Scott Linden Outdoors

Read any of the good books, ask any of the good trainers, watch the good videos, and you will see the same thing over and over: much of the critical learning takes place very early in a puppy’s life. And that learning – and teaching – pays off for a lifetime. I would only add, we humans can also learn and benefit as much as the pup.

As you can imagine, I am hypersensitive to puppy talk these days and some of what I hear and read is about stuff you and I have lived through, maybe over and over again. So much of the chatter laments a problem that I fear may turn into a long-term conundrum for owner and dog if it’s not handled now.

I may be a slow learner but eventually I do learn, thanks to Flick and the many mentors formal and informal that I’ve had. While there are many ways to accomplish these goals, the key is to recognize that the discipline and mental rigor (on both participants’ parts) it takes now will pay off for many years. Here are some of them:

• Respect doors and gates, wait to be allowed through them.
• Know what is chewable and what is off limits.
• Hold still before anything fun happens (leash, collar, go out, come in, go eat).
• Other beings are good – humans of all shapes, sizes and colors, friendly dogs and horses, even the occasional cat.
• Crate is good. Go in willingly, stay in quietly, come out only when permitted.
• Come when called because then good things happen.
• Leashes and checkcords = fun ahead, so no pulling, biting, fighting (corollary to the stand still rule).
• Some behaviors are verboten – “NO” is the signal.

Finally, five pups ago I learned that most behavior problems can be solved with more exercise. Maybe a cockapoo is physically satisfied with a walk around the block, but a bird dog needs a full-out run twice a day. If I were you, I’d find a safe place, keep a checkcord on him, and save yourself some angst – now, and down the trail.