Puppy in the house

What?? You don’t have your puppy in the house? The questioner is truly incredulous; I am equally so. Lets imagine; what would it be like having Hero, aged 8 weeks, pure breed German Shepherd dog living in my house?  Favorite shoes chewed? Check. Hand hooked rug ripped apart? Check. Cat chased. Check. Oriental rugs peed on? Check. Puppy getting tripped over? Check.  Children’s ankles bitten and favorite toys destroyed? Check. Toilet water everywhere?  Check. Food stolen off the table? Check. People mad at puppy? Check. People yell at puppy? Check. Puppy feels….confused, scared and does not trust her owners. I must ask, why would anyone have a puppy in their house?

I think people really love their puppies, but are confused about what they need.  Puppies need quality time where they can be puppies uninhibited, safely and without incurring our wrath.  Since dogs have no sense of time, for a puppy, it only matters that each experience is like this; it makes no difference how long it lasts.  One bad experience; one scolding, one finger wagging, one grab from behind, damages a dog forever.   Protecting our puppies from these bad experiences is our number one job as dog owners.

Hero lives contentedly in her crate while she’s sleeping and when she’s not sleeping, she is playing safely and contentedly in her little yard, accompanied by one the family members. Here she is free to jump on us, chew our hands, chase butterflies, and bite whatever is available. She is safe from getting into trouble and from being yelled at for simply expressing her energy. She is learning that she is safe expressing her energy when she is with us, and that is the key to the training that will come down the road.
Who does it really serve having a puppy live freely in a house? It really serves the human. It harms the dog. I would say, from watching Hero, that trying to live in a house with a puppy is the number one cause of problem behavior. It is just plain not fair to put a puppy into a situation they are not mature enough to handle. It’s not right to expect them to act in any other way but like a complete chomping, ripping, jumping machine. I never let my babies play with knives but as adolescents they chop like chefs. I apply the same principle to the puppy. It really does amaze me that people think a puppy somehow suffers from not living in an environment they clearly can not handle. If I had to live with Hero, I would guess that I would mostly feel frustrated, angry, and guilty. As it is , she is the absolute apple of my eye. I adore her beyond comprehension. She also loves and trusts me implicitly, because I don’t have to man handle her, confront her, correct her, or get mad at her for anything. A dog that has never been confronted or corrected is a dog without problem behaviors.

I believe we all have a lot to learn by exploring the feelings we have about having a puppy be our plush toy, by needing to cuddle it, by thinking it needs to be with us all the time.  Dogs are in our lives to help us see ourselves better, what better place to start?

Really think about it.  Puppies don’t belong in a house.