TRAINING YOUR HAVANESE

My dog is not my child.

My dog is not my furbaby.

I am not her mother.

My dog is my friend. She is my partner and my companion. To treat her like a child, to infantilize her and make it seem as though she needs my constant coddling or protection, would be unfair to her.

She is an adult carnivore that I have brought into my human world. Because of that it is my responsibility as her owner:

1) To communicate with her in a way she can understand.

2) To provide leadership, discipline and mutual respect.

3) To understand her instincts and needs, and provide appropriate outlets for them.

4) To train her and provide her the skills to function effectively in our human world, including acceptable manners and behaviors.

Our dogs deserve to be given responsibility and allowed to be adult creatures, not perpetual babies. Please, don't try to make them tiny humans, they aren't and they don't want to be. Dogs are wonderful because they are dogs. Let them be dogs.

Teach them to be good ones.

- K. Carter

Set up: Create a safe space for your dog using the Exercise Pen. You can set it up when you need to go out or you need a timeout by placing a covered crate inside (door open or off to start), their water dish, some toys and a tinkle turf. If you have only carpeting, consider buying a piece of linoleum from Home Depot to place as the base under your exercise pen.

https://fydogtraining.com/training-tips/2018/3/15/5-ideas-to-make-your-puppys-setup-amazing

Crate learning

https://austerlitzshepherds.com/2018/11/confident-crating-a-guide-for-the-new-puppy-owner/

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SFadc_WgwsA&feature=youtu.be

https://www.caninejournal.com/puppy-behavior-problems/

https://austerlitzshepherds.com/2018/11/confident-crating-a-guide-for-the-new-puppy-owner/

Socializing

Always work on FOCUS because that is the cornerstone for all aspects of your puppy/dog training. This is true for the training of a companion dog and for those that are also training for a specific dog sport or therapy dog work. So use those fun games, high value treats, your happy voice and practice in many different environments with your puppy/dog!

Things Not to Do :

- Throwing your dog to the wolves at a dog park or daycare.

- Allowing your dog to greet and meet every dog that passes you by on walks.

- Letting overly excited strangers to give unsolicited pets.

- Exposing your UNTRAINED dog to loud traffic, loud noises, or unfamiliar sounds and allowing him to panic, run, or hide.

- Exposing your UNTRAINED dog to cats, squirrels, wild life, or other dogs, in hopes that he will not aggress or react.

Things To Do

- Teaching your dog how to interact and respond appropriately to a strange dog in a controlled, low energy environment where all dogs are advocated for.

- Teaching your dog to ignore dogs on your walks.

- Teaching your dog to ignore outside temptations and concerns by listening to his training.

- Teaching your dog that no other animal or human holds more value than you.

A well-socialized dog isn’t created through random interactions. It’s about teaching your dog how to behave properly no matter what the environment may offer.

A dog that fancies his handler over his environment IS THE well-socialized dog... not the dog that pulls, panics, lunges, barks, or whines at every temptation. Calm, balanced EXISTENCE should be held at higher value than unpredictable interaction.

https://www.preventivevet.com/puppy-socialization-checklist-100-things-in-100-days

Socializing App

https://www.preventivevet.com/puppy-socialization-checklist-100-things-in-100-days

Safety for children when playing around dogs: https://www.ckc.ca/en/Files/Raising-My-Dog-Section/Responsible-Ownership/Children-and-Safety-Around-Dogs-en

Training Resources

https://www.growlsnarlsnap.com

https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/images/fdsa/Growing-Up-FDSA-eBook.pdf?sfns=mo

before you get your dog

https://www.dogstardaily.com/files/BEFORE%20You%20Get%20Your%20Puppy.pdf

after you get your dog

https://www.dogstardaily.com/files/downloads/AFTER_You_Get_Your_Puppy.pdf

Finding a good trainer