THOSE big paws were a pretty good clue.
When we first saw Teddy as a cute puppy, they looked wholly out of proportion with his body, like huge clown shoes.
Now, at six months’ old, our black labrador is twice the size he was when he came into our home two months ago, and still fleshing out fast.
He’s almost grown out of his smart new harness and the broken remains of a 30kg extendable lead are an indication of his pulling power, which means getting to grips with his recall training as a matter of urgency. Having an exhuberant 26kg puppy jumping up at strangers is no laughing matter.
The weather hasn’t helped, though. Footpaths are flooded, the woods are awash with muddy puddles and, fun though that undoubtedly is for a young labrador, it makes every outing just a little more challenging.
On the plus side, Teddy is sleeping through the night and his needle-sharp puppy teeth have given way to slightly less painful adult ones. Although he does try to be gentle, like all puppies he loves to chew.
That means no slippers, shoes or socks are safe and a couple of old fluffy friends have met with an unfortunate early demise.
Mr Sloth was a constant early companion whose stuffing soon began to leak. Duck was very much loved but rapidly eviscerated, his squeaker rescued in time from being swallowed. Time to look out for some indestructible playmates, it would seem.
But what’s the secret of getting Teddy to become a model citizen? We’re surrounded by excellent puppy books, some first-class online resources and the advice of friends, experienced owners and breeders….but there are still plenty of contradictions.
How much exercise is just right? How much socialisation? How much training? A trio of popular puppy books contain plenty of useful tips and sound advice: Game On, Puppy!, East Peasy Puppy Squeezy and The Perfect Puppy.
But Teddy is already a little old for those early puppy classes and we need to see whether he can behave well enough to join an intermediate class.
Online, we love the straight talking and laidback approach of professional dog trainer Stonnie Dennis in Kentucky and the commonsense compassion of Canadian dog agility training and animal behaviour expert Susan Garrett.
Taken together, this pair of experienced podcasters don’t just have a huge following but also an immense amount of expertise to share, as well as absolute commitment to creating better lives for dogs and their owners.
Most importantly, they and other trainers committed to positively enriching dogs’ lives believe dogs will always do the best they can with the training we give them and the environment we expect them to perform in – which means that if they’re not doing what we want them to do, it’s our fault rather than theirs.
This can be a pretty important revelation to anyone convinced their beloved pet is being deliberately disobedient or who stumbles across trainers using old-fashioned methods based around correction and punishment.
These days we have the scientifiic evidence to show that positive reinforcement training not only works, but is much more beneficial to dogs’ health and wellbeing, as well as their bond with their owners.
Establishing that level of engagement doesn’t happen overnight, though. And for those of us new to the dog training game, there are bound to be setbacks as we battle to fully understand our canine companions.
For Susan Garrett, the answer lies in game-based training grounded in the science of animal behaviour. For Stonnie Daniels, it’s all about helping dogs reach their full potential through the use of physically and mentally demanding activities.
Whatever the precise formula, the goal is to raise happy, healthy and well socialised canine companions who can be much-loved family members.
Our new arrival has already won a place in our hearts. But we owe it to him to help him be that model citizen too, for everyone’s peace of mind.
