Puppy education

What is puppy education?

Unlike puppy training or training in general, where we teach the dog a certain behavior in response to the owner’s order or practice by positive or negative conditioning.

In puppy education we want to instill right habits and avoid wrong habits, create a common language, develop the desires and character traits desired by our new puppies and suppress the less desirable traits and instincts.

For example, behavior such as cleft and carrying that are part of the dog's hunter (fry) manifested when the puppy unloads these behaviors towards the newly bought fashionable shoes, or a character trait such as dominance, which is seemingly not wrong but when directed at someone in this household May lead to unpleasant and even dangerous situations. These issues and more are recommended to be treated in the early puppies, when the puppy is "soft" and easy to shape.

Our way in puppy education

Our way in general education can be compared to the education and learning of dogs to the education and learning of children, humans, when the period in which we talk about educating puppies in dogs we compare to the late infancy, one to two years to the first school years.

This is a time when puppies learn a lot every day, almost everything is new to them but on the other hand and maybe for the same reason they are soft, very subject to influence and can also absorb negative influences and develop in undesirable directions.

Of course, significant negative experiences can be perceived as trauma and severely affect the puppy’s continued life.

On the other hand, it is important that the puppy is exposed to the world and learns to deal with it, because even a lack of exposure or insufficient exposure can lead to the formation of fears and an inability to face challenges.

Puppy education - so where do you start?

Critical periods in Gore's life:

A number of research papers have been done on this subject which generally indicate that between the ages of 6-12 weeks, proper exposure to humans and other dogs is of great importance - correct, i.e. moderate, containing and warm but not flattering.

3-4.5 months - the puppy grows quickly and learns to integrate into the society and environment in which he lives - this is the period when we talk when we refer to puppy education.

4.5-8 months - Two important processes take place:

The dog's ego development

Learning the classes in the band / family and their establishment - at this stage it is desirable to move to more intensive training and for certain races professional guidance is required in the process.
Exposure As part of the puppy's learning process Proper exposure In the said education process, proper exposure is very important, in which the puppy learns to deal with the world around him and to communicate with the members of his group.

It is important to remember that the urban environment in which we live (even if it is a moshav) includes a lot of motorized traffic, people and a lot of noise.

All of these are not the dog's natural environment. Despite the domestication process that has taken place over the generations there are still many dogs who find it difficult to adapt to the environment created by man.

It is important to match the nature of the exposure to the dog breed and the ultimate goal we are aiming for - whether we are interested in a pet, guard, assault, or other purpose. Not always multiple exposure and a guided tour around the city where we explain to the resident that there is nothing to be afraid of a cardboard box, is a desirable exposure.

Puppy language and communication

The language and communication of the puppy in the process of education between animals is based on five

The senses, but dogs body language (vision) and sense of smell are the most dominant.
Since it is difficult for us to use the sense of smell to communicate with our dog, we will focus on body language and the intonation of the voice (sense of hearing).

The body language of the dogs is very extreme and extroverted, really theatrical and it is important that we learn as many concepts as possible in Gorno's language, such as: fear, invitation to play, threat and more. Human language is mostly based on sonic signs, words that have many complex meanings.

We can teach our dog some basic concepts such as: 'sit', 'come', 'to the place' and more by creating the conditions for these words during the puppy period. It is advisable to start creating conditionals for words (commands) in a positive way, by various reinforcements like touch, caress, play and food.

Setting clear boundaries in the education process

Setting boundaries in the education process This point is very important, by setting boundaries for the dog / puppy's behavior at a young age, proper behavior is determined that will be preserved for each indication of the dog.

In this way we will create a framework of discipline and rules that will help build self-confidence (rules and order always provide security) and we will begin to establish the puppy's place in our family's social hierarchy in a natural way.

For, if we create the laws it is a clear social statement - then only the leaders make laws.
There are many ways to set boundaries clearly without compromising the puppy’s personal safety and it is important to tailor the process to the puppy, goals and owner.

Puppy education for needs

During the period when "puppy education" is needed for 2-4.5 months, we recommend a training meeting once every 3 weeks during which training, guidance and supervision of the progress of the education process takes place. As mentioned, training only begins at a later age.