When someone calls me and asks when they should start training for their new puppy, I always answer "you already have".

Every interaction you have with your puppy you are either teaching something you want, or perhaps inadvertently teaching something you don't want.

Tulip is very active and playful. She likes to playfully jump on people to get attention and to say hello. I make sure that she is never reinforced for this behavior by people petting or acknowledging her when she greets them with jumping behavior. I do this by asking people to turn their back on her when she jumps up, and my family does the same. Ignoring unwanted behaviors give you a much better outcome then pushing the dog down, saying off, or any ......

This is the Picture the breeder sent me before Tulip was driven from South Carolina to New Jersey, where we picked her up. I thought she looked a bit mature, but thought, maybe she is just large.  Also Poodles often don't have a real puppy look compared to other breeds. 

When she arrived at our arranged spot, I picked her up and thought, boy she is really heavy.  She was really quite gorgeous and spunky, so my husband and I drove home with me bonding with and kissing the newly arrived Tulip sitting on my lap.

The perfect time to get a puppy is from 8-10 weeks. They are very malleable, usually have no bad habits, a really nice blank slate. There is also a cirtical socialization period between 8-12 weeks where they need ......

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 2014

Trainers Diary On Training Her Own Puppy-1st Step-Getting The Right Puppy

 

I have just added a new puppy to my household. When I get a new puppy, I always set myself up for success. I do this by getting a puppy from a breeder I know for a long time, this is my fourth dog from this breeder, and they have all been terrific. So when we lost our beloved Jasmine, and I felt ready for another dog, I contacted my breeder to start talking puppies.

If you want to own a pedigree dog, I recommend to all of my clients that they get a puppy from a reputable breeder, never, god forbid, a pet shop. Pet shops are selling you "puppy mill" ...

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