I came across this article http://leerburg.com/whopetspuppy.htm
Am I wrong or is this bizarre? I want my puppy to get used to as different types of people as possible. Of course, always under my supervision/permission and with plenty of treats. But it seems to me that it would be asking for trouble to have a dog that not used to contact with strangers. Am I off base?
Allowing people to pet my puppy
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
Re: Allowing people to pet my puppy
I would not be looking on that site for advice - their main experience with dogs is with high drive working dogs that are trained from a very early age with very harsh aversives, meaning their dogs are frankly a risk to strangers and now you know THAT you see why his rules are SO strict on who can touch, pet, handle and train dogs... because with HIS dogs... people would get bitten!
Hopefully you are not doing that and so most of his safety concerns are not going to be relevant to you.
So, yes your dog needs to cope with being touched by other people, greeting people of all shapes and ages and sizes and colours and whatever other variation you can think of.
I do agree with Leerburg on one front though - it is not sensible to teach dogs to expect that strangers will welcome them with open arms and bucket loads of treats, becuase not everyone will, you don't want a dog that rushes up to strangers expecting treats and fusses!
This is VERY simple to get round though - you never let the dog run up to strangers. Instead you go with htem, you ask for a sit, and the treats come from YOU. Ensure that the person they are meeting only gets to pet and fuss when the dog is sitting or standing calmly, never allow jumping up to be rewarded (so either ensure the person will step back if your dog does this or you remove the dog from the situation briefly if they do it).
For handling by other people again, people touch/scritch etc but the treats come from you.
You can and should have all the adult (or children old enough to follow instructions properly) people in the house able to do basic handling and some training (something Leerburg doesnt allow but then, he's raising canine time-bombs not pet dogs!) because the dog is a member of your famly and lives and interacts with you all!
Hopefully you are not doing that and so most of his safety concerns are not going to be relevant to you.
So, yes your dog needs to cope with being touched by other people, greeting people of all shapes and ages and sizes and colours and whatever other variation you can think of.
I do agree with Leerburg on one front though - it is not sensible to teach dogs to expect that strangers will welcome them with open arms and bucket loads of treats, becuase not everyone will, you don't want a dog that rushes up to strangers expecting treats and fusses!
This is VERY simple to get round though - you never let the dog run up to strangers. Instead you go with htem, you ask for a sit, and the treats come from YOU. Ensure that the person they are meeting only gets to pet and fuss when the dog is sitting or standing calmly, never allow jumping up to be rewarded (so either ensure the person will step back if your dog does this or you remove the dog from the situation briefly if they do it).
For handling by other people again, people touch/scritch etc but the treats come from you.
You can and should have all the adult (or children old enough to follow instructions properly) people in the house able to do basic handling and some training (something Leerburg doesnt allow but then, he's raising canine time-bombs not pet dogs!) because the dog is a member of your famly and lives and interacts with you all!
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
Re: Allowing people to pet my puppy
I'm with you I'm not letting my dog ran up to other people. I want him to know that he needs my permission. Course jumping up is a no no. Treats to always come for me, with the occasional strategic exception.
I didn't realize what that site is for, I thought it was a regular dog training site
I didn't realize what that site is for, I thought it was a regular dog training site