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Many owners encounter problems with dogs that will not come when called while out walking, this is not only frustrating for the owner, but it can also be potentially hazardous. The following training tips can help to prevent recall problems:

#1. From an early age train the recall in a positive way: Find a good puppy class, preferably one where many fun games are practiced off-leash. For example one handler gently restrains Fido while his owner shows him a treat, the owner then runs a little distance away, holds out arms in a welcome gesture and calls Fido in a happy tone of voice. When the handler is confident that Fido is focused on his owner Fido is released and runs over to his owner, and he receives the treat, lots of positive happy verbal feedback, and petting. Keep practicing and as Fido gets good at this game, gradually increase the distance he is required to run.  If you don’t have a helper to hold Fido, then simply run backwards and encourage him to follow you, and reward with treats, praise, and petting.

#2. Never deliberately scold your dog when he comes back to you: This is a typical scenario, Fido runs off to investigate some interesting scent, when Fido returns to us, our first instinct is to be annoyed and to scold him. However, in effect we are not punishing the behaviour that Fido engaged in while he was away from us, but rather the act of returning to us. Fido soon learns that it is not much fun to come back to us! It is vital that we always welcome our dogs back to us, no matter what they have done.

#3. Do not inadvertently teach your dog that “come” means end of walk, play, and freedom: This is a very common mistake and it is very easy to do. Many owners do so accidentally in the following way. We only call Fido back at the end of the walk and then always put his leash on and take him home. Fido learns “come” means an end to fun, friends and freedom. We can prevent this by calling Fido back during the walk several times, hold his collar gently, give him some treats, then send him off again. Mix it up a little, call Fido back, and ask him to sit, attach the leash for 30 seconds, wait for eye contact, and then reward him with freedom. Make sure that calling your dog does not always signal an end to walks and play.

#4. Reward your dog in various ways for coming when called: There are many ways we can reward Fido for coming when called. Generally in the early stages of teaching the recall we can use food rewards, but as we progress it is important that we make use of other rewards and “life rewards”, a few examples:

• A quick game of tug
• A throw of a Frisbee/ball
• Freedom
• Opportunity to greet other dog(s)/resume play with other dog(s)

In addition if we pay attention to activities that Fido enjoys while out on walks, we can use these activities as rewards (as long as they are safe). This means that when Fido comes back when called we can instantly reward him with an activity which he wants most at that moment. Of course for reasons of safety there are times when Fido must stay close and be on leash when we call him back. However if we call him back regularly and reward him by releasing him, then the occasional time that we have keep him close and on leash will not be detrimental to his training.

#5. Never play chasing games with your puppy: Every so often I see a puppy dash away from its owner at the last possible second on a recall. The puppy will then bounce at the owner and offer a play bow, and will run off again as soon as the owner gets closer. This is frequently a direct consequence of people in the puppy’s family chasing it for fun. It can be very cute when Fido picks up a toy or sock and starts to run away from the humans around him. It is hard to resist giving chase. Unfortunately this teaches Fido that it is great fun to run away from his owners, rather than towards them. Therefore it is better to teach Fido that all play begins when he comes to us and not when he runs away.

#6. Be your dog’s best PR; positive reinforcer: A simple way to encourage Fido to come when called is to be rewarding, fun, and nice to be around. If we are always irritable or unresponsive to our dogs when they come to us, where is the motivation for them to return? Conversely, if we are a source of fun, games, affection, and make use of the endless list of life rewards at our disposal, our dogs will find us very reinforcing to be around.

#7. Walk your puppy off-leash in safe environments when possible: Create safe opportunities where you can walk your puppy off-leash. If you have a securely fenced off garden make good use of it. Walk Fido around the garden and reward him for staying close, giving you eye contact, responding to his name, and of course for coming closer when called. Young puppies are typically very dependent on their owners and it is generally very easy to shape the behaviour of staying close while walking, yet the puppy is still walking freely. So make the most of puppyhood and find safe enclosed areas for short walks.

#8. Play the follow me game: If we follow Fido around or run after him when he goes off, then he will learn that we will join him soon enough and he will simply go on his merry way. So we should avoid this, and instead when Fido goes off in a direction of his own make a noise to get his attention and simply walk or run in the opposite direction. Play hide and seek! At random moments during the walk when Fido is not paying attention to where you are, hide behind a tree. (Make sure you can keep a watch to ensure Fido is safe, but he cannot see you). When Fido comes looking for you, reward him with lots of praise, treats or a game. You can take this a step further and turn it into a really fun game by having a family member or friend hold Fido while you go off and hide. Fido is then given the cue “go find” and is released.

#9. Be unpredictable on walks: It is very normal for us humans to follow a routine when we walk. We get to the park, beach, woods, etc., and we walk a predictable route, then leave or head back to the car. Fido very quickly learns this routine and the problem is he learns at a certain point the walk is over, end of fun. This is when Fido will take great measures to dodge you because he does not want the walk to end. So be unpredictable and keep Fido guessing. Vary the route you take, change direction several times, recall Fido at various points on the walk, attach the leash, walk a little way, and remove the leash.

#10. Walk in varied locations: If possible, try to walk Fido in various locations do not go to the same place every day.

www.fun4fido.co.uk

clicker training 4 dogs, shaping behaviour 1 click @ a time

• Prevent rehearsal:  Each time the dog does the unwanted behaviour, the “pathway” in the brain to that behaviour gets used and something like “muscle memory” is established.  These things make the behaviour a more likely option the dog will turn to when presented with similar situations in the future.  Not all behaviours can be prevented completely, but recognising what triggers the unwanted behaviour will help you prevent that situation from occurring.

• Train a subsitute behaviour:  If the dog is not doing the undesirable behaviour, he is doing something else.  If he’s being quiet, he’s not barking.  If his feet are all on the floor, he’s not jumping.  When a behaviour gets a reward (either from you, the environment or the dog himself) it will be repeated.  You need to be sure that it’s the desirable alternative that gets the reward and attention from you.  Think about what you want the dog TO DO rather than what you want to stop.  Try to get the dog to do the desired behaviour in place of the unwanted one.  Be sure to reward heavily for the desired behaviour, especialy if the dog chooses that behaviour on his own.

• Undestand normal dog behaviour:  Often, a behaviour people don’t like is perfectly normal for a dog to do (or for the breed of dog to do.)  In some cases, such as chewing, it’s a behaviour the dog NEEDS to do.  By giving the dog an appropriate outlet for these natural behaviours, the dog will be much happier and more relaxed.  You can use these highly desired behaviours as a reward for when the dog does something you like.  If your puppy is chewing on furniture (then you have not taken appropriate steps for management/prevention) but you can ask the pup to sit and then reward that desired behaviour with a Kong he’s allowed to chew on.  Often supervision and redirecting the dog to an appropriate outlet is the best solution for natural dog behaviours.

• Be consistent:  Dogs learn much faster when the rules remain the same.  If you sometimes got a pay cheque for going to work and sometimes got it for staying home, but the rules about which was which weren’t clear, you would have some stress and confusion.  People do this to their dogs all the time!  Jumping up is OK unless I’m wearing nice clothes or your feet are dirty.  Barking is ok unless the neighbours have been complaining or a sleeping baby is visiting.  Sometimes it’s ok to get on the sofa, sometimes it’s not.  The problem is compounded when more than one person routinely interacts with the dog.  Make sure all family members understand and apply the same rules.  Dogs are often willing to follow the rules when the rules are clear and consistent.

• Learn to earn:  The “learn to earn” program, when implemented in a reasonable manner, can greatly help increase the odds of good behaviour.  When the dog learns that the way to get what he wants is by doing something you like, your dog will start doing what you like more often.  This program also helps teach the dog the concept of self-control.  If mugging you for food works, why should he sit politely during meals?  If pulling on the leash works, why should he try to keep the leash loose?  But, if the dog has to sit before he gets a treat and has to keep the leash loose before you are willing to move a single step, he has more reason to try self-control.  This program goes hand in hand with helping the dog toward an acceptable behaviour and then rewarding that behaviour with something the dog wants.

• Look for the good:  We are a punishing species.  It is a proven fact that when a person uses punishment and it gets results, the use of punishment is more likely.  However, the same can be said of using rewarding methods.  If you are watching for behaviours you can reward (& you reward them) those behaviours will become more frequent.  This works better than always looking for what the dog is doing wrong so you can yell or jerk on the leash.  The punishment method will cause a dog to hide the behaviour from you.  The reward method will cause the dog to bond with you because he wants to figure out what you want him to do (so he can get what he wants.)  For some complex behaviours, you might need to gradually “shape” the behaviour of the dog to get it closer and closer to the desired behaviour.  You can do this by timing your rewards in a way that keeps the dog trying and moving toward the desired behaviour.

• Be active:  Most dogs do not get the exercise they require.  Many are over weight and bored out of their minds.  By keeping their mind and body active, the dog will have less time to get himself into trouble by creating his own fun games- like let’s see how many springs are inside the bed.

• Don’t mix signals:  As humans, we communicate primarily with words.  Dogs, however, are best at reading non-verbal signals like body language and tone of voice.  We also tend to use our words in a confusing way- saying “down” when we mean “get off” and repeating the cue so fast it becomes a new cue (“sit, sit, sit”.)  Now the dog waits to hear “sit-sit-sit” before he responds. Our message and tone can be confusing too.  Saying “come here!” in a ruff and growly voice does not indicate to the dog that going toward you will be safe.  Dog’s are masters at reading our body language.  Even subtle changes like breathing patterns and raised eye brows are often noticed by dogs.  Be aware of what you are saying with your tone and body to be sure it’s not confusing the dog.  If your dog is not correctly responding to what you ask, check to make sure your body language and tone aren’t asking for something different (or indicating a bad mood that could make the dog hesitant to respond.)

• Train, train, train:  Dogs do not come with “good behaviour” naturally.  In fact, most behaviour that DOES come naturally to a dog is in direct contradiction with what we want.  By looking for and rewarding the desired behaviours, and redirecting unwanted behaviours into ones we can reward, you will be teaching your dog what you like and expect.  Just as with raising a small child, teaching dogs what will make you happy and what will upset you is a 24 hour/ 7 days a week job!  Dogs and children are always learning.  You need to make a decision to be sure they are learning what you want them to learn.

• Love your dog:  It is very easy to get frustrated, when this happens, take a moment to take a deep breath, then assess the situation.  What can you do to prevent it?  What alternative behaviour can you try to get the dog to do so you can reward it?  Is it a natural behaviour the dog needs an outlet for?  Is anyone else allowing the dog to practice the unwanted behaviour?  Can you use the situation to teach the dog self-control?  Does the dog need more exercise?  Would the dog be doing this behaviour if he was tired?  Are your desires being communicated clearly to the dog?  When you answer these questions, it is likely that you will have something to work with.  You’ll have a behaviour (or more than one) you can watch for and reward.  You will understand how to prevent the unwanted and reward the good dog.

Angela Adams MSc CABC

www.fun4fido.co.uk

clicker training 4 dogs, shaping behaviour 1 click @ a time

In the past, much of the behaviour of dogs was interpreted quite simplistically in terms of ‘hierarchy’ or social structure. It was believed that dogs were motivated (i.e. had an internal ‘drive’) to achieve a higher ‘status’ relative to other dogs or people, and that this desire led them to show behaviours such as aggression in order to achieve control. Lots of eminent behaviourists and trainers used to think in this way, but with the advancement of science and clinical behaviour practice, we now know that the foundations on which this theory was based are fundamentally flawed, and the majority of trainers and behaviourists have changed their practice as a result. We also have a much better understanding of how the brain works, and how animals learn, which has enabled us to develop a better understanding of why behaviours such as aggression do develop in dogs. In this article, we summarise why ‘dominance’ is no longer regarded as a useful explanation for the behaviour of dogs. A fuller review is available in Bradshaw et al. (2009).

Shaping is defined as the teaching by differential reinforcement of new behaviours by systematically reinforcing successive approximations toward a final target behaviour.

In dog training if a behaviour never occurs, or does not occur on a frequent basis, we say that it is not in the dog’s repertoire of behaviours.  Shaping is a way of adding behaviours to a dog’s repertoire.  Shaping is used when the target behaviour does not yet exist; for example weaving poles,  or when the target behaviour occurs infrequently; for example lying down with front paws crossed. In shaping, what is reinforced is some approximation of the target behaviour.

Approximation means any behaviour that resembles the desired behaviour or takes the dog closer to the desired behaviour. Successive approximations are steps toward the target behaviour, the behaviour you want to shape.

In playing the game of “Hot & Cold”, you reinforce any movement that takes the player closer to the prize.  Each of those successive movements is a closer approximation of the desired behaviour.  If the prize is under the sofa, and the player is moving toward the sofa, every time the player takes a step toward the sofa, you are yelling “hotter”, and you are reinforcing the behaviour.  If the player moves away from the sofa, you would yell, “colder” (non-reinforcing).

The general guideline is that you are reinforcing any behaviour that is a closer approximation of the target behaviour than the behaviour you reinforced last.  If a new approximation does not occur, you reinforce the last approximation again.  If an approximation is repeated and reinforced three to four times, you can withhold reinforcement the next time that behaviour appears. By witholding reinforcement you are increasing the criteria, you are asking the dog to figure out what more it needs to offer for reinforcement.  This is why I love shaping over other ways of getting behaviours, shaping truly does make a dog think.

Guidelines for shaping

• Define the target behaviour:  The behaviour you want hasn’t occurred yet; it’s the goal at the end of the process, so you must decide what behaviour is to be “shaped up”.  To get to the target behaviour, you must have a clear idea of what it is.

• Reinforce successive approximations of the target behaviour:  The target behaviour is ‘shaped up’ by reinforcing the nearest approximations of that behaviour.  You decide what these nearest approximations are, you set the criteria for each approximation. If the dog gets stuck at a particular step, you have two choices; you can go back a step and reinforce the previous approximation, or you can withhold reinforcement in order to induce variability in the dog’s behaviour.

• Reinforce an approximation several times or until a closer approximation appears, whichever comes first:  If no new approximation has appeared after several reinforcements, withhold reinforcement until a new approximation occurs.  In general, shaping progresses more rapidly when the increases in the criteria for reinforcement are small.  When you hold out for something better, the something better should be only a very slight improvement.  If an approximation appears that is a big advance, reinforce it, but don’t hold out for big advances.

• Monitor results:  The only way you can gauge how successful you are being at shaping behaviour is by noting what changes in behaviour are occurring.  Are you seeing progress toward the target behaviour?  Is the behaviour that occurs now closer to the target behaviour than the behaviour you got earlier?  Is it time to increase criteria for a closer approximation of the target behaviour? Has the behaviour begun to break down? Should you move back to a previous level?  Do you need to increase the value of the reinforcer? Are you able to keep the rate of reinforcement high?  These are questions you must constantly ask yourself while shaping behaviour and you can only answer them by paying close attention to changes in behaviour offered or not offered by the dog.  Taking mental data on each step, keeping track of approximations, criteria, and rate of reinforcement, help you determine answers.

Note: You will have to make judgments about when to raise the criteria and by how much; sometimes, you will be wrong.  It is best to err on the side of caution, reinforcing behaviour at a given step for just a few more trials and make very small increases in the criteria for reinforcement.  If you make the mistake of moving too quickly, then progress will break down and you will need to move back to a previous level.

Here is a really good example of shaping and clicker training. Jessie an assistant dog learning the task of turning on a light switch in under 4 minutes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DWbV5VKZxc

The Click! Sound is a Bridge

A Bridge is an Event Marker

In the 1940s, Marian Breland and Keller Breland developed “clicker training,” in which they used a cricket toy to make a short, distinctive sound, which they used to signal to an animal that the action the animal was doing at the time the human clicked was the exact action they were wanting the animal to do.

They reinforced - rewarded - the action they had just clicked for, by delivering a primary reinforcer to the animal.  A primary reinforcer is something an animal is born needing such as food.  Tiny pea sized pieces of food are commonly used as primary reinforcers - rewards. The click sound is given exactly as the action/behaviour is occurring, and the primary reinforcer is delivered immediately thereafter. The click sound, then, acts as a “bridge” between the desired action/behaviour, and the reward, or, reinforcer, that reinforces the action (makes it more likely to occur again another time).

Event Marker

Using a clicker, or, more accurately, the Click! sound itself, allows the trainer to mark exactly the desired action that the trainee animal is doing, exactly while the animal is doing it.

This type of training greatly removes confusion. Animals think and move very fast. A trainer who teaches an animal that the click sound means it did the action/behaviour that earns the primary reward, or, the “treat,” is “marking the event” that earns the treat.

Using this method, animals can be trained to very precise actions that humans want them to do, it is so effective and can be used not only for shaping simple behaviours, but also for shaping complex behaviours involving many steps.

The click sound, in this usage, is called a “bridge,” precisely because it “bridges” the time between the human-desired, human-clicked action, and the delivery of the primary reinforcer, the treat, to the animal.

Once the trainer has clicked, the primary reinforcer, the treat, needs to be delivered within a very short time; preferably, no longer than about half a second, to allow the animal to make the connection between action and reward, or, reinforcer for the action.

The whole point of using a clicker and rewards is to keep the animal from becoming unduly confused about what you want it to do!

Starting in the early 1990s, many years after the clicker was first used this way, more and more dog trainers began to use the clicker. Interest increased, and now, I’d venture to guess that most dog trainers today are at least aware of the possibility of training dogs using a clicker and treats. A kind of generic name dog trainers and some others use for this type of training is, “clicker training.”

Karen Pryor’s Site

A main populariser of “clicker training” is Karen Pryor, whose massive web site on clicker training has plenty of leads of its own.

You never, ever, have to punish your dog, it is never, ever, necessary. There is always something else you can do. As Turid Rugaas says, “You always have a choice.”

Using a clicker can help you learn how to avoid punishing your dog, but you do not need to use a clicker to learn that, either!

We human keepers of companion animals can always do as the Baileys and Turid Rugaas did and do. We can observe our dogs with meticulous care, and take our first information from the dogs themselves. Then we can work with them on their own terms.

PRESS RELEASE

 Problems with aversive dog training techniques

UK animal welfare, behaviour, training and veterinary organisations1 are warning of the possible dangers of using techniques for training dogs that can cause pain and fear, such as some of those seen used by Cesar Millan, who has announced a UK tour next year.

The organisations have joined forces to voice their serious concerns about techniques which pose welfare problems for dogs and significant risk to owners who may copy them. These concerns are shared, and the statement supported, by similar organisations around the world2 and in continental Europe3.

Aversive training techniques, which have been seen to be used by Cesar Millan, are based on the principle of applying an unpleasant stimulus to inhibit behaviour. This kind of training technique can include the use of prong collars, electric shock collars, restricting dogs′ air supply using nooses/leads or pinning them to the ground, which can cause pain and distress. The use of such techniques may compromise the welfare of dogs and may worsen the behavioural problems they aim to address, potentially placing owners at considerable risk. A number of scientific studies have found an association between the use of aversive training techniques and the occurrence of undesired behaviours in dogs.

The organisations believe that the use of such training techniques is not only unacceptable from a welfare perspective, but that this type of approach is not necessary for the modification of dog behaviour. Dog trainers all over the UK use reward-based methods to train dogs very effectively. Where dogs have behaviours which owners find unacceptable, such as aggression or destruction, qualified behaviourists achieve long term changes in behaviour through the use of established and validated techniques of behaviour modification without subjecting dogs to training techniques which may cause pain or distress.

We urge dog owners to carefully consider the help they choose to train their dogs or tackle behavioural problems. Anyone can call themselves a behaviour expert, but we believe that only those with a combination of appropriate qualifications, up to date knowledge as well as skills and experience should be treating dogs, and should only do so in a way which does not put the welfare of the dogs at risk.

1Dogs Trust, The Blue Cross, Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), The Blue Dog, Wood Green Animal Shelters, World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), The Kennel Club, Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare, Canine Partners, UK , Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB), Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors (APBC), Association of Pet Dog Trainers, UK (APDT, UK), UK Registry of Canine Behaviours (UKRCB), Companion Animal Behaviour Therapy Study Group (CABTSG), British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) and British Veterinary Association (BVA).

2Australian Veterinary Association (AVA), Australian Veterinary Behaviour Interest Group (AVBIG), American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB), American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (ACVB), The International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) and The Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, Inc. (CCPDT)(USA).

3European Society of Clinical Veterinary Ethology (ESCVE), European College of Veterinary Behavioural Medicine – Companion Animals (ECVBM-CA), the Flemish Veterinary Working Group on Ethology (VDWE) and Norwegian Association for Pet Behaviour (NAPB) Norsk Atferdsgruppe for Selskapsdyr (NAS).

Further information on:

• What’s Wrong with Using ‘Dominance’ to Explain the Behaviour of Dogs?

• If Not Dominance…How do we Explain the Development of Social Behaviour?

• What are the Implications of Using Training Techniques Which Induce Fear or Pain in Dogs?

• Should I Follow Status Reduction Programmes with my Dog?

• How do I Find a Suitable Dog Training Course?

• What do I do if my Dog has a ‘Behaviour Problem’?

Source: www.dogwelfarecampaign.org

Puppy socialisation has been a popular phrase for some time now. Is it really as important as people make it out to be, if so, why, and what should you be doing with your puppy to socialise him correctly?

Early puppyhood is thought of as one of the most critical periods in a dog’s life. Just like little children, young puppies absorb impressions like a sponge, and sometimes they retain things we would rather they forgot.

The brain of a dog (and of a human) is both specific and plastic. SpecificityPlasticity refers to those aspects of brain structure which are pliable and subject to environmental influences. Generally speaking, the higher up the evolutionary tree an animal is, the higher its brain plasticity will be. refers to those brain characteristics which are absolutely hard-wired and unchangeable.

Although the temperament of a dog is partly genetic, puppies come into the world with highly plastic brains; in other words, they are extremely susceptible to environmental influences. This window of susceptibility closes at around 16 weeks (although it may take until 5 months to close completely), by which time the brain has more or less completed its development. After this, although the dog can still learn, he will not be as adaptable and susceptible as in those early weeks. The impressions created in those first few weeks literally affect the way the brain develops, and are extremely difficult to eradicate later.

Negative impressions in those early weeks can affect the puppy for the rest of its life; similarly, positive impressions bear fruit for years to come.

Puppies at this stage are said to be imprintable; the first encounter with a particular stimulus will be difficult to eradicate. So, for example, if a puppy is bitten by an adult Siberian the first time he meets one, he may develop a lifelong fear and dislike of Siberians, or of furry dogs in general, even if his subsequent encounters with them are positive.

Maternal imprinting takes place within the first 24 hours of life. The puppy bonds with his mother and learns to recognise her by smell. The mother accepts and recognises her puppies; breeders have plenty of anecdotes about bitches who can count and know when even one puppy is missing from the litter.

Fraternal imprinting takes place between 3 and about 8 weeks. This is the period during which the puppy learns to interact with other members of its species. Older puppies will teach one another bite inhibition, play behaviour and the beginnings of sexual imprinting (learning the behaviour appropriate to one’s own and the opposite sex.) For this reason, it is important not to remove a puppy from the litter too early, otherwise it may have lifelong difficulty in getting along with other dogs. Around 7 or 8 weeks is usually a good time, but if the puppy is left with the litter for longer, then the breeder needs to begin socialisation to people, strange dogs, cats etc. so that further social imprinting can take place.

Puppies bred specifically for service work, such as guide dogs for the blind will also commence social and environmental imprinting from as early as 5 weeks.

Between about 8 and 10 weeks of age, a puppy is especially susceptible to fear-producing experiences, which may have a lasting effect.

What should you be doing as a new puppy owner to ensure that the puppy’s socialisation continues on a positive note?

Join a puppy class

Good dog training schools usually operate a puppy class for puppies of 8 weeks and older. The most important thing the puppies do here is play. They spend time with other puppies, have a ball, overcome their shyness, get told off by other puppies if they get too boisterous, and generally learn the basics of dog manners. They also learn that meeting other dogs is fun, and this does wonders for preventing dog aggression in later life.

Meet people

Expose your puppy to people of all shapes, sizes, genders and nationalities from an early age. Dogs discriminate extremely well, and many dogs are under-socialised to certain groups; for example, dogs belonging to single women are often wary of or aggressive toward men. It’s particularly important to introduce your puppy to children - but supervise the situation and don’t allow the puppy to be mauled or bullied. Get people to feed him high-quality treats; remember the power of classical conditioning and try to make his socialisation positive rather than neutral. Older children can also feed the puppy.

Go for walks

Take your puppy into all sorts of neighbourhoods. Get him used to traffic, short car journeys, sudden noises, trains, buses, the underground, crowds, shopping centres. Two words of warning here: your puppy is not fully immunised until he has had his third vaccination, so try to avoid places where he might be exposed to disease. Also, make sure that your puppy is not becoming stressed by his surroundings. If he seems to be struggling, take him out for shorter periods and feed him treats while he’s out and about. Remember, you want to create a positive experience, not a negative one.

Go to the vet

Take your puppy to the vet a few times just for a visit. (It’s a good idea to wait until after the 2nd shot to do this.) Ask if you can take the puppy into the surgery for a few moments, and ask the vet to feed him a couple of treats. This will make your life much easier later on, when those visits may mean injections or other painful treatments.

Handle the puppy

Go through a grooming routine with your puppy every day. Examine his ears, teeth and feet. Trim his toenails if you can. Feed him treats while you do this. Ask other people to do the same.

Visit a farm

When your puppy has received all necessary vaccinations (normally around 12 weeks), take him to a farm to see and smell other animals.

Practise object exchanges

Teach your puppy to give up toys and other objects easily by giving another toy or a treat in exchange. Do this with his food as well; pick up the bowl while he’s eating, add a couple of treats to it and give it back. If your puppy objects to you removing his food, feed him from your hand for a couple of days. This will go a long way toward establishing trust and preventing resource guarding in the adult dog.

Carry on teaching bite inhibition

Puppies who have been left with the litter for long enough usually have quite good bite inhibition, but you can help. Whenever the puppy’s teeth close down too hard on your hand, yelp in a high-pitched voice until the puppy lets go, and then withdraw your attention for a moment. You can gradually shape the puppy’s bite to a point where he barely touches you.

Introduce your puppy to adult dogs

Your pup needs to meet older dogs, and needs to learn to treat them with respect. Find out how the older dog usually behaves with puppies before attempting an introduction; you don’t want your puppy to be bullied or even injured. Most adult dogs are very tolerant of puppies, but will sometimes discipline them by giving them a growl if they get out of line; this is not a cause for alarm and is in fact often beneficial, particularly with a boisterous puppy who may otherwise get himself into some nasty fights as an adolescent.

Make sure that the bulk of the puppy’s experiences are positive, however, and avoid the occasional adult who is really ugly with puppies. In particular, if you have other dogs of your own, try to intervene as little as possible if they decide to discipline the puppy. You should take action only if there is serious bullying going on. If you incessantly defend the puppy, he may decide to challenge your older dog when he reaches adolescence. The older dog’s response to a puppy will usually be nothing more severe than a growl or a nip, but in the case of an adolescent this may develop into a full-scale fight with severe injuries to one or both dogs.

Reward recalls

Call the puppy over and over again and give him a treat or a cuddle every time he comes to you, no matter what he’s been up to. Never, ever, ever call him and then punish him (this is the Number One Mistake New Dog Owners Make). He will associate the punishment with coming when called,and not with whatever he was doing before you called him, and you will end up with a dog who is resistant to coming on command. You want to condition your puppy to believe that coming to you is the best thing in the whole world; this will stand you in good stead when you start doing serious obedience work later on.

Keep the volume high

The more positive experiences your puppy has and the greater the variety of situations you can introduce him to, the better. Ten good experiences are better than one, and fifty are better than ten.

What happens if your puppy does have a bad experience? Suppose your neighbour comes to visit with two small children who bully the puppy and frighten it badly?

All is not lost, as your pup is still highly imprintable. What matters now is that you try to create a large number of positive experiences with children. One good experience won’t undo the damage; twenty or thirty might well. Find a doggy friend who has a child who is well-behaved around dogs. Introduce the child to your puppy and ask him or her just to feed treats at first. If the puppy won’t go near the child, don’t force the issue. Try feeding the puppy some really high-quality treats yourself while the child is in the same room. Gradually bring the child nearer and nearer while you feed, until the puppy will tolerate him or her quite close by. After a while, the child should be able to feed the puppy, and then to stroke it while he feeds it, and eventually to cuddle it and handle it. It is extremely important to go at the puppy’s pace; at the first sign of nervousness the child should back off, but as soon as he or she has left the room you should also stop feeding the treat. The puppy will learn that the treat is associated with the child, and that good things happen when children are around.

If you can find a child who can sit still for long enough, another very useful technique is to lay a trail of treats up to the child and scatter a few on the child’s body. Let the puppy find the treats and approach at his own pace; this helps him to overcome his fear. This is also useful with older dogs who are afraid of people.

Repeat this with as many different children as possible, as many times as possible. If your puppy has a nervous temperament, it may take some time and patience on your part. If he’s a more confident, resilient puppy he will probably bounce back without too much trouble.

The objective of puppy socialisation is not to stress your puppy out by flooding him with too many stimuli to handle at once, but neither is it to cushion him to the point where he never has to deal with any fear. A puppy who is startled by something but then plucks up his courage and approaches it with positive results is developing what Jean Donaldson calls bounce-back. Multiple opportunities to overcome spookiness develop resilience and a better temperament overall; and at this age, even supposedly genetic characteristics such as social dominance are remarkably plastic. Assessing your puppy’s inherited temperament and then working hard to correct any nervousness will reap benefits for years to come.

Puppy socialisation, properly done, is an investment in your future - and your dog’s. Don’t leave it to chance.

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