Puppy Development Calender

[Jay57]

My friend has a puppy , she imported to be shown and bred from at a later stage, she would have been approx 5 months old when she arrived in Australia from New Zealand, she is now 11 months,old she shows fear at everything, when out walking ,an empty bottle will set her off, a new blanket in her crate, ect, there is no way you could show the puppy with this behaviour , she is frightened of everything, so my friend paid to have a proffesional dog whisper visit,reccomended by her Vet, he was there for 3 hours observing the pup, , he blames lack of socialising by the breeder when she was little and said that the pup has something in her brain that switches on and off, he advised that the puppy maybe should be put down as he didn't think she would show much improvement, this was after saying that he would need her for at least 8 weeks to try and rectify her problem , any suggestions would be most appreciated

[AmaCam+Digby]

Omg.... 9-16 months... I had read this post and am now reading it again, hadn't realised the 2nd fear period was QUITE that long!

We have a deaf blue heeler who is very much in this phase- 10 months old. You may have seen some of my posts about all night barking- quite literally ALL NIGHT... We are now utilizing a crate, in our bedroom , which mostly works, still a few barks or inadvertent noises, licking/slobbering noises, creepy heavy breathing lol, It's really not ideal, we have tried leaving lights on, exploring the yard with him in thr dark, taking him out for calm night walks, it's a real challenge, but still barking at the nothingness. . He gets daily walks too

He is also showing signs of being fearful of dogs he doesn't know; maybe aggression? Hackles, barking, pulling lead, but once he has a good sniff of a calm dog he seems to calm right down...

Will these two issues pass when the fear period ends? What should we be doing to ensure a smooth transition away from these behaviors? Or is it something that we will need to get one on one help with to rectify?

We haven't had an uninterrupted sleep since a week before new years eve.....

Edited February 13, 2012 by AmaCam+Digby

[Riddick]

Selective hearing is right on the mark here.

Being destructive also in here.

But not once has he had the fear factor.

Thought I found this so informative and correct that it all made a lot of sense.

Well put together from start to finish. Thank you.

[zippolah]

Great article! as a first time dog owner this is great for me, thanks

[Tapua]

Great article Steve interesting that so much of the important socialising/desensitising and enhancement opportunities are available to breeders to set their puppy up to deal well with the outside world rather than owners and trainers having to compensate for their inadequate start. I try to give our pups the best start we can then find people who can utilise and appreciate their potential. I use NILIF all the time but if I may can I Cut & Paste a copy of your interpretation of NILIF - it is IMO far superior than the standard presentation. :)

[Steve K9Pro]

Sure you can Tapua!

[Effieng Tonks]

Wow. This is a very well written calendar. There were a lot of great tips for each phase of a puppy's development and reading it made me even more excited to get my next pup!