"Good Dog" Guidelines
by Nona Schley, Sojourn Weimaraners

Socialization - Socialization is the single most important thing you will do with your puppy!  It is as essential as food and water!!  With this, you build the foundation for ALL future learning and training.  It will help to ensure that you will have a go-anywhere, do-anything companion - a dog who functions from confidence and competence!

Start the socialization process immediately after you get your puppy.  This first round of socialization will be with other people, places and things, NOT with other dogs.

Introduce puppy to as many new people, places and things as you can!  This is a gradual process, not to be 'done' in one day or one week.  While the process actually continues over the life of the dog, the most emphasis and work MUST be done early on.

Puppy Socialization or Puppy Kindergarten classes are a MUST.  This is not 'beginner's obedience' class.  It will be a class geared for young puppies prior to beginner's obedience.  Attend faithfully!

Some examples of socialization that you should do in addition to formal classes:  while going grocery shopping - take puppy along.  While one person shops, the other can walk the puppy around the premises.  Puppy will be exposed to children, car doors, carts, cars and truck noises, people, things and places.  People will undoubtedly stop to pet puppy too.  Go to Little League or soccer games.  Again, exposure to noise, active people.  Visit friends.  Exposure to new places and new people are important.  Walk puppy near busy streets, work up to this gradually.  Expose puppy to traffic noises, cars, cycles, trucks and buses.  Purchase a small wading pool, show puppy with your supervision to children - as many as you can find and as often as you can!!  ALWAYS SUPERVISE!!

Be ready to encourage and reward all of puppy's correct responses to new stimuli.  If fearful/cautious, encourage, praise, praise, praise when goal accomplished.  When puppy is hesitant/fearful, encourage but never force or punish!  Praise/reward even very small steps towards a goal.

Once a week is not enough!  You must get puppy out - in addition to weekly classes - at least 4 or more times a week.  Remember, going for walks where you encounter other people counts for socialization!

"Come" Command - "Puppy come!"  Here's how it works: while your puppy is busy playing away from you, whether it's in a room adjacent to where you are or whether it is across the room from you, kneel down and in a sweet voice call "Puppy come!"  You are free to clap your hands and repeat 'come' as he runs near you or to you.  Immediately as he gets to you, reward him with praise and an edible treat.  And just that quick, the 'lesson' is over.  Do not restrain the dog or attempt to keep him by you.  Release him immediately to go on about his puppy business.  This can be repeated several times throughout the day.  Practice is outside too.  This is not a formal obedience 'come', but it is a command that may save your pet's life some day and it lays the foundation for future refinement of the command.

Food-Toy Possession - Safety-proofing your puppy for food/toy possession.  Here's how it works:  When your puppy is eating his wonderful kibbles, approach him from an area where he can see you coming - no sneaking up on him.  Speak softly and tell him 'wait' while you touch his food and his mouth.  This needs to be done for only a brief second in the beginning.  Then tell him 'okay' and let him rapidly return to his eating.  At another time, approach as above and pet puppy on the head, tell him 'good boy' and then leave him to his meal.  You can also feed puppy a small portion f his meal from your hand, then put the rest of the food into his dish with your hand.  Also practice telling puppy 'wait' while you remove his food dish while he is eating.  Do this removal for the briefest of seconds, just enough so he knows you are the boss here and that his food dish is your just as much as it is his.  All members of the family should take turns practicing this - children too with adult supervision.  When puppy is busy chewing on one of his many toys, approach him (do not call him to you - you do the approaching) from an angle where he can see you coming, and tell him 'out' or 'wait' while you remove the toy from his mouth.  Again, do this for just a brief moment, say 'good boy!' and immediately replace the object into his mouth.  You should be able to take any object from your pet at any time, and you should also be able to remove a food dish at any time.  These exercises should be repeated daily and should be 'tuned up' repeatedly throughout the dog's life.

Retrieving - Reward all 'retrieving'.  Here's how it works...  Each and every time your puppy takes something up in his mouth - whether it is one of your brand new $100 Nike sneakers or one of his very own toys, get his attention and call him to you.  If the object is a 'forbidden' one, go to him.  While the object is in his mouth, praise the pup, tell him he is a very VERY good dog and gently remove the object from his mouth.  If the object is indeed one of the pups very own, allowable, chewing toys, tell him 'good dog', and immediately return the item to his mouth.  If the object is a forbidden one, gently remove it, offer quick praise - and - an edible treat.  And then put the object up out of pup's reach - where it should have been in the first place!!

By practicing this, you are reinforcing several things.  One is the actual instinct to retrieve.  Another is teaching him to come to you.  A third is the 'OUT' command which means 'Out of your mouth' with whatever is in it.  You never know what might end up in a dog's mouth, so this command may save his life at some point.  Fetching and retrieving can open the door to many fun games for you and the pup to engage in together, plus it is a great tool for those who may choose to hunt.