Avoiding trouble

Whilst many puppies integrate smoothly into human society and live contented lives as well-adjusted canine citizens, some do not. If not correctly managed, puppyish behaviours may persist. What was cute in a tiny puppy may be less endearing in a muddy 80lb adult. Behavioural problems, such as aggression, running away and separation anxiety, can develop and may result in dogs facing rejection by the families who not long ago awaited their arrival with excitement. Many of the problems dog owners face have their roots in early puppyhood. The great news is that the vast majority of them can be avoided, and what cannot be avoided can usually be overcome.


Educating your puppy into more grown-up behaviour is a gradual process, and often involves redirecting him into more appropriate activities or restricting his access to your more treasured possessions. Many people get into difficulties with small puppies because they allow them too much freedom, and give them access to frequent opportunities to make bad decisions before the puppy has the self-control or knowledge to make better ones.


To begin with, the vast majority of your puppy’s free time will need to be controlled. Life with a puppy can quickly lose its flavour if we have to spend every waking moment saying ‘No!’, ‘Stop it!’, ‘Leave that!’ Just like living with a toddler, we don’t want to be forever nagging at a puppy, so we make some changes around the house to reduce his opportunities for mischief. We’ll look at these simple preparations in more detail later on in this section, as they will make the next few weeks a great deal easier for both of you.


Gradually, as your puppy learns what is and what is not acceptable in our human world, you will be able to give him more freedom and more choices. Over the space of just a few weeks you will see some rapid changes. Of course, there may be times when you find your puppy’s behaviour challenging, or frustrating. There will be ups and downs, but with the help of this book, I hope you find the ups are many and the downs are few and far between.