Challenges faced while grooming puppies

Partha Sekhar Chatterjee

International All Breeds Dog Show Judge

Having acquired your new pup, you are now faced with a whole new set of challenges- how to bring him up and then how to train him. There are a whole lot of books available on the business of raising pups, and it is not my intention to delve into that issue here. Rather, my concern is to look closely at the issues involved in bringing up a working-dog. 

The first question that most people ask is – Should my pup be brought up in a kennel or inside the house? Before I answer that question let me go back to one of my basic beliefs. Dogs are inherently pack animals, and I have always found it far more effective in many ways to have at least two dogs together. Of course, there are a whole set of issues involved when one brings in a pup to an environment where there is already an older dog or dogs. But we will come to that later. 

So, back to the original question - kennel or Home? There are many owners who would not dream of a dog entering the house. The chances also are that they will probably never even pat their dog! This is all right if you happen to be, say, a factory owner who just wants a guard dog/dogs to guard the premises. If, however, you wish to develop some personal bonding with your dog {and in my opinion this is imperative especially if you want to have a Personal Protection dog} then the dog must be brought up in a “healthy mix” of kennel and home. Personally, I have found it very useful to “Crate-train” my dog, as once he is used to staying in a crate, you are spared, the mad and inevitably destructive antics of a pup or a young dog in the house. If, however, you do not wish to use a crate, you must ensure that your dog is never allowed to run free in the house till such time as he is absolutely mature {at least 2 years of age} and is fully Obedience-trained as well. To have an untrained youngster romping around the house is to destroy the foundation of Obedience-training {without which no further training is possible}, and to invite serious destruction to your property. So keep him on a leash inside the house, each time he is out of the kennel. The first experience of kenneling a dog can often prove to be heart-breaking both for owner and dog {not to mention horrifying for the neighbours!}, but it is a question of time. You will have to be patient and persistent in your efforts to kennel-train your dog. If the howling gets too much {for you or the neighbour} there are “bark-limiters” available from the U.S.A. which are reasonably priced. You can log on to website of  “TRITONICS” Ltd. for more details.

Then there is the other problem of how to bring in a pup when there is already another dog, possibly older, in the house. It is very important to understand that the most basic instinct governing Canine behaviour is the pack instinct. The older dog will automatically become leader of the pack, and the chances are that the young pup will show signs of submission straight away. However, the big boss is you and you too must show respect to the hierarchy. So, in the beginning, it would be wise to keep the dogs away from each other except when they are in your presence, and you are in total control of the situation. Remember, you are the leader of the pack. When dealing with the dogs, make it apparent that the older one gets your attention first. Turn the pup away when the two come to you to be patted, and make a fuss of the older one first. It is only when you are totally sure that an untoward situation will not occur that you should let them be together. But always be careful. The risk of a fight is very high except when one dog happens to be of a different sex. Female vs female are the worst combination to keep together. They will most certainly fight and their fights are mighty ugly. 

Your Protection Dog prospect is by now well-settled in your house. He has got used to alternating between kennel, crate and home. He has also adjusted to any other dog or dogs that you might have in the house. He is now anything between 12-14 weeks of age. 

The time has now come to start the training process. What is the basic training equipment that you require? A good strong flat leather collar, a strong short leash {about 6 ft and preferably leather},  a long leash {about 20 ft} and a “PRONG” collar and a ball attached to a string are the only items required at this stage. Later on, of course, when you go in for advanced training, you will need a variety of other articles such as training sleeves, Protection suits etc. 

The job at hand right now is to instill basic obedience and “drive” in the dog. As far as obedience is concerned, I am firmly of the view that the most fundamental command to which your dog must learn implicit obedience is the “COME” command. A dog must learn to respond to “come” under all circumstances – no matter what the distraction. 

There are plenty of good training books in the market and so I will not go into the specifics of the training process. However, there are some broad principles which I think every owner should be aware of. First of all, all training must be based on motivation and NOT punishment. Yes, there will be corrections but only after you are sure that the dog has learnt the command. Correcting a dog before he has clearly understood a command can be highly counter-productive. The tone of voice, especially when praising a dog is extremely important. Most people feel inhibited about sounding enthusiastic when they praise a dog, for fear of what others may think. But you have to decide what is more important to you – a well-trained dog, or what others may think. 

Remember that all training exercises must be broken down into their component parts. For instance, in the Recall, the dog must learn to come to the handler, then to sit square in front of him, and then to go around him to the “heel” position. Also never be ahead of yourself in the training process. Dog training requires immense amount of patience. Whenever you notice things going wrong, go back to the beginning and start all over again. Very importantly, contrary to what people think, dog-training is not time-consuming.  A dog’s, particularly a young one’s attention span is very limited, and long sessions are counter productive. As a rule of thumb, I do not ever spend more than 10 minutes in a single session, and I do two sessions a day. Most importantly, get to know your dog.  What are his strengths, what are his weaknesses? What motivates him? At what time of the day is he at most receptive? What distracts him? When he behaves in a particular manner, what is he trying to tell you? And the final call that you have to take is – do you really enjoy this process? Does the bounding between your dog and you give you joy? If it does, then the chances are that you will end up with a well-trained dog. 

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