Saturday, December 17, 2011

How to Busy Your Puppy

At our October 15th meeting, I spoke for a bit about tips on busying your puppy, which I wanted to jot down here.

The first step when you are ready to busy your puppy is to take the puppy's coat off. (Eating, drinking, playing, and doing business are all activities where the coat should be off, as well as being petted in public once your pup is 10 months old.)

Next, choose a spot to stand with your puppy. The puppy doesn't choose, you do. Remember, you are training the puppy, not the other way around. If you have a male puppy, choose a spot away from any bushes, trees, poles, etc. to discourage the pup from getting in the habit of lifting his leg when he busies. Practice busying your puppy on a variety of surfaces (gravel, pine needles, cement, wood chips, sand, asphalt, pebbles, etc.), as there may not be a well-manicured lawn available when your pup's visually impaired partner needs to busy his guide dog. Practice in different places at night and on wet grass and other surfaces after it rains, too. If your pup doesn't like a certain surface, try again when you know she has to busy.

Stand in place, give the "busy busy" command, and let your puppy wander around you. If the puppy starts pulling, say "no" and give a gentle leash correction to bring the puppy back with a loose leash. Do not wander with the puppy to help him find the perfect spot. It is not safe for a visually impaired handler to wander all over the place while her dog looks for just the right place to busy, so we want our pups to get accustomed to busying in the spot we pick. If your pup does not busy in a reasonable amount of time (a couple of minutes should do) but you feel sure he needs to, walk for a little bit and choose another spot. Don't let your pup use busy time to forage for snacks, become obsessed with a smell, or sit or lie down for a spell. Gently tug on the leash to keep the pup moving, repeating "busy busy" to remind him why you're there.

What if you need to go in a building but you feel sure your pup needs to busy? Go in the building with the puppy for a short time, maybe a minute (sometimes more time is needed, sometimes less!) and then bring her back out and try again. Often the smells inside will trigger a desire to busy. Just make sure you don't go so far into the building that you can't get back outside when you need to. (If your pup does have an accident inside, tell him NO and get him to stop by gently knocking him off balance or getting him to stand or lifting him up.)

Once your puppy starts to busy, be sure to praise your puppy. You also want to gently place your hand on her lower back. Touching the dog while she busies helps the blind person to know what kind of busy it is and where to go to clean up after the dog, so we do this to get the pup accustomed to being touched while she busies. If there is cleanup involved, have your puppy sit-stay at your side while you clean up after him. Do not let your puppy wander while you clean up. Not only can it be inconvenient, it is potentially dangerous for both you and the puppy, with your attention focused elsewhere and your body in a vulnerable position.

One final note: Remember when busying at home that your pup should NOT use a doggie door and should NOT be left outside to busy in your fenced-in yard without supervision. Even with a fenced-in yard, your pup should be busying on-leash at least 50% of the time.

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