Advice to Make Your New Pandemic Pup a Fantastic Family Member

They’re fluffy, floppy, and adorable. Their tiny toes are tender, pink, and perfect. Even their breath smells magical. Seriously, what’s not to love about puppies?

As irresistible as they are, puppies do grow up quickly, and they need our help growing into equally lovable adult dogs. Since March 23 is National Puppy Day, what better time to talk about the importance of training and socializing all those pandemic pups?

March 23, 2021

By: Discovery and Best Friends Animal Society

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Photo By: Sarah Ause Kichas

Photo By: Stacey Axelrod

Photo By: Sarah Ause Kichas

Dog training may look different during COVID, but there are still plenty of options out there. Puppy parents can register their pets in private or socially-distanced group obedience classes, or find trainers offering courses on Zoom. Best Friends Animal Society has a variety of dog training videos online, from clicker and crate training, to puppy socialization, basic obedience, and working through leash-reactivity. Getting dogs and puppies out to socialize, to facilitate exposure to other dogs and to safely meet new people, can be accomplished with a long leash on walks or at dog parks.

Marissa Sunny, CPDT-KA and senior dog lifesaving specialist at Best Friends Animal Society offers some advice to new pup parents

“Whether you purchased a puppy from a breeder or adopted a puppy from your local shelter or rescue group it is incredibly important to start training right away. While some behaviors may seem cute when the puppy is small, like jumping up to greet you or mouthing on your fingers, these behaviors can quickly become unmanageable in an adult dog."

"Dogs are extremely smart--smarter than we give them credit for most of the time --because of this they will likely train you faster than you can train them, so it’s best to get started right away.”

As Sunny pointed out, dogs have no internal moral compass; they actually don't know when they did something wrong unless you teach them otherwise.

“Dogs view things in two categories-safe or dangerous, not good or bad. When your puppy becomes a teenager, and then an adult, they will continue the same ‘cute’ behaviors they started in puppyhood, but it is very different when it is an 80 lb dog jumping on your elderly mother or mouthing your kids' fingers.”

Sunny offered an example what happens when a dog grows up without training by way of a dog named Treat, who came to the Best Friends Lifesaving Center in Los Angeles recently.

“Treat is an absolute sweetheart, but he had no idea how big he was. He would incessantly jump up on staff members and volunteers as well as hard-mouth on anyone or anything that gave him a chance. We don't know exactly how or why he ended up at the city shelter, but I suspect this behavior had something to do with it.”

“He was a young adult shepherd mix with a lot of energy to burn and nowhere productive to channel it."

"After working on relaxation protocol, basic training, and letting him work off his energy in the yard and playing with other dogs he found his forever family with a young family and another juvenile shepherd as a brother.”

Most people are still home more than usual, and it’s important to spend time working with pets now, while also preparing them for more alone time, as people eventually go back to work, school and traveling.

An investment now in training and socialization will pay off in the form of improved communication and expectations between pets and people, and a better-behaved, well-mannered pet who is a happier, healthier member of the family.

If you're looking for your puppy best friend, reach out to Best Friends Animal Society to adopt today!