Puppy Reality

Finally You Got Your New Puppy Home - 2 weeks later.

Are you thinking the ‘honeymoon is over’ or “What have I done?’   Maybe something more drastic like ‘Where did that sweet little puppy I bought go and where did this mini-creature from h- come from?’ with only the drooling features and red, glowing eyes missing. 
 

Buyer’s Shock

Surprise!  I bet you did not think that when you brought home the eight week old puppy you spent all of maybe  an hour with would be a first rate terror.  The same pup the breeder has spent all the rest of that time with is now your growing Precious.  So, no wonder you may feel out of the loop when you get your puppy home and viola! after a short time your puppy has become a horror.  The good news here is you can! handle this and if you can’t – well there is way too much help available out there for you not to find what will work for you and your life style. 

 
Basics

Let’s get some basics down:  1) Your puppy did not turn into a monster overnight.  2) You have work to do so take a deep breath and breath out s-l-o-w-l-y.  Take a self- inventory.  Many of you have raised children (a plus) or had a parent who understood and conveyed the meaning of “No” to you in all its colors.   Basic understanding here: You are boss – pup is not.  Got it?  In my house it’s about who is the biggest – well never mind, but I win.

The second thing you must come to understand is what you actually have.  Some people think they can take a puppy home and have rosy time of it.  Many times ‘not happening because they don’t understand what they have.  Big mistake.  What they have is: a baby dog.  You’d be surprise at how many people don’t get the ‘baby’ in this.   The actual term for these puppy issues is ‘pediatric behavior problems’.  Sounds almost human doesn’t it?  As parents of human babies we refer to the same period as ‘Terrible two’s’, ‘toddlers’ or that problem vacuum called ‘adolescence’, ‘tweens’, ‘teenager’ and other behavior stage titles.  The point is: you have come into your puppy’s life after the birth and the ‘swaddling’ time just to meet the ‘Terrible Two’ stage or ‘Terrific Threes’ as some overly happy therapist would put it.  Actually, it does help enormously if you do take a look at some of these normal antics with some humor.  It is the same as if you brought a child home at two years of age with whom you have visited with for say four hours, total.  You have done this with your puppy and you haven’t had the experience of the day-to-day realities.  It’s O.K. and manageable. There’s help. 

 

Problems

Here’s the short list just to be up front about puppy issues:  aggression, barking, biting, boredom, chewing, crying, destroying things, digging, eating feces, escape behavior, excitability, garbage attack, growling, hyperactivity, howling, jumping-at, on, over or just up, mounting (humping), nipping, separation anxiety, sleep issues, teething, Velcro puppy, and wining.  Rejoice in what you do not have to deal with and what you are working with can be dealt with successfully if not fairly quickly.  With Havanese paper products of any kind must die! 
 

Ground Rules for He or She Who Will Rule

There are ground rules with training: 1) do not punish if you miss the action or after the fact, 2) most often there is a reason other than ‘bad’ for the behavior, 3) there are some things that are actually age appropriate and normal although they need to be modified or re-directed,            4) your understanding of the root of their behavior is key to your response in accordance to your puppy’s age and for the youngsters especially: 5) hurting your dog such as kicking or hitting it hard teaches the wrong thing and does not successfully address the behavior issue.  There are  better multiple ways to teach your dog the behavior you want from him/her 6) your children do not innately have the experience or skill to correct their puppy and your puppy is NEVER a substitute babysitter.  You need to help them ** both** behave or respond appropriately. Also another family pet will need to be monitored for responding well to your pup and visa versa                             7) Consistency is the only way you will be able to train your pup.  Erratic correction makes somewhat of a neurotic dog in my opinion.  8) Calm wins the day.  Let’s face it that it’s not always possible to be calm but we can try for the puppies especially.  Softly spoken is wonderful.  No one ever had problems listening to a roar other than to cower maybe but something softly spoken or even whispered  words require listening closer  9) For the younger puppies you can find alternatives for chewing fingers or other undesirable behavior by training your puppy to act with the ‘right’ choices you (of course) provide and reward with a small yummy.  Mary Poppins had the sugar and medicine thing down.  For instance if your pup absolutely must chew on a shoe, find an old tennis shoe you do not want and let that be ‘his’ shoe and the only shoe he can chew on, 10) Lastly, if you cannot find a working solution to your pup’s problem call the breeder, ask your vet – could be medically based or take a basic dog training class after you have researched classes nearby and have found one with good references.   Teach family members what you have learned.  As with any childish misbehavior the weakest link in authority will be targeted.  Your goal is to establish a trust relationship based in love, limitations and experience.  
 

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Training is an ongoing, day-to-day issue for puppies.  Once you understand that a soft hand and voice with a treat or an available alternative choice can be a valuable training aid, you will be well on your way to having a well behaved dog.  Your voice is your first and best training tool.  A firm “No” can be a starting place when you add your puppy’s name (for attention) in front of ‘no’ and try to add what you what to identify as bad behavior such as chewing.  EX:  “Toby, no chewing!” and find an appropriate chew toy.  You may not realize but dogs have two languages:  dog and English if you speak English in the home.  A dog named Chaser knew more than a 1200 words and working dogs have signals and words to correctly understand. The intelligence is a variable thing but in Havanese many are extremely bright and quick learners.   With Havanese wanting to please so desperately, generally, a sternly spoken word will do the trick.  You thought I was going to solve your pup’s issues here?  Nope, sorry, get to work!  I got you started!

Some of the best articles that will go into detail about puppy problems and solutions can be found at http://www.fidosavvy.com/puppy-behavior.html or http://www.canismajor.com/dog/

frstyear.html.     For a longer and more complete list of specific behavior issues and solutions look to https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior

References:

http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions

/behavioral/c_dg_pediatric_behavior_problems?page=2

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/12/23/worlds-smartest-dog-knows-words/

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