⁣⁣⁣ It’s a fact that dogs that haven’t 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.⁣⁣⁣
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Making up for lost time isn’t really a ‘thing’ when it comes to your dogs development.⁣⁣⁣
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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.⁣⁣⁣
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𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.⁣⁣⁣
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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:⁣⁣⁣
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𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫:⁣⁣⁣
This will create a strongly conditioned reinforcer that can become hugely useful in your dog’s training, and can form a useful tool if your dog does develop any behavioural issues later.⁣⁣⁣
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𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲:⁣⁣⁣
Your dog needs to experience the world, and he’ll 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.⁣⁣⁣
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𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩:⁣⁣⁣
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.⁣⁣⁣
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𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐛:⁣⁣⁣
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.⁣⁣⁣
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𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬:⁣⁣⁣
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 ‘quick fix’ solutions, or one size fits all mentality.⁣⁣⁣
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𝐒𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲:⁣⁣⁣
For 99% of the population having the time isn’t the issue, and consider that you’re probably not truly part of that 1%. Prioritisation of what’s important is. Make time to do the work, and commit to two or more short sessions per day. Also, see point one above.⁣⁣⁣
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𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞:⁣⁣⁣
Stop relying on your older dog to teach your younger dog the ropes – it’s 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 – it’s important she learns she is powerful enough to process what goes on around her and to cope with what comes her way.⁣⁣⁣