New pup

[MavisEnderby74]

Our long-awaited pup joins our family next month. I’ve been lurking here for a few months, but I’ve got a couple of questions.

How can we ensure good socialisation exposure assuming we’re in lockdown (England) for at least the next few weeks?

Pup has been weaned onto Nature’s Menu banquet nuggets, but how does this work with training treats? And if we wanted to move away from the raw feeding due to freezer space issues, is it a case of just gradually swapping over, or is there a better solution.

Thanks!

How old will the pup be when you get him/her? You can't take him out until he has had his jabs, as I'm sure you know, but maybe he will already have had them. On my dog walk this morning, I met someone with a new cocker spaniel puppy. We passed each other on the pavement, the puppy was naturally very interested in my dog so I paused and they touched noses and greeted each other, then we passed on. I remained a goodly social distance from the owners. Meet and greet is a pretty good start for a puppy and still achievable during lockdown. When you are out and about, you will doubtless meet lots of other people with puppies (there are loads about at the moment) and perhaps, can see if ONE (so still within lockdown rules) of them will meet you and your pup for a short distanced walk sometimes.

Pup will be 8 weeks, and won't had had any vaccinations although will get him booked in straight away.

Socialisation is really about exposing a puppy to as many sights, sounds, smells and noises as possible. Go past a queue that includes a screaming toddler in a pushchair and people of all shapes and sizes and ages in all sorts of clothes. Walk along by the railway, and the main road for the lorries, buses and bikes. Walk through a park with some screeching children. Go past the chip shop and someone smoking and see if you can find a bonfire for the flames and smoke. Get the pup to walk on sand, cement, gravel, tarmac, bare earth, anything like that. Use the garden hose and the watering can and the mower and let it see washing billowing on the line. You can do so much in lockdown.

It's also worth making some loud noises at home - loud music, dropping pan lids first at a distance but eventually into a hard floor near the puppy, have a bit of a shout or a loud sing-along.

Also get your puppy used to being handled - head, feet, tail, even mouth - and to be able to cope with being on a raised surface (for the vet).

What you want is a stable, slightly daring dog who expects the world to be exciting and fun.

You haven't asked for all this, but as a new pup owner I thought I'd offer some general advice and pointers too. I'm not an expert, I've not cracked puppy ownership, but this is stuff that I've found helpful over the past 2 months.

My girl is 15 weeks and on walks when we are approaching another dog I shout over and ask the owner if my pup can approach. Everyone is absolutely lovely so far- most say yes and a few have said no because their dog is mot friendly or is scared, they've been very nice about it and I've thanked them and moved on.

While pup is still unable to go on the floor, take her out in your arms. Walk around the local area, let her smell the smells and hear the sounds. If there's a bench available sit on it and watch the world go by, she can observe from the safety of your lap. Dont forget to introduce her to night time sights and sounds as well.

Any food change must be done very very gradually. They sat over 7 days but I found that too quick for my girland she had an upset tummy because of it.

What breed is your pup? Find a breed specific Facebook page, I have got a lot of info from the Labrador UK page. Otherwise there is a Puppy Training page here www.facebook.com/groups/puppyowneruk/?ref=share which is ok can get a bit ranty with different opinions but some helpful people there too.

Theres also a brilliant FB page called Dog Training Advise and Support www.facebook.com/groups/374160792599484/?ref=share They have units that you read which cover every possible aspect of dog ownership. Their puppy unit has been my bible.

Have a look at Kikopup on YouTube youtube.com/user/kikopup for some early training advice (I found her a bit late for some of the stuff but she's really good)

For dog food info the site All About Dog Food www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk is very helpful for working out which foods are good quality and the price per day for your dogs breed/size/age.

Finally, there are so many training methods and feeding options and your head will spin while you try to work out what to do for the best. So far I've been cherry picking the things that I know I can do and also sometimes my pup doesn't respond to certain methods (she's too food focused for example but brilliant responding to my body language, so I find methods that I can adapt to help me help her)

Remember that you're not a professional dog trainer so it's a learning curve for you as well as the pup.

The first week is hard and you may well question what you've let yourself in for. Just remember to persevere through the tough and appreciate the cute times. It does get better but is like a roller coaster with the ups and downs.

Hi there OP, we have a 14week old (second dog so previous experience).

I walked our local High St once we were allowed out. We live in a beauty spot so lots of people out walking with takeaway coffee from the deli. Long lead, stopped to talk to anyone who admired him, asked anyone with a child if they'd like to stroke him, we saw children on scooters, loud cars, a motorbike, a queue at the deli, ducks on the pond quacking, fish in the pond, I sat on a bench and watched things go past.

You tube have lots of different socialisation sounds. Things like fireworks, babies crying, sirens etc. Start by posing them low and gradually increase the volume.