About playing with a puppy
Games are very important for the socialization of a puppy, plus with their help you can learn his character and preferences. During the game, the pet and owner not only get physical exercise, but also strengthen their friendship.
The following points are important when playing with a puppy:
1. A four-legged pet should willingly play with the owner, and not with him and a toy, that is, chase, hide and seek, but without the use of accessories. Usually a puppy starts playing around three weeks old, and this is the most wonderful time.
2. Playing with a toy should not carry the slightest hint of conflict. The puppy should happily strive towards the owner with the object, and not try to run away. Otherwise, this is an alarm bell. It means that the pet considers the owner to be a bad play partner who can take the item away for good. How often does it happen? The puppy grabs the remote control, sock or slipper and proudly carries it to the person to show off. What does he hear in response to this in 99% of cases? Ugh! And some may even punish the foolish one.
By the way, about punishments. Never punish a puppy, no matter what he comes to you with. It’s better to pet him and tactfully exchange the brought object for a treat or toy. As a result, you will have fewer chewed things than those who regularly punish and scold. The pet will always come to you, and you will have time to pick up the item before it gets seriously hurt. In addition, this is a ready-made base for fetching.
games with a puppy
It takes about three months to introduce certain rules into the game. If the puppy follows them, then the owner must be on his side, and then the pet wins. If he does not want to comply with them, then the game ends. So even the most persistent little ones quickly understand that it is better to play by the owner’s rules than not to play at all.
Basic Rules:
1. You can only grab a toy when given a signal. Not when they took it out of their pocket and not when the owner wanted to give it, but only after a conditioned signal, for example, “Hop!”
2. The game also stops after a signal (for example, the command “Give!”). After this, the pet has no right to claim the toy, that is, try to snatch it, bark, or jump on the owner. At the same time, the command “Give!” is introduced not when the puppy is holding the toy and not at the moment of exchange, but when he himself lets go of it. To do this, you can take your pet by the collar so that he cannot shake his head, and stroke him affectionately. After some time, the puppy will spit out the prey, then you need to clearly say the command. In this case, you must take a step to get between the baby and the prey, pushing him back a little, and then ask him to sit down. When the pet sits down, you should pick up the item. In the vast majority of cases, at this moment the puppy will try to snatch it, so you need to loudly give the command “Give!” and push him away from the prey. As soon as you can calmly pick up the toy, the “Hop!” command sounds again, after which the very stormy and joyful game continues.
This exercise teaches the puppy that the situation is under the control of the owner, but if he follows the rules, he wins. Usually, after the third to fifth repetition, the pet understands that after the command “Give!” you need to calm down to continue the game. The owner learns to manipulate the dog’s condition.
How to play with a puppy correctly
General rules exist for everyone, and if you start establishing them early, they will easily become part of your puppy's life. However, this is quite feasible later. If the pet is already a year old, it will take more time to give up old habits, as well as more effort to block an adult dog. Let us emphasize once again: there is no need to pull the puppy back or try to pacify him by screaming, he must be pushed away from the toy. An adult dog acts in the same way, driving the baby away from its food or prey. She lunges to block the puppy's path. If you try to snatch an object from under your pet’s nose quickly, then such behavior will be regarded as weakness, since the weaker one is not able to defend the prey. He tries to either run away with her or eat her faster. It is worth noting that if the puppy is not playing well, you can try to grab the toy to wind him up, but each game should begin with the command “Hop!” and end with the command “Give!” Of course, the words can be anything, the main thing is that they are short and sharply different in phonetics. Keep in mind that “Give!” you need to say it very calmly, maybe with pressure, but not sharply, since sharp shouts only encourage the puppy to fight for the object, so intonation is very important. And when you give the toy to your pet, do not tease him under any circumstances. If you want your puppy to grab an object, lead him above the ground at nose level so he can catch up and grab it. No lifting the toy up! This is not only dangerous, but will also accustom the pet to the idea that the owner is a greedy person, and no one wants to play with greedy people.
