Times Have Changed
Sunday, January 15, 2017 at 8:28AM 
Last night we had all 3 pups in with the crew to play including Inula. They all did well to various degrees. As this was new, they usually just have 1 or 2 join them in play vs. getting surrounded. They had a variety of reactions. The Adele girl went - oh wow joy, joy, joy and proceeded to embrace the change. The tri Jeannie was more reserved but played. She assessed and thought it through. The Jeannie cream gal watched then played.
We repeated this morning without Akemi as Akemi was sleeping. It was just the timing. The Adele gal was happy, happy, play. The tri Jeannie didn't assess for long this time and just played despite being surrounded.
Now you would think the Adele puppy is better off but yes and no. She seems to embrace the changes without thinking where the Jeannie pup assessed.
Why is one better than the other? They are not.
The Adele pup just does without thinking and the Jeannie pup makes sure the surroundings are safe. She is the thinker. The thinker will keep herself out of trouble by making sure the situation is safe where the Adele will need human intervention (at least for now) to let her know if it is safe. She will remain that way unless she gets attacked and then she will be weary.
They are each different. Not one better than the other but the key is to get the Adele pup to think (read body language) and the Jeannie pup to assess quicker. To have the ability to read dog language so young and assess is a 'good' thing. To embrace everything is a good thing but each needs help in different ways. You learn what your dogs needs are without coddling to help them be all they can be. Coddling cripples a dog emotionally. It also will do the same to a human. Think about it.
Reader Comments (13)
Very interesting dynamics going on! I just looked at Stones puppy photos...Marco does look just like him. It's amazing.
Darlaht that is such a good lesson. I think Rusty is hesitant and I think we did and sometimes do coddle him. I wonder at two if his personality is set or if we can make him less cautious? I look forward to watching these two nameless(?) pups develop and look forward to the tips you will give us.
They are so beautiful.
It's never too old to condition and stop coddling. Really.... He needs positive exposures. Start taking him to many places. Go to the pet stores with him even if you have nothing to buy. Bring him downtown where the noises are different. On and on.
Ronnie, I was quite the mother hen when we first got Cooper. Never had kids so I wanted to coddle. I quickly realized that coddling is not healthy...but cuddling is nice :-) exposure to many things is great. Anyway, just wanted to share my experience as today Cooper is very confident dog. This is not to say that we take chances with him i.e. Alone in the backyard or off leash on walks, we don't . Anything can happen and we take that seriously. So, we protect him, maybe more than the average dog owner, but in a non coddle way. My two cents for tonight.
Anne, thanks for your input. Copper is a great example of well adjusted dog.
All his classes and exposure to a variety of environments have been good for Cooper.
Kona needs more exposure to different environments. I tend to over protect him.
He loves people, but other dogs not so much.
Kathy:
But yet here he is fine with other dogs and even has his fave. It's hard not to coddle,
Thank you for sharing such valuable lessons!
Very interesting how the innate personality develops with how we interact with the pup. Nature vs nurture. That's why each dawg has such an unique personality because they all go through very different experience! I am sometimes very guilty of coddling...Darlah, can you please stop making these pups to be so cute? That will help us stop coddling.
On another note, I have been trying to get Tenshi to climb up the stairs, oh man, up she went a very longflighg of stairs. At the top, she was like so happy and giving me this look "mom, I am so proud!" It was priceless to see her feeling the confidence! Now, we have to get her to climb down!
I appreciate the input. I do try and not coddle. But he gets lots of cuddling. We do go for walks and in the park he meets dogs. He hesitates at first and then smells. He never barks at others but he does hesitate. It is like he is assessing the situation.
It is so nice to have support. We also take him to the pet store which he loves but not other homes besides yours Darlah and one good friend. No one invites him along and we do not want to impose.
We do love him. He is so wonderful and so loving.
I expose them to anything and everything whenever I can. People, kids of all ages, dogs, cats of every size, etc. I tell kids to chase them and even let the really young ones kind of swat/pat at them (when I am holding the dog and have total control). We go to garden centres, pet stores (I even train in pet stores with all the distractions). We go to nursing homes, we walk the neighbourhood during Halloween. My motto is you have to try it. If you don't like it, we repeat in small doses and often. I approach every situation with confidence. When they are nervous, I try to make it fun. It all works. If you are nervous, the dog will sense it and assume there's something to be nervous about.
By the way, Farley runs full blast into every situation (& thinks everyone should love him) and Clarity is the thinker that wants to assess the situation and on her terms.
... and don't get me wrong, it is always in a safe environment with me in control. And, yes, Clarity and Farley get tons and tons of cuddling, just not coddling.
I have seen confident dogs become very cautious due to a lack of exposure and the way the humans interact with them. I have seen very cautious dogs become more confident due to their humans.
Ok last question. We have not so friendly dogs that humans think are great. Do I let Rusty be the judge or do I avoid? Also how can you tell when you are first meeting the other dog. We meet all kinds but they are really lovely dogs. Some owners move their dogs out of the way and that is fine but others think their dogs are grumpy but want to have them meet with your dog. That is my question what do you do then. Let Rusty decide. I usually ask if the dog is friendly or others have asked me.
Ronnie, when we go on walks, and encounter other dogs, we always ask the owner if the dogs can say "hi" before they meet and if the dog is friendly. If we sense any hesitation, we walk away. We can usually tell if the dog is friendly. We have met people who prefer not to have their dog meet ours, usually because their dog is either shy or afraid of other dogs. The owners are usually quick to let us know. We have also met dogs during walks which are friendly but will get "in Cooper's face" as in crowd him. He will let them know if that is the case. I would say that most of the time, once Cooper has said "hi" and sniffed the other dog, then he's good to go and we carry on with our walk. Hope this helps.