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Monday, September 3, 2012

Post 2 - Raising the Ideal K9 Partner and the Perfect Companion

The Structure of this Blog Going Forward


I will try to structure this post, and posts to follow, in an order which is simple to follow and, with some luck, interesting to read. Understand that this is not a "how-to" manual to raise a puppy. As I mentioned in the previous post, raising a puppy is more of a creative process and, although goals may be the same for each puppy, the journey to the goal may vary. Take time to enjoy the process, avoid getting preoccupied with the difficulties and truly focus on the achievements and successes.

Naturally, I will start at day 1 with Carmspack Nick (the new recruit) and move on from there. I will discuss what we did and my observations (basically). Where possible I will include photos or video but I must warn you that video may be limited to short snippets intended to convey key information or illustrate development of a behaviour. Unfortunately, recording on a regular basis is not an option as I do not have a film crew at my disposal and I, most definitely, cannot be recording as it interrupts and takes me away from my primary goal and that is to work with and observe Nick. Add to this the fact that I refuse to "make" things look good for a camera so frustration is bound to play a role. Nick will develop at his speed and attempting to rush him along to fit and agenda or to "show off" will only be counterproductive. He has time to develop, and, in my experience, he will show me when he is ready to work on a new behaviour, task or exercise. I won't be letting the thought of capturing each moment interrupt this. I will leave it to the trainers on television to provide the viewers with the instant results and leave the audience baffled with bullshit explanations and nonsense theories. What you see in this blog is the straight goods (and "bads" for that matter). I am far from perfect.

Following the outline of my interactions with Nick I may then opt to make suggestions for others who are also be raising puppies, to assist them in surviving the puppy stage. Failing this, I may discuss other related topics or, depending on the day, I may simply rant about something important (to me). Either way, it will be dog related.

Carmspack Nick - Day 1 -
2 hours after his arrival, relaxing with my daughter 

Day 1 - The "Honeymoon" Phase

Nick arrived, clean and quiet in his crate on August 28th. Although he has been here before (for approximately 2 hours with his littermate), Nick plunked down out of the van and awaited his handlers (Carmen) next move. As she moved away from the van it became quite evident that, although he was aware of the environment around him, he was able to shift his focus from environment to handler with ease. Even the presence of my personal dogs that were penned only feet away was not enough to break his focus for more than a quick glance as he passed. I realize that, at 10 weeks of age, some would say that this is a conditioned behaviour, however, 3 weeks prior the same behaviour was quite evident when they visited for the first time. I was assured by Carmen that this is what they do, on their own, without treats, toys, bribes of any kind, no intended conditioning. Skeptical? So was I when I heard the explanation...

I do know that puppies generally follow their handler or person they are most familiar with. As a litter, they bumble along, following like a school of fish sometimes tussling with each other as they go and having to play catch up when the handler moves too far ahead. Often times, when I interact with an individual puppy, they will follow a similar pattern of behaviour, biting at pant legs and getting distracted by the odd leaf, feather or other piece of debris that might blow past. They are babies, and I expect them be distracted by their environment, it's part of development, it's natural and a puppy should not be rejected based on something so normal.

After an hour of being left with us, Nick began to perform a variation of this focussed behaviour with me as I moved about, rested, moved about again. Now, for those who are involved in competition obedience or sport obedience (schutzhund, etc.) I do not want you to get the impression that this young pup is performing an unnatural, choreographed, razor-sharp, prancing heel like I see so often at trials or being practiced at the club level. I realize that what is being taught there is a very refined set of movements and I do respect the work and the effort put in, but what I am describing about this puppy is some thing different. Instead, Nick walked along beside me, monitoring me in his peripheral and with occasional glances, mouth open, bright-eyed, ears up while surveying the world around him (in this case, the world around him included dogs barking at us from behind the fence at our boarding kennel). I generally have to work quite hard to develop this "sensitivity" to the handler through training (especially with my clients dogs) and here this little lump was offering it without question, without running off to the other dogs or even my kennel staff who tried to call him from me. 


Already we had begun to bond and the "coldness" to strangers that I have come to expect from a Carmspack dog was present... again, perfect. Please understand that by "cold" to strangers I mean neutral and not interested or drawn to. The dogs I raise are not attention whores who crave interaction with people outside of their circle of familiarity (call it a family or pack). Outsiders are not aggressed upon but are not greeted with open arms either. Outsiders are not jumped all over in a hectic, bouncing flurry either (I cannot stand this). Cold (with strangers) and confident is a perfect combination in my opinion, regardless of their final purpose (service, pet, etc.). No ridiculous, stress-induced mugging of visitors, incessant barking, lunging, bouncing, whining, pawing/clawing at visitors... no unwarranted displays of aggression or other antics. Just lots of focus on the people that matter... in this case, me ;) Unless there is a perceived threat, strangers should be treated like they are present but not worthy of the pups attention except for an initial greeting. However, if a puppy (for whatever reason) is drawn to a stranger, I do not make a fuss and I allow the puppy to interact with them at length if they wish. This is rare but it does happen on occasion and is completely fine, so long as the prolonged interaction does not lead to any conflict (will discuss conflict later).

Nick descending the front stairs
Physically, Nick appeared to be WELL fed when he arrived. I was informed that he had accidentally consumed a considerable quantity of Orijen kibble intended for his brother who was transitioning to kibble in preparation for his new home (I may include a story regarding this). Regardless, Nick was still physically robust, moving very well and deceptively fast for his somewhat bowling ball shape. His ability to ascend and descend stairs was quite impressive. Each step was a calculated, smooth motion. Many of my previous puppies made mad dashes up and down whereas he placed each foot as he stepped. He heeled beside me on the stairs even!!!
Initially I thought that his slow, methodical approach to stair climbing was due to being unsure but it became evident that he was completely comfortable when he pivoted on his front feet, mid-step to turn 180ยบ and head back down the stairs. The only time he paused on stairs was when I made the rookie mistake of inviting him up as I sat part-way up the steps. Realizing my mistake, I opted to simply walk up the steps and he moved right along with me, without hesitation. Perfect... you will be hearing the word "perfect" a great deal in the next entries because I am well into day 5 as I write this post and this is just the beginning of what will be a number of very revealing days ahead.

Day one came to a close. We had ventured out onto the property, climbed stairs, went for a truck ride in a crate in the back of a pickup beside another crated dog, piled wood (yes, he walked with us for an hour while we piled firewood), encountered multiple people in multiple places on the property, saw many other (contained) dogs, retrieved a ball or two, went in the house, ate, pee'd, pooped... he's 10 weeks old, this was a huge, huge day. He was crated, on and off, throughout the first day. Whenever I was not watching him 100% he was crated. This is the only way, in my opinion, to raise a puppy efficiently without having destruction of some sort and a house soiling issue that goes out of control. A very, very important tool that I feel is often misused and misunderstood. For those of you crying out the word "inhumane"... I can't help you. Move on.


Nick at rest, at my feet, yet still aware
of the cat lurking in the hallway
One last note regarding Nick that I thought I should mention and this also falls into the discussion of natural obedience that I covered above, in paragraphs 1 - 3. As I sat down in my chair to write my first blog entry, I realized that Nick was roaming about still and,  knowing that I would be distracted with writing, I realized that it was in our best interest to crate him while I was distracted. Just as I was about to get up out of my chair to put him in his crate, Nick, as if on cue, circled my chair and laid beside me facing back. He laid there, still as can be while I worked for about 10 minutes... I got up for a drink, he got up and with me to the kitchen and laid at my feet while I stood and had a glass of water. I returned to my seat, he returned to his position. When the cat tried to sneak behind me through the office, Nick immediately put the run on him, and returned quickly to his spot beside my chair and laid back down. Awesome. No chewing of my feet (yet), no whining, jumping on me for attention, just calm and quiet. We will be sure to work through the intense cat bursts later as I do not want this to become obsessive behaviour, however, it will not let it become a source of conflict for us as a team. My next post will include a similar response in a different environment as we headed out onto a field we use for tracking...

So far, so good. 

Additional Notes For the Pet People


For those of you bringing home a puppy for the first day, do your best to be completely prepared. First of all, some basic equipment and supplies:
The breakaway collar in unclasped and clasped
state. Fine for casual use but I would not trust it
for walking a dog of considerable size. Note the
plastic clips that deteriorate with use and age.
They often develop weaknesses that cannot
be detected until it's too late

  • crate/kennel (I prefer plastic, but metal are ok
  • leash (leather is good, nylon is ok, Gripper® Leashes are fantastic... AVOID chain leashes)
  • flat collar (pin and buckle style, like a belt you would wear to hold your pants up... AVOID plastic clip collars or, what I refer to as "breakaway" collars that, with wear and tear, become weak and release when least expected. No prong collars or electronics will be used on this puppy, it is totally unnecessary. Choke collars are only used for exercises where the potential to "back out" of a regular collar could occur.
  • food bowls small enough to fit in the crate as well as a water dish/hanging bucket to hang on the front door of the crate
  • appropriate food: grain free kibble such as Orijen or a raw diet which I have fed with great results for the past 10+ years...its more cost effective than Orijen or feeding crap food and paying for the resulting medical bills when your dog develops condition relating to the crap food
  • A Kong® toy, always a favourite, cheap and durable. Get a floaty one with a rope if you intend on working in water eventually, but don't go and buy a pile of toys as it is totally unnecessary

Now, to prepare your house and have a plan of management:
  • Choose where in the yard you want the puppy to relieve itself
  • Anticipate the door that you will be going out to get to this spot
  • Place your crate as close as conveniently possible to this place
  • NO, do not put the crate in your bedroom
  • Instruct family members on the importance of completely closing doors and gates to avoid unwanted escapes
  • determine what areas of the house you want the puppy to have access to and use baby gates for others... baby gates can also be used for small children who wish to interact with the puppy but prefer not to be chewed on. This will help to avoid conflict as well
  • Explain to each family member that, if they have the puppy out of the crate, they must watch the puppy 100% and, in the event that the puppy looks like it needs to pee or poop, that they need to get that puppy to the designated place in the yard ASAP! Do not scold the puppy for going in the house if it happens, the objective is to catch them prior and get them outside. You will begin to recognize the puppies behavioural patterns prior to relieving itself, which will help you immensely. More on house training later.
  • DO NOT provide the puppy with constant attention. It should experience separation from you frequently throughout the day, which means crating them. DO NOT cave in when they whine and cry, in fact, if you are weak and feel you cannot resist the urge to come to their rescue, go outside and do something productive. Feel free to let them out when they are calm and immediately go outside to the relief spot.
That's enough for now, I must get prepared to cover that last 5 days with Nick.

www.clpr.ca


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