Gwen Bailey - The Perfect Puppy: Take Britains Number One Puppy Care Book with You!

Contents

Appendix: Socialization programme

Introduction to the second edition

A few weeks ago I received this email from Australia:

G'day. I purchased a copy of your book back in 1996 from a market in Melbourne, and read it from cover to cover before getting my dog (Australian Kelpie) in 1997. I have used the principles in your book on her since (she is now ten years old), she knows countless tricks and is a joy to be around. Thank you for publishing such a great book at a time when everyone else (well, in the area I'm from) used choke-collars!

Crystal Wemyss

I can't tell you how happy I am that the first edition of this book reached so many people around the world and resulted in a better life for their puppies. It has been the bestselling puppy book for the past 11 years, and I am so proud that many thousands of puppies and their owners will have benefited from what I was lucky enough to learn so early in my career.

When the book was first published, I used to hold my breath when owners came to tell me they had raised their puppy using what they had learned from its pages, half-expecting them to tell me that something terrible had gone wrong. However, this never happened and I continue to be amazed and delighted when they tell me how much the book helped them and how lovely their dog is.

Now, 11 years later, I get the chance to update the text and, using the principle of If it ain't broke, don't fix it', the changes are minor. Over the years I have learned what needs more emphasis, and I've addressed in this edition some of the more common questions that new owners have. The biggest change comes in , where I have tried to advise on the difficult question of how to get and keep control without using intimidation or punishment.

Puppies need to be kept occupied if they are to stay out of mischief and fit in easily with our busy lives.

I think the success of this book has been due to it being based on positive methods. Punishment and aggression don't get us anywhere, whether it's with puppies, adult dogs or humans. Creating harmonious relationships based on love and trust is what this book is all about. Humans are by nature a very aggressive species and need no help in that department. Not that I'm against boundary-setting and enforcing standards of behaviour and one of the main changes in this second edition is more information on how to do this well and appropriately. Having recently raised another puppy using these methods, which has turned out to be happily well behaved and a delight to own, I am more convinced than ever that we are on the right track and that there is no place for any form of punishment in puppy education and training.

Dogs have always been the most important thing in my life, and I have dedicated most of my time to trying to get a better deal for them by educating their owners. Nothing has been more successful at doing this than this book, especially as it is read at a time in their lives when puppies (and owners) are still keen to learn and do the right thing. My hope is that this book will continue to be successful perhaps even more so with its new, improved format and content. If we can all get it right at the start, fewer dog-owner relationships will founder or fail, and more will go on to be wonderful, long and happy. I hope yours will be one of them.

Gwen Bailey, author and behaviourist, with another recruit for her education system that uses only rewards, play, fun and positive methods.

Preface

Life for young puppies should be one long, happy adventure. Too often, it is a rather confusing time when humans expect too much of them, and puppies often get into trouble for breaking rules they did not know existed. In reality, dogs are not like Lassie. They do not automatically understand our every word and thought. They are a different species, with different capabilities and communication systems. They need our gentle assistance to guide them towards a better understanding of our ways and to help them learn what we want from them. Puppies, like children, require our love and protection. They need to be controlled just enough to make them nice to live with, but not so much that their spirit is stifled.

For more than 20 years I have worked with dogs that do not make it through the whole of their lives with the same owner. This is often because the first owners did not put enough effort into acquiring the knowledge needed to bring up a puppy correctly. If the partnership cannot be repaired, the loser is always the dog. Usually owners are not irresponsible or uncaring, but they often lack the necessary knowledge to do the job properly. It would take several dog lifetimes to get it right by trial and error, but it becomes much easier if we all learn from each other's mistakes and successes. This book is the result of what I have learned from my work with 'problem' dogs, but also from the knowledge acquired through running puppy classes and seeing those dogs that I helped to educate develop into well-behaved, happy adults, as well as what I have learned from other professionals working in the field of animal behaviour.

Ready and willing to learn. Young puppies can be moulded to our ways and it is up to us whether they turn out to be a pleasure or a pain when they are older.

Each puppy has his own temperament and personality. Appreciating what traits are inherent and guiding your puppy into good habits are essential if you are to produce a well-adjusted adult dog.

At first glance, the amount of effort needed to rear a puppy correctly may seem daunting. However, this book is designed to help you bring up your puppy with the minimum of error and it covers all aspects thoroughly. It is unlikely that you will have to radically alter your natural ability to raise an infant, but this book will give you the extra knowledge needed to do the job well.

Planning in advance and getting things right first time around are quicker, in the long run, than having to sort out problems later. To make the best use of this book, put the ideas and suggestions into place before things begin to go wrong. In this way you will be able to avoid the problems that so many dog owners run into. This will make life easier, and better, for you and your puppy.

Key points This is a book solely about how to influence your puppy's behaviour and how to mould his future character. You will also need to find out how to care for your puppy's physical needs, but books on this subject are plentiful. I have referred constantly to 'he' rather than 'she', although there is no real reason for this other than to save writing 'he/she' or 'it' throughout. There is no difference between the worth of male and female dogs; both have qualities that can make them rewarding lifelong pets.