Lots of people get into their dog caring/training careers starting with puppies. I am not talking about their own pups but the care and training of other people's pups. It's an easy way to start as puppies don't really seem to come with many problems; they are fairly biddable and most enjoy anybody's companionship.
Here's where my worry starts....
In my behaviour and training experience I have and still am coming across loads of young dogs that have so called social problems both in the home and outside of the home. These "problems" may include lack of house training; recall; being overly shy or non-social through to growling, barking, lunging and biting.
The puppies first weeks and months are vital in it's ability to navigate it's way in our world; however not all puppies are the same or give the same response to their environment or the stimuli within that environment. If a puppy turns out with a problem it is not always down to the owner or that the pup has apparently had a bad or difficult upbringing. Sometimes these problems are created because the inexperience of the carer/trainer to recognise when a pup's needs are different to what the "norm" might be.
Someone who doesn't truly recognise behaviour for what it is right at the beginning may end up creating a problem when what they thought they were doing had good intentions.
Case 1:
Harry* is what is referred to as a cockapoo (cocker spaniel/poodle cross); he is now 2 years old and growls, barks and will bite at strangers. I know that most people's responses to this are that Harry was not well socialised as a youngster. What I know is that Harry has been raised by responsible adults who have provided everything in their power that would normally allow Harry to become a well rounded social dog.
However what I have also seen is that Harry is a dog that is acutely sensitive to his surroundings, and is a very quick learner (some would say too smart for his own good). Harry is the type of dog that prefers to look, take everything in and then when he is ready, come forward for interaction. Harry's owners are first time dog owners and have been trying to do "the right thing" by digesting a mountain of books, videos, tutorials and advice - they are people that would never do any harm to their pup. They were told to get Harry out and about and get him socialised - and in most cases this advice works wonders; there is plenty of research to show the growth stages of puppies.
But Harry was pushed into being socialised when it wasn't what he wanted or what he was ready for. The behaviour evidenced is that Harry moved backwards when hands came over his head; he tried to back away when someone came into his face; he didn't go running up to people until he knew them; he hung back and watched. But Harry was forced to endure pats and cuddles from complete strangers, both allowed by his owners and pushed by strangers who don't know how to read and therefore respect the behaviour he was showing.
The result of this forced socialisation started to manifest itself at about 4 months of age; when I first met him. Harry started barking at people and lunging at them if they approached him; a temporary replacement dog walker was unable to get him from his home due to the supposed aggression he was showing. This started to get worse, Harry was starting to growl and bark if people came near him even if they weren't interested in him and Harry's owners were still trying to do everything "right" to help become socialised. He was enrolled in a dog training class and had already passed his Puppy Canine Good Citizen award. He was very good at doing everything that was asked of him in training but when it came to just doing everyday normal stuff Harry wasn't showing good social traits.
Case 2
I first met Murphy* at 9 weeks of age; he had been homed by a young couple who had family that had brought their pup to one of my classes a few years back. Murphy is what is referred to as a Labradoodle (Labrador/Poodle X); when I went to their home with Murphy at 9 weeks of age, he scuttled under the dining table and did not want to interact with me; only family had been in the house and he had done the same with them.
Throwing treats to Murphy helped him come forward but I asked his carers not to push the socialisation at this stage; not to worry about Murphy having to interact with visitors and letting him come forward (or not) to people when he was ready. I felt that Murphy was not ready for lots of social adventures and did not want him starting to react defensively if pushed into something he obviously didn't want. I wasn't concerned about his behaviour; he was healthy and showed curiousity but was just more reserved than some puppies.
They joined my puppy class straight away and week 1 saw Murphy hiding behind his female carer. Everyone in the class was asked not to push towards him and to let him be. Week 2 saw Murphy come out from behind Mum but still a little reserved with new dogs and people.
By week 3 his carers said he had started to really come out of his shell and was moving forward towards new people and dogs. And by week 4 his carers said he had started to become a social butterfly; no longer worried about people and dogs and excited to get out and become involved in the environment and all it beholds.
So what was the difference?
Dogs develop at different rates and although there are plenty of books that stress that all dogs must socialise by 16 weeks (from a few historical research projects) there is also little research being done now on this subject within our ever changing social requirements. I felt Murphy needed some more development time, more time to learn to trust and he was given that opportunity whereas Harry wasn't. Would Harry have been better had he been given the same opportunities - who knows?
What I do know though is that it takes a huge amount of experience to be able to read behaviour; that not all puppies fit into the "proverbial box of social window" and that if a person giving out information to puppy owners doesn't actually have as much experience as they think they do, they can do a lot of unintentional damage.
In my opinion I think only very experienced people should teach/instruct puppy parents and puppy classes; it worries me that new educators think that starting at puppy level is okay and that they can't do much harm.
New dog educators should start at adult dogs where their instructions won't adversely affect the outcome of their inexperience.
*Names were changed so as not to identify the dogs; the breeds were correct.
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