New family member!

A lot goes into raising "the perfect dog". Of course, there are as many definitions of what that is as there are dog owners…

Some want a walking companion and a good family dog, some have dreams of competition, some are hunting for the right breeder and combination of parents to get exactly THE dog for their canine sport.

Either way – the little one is entering a completely new world when separated from mum and siblings. So it's helpful if the new "parents" are a bit prepared. That they've thought about what they want the puppy to learn, and how they're going to teach it.

The little one needs to get to know everything at home, needs to be house-trained, socialised, learn its name, be able to settle in a crate eventually (open door at first), come when mum and dad call, stay calm in various situations. For example before going out the door, before getting out of the car, before greeting other people and dogs… the list can get pretty long.

Dogs are social animals, but in order to adapt to life in a family, communicate and interact with both people and other animals – they need to learn it. The socialisation period is important, there's no doubt about that. Let the puppy get used to the people and animals it will most likely spend time with throughout its life. It learns quickly what to be cautious of, and what is safe.

On top of that, it's a good idea to develop good play with your puppy. Some breeds have an easy time starting chase games with a toy being dragged along the floor, running after a ball, or pulling back when mum or dad holds the toy back a bit. For the puppy that isn't quite as keen, the good news is that "everything can be learned!" I'd encourage everyone to develop good play with their puppy, both to strengthen the relationship, and to have an absolutely brilliant reward (reinforcer) as great payment when your dog does something really WELL!

You'll also generally start training sit, lie down, recall, stay and so on. A puppy is full of behaviours – you just need to jump on them and reward plenty 🙂 It's worth going to a puppy class, especially if it's your first time getting a dog. Either way, it's lovely to get out among others with puppies, get to know people, train together, go on walks together.

Would you like to join a reward-based puppy class in Harstad? Check it out here!

Here are some videos from when the puppies were 8 weeks and 11 weeks old.