Dicember 26, 2022

Pet lovers are very fortunate; they spend their quality time living with their pets. Puppyhood is one of the best times for pet lovers as they enjoy their pet play, cuddle and make mischiefs. It is the most important time for a puppy because it determines how the pup will spend its lifetime. Puppyhood can make or break your pet. You may have seen dogs suffering from many fears and anxieties; all these conditions can be traced back to their puppyhood. It is critical to take great care of your pet. Read on to raise a confident puppy by following the below-mentioned guidelines.

Catch Your Puppy's Socialization Window

The first three months of your puppy's life are the short socialization window where your puppy gets the taste of every experience. You need your puppy to catch as much experience as possible in this short window. For example, if your puppy hasn't seen people walking with a cane in his early childhood, he may not be comfortable with these people in his adulthood. Therefore, you need your puppy to observe as much as possible in his first three months.

Introduce Your Puppy to New People

You need your puppy to get comfortable with every kind of person in your surroundings. You should socialize your puppy in his first week with everybody. Your puppy should see everyone you meet as a friend. You can enroll your puppy in puppy training classes or have small puppy parties with just a few friends. It would be better if you allowed your puppy to approach the strangers instead of the other way around.

Introduce Your Puppy to Other Animals

Socialization is essential to develop confidence in your furry friend. Besides meeting different people, your puppy also needs to meet different dogs. You should let your puppy meet small dogs, large dogs, hairless dogs, etc. the important thing while meeting is to make these interactions pleasant. You can adopt some safety measures, e.g., don't let the meeting go more than a few minutes for the first time and don't allow other dogs to bully your puppy.

Introduce Your Puppy to New Situations

Now that you have learned the importance of socialization let's expand its canvas. You shouldn't limit the socialization to only people and dogs; experience must also count. You should let your pup experience new situations and new environments as much as possible. It will make your pup confident. They will learn to be relaxed instead of being fearful.

Teach Your Puppy How to Be Alone

After you have taught your pup the lesson of socialization, it is time to teach the lesson of being alone. Your puppy needs to be alone at times, so teaching him how to tackle loneliness. You can start by leaving your puppy inside the closed confinement like the crate for a short period. You can let your pup develop positive associations by providing something tasty to eat or soft to chew. Your pup will learn to spend lonely times doing something to keep busy.

Teach Your Puppy to be Comfortable with Restraint

Dogs don't feel comfortable being restrained with a leash if they are not trained to be comfortable. It becomes difficult to handle such a dog because he may react in fear. Therefore, it is essential to teach your dog to be comfortable with the leash. You can use the handling exercises to let your pup feel relaxed. Start with gentle pats and reward your pup after each touch. You can slowly increase the invasiveness of your handling and then start examining the mouth, ear paws, etc.

Allow Your Puppy to Set the Pace

You should not push your puppy; no matter the situation, you should not force your puppy to go beyond his limits. If, unfortunately, your puppy has a bad experience, it can set your puppy on a track you don't want him to go. You can do anything with patience, encouragement, and rewards. You may find some puppies confident or some shy, but you only need the right approach to tackle. However, if you find the situation out of your control, you can take the help of a behaviorist or a dog trainer.

Final thoughts

Dog training is not difficult these days. You can raise a confident puppy by following simple guidelines. It is no doubt that you and your pup will enjoy these beautiful moments. You should keep your pup motivated, with rewards, care and attention, and your pup will make sure to give you the most beautiful moments of your life.