Page 22 - Oundle Life April 2021

DOG TRIALS
Introducing a new puppy
For many families the initial
excitement of a new puppy is
quickly overtaken by the reality
that they can be really hard
work! As a professional dog
trainer, I am often called upon
to help people wondering what on earth they have done! Here are a few tips to help you through those challenging first few weeks.
The more prepared you are before your puppy arrives, the easier you should find things. However, keep in mind that there is a huge amount of often contradictory advice to wade through! Make sure that your family is prepared for the commitment required. A good breeder will help you with this.
Your puppy needs its own space to rest, sleep and keep out of trouble. This can be either a crate, a pen or some other enclosed area. Your puppy needs to get used to time alone to avoid separation anxiety developing.
The more excited your puppy is, the more likely they are to mouth and bite you. Work on keeping yourself and your children as calm as possible. Puppies have no idea what is good or bad, they just do things! If it works for them
they will carry on, and stop if it doesn’t. That is the basis of pretty much all training and
behavioural work with a dog.
Be consistent from the start about ground
rules such as whether the puppy is allowed on the furniture.
Get long and curly coated puppies used to being groomed by you as soon as possible. It’s your job to keep the puppies coat mat-free between trips to the professional groomer.
Most issues are unwittingly allowed to develop by owners. Seeking the advice of a good, experienced trainer before issues arise can often prevent problems starting.
Matt Ager, has been training and working gundogs seriously since around 1997. For more information on training please visit our website: www.spinnakeugundogs.com
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