Page 1
Puppy Socialisation Class
WEEK THREE
Puppy’s name: ………………………………………………………
Puppy Socialisation Class
WEEK THREE
Puppy’s name: ………………………………………………………
Page 2
Puppy Class – Help Sheet
Keep practising this week’s exercise and remember to keep it fun and reward your puppy regularly.
Keep practising handling your puppy on a regular basis.
Read the handouts and ask any questions.
Take The Lead
When you get the lead out in the house does your dog run around excitedly? Is he difficult to control when you produce the lead? Do you leave the house with the dog madly pulling you along the path. You need to start controlling your dog from the moment you reach for the lead. A controlled exit from the house or car will also help as you are starting from a position of control, and not allowing the dog to take a leading role in deciding when the walk begins.
The walk starts when you first think about going for a walk with your dog. From this point on, you will only progress when your dog is showing acceptable behaviour. Therefore, if his excitement goes above what you consider tolerable, simply stop all progress. Either stand still or simply sit down. When he is reasonably calm, pick the lead up again and only put it on when your dog is behaving the right way.
As soon as the lead is attached, your dog will probably shoot forwards. Simply hold the lead, stand still and bring him back to your side. Loosen the lead slightly. If your dog runs forward again, bring him back to your side again, loosen the lead and repeat as often as necessary. You only reward him by taking a step forward when your dog is at your side on a loose lead. As you can see this will take some time, but it can be practised in the house, without even going out the door.
Start this at some time when you have a great deal of time to spare, as it will take a long time at first. However, it should not take long for the dog to get the idea. Instead of always being rewarded for doing the wrong thing it is now only good behaviour that gets rewarded.
Pulling on the lead
Walking on a loose lead is one of the hardest things to teach a dog. Don’t be disappointed or surprised if you are having some difficulty in teaching this concept to your dog.
A dog will repeat behaviour it finds rewarding.
Therefore ensure that it becomes more rewarding for your dog to stay at your side.
Question: What reward does a dog usually want when going for a walk?
Answer: For you to take another step forward.
An excited dog finds it harder to learn.
Be patient!
Have practice sessions during the day, every day. Don’t just wait until you are going for a walk.
Old habits die hard and dogs are always learning.
Every time your dog has his lead on, he is learning. Ensure that he is learning the correct things.
Most dogs pull on the way out for a walk, but are much better on the way home. The reason for this is that they want to get to the park and find that pulling on the lead can get them to their destination quicker. So if you allow your dog to pull you somewhere, they will keep doing it.
Who’s the boss?
Some dogs pull on the lead because they are allowed a high status within the home. Reducing your dog’s status while at home and controlling them more around the house will help to make lead pulling problems easier to solve.
Word Power
Stop using the word that you normally use to tell your dog to stop pulling because it doesn’t work and more importantly your dog has learned that, through word association, it means pull on the lead. When training, it is more effective to put words to the dog’s action. If you reward desirable actions at the same time, the dog quickly learns that walking on a loose lead is more rewarding than not.
NOTES:
Socialisations
Your puppy needs to have had good experiences of everything listed below while they are less than 20 weeks old. Be sensible, calm and inventive. Never force your dog into a situation they aren’t comfortable with. If they are unsure, then let them make their own mind up from a distance and then praise them when interest is shown. Don’t reassure them as they may think that they are being praised for the fear.
I have socialised my puppy with...
People ...
Adult men and women of various ethnic groups
Children aged 0 – 6 months
Toddlers
Children aged 6 years
Children aged 12 years
Children in pushchairs
Person with a walking stick
Man with a beard
Person wearing a hat
Person wearing sunglasses
Person wearing a uniform
Person who delivers the post, newspapers etc
Strangers outside the house
Strangers coming to the house
Strangers coming into the house
People on bicycles and roller skates
Dogs
Environments ...
Busy town centre
Walking past school playgrounds at play time
Railway stations
The vet’s waiting room
The countryside
The car
Other people’s cars
Other people’s homes
Other people’s gardens
Grooming parlour
Parks
Seaside
Sand dunes
Objects ...
Bin bags caught on railings or in trees
Balloons
Aeroplanes
Helicopters
Shopping trolleys
Christmas trees
Halloween masks
Motorised children’s toys
Other domestic animals and livestock
Puppy Class – Help Sheet
Keep practising this week’s exercise and remember to keep it fun and reward your puppy regularly.
- Keep up practising the attention and follow me exercises. Start with them on the lead before moving on to off lead. Remember never pull your puppy while they are on the lead. It’s good to allow the pup to have some time to relax and amuse themselves. A good cue for this is “GO PLAY”. Try to only take your puppy out on the lead only when you have time to train them.
- Practise the recall regularly. Start by going to safe areas such as a local park and try doing recalls on the lead. If you are not sure if your puppy will come back to you, then use a long light lead so you can easily get them back if necessary
- Practise the different positions (SIT/STAND/DOWN), but don’t reward every time now and also mix up the order you ask your puppy to do the positions. You can also try interrupting their games with a position but remember to reward each time and use the “GO PLAY” cue to release them.
- You will need to teach your puppy to be happy while you are not around. Start this by leaving them in another room while you do something, but so that they can still see you at this stage. If you go out DON’T make a big deal if you leave the house or when you return.
- It is important, especially when your puppy is young, to take them out and about to introduce them to as many new experiences as possible. You will need to do this both in your house and outside. Inside experiences could include the vacuum cleaner, etc and outside experiences could include going to a busy park.
Keep practising handling your puppy on a regular basis.
Read the handouts and ask any questions.
Take The Lead
When you get the lead out in the house does your dog run around excitedly? Is he difficult to control when you produce the lead? Do you leave the house with the dog madly pulling you along the path. You need to start controlling your dog from the moment you reach for the lead. A controlled exit from the house or car will also help as you are starting from a position of control, and not allowing the dog to take a leading role in deciding when the walk begins.
The walk starts when you first think about going for a walk with your dog. From this point on, you will only progress when your dog is showing acceptable behaviour. Therefore, if his excitement goes above what you consider tolerable, simply stop all progress. Either stand still or simply sit down. When he is reasonably calm, pick the lead up again and only put it on when your dog is behaving the right way.
As soon as the lead is attached, your dog will probably shoot forwards. Simply hold the lead, stand still and bring him back to your side. Loosen the lead slightly. If your dog runs forward again, bring him back to your side again, loosen the lead and repeat as often as necessary. You only reward him by taking a step forward when your dog is at your side on a loose lead. As you can see this will take some time, but it can be practised in the house, without even going out the door.
Start this at some time when you have a great deal of time to spare, as it will take a long time at first. However, it should not take long for the dog to get the idea. Instead of always being rewarded for doing the wrong thing it is now only good behaviour that gets rewarded.
Pulling on the lead
Walking on a loose lead is one of the hardest things to teach a dog. Don’t be disappointed or surprised if you are having some difficulty in teaching this concept to your dog.
A dog will repeat behaviour it finds rewarding.
Therefore ensure that it becomes more rewarding for your dog to stay at your side.
Question: What reward does a dog usually want when going for a walk?
Answer: For you to take another step forward.
An excited dog finds it harder to learn.
Be patient!
Have practice sessions during the day, every day. Don’t just wait until you are going for a walk.
Old habits die hard and dogs are always learning.
Every time your dog has his lead on, he is learning. Ensure that he is learning the correct things.
Most dogs pull on the way out for a walk, but are much better on the way home. The reason for this is that they want to get to the park and find that pulling on the lead can get them to their destination quicker. So if you allow your dog to pull you somewhere, they will keep doing it.
Who’s the boss?
Some dogs pull on the lead because they are allowed a high status within the home. Reducing your dog’s status while at home and controlling them more around the house will help to make lead pulling problems easier to solve.
Word Power
Stop using the word that you normally use to tell your dog to stop pulling because it doesn’t work and more importantly your dog has learned that, through word association, it means pull on the lead. When training, it is more effective to put words to the dog’s action. If you reward desirable actions at the same time, the dog quickly learns that walking on a loose lead is more rewarding than not.
NOTES:
Socialisations
Your puppy needs to have had good experiences of everything listed below while they are less than 20 weeks old. Be sensible, calm and inventive. Never force your dog into a situation they aren’t comfortable with. If they are unsure, then let them make their own mind up from a distance and then praise them when interest is shown. Don’t reassure them as they may think that they are being praised for the fear.
I have socialised my puppy with...
People ...
Adult men and women of various ethnic groups
Children aged 0 – 6 months
Toddlers
Children aged 6 years
Children aged 12 years
Children in pushchairs
Person with a walking stick
Man with a beard
Person wearing a hat
Person wearing sunglasses
Person wearing a uniform
Person who delivers the post, newspapers etc
Strangers outside the house
Strangers coming to the house
Strangers coming into the house
People on bicycles and roller skates
Dogs
Environments ...
Busy town centre
Walking past school playgrounds at play time
Railway stations
The vet’s waiting room
The countryside
The car
Other people’s cars
Other people’s homes
Other people’s gardens
Grooming parlour
Parks
Seaside
Sand dunes
Objects ...
Bin bags caught on railings or in trees
Balloons
Aeroplanes
Helicopters
Shopping trolleys
Christmas trees
Halloween masks
Motorised children’s toys
Other domestic animals and livestock