Puppy Training: It IS A Big Deal! 

It is not always the case, yet it is VERY common that a lot of dogs with behavioral issues come from a background of poor, or sometimes non-existent, puppy training. Whether it is lack of socialization, previous negligence/abuse, or living as a stray with no stable environment or guidance, a dog is typically not born with behavior problems—they are formed and usually stem back to “puppyhood”.

I have gotten a lot of puppy cases, and it really does please me to see owners make the smart decision to begin training at a young age. I have no doubt these owners could read a pamphlet or a website on how to train their newly-adopted puppy, but the ones that call me are the owners that want to ensure that their puppy gets the program that is based on the most updated, effective and consistent training information. I do sometimes have puppy owners calling me because they are at a loss on how to deal with some bizarre behavior patterns.

Just the other day, I had a young woman named Sophia call me to help with her young puppy, Ella. Before reaching out to me, Sophia had attempted to train Ella on her own, as she had experience training with past pets. Everything was going swimmingly for awhile, but then Ella started showing some aggressive behavior, specifically toy guarding and food aggression. If anyone came near her food bowl or her precious stuffed animal toys, Ella would bare her teeth and even attempt to bite. While Sophia had previous experience raising dogs before, she had never encountered behavior like this, especially within a puppy! At such a young age, this caused Sophia great worry and motivated her to seek professional help.

With my puppy training program here in Richmond, I want to eliminate all the problematic behaviors, but I also must get to the root cause of these behaviors. With Ella, her guarding and food aggression clearly came from insecurity and anxiety. It was imperative that I fully assess Ella, her living situation, and her interaction with Sophia. After meeting for our initial consultation and discussing the training goals for Ella, we then began taking steps to creating a more trusting relationship between owner and puppy.

Ella’s confidence was lacking, but it was soon revealed that Sophia’s confidence had begun to lower more and more, as her puppy developed and began crossing these boundaries. This was something that needed to be addressed immediately. A puppy needs an assertive leader that consistently directs the puppy to better decision making. If the owner is not confident or is not consistent with what they are trying to teach the puppy, the puppy will instantly sense this and the irregularities could cause extreme stress and anxiety. If a person cannot confidently and effectively guide their puppy, the puppy will make their own choices, and since they don’t know better anyway, anything is fair game, including aggressive behavior like Ella’s.

With Ella, she is somewhat a severe example. Still, this could happen to any dog of any age, breed, sex, etc.! Seeing a behavior like this in a young dog can be disturbing for many, but it does not mean the puppy is doomed for a life of aggression or fear! Any behavior can be modified, whether it is a puppy or a grown dog! Luckily for Ella and Sophia, we are already seeing the positive changes, and everyone is so relieved!

Puppies do not need to be dominated or have fear instilled into them in order to be obedient. All they need is a leader that will help them to learn better behaviors. As a trainer here in Richmond, that is my goal with puppy training, and I like to approach it in a reward-based style, where the puppy can succeed more than fail! If this sounds like something you and your puppy need, give me a call at 800.649.7297! We’ll get all your puppy’s needs met so that they may become a happy, obedient adult dog!