Episode 10: Puppy Podcast Series Part 3 - Behaviour, exercise and training

Puppies, puppies, puppies! 

Whether you’re a puppy parent or a people parent, we know that raising a little one can be hard, and it’s inevitable that mistakes will be made. 

In Dr. Dobias’ third and final podcast of his Puppy Series, he discusses 16 common mistakes new puppy owners make, from face licking and recall disasters, to mistakes with nail trimming, grooming, treats, and more. 

Hear Dr. Dobias’ tried and tested solutions, and learn how you can raise a healthy, happy and well-behaved puppy.

Even if your dog is well into adulthood, these important reminders about dog training and behaviour can benefit you and your dog, too.

Stay tuned for Dr. Dobias’ episode next week — it WON’T be about dogs! :-)

Resources that you shouldn’t miss:

Puppy Series Part 1: Socialization and Vaccines:  https://peterdobias.com/blogs/blog/three-harmful-myths-about-raising-puppies-part-1-socialization-and-vaccines 

Puppy Series Part 2: 15 Mistakes people make when feeding puppies: https://peterdobias.com/blogs/blog/15-mistakes-people-make-feeding-puppies-part-2-puppy-series 

Almost every dog is deficient in essential minerals:

https://peterdobias.com/blogs/blog/11014049-almost-every-dog-is-deficient-in-essential-minerals

Make your own treats at home: How to make homemade dehydrated food: https://peterdobias.com/blogs/blog/how-to-make-homemade-dehydrated-dog-food 

7 Steps to proper and safe nail trimming for dogs: https://peterdobias.com/blogs/blog/70382853-7-steps-to-proper-and-safe-nail-trimming-for-dogs 

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Healthy Recipe Maker for Dogs : recipemaker.peterdobias.com

The Fab4 supplements for ultimate health: www.fab4supplements.com 

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Visit Pax and I on our website: www.peterdobias.com 

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Transcript

 This podcast is brought to you by GreenMin, the all-natural mineral-rich superfood. If you have never heard of GreenMin, I consider it to be the most important essential supplement for dogs and people. It is a great source of plant-based minerals, which are much more bioavailable and effective than supplements made from chemicals or ground up rock. 

Minerals cannot be made in our body and have to come in the form of food. Unfortunately intensive agriculture and food transportation have interrupted the natural nutrient cycle and soils and food are becoming increasingly depleted. Mineral deficiencies are one of the primary causes of disease. 

Let me give you another explanation: most people understand that plants in the garden would not grow if some of the minerals were depleted or missing. For example if phosphorus is deficient, strawberries and tomatoes would not blossom and fruit. 

Ironically healthcare has not fully addressed the fact that food deficiencies are greatly predisposing factors when it comes to cell and organ dysfunction and disease. Malnourished and depleted plants in the garden are relatively easy to spot, but a mineral deficient body is harder to detect until it's too late. 

 The key to supplementing minerals is to provide them in the most digestible and bioavailable form. This is why I chose Alga Calcaria for GreenMin. The certified organic algae originates from Brazil and has evolved to absorb minerals from the ocean water and deposit them in the roots to anchor itself on the ocean floor. 

 Alga Calcaria was first discovered by Brazilian farmers who fed it to horses cows and other farm animals, and witnessed an amazing transformation. The animals were stronger, grew better and rarely fell ill, which makes sense because there are 37 000 billion billion chemical reactions taking place in the body every second and they cannot proceed smoothly without necessary minerals. 

Since then, Alga Calcaria has been used in treatment of osteoporosis in people and I made it part of GreenMin in 2012, the essential plant-based mineral and amino acid supplement for dogs, and for people in 2021. 

If you would like to learn and read more what other people say it is simple: all you need to do is to go to greenmin.com, or for the human supplement greenminhplus.com. 

Hello my dog lovers and other folks. This is Dr. Peter Dobias, and you're listening to Not Just About Dogs. Today I'd like to talk about the 16 mistakes that people make with puppies. This is actually Part 3 of the puppy series, and I think that this is the last one, because I think it's time to talk about other things. 

I did say that this podcast is Not Just About Dogs, so the next episode is going to be about something completely different than dogs. 

Puppies, puppies, puppies! Everywhere I look I see puppies. In principle I am thrilled that there are more people who are providing loving homes for dogs, but I'm also worried many people get their first dog and are bound to make serious mistakes that will inevitably lead to health and behavior problems. 

This is why I have decided to continue on the puppy theme with hope that together we can make a difference. By “we", I mean you and I, because I hope that you will share this information with your friends who will share it with their friends and friends of friends. This is how change can happen. 

And if you presently don't have a puppy, thank you for your patience, because so many problems can be completely prevented with a few important bits of knowledge. There are some tidbits about dog toys, leashes and peanut butter that you should know for adult dogs too, so I hope you'll enjoy this podcast and share with others. 

If you have joined this podcast just recently, I encourage you to also check Part 1 and Part 2 of the puppy series, mainly because there is some important information about dog nutrition and how to make sure that your puppy grows healthy, and also about socialization and immunity, which is another big problem in the puppy world. 

For Part 3, I've scanned my mental filing cabinet for everything regarding activity, puppy training, behavior, and rewards that can cause problems, and despite the best intentions, people just make mistakes. So let's just dive in! 

Mistake number one: Why shouldn't you teach young puppy to jump up to your face? Now I'm starting with this problem because it hits close to home. Turning our puppies to lick our faces is great at first — who wouldn't love puppy breath? Unfortunately by letting them lick, puppies including my sweet Pax, fixate on connecting with people by licking their faces, and when they grow up they start jumping up to say hi. And if you add a few humans squealing, “oh my God, he's so cute!”, you will definitely have a puppy that will be jumping up even more. 

As I said, face licking is cute in the beginning, but it can become a real nuisance and safety hazard if a dog does this with little kids or frail seniors. Now I had Pax jumping up to kiss little kids and most parents are fine, but it is not okay, and you know he's so fixated on on doing this because he's learned very early on.  

Ideally you can train your puppy to greet people by sitting before others approach them. This is not easy because everyone wants to see a puppy, but you know you have to be persistent and patient and very diligent. I have some people saying, “oh I don't mind if he jumps up, it's fine!” 

Unfortunately it is fine until it's not, and that's not okay. So if you do see a puppy, do not encourage it to jump up. Do not say it's fine with you, because it may not be fine with other dogs. 

Mistake number two: The recall disasters. “Bailey, Bailey, Bailey, Bailey, come Bailey, come here Bailey, Bailey, Bailey!” If this doesn't sound familiar to you, you are really lucky! Many dogs seem to ignore recalls and it is not their fault. The problem is not the dog, but the technique of teaching dogs to come. It seems like some people forget that dogs don't come pre-programmed. They don't come pre-trained. We have to teach them these things. We have to teach them how to come back. 

The most common mistakes people make is they try to progress too fast and in places that are too distracting. Number two, they're calling their dog's name repeatedly when they do not respond. Number three, they take shortcuts by using a shock collar. In fact, this is the most hated object in my life because there's so much suffering caused by these collars, and some people tell me, “well my dog would get in trouble and in accidents.” I think that almost all dogs, with some very rare exceptions, can be trained. Shocking dogs into submission undoubtedly leads to emotional trauma and physical damage of the thyroid gland, cervical nerves, and other surrounding tissues. If anyone thinks otherwise, let's book a human shock collar session and I'd like to see what you think. 

The best option we have when teaching dogs to come is to keep our pups on the leash if they're challenging, and training them for the rest of the time when they're willing to be trained and when they're willing to listen. 

 Here are a few points to train your dog to come in a safe, non-distracting environment. 

• Use plenty of treats. I don't really care what other people say that treats should not be used in training and all that stuff. Some dogs just love them and it is about our dogs’ safety, and that's why I recommend them. 
• Do not repeat commands if your dog is not listening. It doesn't help them, he starts thinking that “come" is his middle name. 
• Use treats for positive reinforcement rewards. 
• Increase the distance as you progress and be very, very patient. 
• Change the environment and your body position: standing, sitting, lying down. 
• Use a happy, uplifting voice because no people or dogs like boring folks. 
• Recall many times during a walk and then let them continue on the recall so it is not associated with the end of fun all the time. What I mean by this is that people sometimes call their dogs at the end of the walk and want to put them in the car. Dogs will learn that very fast and they will not want to come. 

Number three: retract the retractable leash. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I think about the damage caused by retractable leashes every time I'm out on a dog walk. They are rampant, they're nasty, however I want you to be kind to yourself if you use one because you most likely do not know how harmful they are or you wouldn't use them. Retractable leashes generate a lot of pressure on the throat, neck and the thyroid gland, which is located right under the collar area. The constant pull on the leash is one issue and the other one is the jerk it produces when a dog reaches the end of the line, or the break button is pressed.

The other day I met a beautiful doggie and her owners in the park, actually the dog was adopted after she was found or seen running on an interstate highway causing a multi-car accident, and fortunately no one died and nobody hit her, but people were basically trying to avoid her, and that's why they had the accident. They went into ditches, and thankfully no one was seriously hurt. When I met this dog she was rather nervous and her new mom was constantly pushing on the break button every time she walked forward to kind of sniff, and maybe say a very timid “Hi” to other dogs.

I know that there was no bad intention, it was just that the new owners did not know the jolts of the retractable leash are like receiving neck adjustments from someone who hasn't gone to chiropractic school. It only takes one jerk to cause a lot of damage, because the cervical nerves supply autonomous parasympathetic nerve fibers that govern the internal organs such as the heart, lungs, digestive organs and the kidneys.
 
Also, most people are not aware of the connection of neck injuries and paw licking, which is often misdiagnosed as allergies. So be careful about collars, be careful about retractable leashes, because they are not really worth it.

In fact, this is why I never put a collar attached to a leash on my dog Pax, and I only use the Perfect Fit Harness and Gentle Leash. You can check them at my website at peterdobias.com. It took me many years to find the right harness and I'm very glad and happy to be able to offer it now. It is made in the UK, and it is made by the company Dog Games, and I'm very grateful to Dog Games that they were able to create such an amazing harness.
 
Anyway, let's get to mistake number four: But he hates his feet being touched! Often I hear this from new dog owners. I wouldn't be surprised if you think that dog nail trims are much easier than spaying or neutering a dog. Technically you may be correct, but to be honest, in real life, I much prefer spay or neuter than nail trim, because most dogs are so misbehaved. They jerk and they they cry and they don't like to have their nails trimmed. The reason is that most dogs are simply not trained to have their feet touched, and it all starts in puppyhood. Handle your puppy's feet as early as possible by also giving treats at the same time. Do a daily squeeze of the toes, make them get familiar with the nail clippers, give them treats when they sniff the nail trimmers, and they will associate it with a very positive feeling and emotion.

Now if you want to learn how to find safe treats, you can go to my website and type “treats” or “safe treats” in the search window and a blog will come up, and you can do the same about nail trimming, because there is a video that you can find on my website.

Mistake number five: Don't let your puppy become a drama queen! For most vets, handling a misbehaving animal can be equally as challenging as treating a disease. Once again it comes down to early handling and not letting your puppy wiggle away when they're being held. Most people let their dog go with the slightest sign of disagreement, and the result is a whirling dervish that no one can handle.

I have used a rather unusual but very effective technique for restraining puppies and older dogs if they try to wiggle: I don't let go, but go with my hand in the direction of the movement for a second and then circling back gently to the original position. For example, if you're trimming nails and your dog tries to sneak out of the hold, hold the foot, go back with your dog's movement and then bring it back. Hold the foot gently, but do not let go because if you let go, again you're conditioning your dog to squirm, to jerk back. This movement almost feels like a circle, and you can also do deep breathing. It's simple, it works and it can be applied to any body part. Move with your dog and then come back to where you want it to be. It's subtle, it's gentle and it's clear. You can make several circles until your dog settles and give them treats when they do, but do not stop unless your dog is in real agony, and then you have to go back a few steps and start training again. You know if your dog is really uncomfortable, I do recommend that you talk to a dog trainer.

Mistake number six: A beauty or a tangled mess? My dog doesn't like being combed! Many people complain, and the reality is most dogs do not know they like combing, because they're not used to it. Once again this is kind of the group of handling exercises and practices. Handle your puppy as soon as you get them. Take a comb let them sniff the same way you would do that with the nail trimmer. Give them treats, touch their skin, be patient and you can even try offering them a raw bone when combing them and do something special. If your dog objects, be gentle, do not stop, just give them a quick break. Perhaps step back a bit with the intensity of touch and soon enough you will see that your dog will love being combed.

Mistake number seven: Plastic! Oh no, most dogs love toys and my dog Pax is no exception. Unfortunately almost all toys on the market are made of plastic that pollutes the planet and is toxic for dogs. These toys are mostly made in China, and believe me there is not much quality control when it comes to dog toy production. My suggestion is that you find toys made of natural materials or at least food safe silicon, and let your puppy play with toys only under supervision, because if you don't they may chew off a piece, swallow it and then you're on the way to the surgery. It's good not to let toys lay around and instead use them as a reward or distraction for your puppy when you're busy. What is rare is also precious! Just remember that the toxicity of materials and fillers used for making toys is often unknown. There are PCBs, xenoestrogen, the estrogen-like carcinogens, lead, arsenic and mercury, and all sorts of different toxins that are not really monitored for. So anyway, ideally stay away from plastic, no matter how much your dog loves it, and that includes rubber toys, with the exception of silicon and natural rubber.

Mistake number eight: This is one thing that can wear your puppy's teeth down to absolutely nothing. It's round, it's yellow, dogs love it, and it's very dangerous for your dog's teeth. If you're wondering what it is, it is a tennis ball! Most dog lovers are not aware that tennis ball fibers are very abrasive. I have seen many ballops as dogs wear their teeth down to nothing in a span of a few years. Basically what they do when they chew, they sand their teeth down. If your dog likes to fetch, use a silicone or food safe rubber ball and be careful, as back injuries are also common when dogs retrieve, and jump, and slide. Wild dogs would never chase hundred rabbits in the span of an hour, and there are a lot of dogs who do exactly that.

Our dogs are not built for the amount of sprinting, and the constant braking, and jarring, and slipping and sliding action that can make middle-aged dogs age very fast and become immobile even faster. I recommend that you play hide and seek, go jogging, walking and do some obedience training instead. For more details on ways to keep your dog naturally flexible and fit, you can once again go to my website peterdobias.com p-e-t-r-d-o-b-i-a-s-dot-com and search for “exercise” and you will learn how to keep your dog well.

One more thing: definitely do not let your dog run behind your bike. Dogs may love it, but they get hurt really badly and they burn out because what they're trying to do, they're trying to make sure that they don't lose you on the track and that's why they run so fast. And honestly, I've seen so many dogs injured that if there is one thing that I could ask you today, do not take your dog on bike rides unless you're going basically walking speed or jogging speed.

Mistake number nine: Flying saucer frisbee. Frisbee, frisbee, I love frisbees for people, but I hate them for dogs, to be honest, because they are similar to ball throwing. Jumping up high, twisting and landing are not things that dogs do and they will not miss it for a long time when you stop. I kind of know it's hard for those people who love playing frisbee with their dogs, but it is not a good idea because dogs get hurt. Now I'm seeing this from the point of health and longevity. I know that dogs may have fun. I know that they love it, but it is really not a good thing for dogs’ longevity and their health.

You know, one of the most common reasons why dogs get euthanized is immobility, and most dogs have actually undetected injuries and hidden pain. Unfortunately most of us veterinarians have not been trained to treat, actually even recognize, these injuries because they're very subtle, but they make a huge difference because the spine is the energy and nerve flow channel for the whole body, and all the organs and parts of the body get affected when the spine is hurt.

Mistake number 10: Bike, skateboard and car chasing. Sadly not all dogs know the difference between a rabbit and a bike, or a skateboard and a car, and chasing habits like that can wind up with serious injuries, or even worse. Some people are surprised when I mentioned that fetching increases their dog's prey drive. Ball throwing reinforces the natural drive, it increases chances of dogs chasing moving objects. If your dog is a chaser you will have to teach them to sit when a bike or car is coming by, and reward them repeatedly if they behave. It takes time, it takes a lot of treats, but it's really worth it. It's about your dog's safety and life. Also try to occupy their mind differently. You can look up how to teach them fun tricks on YouTube and help keep them away from chasing.

Mistake number 11: Hyperactivity. I can't tire my dog out. Some people tell me after two hours of fetching and playing he's still hyper, they remark. Well here's the trick: put an overtired puppy on a leash and they will fall asleep in a nanosecond. The real reason why puppies are still busy and hyperactive after a lot of exercise is that they're wound up. They're tired but they're wound up. Their nervous system is so high strung, and despite them being physically tired, they just don't know how to rest. They have to learn how to rest.

There are few ways to calm a puppy down. The first thing: you can get a crate. It's especially useful for young puppies when they're hyper: you just put them in the crate. Sometimes you put a bone in, sometimes you just let them rest. It takes a little bit for them to calm down, but when you do that from an early age, especially after exercise and play, they just learn the habit of resting in the crate.

The “long down" exercise is actually something that I do. You can step on a leash attached to your dog's harness, not a collar, and leave about three feet of length and ignore your puppy until they settle down and stay like this for five or ten minutes. You can just increase the time period of of doing this, but it's really simple. Most dogs just kind of plop down beside your foot, and if your dog or puppy chews your feet, or your shoes, or whatever, you have to put on older shoes or older slippers and ignore them until they stop, and then you can actually enjoy the long down for 5 or 20 minutes.

I also recommend that you give your puppy a bone to chew on. Often when Pax was little, I would give him a small bone once a day or so, and if you have any questions about what bones to feed you can go to my website again, peterdobias.com, and I'll tell you all about raw bones and which ones are safe and which ones are not.

This ties in nicely into mistake number 12: Puppy burnout. If you have seen overtired children you know that all hell can break loose in no time if kids don't get rest, and that applies to puppies. I recommend that you give your puppy three to four outings per day, that should be plenty, with good naps in between. Do not let your puppy play for hours with your kids or with the neighbour's kids, especially without supervision. I've seen that lead to serious burnout. I've seen one dog almost dying because it was playing with kids in front of an apartment building in a small town, so remember, always supervise your puppy and make sure there are plenty of breaks in between the play times.

Mistake number 13: This is kind of the opposite of number 12, because number 13 is about 10 hour home presence. I know that some people will not be pleased with this one, but I must mention it because it's a serious problem. Many puppies are destined to spend most of their waking time alone while their people work. This can lead to destructive behavior, separation anxiety, fear and aggression, because puppies are supposed to be with their pack members, and if they're alone it kind of leads to very serious trauma, neurosis. 

“But, but, but, I have to go to work!”, many people object, and I understand that. That doesn't mean that we can leave puppies alone for extended periods of time. We have to find some sort of solution. Some may handle it all right because they have no other option, but others will really get in trouble. I think separation creates prolonged stress that will also affect our puppies’ emotional and physical health, so here are some options for you: 

• number one: I would recommend every dog lover to find a job that you can take your dog with you to 
• number two: find a reliable trustworthy friend or a senior who could help to keep your puppy company when you're working 
• number three: hire a dog walker, but make sure that the hired dog walker doesn't have 10 dogs coming along, but only two or three, because it's stressful for puppies to be introduced to a pack. Personally I sent my dog Skai, my first dog, with a dog walker twice and every single time he ran away and he would never run away, but when he went with the dog walker, he just decided that he wanted to have nothing to do with the pack and what he did, he would just run to the first house and he would sit on the porch until they came back. And you know the frantic dog walker was all terrified that she lost my dog, but he was fine, he was just waiting for them until they're done with the madness. I have one more note, I recommend that you go for the first couple of walks with the dog walker in the pack to see what is going on, and the same applies to daycare. I do not really feel that every daycare is the same, but some daycares are not the right place for dogs, others are amazing. So spend some time with your puppy before you leave them without your supervision. 

Mistake number 14: Freedom of expression. There are some people who still believe that dogs can spend their entire life on the leash. Imagine! When I hear that I have the urge to suggest that maybe they should think of letting themselves off the proverbial leash. You know I think that people really try to apply the same rules to their dogs as they apply to themselves, and I really think that our society quite often is very restrained and we worry about the wrong things.

As a freedom loving guy, I can't imagine how a puppy that has not been off-leash feels. There are some exceptions of traumatized and aggressive dogs that of course has to be on leash to protect other dogs and people, but most puppies need off-leash time no matter what, and it's super important. Just practice good recall, that's the key to allowing puppies off leash in a safe park-like setting.
 
Some people leave a long line on pups when playing, but I think it is a safety hazard because it is similar to retractable leashes. Just yesterday Pax almost ran full force into leash line of another dog, and if he didn't see it at the last second he would have been hurt.
 
Mistake number 15: Number 15 is actually a peanut butter story! pWho doesn't like peanut butter? It's sticky, gooey and delicious. Most people think peanut butter is good for dogs, but they don't know that it is very abundant, very high in aflatoxins that are produced by the aspergillus fungi.

To the surprise of many, aflatoxins and peanuts are actually carcinogenic, and there are some studies that confirm that children and growing puppies are affected by these toxins more than adults, and it can cause array of problems such as stunted growth, liver disease and even behavioral issues. So if you give peanut butter to your kids or puppies, please switch to something different: maybe pumpkin seed butter, because pumpkin seeds are safe for dogs, they're safe for kids, and they're also anti-parasitic. Peanut butter is the most popular filler of chew toys in the dog world, unfortunately due to aflatoxins and the fact that peanuts are grown in the ground, your dog should not eat peanut butter as it is really the least healthy of all the nut butters available. All you need to remember is that aflatoxins are one of the most carcinogenic substances in nature, and I think that it's a good reason enough to stop using peanut butter in dogs and children and maybe in general.

Mistake number 16: Toxic flea products for puppies. Now this is not what I do for my pup, and I recommend that you do not use the conventional flea products yourself. I personally have seen dogs seizure after the application of flea products and that made me realize that whenever I can avoid chemical flea control I do, and most of the time it can be done actually safely.
 
I have also found a recently published study on fipronil, which is one of the most common insecticides and it has confirmed that fipronil affects neurotransmitters in dog's brain and it can cause behavior and cognitive changes. Now these products also pollute the environment and they affect bee populations and other insects that are absolutely vital for our environment and even food production. 

I know that you're probably wondering how to protect your dog from tick-borne disease and also fleas that are really a nuisance. I have taken quite a few years to actually develop flea and tick products and eventually I was very lucky to run into herbalist, and now my friend, Gabriella, who has helped me to formulate a flea and tick product that works. 

Currently I’ve been using TickHex, one of the products, in Central Europe where I'm at right now visiting my family, and this area is really, really heavy with ticks. What I do, iI actually apply the product a few times a week because the infestation in Spring is really high. Some people need to apply it only once a week. It's basically spray-on and what happens, ticks either do not attach and if they attach they die very quickly, and you can just remove them. 

The most important part of Lyme Disease prevention for example, in most tick-borne diseases, is to remove the ticks within 24 hours after attachment, and usually what happens, basically the ticks drink and then they kind of throw up, I say, and they basically introduce the bacteria Borrelia and some other bacteria and disease agents into the bloodstream. So if you use effective natural products, you should also be able to protect your dog from Lyme Disease and other tick-borne diseases, so that's about it. 
 
There is so much more I could say about raising puppies and puppy training and behavior, and I'm realizing that I could sit here for four hours, but it's time to go and and have fun with our dogs and maybe take them for a walk, or go to bed, whatever time zone we are at, and if you have any questions, you can always go to peterdobias.com, my website, and search in the search window there, and if you don't find the answer, which is actually quite rare, you can always email us. 

And for those of you who are new to our community, I encourage you to subscribe to our newsletter because I publish a lot of information on how to keep your dogs healthy and happy for many years to come. 

Have a wonderful day and give your dog a hug for me. Take care.