Are you planning on or have you added a new member to your pack? Congratulations! You may be head over heels in love with your new pup but your current canine resident member of the family may not be as enthusiastic...at first. Here are some things to remember to help with the transition:

Phase One
It's almost ALWAYS the right and privilege of the resident dog to set the rules for the new pup. For 48 hours it is common for the resident dog to give the new arrival the cold shoulder. They may

• snap and snarl when the pup gets too close
• disengage themselves from family activities and appear very put out.

This NORMALLY only goes on for 48 hours so if it lasts longer you should contact a professional (like us!) for help and guidance.DO NOT scold the resident dog for this behavior! You want them to help set boundaries and rules for the new arrival!  Please be sure the resident dog has a way and place to get away from the puppy so they don't have to constantly" put up with it." Having said all of this, let me be clear!!! They should NOT be causing physical harm to the pup, simply displaying a banner over their head that says "Leave me alone!!" and have a place to retreat to. Do not force the resident dog to stay in the room. Let them find their own space and consider the fact that life as they knew it is about to change.

Phase Two (3 days in)
After the initial 48 hour cold shoulder treatment, your resident dog may start engaging in play on occasion  with the pup. This play may include short bursts of chase, mouth wrestling or tug with toys. This play may end when you enter the room and the resident dog may suddenly revert back to it's snarky ways in your presence. That's normal...don't worry. After all, they can't possibly admit to you that they LIKE the pup? Eeegads!  If the 2 continue to play in your presence a simple verbal "Thank you Fido" is sufficient. Don't make a big fuss or start petting or touching the dogs. SImply acknowledge that you appreciate their willingness to tolerate the new arrival. Keep it short and sweet!

Phase Three (Day 5-6)
Now that play is happening on occasion you will see the resident dog "accidently" letting go of the toy they were chewing on and looking away from the puppy. This is a non verbal invitation for the puppy to slowly come in and take the toy and walk away with it. Then the resident dog will look at the puppy like "Yeah, I was done with it you miserable puppy...you can have things when I am done with them." You may be tempted to scold the puppy for taking the toy but don't! The resident dog just gave the puppy permission so it's okay! It's not stealing!

Once these signals are being read and understood, play is happening, and everyone is settling into a new routine, they will be fast friends in no time.

Call us if you need us or if you have any questions! That's what we are here for!

This new year, I challenge you. I challenge you to look at your relationship with your dog differently and become a team member in that relationship. Rather than expecting your dog to just know what to do, I challenge you to get out of the old habits of scolding your dog for getting it wrong and instead, figure out how you can catch him getting it right! For example-when he's laying at your feet resting, praise him (without touching him as that will make him get up!). When he's minding his own business, chewing on a bone, praise him. You see it is these quiet moments when we tend to ignore our dogs and I challenge you to start noticing them. If we praise our dogs for getting it right more often, they will get it right more often. As with toddlers, negative attention is better than no attention. If negative attention works, then they will keep doing the thing that gets attention. Some of you just said "Ah ha! I get it!" That's what is known as a lightbulb moment!

At Angels we are science based in our training. There is a scientific term called Contra freeloading that I want you to be familiar with. Wikipedia states:"Contra freeloading is an observed behavior in which an organism, when offered a choice between provided food or food that requires effort to obtain, prefers the food that requires effort. The term was coined in 1963 by animal psychologist Glen Jensen." You see, many of us are doing a good job of physically exercising our dogs. Daily walks, long hikes, sessions of fetch. I challenge you to exercise your dog MENTALLY! The muscle in our dog's head called the brain is not getting near enough exercise.

An easy way to get our dogs mental exercise is by getting them to work for their food. Rather than feed out of a bowl, I challenge you to "Ditch the Bowl" and discover new and fun interactive ways of feeding our dogs. My dogs no longer eat out of a bowl. They are excited to know what puzzle I will present them with next. In addition to working their minds, by doing this I am building on personality concepts like confidence, focus, tolerance of frustration and grit. These concepts are building blocks for my dogs on learning how to deal with the world in a calmer, safer way. It is also the beginning of relationship building and motivates my dog to WANT to work FOR me.

So I challenge you to ditch the bowl. Just try it for one meal and see what happens. If you have multiple dogs in the home, experiment separately at first. If your dog is nervous about the change, just make it easier for him. Help him out by showing him how the toy works. Verbally praise him for sniffing the box you put food in, or the towel you laid a line of food in and then rolled up .Some dogs will dive right into the challenge, others will be skeptical. Maybe you just scatter feed throughout the house or in the yard (when its not snowing!)  Figure out how to motivate them to want to contra freeload.if they are skeptical. That's where relationship building comes into play. Don't expect the dog to do it on his own...help him out if he is struggling.

To help you get started I am attaching a video of many different dogs, ditching the bowl in a variety of ways. The sky is the limit. Try it. Let me know how it goes! I double dog dare ya! 

Game on!
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(For more information about this game based approach to dog training, give us a call or sign up for a class! We are waiting for you!)