Puppy Sleep Overs
 

We would like to remind all of you about the importance of having regular puppy sleepovers.  As Pat Clark often says, “sleepovers are excellent socialization, too.”  They help increase puppy self-confidence and adaptability to change.  Please start thinking about sleepovers for your pup!

Wonder how to provide new exposures for your GEB PUP?

Choose a different time of day for your walk.  Walk in the opposite direction from your routine.  Choose to take your routine walk around the block in the pouring rain.  Remember, as the season changes, so does the landscape.

Sounds of tires are completely different on wet pavement than dry.  Fog muffles sounds.  Other environmental conditions amplify sounds.  Springtime brings people out of bicycles, scooters, lawnmowers, and their own two feet!  Sunny days encourage gardeners, the smell of flowers and fresh dug earth, outside cooking, and welcome flags.  Early morning sounds are different than late night, or mid-day.  Saturday mid-mornings sound different then weekdays. 

How many new exposures for your pup can you identify in a n area familiar to you both?

There are a few things Guiding Eyes asks us never to expose our dogs to: wild animal parks/zoos, amusement rides (including carousels), escalators and moving sidewalks, revolving doors.. This is because some of these environments require specific training which will be addressed during formal guide training.

Traffic!  By: Kathleen Hayward

We are all aware that it is important to expose our puppies to traffic. We start with neighborhood traffic, always walking toward oncoming cars. We progress to busier streets and intersections. Frequent exposures during which the puppy is able to "tune-in" to the handler and perform the Basic Skill Set will increase confidence.

We also take dogs in the car. The puppies always ride on the floor boards.
One variation on exposures to traffic and cars is to ask the puppy to enter the car while the engine is running. This is an experience a guide dog will have often.

Meeting a stranger or strange person.

Small puppies often eagerly approach strangers. It's a good idea to remember that while many people enjoy a small puppy jumping on them, it won't be so pleasant when the dog is 40 or 50 or 80 pounds. Practice with your 15 pound puppy the behavior you want to be second nature in your large puppy.

Suggestions for teaching your dog about greeting people are the same for all size dogs.
When a stranger approaches, allow enough room so that the dog is able to maintain self-control. If you are planning to pass by the stranger, leave yourself enough room so the puppy does not lunge, even if you need to walk into the edge of a street on off the sidewalk. If a stranger asks to pet your dog, and the greeting is acceptable to you, the puppy should keep all four feet on the ground. Step on the leash so your puppy has enough room to stand, but cannot leap up. Engage the stranger in a conversation about what you are teaching the dog and explain that as long as the puppy is behaving himself, he may be petted. Ask them to approach slowly without making eye-contact with the dog, and to back up if the pup can't maintain self-control.

As your puppy matures, we can ask the pup to sit and expect them to remain sitting while being approached. It is more important that the pup maintains self-control and accepts petting without leaping up than maintaining a proper sit.

If your pup starts to get out of control, ask the person to back up and do it again. We always want to end a lesson when the pup has done it right!