*Owners of new puppies will find it hard to get opportunities to let their puppy meet new dogs..... which is so important for adequate socialisation & confidence building......however suggested temporary measures, would be:
*If out now on walks with new puppy, to let your pup see, hear & smell other dogs, albeit from a distance, across the park etc. & make it a positive time - e.g. praise them & reward them with yummy treat, for taking an interest & then move on - therefore new dogs=nice things;😃
*for nervous, less confident pups, this kind of 'socialisation from afar' can be much more helpful, than having a new strange dog looming, or sniffing all over them, in close proximity;
*puppies are still seeing different breeds, shapes & sizes of other dogs, & people too, just not going close to them for now, due to the need for human social distancing;
*puppies are still learning & habituating to the world around them;
*if less cars on the roads right now, much easier to establish more confidence for traffic-shy pups;
*if your dog is normally one who plays for hours on end with every dog / group of dogs, out on walks & maybe quite a boisterous player, or gets too 'over-the-top' easily, then these are ideal times to teach more impulse control & that not every walk has to be a full-on, crazy time, when the human owner may as well not be there, seeing how little they are now involved in the dog's fun.
*if your dog does not have a good recall, or just does not have their 'listening ears' on when other dogs are about, these are great times to work on this & improve your dog's ability to focus on you, by practising recalls using a longline or extendable lead (fitted to a body harness) & working at a distance from other people & their dogs.
*You could introduce other types of walk activities - so you are providing all the fun & mental stimulation, rather than your dog seeking & finding fun from other sources e.g. introduce new exciting toys, which your dog goes crazy for (which only come out on a walk, to retain their high value, to the dog);
*Introduce some scent-work activities on the walk e.g. hide strong-smelling treats around the base of a tree / in grass / hide a toy with food on it in a bush / - encourage your dog to use their nose to find a scent with a tangible outcome.
*Please also see my previous post on the 'Good things about social distancing' & other ideas for training walks.
Remember to use yummy, tasty treats in all your training - as well as being fundamental in positive, reward-based training, let's create more positive things in this rather worrying & negative time 🙏
*If out now on walks with new puppy, to let your pup see, hear & smell other dogs, albeit from a distance, across the park etc. & make it a positive time - e.g. praise them & reward them with yummy treat, for taking an interest & then move on - therefore new dogs=nice things;😃
*for nervous, less confident pups, this kind of 'socialisation from afar' can be much more helpful, than having a new strange dog looming, or sniffing all over them, in close proximity;
*puppies are still seeing different breeds, shapes & sizes of other dogs, & people too, just not going close to them for now, due to the need for human social distancing;
*puppies are still learning & habituating to the world around them;
*if less cars on the roads right now, much easier to establish more confidence for traffic-shy pups;
*if your dog is normally one who plays for hours on end with every dog / group of dogs, out on walks & maybe quite a boisterous player, or gets too 'over-the-top' easily, then these are ideal times to teach more impulse control & that not every walk has to be a full-on, crazy time, when the human owner may as well not be there, seeing how little they are now involved in the dog's fun.
*if your dog does not have a good recall, or just does not have their 'listening ears' on when other dogs are about, these are great times to work on this & improve your dog's ability to focus on you, by practising recalls using a longline or extendable lead (fitted to a body harness) & working at a distance from other people & their dogs.
*You could introduce other types of walk activities - so you are providing all the fun & mental stimulation, rather than your dog seeking & finding fun from other sources e.g. introduce new exciting toys, which your dog goes crazy for (which only come out on a walk, to retain their high value, to the dog);
*Introduce some scent-work activities on the walk e.g. hide strong-smelling treats around the base of a tree / in grass / hide a toy with food on it in a bush / - encourage your dog to use their nose to find a scent with a tangible outcome.
*Please also see my previous post on the 'Good things about social distancing' & other ideas for training walks.
Remember to use yummy, tasty treats in all your training - as well as being fundamental in positive, reward-based training, let's create more positive things in this rather worrying & negative time 🙏