct my clients to refrain from using a dog’s name when correcting him. I use my dogs’ names when calling them, when praising them, and when we’re playing or doing a positive challenge or exercise.

  Let’s a
ssume you are doing everything right, using your puppy’s name only in a positive context, yet your puppy still doesn’t come when you call her. It’s not that your puppy doesn’t want to come to you or is rebelling or challenging your authority. The number one reason why dogs don’t come to people when they call is that their noses are more powerful sensors than their ears and they are distracted by fascinating scents. Remember, everything to a puppy is new and exciting. A new scent can so engage and mesmerize a puppy that to respond to a sound—far less interesting to him—just doesn’t get through to him in that moment. If you yell out your young puppy’s name over and over while she is being distracted by a scent, you run the risk of her associating that sound with the action of not paying attention to you. Remember, the energy you are projecting when you call your dog’s name is what the puppy actually hears. If all the pup gets from your calling her name is, “I’m impatient, I want to get out of here, I’m frustrated with you,” that is not a very attractive energy for her to follow.

  Dogs learn in the order nose-eyes-ears. In raising our friends Junior, Blizzard, Angel, and Mr. President, I followed the example of nature and used sound as little as possible in the beginning. Instead, I engaged their noses. This is especially effective with puppies. If I am walking Angel and his powerful terrier nose gets distracted by a scent, I will place a bully stick in front of him until it gets his attention, then walk away. I will start saying his name or making a positive “kissing” sound only when he is already coming toward me. That way he begins to associate the name or sound with the action of following—“This is what I hear when I’m following.” The connection becomes clear and unambiguous.

  The next level of this exercise is done on a long lead, using sound and your puppy’s automatic instinct to follow. Let your puppy wander away from you. Put your foot on the line to anchor it, then turn your back to the puppy and walk away. As soon as he starts to follow you, turn toward him and call his name, or make the sounds that you want him to associate with “coming.” Reward him as soon as he reaches you.

  Practice using the positive sound or your puppy’s name only during the natural times she is following you. When you get her out of the crate in the morning, while you are praising her during potty training, when you are calling her at mealtime, and when you are engaged in activities that she likes. Make sure the energy behind the name is positive as well as calm and assertive. The more scent-oriented your dog, the longer it may take for her to understand that sound trumps scent when it is time to decide upon an action. But with a patient, dedicated owner, any puppy can learn to make that connection. In the meantime, carry a bully stick, scented item, or treat with you, in order to get your puppy’s attention. Try to think like a puppy and see the world as “nose-eyes-ears,” and eventually your puppy can learn how to think like you.

  COMMON PROBLEM 7

  Digging (21 Percent)

  All dogs are natural diggers. Some dogs, such as the terrier breeds, have that extra boost in their DNA that makes their drive to dig even stronger. For them, digging can become their primary outlet for relieving stress, boredom, or anxiety. We need to provide for our dogs an outlet for this perfectly normal activity.

  The area where the new Dog Psychology Center is located is teeming with local wildlife. From the moment two-month-old Angel arrived at the ranch, he began to fixate on my four-year-old Jack Russell terrier as Jack scoured the ranch for gopher holes. Angel’s DNA was crying out in recognition—“Digging! That’s what I was born for!” But despite the fact that Angel’s ancestors were bred to dig for rats and other earthy rodents, I didn’t want him to pick up catching gophers as a hobby. I needed to redirect his digging energy in a safer way, while keeping his mind and his genes engaged.

  I have created a special area at the center for this very purpose. A tall, sandy embankment mottled with abandoned rodent holes has become the official “digging place” for the dogs, where we do simple activities to fulfill that need in them. I’ll take a tennis ball, focus the dogs’ attention on it, then stick it deep into the recesses of one of the small abandoned rodent holes in the bank. It’s wonderful to watch the puppies’ different breed-related talents and tendencies emerge when I do this simple exercise. Junior, with all his brawny pit bull might, will fly at the bank with all four paws, hurling giant chunks of earth behind him as if he were a bulldozer. He’ll widen out the hole in no time flat but in a totally undisciplined manner—all agitation and muscle, with very little focus. With Mr. President, it’s easy to see why digging and retrieving buried treasure is not a bulldog’s forte. He’ll try to join in the excitement, but with his flat snout and large head, he can only clumsily poke inside the hole in the general direction of the hidden object. Angel, however, has been a digging star from day one. While Junior is still knocking himself out trying to make the hole in the embankment bigger, and while Mr. President is looking around, wondering if anyone is going to bring the ball back, Angel will simply slip into the hole like a trained navy diver, disappear for a moment, then come out proudly carrying the ball.

  For this I reward him with extra praise and affection. It’s important that he understand how proud I am of his ability, that I take joy in his joy, and that I’m nurturing the terrier instincts in him—but directing them in the right way. He is learning that we dig for balls, not for gophers—and we dig only for what the human wants us to dig for. This is prevention at its best; I know Angel is not going to dig up my Zen landscaping in the future, because I am already fulfilling his genetic need in a much richer, more entertaining way.

  If you have a terrier breed or another breed with a powerful digging drive, or you are having problems with your puppy’s obsessive digging, I suggest you section off an area in your garden or yard appropriate for your dog’s or puppy’s size. You can also provide a sandbox, if it is deep enough. This will be the place where your dog can dig to her heart’s content. Bury something interesting in the area, like a bully stick or a scented toy. Then bring your dog to the area, and let her sniff. If she doesn’t begin digging, start moving the dirt yourself, just a little bit. Eventually she’ll start to get excited and want to join in with you. If the area you can provide is very shallow, you can participate in the game and re-cover the area that your dog has already dug up—making it more challenging for her. Or you can just leave her to enjoy the adventure for herself, nurturing her achievement when she’s brought you the buried object. After the exercise, replace the dirt, sanitize the object, and put the soil back the way it was before the dog began digging, to keep it interesting, as if every day it is still the first time anyone has ever dug in that space.

  The next step is showing your dog that your designated digging spot is the only place where she can practice this activity. After she has succeeded in her digging challenge for the day, bring your dog to your garden or any area that you want to be off-limits. Put something in the ground, but block your dog immediately if she even attempts to come near. Direct her attention to you and don’t let her engage her nose, eyes, or ears. Use your body language to claim the area as “yours.” Then go back to the digging area and repeat the joyful digging exercise. Repeat this process a few times a week or, if your puppy has already lapsed into bad habits, every day, until it becomes clear to you that the puppy knows the rules, boundaries, and limitations of digging in her environment.

  If you live in an apartment, find an area in the park to practice digging exercises, or perhaps a dog-friendly beach. For digging activities indoors, Angel’s breeder, Brooke Walker, provides her newborn miniature schnauzer puppies with a labyrinth of carpeted cat tunnels, to nurture and fulfill their schnauzer’s “submariner” needs from birth onward. When we fulfill our puppies’ inborn needs from day one, we can actually prevent almost any troublesome issue from developing.

  COMMON PROBLEM 8

  Won’t Walk on a Leash (20 Percent)

  Angel has never had a problem with a leash in his short life. And one of the reasons for that is his very proa
ctive breeder, Brooke Walker. She has her miniature schnauzer pups wearing colored bands made of paper at four weeks old and introduces them to the sensation of the leash by eight weeks.

  When I am walking my pack on the beach, people often come up to ask me questions because it’s very unusual to see a woman walking six perfect miniature schnauzers, all well behaved, all in formation. The other day, a woman came by with a schnauzer that was six months old and didn’t know how to walk on a leash. Well, that’s disgraceful. It turns out she got the puppy at a pet store, which absolutely explains it. A puppy purchased at a pet store at six months has waited too long and never really experienced the world. But walking on a leash, well, that’s one of the first skills your puppy has to have. All my puppies are leash trained by the time they leave my house.

  A puppy may be leash trained when it comes to its new owners, but that doesn’t mean the owners are leash trained. When I saw the CNN newsfeed of the Obama puppy pulling little Malia all over the White House lawn, I knew that the First Family had not taken the time to master the walk. Mastering the walk, which we touched on in Chapter 4, means having your puppy walking beside you, head up, with no tension on the leash between you and her. She is not pulling you or exhibiting the zigzagging behavior that we saw with presidential puppy Bo. Zigzagging (or what one of my more colorful clients calls “fly-fishing”) is a sign of an overexcited dog. The walk should not signify excitement to a dog; it should signify structure, and the foundations of structure are laid in puppyhood. In nature, puppies know they have to follow their mother in a disciplined manner, or else they will get lost or left behind. In thinking you need a long lead in order to give your puppy “freedom” to explore out in front of you, you are actually working against Mother Nature. You can take breaks in the walk to allow for exploration time, as well as scheduling play sessions that involve supervised exploration in your yard or in the park. But there is absolutely no substitute for teaching your puppy to master a structured walk.