Two Puppies Together
Although most behaviourists, trainers and shelters strongly advise against it, many dog owners still purchase two puppies from breeders who either don't know better or who are trying to make a quick extra sale. Getting two puppies together is full of pitfalls and is not a good idea - here are the reasons why:
Cruz-Raising a Singleton
Finding out that Rosie was going to have just one puppy after all the preparations we had made to raise a litter was terrifying! I was filled with anxiety at the thought of all the potential "singleton syndrome" issues we might have! However, Cruz has been a delightful addition to our family and raising him has taught me many things about how to do puppy training and socialisation "right".
Toilet Training
Where to go to the toilet is one of the first things we try to teach our dogs and it is important that we do so correctly and consistently as soon as we acquire them. Most of us adopt our dogs as very young puppies that need to urinate and defecate more frequently than adult dogs and are also more likely to do so as a result of nervousness or excitement. It is important to understand a pup's limitations in this area and to handle house-training in a positive manner.
Bite Inhibition: Teaching your puppy to use his jaws gently
No matter how well-socialised a dog is there may come a time when he or she is pushed too far and cannot help but respond by using his or her teeth. For instance, if you trip on the carpet and fall with your full weight on your sleeping dog, may get such a fright that he automatically lashes out at whatever is “attacking” him before he even has a chance to realise that it is you. Accidents happen and a dog may have its tail slammed in the door, it may receive a crack on the head with a bat while the kids are playing cricket and it may have its paw stomped on by someone in spike heels. How do we ensure that when our dogs legitimately feel the need to use their teeth they cause a minimum of damage?
Resource Guarding
The best way to prevent a dog from being possessive of his “stuff” is to teach him that we are not in competition with him and that he can in fact trust us completely with everything that he values. We can do this by always making it worthwhile for our dogs to give up objects, because when they do really good things happen!