How can you help a young puppy grow into a calm, confident and well-adjusted dog?
Jazz is an adorable Cavapoo. She is just thirteen weeks old.
Her owners want to make sure things start off the right way, having had a very difficult time with their previous dog.
Apart from advice regarding feeding, toilet training and walking, there is an even more important area if you want a well adjusted puppy growing into a stable mature dog.
It is about how you interact with the puppy.
Just imagine how huge and noisy humans must seem to something so small! If they surround her with too much noise, too many commands and too much excitement, or ‘dominance’ of any sort, one of three things will happen.
She may become scared of them, she may stand up to them as she gets bigger and become defiant and difficult, or she may get hardened and take no notice of them unless they are very exciting or noisy.
Gentle and calm
The more calm Jazz is the more gentle she will be. The quieter the humans are, the more Jazz will learn to listen. Even praise should be given gently. They don’t want to overwhelm her because apart from anything else she will be distracted and the reason for the praise will be entirely lost.
The dog is largely a reflection of the owner. Calm, gentle, consistent and patient owners will usually have a stable dog with self-control.
