How to socialise your puppy before vaccinations are completed

Taking my puppy Buzz to a cafe

While Parvovirus is a risk to your puppy, you can still find ways to socialise your puppy safely, even before vaccinations are completed. Your puppy doesn’t need to walk on the ground to get the vital socialisation. Here are just some examples:

Out and about

• If your puppy is not too heavy, carry her to a café or into shops that allow dogs

• Take your puppy for a drive in the car. Park in various places, e.g. busy supermarket car parks, Takeaways car parks, in front of a school at break time, at a marina, watch some farm animals, or get some food from a drive through etc. Wind down the window and let your puppy take in the sights, sounds, and smells from a safe place.

• Buy or borrow a baby stroller and take your puppy on short outings.

• Use a shopping cart in approved places such as local pet shops, Bunnings, or Spotlight (ask staff at counter first). Put some soft and moisture-proof blankets in the bottom and bring some baby wipes to clean up any possible accidents and the trolley after use.

• Attend a safe puppy class run by a trainer experienced in dog behaviour using force-free methods

At home

My puppy Buzz in a stroller

• Play a variety of sounds to your puppy. You can get free apps or use things you can find around the home.

• Dress up in various outfits including hats, glasses, wigs, different shoes, rain coat, back pack, crutches, etc.

• Let your puppy see things such as an open umbrella, a bike, a stroller, a gym ball, - items you have at home or you can borrow from family and friends – even better, have a family member or friend come over with them.

• Let your puppy smell a variety of odours, but watch out for toxic substances.

• Have fun with your puppy interacting with novel or unstable surfaces - something as simple as half a tennis ball taped to the bottom of a piece of plywood or yoga block, a couch cushion, etc.

• Let your puppy experience different types of surfaces by walking over e.g. tiles, gravel, bark, a sheet of corrugated iron, a rubber mat, a door mat, a grate, a flattened cardboard box, a bunch of pool noodles, etc.

• Have people visit you and invite family or friends over

• Have visits from social, friendly, and fully vaccinated dogs or take your puppy to visit them if there’s a safe enclosed area for them to interact. Keep it short and make sure interactions are positive.

Puppy safety

• Make sure your puppy is safely contained by securing or holding on to her harness or putting your puppy’s crate into the trolley or stroller (if it fits safely).

• Remember it’s not just exposure to new experiences but making they are positive and enjoyable. Be ready to give your puppy treats or a yummy chewie.

• Always keep it safe so your puppy so your puppy doesn’t get a fright.

Taking my puppy Buzz for an outing at Bunnings

Why is early puppy socialisation important?

The sensitive period for socialisation in puppies is from 3 weeks until about 12 or 14 weeks – it’s a crucial time in a puppy’s development because their brains are especially receptive to learning about the world they will live in as they get older. Essentially it means that puppies have to encounter and be comfortable with all of the things you want them to accept gracefully as adults - all kinds of people, other dogs, other animals, noises, surfaces, sights, and smells etc.

That’s why it’s so important to get a puppy from a responsible breeder or rescue where the puppy is raised in a home environment and getting socialisation already. It also means you have to continue socialisation especially during those first few weeks after you take your new puppy home but also ongoing.

Sometimes people want to wait until their puppy has had all its vaccinations before beginning socialisation, but unfortunately it means they miss this important period.

Once puppies reach around 4 to 6 months, their ability to easily accept new experiences begins to wane. If they have not been well socialised by that time, there is a much greater risk of developing all sorts of behavioural problems stemming from fear - aggression, agoraphobia, reactivity towards certain people, animals, or situations, etc. Teaching your puppy now that the world is safe will help prevent behaviour problems in the future. Sadly, the leading cause of death of young dogs is euthanasia due to behaviour problems, rather than infectious diseases.

Why do vets advise against taking your puppy out before vaccinations are completed?

Many vets advise strongly against taking your puppy out until all vaccinations are completed, which is usually around 16 weeks. This is mainly to prevent exposure to Parvovirus.

Parvovirus and other infectious diseases are a risk factor until your puppy had all the vaccinations. Parvovirus can be transmitted by any person, animal or object that comes in contact with an infected dog's faeces. Parvovirus is so contagious, and so hardy, it can survive in the environment for a year or more and be carried on to a property on shoes or car tyres or caught from objects such as bowls and bedding. It could also be caught from the street, especially in urban areas where there were lots of dogs.

However, your puppy doesn’t need to walk on the ground to get the vital socialisation. Make sure you try some of these safe socialisation techniques listed in this blog to ensure your puppy grows into a confident and resilient adult dog.

How to choose the right dog harness

I am stockist of Ruffwear dog equipment, including harnesses such as the Ruffwear Front Range or Ruffwear Flagline, and today’s blog explains why I always recommend the use of such v-style harnesses and show you how to fit a harness correctly.

Why use a harness

Perhaps you have a dog that constantly pulls like a sled dog. But even if you’ve trained your dog to walk nicely on a loose lead, there will always be occasions when things just get too exciting and your dog suddenly starts pulling.

The area around a dog’s throat is one of the most vulnerable parts of its body. We’ve all heard dogs choking while straining on the lead so much, they can hardly breathe. Collars can cause damage or exacerbate many physical conditions including eye problems caused by intra-ocular eye pressure (IOP), collapsed trachea, thyroid disorders, and negative effects on lymph system, blood flow, and neural pathways. A harness is a much safer and kinder way to walk your dog.

Best type of harness

V-style harness (Ruffwear Front Range)

I always recommend a 'V or Y style' harness as they are one of the most biomechanically sound harnesses on the market. When fitted correctly, they don't put any pressure on soft tissue, shoulder joints or scapulae, and they allow for full movement.

Note that dogs can still pull with these harnesses. However, research studies have shown that when dogs were walked on biomechanically sound and correctly fitted harnesses, pulling had no effect on intra-ocular pressure (IOP).

The wrong style or a wrongly fitted harness can affect a dog’s gait and movement. That’s why I don’t recommend harnesses that go around a dog’s chest. They place pressure on a dog’s shoulder, restrict a dog’s movement, and alter gait, which can over time cause joint problems and soft tissue damage.

I believe a harness is simply safety equipment, like a seat belt. As a force-free trainer, I advocate teaching your dog loose-lead walking with positive reinforcement to reduce pulling and so you and your dog build engagement and grow your relationship. 

For that reason, I also avoid harnesses that are specifically designed to apply pressure or pain to prevent pulling. I believe these are just tools that physically inhibit pulling, but they don’t teach a dog how you’d like them to walk.  Usually, as soon as you take the ‘tool’ off, the dog will likely pull again. 

How to fit a harness correctly

A proper fit is essential. Canine osteopaths, vets and physios recommend that a harness should rest on the dog’s skeleton not on the soft tissue, and should allow for full movement of limbs, body, and neck. Wrong style or incorrectly fitted harnesses can cause injuries to shoulder joints, scapulae, or biceps tendon.

1. The part of the harness that sits on the dog’s back should start on the withers – this allows for full movement of the neck and does not put pressure on the soft tissue of the neck

2. The top of the chest part of the harness should rest on the sternum

3. The part of the harness that wraps around the dog’s neck should leave shoulder joints free and not impede movement, i.e., the limbs should be able to go through their normal range of movements and there should not be any resistance blocking any normal functional movement.

4. The girth straps should sit about two-three fingers-width away from the elbow (so they don’t rub the elbow when moving and don’t cut under the armpit) and they should go no further than the ribs

5. The harness should have lots of symmetric adjustment points to get a good fit and to avoid unbalance and rotation of the harness

6. The harness should have very few rigid spots

7. The harness should not have to be tight in order to stay in place. You should be able to slip your hands easily into any area of the harness and when pulling on the harness you should not feel any pinching or discomfort anywhere

8. There should be equal weight distribution throughout the harness and there should not be one area that is preventing the dog from pulling

9. The buckles should not irritate the fur or be too heavy

Ruffwear harnesses

I'm very excited to announce that I am now proud stockist of Ruffwear gear, including harnesses such as the Front Range or Flagline harness as well as some very nifty and stylish leads and collars.

Ruffwear dog equipment is designed from a dog’s perspective. The products are rigorously field tested and guaranteed against defects in materials and craftsmanship.

The Ruffwear Front Range harness has all the features you want in a harness and it is well padded. It does have a chest attachment so it can be used to gently discourage pulling while you’re training loose-lead walking. The aim is to move on to the back attachment as soon as your dog knows how to walk on a loose lead.

I have a range of harnesses in stock so you can try them on your dog for fit and see the colours. Special prices as an introductory offer for a limited time.

Let your dog sniff

Walking your dog - Use a long lead and let your dog sniff. Walking your dog is supposed to be about your dog and enriching your dog’s life, not about you. It shouldn’t be a military drill to teach your dog who’s boss or a competitive obedience exercise with your dog glued to your leg looking up at you the whole time.

The team at Ahimsa Dog Training compares asking a dog to not sniff during a walk to be the same as asking a person to walk around wearing a blindfold. Smell is a dog’s most important sense - dogs possess up to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to about five to six million in us. And the part of a dog's brain that is devoted to analysing smells is, proportionally speaking, 40 times greater than ours.

Dogs' noses also function quite differently than our own. One can say dogs see their life through their nose. Research shows that letting your dog sniff on a walk offers huge benefits in terms of mental stimulation, enrichment, and choice resulting in a happier and healthier dog. One of the five Animal Welfare Needs states that an animal should be able to express natural behaviour patterns, which for dogs includes sniffing, exploring, and foraging.

Studies have shown that sniffing reduces your dog’s heart rate, burns energy, and being able to make choices gives your dog self-confidence and a feeling of self-reliance. Lack of freedom often leads to stress, anxiety, and depression, and a dog that shuts down.

It doesn’t have to mean that your dog pulls on lead though. On the contrary - in my experience, walking your dog on a longer lead and letting him sniff actually reduces a lot of nuisance behaviours such as pulling, barking and lunging at other dogs, frustration etc. It’s all about how you teach it.

Of course, there are times when your dog needs to walk right beside you, for example, when you’re on a busy walking track or a sidewalk. But it is easy to teach your dog to come to ‘heel position’ when you ask for it.

More and more internationally renowned science-based dog trainers and animal behaviourists are now advocating for walking your dog on a longer lead and letting them sniff. Watch out for my upcoming “Walking Together” courses where I will be incorporating these new lead-walking protocols.

How your dog's dog food affects nutrition, poo, and house training

By Angelika Cawte

First, let me say I’m not a vet or a canine nutritionist. I’m a caring dog owner, and my own personal journey to healthier living has led me to question and research not only my food choices but also those of my dogs.

With this blog, I simply want to inspire you to look at what you’re feeding your dog. Great, if your dog’s diet is already perfect, and your dog is a model of health with a shiny coat to boot. But if you often find yourself complaining about how much soft and smelly poo your dog produces, or if your dog suffers from unexplained allergies, it may be time to see if your dog’s food could be a contributing factor.

Every dog is different! I encourage you do to your own research for your own dog. Talk to other dog owners and consult with a wide variety of ‘experts’ – the reality is that many nutritional experts are linked to a certain brand of dog food.

Digestibility of food affects your dog's poo

Digestibility is the percentage of how much food the dog eats and how much of that is digested or eliminated (poo). The more food is digested, the less poo. If you are feeding food with very low digestibility, much of what your dog is eating comes out again so he will naturally have to poo a lot more than he would do on a high-digestible food diet, which has the added benefit that the stool is usually small, firm, and not smelly.

Here are some examples of digestibility of various protein types (approximate values)

• Egg whites: 1.00
• Muscle meats (chicken, beef, lamb): .92
• Organ meats (kidney, liver, heart): .90
• Milk, cheese: .89
• Fish: .75
• Rice: .72
• Oats: .66
• Wheat: .60
• Corn: .54

Many dog foods contain a high percentage of grains, and as you can see, only about half of that is digestible. However, it’s generally recommended not to feed an entirely 100% meat-based diet either as dogs do require other nutrients as well to be healthy.

How food can relate to house training issues

Digestibility of food can also relate to house training. With puppies, it helps when they don’t have to poo too much and too often. It’s easier to judge the time your puppy needs to go so that you can accompany your puppy and praise her for going outside.

Nutrition

It's a hot topic and many dog owners have firm views about what’s best to feed, so we won’t get into the ‘raw’ versus ‘biscuits’ debate. Product labels can also be confusing, and it’s generally difficult to say how much nutritional value the food includes. What we can say though is that the more of the food your dog actually digests, the more of the food’s nutritional value is taken up.

Also, here's some food for thought (pun intended). There are a lot of different opinions about feeding variety. Many dogs will happily eat the same food every day, some dogs like something different now and then. Supporting arguments for feeding variety include:

• Each food has different nutritional values and by feeding a variety of foods you ensure your dog gets a bit of everything she needs.
• It’s much more exciting and satisfying for your dog – would you like to eat the same food day in day out for your whole life?
• New smells, tastes, and textures engage different receptors and brain cells, and varying textures work different muscles and teeth. 

Cost of feeding

A meat-based diet can be more expensive than vegetable-based foods but more of it gets digested so you need to feed less to give your dog the same nutritional values. Most Canned foods are generally 75% water, so 75% of your purchase price is going toward a non-nutritive ingredient.

When comparing prices work out the cost per feed and look at the nutrition your dog gets.

Changing your dog’s diet

Whenever you change what your dog's diet (especially from biscuits to raw or vice versa), do it gradually, i.e., mix a little of the new food with the existing food and gradually increase the quantity of the new food, to avoid stomach upsets.  

From fearful to brave

When Frankie first started our Sniffer Dogs course, he was a little afraid to walk on slippery floors.

I discovered first hand how quickly the Sniffer Dogs work can improve a dog's confidence.

Frankie usually avoided slippery floors altogether. With a lot of encouragement, he would venture a few steps but then freeze and quickly back track onto 'safer' ground. Even though he adores our vet, it made visits to the vet clinic uncomfortable for Frankie with their slippery vinyl floor. 

Frankie loves the search game, and I started to place boxes strategically in locations that would stretch his comfort zone. One day, I placed one of the search boxes in the back of the bathroom, which has a tiled floor. He saw the box when he passed the bathroom door, but wasn't game enough to enter and moved on to search other areas first. He then came back though and decided (all by himself) to give it a go. I held my breath while I watched him step towards the box, very slowly and warily, eat the treat, and back out of the bathroom again. So brave, I thought.

Here is Frankie during a search practice happy to walk on the slippery kitchen vinyl.

After only a few more similar searches, he now doesn't even hesitate anymore to check out all possible hiding places in the bathroom. He just waltzes in, tail wagging, grabs the treat and trots out.

Frankie still doesn't love the floor at the vet clinic, but is now confident enough to walk to the consultation room without problem.