A Christmas Puppy

A puppy for Christmas could be the most awesome gift a family could get. It can also be a nightmare. Funny thing about puppies, they grow up. That cute little puppy is now a full-size adult dog. Did you consider the food the dog will eat? How about the vet bills for the dog? Will you train your puppy yourself or take classes with your dog? Yes, you take classes with your dog.

Our puppy Gabriel was our first dog that we decided to take classes with. Gabriel is now a nine-year-old German Shepherd puppy. He is also one hundred and thirty pounds of puppy. Gabe is so very good with people and especially with kids that we decided to continue his training to become a therapy dog. With the wife having muscular dystrophy, she wanted to have a companion when she goes anywhere.

Beginners class was getting the basics down. Learning to sit, stay, come and for the dog too. Gabe did extremely well, and we went to intermediate classes where he learned more commands. And then on to advance class. The hardest part that I can remember was leave it. Gabe loves snacks and when there was one on the floor and he was told to leave it, well, he couldn’t do it. We spent a lot of time and effort working with him to overcome this issue. We were able to teach him the leave it command successfully.

I almost forgot, another issue Gabe had was stairs. He was very scared of stairs and would not go up or down on them. At the time we lived in a ranch style house where it wasn’t an issue at home, but if we went somewhere with stairs, he wouldn’t go on them. Using treats and finding different places with staircases, we finally overcame that challenge.

Before we began the therapy dog training Gabriel had to earn the canine good citizen certificate. I believe that every dog should be familiar with the items on the test even if they aren’t going to be certified. These items make for a better dog as the dog can handle social interactions with humans. The first item is accepting a friendly stranger. A friendly stranger will come up to the dog handler and talk normally to him or her, ignoring the dog. The dog is not supposed to show any signs of shyness or resentment. This one is very important if you plan to walk your dog in public. Another test that is part of the certification is to be able to walk through a crowd. Taking a dog to a public event can be very fun when the dog knows how to behave in a crowd.

Going through Gabe’s training also taught me several things on how to be with a dog. I had an older german shepherd that wouldn’t come when I call. I found that I was the reason she wouldn’t come was because I would yell at her when she did come. I changed to no matter what she was doing before she came, when she did come to shower her with love, petting and of course treats. It took about a week and then she would come running to me when I called. She turned into my favorite lady.

A Christmas puppy may sound like a great idea, but dogs require a lot of attention and love. A commitment that isn’t just at Christmas, but for several years. Without proper training, your puppy will grow up not knowing the proper behavior. Then you find yourself upset because the dog doesn’t mind. Before you decide on that puppy, make sure you are willing to give the pup everything it needs to become the best dog ever, not for a month, but for the dog’s entire life.