Gloria Pinsker In-Home Dog Training

IS THIS A GOOD TIME TO GET A NEW DOG? With the forced isolation due to COVID-19 that is currently going on in most of the U.S., many people are wondering whether or not this is a good time to bring a new dog into the home. Let's look at the pros and cons: PROS: • Many people are home now, so have plenty of time to devote to housebreaking a young puppy and/or acclimating a dog to its new home. There is also much opportunity to give the dog plenty of exercise at this time. • Caring for a new dog will ease the loneliness and isolation that many people are feeling right now, gives a sense of purpose and hope that may be badly needed. • It will be good for children to have the companionship of a pet now that their normal social connections have been greatly curtailed. • If you are thinking of adopting, there are many pets being given up for adoption now because their owners can no longer afford to feed them and give them proper care. As a result, some shelters are finding themselves overwhelmed with animals. CONS: • In their rush to get a dog, people may not put the proper amount of thought and research into their choice. Out of a displaced sense of pity, they may adopt a dog with a lot of emotional or physical problems. With the lack of training classes or in-home training sessions due to the lockdown, it may be difficult to get professional help with training and behavior problems at this time. Many veterinarians are operating their practice on an emergency-only basis. This could make transitioning the new dog into your home and family problematic and greatly diminish your chances of success. • When life finally gets back to its former routine, and people go back to work outside the home and children go back to school, giving the dog the proper attention, care, exercise and training may become much harder to manage. The children who are willing to play with and help out with the dog now that they have much more time on their hands and are bored, might quickly move on to their usual extracurricular and social activities and lose interest in the dog. • The new dog will be used to having people around all day. Many problems with separation distress or separation anxiety will surface when life goes back to its former routine and the dog is left alone for many hours. A great reduction in exercise and attention can cause many behavior problems to surface that were not an issue previously. • If you live alone, and particularly if you are within a group especially vulnerable to severe complications from COVID-19, consider what would happen to the dog if you did get sick and were unable to care for it. Although this is not pleasant to consider, it is a possibility that we all need to face at this time. If you were to be hospitalized, who would take care of the dog? Many people might be reluctant to temporarily take care of a dog from an infected home, and shelters are severely strained at this time. This is something that would need to be planned for before you commit to the responsibility of taking on a new pet of any kind. So, after weighing the pros and cons, how can you make the best decision for yourself, your family, and a possible new dog? If you do decide to make the commitment, here are a few suggestions to make the process easier and give you the best chance for success: 1. Just as would be wise before getting a new dog at any other time, think carefully about the responsibility and level of commitment required, and decide with the whole family whether you can manage it, and more importantly, sustain it once you get back to "normal life" once again. 2. Do your research into the breeds that would fit most easily into your home and lifestyle. Considerations like temperament, size, coat type (for purposes of maintenance and allergy concerns), exercise requirements, and trainability are all very important. Base your decisions on your lifestyle and circumstances when your life returns to its former "normal" state. 3. If you have young children, avoid aggressive breeds or mixes (do some research into the most aggressive breeds; you can find lists online). Choose breeds that are known to be good family dogs. Steer clear of any dog who exhibits or has a history of severe problems such as excessive timidity/fearfulness, excessive barking, extremely destructive behavior, repeated running away, separation anxiety, aggression, or any puppy who absolutely will not tolerate being kept in a crate or pen for any amount of time. These can be difficult problems to resolve, even during normal times with the help of a trainer, but especially now when hands-on assistance from a trainer might be unavailable. 4. Be prepared to give the dog the proper amount of attention, care and exercise once you go back to work and the kids go back to school. This may necessitate arranging for a dog walker or enrolling the dog in doggy daycare, as dogs should not be left alone for too many hours at a time, especially if crated. They are social animals that require a good deal of exercise and attention. 5. Young puppies need to be socialized to people and other dogs very early on. Admittedly, this is very difficult with the current rules of social distancing. You can, however, expose the dog to the outside world by taking it on frequent walks around the neighborhood or a nearby park or trail that is still open. It is important that a puppy gets acclimated to its new environment beyond just the house and yard, so that it doesn’t become afraid of the outside world. Even though your dog will not be able to interact with people and dogs, you can still shape his attitude toward them by acting happy each time you spot people approaching, and especially if they have a dog. Tell your puppy, “Look! A person!” or “Look! A doggy!” in a cheerful voice, then give the dog a tasty treat. This will make the puppy think that people and other dogs are fun and positive. Don’t overdo the excitement to the point where your puppy starts getting wild, but a positive, happy attitude will be of great value in shaping your dog’s reaction towards strangers and other dogs. 6. Get the dog used to being left alone in the house for increasingly longer periods. This is especially important if you are bringing home a young puppy. Although this is difficult due to the lock-down, you can still accomplish it by having all family members go into other rooms of the house for a while and leaving the puppy alone in its crate or pen. Go out for a walk without the dog at least once a day. When you go to the drugstore or supermarket, this also will acclimate your dog to being by itself for a while. If you and your family go for a drive, leave the dog behind occasionally. You can start with short periods and gradually increase the time the dog is alone as best you can. This is important and will avoid a lot of problems in the future. Always make sure the dog has been exercised and has had a chance to eliminate before you leave! 7. Enroll the dog in obedience training as soon as you can after this crisis is over. In the meantime, access all the good books and videos on dog training that are available. You also can call a trainer for phone, email and/or online consultations. This is not as good as hands-on, in-person training sessions, but it can help greatly with questions or concerns you might have. 8. Although it is admirable to adopt a shelter dog, do not forget that reputable, responsible breeders also are having a hard time right now and need to be supported. Whether to adopt a dog or purchase a purebred is a personal choice. THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG, AND NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO JUDGE YOU ON YOUR DECISION! Do what is right for yourself and your family, and get the dog that will bring you the most joy. It is YOUR dog, not anyone else's. We all are realizing right now how precious and fragile life is. You have the right to get the dog that makes you happy, regardless of where it comes from.

Don't frustrate yourself and endure weeks of bad habits with your new pet. Instead have him trained professionally right from the start. A pet training course can help with everything from potty training to learning to walk on a leash.

Dogs have about 1700 taste buds on their tongues, while humans have about 9000. They have over 200 million scent receptors in their noses, and it's important that their food smells good as well as tastes good.

Although many disagree on the specifics of how to train your dog, the most influential way to make sure your dog behaves the way you want him or her to is to reward the behaviors that you like and don’t reinforce the negative aspects of his or her behavior.

When you look at a litter of puppies, what you see isn't always what you get unless you're buying a purebred dog. Large feet may be a sign that a puppy is likely to grow into a large dog, even if its mother is relatively petite.

Once your dog has been taught a new trick or positive behavior, remember to incorporate it into your daily routine. In this way the good behavior will become a matter of conditioning, and the daily acknowledgment of it (with praise or a treat) will ingrain the behavior.

Seeing your pup listen to your command the FIRST time you give it can be one of the most rewarding aspects of being a pet parent. But that only happens with plenty of practice, and a trainer can help you figure out what will work best.

It’s important to remember that rescue dogs may not have lived in ideal home environments before coming to live with you. If your dog is exhibiting strange behaviors that you haven’t been able to modify, it may be necessary to considering professional training.

Experts say the best time for a puppy to learn to socialize is by at least four months old. Taking your dog to the park and other places that expose them to other dogs and people lets them know life isn’t scary.

Egyptologists once thought that the canine-headed deity Anubis was meant to resemble a golden jackal; however, modern biologists now think that a type of wild dog known as an African wolf would have been much more common in Egypt at the time.

Did you know that dogs who undergo professional pet training are more than twice as likely to behave off of the leash as dogs who are not? In fact, dogs with some professional training can be trusted in public parks and playgrounds and any environment.