Well Behaved BeaglesSadly, the majority of puppies fail to live long enough to enjoy their second birthday. They suffer from the terminal illness of being unwanted — failing to live up to the expectation of the Lassie–Benji–Eddie dream. Instead they develop a number of extremely common and utterly predictable behavior, training, and temperament problems and are surrendered to animal shelters to play lotto with their lives. Many people blame irresponsible ownership for this tragic situation. I would simply cite lack of know-how. Most prospective puppy owners are simply unaware of the problems that lie ahead and unfortunately, they have little idea how to prevent or resolve them.

Training a dog to be people-friendly and especially to enjoy the company of his immediate human family is the second most important item in your puppy's education — much more important than socializing him to other dogs. (And as we all know by now, the most important item in your puppy's educational curriculum is teaching bite inhibition.)

Although a few common sense precautions make it possible to live quite happily with a dog that does not get along with other dogs, it can be extremely difficult and even dangerous to live with a dog that does not like people — especially if he doesn't like family members! So people-friendliness is a much more important doggy quality than dog-friendliness.

Aside from the obvious answer — not before you are ready — the time to get a dog is when you have completed your doggy education. And when the pup is ready.

An important consideration is the age of the pup. Most puppies change homes at some time in their life, usually from the home where they were born to the homes of their new human companions. The optimal time for a puppy to change homes depends on many variables, including his emotional needs, his all-important socialization schedule, and the level of doggy expertise in each household.

Two teams of four dogs race against each other and the winning team goes through to the next round. Dogs may be instructed to Sit Stay, or be held by other team members behind the Start Line, while the handlers walk across the arena to stand behind the Finish Line, facing their respective dogs ten yards away.  Most teams elect to have holders, because after three false starts, the team is eliminated. Also the dog holders may amp-up the dogs prior to a catapult release.

As a rule of thumb, your puppy needs to meet at least a hundred people before he is three months old. Since your puppy is still too young to venture out on the streets, you'll need to start inviting people to your home right away. Basically, you'll need to have lots of puppy parties and invite friends over to handfeed your pup and train him for you.

Doggy Dream or Nasty Nightmare?

Each owner performs a unique choreography set to music. The various routines are marked out of 10 by a panel of five celebrity judges for both Technical Merit and Artistic Impression. The only rules are that the handler(s) has only 30 seconds to “set up” props and that the performance should last less than three minutes. The rest is left to the handler’s and dog’s creativity and imagination. Waltzes With Dogs is the signature event of the K9 GAMES.

Training Tips

Puppy PartyThere are many considerations when choosing a puppy, including which breed or type, and the optimal age of acquisition. Obviously, you want to choose a dog that is best suited to you and your lifestyle. Rather than listing my preferences, I will discuss some of the more important guidelines.

Socializing a puppy to people is the easiest and most enjoyable aspect of raising a dog. On a regular and ongoing basis, puppies need to meet, play with, and be handled and trained by a wide variety of people, especially including strangers, men, and children.

Narrow Window of Opportunity

A good breeder will be extremely choosy in accepting prospective puppy buyers. A prospective owner should be equally choosy when selecting a breeder. A prospective owner can begin to evaluate a breeder's expertise by noting whether she ranks the puppies' mental well-being and physical health above their good looks. Assess several factors: