I wanted to share a little more about some of our procedures in puppy raising. Now that the first 14 days are over, we no longer run the puppies through the neurological stimulations or the scent introductions (see this blog post for that info). That time has passed. But we do still work the puppies through a variety of “exercises” every few days from now until they leave our home. Each one of these has a purpose, again, acclimating the dog to what it may encounter in life as a pet one day.
Rub the ears. No matter who ends up with the puppy, one day there will be someone, little person or big, who will rub those ears. Or put medicine in them, or have to clean them out. We don’t want a dog who is too sensitive to respond to such treatment, and so we touch them now, gently and safely.
Cover the eyes. Some day you may throw a towel over their heads to dry them off or your child may toss a blanket over their head. Creating a fear-free encounter with covered eyes now hopefully will allow them to respond with stability later on down the road.
Rub teeth and gums. Most likely there will come a time when you will have to open your dog’s mouth to pull something out, put in a pill or look down their throat. Getting them accustomed to having a human’s hand in their mouth now is not a bad thing. (We won’t encourage chewing on human hands, but we’ll get into that another time).
Lay on back and rub tummy in circles. There may be times you will want your dog on it’s back to check something or clean him/her. It’s a vulnerable position and you want your puppy to feel ok in that position with a human.
Run hands down back and tail. Again, such a common kind of touch for most human’s to bestow on a dog, but touching now makes the difference between puppies raised mostly untouched in a barn before going home vs. ones that are intentionally touched to prepare them for their new home. And the tail can be a particularly tempting item for small persons. Getting them comfortable with someone touching it now hopefully makes them more ok with such touches.
Touch between each toe and tap toenails. Getting pups ready for those times you’ll need to trim nails, check a sore pad, or clean muddy feet.
Rub fingers under and around collar. Adjusting their collar, attaching a leash, moving a reluctant dog - all times when you will want your dog comfortable with a person’s hand around their neck.
Touch nose. The nose is a sensitive area for an animal. Having them ok with a person touching it at times will reduce negative responses later on.
I wish I could say that these things will forever ensure that your puppy will never misbehave when it comes to touch later on in life! But of course, that would be impossible. Dogs are animals and animals will be animals - sometimes no matter what we might do to influence the outcome, the unexpected may happen. My advice is to never be surprised when a dog reacts as an animal would. It’s only natural. We do our best. But at times we can’t understand what may be triggering them. Take it all in stride, forgive the animal, and move forward one step at a time.
Puppies were 4 weeks old Thursday and it opens up a whole new world! I'll post more on that later :)
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