Build a Healthy Relationship with Your Puppy

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Did you just bring home a new puppy? Or maybe you are about to, and you're already overwhelmed with what you should do and what you shouldn't do? Well, today I wanna dive into this and I wanna set the record straight and put some of the common misconceptions to bed, and also hopefully alleviate some of your fears, <laugh>, some of the most common fears about puppy raising, or just adding a new dog to your family. All that. Next, welcome to Off Leash and Unfiltered Trigger warning. I'm Kati Peppe, delivering the Truth in Dog Training.

Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of Off Leash and Unfiltered. I am Kati Peppe, owner of Diamond Canine Dog Training in Biddeford, Maine. We specialize in eco training, both for reliable off-leash obedience and behavior modifications. So helping people stop all those unwanted behaviors like barking leash, pulling, getting into the trash, all that annoying stuff. And also more serious things like leash reactivity, resource guarding, separation issues, all of that stuff. And love, love, love doing in-depth state of mind, work with nervous, anxious, fearful dogs. That's who we are and what we do. We also do puppy training.

Have a lovely puppy with us right now for board and train. Um, but that's it. And this podcast is here as our way of sharing everything that we see every day and everything we're talking about with our clients and everything that we're learning with you guys.

01:55 — Kati introduces puppy relationship concerns through her recently adopted puppy and a puppy attending…

So hopefully you get something out of this that you find helpful in your day-to-day life with your dog. Um, and without further ado, let's jump into things since puppies have been on my mind lately. We recently adopted a puppy just a few months ago, and I have a lovely puppy, as I just mentioned with us right now for board and train. I wanted to talk about developing a relationship with your puppy. Uh, I thought this was a fantastic topic because I think there's a lot of uncertainty around how to do that, but yet I hear a ton of concern around doing that.

So one of the most common questions I get, um, is people want to train their puppy and get their puppy off to a really solid start, but they are uncomfortable with potentially sending their puppy to a board and train program, which right now, at the moment is all we offer for puppy training. <laugh>,

And I'll, I'll get into why a little bit in a minute, but, um, and understandably so. But people feel like, geez, you know, I just got my puppy. It's gonna be like they're bouncing around from house to house. Like, is is it gonna interfere with our bonding time? Is the puppy gonna have like abandonment issues and all of this stuff? Um, so people are really, really concerned about their puppy's perception and how that's gonna impact their puppy long term and how that's gonna impact their relationship long term. So I definitely hear a lot of concern around it.

Um, same thing when it comes to, uh, behaviors and behavioral training. People are not sure if they should be correcting things. Um, they tend to lean very, very heavily. And I mean, I think this is true generally speaking even for adult dogs, but especially when we're talking about puppies, uh, most people are definitely taking the route where, you know, puppy bites them and they just redirect puppy to a bone, um, that sort of thing.

And it's all, you know, very, very redirecting, very, very positive tons of guidance. But there's very little conversation happening, um, with the puppy that says, no, you can't do that. And that's because people are very, very concerned about what's gonna happen to our relationship if I do that. Isn't that going to develop a negative association, isn't gonna damage our relationship. Um, that sort of thing. A lot of people who have had dogs that were shipped up here, um, in the northeast, you know, from the south in crates, people don't wanna put them in crates because they're afraid.

The dog, you know, has some kind of PTSD around the crate dog doesn't like the crate. So there's lots of concern around what's the right thing to do in the wrong thing to do. People are really concerned about causing harm to their dog, causing trauma, quote unquote trauma <laugh> causing damage to their relationship.

05:01 — Kati reassures owners that mistakes and negative associations can be changed rather than permanently…

So I wanna dig into all that today so we can put some of those concerns to bed and kind of give you guys a solid plan to follow to develop a really healthy relationship, uh, with your new puppy or your adult dog. We, we'll dive in a little bit to how this applies with an older dog, if you bring an older dog, um, home and have a new relationship to build with them as well. Um, but for the most part we're kind of focusing on the new puppy, puppy being, uh, a dog that's probably like two to five months old that's just coming into your home for the first time.

Okay? So the first thing I can tell you is that people tend to weigh way, overthink this. So the first thing I wanna tell you to do is relax, <laugh>, you're probably overthinking things a little bit. So, and I want you to remember that even if you do make a mistake, and even if it does, cause as unlikely as it might be, even if it does cause some kind of trauma to your dog, even if it does cause some kind of inadvertent negative association that you didn't want them to form, it's just as easy to undo as it is to do.

It's very forgiving. Just like dogs develop associations in the first place, they can just as easily develop new ones. So stop worrying so much about causing some kind of irreversible damage to our dog, your dog. That almost never happens guys. And when I say almost never, I mean never. I just, I don't like to use the word always or never <laugh> because it's rarely true, but, uh, the chances that you're gonna do that are just slim to none. So stop worrying.

So for the first few days that you have your new puppy, you're gonna rely very, very heavily on management. And that's okay. That's what I would recommend to do. So I understand that training is super important and technically it's happening all the time. And yeah, it's true. You don't wanna let your puppy walk all over you or do like terrible things and just let them get away with that, especially forever. But the first few days you have your puppy, like really just focus on spending time with them, getting to know them, getting to see who they are, and don't worry too much about sending the right messages and training or stopping behaviors or, or any of that.

So if you do have a puppy that's particularly Wiley, um, and does have some stuff that you wanna knock out like mouthing, biting, um, keep 'em on a leash so you can at least manage that behavior, right?

You can use leash pressure or maybe even little leash pops, um, to just get your puppy to, to kind of stop doing that, right? So what I'm not gonna tell you to do is to stuff a treat in their mouth. We're gonna talk more about that in a little bit, um, or a bone or a toy or anything like that. Um, but just use the leash and prevent them more than anything from doing behaviors like that. But you're gonna spend a little bit of time just letting your puppy be a puppy and getting to know them.

I will say during that phase, you do wanna be starting right off the bat with your structure. Don't make the mistake of letting the puppy be your shadow a hundred percent of the time, letting them roam around the house and you know, they're peeing and pooping on the floor and having accident.

They're getting used to sleeping in your bed. And then when you go and you try to put them in a crate, it's gonna be really difficult because they've already gotten really comfortable, um, with being spoiled and being able to be attached to you. And that can lead to potentially some unhealthy attachment issues down the road. So you definitely do wanna start right off the bat, getting your puppy comfortable being in a crate, not being able to follow you around all the time. Um, and that way preventing potty accidents in the house and preventing, you know, all the furniture, chewing and all that, but it's management, right?

And that's what we want right now. We just want you to manage the situation, um, to prevent them from doing all kinds of puppy business. That's no good. 'cause puppies are just like hell on wheels a lot of the time. So management, management, management. Get them used to that crate, get them developing good potty habits. Um, keep them outta your bed for now, right? Maybe down the road, but not right now. And, um, if your puppy has behaviors that you don't like, again, using management, right? So the crates a big part of that. A leash will be a big part of that as well.

09:00 — Use crates, leashes, gates, and early potty structure to prevent chewing, accidents, and repeated…

Gates, crates, leashes, right? That's our mantra with puppies. So, but not redirection management, okay?

Now, during this time, you're probably gonna wanna start teaching your puppy things and there's nothing wrong with that. I definitely recommend that you get a clicker. You can also teach your puppy a verbal marker if you want to. That's not a bad idea because there might be times where you don't have a clicker on you and you can still be effective, um, with a verbal marker. So, and what that means, I won't go into great detail, um, but a clicker, it's basically something that we click, um, and that tells the puppy that we are going to deliver food.

At least that's what it tells the puppy after you have taught them that, right? So what you have to do to do that is just click your clicker and then feed the puppy. So you do that several times in a row, few handfuls of times, right?

And your puppy will start to put that pattern together, that every time you click, you then reach into your pocket after the click, don't reach into your pocket as you click, wait until after <laugh>, after you click, you're gonna reach into your pocket and get some food, they're gonna start to put that pattern together. And now the clicker becomes a really cool tool that's very precise and effective and a nice easy way for you to communicate to your puppy, um, that the behavior they just did is going to result in food, right? And so you can do the same thing with a verbal marker.

A lot of people use the word yes, you would do the same exact thing. You would say yes, then you would reach into your pocket, get some food, deliver that to the puppy, right? So do that a few dozen times.

So they start picking up on that pattern, and now you've got your verbal marker, so then you can start working on your basic commands. Um, usually we start with the most simple thing, which is sit right. I also like to teach the place command, lots of great videos on how to teach puppies these commands. We plan on putting together some more of these videos for you, uh, with the puppy that we have right now. Dony, he's a super cute little yellow lab, smart as a whip, and we've been doing a lot of recording. So I hope to get some of those videos posted for you guys.

And when I do have them ready, I will post a link in the description.

So yes, I think it's a wonderful idea to get started right away on teaching your puppy some new behaviors and using lots and lots of food to do that, to teach those new behaviors, to build those behaviors up. I think that's wonderful. Um, I would say take it slow, like don't jump around from one behavior to another, to another, kind of stick to one and then move on to another one. Um, and don't rehearse them in the same sitting, right? So if you're teaching your puppy sit and place, you might work with them for a few minutes on sit and then take a little break before you work on place instead of alternating them, you know, doing a few sits and then a few places, and then a few sits.

12:00 — Teach one behavior at a time, practicing sit and place separately rather than rapidly…

Um, because until your puppy really understands them, if you're mixing them together like that, it's gonna make it harder for them to learn the patterns and the sequences and the associations.

And sometimes things can get conflated too. So you'll just drag the process out that way. So focus on one before you move to the other. So just a good tip there for the basic obedient stuff. Now, what you don't wanna do during this phase where you're just using a lot of management and kind of letting your puppy get comfortable with their surroundings and you're getting to know them and they're getting to know you, what you don't wanna do is do anything that's gonna potentially set you up to develop some unhealthy attachment issues with the dog.

So, like I said, really not a great time to have them sleeping in your bed, at least not overnight, right? Doesn't mean you can't have cuddle sessions here and there. Um, but Crate really is best for a puppy to learn that they're totally safe and everything is fine when they're alone, um, teaching them to be inconvenienced, right?

So they can't necessarily go inject themselves in everything that you're doing. They can't follow you around, they can't go be your audience when you're going to the bathroom <laugh>. So these are skills, um, that we want our dogs to learn because it can, uh, create a real inconvenience both for us and them if they don't develop those coping skills when they're young. Um, the other thing that you don't wanna do is you don't want to constantly pet your puppy, okay? So that can actually create some issues too. And obviously there is a real high proclivity toward petting our puppies, um, a lot because they're small, they're cute, they're cuddly, they're novel, right?

They're new. And we wanna pay attention to our puppies, and that's totally natural and normal, right? If you're human, of course you wanna pet your puppy. Um, and it's totally okay to do that, but it's not something that you wanna do constantly.

So there's a lot about your puppy that you don't know yet. Uh, the truth is, you won't really fully know who your puppy is until they become an adult. There's lots of behaviors coded in their DNA that just aren't going to be expressed until they reach the maturation process. So for instance, dogs, most dogs, I would say even bark when somebody drives into the driveway or comes to the door, right? But that's not the case when you have an 8, 9, 10 week old puppy because they just aren't there yet. It's not that they learn to do it necessarily, it's just that it's a natural innate behavior and it just hasn't been triggered yet by that maturation process.

So the fact is, if you do things like let your puppy sleep in your bed, pet them constantly, um, or as we haven't talked about yet, but the redirecting with the biting, that sort of stuff, that the reason that that could create issues down the road is because we don't really know what your puppies proclivities are yet.

15:23 — Constant petting, bed access, and indiscriminate redirection can contribute to dependency as the puppy…

We don't know what their tendencies are. We don't really know their for full personality. Um, or what type of behaviors might be lurking in there <laugh>. So they might have tendencies toward anxiety, they might have tendencies toward aggression, right? And these are all normal natural dog behaviors. Um, but they're not necessarily things that we want to allow to blossom. So you basically wanna take every precaution, um, you can to raise the most balanced dog possible, right? So if you're constantly touching your dog, that can do a lot of things. Number one, it can send a message that you're just kind of a softie, right?

And you might become somewhat of a doormat if your dog tends to be a little more on the pushy side, or even if your dog is more on the insecure nervous side. Um, if you've ever watched Caesar Milan, he might classify such a dog as like nervous dominant, right?

Like, so they tend to be a little bit nervy, a little unsure, uh, but they'll take that lead spot, they'll try to be pushy, um, if they can, and it kind of inflates their ego and makes them feel better in a sense, right? And don't humanize it too much. Um, but it's just sort of a natural behavior for a dog with a brain that's just wired that way, right? So if you're constantly, constantly touching your dog, petting your dog, especially just soft affection, um, especially if they take to mouthing you while you do it and all this stuff, you may become like, oh, labeled big softy, right?

Constantly food affection, food affection, food affection. That's all your dog knows from you. Like they don't know anything else from the time they were a puppy. Well, you're just pez dispenser, big softy, doormat, <laugh>, okay? And with some dogs that might not end up mattering, like that's the truth, it might not matter, right?

If you have a real soft dog, happy go lucky, very good natured, maybe it won't matter, right? But a lot of dogs aren't. Dogs are dogs. They are not stuffies, they are not all soft, easygoing, fluffy, happy go lucky dogs. A lot of them have little streaks or quirks. Uh, and it can be a problem if your dog views you this way. So I would recommend practicing spending time with your puppy in a neutral manner, right? Yes, of course you can give them affection and pet them, but just be mindful of when we're doing it.

What are they doing when we do it? How are they feeling when we do it? So we don't wanna pet our puppies when they're super nervous or scared when they're alerting on something. We don't wanna pet our puppies, um, when they're being super pushy, right? So if a puppy is climbing all up into my space and getting all over me, I may ought to use the leash to kind of pull them away and get them to settle a little bit before I give them affection, right? Because you're just, you're completing a loop. And the more you complete that loop, the more that just becomes normal, right?

And then it becomes a habit, and then it becomes a way of life in general. 'cause it'll bleed over to other things. So the C circuit we're completing there is, I can encroach on your space on an impulse whenever I want to. I can come get into your space, I can climb on you, I can jump on you, I can demand things from you and you will always deliver.

So servant dispense, food and affection, <laugh>. And again, not saying you can't give your puppy treats, not saying you can't give your puppy love and affection, I'm just saying be aware of that stuff. Be mindful of it. So if nothing else, you can use, um, a little bit of management, a little bit of direction and guidance to patterns, something a little bit better, right? And we'll talk about how to take that to the next step. Um, but even just using a leash to kind of pull the puppy off you and refrain from giving them affection until they've settled a little bit, that's something like, that's a lot better than just repeating over and over and over again.

You come demand something from me, you come get in my space, you come climb on me, put your paws on me, jump up on me, and I deliver affection, I deliver food, I talk to you, I encourage, and then we just repeat that over and over and over again.

And then again, depending on your puppies tendencies as they get older, it could potentially turn into a real issue. Especially if you have a big dog right now, they're jumping all over you all the time. Um, and they're pushing and demanding. If you have a multi dog household that can lead to another multitude of issues. Um, so just be mindful, right? So one of the common trainer sayings is you get what you pet or what you pet is what you get. Um, I like that saying because generally speaking, it is a form of reinforcement, not only when we touch our dogs, but even talking to them and even just making eye contact, right?

So that can be reinforcement for behaviors we don't like, or behaviors. We just don't want to become the norm for them. For instance, if your puppy is unsure of something and so they start alerting on it and kind of, you know, they do that thing where they kind of stare and bark and maybe back up a little bit, that's the wrong time to talk softly to your puppy and pet them, right?

21:03 — When a puppy shows uncertainty, intervene neutrally instead of petting and reinforcing fearful behavior.

So you're essentially encouraging more of that behavior. So if your puppy's uncertain, you don't wanna encourage them to be uncertain. And of course, that's not anybody's goal, but inadvertently that's what we end up doing, right? But so just using some management to intervene in some of those patterns, um, it's not that your puppy's bad or doing anything wrong, they're just doing normal puppy stuff, right? But this is when they learn. So I often say to people who don't wanna correct their puppy for things or don't wanna set boundaries or don't wanna use the management, well, when do you wanna teach them?

Right? So why wait, why wait?

You know, it, it starts now. And that doesn't mean you have to have every conversation with your puppy right now, but there are some really simple things that we can do to just make sure that the relationship doesn't go off the rails from the beginning. Nobody wants to walk around all day punishing their puppy. Uh, I certainly wouldn't. And you shouldn't, I wouldn't recommend that you do that. And that is why management is such a, an important part of your process right now. However, I would start to do that, right? So pick your battles right now.

Again, you don't have to have every conversation with your puppy right now. That would be like expecting your 8, 10, 12 week old puppy to be an adult dog overnight. It's like, no, of course they're not. You take your time and have these conversations when you decide to have them, but once you have it, you've gotta stick to it, okay?

And I think it is important, while your puppy is still young, that we do start introducing them to the concept of the word no, which will be followed by a proper punisher. That's right. You are going to punish your puppy for things. Um, however, we're pretty selective about what those things offer when they're very young. Um, but why wait to teach your dog that you are somebody who does have boundaries and you will enforce them. So when I say it that way, hopefully you can see why that's so valuable, right? So as you can imagine, most folks bring their puppy home and they're giving them too much freedom.

They're kind of running around, they're sleeping in their bed sometimes. Um, they're getting tons of affection and tons of treats, right? So the Pez dispenser syndrome, like we talked about, um, they're getting into the person's space whenever they want to, and they're always, always getting a reward for that.

They're often being talked to and reassured, comforted and touched when they're unsure and uncertain about things. And, um, if they're, you know, biting or jumping the person's, redirecting them often with a, a treat or a toy or a bone. And then, um, you know, you can see how this is a very one-sided relationship. You can see how that becomes, um, that becomes a relationship of one side gives and one side takes, right? And one side takes as much as they can get away with <laugh> because that has been the way of life since day one.

Um, so it absolutely, positively is a valuable lesson for your puppy to learn what no means. And again, you don't have to do that on the first day. Um, you can take your time with this so long as you're using management in the interim, but at some point, whether that's a few days in or a few weeks in, um, certainly within a month, I think we would start having these conversations, at least one of them, right?

25:05 — Establish that the relationship includes clear expectations and consistent enforcement, not only affection and…

So early on in Puppyhood, I want my puppy to learn what the word no means, and I want them to learn that I actually do have boundaries. I actually do have expectations and I am capable of enforcing them. If your dog doesn't know that about you, then how much can you really expect from them in the long term? So the way we do that is, to me, the most important thing is the way puppy interacts with humans. So I don't wait too long before I will start telling a puppy they can't bite people <laugh>, right?

And how soon I have that conversation might depend on the puppy, it might depend on the big picture. What breed of dog is it? How intense are they? Um, is it play biting? Is it serious biting? Uh, are they biting really hard? Are they breaking skin? Are they bruising?

Um, or is it gentle? Right? So these things make a difference, but either way, the rule for me is there's no teeth on people. And so we are going to have that conversation at some point. And again, I might not do it the first day. I might not do it the first week. Um, but it will be sometime in the near future we're gonna have that conversation. So that's usually the first one we have is if the puppy is mouthy toothy, we're gonna have that conversation and I'm going to say, no, I'm gonna wait a couple seconds and then I'm gonna bonk 'em right on the head with a rolled up cotton towel.

Uh, which sounds so mean and so cruel <laugh>, but it doesn't hurt them guys. It's just a towel. And it's usually a very, very effective tool to stop behaviors and stop them quickly.

Um, but it does so much more than that, right? So if you've hopefully been listening to all of the stuff I've been saying, it's not just about stopping the behavior, yes, that's super important, but it's also about setting a standard with your puppy. It's about developing the relationship with your puppy where they go, Hey, this person's really cool. We have tons of fun together. Um, you know, they give me food, they give me affection. Uh, we, we go and we train and we work together and we have a good time. And uh, and that's great.

But also this is a person who has boundaries.

So important for your puppy to learn that about you at some point, right? And once you draw a boundary like that, you should stick to it, right? So if you're going to bonk your puppy, it is important you do it properly because if you don't, you will just desensitize them to it. It will no longer be effective. Um, and you'll still be stuck with the bad behavior. And now you've lost a tool that's very, very valuable. Um, it is important that you do it firmly. Most people do it far too gently. Yes, of course, use your common sense.

We're not trying to cause any harm to the puppy. Um, but I have met some very drivey puppies, especially like hunting type dogs, you know, working type dogs that are very drivey and intense and they're kind of serious customers. And if you don't bonk them very firmly, very, they just don't take you seriously <laugh>.

They just don't, uh, it's a game. And sometimes it can actually even escalate things because they just feel like they're getting a rise outta you and you're kind of playing back with them and it just becomes a wrestling match. And that's just not, not gonna get you where you wanna go. Again, we always take into account the big picture, your individual puppy and their personality. Some puppies are very, very soft and sensitive and you know, it doesn't take much of a bonk and they go, oh my God, I'll never do that again. Right? So it just depends on your puppy.

But if you tend to be a very soft person, I just wanna make it clear that for a lot of puppies, if you are not firm, you will end up, um, just removing all the value from the tool and you'll still be stuck with the bad behavior and you won't develop that boundary in your relationship as you were trying to.

28:54 — Weak or playful follow-through can make corrections ineffective and turn boundary-setting into a wrestling…

So biting for me is a big one. After that, our next conversation is usually jumping up on me, um, or other folks. I will definitely start to tell the puppy that there's no jumping right? And we do that the same exact way. We will mark it with a no the moment they do it or they're about to do it, and then we will follow up after that. No, with a negative consequence. Now, the way you will know whether or not your negative consequence was enough will be you shouldn't have to do it more than a few times, right?

If you do, then your puppy is telling you your weak sauce. <laugh>, they're saying, is that all you got? Um, and the, the behavior will just continue. So this, although it's not fun, it's not something you should have to do constantly, because if you're effective, those behaviors should go away.

So once the puppy gets to be 12 to 16 weeks old, we usually introduce them to a prong collar. Um, lot of, um, a lot of negative stuff out there about the prong collar. I know it looks really, um, harsh, but I promise you it really isn't. It's the caller itself doesn't even do anything. It's entirely up to the handler. So if you don't know much about a prong caller, if you've never used one, do some research. We have some great videos out there ourselves, and we are in the process of making a new one.

Um, again, I'll try to put the link to that in the description here once we have that video completed and posted. So introducing puppy to a prong caller will then start our leash communication, right? But when you first get your puppy again, and they're just a real young puppy, it doesn't matter what you have them on, it doesn't matter if they're on a harness, if they're on a flat collar, I don't care.

It really doesn't matter. Whatever your preference is, do not worry about your walk. Just don't worry about it, guys. Um, so this is more of a relationship episode than it is a training episode, but I can tell you right now, it's not gonna do anything for your relationship to go out there and just get frustrated that your puppy won't walk nicely on a leash. Of course, they won't walk nicely on a leash. Why would they? Um, everything is new. Everything is interesting because they're super young, everything's novel and, uh, they've probably never even had a leash on before.

So it is a process. You do have to teach them. And I'll tell you what, teaching them is quick and easy, but it's not something I bother with when the puppy is 8, 10, 11 weeks old. We just don't, it's not worth it. I actually prefer to put the puppy on a long line, 15 feet, 20 feet, whatever is safe, depending on where you're walking, and just kind of let them run around and check things out.

And while you're doing that, you can actually practice calling your puppy to you and feeding them so you can start to develop that nice strong recall response. But don't worry about your puppy walking nicely next to you right now. And then again, your puppy gets to be 12, 14, 16 weeks old. I like to introduce them to a prong collar. And then we start having, uh, lessons on how to respond when you feel the leash tighten and you feel the prong collar tighten, because that's what it does. It really just exerts pressure all the way around their neck.

It's a nice novel sensation. Dogs are much more sensitive to that than they are a flat collar. They're not sharp, they're not pokey, they're not gonna put holes in your dog's neck or any of that business. Um, but it is very, very good at delivering pressure at those concentrated points all the way around the neck evenly.

32:28 — A prong collar distributes pressure around the neck, giving clearer leash communication than a…

And your dog can't choke on it, which is why I super, super love the prong collar. So it's very, very safe. Um, and they can feel it very, very easily, which enables us to be able to communicate with them through the leash really, really nicely. Um, just a fantastic tool. So developing that leash communication with your puppy, um, is definitely a turning point. It's def that's definitely turning a corner with your puppy. That's a whole new milestone, uh, where they learn that you communicate with them through the leash. You really develop a whole new bond, a whole new line of communication when you start doing that.

Um, but that's where your puppy starts to learn that when you walk, you're actually walking together, <laugh> and you the human are actually determining where you go when you go, uh, which direction you're going, when you're going, when you're stopping, and that it's not okay to just stop and sniff everything we wanna sniff or pee on everything we wanna pee on, right?

Or mark everything once your dog starts marking. Um, so it really, really, again, helps your dog to develop a view of you as like the, the leader in the dynamic, right? You're the one that's actually making the decisions and um, they're gonna have to follow you. They're the follower in the dynamic. So that's really a big piece I think too, is don't worry about the walk when your puppy is super young, but once they get a little bit older, really go after that, um, and develop that leash communication and that nice walk. I just feel like that's one of the most primal ways to bond with your dog is on the walk, right?

Because it's natural for dogs to migrate together. So you and your dog going out and having a nice, quiet, relaxing, uh, walk from point A to point B without a whole bunch of nonsense, too without a whole bunch of pulling and frustration.

So introducing them to that prong collar properly and knowing how to use it, um, is huge. But you can also do, and you can do these simultaneously, um, you can do leash engagement exercises. So you can absolutely put a prong collar on your pup once they're old enough, uh, or big enough. And then you can also take along your clicker and a pocket full of food and you can do some leash engagement exercises. So you can start clicking and feeding, you know, and you don't really walk anywhere for those, right? You're not gonna go walk a mile or anything, you're just gonna go out in your driveway or on the road in front of the house or something and you're just gonna go back and forth.

You're gonna do lots of turns and lots of stops and you're just gonna click and feed your puppy every time they notice you turn and they turn with you, or every time you stop and they stop with you, right?

Or if they walk next to you for a few seconds, stop, click feed, right? So every time your puppy turns with you, you click and then you give 'em a piece of food every time your puppy stops with you click and give them a piece of food, right? But if they walk by you, you'll just give them a tiny bit of pressure, a tiny bit of a pop on your, on your leash, on your prong collar, um, to get their attention back on you and you'll just start again, right? So, um, it's more just leash communication and guidance.

If they don't notice that you turn or stop, but if they do notice, then it's a click and feed. So that's kind of a fun exercise to do. Um, and that's totally fine, but once you start actually taking your puppy out and going for a walk on a short leash, hopefully you have them on a prong collar.

You keep that leash nice and short, but it should be loose. And basically the whole premise of that isn't that your puppy has to walk in a nice tight heel. They're still young. I give them a lot of leniency with it, but I won't allow them to drag me down the road. Um, I won't allow them to sniff everything or like start marking things and peeing on everything. Um, I keep that leash short enough that I'm controlling their position and they more or less have to walk next to me. And we're not gonna stop until I'm ready to stop, right?

And we're gonna turn or go in any direction that I wanna go in and they're gonna have to follow me. Um, but it's really important to keep that leash nice and loose and know how to use it, um, to reel them back in if they start getting all wily on you <laugh>.

36:46 — Complete foundational puppy boundaries and leash manners before adolescence introduces new genetic tendencies and…

So, but the walk, I think is a big piece of really finishing up that relationship building before your puppy starts moving into adolescence, right? So the leash piece is, like I said, it's kind of the last thing we do with a puppy. Um, we've started obedience training with lots of food. We've started addressing, you know, biting and jumping up and things like that. We've got them on a leash and we've started patterning manners at doors. You know, they're already used to their crate, right? So we've done all that stuff and then puppy gets to be three, four or five months old and now it's okay, let's introduce 'em to a prong caller.

Let's teach them about leash pressure and how to respond to that. And let's start requiring that when we go for a walk. Um, we're gonna walk, you're gonna follow me, right? It's gonna be on a loose leash.

So you have to keep that leash loose. You're not allowed to strain on the leash. So you do need to know how to use your leash and prong, um, to disagree with that and influence that behavior so you can stop it. And it's very, very easy to do. But you gotta watch the videos, you gotta do the research. Um, the caller doesn't do the work for you, right? Um, but that's sort of that last poppy piece in my opinion, is that leash walk and that prong collar stuff. Uh, leash engagement exercises, again, are great too.

And then after that, your dog's gonna be moving into the 5, 6, 7 month age range where they're entering into adolescence. And you're probably gonna start seeing all kinds of new stuff that you don't like <laugh>, because that's just normal. And that's when you'll start seeing the true expression, um, of those genes they have in there.

And then, you know, when they get to be a year, year and a half old, certainly by then you're seeing most of the stuff that they have in store for you. Um, the final piece I will say is if you have a multi animal household, especially a multi dog household, um, I mentioned this in one of my most recent episodes 'cause we just had an episode on this topic, is don't introduce them right away. They don't have to say hi immediately. Let them get used to the site of each other first. Let them just share space neutrally at a distance.

They don't need to be all up in each other's space right away. But then when you do finally get around to letting them say hi and sniff each other and that sort of thing, don't be the person that just turns your back and lets them run around together.

Make sure you're monitoring things and make sure you're advocating for both of them, because it's not just your relationship with your puppy that matters, it's the relationship they develop with everybody else in the house, especially kids, um, other dogs and finally cats or any other small animals that you might have in the house. So make sure you're monitoring things and make sure you're advocating for all parties so that everybody knows, um, that they can count on you. So the last piece I just wanted to touch on is how does this all apply if the dog you just adopted isn't a puppy?

If you just brought home a new dog. So by and large it's still the same process. Uh, you're still gonna cover the same concept, but in my opinion, you can move a lot faster. Um, so when I say adult dog, that really just means over six months of age.

40:12 — With dogs over six months, apply the same principles faster and establish boundaries immediately.

So here's the difference that you wanna consider. Puppies are just learning everything. They were literally just born. Everything is new and really they're not even done developing yet. Still developing, uh, neurologically and in a lot of other ways as well. When you bring home an older dog, that's not the case. They've been around for a little while, maybe even a long while, and they've been places, they've met lots of people and they've already learned lots of stuff. Um, learned bad behaviors, bad habits, things they can get away with, how to treat people, all this stuff.

And so I think it's really important when we're talking about a dog that's a little bit older and has a lot more world experience that we don't waste really, I was gonna say spend time, but waste time, letting them just continue on, uh, with all of those same experiences and learned behaviors.

And we come out of the gate very, very strong with, um, enforcing whatever our rules and boundaries are going to be. And again, it doesn't necessarily mean you have to have every conversation right now, especially if the dog is like feral <laugh>, right? Because again, you would just be, be like walking around punishing them all the time, uh, which nobody wants to do that. And, and I don't blame you and it's not, wouldn't be my, um, it wouldn't be my first option. Uh, wouldn't be my favorite option. Uh, so management may still be a big part of your recipe in the beginning and that's okay.

But you know, if the dog puts teeth on me, even playfully, if the dog jumps on me, if the dog's barking at things, if the dog won't settle and it's kennel, all of this stuff, like we are going to fix that immediately.

We're just not gonna waste any time. So I think it's really important when you adopt a dog that's already been around a little bit and maybe even been through their home or several homes, it's important that you are different. You can't, 'cause the dog already has a ton of behavioral momentum, I guess is the point that I'm trying to make. And so if you choose to just let that continue to snowball, that's gonna work against you. Um, in my opinion. And dogs that are a little bit older too, they're just ready for more, right? Their attention span is longer.

Um, they have more world experience, they generally already know that people aren't terrifying. Uh, usually they've learned the opposite and that people will baby them and let them get away with things. Um, again, shove food in their face constantly. Which again, nothing against food rewards.

And you'll probably still do a ton of that if the dog has a lot to learn and that's okay. Uh, but they, they've already learned all that stuff. You don't have to show them because they already know it <laugh>, right? And so I think just like any other situation, you have to look at the specific individual dog. But just generally speaking, uh, we want to spend a lot of time with the dog sort of neutrally and really coming outta the gate strong with. I can be cool, we can have fun. There are rewards when we're training, like I'm teaching you new stuff.

But I do have boundaries. I do have rules, I do have expectations if you bark, like obviously you've been doing and people have been letting you, um, if you jump on me, which obviously people have been letting you, if you react to other dogs, which obviously people have been letting you, I'm gonna tell you and I'm gonna tell you today, you can't do that <laugh>.

So that's really the biggest difference. Um, versus with a puppy, a young puppy, like we're kind of taking our time and picking our battles. We're going after the most important things first. So the biggest difference comes to is when it comes to the unwanted behaviors, really, right? Because you, you most likely have a dog now in your custody that's already been doing that stuff for so long and I think it's gonna serve both of you best to just shut that down right away. Um, and so yeah, that's really the, that's really the biggest difference. But other than that, it's, it's the same process.

It's the same process of building a relationship and your dog kind of learning who you are and you learning who they are, giving them exposure, uh, teaching them new things, getting good at building up behaviors, deepening that communication. Get a prong caller on there and learn your leash communication.

Um, but enforce those boundaries at home, especially uh, with humans and how they interact with humans. But also like on your walk, if your walk is a mess, like get that cleaned up ASAP, uh, and I just wouldn't waste any time. I wouldn't waste any time. I think it will serve everybody best if you can get those behaviors in checks sooner rather than later. Uh, no matter how you do it. Whether it's DIY private lessons or doing a board and train a lot of people, uh, again, they worry about sending the dog away when they just adopted the dog just isn't something, <laugh> just isn't something that we need to worry about.

Generally speaking, uh, dogs are very resilient. They don't have that in depth cognitive thought process like humans do. They're not worrying about being abandoned. Um, if you send your dog to a board and train, if you decide that's the best option for you, I think that's great.

45:43 — Short puppy board-and-train programs can address key behaviors while preserving substantial bonding time at…

Your dog's gonna learn a ton. Make sure you're using somebody that's gonna teach you as well. 'cause that's super important. And then your dog's gonna go home and you're gonna bond with them just the same as you would have. Um, the only time I would say that's not maybe my favorite plan is when you do have a young puppy and it's a super longboarding and train. I, 'cause I do feel like that's valuable bonding time and like I said, you're gonna bond with your dog either way. So at the end of the day, I wouldn't let that be the one factor I base my decision on.

Um, but with puppies I do prefer shorter boarding and trains. And that's why I do a shortboarding train with puppies. Mine are only seven to 10 days long. And that way, yes, I take your puppy, we do a bunch of training, um, but it's only 10 days, you know, and then they go back and you guys can jump right back into bonding and getting to know each other and enjoying that puppy time 'cause they don't stay puppies that long. <laugh>. Alright, that's it for today guys. If you have any questions or topics you'd like covered, please, please, please do send them to me.

Kati at Diamond Canine dot com. That's Kati at diamond, D-I-A-M-O-N-D, canine, C-A-N-I-N e.com. Would love, love, love to have some new topics to talk about. Love hearing from people. Um, thanks for joining us today and I look forward to the next time.