5 Habits of Successful Puppies
You want your puppy to be the best it can be. You make sure to enroll it in the best classes, feed it the best food, sign up for the best puppy play dates. But there are 5 habits that all successful puppies have in common. First, though, let’s define success:
Success is the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.
The above definition is from a dictionary. It doesn’t really apply to all dogs, being so general. I found a great site that defines success in 20 different ways. I think at least five apply to puppies. Link, our Great Pyrenees puppy who still needs a home, hasn’t actually achieved success yet, but we’re hoping yesterday’s post helps him to find a place to call home.
That takes us to the first of 5 habits of successful puppies.
Success is having a place to call home
All puppies need a good home, whether, they’re rescue, mutts, pure bred, intentional or unintentional. Do you have a home? Do you have enough dogs? That’s something only you can answer, but at four dogs, our home is full. Yours might not be. Consider helping a puppy to be successful by giving it a home to call its own?
Success is understanding you can’t keep what you don’t give away
Puppies understand this concept so much better than humans do. Puppies and dogs give love all day and night, with no expectations. Humans, in turn, shower love and praise on our puppies. Please, for your own sake and your dog’s sake, give all the love you have. You can’t keep it. And it will be returned in ways you can’t even imagine.
Success is learning something new every day
That old, tired maxim, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” just isn’t true. Dogs are learners. They are so much smarter than us in some ways, or maybe just more clever. Sometimes it just takes the right motivation, like a Jones Natural Chews Lamb Lung Puff or Pig Ear. But puppies! Puppies can learn nine new things before breakfast! If you want your puppy to be successful, teach it good things, right things. Don’t teach it fear or shame. Positive training works well with puppies and old dogs alike.
Success is not giving up
This is where you can truly help your puppy to be successful. A broken spirit can be the end for people and animals alike. Positive training, positive rewards – these keep your puppy and dog learning and growing for a lifetime. Don’t give up on your puppy, especially when it’s teething and tearing things up. This is the time to pour into your puppy, figure out what motivates it to do its best. Jones Natural Chews Knee Caps might help with the chewing. Puppy classes, obedience classes, will help to train both you and your puppy. They’re good bonding experiences. Do it. Sign up today.
Success is understanding the difference between need and want
I’ll be honest – this is difficult for the human. Puppies know what they need. They need shelter, food and love. Our job is to provide those three things. And regular vet visits. But where’s the line between need and want, and does it matter? It sure does. I’ll speak from my realm – dog treats.
As America battles obesity, so do our pets. Some dog breeds are more prone to being overweight than others. In my own home, my Aussie mixes eat whenver they’re hungry, but they don’t gain weight. Chewy, the Affenpinscher mix, stays trim and cute, being an active type. Gadget, whom we think is a Brussels Griffon/ Chihuahua mix, is a tub of lard. Poor boy. He’s losing weight, though. For the first time in my adult life, I have to monitor a dog’s food intake and the type of food he eats. I have to make sure he’s getting what he needs, instead of what he wants.
This also applies to treats. Treats are meant to be dessert, not a meal. Please, in rewarding your puppy for good behavior, go light on treats. Tear or break them into tiny pieces. Find toys or activities which your puppy will see as rewards, whether it’s a ball, or a good game of fetch.
Don’t Forget the Giveaway!
Please don’t forget our best puppy training treat giveaway! Click on this sentence and a new tab will open with the contest. Read to the bottom to find the Rafflecopter and instructions. Your puppy will love you for entering! So will I. Promise.
Spreading the good chews …
Flea