Management

You may be wondering what "Management" has to do with puppy training, the answer is simply "everything"!

Our number one priority should be in thinking "how can we set our puppies up to succeed". 

We need to keep in mind we have "Two Choices":  Either our puppy will learn what we want and expect from them from us or they will use their environment to learn from and make/draw their own conclusions (generally speaking that means learning what we do not want them to do!).  Your puppy is in the process of learning 24 hours a day.  You get to decide if you want to take an active role in the process or not. 

Management can potentially save you time, energy, money, training fees, and quite possibly huge Veterinarian Bills now and in the future.  If you never set your puppy up to succeed in the behavior you do not want, it does not have a chance to become a learned behavior...."a win/win senario!".

Management applies both to inside and outside our homes.

Do not lull yourself into thinking "ohhhh it's just a puppy phase, he'll outgrow it"! Although I agree the puppy exploratory stage does pass, learned behavior does not.  Normal problem puppy behavior, is self rewarding, and can quickly become a life long habit.  (Think of how many adolescent puppies and dogs end up in Animal Shelters every year due to housetraining issues and learned problem behaviors!  Early and consistent management could have potentially avoided this sad end!)

It is your responsibility to be proactive:

#1: Take the time to teach your puppy the behaviors you want and reward them!

#2: Manage your puppy so that the behaviors you do not want never have a chance occur in the first place, thus cannot be practiced.

#2: Redirect the behavior you do not want into a behavior you do want (examples:  redirect chewing a sock or an antique piece of furniture to chewing a puppy safe toy instead, redirect peeing inside the house to an outside the house potty area.).

Tools that can assist you in being able to be a good manager: leash, crates, exercise pens, baby gates, and outside kennels/dog runs.  Remember when using these tools they are always used in a positive manner (not punishment), we want our dogs to think this is normal and be able to be relaxed.

Remember to offset your puppy's time in the crate, exercise pen, or dog kennel/run with lots of access to run and play!  Puppies need adequate exercise to grow both physically and mentally.  Tired puppies are happy puppies, which in turn make for happy owners.

Good management allows us to get our puppies past the exploratory stage (generally speaking until after 2 years of age) so we do not have to use punishment.  Why use punishment, and chance hurting our bond/relationship with our dogs, if we it was never needed when all we had to do was be proactive in the learning process!?!

Examples of what can happen if you choose not to manage your puppy:  They run into your bedroom and eat a sock (now you may have a hefty Vet bill upwards of $2,500+ and an invasive surgery process on your puppy that never should have occurred), it eats grandma's antique piece of furniture (can't replace, what done is done), counter surfs and steals your dinner (happens once, oh yummy, will happen again), is left unattended in your  back yard and now you no longer have landscaping nor sprinklers, break your ankle tripping in a dug hole, or they fall into your pool and drown!), or going potty inside the house (a self rewarding behavior as it gives them physical release, however down the road your carpets and pads must be replaced due to being ruined).  These are all things that could easily avoided by not allowing them the chance to occur in the first place.  It is easy to create a monster, but much harder to fix down the road!

Remember giving your puppy access to run wild in your household is like giving your diaperless toddler access to run around the house and yard without you watching (who knows what trouble they could get into) or your teenager with out a drivers license access to the car and keys, house, and alcohol cabinet while you leave town for a weekend.  In either situation potentially you are setting them up to fail right off the bat.  Think of puppies in the same light, we either can set them up so that we are good leaders and set them up to succeed; or we can set them up to fail and create our own monsters!

Think about how can you and your family set up your house and yard so that the puppy can easily learn the behavior you want, while keeping him safe at the same time.

Take the time to enjoy your puppy as they grow and age and have fun with the process, from puppies to seniors.  Time passes quickly when their life span is relatively short compared to ours.

Cindy C. Smith, The Right Steps, 916-966-6883,

www.therightsteps.com

© 2007 The Right Steps & Cindy C. Smith. All rights reserved.

We welcome you to attend one of our:

"Free Seminars" on Positive Solutions to Problem Puppy Behavior include: Play Biting, Jumping, Housetraining, Management, Leadership, Chewing, Exercise and Toy Ideas as well as what to expect as your puppy matures from a Puppy to Adolescent to Adulthood to Senior.