Puppy Hacks for Breeders who Love Puppy Culture and ENS

Are you a fan of ENS or Puppy Culture?  Then you’ll love this interview.

Dr Ian Dunbar is well known for his work in dog training and as the first person to run classes specially for young puppies, as well as many other achievements.

Here Dr Dunbar explains simple hacks breeders can use to prepare their puppies for success in life.

 

 

 

 

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“It is brainlessly simple,” said Dr Dunbar “like falling off a log, to raise a puppy so he’s going to be bombproof and trustworthy with people.

But breeders aren’t doing it, owners aren’t doing it, and vets aren’t telling them to do it.

Because they don’t realize it’s so important, because they look at the puppy at two months, three months, four months and say, “But he’s friendly. Why should we socialize?” You see? The effects don’t come out until later. And the effects of inadequate socialization are permanent.”

I then asked him: If people want to end up with a puppy that fits in harmoniously with their family, what should they do?

Breeder Should Socialize to 100 people

Dr Dunbar replied “Well, the most important thing there is that the breeder has done their job. They’re probably going to get a puppy when it’s about eight weeks old. And at that time, the critical period of socialization is nearly two thirds over.

And so the breeder should have really socialized this dog to, I would say about a hundred people. Which of course can be done quite safely in the kennel. We don’t take the dog outside where it’s risky to parvo and other diseases. Instead, we invite people to the kennel.

I would say the only health precaution would be that outdoor shoes remain outside. So you get about a hundred people, especially men and children, I mean because that’s who dogs are normally scared of, that handle, socialize with, and train the puppies”.

[A great way to achieve this is by holding Puppy Open Days for all the people on your waiting list.]

House-Train Your Puppies 

“Additionally, the puppies should be house trained by then, chew toy trained by then, and should know some manners. You know, at least come, sit, lie down, roll over.

There’s just no point in an owner getting a puppy at eight weeks that isn’t house trained, that’s been raised in the area where it can pee and poop everywhere and anywhere.

Because if that’s what it did in the kennel for eight weeks, that’s what it’s going to do the first day they get it at home.

And, because it’s allowed to eliminate indiscriminately, it’s going to be even more difficult to house train.

Chew Toy Training

The chew toy training’s important.

The puppies in the last three or four weeks in the kennels should be fed from chew toys.

And obviously every bit of food that comes out of the chew toy rewards the puppy for what he’s doing, i.e. chewing the chew toy becomes a chew toyaholic for lying down, for becoming calmer, much.

Very important for dogs like border collies, and what have you.

And they’ve been rewarded for being quiet, so they’re not developing a recreational barking habit.

And finally of course, it’s given them a hobby, chewing chew toys, so they’re not going to freak out as much when left at home alone.

So basically by eight weeks, I would say the puppies are … It’s like make or break.

You’re either going to buy a puppy that’s been raised to be a companion, a household companion, or they’re going to buy livestock.

And this I think is, I call it the great insanity, the big disgrace, that I would say only one out of a hundred breeders are raising puppies that way.

And so the unsuspecting owner gets the short end of the stick, and they’re behind before they even start.”

Simple, predictable preventable behavior problems are the number one terminal illness for pet dogs

Failure of potty training’s a really big issue. It can lead to all sorts of worse problems down the track, and eventually the surrendering of the dog.

Dr Dunbar agreed: “Oh yeah. I mean, no question about it. Really simple, predictable preventable behavior problems are the number one terminal illness for pet dogs and cats. And it’s so silly, when something like house training is so easy, and so effortless.

All the breeder has to do is to set up a living situation so the puppies are in an area which is long and thin, so three times as long as it’s wide. With a bedroom at one end, and its toys and water supply, and then a toilet at the other end. And the puppy will naturally house train itself, because it has three very strong preferences.

1. One, to pee and poo as far away from the bedroom as possible.
2. Two, they like to pee where they smell urine.
3. And three, the substrate preference, as adult dogs, they like to urinate and defecate on the same ground surface that they did as puppies.

So normally what I put down is a roll of turf for urban puppies, I put down a little concrete tile, or it can be dirt. For people that live in places like Canada, I say, well use crushed ice!  I’m totally serious here. And you find by four weeks, the puppies are naturally house trained.

I mean, it’s really very, very simple. Because I’m telling people don’t buy a puppy that’s not house trained. It’s dumb.

Don’t buy one that’s not chew toy trained.

And especially, for the puppy’s sake and yours, don’t get one that hasn’t been socialized.

Because if a puppy is anxious around people, his quality of life is going to be crap for life. And the owners too, because they can’t invite people to the house. When they invite kids over, they have to put the dog away. They can’t walk the dog.

It’s a crying shame. And I think it’s the cruelest, most inhumane thing we do to dogs, that we don’t socialize them prior to three months of age. We don’t prepare them to live with humans. I mean, humans are difficult to live with. You know, how dogs put up with us I really don’t know. It’s admirable.”

Breeders Have the Power

The big takeaway here is that as breeders we have a massive impact on how successful our puppies are as pets.  And it’s all pretty easy stuff.  Those breeders who exercise their power to turn out potty trained, well socialized puppies are making a real difference to the lives of their puppies and their owners, and helping in a real way to keep dogs out of shelters.

Are you already doing all that?  But not being rewarded for it?  Then you need to fix your marketing!  Watch the FREE WEBINAR here and learn exactly how to do that.