Growing and Learning: Puppy Training

Growing and Learning: Puppy Training

Many of us decide to get another dog (and why not) but often rely of their existing dog to show them the ropes.  Often, we get another dog in the hope the new dog will teach the existing one to stop misbehaving!

Today (to celebrate wee Freya turning 6 years old) we’ll focus on the decision to get a pup and the importance of allowing an older dog to show them what’s right and wrong (whether your own existing dog or dogs you meet out and about) and ALSO the importance of human guidance for your pups development.

Puppies can learn a lot from older dogs through observation, imitation, and direct interaction. Although it’s important they also learn from their humans here are some ways in which puppies can learn from older dogs:

(A lot of these examples are true also of their interactions with humans)

Pups learn social skills from older dogs by observing their body language, vocalisations, and behaviour in different situations. They learn how to communicate with other dogs and how to interpret their signals.

They learn how to play from them too. Play is an important part of socialisation, and older dogs can teach puppies how to play appropriately, including when to stop and when to back off.

Older dogs can teach puppies basic obedience commands and household rules. Puppies learn from watching older dogs respond to commands and observing the positive results of their actions.

Dogs are pack animals, and puppies can learn the social hierarchy of the pack from older dogs. Puppies learn their place in the pack and how to respect the authority of the older dogs.

If the older dog is a hunting breed, they can teach the puppies hunting skills. Puppies can learn how to track, scent, and retrieve by observing and interacting with the older dog.

Now…while learning from other dogs is important for puppies, it is equally important for them to learn from humans as well.

Puppies need to learn how to interact with people as well as other dogs. Socialising with humans helps puppies develop their social skills and become well-adjusted adult dogs.

While older dogs can teach puppies basic obedience commands and household rules, it is important for puppies to learn from humans as well. Humans can provide consistent and structured training and instill the rules and boundaries that are essential for a puppy's development.

Puppies need to be exposed to a variety of environments, including urban and rural settings, different types of people, and different types of animals, different sights, smells, sounds, etc. This exposure helps puppies become more adaptable in all situations.

There are certain skills that puppies can only learn from humans, such as lead walking, toilet training, and interacting with strangers. These skills are essential cannot be taught by other dogs.

Humans provide a unique bond with puppies that is different from the bond they have with other dogs. This bond is important for a puppy's emotional development and helps them become more trusting and affectionate adult dogs.

So, to summarise, while learning from other dogs is important, puppies also need to learn from humans. Learning from humans helps puppies develop their socialisation, training, exposure to different environments, human-specific skills, and bonding.

Get in touch today if you need help putting in place some guidance for your new pup.