Puppies And COVID-19 Lockdown – 7 Steps To Action Now
โฃโฃโฃ Itโs a fact that dogs that havenโt had sufficient positive and neutral exposures to the world around them – the world they have to live and function in as adults – have a much greater chance of developing behavioural issues later in life.โฃโฃโฃ
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Making up for lost time isnโt really a โthingโ when it comes to your dogs development.โฃโฃโฃ
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This stated, there is also no point sitting on your hands and maligning the reality of the situation you find yourself in with your dog.โฃโฃโฃ
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๐๐ตโ๐ด ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ.โฃโฃโฃ
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Below is a list of 7 things you can action immediately to put your dog in the best position moving forward:โฃโฃโฃ
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๐๐๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐ข๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ค๐๐ซ:โฃโฃโฃ
This will create a strongly conditioned reinforcer that can become hugely useful in your dogโs training, and can form a useful tool if your dog does develop any behavioural issues later.โฃโฃโฃ
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๐๐๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐๐ข๐๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ฒ:โฃโฃโฃ
Your dog needs to experience the world, and heโll never learn to cope without an effort to expose him to it. Start slow, in a manner that allows him to cope, and graduate the intensity of the exposures incrementally.โฃโฃโฃ
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๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ฑ๐ข๐๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ฉ:โฃโฃโฃ
Anxiety is experienced by dogs on a spectrum, and though many dogs can still learn and function just fine with mild levels of anxiety there are some that simply need more help than others. Your dog will not grow out of it, and without assistance from a pro there is a fair chance it will get worse.โฃโฃโฃ
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๐๐จ๐ข๐ง ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐๐๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐:โฃโฃโฃ
Training your dog to a high level of proficiency in just a few core skills using a well designed curriculum, focussed on building those behaviours towards becoming repeatable and reliable will do a massive amount to offset current or future behavioural issues.โฃโฃโฃ
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๐๐ญ๐๐๐ค ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฌ:โฃโฃโฃ
Look for trainers that are focussed on building the behaviours that they would prefer to see, and those that reinforce desirable behaviours early and often. Avoid anyone that is consistently offering โquick fixโ solutions, or one size fits all mentality.โฃโฃโฃ
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๐๐๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐ฆ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฒ:โฃโฃโฃ
For 99% of the population having the time isnโt the issue, and consider that youโre probably not truly part of that 1%. Prioritisation of whatโs important is. Make time to do the work, and commit to two or more short sessions per day. Also, see point one above.โฃโฃโฃ
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๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐๐ง๐๐:โฃโฃโฃ
Stop relying on your older dog to teach your younger dog the ropes – itโs your job. Make sure that your pup gets to spend time completely alone, and without you in the room or even in the house. Conversely, make sure that when you take your pup out into the world you do so with only the pup and yourself – itโs important she learns she is powerful enough to process what goes on around her and to cope with what comes her way.โฃโฃโฃ