Here’s what you’ll find in this book…
PART ONE:
From the Beginning
Chapter One: Get Ready
Understanding your dog
Common myths about dogs
Developmental stages of the puppy
Chapter Two: Get Set
A few more things you need to know
Things to do before you bring puppy home
Supplies you’ll need
Chapter Three: Go
Off to a good start
How to ruin a perfectly good puppy
Socializing your puppy
Tips for Raising the Perfect Puppy
Part Two: A FUNdamental Education
Chapter Four: A puppy mind is a terrible thing to waste
How dogs learn
Leadership qualities
When to begin training
Chapter Five: Off to School
Home schooling or public education?
Training theories and resources
Clicker Training: an overview
Some tools of the trade
Part Three: Ten things Your Puppy Needs to Know (and how to teach them)
Chapter Six: 10 Things Your Puppy needs to Know
1.You are the most important thing in his world
2. You are the source of all good things
3. He can trust you
4.You will always protect him
5.You make all the decisions
6. Everything in the world belongs to you
7.Small humans are not prey
8.Whoever holds the leash is in charge:
9.When he is right, he will be rewarded
10.If something is wrong, it is wrong all the time, every single time, without fail.
Part Four: Six Weeks to the Perfect Puppy
Chapter Seven: You are the most important thing in his world
Week One: Walk at your side
Week Two : Come
Chapter Eight: You make all the decisions
Week Three: Walk on leash without pulling
Week Four: Sit by your side
Chapter Nine: You will always protect him
Week Five: Down
Week Six: Stay
Chapter Ten: You are the source of all good things
A lifetime of learning
All the world’s a game
The Rules of Leadership
Appendix:
House Training
Jumping up
Discouraging nipping and biting
The Rules of Come
AN EXCERPT FROM TEN THINGSYOUR PUPPY NEEDS TO KNOW
Introduction
Your New Puppy
Congratulations on your new puppy! By buying this book, you have already demonstrated that you want the best for your new family member, and that you’re willing to do your part to help him grow up to be the best dog he can be.
Before bringing your puppy home, you gave a lot of thought to what kind of dog would suit your lifestyle. Long haired or short? Male or female? Small dog or large? Working dog, herding dog, hunting dog or lapdog?
You assembled everything Puppy would need to get off to a great start in life: high quality puppy food, bedding, crate, dishes, toys, collar and leash. You made an appointment with your vet for his first shots and well-puppy check up. You puppy-proofed your house. You set your alarm for every two hours so that you can take the puppy out during the night. You enrolled him in puppy kindergarten (didn’t you?); you hired a dog walker or puppy sitter to make sure he’s taken care of while you’re away at work. You’ve done your homework. You are ready.
And then Puppy comes bouncing in, promptly relieves himself on the living room carpet, chases the cat, mauls the parrot, and chews up his expensive new leash. He leaves puncture marks in your hand when you try to play with him, and scatters the stuffing from his designer toys all over the house. He climbs on the sofa with his sharp little claws, upends your purse, shreds your check book and eats a twenty dollar bill. He cries so pitifully through the night that you finally relent and bring him to bed with you, and you awake in the morning with a mattress soaked in puppy urine. You feel like a failure. You wonder if you can get your money back.
Before you do anything rash, here’s the good news: you’re not a failure, and neither is your puppy. You both just have some growing to do. With a little bit of guidance, your puppy can grow into the dog you always wanted him to be, and you are going to grow into the strong, confident leader he needs. Your pup just has a few things to learn.
And so do you.
In this book you will learn how to build a relationship with your dog that will last a lifetime. You will receive the tools of communication that will enable you to teach your puppy anything, any time, and he will learn how to happily and successfully navigate the often times perplexing rules of human society. Because when it comes right down to it there are really only ten things your puppy needs to know to be a perfect dog:
1.You are the most important thing in his world
2. You are the source of all good things
3. He can trust you
4.You will always protect him
5.You make all the decisions
6. Everything in the world belongs to you
7.Small humans are not prey
8.Whoever holds the leash is in charge
9.When he is right, he will be rewarded
10.If something is wrong, it is wrong all the time, every single time, without fail.
And guess what? You, as a strong, confident well-educated human being, started teaching him these things the minute you met him.
But just in case you’re not as strong, confident, or as well educated in the language of dogs as you’d like to be, let’s go over a few things you need to know about dogs and humans and how we communicate with each other. Once you understand the basics, teaching Puppy everything he needs to know will be a snap.
Really.
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CHAPTER ONE: Get Ready
Understanding Your Dog
Dogs evolved, as did we all, as a product of their environment. The eyes set at the sides of their heads and their prominent canine incisors tell us they are hunters by nature, built to run long distances and to move in fast for the kill. Watch Puppy capture his toy and shake it: He is playing out a hunting game in which his first objective is to break the neck of his prey. Now watch him systematically shred his stuffed octopus until he removes the squeaker: he is going for the heart (Puppies should be supervised with squeaker toys for precisely this reason; they can be swallowed and present a choking or intestinal blockage hazard) .
Like coyotes and wolves, dogs learned to hunt in packs for maximum efficiency. This means that early in their development they learned a form of social order and cooperation, which many anthropologists believe was as complex and multi-faceted as human society. Each pack member had his own job, his own status, his own responsibilities. The pack was at the very center of dog-ness. It provided protection, sustenance, companionship, order, security, purpose—everything he needed to live a long and happy life.
Dogs are still hunters, and they still pack animals. We see their hunting instincts activated every time they chase a ball or catch a Frisbee; when they win an agility championship or rescue a child trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed building. We see their pack behavior when they walk at heel, howl disconsolately when we leave them alone, or try to sleep on our beds. But it’s important to remember that dogs are not wolves, and they are not coyotes. They are canine domesticus , an entirely separate species: the domestic dog. And they chose to be domesticated by us.
That was our lucky day.
Today most dogs live in a pack that consists primarily of human members. The fact that they can make this cross-species adjustment so effortlessly distinguishes them from most of the animal kingdom; their ability to continuously learn from and adapt to the constantly changing needs of their new pack members qualifies them as something close to genius by any reasonable standard. Think how well you would fare if you were adopted into a dog pack!
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Some Common Myths About Domestic Dogs
**Dogs are descended from wolves
Modern research suggests that while domestic dogs, wolves, coyotes, hyenas and even cats may have a common ancestor, they are clearly separate species, in the same way humans and chimpanzees are. Rover may be no more closely related to a wolf than Tabby.
**We should model our behavior, in relationship to our pet dogs, after a wolf pack
This is wrong on so many levels-- beginning with the fact that humans should not under any circumstances be required to act like wolves—but you would be surprised at how many so-called animal experts advocate this method of interacting with our dogs. The alpha roll, the choke-chain correction, and similar dominance-based behaviors are examples of this. The latest research suggests, however, that dog packs are organized differently from wolf packs. Dog packs are family oriented, and are based on respect earned by firmness, fairness, and consistency (which is not that different from what human children need from their parents!) So when you refer to yourself as your pup’s “mom” or “dad”, as opposed to “pack leader”, you may actually be right.
**Dogs are wild animals who need to run loose
Dogs are the product of 10,000 years of human domestication. They live with humans. They serve humans. They learn from humans. They are protected by humans. Most modern breeds would not even exist without humans. A dog who runs loose is looking for one thing: a home.
** Never feed your dog human food
Before the pet food industry was established in the 1950s, dogs ate two things: what they could catch, and scraps from human tables. In fact, one theory as to how the domestic dog first became man’s best friend is that they learned to follow human camps for their food scraps. This having been said, there are many excellent reasons for not feeding your dog from the table which will be covered in later chapters. There are also certain foods—chocolate, onions, grapes and raisins (to certain breeds)-- that are known to be toxic to dogs. Other than this very small list, dogs have evolved to eat exactly the same foods that humans do. Premium pet food companies now recognize this and are incorporating human-grade ingredients (including fruits and vegetables) into their mixes. A growing number of people are also making their own wholesome, organic pet foods at home, or feeding raw diets. The main problem with feeding “human food” is that most humans do not have a healthy diet! As long as your dog’s nutritional needs are met and a healthy weight is maintained, there is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding your dog human food.
**All dogs should be bred at least once
There are ample statistics from the Humane Society of the United States on the tragic results of unaltered pets, and I don’t think they need to be repeated here. You may very well be able to find good homes for all your puppies, but who is going to take care of the puppies’ puppies? Bottom line: Unless you are a professional breeder registered with the AKC who is willing to devote a serious amount of time, money and effort to studying genetics and improving your breed, every pet dog should be spayed or neutered no exceptions I am not kidding. There is absolutely no evidence that breeding improves the health or temperament of either the male or female dog, and a great deal of evidence regarding the health risks faced by unaltered dogs. Some vets recommend waiting until the growth plates close (about eighteen months for large breeds) before spaying or neutering your dog, particularly if you plan to have your dog compete in strenuous sports. No health benefit has ever been proven for allowing your female dog to come into season—although a lot of discomfort, inconvenience, and sometimes tragedy has.
The average age at which most dogs are spayed or neutered is six months. You should discuss this with your vet.
**Spayed and Neutered Dogs are Fat
Dogs who eat too much (especially too much commercial dog food) for their exercise level are fat. Whether or not they are altered is not a factor.
**Neutering a Male Dog Will Curb Aggression and Stop Roaming
Rarely is this true. Neutering a male dog may prevent roaming and circumvent some aggressive behavior toward other males if the puppy is neutered before being bred, but both roaming and aggression are serious behavioral issues that have no simple fix.
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Some Other Interesting Dog Myths:
**Dogs can’t see color
Recent research has shown that dogs can see several colors; among them are red, bright blue, and lime green/yellow. Who knows what further research will show?
**Dogs don’t know what you’re saying
While it’s true that dogs do not process language in the same way we do, they are enormously sensitive to tone, nuance and body language. They quickly come to recognize words that have a pleasurable association to them, like “cookie”, “ride”, “ball” or “walk”, and this fact is a pivotal point in positive training. Border collies are commonly thought to be the most verbally proficient of all breeds, and one famous border collie has been documented to recognize more than 300 different words!
**Dogs Can’t See Television
If ever there was proof that dogs have evolved to be the companions of humans, this is it. Evidence suggests that, since the invention of television, dogs’ brains, which were never designed to interpret light images reflected by a cathode ray, have actually learned to see and recognize television images in the same way they see three-dimensional images. Anyone who has ever left Animal Planet on to entertain her dog, or watched her pooch run behind the TV. to find out where the barking was coming from, can attest to this. Who knows? Maybe in a few more generations, they’ll be surfing the internet!
