If you want to feel like your life is spiraling out of control – get a puppy.
Everyone thinks puppies will be cute and cuddly – and they are, for short periods, generally when they are tired. Otherwise they can be right little horrors. Little horrors with sharp teeth that they aren’t afraid to use.
There is so much out there about what you should be doing with your new puppy and none of it seems to take into account that there are only 24 hours in the day and that you have to sleep at some point. It can be completely overwhelming. And then while you’re in your dazed state of overwhelm you still have to deal with this whirling dervish who’s biting and chewing and peeing.
And then just when you think you’ve started to get things under control – your puppy pees outside, he loves to say hi to people, he has friends down the park, he seems to hang on your every word – well then adolescence hits and you wonder who the hell swapped your angel for the devil himself when you weren’t looking.
Me? Well whilst I love puppies for the little sponges they are – that period really doesn’t last long and anyway I really get my kicks from those adolescent a**holes. I love the crazy, impulsive lunatics. I can’t help myself they just make me smile. I’m smiling now just thinking about it. I just love the zest for life that many of them display. But I get that it can be overwhelming, especially when you weren’t expecting it and don’t have a plan to deal with it.
That’s why I came up with my adolescent program that has now evolved from the initial 6 week class. I’m about to launch a new series of short 3 week courses to concentrate on those areas that can be the most frustrating or time consuming things to teach our dogs. These short courses will be the ideal follow on’s from my Behave! – Canine Life Skills course and will be suitable for all ages of dogs – not just those teenage horrors. I’ll be releasing details about the courses next week so stay tuned.
However in the mean time here is a freebie download from the wonderful instructors at the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy. This FREE puppy book is designed to help you survive the first year of your puppy’s life and what to teach it. This has been created by many contributors who form part of the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy faculty.
I love the Fenzi Academy and take many courses to improve my skills as a trainer. This book is of the same high quality I have come to expect from Fenzi.
It’s totally free so you can’t go wrong. And don’t worry if you don’t intend to do sports with your puppy/dog – the information is still relevant.
If you are struggling with your puppy or adolescent – or even your adult dog, get in touch and I’ll be happy to discuss how I will be able to help you.
P.S. And a quick reminder that if you want to continue receiving these emails after the GDPR rules kick in towards the end of May you’re going to have to sign up again so I can be absolutely sure you really want them. I know it’s a pain, you’ve had to do this several times for various different newsletters, I’m really sorry. The form is really short though, so there’s that….