Reddit reviews Perfect Puppy in 7 Days: How to Start Your Puppy Off Right
We found 12 Reddit comments about Perfect Puppy in 7 Days: How to Start Your Puppy Off Right. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
I have two book suggestions.
The first is Perfect Puppy in Seven Days – it is geared more toward owners of young puppies, but for housetraining issues like what you describe, the solution IS to just treat the dog like a young puppy until they are house trained.
The second book is How to Behave so Your Dog Behave, by the same author. I think it’ll be a helpful read as you continue on your adventure in pet ownership!
My favorites:
They're all quite affordable if you get the kindle version, but if you can only get one, I think that I'd probably have to go with Perfect Puppy, but honestly depending on how it goes when I finish reading Social, Civil, and Savvy, it may be that one.
At 9 weeks, she's definitely not fully potty trained lol so you'll have to work on that yourself. I don't know if I'm misinterpreting your post but are you 100% ready for a baby animal that requires A LOT of attention and training? They really can't just be independent or operate on "when you feel like it".
Anyway, check out /r/puppy101 and see the resources they recommend. Perfect Puppy in 7 Days by Dr. Sophia Yin is a good start.
This is a normal development period for puppies, commonly called the "fear stage". Puppies go through several developmental periods as they grow. Prior to the fear period, a puppy goes through the most critical period of socialization of their lives.
What they learn in the span of 8-14ish weeks of age has a lasting effect forever. In this period, they approach new and unknown things with a "default curious" attitude. After that period, when the fear stage begins, they approach new and unknown things with a "default fear" attitude.
That is why the 8-14ish weeks period is so crucial. If you do a good job exposing your pup to a wide variety of people/dogs/places/objects/sounds, the fear period is much easier.
But now that you already find yourself there:
> Fear in dogs | Dog Star Daily
> What is also important to know is how to handle a puppy in a fear period. Do not force the puppy towards the scary thing. If possible throw tidbits near the item and act normal, see if they will approach on their own and figure out it isn't scary. (this is all going to depend on what it is the puppy is afraid of) You can praise them for any forward movement towards it. If it is about an item that can move make sure the item will stay stationary while they check it out, remember we don't want to add to the puppies fear. Once they are more comfortable with the item we can add the movement later.
> If we force a puppy to confront the scary thing we may stress them out causing them to shut down. A dog that is to stressed is incapable of learning because it has gone into fight or flight mode, instinct vs rational thought. Forcing a dog to confront something scary is called flooding. While there may be times it is necessary, in most cases you'll end up with a dog that goes into something called learned helplessness. The dog acts like it accepts it but it has in fact learned it has no options. It doesn't take away it's fear, it only changes its reaction to it. (at least for that moment) Flooding MAY be used in a treatment plan, however it should only be done by a professional that is familiar with canine behavior to avoid the learned helplessness response.
One of the BEST things you can do for yourself is read a puppy book. Even if you've owned a dog before, I can almost guarantee you will learn something new and it will make your time with your pup much easier for the both of you.
Recommended Books:
I literally just picked up my baby Shiba Inu girl yesterday!!! We named her Yuna. She surprisingly picked up on doing her business on the wee-wee pad super quickly. In fact she hasn't had any accidents! She also loves her crate and didn't cry at all at night. My recommendations would be to read 1 or 2 training and puppy behavior books. I read Perfect Puppy in 7 days and Before You Get Your Puppy. The second book is free and has a part 2 as well. Make sure that you puppy proof your house and read the books BEFORE you pick her up. We have a set up with a crate/doggy bed, play pen, lots of toys, water bowl, food dispensor, and wee-wee pads. We also have a collar, leash, and buddy system. The buddy system is for when you want to have the dog walk around the house. You attach the dog to the buddy system and that way they can explore the house under your supervision. The puppy should not be left alone for the first few months in an open environment. That will lead to accidents and they could get hurt. Keeping them in the crate/play pen is a safe option where they can have plenty of space to play and not get hurt. You might also want to look into the pet insurance. Banfield Animal Hospital is located at a lot of Petco locations and they have a plan for $40 a month that basically includes everything and even includes spaying your baby!
One thing that I was not expecting and is apparently quite common with Shibas, is that they are more shy and standoffish. Our little girl is shy and is taking her time warming up to us. That doesn't mean that she's biting or cowering, it just means that she likes to her space and prefers that she approaches you instead of vice versa. If your shiba behaves the same way, just make sure to give her time and space and to just get used to you. Don't try to pressure her with lots of hugs, pets, attention, because that might just make her afraid.
Lastly here's a picture of our baby and one of our set up.
Remember the most important thing about puppies is to be PATIENT and PERSISTENT!! Oh and Amazon has a lot of puppy things for a great price!
EDIT: One more thing: the blog Shiba Shake has tons of useful tips and tricks for training/living with a Shiba. The Shiba Forum is also a great place to find information on just about anything relating to your Shiba.
I loved this book by Dr. Yin since it gives a great schedule on what to do in the first week!
Teaching cues is great - but also spend a lot of time and energy on positive handling, touching ears, being restrained at the vet, etc. Getting started early on nail clipping is a big one.
Ian Dunbar's Before You Get Your Puppy and After You Get Your Puppy
Sophia Yin's Perfect Puppy in 7 Days
Hmmm. You seem to be using some old school techniques. They definitely can and do work (e.g. Lassie and Rin Tin Tin). But it can be unnecessarily stressful for the dog and damage your relationship with him. It can also create bad behavior by making your dog fearful if you overdo it a little bit. So that sort of old school training can be dangerous when done by someone who doesn't know what they are doing.
Positive reinforcement training is generally easier, faster, and more effective, especially if your dog is food motivated (like most dogs). You can enroll your dog in a beginner training class at the local Petsmart or go somewhere fancier if you want. But I would definitely enroll in formal training classes. Here's a great book for getting a sense of positive reinforcement training. I know it might sound kind of like sissy training, but it works. It's the only kind of training I use with my Rottie because I just don't want to take a chance of making him fearful and reactive by using old school techniques.
Perfect Puppy in 7 Days: How to Start Your Puppy Off Right
Off-leash training comes with them knowing that being next to you is a great place to be and their recall is perfect. Give it a couple months at the very least before you even begin to worry about off-leash walks.
I also highly recommend reading Perfect Puppy in 7 Days: How to Start Your Puppy Off Right by Sophia Yin. It's a fast read and will set you and your puppy up for success.
https://smile.amazon.com/Perfect-Puppy-Days-Start-Right-ebook/dp/B005FR0OEA
https://smile.amazon.com/How-Behave-Your-Dog-Behaves/dp/0793806445
Order doesn't matter in the least. I would probably teach a recall first myself, but just because it's easy.
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What DOES matter is socialization at this age. Very important, especially with breeds that tend to be nervous with strangers. Get him into an all-positive puppy class ASAP if you can afford it. If you can't afford it, here's a good article on it. Do some research, there are books you can read about it as well. Most important thing is you keep it all positive and build great experiences for him.
Have fun with your pup.
On the digging, set up a dig box for her. Put goodies in it, so it's really rewarding and direct her there or bring her inside if she digs anywhere else.
If you haven't clicked on it on the sidebar yet How to choose a Trainer. Never be afraid to say no to what a trainer is telling you to do if you think it will harm your dog. Never hand over the leash if you think a trainer is going to do something that could harm your dog (English Bulldog puppy dies after "correction" in PetCo training class ) just something to keep in mind.
If she's fixating on other animals in the house you may want to use Umbilical Training, where the puppy is tethered to you. If she starts to fixate, call her and walk away, no pick-up needed. Also very useful for potty training. Dr. Yin has many, many excellent puppy training resources on her website, and her book 7 Days to the Perfect Puppy is my go-to guide for new puppy owners.
On the mouth play, teach her how to play with her mouth. Tug is a great game for this. Teach The Rules of Tug for all mouth play.