Raising a Puppy: Heartful Canine Style — Part 1

Raising a puppy for the first time in 8 years, and since writing my book, it is really hitting me just how much we expect of them. How much we expect them to conform.

He's 12.5 weeks old. Yes, I am toilet training, but I'm not really doing any other formal training. We're just focusing on learning about the world and trying to make that feel as safe as possible.

That's enough for a baby dog.

We're doing this at a pace he feels comfortable with, trying not to overwhelm him with too much, too soon. There is so much focus on not exercising puppies too much, and rightly so, but I think there is far less consideration given to how much we can overstimulate them with new experiences.

A puppy doesn't have to be physically exhausted to have had enough for one day.

I'd like to think I'm pretty accommodating. I try and let him rest when he needs to rest, play when he wants to play. If he finds something interesting to chew or play with, I don't automatically take it away from him. Of course, there are going to be things he finds that aren't safe for him, but wherever possible I'll swap them for something else he can have rather than simply taking something away from him.

We're exploring new places, meeting people, other dogs, other animals, textures, smells and sounds. Hoping those experiences are positive. But we're also trying to do that at a pace that feels comfortable for him, rather than feeling that we need to tick everything off a socialisation checklist.

That's enough.

I'm not asking him to sit, lie down, stay on command... he has so much to adjust to right now. Why does he need to have all that extra pressure put on him?

Yes, there are things he needs to learn to live in this world, but it's all new to him right now and it's really dawned on me that that is more than enough for him to have to deal with.

I'm simply encouraging any desirable behaviour as it happens, and barely a treat has passed his lips in 2.5 weeks because, ultimately, I want him to make the right choices and not do so just in the hope of a tasty reward.

He's learning all the time simply by being here. Learning where he lives, who we are, what different things feel like, what different sounds mean, how the world works, where he can rest, where he can play and what is safe.

Nothing is forced.

We are really, as much as possible, just trying to go with the flow and allow him the opportunity to learn about the world around him.

Perhaps we don't always need to be asking puppies to do something.

Perhaps sometimes we just need to give them the space to be puppies and experience the world at their own pace.