From
experience, we can share that it truly is
not just about the puppy. Adding a puppy (or adult dog) to
your family is a decision requiring careful planning.
All puppies need socialization, housetraining, healthy nutrition, careful
and appropriate exercise (based upon age & condition), and grooming. All dogs
need an overall sense of well-being and a benevolent leader that they can trust as a
reliable guide. Being a good canine guide is very similar to
learning a foreign language, a new culture or job.
Learning body language, communication skills and how to successfully
motivate aids the learning process.
Take a moment to inhale
deeply into you diaphragm (belly, not chest), hold for 4-seconds -- now
exhale slowly for 4-seconds.
How many seconds is that?
12 seconds to calm the chaos. Imagine yourself
being parachuted into a foreign country,
without knowing the language or
culture. Sure, you have your guide books,
but the foreigners don't care--
you are on your own trying to survive in a very different environment.
Survival skills that you have and
are familiar with may not help you in this unknown place.
This is what dogs have to accommocate
to when landing into a human, abeit loving, household. Dogs
are remarkably resilient and adaptable. They learn to survive in a variety
of environments; a lesson that humans
would bode well to consider. As with human children, puppies can
have a beginning blessed with understanding, awareness, patience and
love. As with humans, other puppies can be ignored, misunderstood,
abandoned and abused. Some will become more resilient, surviving in
spite of their conditioning and environments. They are lucky enough
to meet role models, kind people and mentors who will empathize and
intuitively know that with a little care, consideration and an open-mind,
most dogs will integrate into a family and make good companions.
Our
passion is to teach and offer resources that will open-your-mind to new
possibilities and alternatives in teaching your dog. It is all about
awareness, education and building a trusting relationship (with any
species). It is about teaching in a way that puppies can
understand. For puppies, it boils down to the basics of adjusting
from a litter of puppies to a human household. The following
are some basics to help you along the way with the first tip being:
Learn
to breathe consciously
Get
centered, get connected, get focused and in the present moment (dogs live here)
Set
an intention: what kind of adult dog do I
want my puppy to be
Don't
train when you or your dog is stressed out -- it's a waste of
energy!
Puppies
are simply guessing! They live in the here and now. Okay, take a
deep three part belly breath; first filling your abdomen, your core area-being the ribs and lastly, your chest! Hold that for 4 seconds and
exhale slowly. Do that at least 3X before reacting to anything your
puppy does
especially puppy pee! Puppies are learning. While teaching
your puppy, you can teach yourself how to be in the "present
moment". So, let's begin ...
Breathe
in fresh oxygen with an open mind, breathe out stress and anxiety
