Getting a puppy? Read this first. Bringing home Baby: Making the first care ride a sucess. We all know you never get a second chance to make a first impression and the same principle holds true for a puppies first experiences. Puppies are very impressionable and scarey or unpleasant events can cause a puppy to develop a fear of new experiences later on. So it is very important to manage your puppies big firsts (first car ride, first vet visit, first new dog, first visitors, etc) carefully to ensure your puppy develops a confident outlook and not an apprehensive outlook. We practice this ourselves, for example when we have visitors to meet and socialize with the puppies we pair this activity with a primary reinforcement like food. So the puppies meet new people and get treats and food as they do so, setting the puppies up to associate new people with pleasant things like yummy treats. We also orchestrate the behavior of the people to ensure the humans do not act in a way that might scare a puppy. Of course we also ensure that the people who meet the puppies do not reinforce undesirable behavior such as jumping up and instead we instruct each person how to reinforce only desirable behavior such as sitting politely, but that is another Note. The first Big First you will have with your puppy is the car ride home. Puppies who find the first car ride frightening can develop anxiety associated with the car and this can cause nausea, reluctance to load up, or other undesirable behaviors. For those who would like to travel with their dogs it is very important to have a dog who is comfortable in the car and with just a little forethought you can set your puppy up to be a good traveler for life. 1. Invest in a little soothing music. Playing soothing music such as Through A Dogs Ear can place a puppy in a calm state and provide comfort. This music is not only helpful in treating and preventing stress induced car sickness it is also helpful to play while your puppy is crated, home alone, or learning to sleep through the night. 2. Purchase a DAP collar. Dog Appeasing Pheromones are natural odors that mimic the scent of a lactating female, they are very soothing and calming and are frequently used to treat all different types of anxiety. A collar impregnated with DAP can be worn in the car to help sooth a nervous puppy. They can also be worn to the vet, on walks, or other stressful events. A plug in DAP system can be used to help calm a puppy during crate training, when home alone, or when learning to sleep through the night as well. 3. Place the puppy at your feet. Crating a puppy for the car ride home is the safest way to transport any dog, but if you want to comfort your puppy and have the puppy loose in the car the best place for the puppy to be is at someones feet. Place an old towel (preferably NOT clean, leave it on your sofa for a couple days so it smells like your family) under the puppy in case it is car sick. The puppy sitter must ensure the puppy does not get into trouble or bother the driver. If you are picking up your puppy by yourself you should crate your puppy. 4. Be ready for vomit. Pack newspapers, paper towels, wet wipes, a trash bag, and towels or blankets that can get dirty. If you are prepared for a car sick puppy you will not freak out if the puppy gets sick in the car. If the puppy does get sick please REMAIN CALM, vomit happens but if you freak out the puppy will pick up on your stress and unhappiness and it may associate what it perceives as scarey behavior with car rides or its accident. If your puppy becomes sick or has an accident use some paper towels to quickly and cheerfully clean the mess up (and the puppy if needed). Remember how you react to your puppy accident is a learning experience for your puppy, if you dont want house training trouble later, it is best that your puppy never learn its body functions anger you, or it will be hesitant to potty in front of you when you need it to such as outside or on leash (really) and that sets up for house training trouble. So be prepared to protect your vehicle from vomit or pooping (yes, car rides sometimes make puppies poop) with a blanket or large towel (or a crate line with newspaper) and try to not get upset if your puppy explodes, its just a baby and it cannot help it. 5. Provide a pleasant distraction. You can give your puppy something nice to chew on in the car. To override the excitement of the car ride this chew will need to be very high value, a puppy Nylabone will not do, but something like a rawhide, cow hoof, or a meaty bone may do the trick. 6. Keep the puppy cool. Turn that A/C up, a cool puppy is more likely to sleep on the drive home. If your puppy does get car sick despite your best efforts dont worry too much. Take several very short trips with your puppy, even just loading the puppy in the car and feeding her treats will help you dont even have to take her anywhere, that end in fun events and your puppy will learn to travel happily. Keep using your music and DAP! Try to avoid only taking your puppy in the car to go to the vet. Make most car rides end in fun events and your puppy will learn to look forward to the car. Finally, if your puppy is frequently car sick and it does not improve with age dont be afraid to discuss the problem with your vet, there are effective medications that prevent motion sickness that might help.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 21:17:45 +0000
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