365 Days of Training Our Dog: 100 Things in 100 Days

My girlfriend and her mother drove 4 hours north to a town just outside of the Adirondack Mountains to pick up our new puppy, Ubu. In the midst of all the excitement my girlfriend left his travel crate at home and purchased all of his new puppy accessories (leash, collar, toys) a few sizes too big for him. Smiling at my girlfriends fluster, the breeder put together a makeshift bed for Ubu with a towel from the litters kennel and snapped a green cat collar around his neck. With the scent of his mother close to him and a 4 hour drive to his new home, Ubu was beginning his life with us.

So now what? Aside from cuddling and friends visiting to play with our new puppy, what were the next steps? In addition to purchasing size appropriate toys and a leash for Ubu, we also picked up a copy of Animal Planets, Puppy Training and Care book. A short read with real life examples and pictures, we found Animal Planets, Puppy Training and Care book extremely helpful. Aside from the general puppy prepping, food basics, vaccinations, grooming and emergency care, the text also stressed the importance of your puppies first 10 weeks of existing in a human’s world. From hairdryers to car rides and harnesses to sweaters, these are all unnatural to the canine species. Without exposure and socialization to various elements, your jovial puppy may grow to be an unbalanced dog. So what was next? Take your dog everywhere with you and do everything with him; 100 things in 100 days.

It is important to note that 100 things in 100 days means just that and not 100 things in 1 day! Start small and remember that less is more. Although our goal is to expose the dog to various sounds, textures, smells and experiences it is critical that you don’t cross the fine line and overwhelm your dog. During Ubu’s first few days in our home we put child gates up and restricted his access to our kitchen. In addition, Ubu slept in his crate, not in our bed and continues to sleep in his crate to this day. When tackling the 100 in 100 list, remember that exposing your new puppy to other dogs and public environments could be detrimental to its health depending on where he/she is at in his vaccination regimen. Maintain an open dialogue with the breeder and the dogs Veterinarian to best understand what is healthy for your dog. With that being said, after a week of acclimating we took Ubu to Millersport Small Animal Clinic in Getzville, NY for a second round of shots and general physical. There we learned that getting your puppy used to people touching his paws, ears, hind legs and teeth on a daily basis is a great way to make him feel comfortable during the grooming process. Day 8, 9, 10; trim toes, poke ears with cotton swab, stick fingers in mouth to feel teeth.

During this process it is It is unnatural for humans not to revert to our nurturing, maternal/paternal instincts and begin coddling in puppies when they feel scared or uncomfortable, but after reading Cesar Millan’s book, How to Raise the Perfect Dog, we learned a lot about dogs as animals and how to socialize a puppy leveraging dog psychology. For example, your dog won’t always be thrilled about new experiences such as kayaking or meeting large dogs. As the pack leader in these situations it is important to remain calm in assertive so that your puppy will learn to trust you. Instead of cooing, “it’s okay cutie” to your dog, remain calm and keep moving your puppy forward through the exercise.

Both training and socialization are critical components of your puppy’s development. After completing 100 things in 100 days, repeat. Continue to nurture your dogs disposition by constant socialization. After all, following puppy hood is adolescence in which they seem to forget everything they learned…

A snapshot of Ubu’s 100 things in 100 days