Blog – Page 11 – Positive Puppy Dog Training

The Mariah Puppy Journey

Fran Jewell

I am going to step into a personal journey to share with all my readers. As most of you know, I suffered a heart attack this summer that threw me into a world of unknowns and digging deep into my soul to survive and thrive. Just a week ago, I finally finished phase one of cardiac rehab. In the midst of so many horrible personal losses this year, my Mariah accidentally mated with one of my males. I struggled with deciding about a litter at this time, but after much consultation with my trusted professionals and mentors, and Mariah passing all of the health certifications, I decided it would be something I embrace.

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Mariah Puppy Journey – In Their New Homes

Fran Jewell

Weekly Sun F-Mariah

The puppies are have journeyed all across the United States – Detroit, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Utah to their new homes. Two of them took a private jet! But, what starts now is of most importance in their new homes because there is a critical imprinting period up to 16 weeks old. I thought this would be a good time to re-visit the things I did with Kalidor when he first came to me at 9 weeks old! All the new puppy owners got copies of the Kalidor Diaries!

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The Mariah Puppy Journey – Leaving on a Jet Plane

Fran Jewell

Weekly Sun F-Mariah

All the puppies have had their temperament tests and discussions with all of the puppy buyers have occurred. Each puppy buyer has heard my recommendations for the puppy best suited to them and they have had a chance to watch the temperament test on video and see the written copy of the test by the evaluator. Which puppy goes where is a decision made by both myself and the buyer with my recommendation. I see things that may not have shown up in the evaluation to give us even more information about which puppy is the best fit for whom.

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The Mariah Puppy Journey 6 – Getting Ready to Go Home

Fran Jewell

Weekly Sun F-Mariah

When you read this, the pups will be celebrating their 7 week birthday! What is the celebration going to be? They will begin their own journey to see a long time good friend of mine and fellow NADOI member, Anita, for Temperament Testing. This is not exactly a test that a puppy passes or fails, but it is a gage to see what type of personality traits each puppy posses. At seven weeks old, the pups are finally settling into what their personalities will be. Until now, they have changed daily. Some have been much calmer in nature than others.

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Mariah Puppy Journey – Little Sponges

Fran Jewell

Weekly Sun F-Mariah

On Wednesday, the pups will be 6 weeks old. I hear over and over about people bringing pups home at this age. Right now, these little guys are little sponges learning so much from each other and the other dogs. It’s hard for me to imagine them missing that by leaving the litter. At the same time, they are hooligans! They are posturing each other, growling and showing their teeth, screaming, and biting each other with what appears to humans as ruthless aggression. In fact, this is a normal part of development.

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Mariah’s Puppy Journey – A Whole New World!

Fran Jewell

Weekly Sun F-Mariah

The puppies are now 3 ½ weeks old. The changes from last week to this week are beyond remarkable!! Their eyes are open and they can hear everything now. They are walking and galloping in a toddler sort of way. Real food is now on the menu three times a day. Little stuffed toys, soft toys, balls and a few tiny agility items are now a daily activity. They are play bowing and biting each other. Teeth are coming in and Mariah does not want to nurse them much anymore because it hurts!

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Mariah’s Puppy Journey – Instinctual Behaviors

Fran Jewell

Weekly Sun F-Mariah

It’s been a long few weeks of not much sleep for me and even less for Mariah. The puppies are growing so quickly. Their eyes are just about ready to open now. Soon, I will begin incorporating the puppies into my “pack”. I have 3 other boys that have been more than curious about the puppies. But, what began a journey through precious puppyhood has filled me with extraordinary experiences not many will get a chance to see in their lifetime.

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Making the Most Out of Playtime

Fran Jewell

Weekly Sun F-Mariah

Most of us make play dates with other dogs, especially for our puppies so they learn how to interact appropriately with other dogs. While this is a GREAT idea, many times, playtime teaches dogs to become nuts and uncontrollable around other dogs! One of the biggest concerns people call me about is that their dogs “come” very well, EXCEPT WHEN THEY SEE ANOTHER DOG! Well, unfortunately, we probably unconsciously taught that to our dogs as puppies by letting them have play dates that are wild free for alls!

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Making a Dog “FIT”

Hardik Raval

Weekly Sun F-Mariah

The hardest part, most frustrating part of my job is making dogs fit into homes that are not appropriate for them. There is this idea that any dog can be happy in any home. This simply is not the case. What is hard for us is that we want to just LOVE away behavior problems that many times are a by-product of the pressure we put on our chosen dog.

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Make the First Move

Fran Jewell

Weekly Sun F-Mariah

This morning, I am sitting in my chair, watching the morning news with my coffee thinking about what I should write about. There, next to me, is the sweetest, kindest black dog you can imagine. He doesn’t beg for attention. He doesn’t try to force my hand over his head. He doesn’t lick me. He doesn’t whine at me. He sits quietly. Instead of pestering me to pet him, he is quiet and polite. How did that happen? I pay attention to the things I like from my dogs. I make the first move to adore them, to pet them, to tell them how much I like something. I don’t wait until they have done something bad to pay attention to them. I don’t encourage obnoxious, pushy behavior.

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