THE ULTIMATE PUPPY OWNER’S GUIDE TO: REARING, TRAINING AND LOVING YOUR PET FOR LIFE A guide to creating an effective home management and training system for your new puppy and getting it right from the start! Included: ► Biting, toilet training, chewing, barking, digging, jumping ► How to communicate and understand your puppy better ► Puppy training and socialisation ► Health and grooming ► Advanced obedience training ► Dog sports and activities ► Council regulations Plus much more…… By Carolyn Read Train A Pup Time Puppy Pre-school www.trainapuptime.com Visit www.trainapuptime.com/free-manual-bonuses-registration to claim your free bonuses: ► Free workbook ► Free checklists ► Tailwaggers Discount Voucher CONTENTS Page No. Dedication and Acknowledgements iv Introduction v Section 1: BRINGING MY NEW PUPPY HOME 1 A. Settling In …………………………………………………………………….. 2 B. Home Management from Day One ….………………………………………… 3 C. Setting the Rules …………………………………………………………….. 8 D. Children and Dogs …………………………………………………………..... 9 E. Introducing a Pup to an Older Dog ………………………………………….... 11 F. Introducing a Pup to Other Animals in the Home ………………………….. .. 13 G. All Puppies Will Bite – Teaching Good Bite Inhibition …………………….... 14 H. All Puppies Need To Chew – The Importance of Chew Toys .....………… 17 I. Toilet Training ………………………………………………………………... 18 J. Resource and Food Guarding ...…………………………………....………….. 19 K. Barking ……………………...………………………………………………… 22 L. Jumping ………….………….……………………………………………........ 25 M. Digging .………………………………………………………………………. 26 N. Home Alone .…………………………………………………………………… 28 Section 2: WHY DO DOGS BEHAVE THE WAY THEY DO 29 A. Understanding Behaviour …………………………………….…..……………. 30 B. Dog Communication and Body Language ……………………………………. 34 C. Calming Signals ……………………………………...………………………… 37 Section 3: PUPPY KINDERGARTEN 40 A. What is Socialisation …………………………………..……………………… 41 B. Finding a Suitable Puppy Kindergarten …………………………………..…... 45 C. Preventing Dog Behaviour Problems and Aggression .……………….............. 47 Section 4: TRAINING MY PUPPY 50 A. Dog Training For Life…………………………………………………………. 51 B. Dog Training Tools ………………………………………………………….... 53 C. Bonding with Your Puppy through Teaching Tricks ……………………........ 56 D. Training Your Puppy For Grooming …………………………………………. 58 E. Basic Obedience Training Skills – An Absolute Necessity …………………... 59 i Section 5: HEALTH AND WELLNESS 62 A. Prevention is Better than Cure ………………………………………………. 64 B. Food and Nutrition …………………………………………………………… 65 C. Supplements …………………………………………………………………. 68 D. Common Diseases and Health Problems ………...…………………………... 70 E. How to Choose a Vet ……………………………………………………….... 82 F. Vaccinations and Worming ………………………………………………....... 84 G. Should I Spay/Neuter My Dog ………………………………………………. 89 H. Alternative Therapies and Natural Remedies ………………………………. 90 I. Pet Insurance .………………………………………………………………… 93 J. Poisonous Plants ……………………………………………………………. 94 K. First Aid ……………………………………………………………………… 96 Section 6: A WELL GROOMED DOG IS A HAPPY DOG 97 A. Grooming and Equipment ……………………………………………….….. 98 B. Bath Time ………………………………………………………………….... 100 C. Dog Clipping …………………………………………………………... ….... 102 D. Cleaning the Ears. …………………………………………………………..... 103 E. Trimming the Nails ………………………………………………………...... 105 F. Healthy Gums and Teeth …………………………………………………..... 106 G. Anal Glands …………………………………………………………………. 107 Section 7: OBEDIENCE TRAINING 108 A. Canine Good Citizens Programmes …………………………………………. 109 B. Advanced Obedience Training ……………………………………………… 112 Section 8: JOINING DOG CLUBS AND ASSOCIATIONS 114 A. Why Should I Join a Dog Club or Canine Association …………………....... 115 Section 9: HAVING FUN WITH MY DOG 118 A. The Benefits of Being Involved with Dog Sports and Activities ……….......... 119 B. Dog Conformation Shows ………………………………………………......... 121 C. Rally Obedience (Rally-O) ………………………………………………........ 123 D. Obedience …………………………………………………………………...... 124 E. Agility ……………………………………………………………………….... 126 F. Heelwork to Music ……………………………………………………….........128 G. Tracking ……………………………………………………………………..... 129 H. Sheep Dog Herding ………………………………………………………….... 130 I. Retrieving and Field Trials for Gun Dogs ……………………………………..131 J. Sledding and Weight Pulling ……………………………………………......... 133 ii Section 10: SERVICING THE COMMUNITY WITH MY WONDERFUL COMPANION 134 A. Assistance Dogs and Community Services …………………………………... 135 Section 11: HOLIDAYS AND MOVING WITH MY DOG 137 A. Travelling with Dogs …………………………………………………………. 138 B. Domestic Travel ……………………………………………………………… 139 C. International Travel ……………………………………………………………142 D. Kennelling My Dog ………………………………………………………....... 144 E. Emergencies and Disasters …………………………………………………… 145 F. Moving House with your Dog …………………………………………………146 Section 12: COUNCIL REGISTRATIONS AND REGULATIONS 147 A. Dogs and the Local Council ………………………………………………….. 148 B. Micro-chipping ……………………………………………………………..... 150 APPENDIX 151 Recommended Resources ……………………………………………………………..… 152 Disclaimer ………………………………………………………………………….…..… 154 All rights reserved. Copyright © 2008-2009 by Carolyn Read. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electrical or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without permission in writing from the author. iii DEDICATION This book is dedicated to the memory of Rick Richardson who passed away just a few months back in February 2010. Together with his wife, Honey Gross-Richardson, they have both contributed enormously and generously to the whole community of dog owners here in Perth. They have been breeders of German Shepherds for many years and played a huge role over the years in the German Shepherd Dog Association. As well as being very involved with the GSDA they have also played important roles on various Dogs West (formerly known as the Canine Association of Western Australia) committees. They have worked with local councils, establishing the Canine Good Companion programme here in Perth which has now been running for about 15 years in the Joondalup, Gosnells and Spearwood districts; have had judging licences for conformation, obedience, agility, tracking and the newly introduced sport of doggie dancing and Honey will continue on with these judging appointments. Together Rick and Honey developed curriculums and programmes for people wanting to learn how to instruct and take dog training classes. This started as a course for new trainee GSDA instructors and is now recognised and open to all new instructors with any of the Perth dog clubs. They have regularly travelled all over Australia giving lectures and assisting clubs with their training. They have also been regular contributors of articles to magazines and journals. Not only that, Rick had a wonderful talent for drawing and, together with his typically English sense of humour, has created a series of cartoons relating to all things ‘doggy’. These are depicted throughout this manual. I will be forever grateful to both he and Honey for allowing me to utilise these pictures in this manual, they fit into the topics so well and hopefully will help you see the ‘funny side of life’. Unfortunately Rick did not get to see his works published in this manual. Personally, I have known Rick and Honey since being involved in the Canine Good Companion programme from its inception. They have been wonderfully supportive and helped me overcome a problem I had with my Elliott when we were competing in obedience. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS When life takes you on a journey you never end up going it alone. There are always people to help and encourage you along the way. When I first started training with Elliott he was a handful and I had no idea about dogs and how to deal with the issues. If I knew then what I know now I would have done things so differently! But during the difficult times when I felt like I would never pass the competitions there were a few people in the background who kept me going and told me not to give up. So I would like to acknowledge these people for without them I would never have achieved the titles I aimed for; Jean and Dave Henderson, my Golden Retriever mentors, who gave me so much encouragement while competing in obedience and then helping Elliott and me on our retrieving journey. They willingly gave up their time to take me out training one on one. Andrew Wilkinson, Trevor Pritchard and Chris Findlay for allowing me to train with their specialist Alaskan Malamute and Staffordshire Bull Terrier breed training classes with my ‘blonde dog’! They gave me lots of encouragement and assistance for which I am very grateful. There are many other people who helped us in our training for obedience and retrieving and I would like to acknowledge and thank all of you however there are too many to name personally. iv INTRODUCTION Welcome and congratulations on your purchase of The Ultimate Puppy Owner’s Guide To Rearing, Training and Loving Your Pet for Life. Whether you are prospectively looking for, new to owning or already an existing dog owner then you will find this complete home management manual invaluable to either setting up or improving your existing arrangements and relationship with your new puppy or dog. There is something in this manual for all dog owners. I have attempted to cover all aspects of owning a dog in this complete guide – from understanding dog behaviour to joining dog clubs, dog health and nutrition to government legislation regarding dog ownership. Why have I put this package together? If you ever go to the