Tuesday, July 10, 2012

PRAISE Your Puppy


PRAISE Your Puppy
Play, Reward, Arrange, Instruct, Socialize and Enrich Your Puppy

Canine Aspirations’ PRAISE Your Puppy program is based on scientific evidence and positive training techniques to help you raise the best dog possible.  A puppy that is well socialized and trained will go on to be included in many more life activities than a dog that is not trained and well-socialized.  As pet owners, we get dogs because we want them to be included in all facets of our lives.  Our PRAISE program helps make this possible.  

PRAISE is for puppies aged 8 – 20 weeks and occurs Mon – Thur from approximately 9am – 2pm.  We come to your home and pick up your puppy (and a few other canine friends) in the morning and bring them back in the early afternoon.  

A day in the life of a PRAISE puppy:
9:00am pick-up from home and car ride to Canine Aspirations
9:30am arrive at Canine Aspirations for some carefully supervised play with other dogs/puppies
10:30am private training time spent working on basic manners (e.g. sit, stay, come) and handling exercises (to prepare for grooming and veterinary visits)
11:30am car time interspersed with short walks at novel locations for socialization and training
12:30pm field trip to a novel location (such as a pet store, vet office or other dog friendly business) to work on training and socialization
1:30pm car ride and drop-off time

Concerned about socialization with your puppy not being fully vaccinated?  Here’s what the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior has to say about the importance of socialization in first few months of life, “AVSAB believes that it should be the stan­dard of care for puppies to receive such socializa­tion before they are fully vaccinated.” Read their full position here: 

Play with your puppy appropriately to physically and mentally exercise them.  Play can also be used as a reward for good behavior.  Play with other dogs and puppies helps teach your dogs important life skills, like bite inhibition.  

Reward your dog for good behavior.  Rewarding your puppy from day one for the things you will expect from him for the rest of his life helps set up a dog that will learn that behaving appropriately is worthwhile. 
 
Arrange your puppy’s life to set him up for success.  Preventing bad behavior and encouraging good behavior makes fewer opportunities for bad habits to form.  Prevention of behavior issues is much easier than correcting issues later in your dog’s life.  

Instruct your dog on how to behave appropriately in all situations from day one.  If you want them to allow handling and grooming, teach them this while they are a puppy.  If you want them to be able to behave calmly in any location, teach them this while they are a puppy.  If you don’t instruct your puppy on how to behave in a certain situation, they are likely to behave in a manner you don’t like, so focus on giving them instructions from day one.  

Socialize your puppy to all the things your dog will need to deal with during its life.  Puppyhood is the time to positively introduce your pup to other dogs, people, and different environments.  Socialization is easiest in the first few months of life.   

Enrich your puppy’s life with fun games, play and training.  Use food toys and training games to mentally enrich your puppy’s mealtimes.  Rather than trying to eliminate typical dog behavior, give your dog appropriate outlets to use their doggy skills, like canine nosework for sniffing or a sandbox for digging.  Life is much easier when your dog has appropriate outlets for their normal dog attributes.  

How much does it cost?
The PRAISE program costs $50 - $60 per day depending on your location plus the cost of a weekly transfer session (an additional $70-85/week depending on location/time spent going over material).  PRAISE requires a minimum 2 day per week commitment for at least 4 weeks.    

What else is included?
Daily email updates, and weekly meetings to go over your puppy’s behavior and training with your whole family. 

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