Raising a Well Mannered Mutt

By Sallie Palmer
Certified Dog Trainer

Warning: Do not get an under age puppy

I’m distressed. When I look at ads in the paper for people selling or giving away puppies I am shocked by how many people are wanting to give up puppies that are under eight weeks of age. Getting an under aged puppy is courting disaster.

I have received three calls this week from people seeking advice on how to pick out a puppy. During the conversation I ask the person about the litter they are looking at. Are the parents on site so you can see their disposition/temperament? How old is the mom? Is she an adult or juvenile? If the mom was bred when she’s too young this can have an effect on the puppies development. How long has it been between litters? Is the mom being bred more than once a year? Puppies deplete the mom’s body and you want to make sure she has had a chance to rebuild her health. Is a veterinarian’s report available? Be sure to review any health issues the breed might have. Has a puppy test been done? This will give an indication of the puppy’s personality. And my biggest pet peeve, ARE THE PUPPIES AT LEAST EIGHT WEEKS OLD! I am amazed by how often I hear that the breeder is selling under age puppies. Puppies need a full 8 weeks both with their mother and their siblings. I tell my clients to look for another breeder and to tell that breeder why they are going to look elsewhere.

There is an alarming trend to sell or give away puppies as young as four weeks old. Most commonly they are six weeks old. Breeders get rid of the pups for a variety of reasons. Usually it is because puppies are messy, yappy and expensive. Another reason is the breeders want the money now. I don’t care what the breeder tells you, puppies should stay with their litter mates until they are eight weeks old. Usually breeders will tell you the mother doesn’t want to interact with them. What the breeder doesn’t tell you is that the puppy’s interaction with the disinterested mom teaches the puppy how to behave around adult dogs. A lesson we can not provide.

When puppies play and interact with their mom and littermates during these crucial eight weeks they are developing a foundation for healthy, normal, social dog-to-dog interaction/behavior. They are learning to speak dog. When you take a puppy away before the eight weeks and if you are taking him to a home were he won’t be interacting with his own species, you are running the risk of having a puppy that will not have bite inhibition, frustration tolerance and lack of self control. Humans make lousy substitutes for littermates.

Unless you want a dog with a life time of problems, make sure he’s the proper age.

Puppies who are taken away too early tend to bite their humans more then pups that have learned that when they bite a littermate too hard the litter mate stops playing with them or goes after them with a vengeance. They also can have problems in dog play interactions where they don’t know how to defuse a potential dog squabble, know when to stop an interaction or de-escalate unwanted behavior. They can have little to no impulse control and you start noticing that when you show up at the dog park everyone else leaves. Or when they play with your children, they won’t take no for an answer because they don’t know when to stop. They don’t know when to stop because they didn’t have other dogs around to teach them. Your dog may start lunging at dogs when on leash because he is so excited to see another dog but lacks the social etiquette on how to approach and control his behavior and therefore becomes frustrated and hostile.

Some dogs go the other extreme and become shy and fearful. They are afraid of their own species and want nothing to do with them. This can develop into fear aggression towards other dogs. They snap at other dogs to keep them at bay. This is a stressed and unhappy dog.

Not all puppies develop unwanted behaviors but so many of them do. In a way it’s job security for me because the people owning these dogs are heartbroken and stressed when they finally realize that their dog’s behavior is a problems. Since the dog is usually older, the problem is much more difficult to deal with. The sad part is these situations are preventable. Just tell the breeder to wait a few more weeks.

What is the new puppy owner suppose to do? Make sure you are getting a puppy from a responsible, ethical breeder. Ask for a puppy test. A good rule of thumb is to not pick the first puppy that runs up and jumps on you. This usually means the pup is on the dominate side. You also don’t want to pick the pup that is hiding in a corner or under a chair. This indicates a shy and fearful dog. You want the puppy that is in the middle. Not too out going and not too shy. You want to adopt a pleasant puppy and not a life time project. Be sure to enroll your puppy in a socialization/puppy class as soon as it is safe. If you want to get an early start, have a trainer who specializes in early puppy training come to your home and help you this the initial training. You can start this training at eight weeks of age. Next, make sure your puppy is allowed to interact with other safe dogs as much as possible. By safe I mean they are healthy and have good temperaments.

 

Sallie Palmer is a certified dog trainer with the International Association of Canine Professionals(IACP). Members of this organization include Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer and the Monks of New Skete to name a few. For more information about Sallie go to www.wellmanneredmutts.net . For more information on the International Association of Canine Professionals go to www.dogpro.org

 

 

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