Canine column – Animal behaviour in sharp focus with Kimberley Grundy

You are just trying to get everything right do what is best for your puppy. One of the best ways to ensure that your puppy grows up to be well adjusted is to deal with any problems that come along while your puppy is still young.

It is often easy to spot some problems, and these can be overcome through training, however some issues may be genetic. Symptoms of fear, anxiety or distress are often more difficult to recognise and can often be misdiagnosed as “naughtiness”. However, these can all be overcome through counterconditioning, desensitisation, increasing the dog’s confidence and at times through the use of medication.

But how do you know if your puppy’s behaviour needs that additional support?

Firstly, you can see how quickly they recover from being spooked by something. Puppies up to 12 weeks old should be able to bounce back almost immediately if they are startled by novel stimuli as this helps the puppy learn about their environment. However, if a puppy retreats, hides or stops taking treats when a new stimulus appears this is not normal behaviour.

Secondly, puppies are social beings, they should be eager to learn about their environment and others in it. Their body language should be loose, with a loose tail wag and should be jumping for joy when they meet a new person. If they start trying to hide from a new person, does not want to meet a new person or does not want to engage this is not normal behaviour.

Just like meeting new people and dogs, puppies should be keen to explore new environments. If a puppy does not get over hesitation about a new environment, if they appear to shut down in its presence, constantly want to pull to get home or become hypervigilant of their surroundings it might be worth contacting a professional. Your puppy should be grasping new training fairly quickly, but if they don’t seem to be making progress it might be your puppy is experiencing a high amount of stress. Stress inhibits learning. We need to understand what is causing stress so we can help reduce it and to help them lead a happier life.

If you are unsure of whether your puppies’ behaviours are normal then have a chat to your local APDT dog trainer who will be able to help you even in these difficult times.