Mindy J. Kaleta - Surviving the Puppy Stage: How To Get Inside Your Dogs Mind Without Losing Your Own!

The Parents Guide

By
Mindy J. Kaleta

Second Edition, Copyright October 2010 By Mindy J. Kaleta

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The author and publisher have used their best efforts in preparing this book. Publisher and author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. There are no warranties, which extend beyond the descriptions contained in this paragraph. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The accuracy and completeness of the information provided herein and the opinions stated herein are not guaranteed or warranted to produce any particular results, and the advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every individual. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

This book is intended as a support to families looking to adopt a puppy or who have already done so and are looking for an easy to understand guide to train, bond and coexist with their new pup.

As a Certified Professional Coach and Dog Coach, understanding the people/puppy mindset, coaching parents, kids and their dogs in the basics of puppy stage survival and teaching them how to successfully coexist and remain together for life, is my mission and passion.

And as always, have fun with it.
Happy Training!
Mindy J Kaleta

The dog on the cover is Chloe, our beautiful Golden Retriever grand pup when she was a puppy. She had just come back from getting into the freshly laid mulch in our back yard. She looked up as if to say, I didnt do it! Uh, huhas the remains of my flowers had a moment ago fallen out of her mouth! Those were the days! Chloe is all grown up now and is happy and sharing her life with Mom and Dad, a new baby girl and their cat Coal. All is good.

Welcome! I am so excited to share with you what Ive learned from the best dog trainers in the business about how to survive, bond and train a new puppy. And its easier than you think.

Its no secret that dogs enrich our lives in so many ways. As a family pet, companion, for psychological and medical therapy, police work, guarding, herding, sportsmanship and morethe list is endless.

But as a family pet, dogs just want to be with us, please us, hang out with us, protect us, and play. They want to curl up with us in front of the fire, play the part of silent confidant, accompany us while running errands, or just do whatever we are doing.

In my personal experience, I have adopted a wide range of animals; from fish, birds & hamsters; to cats, dogs, and a horse.

I even brought home a baby chick once when they were giving them away with a tank fill-up at gas stations. It was a big deal at the time, but Im wondering now, Why would they do that? At any rate, Ive always said that I would love to have a good size farm so that I could provide a home to any unwanted animal that needed a place to live and be loved.

My family has had their share of pups over the years. One we had gotten from a breeder, one adopted directly from a local shelter, but most of them acquired from families who couldnt keep them for some reason. Among them:

A Maltese/Poodle mix, Scamp, who was the little guy who loved tormenting the larger dogs and then jumping through the fence to escape them

One Golden Retriever, Brittney, a sweet girl with a laid back attitude

Male Golden Retriever, Sam, a Delta Society trained Pet Partner dog, who exhibited extraordinary grace, love and skill while working a hospital room

An American Cattle Dog/mix, Sassy, whose name fit her high-spirited nature

And a white German Shepherd, Duke, who felt that it was his job to protect us and to keep Sassy in check when she got out of hand.

Each one of these dogs added something to our family that was unique. They were all a big part of our lives and we continue to miss them.

But there was a time, when we had adopted a dog that didnt work out. There were behavior problems that we didnt know how to handle and the tension in our family was high because of it.

It was heartbreaking when we felt there was no other way but to give him up.

Fortunately, we found a good home for him, but I was determined to find out what I needed to know so that it didnt happen again.

Our family was not alone. I had often heard of other families adopting dogs that were really not well suited for them. Consequently, they too, would have to give them up. And if they couldnt find good homes for them, they were taken to the local shelters or worse.

Now, I know that shelters play an important role in our society due to some irresponsible pet ownership and uncontrolled breeding. But they are already overcrowded and have more animals than they can house. So, anything that I can do to help keep a pet in the home and away from being taken to a shelter is my intent.

In some cases giving them up is the best option, but again, in others, its just a matter of understanding the canine mindset, adapting or changing expectations, and mustering up all the patience and love that you can.

So, I decided that I wanted to do something to help. But what could I do? What could a mother of four, working from home, do to help solve the problem?

I tried working part-time for a veterinarians office. I thought that if I was exposed to families looking for the right pet or sharing their frustrations with training when they came into the office, I could somehow be of influence.

But with only three days under my belt, I knew that my passion wasnt working with animals, and dogs in particular, when they were sick. I wanted to see them and work with them when they were well. I decided to leave the vets office and look for other options.

Graciously, the vet I was working for suggested that I look into dog obedience training. I lit up. Yes, thats it. If I could just learn what it takes to make the puppy/people relationship work, I could do a lot to eliminate pups and dogs going to shelters, being abandoned or worse. I could help them bond and understand the puppy mindset.

So, I signed up to apprentice with a Master Dog Obedience Trainer and learned all I could about the care and training of dogs, what to do with a new puppy, and basic obedience.

I gathered information and researched almost every dog trainer out there. I was a regular visitor of the local library. I attended seminars and purchased books, and videos. You could say it was information overload.

Some of the information I learned was good and some in my opinion was not. I took from it all that I felt was worth keeping. I was drawn to the methods that respected the dog for what he was. I wanted positive, fun, loving but assertive training methods. I wanted to find a system that would fit into a busy familys lifestyle and one that would be easy to understand and implement. In our crazy, busy world, it definitely had to be family-user friendly and fun.