Puppy Training, Socialization, Critical Stages of Development: Everything You Need to Know

Raising a puppy successfully relies heavily on early training and socialization, with the first year of a dog’s life setting the stage for their future behavior. The episode highlights the critical developmental stages of puppies, key socialization methods, the benefits of cooperative care training, and the importance of modern, positive reinforcement methods. Listeners also learn to identify myths and misconceptions in dog training while getting advice on finding qualified trainers to guide them.

• Understanding the importance of early socialization 
• Recognizing key developmental stages from neonatal to adolescent 
• Learning best practices for safe exposure to diverse experiences 
• Exploring the concept of cooperative care training 
• Debunking common myths about dog training and dominance 
• Finding qualified trainers who use humane, evidence-based methods 
• Identifying red flags when seeking training support 
• Implementing essential techniques to nurture well-behaved, confident adult dogs

Chapters

• 0:01 Early Puppy Training and Socialization
• 13:40 Developmental Stages of Puppy Training
• 30:12 Critical Socialization Period for Puppies
• 47:24 Comprehensive Puppy Socialization Guide
• 1:02:48 Effective Puppy Socialization Techniques
• 1:12:19 Cooperative Care Training for Puppies
• 1:27:55 Debunking Common Dog Training Myths
• 1:36:49 Rethinking Dominance in Dog Training
• 1:57:48 Evaluating TV and Social Media Trainers
• 2:06:14 Selecting a Qualified Dog Trainer
• 2:23:55 Recognizing Good and Bad Dog Trainers
• 2:38:48 Empowering Puppy Socialization and Training

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Raised by wolves with canine DNA in his blood. Having trained more than 24,000 pets, helping you and your fur babies thrive, live in studio with Will Bangura answering your pet behavior and training questions. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome your host and favorite pet behavior expert, will Bangura.

Speaker 2: 0:26

Would you like to go on? Are y'all ready for?

Speaker 2: 0:29

this Good day dog lovers. I'm Will Bangura, certified canine behaviorist, certified behavior consultant, certified dog trainer and fear-free certified. Welcome to Dog Training Today, the podcast, everything about dogs, training, behavior and, as far as the audience, if you're new, thanks for being here. If you've been listening for a while, do me a favor Make sure that you give us a review. We want a rating and review and hopefully that's a five-star rating and review For those of you that have already done that. Thank you so much. It just helps us to be able to promote the podcast in a way where it ranks higher, so more people can benefit from this.

Speaker 2: 1:26

Today we're going to be diving into a topic that's crucial for anyone raising a puppy. Whether you're a first-time pet parent with a new bundle of Wiggles or you're an experienced dog owner, maybe you're a breeder who's whelping litters, a trainer or even a veterinarian, there's something in this episode for you. We're talking about early puppy training, cooperative care if you know what that is socialization, huge topic and exposure. Basically, how to set your puppy up from day one to grow into a well-mannered, confident and emotionally healthy adult dog. Yeah, there's a lot for puppies. We'll walk through the critical developmental stages from birth to one year and see how each stage is going to influence a puppy's behavior and their feelings. I'm also going to share best practices for socialization. Everybody asks about that, that magic window when puppies absorb new experiences, including exposing them to different people, places, sounds, textures, other dogs and other animals. And along the way we're going to bust some common myths that cause a lot of confusion and, frankly, can do harm to your puppy or dog. Can do harm to your puppy or dog. Have you heard someone say you shouldn't take your puppy outside until they're fully vaccinated, or that you need to be the alpha and dominate your dog to train it? I'm going to explain why those ideas are completely outdated or misunderstood, citing what veterinary behavior experts and research have to say on that. I'm also going to be talking about the dangers of aversive training tools and methods that you might see some flashy social media trainers using those and why you should steer clear of those. And, importantly, we're going to discuss how to find a qualified trainer or behaviorist if you need help with your puppy, including what are the green flags to look for and what are the red flags to avoid like the plague. This episode is going to be a conversation. I promise it won't feel like a dry lecture, but I will reference some fascinating studies and expert opinions. I've done my homework so you don't have to. If you're the kind of person who likes to see the receipts, and I encourage that, check out the show notes for references to, for example, the american veterinary society of animal behavior, what they have to say, the american veterinary medical association, veterinary Medical Association and other resources that I'm going to mention.

Speaker 2: 4:47

All right, let's get started on this puppy adventure from the very beginning. We're going to start with talking about birth. We're going to be talking about different puppy stages of development, why they matter. Understanding a puppy's developmental stages is like having a roadmap to their their little brain. Puppies aren't born as blank slates, exactly. They have genetic tendencies, but their experiences at each stage of life have a huge impact on how they turn out behavior wise. So let's begin to break that down.

Speaker 2: 5:34

First, I'm going to talk about the neonatal period, which is zero to two weeks old. So this is oftentimes going to be for breeders this aspect to two weeks old. So this is oftentimes going to be for breeders, this aspect. Don't worry, we're going to get into the information for you, pet parents, and even a little information for trainers, behaviorists and veterinary folks. But anyway, newborn pups zero to two weeks.

Speaker 2: 5:58

In the neonatal stage, puppies are basically, they're like I don't know, tiny little potatoes with legs. Okay, eyes and ears are closed. They can't regulate their body temperature Did you know that? And they rely completely on their mom and, to some extent, the breeder or caregiver for their survival. Yeah, they eat sleep and that's about it for their survival. Yeah, they eat sleep and that's about it. At this stage they're not interacting with humans much intentionally, but gentle handling by a breeder for short periods can definitely be beneficial.

Speaker 2: 6:40

There's actually a concept called early neurological stimulation or ENS. Some breeders will handle pups briefly, in a specific way during these first two weeks. The idea which comes from some military dog breeding programs really, which is very interesting, is that mild stress from handling can boost resilience later. Whether or not one does a formal ENS program, the key takeaway is neonatal puppies are fragile but they're not completely unresponsive to the world. Positive human touch holding them briefly, letting them snuggle on your chest During this time. You want to do that in moderation in the zero to two weeks, but this may have subtle positive effects on their stress tolerance as they grow. It can be critical For new puppy owners. You likely won't even meet your puppy during this phase. Breeders typically keep the litter scheduled to avoid germs that you could bring in. For one thing, and let mom do her part, do her job. The mother is primarily the mother dog is primarily handling these puppies at this time. But it's interesting to know this phase exists because a good breeder who handles puppies kindly from day one is giving them a head start on what is so critical, and that's human socialization.

Speaker 2: 8:34

Next we are going to be talking about the transitional period, and that is about two to three weeks of age, and the puppies at this point are waking up to the world. Around two weeks of age big changes happen. Puppies' eyes open and they begin to respond to sounds. As their ear canals open as well, they start toddling around wobbly legs. They're transitioning from being neonatal infants to little dogs. Now this period doesn't last long, maybe from two to three weeks or so, but during it puppies will start to play like little clumsy. They're so cute, but they play and their play looks clumsy. They're playing with their litter mates now and listen. They may start to growl or vocalize. They may do that a bit and that's normal for them. And at this point they're sampling mom's food Emotionally and we're talking about nursing emotionally. This is when puppies start to become aware of their environment. If there are people around, they might start reacting to sight and sound, though their vision and hearing are still improving.

Speaker 2: 9:57

It's a gentle ramp up to everything and the most critical stage of development, the socialization period. Again, most pet owners won't have their puppy yet, but responsible breeders usually keep puppies until at least eight weeks old, which is well past this stage. But breeders might be introducing novel things in the whelping box. Breeders might be introducing novel things in the whelping box Now, like new toys, different surfaces or allowing the pups short encounters with friendly people. Think of it as kindergarten, kindergarten for the senses of the puppy. By the end of this stage, puppies are a lot more mobile, a lot more curious, which is good because they're about to enter a critical life chapter and that is the critical socialization period. Now I hear a lot from people about social, socialize, socialize, socialize.

Speaker 2: 11:02

Look, that critical socialization period, that magic window, important phase in your puppy's, your dog's development when it comes to, especially when it comes to behavior, this window again, roughly from three weeks to about 12 weeks of age, with some experts, though, they're saying it extends a bit to 16 weeks, but most are saying three to 12 weeks of age. And that is when a puppy's brain is like a sponge. You know they're absorbing everything, all kinds of new experiences is exposed to. What they encounter or what they don't encounter is going to greatly shape their comfort level with those things for the rest of their lives. So at the start of this period, around three to four weeks, if you watch a litter of puppies they go from those wobbly little beings to bouncing around, playing, exploring fur balls. By five weeks most puppies, they show a lot of curiosity and at that time, at five weeks, they'll happily approach new objects or people with little hesitation. If a kind person walks in, they'll tumble over to sniff and climb on them. That openness is nature's way of saying go, learn about the world now, it'll keep you safe later. That's what's happening with the puppy. And learn, oh my gosh. They learn a lot and one of the things they learn is about bite, inhibition from litter, mate, play, playing with the other puppies, about canine social signals, body language, cues from mom and hopefully about humans and the big outside world too. It's like they're brailling everything, but they can see and hear. At this point they're getting exposed. But here's the catch this incredible openness, this window doesn't last forever.

Speaker 2: 13:40

Sometime towards the end of the socialization period, puppies become more cautious, often by eight or nine weeks. A fear response starts to kick in. Yep, Some say eight to 12 weeks, but a fear stage starts to kick in. A fear response from the puppies starts to kick in. Where they might startle more easily than they did before. They might be hesitant about new things. Behaviorists call this a fear impact period, or sometimes the first fear period. Now again, this generally hits about eight to 10 weeks old. It's as if mother nature said okay, you've had a few weeks to explore, now start being a bit more careful From this point on. If a puppy has a really scary or if they have a traumatic experience, it can imprint on their brain and affect them later. Now that doesn't mean you should stop socializing them. Not at all. We actually should be intensifying socialization efforts up until the puppy's 12 weeks and then beyond. But it means that you need to be thoughtful. We're going to talk in a minute about how to make all these new experiences positive, so you're not accidentally overwhelming the puppy. Now by about 12 weeks. The puppy Now, by about 12 weeks, three months of age, the socialization window is closing.

Speaker 2: 15:31

Let me say that again because a lot of you don't get it. You think it's socialization forever. It doesn't matter what age you are. No, by about 12 weeks, three months of age, the socialization window is closing and at that time you might notice your puppy's not racing up to new things like they did at eight weeks. They might suddenly shy away from, say, the garbage can that got moved to a new spot, or bark at a stranger when they never did before. This is totally normal. It just means they're entering a new developmental phase, a new developmental phase where they're more suspicious of the unfamiliar. In fact, the sensitive socialization period is often considered to end by 12 weeks and tapering off until about 16 weeks After that.

Speaker 2: 16:40

It's not that you can, as when they were tiny. So the take home here is weeks three to 12 are golden. It's when we want to provide a rich variety of positive and we got to make sure they're positive experiences to the puppy. If you're a breeder, this means that you need to introduce lots of stimuli different surfaces, different noises, gentle handling by multiple people, maybe supervised visits with vaccinated adult dogs, maybe the dogs that you own. Now if you're the new owner getting the puppy at eight weeks, it means the clock is ticking and you want to safely expose them to as much of the world as you can in the next four to eight weeks While you're making sure those exposures are good experiences. That's critical. Now, don't worry, we're going to detail how you do that safely in just a bit.

Speaker 2: 17:56

Now one more thing. Remember I mentioned that fear period at eight to ten weeks. During that specific time, be extra careful with your puppy. Be extra careful that big experiences are positive. For example, that's not the week to let your puppy get overwhelmed by, say, a barking or boisterous bigger dog, or take them to a noisy construction site. No, if something frightens them badly at that age, that's when it could leave a lasting imprint. So it's important that we manage the intensity of the encounters. Maybe meet one calm dog instead of five dogs at once. Or introduce the vacuum cleaner across the room and turned off before turning that on near the pup. Again, we want happy first impressions. All right, after 12 weeks the critical socialization period is wrapping up, but that doesn't mean the pup is done, developing or learning, not by a long shot.

Speaker 2: 19:14

Now. The next stage is the juvenile period, roughly three to six months old. We'll just call them a youngster. From about three months to six months your puppy is in a juvenile or pre-adolescent stage. Think of it like this a grade school kid. They're more coordinated and they're not a baby anymore, but they're not sexual mature yet and still very pliable in terms of learning. A four or five month old puppy is often a joy. Many are still pretty eager to please and they've built confidence. Yeah, around four months of age you'll see another surge of boldness with the puppy. Now you may see that your pup may start testing some boundaries in small ways, like do I really have to come when called? Maybe I'll just sniff this bush a bit longer Now it's a normal part of gaining independence.

Speaker 2: 20:27

Okay, during that three to six month period it's super important that you continue socializing and training. Just because the primary socialization window is ending doesn't mean that you stop exposing them to new things. In fact, this is prime time to solidify their skills. Enroll in a puppy class or basic obedience class if you haven't already, and you know, I advocate that you always are training your puppy or dog. Puppy classes usually accept puppies up to five or six months and they can offer supervised play and training. That's great for this age. It's also the age when puppies do a lot of teething Okay, those adult teeth they start coming in around four to five months, so they're going to be chewing like crazy.

Speaker 2: 21:27

That's a training opportunity as well. Teach them what to chew, because they need to chew. Teach them what they can chew as far as toys and what not to chew, like your shoes, by managing the environment Okay, by managing the environment and redirecting your puppy At this period. They're going to be chewing. You need to pick up your stuff. All right, set up the environment where it's much more difficult for them to chew something that they shouldn't have. Plenty of things that they can chew. That is appropriate for them, and play with them with those toys. Let them engage with that. Teach them what to chew. Also, this is a great stage to introduce cooperative care routines, which we'll talk about in depth later. In short, it's cooperative care is starting to get your pup used to being handled gently for nail trims, toothbrushing, grooming, things of that nature. Their attention span is growing now, so short training sessions to build these habits, they can pay off hugely down the road Now, emotionally, most puppies at this stage are.

Speaker 2: 22:50

They're fairly resilient. If you've done a good job with early socialization, they should be handling trips to new places or meeting new people pretty well. But you know, every puppy, every dog is an individual. Some might start to show a bit of timidness around five months, especially if they had a scare earlier or if their genetic tendency is to be cautious. Pay attention to your puppy and keep the experiences positive. Think of this stage as reinforcement for all the socialization groundwork that you did earlier.

Speaker 2: 23:35

Now the next stage is going to be the adolescent stage. That's going to be about six to 12 months old and beyond. That's the teenager. Be about six to 12 months old and beyond. Right now. That's the teenager stage. Okay, you know adolescence. If you've ever raised a human teenager, you know. You know it can be a challenging time, but dogs go through it too. Generally. About six months old and onward. Now you might start noticing new behaviors that make you go who is this rebellious creature and where did my sweet puppy go? Common adolescent issues include suddenly forgetting known cues or commands. Increased energy yeah, that'll happen. And distractibility Testing limits, like ignoring your recall or counter surfing to see if they can get away with it, and sometimes a resurgence of mouthing or jumping can occur during that stage, occur during that stage.

Speaker 2: 24:49

This is the age when some pet parents get frustrated because their pup, who is doing so well at, say, five months, starts causing a bunch of trouble at eight months of age. Now several things are happening here. First, many dogs start to hit sexual maturity in this window if they're not spayed or neutered already. Now, if they're not spayed or neutered, males start lifting their legs and females might experience their first heat cycle around six to nine months. It varies by breed for the female dogs, but hormones can affect behavior. You might see marking or roaming or just a general uptick in confidence and boldness in this stage. Even if your dog is fixed, there's just developmental push for independence around this age. Around this age Now, there's also often a second fear period that can occur sometime in adolescence, commonly around six to eight months, but it could be a bit later.

Speaker 2: 25:59

This is where dogs might suddenly become fearful of something they were okay with before. For example, your seven-month-old puppy who has gone to the dog park happily for months might one day get spooked by a larger dog and then start acting defensive or fearful in that particular setting. Or they may bark at a stranger on a walk when they never did it at four months of age. Hey, this is normal. It's like a temporary phase of increased alertness to the world. Now, not every dog has a noticeable second fear period, but many do. The key here again is handle with patience. Make sure things are positive. If your adolescent dog becomes wary of something, don't force them into it. Instead, reintroduce it more gradually and also then pair it with rewards, just as you should have done when they were younger. Right Now, the other thing that I want to say is that this stage okay the adolescent stage.

Speaker 2: 27:21

This is a prime time for training to really pay off, or, if you haven't done much training, for problems. To start by six to 12 months. Dogs are big if they're a big breed and they're strong, but their brains are still catching up. If your eight month old-old 60-pound puppy has never been taught not to jump on people, well, that puppy can knock someone over now potentially. So this is when many people say I need a trainer, which is great. Earlier though is even better, but it's never too late. We'll talk about later about finding a good trainer and how you do that.

Speaker 2: 28:07

Now one more thing about adolescent stage. Adolescents can last beyond one year. Large breeds might be teenagers, say until 18 months, or even two years. Where smaller dogs, they might mature faster. Years, okay, where smaller dogs, they might mature faster. But for our purposes, by the end of the first year you've gone through the thick of it Surviving puppy adolescence with consistency and positive training. That will yield an incredible adult dog on the other side of it. So let's summarize the stages Birth to three weeks is about physical and basic sensory development.

Speaker 2: 28:54

Then the stage from three to 12 weeks is socialization, exposing them to everything. Now that's also coupled with increasing caution around the end of that period, about eight to 12 weeks, all right. Now what did we say about three to six months? Well, that's again, that's the juvenile learning and reinforcement stage. And six to 12 months, that's the adolescent testing time. Each stage has its positives and also its challenges, but knowing what to expect is going to help you and it's going to help meet your puppy's needs and possibly keep your sanity.

Speaker 2: 29:42

All right, now that we have the timeline in mind, let's go ahead and zoom into that all-important topic. We mentioned repeatedly Socialization and exposure. All right. Early socialization and exposure sets the foundation for everything. If early puppyhood were a school, socialization would be the core curriculum. It's that important. Socialization broadly means exposing your puppy to all sorts of people, animals, places, all sorts of things and teaching them that these are normal and even fun parts of life.

Speaker 2: 30:26

Proper socialization is going to produce an adult dog who isn't phased by the sight of a bicyclist whizzing by or somebody on a scooter or a jogger going by or someone on a skateboard. They're not going to freak out when a stranger comes to the door. They're going to be able to handle walking on a busy street and cars going by, and they can meet other dogs calmly. And it's important that you make sure that everything's calm or don't be there, protect your puppy, get them out of there, okay. So, in short, this period is how we inoculate our pups against fear of the unknown, of the unknown, by by making the unknown, everything in the world, known to them during that critical early period. Okay, but we have to do it right. Socialization isn't just expose the puppy to everything and hope for the best. If it's poorly done it could overwhelm a puppy. So let's talk best practices and we'll start with the giant pink elephant in the room and that's disease risk the pink elephant in the room.

Speaker 2: 31:53

What I want to talk about is socialization versus vaccination. Many new puppy owners they're told by well-meaning and I mean this wholeheartedly new puppy owners are often told by well-meaning vets or friends don't take your puppy out in public until they get all of their shots, until they're all done. Make sense. Young puppies are vulnerable to all kinds of nasty viruses, like parvo or distemper, which can be picked up from contaminated ground or sick dogs. However, as a blanket rule, this advice can actually set your puppy up for behavioral problems If you keep your puppy isolated at home until 16 to 18 weeks, when many of the vaccinations are now completed. You're slamming shut that socialization window. Yeah, by the time you finally bring your pup to the world at large, hey, they may be well into their cautious phase and suddenly everything is terrifying. Because they missed the early socialization, learning, they missed exposure to everything.

Speaker 2: 33:16

Now, the experts at the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, they've been trying to correct this misconception. Yeah, they put out a position statement on puppy socialization that explicitly says puppies should be socialized before they're fully vaccinated. In fact, they believe it should be the standard of care for vets to recommend this. So you vets out there of care for vets to recommend this. So you vets out there, this is something that old information and we're giving you new information and you need to check that out. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior said this should be the standard of care. This is what veterinarians should be recommending. Now, this logic hey, it's backed by evidence.

Speaker 2: 34:06

We know that behavior issues like severe fear or aggression stemming from poor socialization are a top reason why somebody relinquishes their dog, or even behavioral euthanasia in dogs. This is, this is what we do know. All right, that's much more common in young dogs far more common than a puppy dying from parvo in those dogs who get socialized properly. To quote an important stat according to the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, behavioral issues, not infectious disease, is the number one cause of death for dogs under three years of age. Did you know that, yeah, the number one cause of death in dogs under three years of age is euthanasia. It's not some kind of disease. And most of that, a lot of that, has to do with socialization. Think about that.

Speaker 2: 35:14

By not socializing, by not exposing your puppy, and especially during that critical time, we might protect the pup from germs, but what we're doing is we're increasing their risk of developing issues that could cost them their home, if we have behavior problems and somebody just can't handle it. So they want to rehome the puppy or they might even get euthanized. Okay, now, of course we don't want to throw caution to the wind health-wise. So the key here, the key here is safe socialization, safe exposure. Now, what does that mean? Well, enrolling your puppy in a well-run puppy kindergarten class as early as possible. Many classes accept puppies by, definitely by eight to 10 weeks of age. Look for those. As long. They'll accept them as long as they've had at least their first set of shots and deworming. Make sure you deworm the puppy Now.

Speaker 2: 36:24

These classes. They're typically held in very clean indoor environments where all puppies are close in age and have similar vaccination status. A good class is going to require proof of at least one round of vaccines and that puppies are healthy. Doing this, getting into a puppy class at that age safely again, this is going to dramatically minimize risks for behavior problems later. You're not going to find Parvo on the floor of a reputable training center or vet clinic. If they're a reputable veterinary clinic they're going to make sure that it's very clean for everybody. All right, these are huge benefits. These classes are immense for your dog's well-being. Behaviorally, your puppy gets to play with other puppies during the peak social period and learn social skills, and you get to learn basic training skills.

Speaker 2: 37:31

Now the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior their guidelines note that puppies can start classes as early as seven to eight weeks. Early as seven to eight weeks. Look, the dog has already some immunity to these diseases when they nurse with their mother. They get antibodies. And if your puppy has one set of vaccinations, the American veterinary society of animal behavior basically is saying listen, it's much more important for your dog to be socialized at that period right then, at that younger, at that younger period. Then waiting for all vaccinations, because if you wait there's a huge opportunity that's missed. They develop lots of fears, they can really be anxious. Then they can start becoming aggressive when they're not exposed to things at this critical stage. So that's why it's so important and there's a lot of myths, a lot of well-intentioned veterinarians and friends, like I said, telling you don't take your puppy outside until it's fully vaccinated. Well, that's going to mess up your puppy. Your puppy is more likely, by the age of three, to die of behavioral euthanasia than getting any kind of disease.

Speaker 2: 38:58

Now, outside of class, expose your puppy to everything, everything you can in the environment, but choose it wisely. For example, you can carry your puppy in your arms or use a stroller to walk around a busy farmer's market or down the sidewalk. Your puppy can watch the world without their paws touching potentially contaminated ground. Right that a bunch of unknown dogs might have been on. You'd be surprised how many puppies learn just by observing from the safety of your arms. They're taking in everything visually. They're taking in all the sounds that are around them and the smells, all the sounds that are around them and the smells Now outside of class.

Speaker 2: 39:46

The other thing you can do is have play dates with friendly adult dogs. You got to make sure that they're a calm, friendly, stable dog, whether it's somebody from your friend friends you have, neighbors, family members and that you know are fully vaccinated and, like I said, they're calm, relaxed, stable. They're good with puppies. Maybe you've got a friend or a family member that has a gentle, healthy dog that's been vaccinated. That's perfect. Arrange to meet at a private yard or let them come to your home. Adult dogs often teach puppies good manners. An older dog will gently correct a mouthing puppy in a way that teaches bite inhibition. You just got to supervise them closely to ensure that it's a positive encounter. A well-socialized adult can really and I'm talking about an adult dog a well-socialized adult dog can really help boost your puppy's confidence.

Speaker 2: 40:53

But you got to be smart right. Avoid high-risk areas like public dog parks or pet store floors until your puppy's older, pet store floors, until your puppy's older. These places they've got lots of unknown dogs, some of whom might not even be vaccinated. They might be carrying disease. So you've got to be smart. Also, dog parks can have rough play, no pun intended but they can have rough players in that dog park that might scare or even harm your small puppy. It's not worth the risk at this stage.

Speaker 2: 41:28

You can take your puppy on the ground in cleaner areas your yard or a friend's yard that hasn't had sick dogs, quiet parks, especially on surfaces like concrete or clean grass. Make sure there's not an area where the dogs are urinating or defecating, peeing or pooping, because they may have disease there. And you don't want to go to a high traffic area where other unknown dogs are because they could bring in illness or disease. So look for clean grassy areas rather than areas that are full of pee or poop. You've got to use your judgment and your vet's advice, but you've got to remember some vets, with great intention, are telling you don't get your puppy outside until it's fully vaccinated. Well, that's not true. If you wait, that may bring about huge behavior problems. Now we don't want your dog to get any kind of disease or illness, so you've got to be smart, like I said.

Speaker 2: 42:40

All right, but generally here's what's important by 8 to 12 weeks, some controlled outdoor exploration on leash in low traffic areas, because, remember, this is the fear stage in low traffic areas is very beneficial for the puppy. For instance, you can walk down the street in your neighborhood, not where lots of stray dogs roam. If that's the case, then go to a different sidewalk and you're avoiding sniffing unknown poop. So if you're walking your puppy and you see poop, get your puppy moving, pick up your puppy, all right. But getting them out at this time has a very, very high likelihood of preventing your dog from being fearful or reactive or aggressive later down the road or aggressive later down the road. Now, if you're concerned about disease or you have a tiny breed, even car rides to experience the outside world from the car or sitting on a blanket at, say, a park, that can be great. Think creatively.

Speaker 2: 44:03

Socialization doesn't mean the puppy has to physically interact with everything. Even seeing and hearing all kinds of different things from a safe spot is valuable socialization. Quite frankly, I would love them to change the word socialization to exposure Again. They don't have to meet every puppy or dog, they don't have to meet every person, but they need to be exposed to everything. Now, if you've got very friendly, calm, well-vaccinated dogs, hey, let them meet the dog. If you've got good people that can be calm and relaxed and not do crazy things with puppies or dogs. Let your puppy meet them, but in this stage, because they're not fully vaccinated, you've got to balance the risk of where you're going and what you're doing. All right, the risk of no socialization is going to be a dog who's afraid of everything. Socialization is going to be a dog who's afraid of everything. The risk of thoughtful socialization is minimal if it's done smartly and it can literally save your dog's life in the long run by preventing serious behavior issues.

Speaker 2: 45:17

Now, to underline this point, dr E Catherine Meyer I'm just going to say it the way it is on the study. She's the past president of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior. She said all right, they're veterinarians who are big on behavior. She said that from the time you bring your puppy home until about three to four months of age your puppy home until about three to four months of age it's critical to get them out to meet other animals and people and experience many events, because puppies have a sensitive period where they're primed to learn these social skills. If we miss it, those puppies often fail to develop coping mechanisms and they grow into dogs who can't adapt to new situations. Yeah, we definitely don't want that. All right, hopefully I've convinced you that early socialization or exposure is both safe, with care, and it's critical.

Speaker 2: 46:20

Now let's get into the what and how of socialization. What should you actually do with your puppy during these early weeks to really maximize their social savvy? All right, people, people, people. One big area is people. Dogs are a social species and we want them to be comfortable around humans, not just their immediate family, but all sorts of people Tall people, short people, males, females, kids, people of different ethnicities Since dogs can notice differences in appearance, yeah, people wearing hats that can get them exposed to that. People wearing sunglasses, hoodies, people that wear uniforms the more variety that you can introduce, the better. All right, let's talk about the how.

Speaker 2: 47:24

Start by having friends come over to your home to meet the puppy in a controlled way. One or two new people at a time. Make sure that they are armed with treats. Have them let the puppy approach at the puppy's own pace. Maybe the pup is bold and runs right up, or maybe they hang back and need a little more time. Don't force the puppy to be held by someone if they seem scared. Instead, let that person toss a treat or two. Have them speak softly Typically young puppies. They're going to warm up quickly and they're going to climb all over a willing visitor in no time, especially if treats magically fall from the sky and I'm talking about the visitor's hand, the person that you have over.

Speaker 2: 48:18

Expose puppies to children, if possible. Carefully, though. Kids can be unpredictable. If possible, okay, carefully, though. Kids can be unpredictable. They can be rough and that can scare a puppy. So, ideally, find gentle, dog savvy kids Maybe your nieces or nephews or maybe neighbor kids who have calm dogs, kids who have calm dogs and make sure.

Speaker 2: 48:53

Make sure you're always supervising all the time, especially when they're with kids. But here you go, let let's. What do we do with the kid? Let the kids sit on the ground and have the puppy come to them, not the child going to the puppy. It's important when you do this, you need to teach kids how to pet gently, make sure they're not slapping or grabbing fur. Have a conversation with them and give the puppy an escape route. You didn't think about that. Give the puppy a way to get away. No, you didn't think about that. Give the puppy a way to get away, so if it's too much for this particular puppy, they can walk away. The goal is the puppy thinks wow, tiny humans are fun and not scary.

Speaker 2: 49:42

Again, treats If you don't have access to kids, at least have the puppy see kids at a distance, on walks or near a playground, from a safe distance, and pair that with treats. Men in particular are sometimes more intimidating to puppies, we think, maybe because of perhaps deeper voices or a larger stature. So make sure that your puppy meets nice men. Perhaps a bearded friend, someone with glasses, same with people wearing big coats or funny accessories, like a cyclist that wears the helmet. All right, here's a pro tip Costume night. One evening you and your family can put on hats or wigs, fake mustaches yeah, I know it sounds silly All kinds of things, and then you're able to calmly expose your puppy to each of these aspects that could be with people. Make sure you're giving treats when you're doing this. I know it sounds silly, but it can really help a dog generalize that people come in many forms and they're positive.

Speaker 2: 51:00

The key with people is quality of interaction over quantity. A shy puppy doesn't need to be passed around to 20 strangers in a day. That might be way too much. It's better to have a few great experiences where the puppy chooses to approach and gets goodies, gets some treats and then maybe some gentle petting. But let the puppy approach the people first. Like I said, it's better to have a few really good experiences with people where the puppy chooses to approach them and they get treats and maybe some gentle petting. That's a whole lot better than a bunch of people where they might be a bit overwhelmed. But by all means you want to have your puppy meet lots of people. Some old rule of thumb says 100 people by 12 weeks. But listen, don't get hung up on that number. Just vary the different types of people and make sure that you're making each meeting, each exposure to people positive.

Speaker 2: 52:14

Okay. Now the other thing I want to talk about. This is places, surfaces and environments. Okay, the world is full of different environments and you want your puppy to be comfortable wherever they go. Wherever you take the the vet clinic, a friend's house, a busy city street, a quiet country area in the early weeks of age, do a bit of a world tour, so to speak, but do it safely. Take your puppy on car rides to different places. Maybe one day a short drive to a downtown area, carry them on the sidewalk to watch the hustle and bustle of people going by. And maybe another day trip to a pet-friendly store. And maybe another day trip to a pet-friendly store Again, safety Carried in your hands or in a cart, not necessarily on the floor during this age In that place. Maybe another thing to do is get them to a friend's house. That's a different environment, even within your own neighborhood. Change up the walking routes. Let them sniff around different blocks, different areas. Visit a playground when it's empty so the pup can explore the jungle gym. Or during a mild day when kids are present, again at a distance if needed. Watch your puppy present, again at a distance if needed. Watch your puppy If they show some timid behavior, if they're scared. Create more distance.

Speaker 2: 53:53

Pair these with treats, surfaces that's an often overlooked part of socialization or exposure. You'd be amazed. Some dogs who never walked on like metal grates or wooden decks as puppies. They might freeze. They might refuse to walk on those when they're adults because it feels weird under their feet. So make sure that you expose them out of grass, gravel, concrete, hardwood floors, the carpet, tile, sand, if available, metal grates or steps. Again, make sure you do this with caution. Make sure that their tiny feet don't slip through the grate, so to speak. You may be holding them a little bit. Get them used to wet surfaces. Yeah, make a game of it. All right, give them treats for walking on the strange surfaces.

Speaker 2: 54:54

Many puppy classes include little obstacle courses, precisely to give pups confidence on various textures and elevations. Now also, I want you to think about this Household objects and environments there. Umbrellas how many adult dogs bark at a person with an umbrella because they never saw one before? Vacuum cleaners, lawnmowers At least from a distance or turned off, and you're pairing it with treats. And as they get more and more confident, then maybe have them at a distance. See and hear the lawnmower, see and hear the vacuum cleaner while you're pairing it with treats. Bicycles and skateboards going by we talked about that earlier. You can do controlled exposures, like leaving a skateboard in the yard for your puppy just to sniff and then maybe rolling it slowly while you're feeding your puppy. Give them treats. Again, this teaches the puppy. Moving wheels are not a big deal. Okay, now for environments.

Speaker 2: 56:08

I want you to consider sound as well. Okay, we're going to be covering sound next, but know that environment and sound often go together. All right, the environment of city, downtown, maybe your city. There's traffic noise, you know if you're in the country. Maybe there's farm animals or gunshots or hunting sounds at a distance. So let's talk about sounds and noises. Okay, louder, sudden noises are a common fearful trigger. Sudden noises are a common fearful trigger, especially if a dog isn't habituated early. Use the socialization period to introduce common noises, but gently, all right.

Speaker 2: 56:55

Again, here are some ideas. Household noises they're going to be dealing with this. The dishwasher, the vacuum, your blender, maybe your hair dryer. Now don't fire them all up at once and you know where you got everything going sound-wise, and don't have your puppy right next to them at a distance. Okay, have the puppy in the room doing something fun like eating treats or playing, and then briefly perhaps, turn on your hair dryer across the room on low, then off, act like it's normal. If the puppy didn't react badly, praise and maybe toss a treat.

Speaker 2: 57:41

Over days you can increase duration Over some days. Over a week, you can increase duration over some days. Over a week you can increase the loudness. Pair them with treats. Soon they're going to ignore those routine noises. Actually, many puppies might startle initially, but then they might curiously approach it. Is that a living thing they're thinking. Let them investigate, but let them investigate safely.

Speaker 2: 58:10

Alright, let's talk about one. This is a tough one Thunder and fireworks. Now you obviously can't schedule a thunderstorm, but you can use sounds of a thunderstorm that are recorded. Okay, there are pre-made sounds for socialization. Okay, you can find something on YouTube, I guarantee it. I've got YouTube videos with fireworks, with thunder, and what we do is we play the thunder sounds just like we would the fireworks, at very low volumes, perhaps while the puppy's eating its dinner or chewing a favorite toy or we're giving treats. Now, if they don't notice that sound, just gradually increase volume Gradually, very gradually, over many sessions, until it's moderately loud and your puppy's still chilling out. Same for firework noises. There's evidence out there that says gradual exposure can prevent noise phobias later and I deal with lots of dogs with noise phobias and they never had exposure to that. Of course, nothing beats a real storm, right? So if one happens and your pup is young, be prepared with treats and have a happy, jolly attitude. Do a little play session so that the puppy can associate the storm with fun things. All right, city noises If you live in a quiet area but want your dog to be okay in the city.

Speaker 2: 59:52

You need to deliberately expose them Now. You could also start this by recordings of traffic or literally taking a field trip near a city street. Yeah, again, during this period you might want to carry them. You might not want to have them on the ground if you don't know what dog's been there or sick dogs have been there. Keep them in your hands, but let them hear what's going on. Let them hear sirens in the distance, buses at tolerable volume. Treat and praise your puppy for calm behavior. If that's what they're experiencing, if they seem nervous, well. Well, if it's a recording, you need to turn it down. If it's the city, you need to maybe get a little distance. Okay, what about other animals?

Speaker 2: 1:00:45

Dogs also need exposure to sounds of other animals cats meowing, birds chirping, maybe livestock. If you have any chance, like perhaps a weekend drive to a farm area to see horses or cows, you know, behind a fence, at a distance where your puppy's comfortable Pair, that with fun things play treats, fun things play treats. If you have a cat, if you have a cat at home, that may happen, naturally, but if you don't, maybe you need to let them hear a cat at a friend's house or through a fence, at least the sound. So a sudden meow later in life doesn't freak them out. Okay, a great exercise is the sound socialization game. Play a new sound a day, softly, while giving your puppy perhaps a stuffed kong or high value chew. This way, your puppy, unconsciously, is going to pair weird sounds with good stuff. There's different things on the internet. You can find things. There's apps like soundproof puppy app with sound libraries for that purpose.

Speaker 2: 1:02:13

All right, let's talk about dogs and other animals. Socializing with other dogs deserves its own time. We need to devote time to that because dog-to-dog social skills are absolutely critical. Listen, a dog or a puppy? All right, that didn't have that exposure or that great socialization, all right. They didn't learn how to properly greet and play as a puppy. They may struggle down the road with dog aggression or fear.

Speaker 2: 1:02:48

Now, that being said, not every interaction is automatically good. You want them mostly with friendly and, again, you do some homework before you expose them. You want them with friendly, well-mannered dogs to set the tone. All right. Puppy classes can be ideal because all the pups are learning together. They tussle around, they figure out bite inhibition, like when a pup bites too hard and the other puppy yelps and that other puppy stops playing. That's a natural consequence that teaches don't bite so hard or play ends.

Speaker 2: 1:03:28

Now, in the absence of a class, set up meetings. Perhaps you have a friend with a tolerant older dog, because puppies can be obnoxious, right, it's wonderful to see an adult dog having great manners with a puppy, teaching the puppy, all right. But you know if the puppy is biting the older dog, you know there might be a gentle growl from this dog, maybe a bark if the puppy gets too pushy. Well, that's it. That's important feedback for the puppy. But supervise this, supervise, supervise, supervise to make sure the adult dog isn't truly annoyed or going to start get aggressive with the puppy Again.

Speaker 2: 1:04:16

Do your homework. Get a really tolerant, calm dog from a neighbor or a friend. Now got to be a little cautious of the big size differences. A large dog could accidentally hurt, for example, a toy breed, even if their intentions are well. So matchmaking by size and play style that's going to help.

Speaker 2: 1:04:44

If you don't own other dogs, this is critical. Consider visiting family members who do. Visiting family members who do or I'm not a huge fan of doggy daycare, but if they have one with little dogs, maybe your puppy can have some short play sessions there. Okay, if they offer some special playtime. You got to do your homework. Now you want to socialize them to other species. Yeah, that might not apply to everyone, everyone. But if you have access, exposing your puppy to other animals can make them more versatile and calmer. For example, if you have a cat, teaching the puppy from day one to be gentle and calm around the cat, not chase, that's going to help. All right, if, if you, if you live near horses I talked about this early If you live near horses or you have a farm, letting your puppy see those horses or chickens while on leash at a safe distance during the socialization period can definitely listen, hear me, hear me, hear me Definitely can prevent them from going berserk later when they encounter them, and they certainly can.

Speaker 2: 1:05:58

I deal with a lot of dogs that just can't handle it. They never got the exposure Okay, even something as simple as squirrels. If there are squirrels where you live, if your yard has them, your puppy will get used to them, just being part of the environment, having them out there, rather than an unknown creature, unknown animal to obsess and freak out over. Now, always ensure that the interactions are safe, they're positive, have treats. You don't want, say, a horse to spook or a cat to scratch the pup's eye, use barriers. If you need to like a puppy on leash, watching through maybe a baby gate and getting treats, all right. Maybe there's a horse on the other side of a fence 30 feet away, that's fine, do that.

Speaker 2: 1:06:59

You need to be able to read your puppy's emotions, all right. That's a crucial skill for you. You, as the pet parent during socialization, need to be able to monitor your puppy's body language and stress signals. Puppies can speak, but they give us cues tail carriage, ear position, how they hold their body. If your pup's happily wiggling, approaching things, wagging their tail, they're probably feeling pretty good. If they start to, you know, hang back. If you see them tuck their tail or pant when it's not hot, or try to climb up onto you and get away, they might be getting overwhelmed or scared. If you see those signs, take a break, get them out of there. Increase your distance from whatever is causing them to be nervous or concerned. Let your puppy calm down, get some distance. Maybe you've done enough for that day, that outing.

Speaker 2: 1:08:06

You want to end everyone on a good note whenever possible, for example, if you're meeting a new person and that was too much. Have that person toss treats at a distance where your puppy's comfortable and not reach for your puppy. Or if the hardware store trip was okay until a loud bang happened and now your puppy's nervous, just calmly reassure and maybe call it a day Rather than pushing it further. Hey, there's always tomorrow, but there's only this little critical period for exposure and socialization. Remember socialization exposure is about quality. One really positive event encounter is better than five lukewarm ones or one bad one. We'd rather skip or cut out of it exposure than turn it into a trauma for the dog. Now, maybe you don't know about flooding, but you need to avoid the mindset of flooding, taking a scared puppy and making them sit in a crowded marketplace or store and doing that for an hour, hoping that they'll just get over it. Hey, that can seriously backfire and make fear worse, worse. Instead, systematic exposure, gradually, with rewards of play, love, petting and treats.

Speaker 2: 1:09:50

All right, let's talk about one more aspect alone time. This might sound odd, but part of early exposure, part of early exposure training, is teaching a puppy to handle being alone. Briefly, now, many puppies they get so much attention from you guys, from people, since we're all focusing on them right, getting them exposed to everything, socializing to everything. It's about them, them, them. They never learn to self-soothe alone, which can definitely lead to separation anxiety.

Speaker 2: 1:10:30

So you need to practice leaving your pup in a safe, puppy-proofed area or crate for very short periods, even if you work from home and don't technically need to start with just a few seconds. If you need to Watch the puppy's body language, then increase it to a few minutes, then a little bit longer. Now remember, always make it positive. Give a special treat or a toy only when they're alone. Have just something very special they love, put it up and only bring it out. That way it has more value, like a peanut butter Kong or something like that. When they're alone. This way, being alone sometimes is also just a normal, okay, part of life. You want to teach them that.

Speaker 2: 1:11:16

All right Now. We've covered a ton on socialization, so if you're feeling a bit overwhelmed with your to-do list, here's a tip Create a checklist or a diary. Write down categories like people with hats, tall men, children, loud traffic, an elevator and mark dates when you expose your pup to each of those. There are even pre-made socialization checklists that you can find online. You don't have to hit every single one of them, but it ensures that you're getting a wide variety of exposure and socialization. This is critical. If you get nothing else out of this podcast, please expose your puppies calmly, make sure they're calm, they're relaxed, having a positive experience, but expose them to everything. Next, listen. The next thing that I want to talk about we're going to go ahead and switch gears a little bit, all right, but I want to talk about something that's related but a bit different Cooperative care and early training for handling. Now, this deserves its own special focus, because this is one thing that's often overlooked, it's often neglected, yet it can have a huge difference in your dog's life and your vet bills. Frankly, now, cooperative care is teaching your puppy to say yes to handling. All right. Imagine a dog that willingly offers you their paw for a nail trim or calmly stands while the vet gives a vaccine all because they've been taught it pays off to cooperate, to be cooperative, to cooperate. Now, this isn't a fantasy. It's the result of what's called cooperative care training. This is huge. The idea behind cooperative care is to give dogs some control and positive experiences in situations that would normally be scary or uncomfortable, like grooming and veterinary exams. Instead of forcing a dog through it, you train them to volunteer for it. Yeah, for puppies, we have a prime opportunity to start this training before any bad experiences occur. A lot of adults who freak out over nail trims, for instance, do so. They do it because one time someone clipped too short and hurt them, or they were restrained and they panicked. Puppies, hopefully, have a clean slate, so let's keep it that way, all right. What does cooperative care look like?

Speaker 2: 1:14:14

Cooperative care involves teaching behaviors that allow the dog to be an active participant, for example, teaching a puppy to hold still or hold a specific position as a consent signal, if you will. A popular one is the chin rest. You train the pup to rest their chin in the palm of your hand or on your lap and stay there. This can later be used during vet exams. The dog essentially agrees to an exam by keeping their chin in place and if they move that's a signal they're uncomfortable and need a break, all right. Another example is a stationing mat or place Teaching your dog to go lie on a mat and stay there, which can be used for grooming or paw target, for example.

Speaker 2: 1:15:15

The pup learns to place their paw on your open hand. That's great for trimming nails, training, desensitization and counter conditioning to specific procedures, for instance for nail trims. First you teach the pup that when you touch their paw they get a treat. Then when you gently squeeze a toe they get a treat. Then you introduce the nail clipper just to touch the nail, no cutting, but give them a treat. Over sessions you work up to clipping one nail. That gets a treat. If at any step your puppy yanks away or seems unhappy, you go back a step. Make it easier, make it more positive.

Speaker 2: 1:16:06

Eventually many dogs will sit calmly, maybe even offer their paw, because they've learned nail trimming isn't scary and it predicts yummy treats, yummy rewards, all right. Similarly, you can get pups used to you brushing their teeth right by letting them lick dog safe toothpaste off the brush, then touching it very briefly, gently to their teeth and pulling it away and, little by little, having it there longer in their mouth, little by little, slowly brushing a tooth for a second, then it goes back in their mouth. You get the idea. Gradually, systematically break this down into little, tiny slices. All right, I need to talk about ear cleaning, because that's always a problem for lots of dogs. So when they're a puppy, one of the things that you want to do is massage their ears while you're feeding them something incredible Peanut butter from a spoon, for example. All right, at your vet.

Speaker 2: 1:17:21

When they're at the vet, a common cooperative care behavior is teaching a dog to stand quietly on a platform or a table for the exam and to accept a gentle restraint. Okay, some people even teach their dog to basically step onto the scale and sit on their own. Think of circus dogs that hop on stools. Same idea, but in this case it's the scale that they use to weigh the dog and they get a treat for doing it. In essence, we're giving the dog predictability. They learn hey, if I do X, hold, still give a paw, whatever it is we want them to do, then I know what's coming and I'm going to get rewarded. That's going to remove a ton of fear from the unknown. Okay, now you got to start young with puppies.

Speaker 2: 1:18:25

Cooperative care starts with simple handling exercises. Gentle, all over handling Every day. Spend a few minutes touching your pup's paws, spreading their toes, looking between them. Lift their ears and pretend to inspect. Open their mouth, if they allow you to peek at the teeth. Run your hands over their belly, even gently lifting their tail very gently. Pair all of this with praise and yummy, yummy treats, high value stuff. This is going to teach your puppy that human touch everywhere on their body is normal. It's not threatening. Make sure to keep your sessions short. Maybe you do pause in the morning. Maybe you're doing ears at lunch. Maybe you work from home, maybe you do work on the mouth in the evening. Remember, always be gentle. We're not trying to truly examine, we're just simulating it. We're pairing positive reinforcement with it so that the puppy, as it grows and as it has to experience it in real life, is not going to be nervous, is not going to be scared.

Speaker 2: 1:19:41

All right, next you want to introduce some tools. Show your puppy what nail clippers look like before you ever attempt to trim. Let them sniff the clippers, maybe even lick them, if safe. Then give a treat. Hey, here's a pro tip. Get a piece of uncooked spaghetti, put it next to the pup, all right, and put your clipper through and cut it. Let them hear the sniff sound and associate that with a treat. All right, that's a pro tip for you Spaghetti. I don't remember where I learned that, where I heard that long time ago, but it's not original.

Speaker 2: 1:20:29

But you want to do the same thing with other things, like the brush that they would be brushed with. But first let your puppy see and sniff the brush, maybe nibble on the bristles. Then brush one stroke and give them a treat Very lightly, very short time. Do mock vet exams at home. Again, this may sound funny, but play vet with your puppy. Once they're comfortable with gentle handling, you or your family member can pretend to be the vet, gently feel their belly palpitating, as a vet would Check under their tail Temperature, taking position. But don't actually do it. Hold a pen light and shine it near them, not directly into their eyes. You can even wrap your arm around their chest, like a vet might do, to hold them and then feed a treat, treats with all of this. If you're holding them, you can treat with the other hand, the more that your puppy experiences these type of situations in safe places, pairing it with positive reinforcement, the less strange, the less fearful it's going to be when they go to the real vet.

Speaker 2: 1:21:53

Okay, if you have a small breed or plan to travel, teaching your puppy to like a pet carrier or crate might be part of cooperative care too. If that's the case, feed them in the carrier, toss treats in it, make it comfy and cozy, have toys in it. We want them comfortable, being confined briefly, as that'll happen sometimes at vet visits, or if they need to stay overnight somewhere. Maybe you're having your vet board them or you're in another boarding facility. We don't want them freaking out. All right, we don't want them freaking out, all right.

Speaker 2: 1:22:37

One interesting cooperative care method is using a target or start button behavior. For example, I mentioned the chin rest. All right, I'm going to talk about a bucket game, an idea by a trainer named Shirok Patel, by a trainer named Chirac Patel, where the dog is taught to keep their nose pointed at a target or bucket. As long as they do, you continue the handling and if they move away, you stop. In this situation, the dog controls the pace. With puppies, this level of sophistication might be a bit advanced, but you can start the basics. Teach a chin rest by holding a treat in your hand, and every time the puppy brings their chin towards the palm to sniff, go ahead and mark that, say yes and give a treat. The puppy's going to learn that chin and hand equals treat. Eventually you're able to have them hold it longer and longer before you reward.

Speaker 2: 1:23:45

Now why go through all this trouble? Well, there's going to be a lot less stress. It's going to be safer for everyone. You know, a dog that's been prepared with cooperative care is far less stress. It's going to be safer for everyone. You know, a dog that's been prepared with cooperative care is far less likely to need to be muzzled or heavily restrained at the vet and that's scary. They're less likely to struggle and accidentally get hurt or cause the vet tech to get nipped. They might even enjoy vet visits because they think, ah, these people give me peanut butter and praise while they examine me. Many vets now practice fear-free techniques which align perfectly with a dog that's been trained for cooperative care.

Speaker 2: 1:24:29

It's a team effort. You know, there's a research, there's a study supporting this approach. Okay, and there was a recent pilot study by Wes et al in 20, where is it? I got it here in 2022. That looked at dogs who underwent cooperative care training classes versus those who don't, and found some encouraging differences. The dogs who got the training showed signs of much lower stress, like a more relaxed body temperature, patterns associated with calm states and improved compliance with handling, compared to the untrained group. While both of these groups of dogs still found vet exams somewhat challenging, that's not surprising. The vet's never going to be their favorite place, but the trained dogs had a measurably better coping skills. They had better coping skills. It's a small study, but it validates what trainers have seen anecdotally An ounce of prevention training is worth a pound of cure when it comes to vet visits or grooming stress.

Speaker 2: 1:25:56

Also think about the practical side of it. Nail trims and grooming are things you'll need to do for your dog's whole life. If you invest the time when your puppy is three to four months old to make them comfortable with it, you're going to save yourself potentially years of struggling with your dog. Nobody wants a 70-pound dog that needs three people to hold them down for a nail trim. Your groomer or vet will thank you and your dog's going to be much happier. So make sure that you incorporate cooperative care into your routine. Make it a game. Many puppies learned love these sessions because it's basically extra attention and it's treats. You make sure you're using really high value food, rewards, little pieces of cheese or little pieces of chicken, and reserve them only for that kind of training. So your puppy thinks oh boy, nail, trim, practice, I get the special cheese or I get chicken.

Speaker 2: 1:27:06

Okay, now, before we move on, just a quick success story example. I had a puppy in one of my classes who, the pet parent, practiced cooperative care and they were really diligent about it. By the time that puppy was six months old, she would waltz into the vet clinic, hop on the scale herself, sit patiently while being examined and even hold out her leg for a blood draw with some peanut butter distraction, her leg for a blood draw with some peanut butter distraction. The clinic staff were absolutely amazed, because even a lot of adult dogs don't do that. Very few dogs do that. It really showed me the power of starting young. All right, we've covered development, socialization, we've covered handling.

Speaker 2: 1:27:55

Now it's time for an important reality check. The world is full of dog training advice and not all of it's good. In fact, some common advice is downright bad or outdated. So I want to get into the myth busting and talk about which approaches you should avoid and why. I want to do some debunking of common myths and outdated training advice. If you've ever Googled a puppy problem or watched certain TV shows, you're likely to come across some of these myths. Okay, maybe watch trainers on social media or on TV. Okay, these can be really pervasive. So don't feel bad if you believed or followed them. Many of us did at one point. I did early on in my career until education set me straight. The good news is that modern animal behavior science gives us a better way.

Speaker 2: 1:29:12

All right, let's tackle some big myths now. Let's start with myth number one. You shouldn't socialize your puppy until all vaccinations are done. Well, we touched on this already in the socialization discussion, but it's worth reinforcing as a myth to debunk because it's such common advice. Myth to debunk because it's such common advice.

Speaker 2: 1:29:37

The belief is that letting a puppy outside or around other dogs before 16 weeks, when the rabies and final parvo distemper shots are usually done, will expose them to deadly disease. So you must keep them home. That's a myth. Why it's a myth? It's an outdated notion. It's not aligned with current veterinary behavior recommendations as mentioned by the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior. They've got a clear position statement on it. The risk of not socializing during the critical period far outweighs any risk of illness, provided you take reasonable precautions. Socialization can and should begin after the puppy's first set of vaccinations, around seven to eight weeks.

Speaker 2: 1:30:29

A puppy until, say, four months or later is actually more likely to harm them long-term behaviorally than a supervised outing is to give them parvo. The misunderstanding often arises because some vets, especially old school ones, they oftentimes are prioritizing disease prevention so much that they overlook behavior. Now it's understandable. Parvo is scary, but behavior problems can be silent killers too. If you ever encounter a vet who says no outdoor anything until 16 weeks, says no outdoor anything until 16 weeks, you might gently bring up the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior position statement or find a vet with more modern ideas and outlook.

Speaker 2: 1:31:26

Now, does this myth mean that you can throw caution out? No, we still avoid obviously high risk situations for disease like dog parks Don't do that. Or sniffing unknown dog poop Don't let your puppy do that. But as we planned earlier, you still get your puppy out into the world safely. I find it helpful. To use an analogy, it's like saying you shouldn't take your human baby outside until they've had all their shots. That would be months of being indoors and missing out on normal development. We don't do this with kids. We take them out. We just don't bring them to a chicken pox party or something like that. Just don't bring them to a chicken pox party or something like that.

Speaker 2: 1:32:19

Now, in 2008, the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior basically implored vets and pet parents start those puppy classes early. Start socialization early. They pointed out that behavior issues due to under socialization are the number one cause of death in dogs under the age of three, much more than infectious disease. That's an eye opener. Myers quote that I cited earlier. She emphasized that from adoption until three to four months, it's critical to expose puppies to lots of animals, lots of people, lots of environments. So myth busted yes, you should socialize your puppy before they're fully vaccinated. Your puppy before they're fully vaccinated. Just do it smartly. If someone challenged you on this, you can say your stance is backed by the American Veterinary Medical Association as well, since the AVMA published articles supporting early socialization too. All right.

Speaker 2: 1:33:30

Myth number two you need to be the alpha. Dogs only respect dominance, you need to be alpha. Have you heard that this is one? This one is huge and it's done a lot of damage. The idea here is that dogs live in a dominance hierarchy, like wolves supposedly do, and that your dog will try to dominate you if you're not asserting yourself as the alpha. Therefore, as the myth goes, you must show them who's boss, you must show them that you're in charge, sometimes through physical corrections or a stern verbal correction. People interpret normal puppy behaviors, like stealing socks or pulling on a leash, as the dog being dominant or challenging them.

Speaker 2: 1:34:30

Now why this is a myth? This is based on outdated science and a misunderstanding of both wolf behavior and domesticated dog behavior. It's true that many social animals have dominant subordinate relationships. That concept exists, but it's not that simple. But it's not that simple Static hierarchy where one individual is always seeking to overthrow another. That concept exists. Like I said, it's not this simple. First of all, dogs are not wolves and even wolves don't act the way the old dominance model suggested.

Speaker 2: 1:35:22

Let me give you a bit of history. The dominance theory in dog training largely came from studies of captive wolves in the mid-20th century. There was work done In 1947. By Schenkels, and later it was Populized by others, which described rigid pack Hierarchies With an alpha that got to do everything. First this got Applied to dogs, assuming dogs see their human family as a pack to do everything. First this got applied to dogs, assuming dogs see their human family as a pack to dominate. But later research, especially by David Meck in the 1990s, observed wolves in natural conditions that refuted a lot of that. Wild wolf packs are often families Mom, dad and their kids, their offspring and they don't consistently fight for rank, they cooperate. They have dynamic roles, the whole alpha role. Physically pinning a wolf was something, something rarely seen except in abnormal captive settings. Meck himself has spent years trying to debunk the very alpha wolf concept he once helped introduce.

Speaker 2: 1:36:49

As one veterinary behaviorist pointed out, it's not logical to use wolf behavior to explain dogs, just like we wouldn't explain human behavior by looking at chimpanzees, even though we share almost identical DNA. Dogs have been domesticated for tens of thousands of years. They've evolved to live with humans, not in a wolf pack. So the notion that your puppy is waking up each day trying to climb a social ladder and dominate you or your family members it's just not accurate. It's not scientific. We know this today. Puppies pee on the carpet because they don't know where to go. They're not trying to claim your living room as their kingdom. Okay, they jump up because they're excited and seeking attention, not because they think they're asserting rank. The real issue Misbehavior usually stems from one of three things the dog hasn't been taught what to do yet.

Speaker 2: 1:38:01

The dog is inadvertently being rewarded for the wrong thing. Or your dog is uncomfortable, scared about something. None of those are fixed by dominance or being dominant to the dog. For example, a puppy that growls when you approach their food isn't trying to be alpha. They're guarding a resource out of fear of losing it. Maybe they had to compete with litter mates early on to get a nipple. You know if mom's got 10 nipples and you got 14 puppies, somebody's fighting for that resource. It's scarce. Now, if you respond, you know when you're, if your puppy's growling and when it's eating and you walk by. If you respond by alpha rolling that puppy, you might temporarily force them to submit. But have you actually made them comfortable with people near their food? No, you've likely made them more fearful and they might not warn the next time with a growl, they might just bite.

Speaker 2: 1:39:10

There's all kinds of negative effects of dominance-based training, many dominance-orientated techniques. They involve some level of force or intimidation yelling no leash, jerks, pinning the dog. Study after study show that these can be harmful. We discussed one study where several confrontational methods elicited aggression in a high percentage of dogs. That's pretty concrete. If about one third of dogs in a survey responded aggressively to an alpha roll, that's a big red flag that the technique is flawed, because it's causing the very thing that a dominance-based trainer thinks it's supposed to prevent aggression. In addition to that, even if the dog doesn't outwardly retaliate from the alpha role, they may become anxious, they may lose trust in you.

Speaker 2: 1:40:20

The human animal bond can suffer. Your relationship, your bond with your dog can deteriorate. Think of it from the puppy's perspective. They don't understand the concept of I'm punishing you to establish dominance. They just feel overpowered and scared. Hey, listen, some will submit in the moment. Sure, but what lesson do they learn? Often, the lesson they're learning is when people approach me, it might be bad, so I better watch out. Isn't that the opposite of what we want? So let's talk about a better approach. We want our puppies to follow our lead. We want them to trust us. We want them to have a history of positive outcomes, not out of fear.

Speaker 2: 1:41:12

Now, this doesn't mean letting the dog do whatever it wants, okay. Good training does provide structure, it provides rules, but we don't need to frame those as a dominant struggle. You can be kind, you want to be a benevolent leader or parent figure to your dog. You provide food, play, safety and in return you ask for certain behaviors, for example, sitting for a greeting, going potty outside. When they do right, you reward big time. When they do wrong, you guide them to do the right thing and you prevent the rehearsal of bad behaviors.

Speaker 2: 1:41:59

You know one common misunderstanding people think positive training means never saying no. Not true. It just means that you primarily teach through positive reinforcement and management. You might ignore or redirect unwanted behavior rather than physically punishing it, or use mild consequences like a timeout which isn't painful or scary, and if it is scary, don't use it. Get your pup out of that situation, okay, pup out of that situation, okay. But if we use a timeout, it just removes what the puppy wanted for a short time. It's a consequence.

Speaker 2: 1:42:44

So to bust the myth no, you don't need to dominate your puppy, you don't need to dominate your dog. In fact, trying to be a quote, unquote alpha through force can erode the very relationship that you want to build, the trust you want to have, that you want your dog to have with you. Instead, hey, be a teacher. Modern trainers today focus on cooperation between the human and the dog, between the human and the dog, and they see the relationship as a partnership rather than a hierarchy contest. Now I'll add to that even the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior released statements against the misuse of dominance theory in training because they were concerned how it leads to coercive techniques. Veterinary behavior experts and certified applied animal behaviorists have been fighting this myth for years, especially since certain TV programs made it popular the dominance aspect, certain TV programs. I'll just say that Certain TV programs made being dominant, showing them who's boss being alpha. Those TV programs made that popular.

Speaker 2: 1:44:13

As a pet parent, though, you can feel confident that you're not being a weak leader by choosing positive methods. You're being a smart one. You're being somebody that does things. That's backed by science All right, that's backed by science, all right. Myth number three Aversive tools, shock collars, prong collars, choke collars or punishment are necessary to be able to get results.

Speaker 2: 1:44:44

That's a myth. It's often perpetuated by seeing some trainers get fast compliance using harsh methods. Or the idea that if a dog is big or stubborn you need stronger tools to control them. You're going to hear phrases like prong collars don't hurt, they just mimic a mother dog's correction. Or shock collars, often called e-collars, to make it less painful looking or sounding. But they'll say shock collars give a tap like a TENS unit. It's just like a distraction, a tap on their neck and to get their attention. There's also the mindset that if a dog's doing something dangerous, like running into the street, you have to punish it to stop it immediately. But that's a myth and let's talk about why it's a myth.

Speaker 2: 1:45:43

While it's true that punishment can suppress behavior quickly, sometimes it comes at a cost. It comes at a cost. There is a ton of evidence, scientific research and professional consensus that aversive methods. They call it positive punishment. That doesn't mean it's good. It means adding something uncomfortable. And excessive negative reinforcement that's adding something comfortable or uncomfortable, sorry. Think about punishment, pain, fear, intimidation. These are. But when we talk about positive punishment or negative reinforcement, these are just dog training and behaviorist jargon. But punishment, fear, pain, intimidation have significant side effects and they're unnecessary In almost all cases. Cases. The myth is that they're needed for tough cases or they're needed for faster results, but that's not what the studies say. The studies show reward-based methods work very well and you avoid the fallout. So let's talk about fallout.

Speaker 2: 1:47:02

We've mentioned potential for increased aggression when you use aversive tools and methods, when you're not using force-free. Positive reinforcement. 2009, basically documented how a bunch of pet parents tried things like hitting, kicking, growling at their dog using alpha rolls and so on, and a large percentage of those dogs responded with aggression right back at them. If your training method is causing an aggressive response, 20 to 40% of the time, that's a failure rate you can't accept. But if a positive method fails, usually the worst that's happening is nothing. The dog doesn't do the behavior. Maybe you just didn't motivate them enough. If a punishment fails, the dog might bite someone or the dog might become fearful. Okay, and that gets me to the next part. There's another fallout from using those tools Fear and anxiety, not just aggression.

Speaker 2: 1:48:22

Even if an aversive tool stops a behavior, say barking, it might be doing so by making the dog afraid to bark. The underlying emotion maybe the dog was anxious or excited. The underlying emotion hasn't been addressed. Why the dog's doing it has never been addressed. When you use punishment like that. Maybe it's even worse now because now they're anxious and they think a random pain might happen.

Speaker 2: 1:48:56

For example, some people use invisible electric fences so the dogs get shocked if they approach the boundary. Oh, it can work to keep them in the yard. But some dogs then develop fear or reactivity toward people or dogs passing by that electric fence because they associate the shock with whatever they saw when they ran up there and got shocked when they ran up to the boundary and experienced that discomfort, that pain. And then there's the whole trust issue. You want your puppy to see you as a source of guidance and safety. If what you're doing regularly, if you're using aversives, your puppy, your dog, they may start to avoid you. Yeah, they may start to avoid you, or they might become hand shy. Many dogs trained with heavy punishment become very, very fearful. Many dogs that are trained with aversives, heavy punishment, like I said, they can become very handler sensitive. They only behave when the person is present and with a threat of correction, but not when they're away, because they're not really trained. They're just fearful of the consequences and they've attached that to the people. And if a trainer is telling you to do it that way. That's what's going to happen to you. It's not just hear this. This is important now. It's not just a few soft-hearted trainers saying this.

Speaker 2: 1:50:52

Major veterinary and training organizations stand against the use of aversive training. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behaviors 2021 Humane Dog Training Position Statement explicitly says reward-based training offers the most advantages and the least risk to your dog's welfare. And there is no evidence. This is by scientific study after scientific study, after scientific study and research, research, research. There is no evidence that aversive methods are necessary for training. The American Veterinary Medical Association published an article summarizing that no role for aversive dog training practices. There's no role for aversive dog training at all, and many countries in Europe have even banned or are in the process of banning devices like shock collars and prong collars and choke chains because of welfare concerns.

Speaker 2: 1:52:09

We also heard about the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists speaking up recently in 2023. They issued a statement warning about a particular social media trainer who uses a lot of aversive methods, like hanging dogs by leashes, using prong and shot collars to subdue them, dr Kelly Ballantyne, the president of the American Academy of Veterinary Behaviorists. American Academy of Veterinary Behaviorists. The president said on record those methods are a big threat to animal welfare, with a high risk of causing or worsening fear, panic and aggression. She also noted they put the handler at high risk of being bitten. That's as clear as it gets.

Speaker 2: 1:53:08

The experts who deal with serious behavior issues say don't do this. Instead they advocate, as Dr Ballantine did, for reinforcing desired behaviors and managing the environment rather than using physical force and managing the environment rather than using physical force. Now there are some proponents of aversive tools that claim I only use it as a last resort or I pair it with rewards, the so-called balanced training. I'm a balanced trainer. Look, any training method might work in the sense of stopping a behavior. Dogs are smart and will generally try to avoid whatever makes pain. But success without collateral damage is the key. We have such great success with positive reinforcement methods that the added risk of aversives just isn't justified today. For nearly any behavior problem there is a force-free way to address it effectively. It might take a little more skill or maybe a little more patience in some cases, but the result is a dog who's behaving because they want to, not because they're scared not to, and that matters for the dog's emotional well-being.

Speaker 2: 1:54:35

Okay, and there's counter arguments. There's rebuttals. Sometimes people say but police dogs or military dogs use these tools. Even that's changing. That's changing. A lot of working dog programs are moving to positive reinforcement because the dogs actually perform better when they're not stressed or avoiding pain. Or there's another rebuttal hey, but my friend's dog was aggressive and a shot collar fixed it. Listen, oftentimes what looks like a fix is a ticking time bomb. The dog is quiet but still hates other dogs. If they're dog aggressive, right, we're just suppressing outward behavior with punishment and they're a ticking time bomb and one day perhaps, when the collar isn't on, they explode.

Speaker 2: 1:55:38

Listen, anecdotes aside, the evidence, the research, the science and expert consensus lean heavily one way you do not need to use any form, any level of fear, pain or intimidation in training. You can train any behavior in. You can train any behavior out using positive reinforcement. You can train any behavior out using positive reinforcement, and I can attest to that as somebody who used to be a balanced trainer, somebody who, along with rewards you shot collars in the past, use prong collars in the past, use choke collars in the past. They're unnecessary. They are unnecessary, but you know what, back then, decades, decades ago, I didn't know what. I didn't know. Unfortunately, the dog training industry is not regulated. Anybody can call themselves a dog trainer. Anybody can say they're a behaviorist. They may have no education whatsoever in animal behavior, animal science or behavior sciences, yet they're telling everybody hey, you got to do this, you got to do that.

Speaker 2: 1:56:47

Those of you that listen regularly know dog training today, this podcast. Everything we talk about is evidence-based, science-based. We're not going to just pull things out of the seat of our pants. All right, let's go into myth number four. Trainers on TV or YouTube with huge followings must be right. This is more of a general caution than a single claim, but it's worth discussing. We live in the age of social media and reality TV, and dog training is a popular subject. Some trainers have become celebrities, while some public figures and dog training are excellent and science-based, others not so much. The myth here is assuming popularity equals correctness. Let's talk about why this is a problem.

Speaker 2: 1:57:48

Television dog trainers, those television dog training shows, are edited for entertainment. First and foremost. They often show dramatic transformations in a short time, which is not how real training usually works in a short time, which is not how real training usually works. They might rely on techniques that produce quick, photogenic results, like a dog suddenly submitting, but gloss over the stress caused or the weeks of follow-up needed. Similarly, some YouTube or TikTok trainers make flashy content that gets likes, but if you look closely the dogs might be showing subtle signs or even great signs of fear, or the methods are outdated. Look, a few high profile trainers have been criticized widely by professionals for promoting debunked theories like the dominant stuff or for using a lot of aversives. It's tricky because as a viewer especially as a novice non-trainer you might see a calm dog on the screen and think, wow, that worked. But you might not recognize the yawning or the lip licking or the lowered ears signs that the dog is actually stressed. Or you won't see what happens after the show. Maybe that dog later bit someone or regressed, but we don't get the follow-up episode.

Speaker 2: 1:59:21

One example that we reference a trainer known as Dog Daddy, augusto de Oliveira. On social media he's got millions of views for manhandling aggressive dogs until they submit. Now it looks impressive to some. He fixed and I put fixed in quotes. He fixed an aggressive dog in one session, but it's an illusion. Enough alarm bells rang that multiple behavior science organizations warned people about him when the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists and others collectively say this is dangerous, don't emulate this. It's serious. They wouldn't do that just over a minor disagreement. It's because they likely saw a lot of dogs traumatized by those methods and remember none of them are necessary. There is also the effect that many TV trainers heavily emphasize the owner's assertiveness or energy, making it seem like if you simply act more confident or punish more, your dog will fall in line. Listen. This oversimplifies behavior issues and can lead to people ignoring real underlying causes like fear and, in some cases, medical issues that are motivating or driving that behavior.

Speaker 2: 2:01:02

So how do you vet the celebrity trainer's advice, whether they're on TV or big on social media? Well, check if their terminology and philosophy align with what current veterinary behaviorist and reputable trainers say. Do they mention things like positive reinforcement, gradual behavior modification, understanding body language, gradual, systematic desensitization, counter conditioning, or is it all about being the boss and correcting the dog? Look them up. Do they have any credentials? Do they have any credentials? Do they have any credentials? Well, some do, but most don't.

Speaker 2: 2:01:48

Most of these TV celebrities, most of these folks on social media have absolutely no formal education, no training in animal behavior. They don't understand the science, they're not certified, never went to school in animal behavior. They don't understand the science. They're not certified, never went to school. Listen, if you were looking for a doctor and that was the case would you go to that doctor? I wouldn't Look them up. Do they have credentials and has their approach ever been studied or at least widely endorsed by others with credentials? Listen, even if someone has a PhD or calls themselves a behaviorist.

Speaker 2: 2:02:31

On TV cross-check there was a case years ago of a TV dog whisperer and years ago this method being put to test in a study and found to actually worsen aggression. That's right, worsen aggression in the test group compared to controls. Meanwhile, positive methods improved it. This was published in the Journal of Applied Animal Behavior Science. So trust, but verify the good news. Many modern trainers have YouTube channels or Instagrams too, and they demonstrate humane, effective techniques. They may not have as many sensational before and after clips, because real training takes a bit longer and it's less dramatic in the moment, but they're out there. Seek those out.

Speaker 2: 2:03:38

So the myth here is busted by realizing popularity doesn't mean quality. When it comes to dog training advice, use the same skepticism you'd use for, say, medical advice on TikTok. Just because someone has a million followers. That doesn't mean that the home remedy that they're pushing is something that you should do. Look for consensus from qualified professionals. All right, having debunked these myths, we're basically in a situation where the biggest message is use humane, science-backed methods for your puppy. Socialize early, use positive reinforcement, avoid fear-based techniques and be careful about the information sources you trust.

Speaker 2: 2:04:38

Now, with all this information, you might be thinking okay, I want to do right by my puppy, but maybe I need help. How do I find the right trainer or behavior expert to guide me? That's a fantastic question and our final main topic of the podcast oh, how do you find a qualified trainer or behavior professional and avoid the charlatans? Listen, I talked about it a little before. Dog training is an unregulated industry in almost every country. Can you believe that Meaning? Anybody can call themselves a trainer, even a behaviorist, without formal education. So you have to do a bit of due diligence to find somebody truly qualified and up to date. It's so worth it, though. A good trainer is like hiring a great coach or teacher for your dog and you A bad trainer. Well, worst case, they can do real damage or set you back. Now let's outline who's who in the training and behavior world and then how to pick them. So let's talk about different types of professionals Dog trainers and obedience instructors, who typically teach group classes or do private lessons, teaching you how to train your dog, basic skills like sit down, walking nicely, those type of things and they may address minor nuisance behavior issues.

Speaker 2: 2:06:14

Their background can range from having completed a certification program to being self-taught but experienced. The key is not all trainers are equal. Some specialize in puppies and pet dog manners, some in dog sports. For a puppy, look for someone who explicitly has a puppy class or experience with early development. The certification for professional dog trainers okay, the organization that really is independent that certifies dog trainers, the cpdt, is the designation for a certified professional dog trainer. That's a common certification offered by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, the CCPDT. Don't worry about all these letters, the alphabet soup. But CPDT-KA means they passed a knowledge exam and have some hours of experience. If you see CPDT-KSA after their name, that adds a skill assessment. It's a sign they've invested in education. Not having it doesn't automatically mean someone's bad. Some great trainers have other credentials or lots of experience and just not that specific certification. But having it is a good green flag Having. It's a good green flag that they at least know learning theory and humane training principles.

Speaker 2: 2:07:55

Now next let's talk about behavior consultants. Or behaviorists those terms can get a little confusing or behaviorist those terms can get a little confusing. Some trainers go beyond being someone who just trains in obedience and they become certified dog behavior consultants. And again, the certification council for professional dog trainers has a certification. Dog trainers has a certification. Certified canine behavior consultant Knowledge assessed.

Speaker 2: 2:08:33

These are people that handle more serious behavior problems like aggression, severe anxiety. They have to demonstrate a lot of case experience and knowledge. Then there are the applied animal behaviorists, who usually have a master's or PhD in animal behavior. They might use the title CAAB Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist or ACAAB for associates. They often handle tough cases or do research. They might work in cases or do research. They might work in vet schools or universities. Some of them do some training in behavior consulting. Then there's the certified canine behaviorist. The designation would be CAB, so C-A-B, dash I-B-C. The Certified Canine Behaviorist is a specialty certification for people that have either a master's degree or a PhD. They've got many hours, lots of case examples of very difficult cases aggression, reactivity, fears, phobias, obsessive-compulsive behaviors. They've got to sit in front of a board and they've got to prove they know what they're talking about. There's not very many in the world and there's only three in the United States. I happen to be one of them.

Speaker 2: 2:10:03

And then there's the veterinary behaviorist. This is a veterinarian who did a residency in behavior and they're board certified. They're a diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. Their letters behind their name are going to be DACVB Diplomat of American College of veterinary behaviorists. They're essentially the psychiatrist of the animal world. We're applied animal behaviorist certified canine behaviors. They're like the psychologists of the animal world.

Speaker 2: 2:10:39

A behavior consultant is like an entry level consultant. They're an associate. Hey, listen, there's a lot of great behavior consultants doing a lot of great work with aggression, fear, separation, anxiety. Just got to check them out, see what their specialty is. But veterinary behaviorists can diagnose medical issues related to behavior. They can prescribe medication if needed, alongside behavior modification plans.

Speaker 2: 2:11:10

If your puppy had extreme issues like truly pathological anxiety or something, or aggression severe aggression later in life sometimes severe comes up. Well, a veterinary behaviorist can sometimes be the top expert. For an average puppy owner, starting with a well-qualified trainer or attending a good puppy class is usually enough to cover the basics and even nip common issues in the butt. If your puppy starts showing more serious behaviors, like alarming aggression or panic, you might escalate to a behavior consultant, certified canine behaviorist, applied animal behaviorist or even a veterinary behaviorist. Now what to look for in a trainer? Look for modern, humane methods.

Speaker 2: 2:12:03

Listen for mention of positive reinforcement rewards, perhaps clicker training or marker training. They're not mandatory but it's a good sign. And if they use them or at least are open to them in terms like force-free or fear-free. Now avoid trainers who talk about dominance, pack leader who use primarily punishment, alpha roles, showing the dogs who's boss. Remember the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior specifically says to avoid those advocating physical force or tools that can cause fear, pain or intimidation. A good trainer might use a variety of methods, but they should primarily focus on rewarding the dog for correct behaviors and setting the dog up for success, rather than physically correcting mistakes harshly.

Speaker 2: 2:12:56

Certifications or education is mentioned. Certifications like the Certified Professional Dog Trainer. Certifications like the Certified Professional Dog Trainer, karen Pryor Academy Certified Trainers, gene Donaldson's Academy for Dog Trainers they're all positive reinforcement. It shows commitment to the field. Also, do they partake in continuing education to the field? Also, do they partake in continuing education? Listen, good trainers, behavior consultants, behaviorists they attend workshops, conferences and keep learning new science. If someone boasts they've been training for 30 years but everything they say sounds like the 1980s style, that's a red flag. They have not kept up.

Speaker 2: 2:13:45

Those that are certified, certified canine behaviorist or a certified applied animal behaviorist, veterinary behaviorist, certified behavior consultant, certified professional dog trainers through the certification council of professional dog trainers they're the ones that certify dog trainers and behavior consultants. Look out when somebody says they're certified. I know a lot of dog training companies. They certify themselves in their method. Oh, you're certified in how dog training elite or bow wow, dog training does it. That's not a real, independent certification. That's not a science-based, education-based certification. They don't have continuing education. They don't have a set of guidelines, of ethics and standards that dog professionals have to follow and they don't have a system in place where, if you violate those standards or ethics, you've got to sit in front of a board and you may lose your certification consequences oversight. Remember, the dog training world is unregulated. So there are a lot of us that have voluntarily done these things so that you can have confidence that you're hiring somebody that really knows what they're talking about.

Speaker 2: 2:15:13

All right, check reviews, ask your veterinary community, but they aren't always something that you can rely on. All right, there are vets that are going to refer you to trainers that are old school, that are not modern, that use corrections, punishment, believe in alpha roles, dominance based Training. Steer clear of them. There's a lot of reviews on Google that are fake, that are paid for. I'm a behaviorist, a trainer, a behavior consultant. I get at least three or four emails a day from companies that are going to be able to give me lots of five-star reviews on Google. If I pay for it, I don't do it.

Speaker 2: 2:16:09

Reviews are actually hard to get. Most people are lazy. You see a company that's been in business for five years and they've got like 600, 700 reviews and they're almost all five stars. Chances are they've bought a lot of fake reviews. That's a lot of dogs to train in that short period of time, unless they have a huge dog training business throughout the country or in their locale. They've got 45, 20 trainers working for them and that's pretty rare. But check out references.

Speaker 2: 2:16:52

But here's the thing Would a trainer, behaviorist or behavior consultant give you the name, phone number or name and email of somebody that's unhappy, right? They're going to give you names and numbers, names and emails of clients that are very happy. Now, that's all wonderful, but it doesn't necessarily prove anything, anything. Okay, now, like I said, you should take some of these online reviews with a grain of salt. Okay, observe and observe a class. Observe a private training session If you have permission from that trainer. Or if they have training classes or one-on-one training sessions that maybe the trainer has videotaped, watch those. Ask if you can watch them. Again, you need permission. But that's a great step before you commit to anybody. As part of the research you need to do Okay, listen, part of the research you need to do Okay, listen, look for trainers and dog behavior professionals that have professionalism and follow ethics. I talked a little bit about it.

Speaker 2: 2:18:14

Red flag If a trainer guarantees they will quote unquote fix your dog in X amount of time. Dogs aren't machines. Quote unquote fix your dog in X amount of time. Dogs aren't machines. No one can ethically promise a particular result. Another red flag is if they want to take your puppy and train it without you ever being involved. Some board and train programs are fine, but you should also be able to get updates. See the facility. All right. They should transfer skills to you, teach you after the fact, put a lot of time into you and your puppy and dog, because you want the dog to listen to you, follow you. If it's a black box, beware. Also if someone's pushing aversive gear right off the bat. All puppies should be trained on a prong collar for walks or you need to use an e-collar, which is nothing more than a shot collar. I've used them in the past. I get it, but that's a sign to run the other way.

Speaker 2: 2:19:21

The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior on their website they've got some great position statements and they've got stuff on how to choose a trainer and the handout basically says look for reward-based and avoid punishment-based. They specifically mention to avoid trainers advocating things like hanging dogs by collars or hitting or obvious abuse electronic collars, prong collars, choke collars. Now that may sound obvious, but you'd be surprised Some trainers do advise things like leash hanging, choking the dog until it submits because it can't get air. That's absolutely not okay. If you want to encounter that, you have our full permission to walk away.

Speaker 2: 2:20:14

I'll share a personal story. When I got my first dog as an adult, I unknowingly used somebody to help me train my dog. That was very much old school and it wasn't that I couldn't train my dog. I wanted to learn what they were doing. The first day she was having people jerk on the leash, having us use a choke chain, having us use a prong collar they were training trainers Having us use an electronic collar and they showed a demonstration on a shy dog who was cowering.

Speaker 2: 2:20:54

My gut churned. It didn't feel right to me. I felt after training in that, even the first class, I can't do that. Training in that, even the first class, I can't do that. And shortly after that I started getting into positive reinforcement training, force-free training, and gave up the use of punishment, gave up the use of negative reinforcement, gave up the use of those aversive tools like prong collars, shock collars, choke collars. Lost my thought for a second. But trust your gut if you see something in training that seems cruel or makes your puppy yelp in pain. It shouldn't be like that. Training can be challenging but it should overall be an enjoyable learning experience for both your dog and for you.

Speaker 2: 2:21:48

All right, when should you see a behavior consultant or behaviorist? Most puppies, if socialized and trained well early, won't ever need to see a behaviorist, a canine behaviorist, applied animal behaviorist or a veterinary behaviorist, most will never need that level of help. But if you have a puppy that shows extreme behaviors, say intense fear, even with gentle exposures, or is unusually aggressive beyond the normal playful puppy nipping, then you need to consult with a behavior consultant, an applied animal behaviorist, a veterinary behaviorist sooner rather than later, sooner rather than later can put you on the right track. Sometimes there are medical issues, so a veterinary behaviorist is great, like neurological problems or pain that can be diagnosed and those things can cause behavior issues and a veterinary behaviorist can help diagnose that. Now, are most dogs, most puppies, going to have that? No, now your regular vet's a starting point. If you suspect something beyond a normal puppy, beyond normal puppy stuff, they might rule out issues or refer you to a specialist. There's no shame in that. Behavioral health is as important as your dog's physical health.

Speaker 2: 2:23:17

All right, let's do a recap of some of these red flags. Let me bullet point some of those as we wrap up this part, because they're super important. Trainers talk a lot about alpha dominance, pack leader. That's an outdated approach, like I discussed earlier. Those that insist on using choke chains, prong collars or shock collars, especially on a young puppy, or use physical punishment. That's not in line with humane, science-based methods.

Speaker 2: 2:23:55

Another red flag they won't allow you to observe or be present during training. What are they doing? What are they doing that they need to hide? Transparency is key. They guarantee to fix your dog or make dramatic promises like I'll stop all jumping in one session. Listen.

Speaker 2: 2:24:19

No ethical trainer guarantees behavior results because living animals are involved. They have no education. This is one you really got to look for. They have trainers that have no formal education or certifications legitimate certifications and seem unaware of modern training knowledge that we've been talking about. For instance, if you mention something like I heard that using food and training is okay, and they scoff at that.

Speaker 2: 2:24:48

No, that's bribery. You've got to use corrections. You know positive reinforcement is great for training behavior, but it doesn't stop behaviors. You've got to correct dogs. You've got to be balanced. No, that's a sign that they are behind the times. Another red flag this happens all the time. They are behind the times. Another red flag this happens all the time. They blame the dog or you if progress isn't immediate, instead of adjusting their techniques, their training skills. If the dog isn't getting it, a good trainer tries another approach rather than saying, oh, this dog is dominant, this dog is bad, you're not, your energy is not good with your dog. Fly away from those people.

Speaker 2: 2:25:37

On the flip side, the green flags what to look for? They use words like positive reinforcement. The green flags what to look for? They use words like positive reinforcement, fear-free, force-free. They have some credentials or are recommended by trusted sources. They seem kind and patient. They involve you in the process. They set realistic expectations and your puppy likes them.

Speaker 2: 2:26:01

Dogs can often judge character well. If every dog they handle seems to love them well, that might be a great sign. All right, so now you've hopefully got the tools to find someone who's great, absolutely great. Hopefully. Now you've got the tools to find someone and those tools can help guide you if needed. Many problems can be prevented by early training, but if you hit a snag, getting help early is so valuable. Please don't wait until an issue is really bad. A professional can often turn things around quickly when it's a minor puppy issue rather than a well-practiced adult dog habit. All right, we have covered a ton of ground Puppy development, socialization, cooperative care, myth busting, how to find the right dog training or behavior professional. I think it's time to wrap up with some key takeaways and a little pep talk for all the puppy parents out there.

Speaker 2: 2:27:16

Raising a puppy can be one of the most challenging yet rewarding endeavors you could ever embark upon. It's like raising a kid, toddler and teen years compressed into one fast forward year, though with the dog. The experiences and training you provide in that first year will heavily shape the next 10 to 15 years of your life with that dog. So it's worth doing it right. Okay, let's summarize the essential steps you should take to ensure your puppy grows into that well-mannered, emotionally stable dog that we've been talking about.

Speaker 2: 2:27:58

Socialize, socialize, socialize, socialize, socialize. Early socialization that's safe. Early exposure to everything that's safe. From the moment you bring your puppy home usually eight weeks make a plan to positively expose them to the world. Don't wait until they're four to six months of age. That's too late. That's too late for a lot of things. Each day, or at least several times a week, introduce something new a new person, a new place, a new surface, a new sound. Keep it positive. Use treats, pair treats with it. Use toys, use play, pair that fun stuff with it. Give your dog lots of love, praise and encouragement. Remember a diversity of experiences now is going to pay off dramatically in a dog who is adaptable and unafraid later.

Speaker 2: 2:28:58

If you're concerned about disease, talk with your vet about safe socialization practices. Most vets nowadays not all, but most vets nowadays will echo what we said. If you don't have a vet like that, you might want to consider changing. They've got fear-free, certified vets. Look them up online. They are fantastic. I would never go to anybody that's not fear-free, certified and a veterinarian that's my choice. That's a topic for another show. But with your puppy, get out there, just be smart about it.

Speaker 2: 2:29:29

The consensus from experts is clear Early socialization is absolutely critical, so important. Okay. Use positive reinforcement training from day one. Embrace the mindset of catching your puppy doing something right and rewarding it. Have treats on hand to reward them for all the good behaviors and all the good choices they make. Going to the bathroom outside sitting instead of jumping. Chewing on their toy instead of your shoe Okay. If they do something wrong. Resist any urge to yell or smack or punish your dog Instead. Interrupt that behavior. Redirect them to something appropriate. For example, puppy biting your hand Okay. You could yelp ouch and immediately give them a chew toy instead to chew on. Then praise when they take that chew toy. This way they learn what to do. Make training fun. Okay, short sessions of teaching Sit Down, come Using treats and praise. Puppies actually love training when it's like a game and it tires them out mentally, which is great for those zoomy moments. Also, families can all get involved, even kids, with supervision, though you need to supervise, but kids can participate. They should participate in reward-based training by giving cues and treats and you make this a family project.

Speaker 2: 2:31:06

Establish cooperative care routines, starting now. Get your puppy comfortable with being handled. Practice those mini vet exams at home. Play with their paws and ears gently. Make it a daily routine. Pair handling with treats so they form positive associations. Begin toothbrush training with a little bit of pet toothpaste on your finger, for instance, and make nail trims a low-stress event by going step-by-step. If you invest a bit of time each week into doing this, you're going to save a ton of stress and a ton of time for both you and your dog and your vet.

Speaker 2: 2:31:48

Down the road. Aim for a dog that doesn't just tolerate care but maybe even enjoys the feeling of an exam because it brings rewards. You know many vets and groomers will literally thank you and might even give you. I don't know. They may give you a discount. All right, maybe not, but they're going to be very happy If your dog stands calmly for procedures. It's that rare. It's becoming more common, though, thanks to fear-free initiatives.

Speaker 2: 2:32:26

Be aware of fear periods and developmental stages. When your pup is around eight to 10 weeks of age, and some say eight to 12, watch for that first fear period and handle that with care. Make sure you avoid traumatic experiences during that time. Later, around six to eight months or so, if your adolescent puppy suddenly seems scared of something or starts acting out, remember it could be a phase. Don't panic and certainly don't punish the fear. Continue positive exposures and training through those times as well.

Speaker 2: 2:33:01

Consistency and patience are your friend. If something worrying pops out, like real aggression, absolutely consult a professional. Early is much better. Don't wait and think, oh, maybe it'll just go away. It usually doesn't. It usually gets worse.

Speaker 2: 2:33:24

Avoid aversive methods and tools. You don't need a prong or shock collar to teach a puppy or any dog. Avoid trainers or online advice that tell you to physically punish your dog. As we discussed, those methods have risks causing fear, aggression, damaging and breaking that bond and trust and love, that relationship between you and your dog. Your puppy's not being bad or dominant. They're learning. They don't come into this world with a rule book. If we set them up right, we rarely, if ever, need to raise our voices, let alone our hand, to them.

Speaker 2: 2:34:04

If you find yourself frustrated, it's okay to take a break. Puppies can be overwhelming. Sometimes you just need to put the pup in a safe place, like their crate, with a treat, and breathe. Breathe and relax rather than reacting in anger. Remember that it's easy to get frustrated. Make sure that you educate yourself with reliable sources. You've taken a great step by listening to my podcast. Kudos to you. Keep learning.

Speaker 2: 2:34:34

There are fantastic books by positive trainers, like the Puppy Primer by Patricia McConnell or Perfect Puppy in Seven Days by Sophia Yin. Make sure you find it. I think there's another one titled similar. Make sure it's the one by Sophia Yin and websites the Association for Professional Dog Trainers, the APDT site. Or go to the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior's website, the AVSAB the APDT site. Or go to the American veterinary society of animal behaviors website, the AVSAB, and look at. They've got handouts, they've got position statements, lot that you can learn there that can guide you. Just be wary of random internet advice or that one acquaintance who insists you should alpha roll your pup, you know better. Stick to science-based, evidence-based methods and information. Acquaintance who insist you should alpha roll your pup, you know better. Stick to science-based, evidence-based methods and information. Use your gut, feelings of what seems humane and, if you need to, if things get tough, find professional help when you need it and choose wisely.

Speaker 2: 2:35:46

We talked at length about picking a trainer or behaviorist the short version of that call to action. If you're going to a puppy class or hiring a trainer, do a bit of homework. Look for certifications or positive reinforcement policies, positive reinforcement philosophies, methods. Don't hesitate to ask a prospective trainer what methods do you use if the dog gets something wrong? How do you correct unwanted behaviors? How do you handle barking or biting? A good trainer is going to happily explain their approach. Okay, we use redirection management, positive reinforcement. We might use a timeout, but no shouting. We don't use any physical punishment. That's what you're looking for. If a trainer ever makes you or your puppy uncomfortable, you're allowed to walk away. In fact, your puppy is counting on you to be their advocate. You're their voice. If something is too harsh, maybe as a quick reference, the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, the American Veterinary Medical Association. Both provide position statements and articles that you can refer to if someone challenges your positive approach, you can say actually, the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior recommends only reward-based training because evidence, research, science, evidence shows aversive methods aren't needed and they have a lot of risks.

Speaker 2: 2:37:29

Throwing that out can sometimes quiet the peanut gallery the peanut gallery of outdated advice givers, and there's a lot of them. Be patient, be patient and enjoy the journey. Puppies test our patience. No doubt there's going to be potty accidents. There's going to be maybe chewed shoes, maybe a nipped finger, but it all goes by fast. Take a ton of pictures and videos. You're going to laugh later about the messy moments.

Speaker 2: 2:37:59

Every challenge is also an opportunity to train and bond. Remember that. All right, the more time you put in now, the more you'll reap the benefits later. There's nothing quite like hearing compliments about how well-behaved and friendly your dog is and knowing it was your effort that made them that way, with the dog's own personality, of course. But even more the real reward is a deep bond of trust and love between you and your dog when your adult dog looks at you for guidance in a new situation and stays calm because they know you've got their back. Man, that's a powerful feeling.

Speaker 2: 2:38:48

So, as a call to action, start implementing these tips today. Make a socialization checklist and do one new thing with your pup tomorrow. Sign up for that puppy class you've been considering. Try a short training session using treats and see how your puppy responds. I bet their tail will wag and you're going to feel proud If you've been using some old school techniques and you're now rethinking them. Hey, it's okay, dogs are forgiving. You can always change course to a gentler, kinder method and way and you'll likely see your puppy's personality blossom even more.

Speaker 2: 2:39:28

I'll end with this thought Our puppies are learning how to see the world through our guidance. We have the chance to make that world big, exciting and safe for them. By socializing them, we're saying, hey, the world's okay, you can explore it by training, with love and respect. We're saying you can trust me. You can trust me to teach you and I'll also listen to your needs. All these early efforts lead to a dog who can go anywhere with you, who isn't plagued by fear or reactivity and who you can truly call your best friend. Thanks for listening everybody. I'm Will Bangura, certified canine behaviorist and trainer. Tell your friends, tell your family about dog training today, so more can benefit from this. Please make sure you subscribe If you haven't hit that like button, and give us a great review. We love you. I'm out of here.