Violet is getting bigger fast, and instead of sleeping quite so much of the time, she’s awake more and ready to go. So we’re integrating her into the family routine a little bit more each day. But there’s something important to remember about this process – puppies play short, but they play hard. A vast majority of her play with the rest of the family and with the other dogs has been that feisty fun hard play. For a baby puppy, this is one exciting family! (I can’t say much of the rest of the world would share the same opinion, but I’ll take my accolades where they lay)
While that’s a very sweet thing, being adored so enthusiastically, the fact is that most of our days are not spent burning puppy bursts of energy. So as we extend Violet’s time out with the family, we’re going to have to pull back the curtain and make a confession: we’re really pretty boring. While we’re still playing and having lots of fun with her, we also have to teach her to relax around us! We do that using one of my favorite exercises; my variation of Suzanne Clothier’s Really Real Relaxation Protocol. You’ll simply take a handful of tiny treats, and use them to lure puppy into a down. Don’t say “down” or offer a hand signal (does puppy even really know those yet?) because we aren’t going for that obedience sphinx down – we’re going for “chill out”. When pup has their whole belly on the ground, front and back legs bent, drop five or six tiny treats between their front feet. That’s it. Use treats as often as you need to keep pup down, and try not to give treats when they’re staring at your face or gazing adoringly into your eyes. More details are at my linked article, but that’s really pretty much it. At first it may take a while, and you might even want to wear gloves to protect your hands from teeth and nails as hidden treats are too tempting, but gradually pup will learn that lying down gets treats, and you’ll find them learning to relax faster and faster.
Likewise you’ll want your puppy to not be super excited and enticed by a table full of food and all their favorite people gathered around it. To get started on these manners, get yourself a small snack, and again handful of tiny treats (honestly, I used cat kibble). Put a dog bed a few feet from where you eat your meals, then sit down there and relax yourself. Puppy may go wild (Violet did!) but just ignore the scratching, jumping on you, or vocal complaints. I know it’s hard – I do, honest. *As soon as puppy takes a pause to inhale when they aren’t jumping on you* toss treats on that dog bed without looking at or saying a word to puppy. Repeat. In the beginning, you’ll have to work fast, and catch little tiny silences that don’t coincide with a leap. It won’t take long, though, and you’ll find you’re getting several seconds of silence. Should pup decide to proactively sit or lie on the dog bed, toss several treats in a row to really impress upon them that hanging out quietly is the thing to do in order to get food randomly delivered. With time and consistency (food never comes from the table, and definitely not when she’s begging for it – only on the bed) she’ll be hanging out there instead of pestering, and make mealtimes pleasant for everyone!
It was also time for Violet’s first vet visit after leaving her litter mates. After verifying that I could accompany her for the entire visit, we made sure that the visit was an unbelievable amount of fun for her. Every single person she wanted to meet got smothered in puppy kisses and given tons of tiny wiggly cuddles. If you were to ask her, she’d swear to you that “vet visit” really means “half hour of Violet adoration with a ton of treats plus a few little barely noticed pokes”. And that’s what we want. If your vet doesn’t treat routine visits – especially puppy visits – like this, consider looking for a Fear Free Certified Vet. These are vets that have taken some extra effort to learn about how behavior management and modification can make vet appointments easier for everyone – especially your pet!
If you haven’t sensed the pattern yet, our goal with a puppy is to make sure that every new experience is as positive as we can make it. While we’re in a puppy’s “socialization window” (which starts closing quickly at about 12 weeks) we want them to start to believe that new things are more likely to be good than bad. Going to the vet = treats and snuggles. Going to stores and outdoor eateries = treats galore. Meet a stranger at the store – especially one that doesn’t look like mom? = best of treats