What is Early-Intervention Training?

Early-intervention training addresses your puppy’s age-specific development issues before working on any obedience training goals.  Trainers use this to  determine whether or not your expectations of your puppy are realistic. We also want to prepare your dog for life with humans and to build their confidence, so they don't resort to more instinctual types of behaviors, such as biting or resource guarding.  

Remember, dogs do not operate with the same kind of "moral compass" that we humans use.  Dogs aren't able to manipulate or spite you... they simply do what works!! I know that many of us consider our dogs to be members of the family; it's important that we remember that our pets aren't people, and expecting them to behave as if they are is setting you and your pup up for disappointment or worse.  Behaviors like peeing on your new rug or nipping your hand as you hold food works for a puppy.  It's up to you to teach your dog that some of those behaviors just don't work for you.

The focus of training dogs 3-4 months old — and younger — should be socialization, not obedience. These are lessons that will stick with your dog for the rest of their life.  Teach your dog that even though the outside world can be loud and unpredictable, it’s a happy and fun place he shouldn’t fear.

This can be done by staying calm and using treats to help your puppy make positive associations with people of all sizes and ages, cars and bikes, other animals, and all things loud and noisy.  At this young age, puppies are very impressionable and easily accept new things, but this openness to new experiences doesn’t last forever! For socialization to be a success, it must occur before your puppy is six months old. The idea is to expose your puppy to new, nonthreatening, positive situations and people now, and to increase the likelihood that he will be a comfortable and confident adult!

Your top priority should be your puppy’s daily socialization. This process will take both time and effort, but is of critical importance — especially for puppies under 4 months!!! Take them with you to new places: friends’ homes, children’s school, the hardware store, the dry cleaners, the bank…  Expose them to a variety of people and environments as often as you can. Let your puppy meet men and women, the elderly and the young, children and babies, people in hats and men with beards. Don’t forget about cats, birds and other animals, or loud or strange noises like a door slamming or a bus rumbling by!  Take your dog to the vet, to your groomer or kennel. Once you get there, give him lots of treats for no reason other than getting him used to going to these places.

Helpful tips:

• Never force a situation to the point where your puppy becomes frightened.  If he appears unsure, reassure him calmly and matter-of-factly, and then go on.
• Always be sure your dog is safe and that he has a positive experience. Allow him to investigate and approach people, places and things at his own pace.
• A tasty treat can do wonders in changing a fearful situation or person into a great experience!
• Be proactive. Teach your dog to feel confident and safe with the noisy, busy, fast-paced world we live in!

When socializing your puppy with other dogs, use your discretion! Find out whether the dogs your puppy meets are fully vaccinated and properly socialized themselves. Make sure older dogs are friendly and accepting of your puppy’s uninhibited, frisky advances. An unexpected attack at a young age can cause future phobias.  If you’re unsure of a situation or another dog, it’s okay to pick up your dog and walk away.

Last but not least, try not to coddle your dog or pick him up all the time. Puppies are adorable and the most fun to snuggle with so this is understandable difficult but  whether you’re answering the doorbell, meeting other dogs, meeting new people… Whatever you’re doing, just let your dog experience the world on his own four feet!  

For more information on Early Intervention Training and Socialization, visit Zen Dog Training Online.