What is your…Take-Away!
Written by Pam on January 6, 2015
Like Mother Like Daughter a kiss or a tug of war
What is your take-away from the picture above? Do you see a gentle Koko kiss or is it the start of a chocolate tug of war? At 12 weeks, Epokku is demonstrating what she thinks is the lead position and she is ‘it”. Although here at HGT almost everyone gives her the right away – everyone but her mom, Koko and her mom’s best friend, Mean. Mean will actually pin Epokku down until she submits and then releases her. Koko, on the other hand, is a gentle touch and she tries her best to show Epokku that she will share the elk antler only after Epokku calms down. The picture can be interpreted differently but in reality Koko is not releasing the elk antler and Epokku is not giving up. Koko actually stands up with the antler and the game is over as Epokku cannot reach it. The picture is perfect because most of the time, both Mom and daughter play endearingly and endlessly but there comes a time when both want the same chew. We need to set up our dogs for success – at the home front and in the future so our labs are good topics of conversation….
At 12 – 16 weeks, this is a critical time for socializing and obedience training. You might not know this but there is a short window of time that the obedience training really sinks in while spending time with your Labrador puppy – if you miss this opportunity it will be difficult later on to teach the Labrador obedience and the ‘proofing’ will not be evident. Proofing is a term used when a lab is taught a certain behavior but the test or proof is when that same behavior is asked in a different venue or around different animals or people.
Our KokoBos need to know what is acceptable and what is not. All training should be done in repetition and always by using a calm voice with constant eye contact. If the pup is jumping with excitement to see you, you need to turn your back on him and wait until he sits – then you can stroke him and enjoy quality time with him. If you allow him to jump on you, he will think his behavior is acceptable and he will continue this behavior throughout his lifetime. Every morning I let Epokku out then back in to eat and then we have play time, although play time does not begin until she is in a sit command and waiting for me to begin whatever game I have in store. If she gets too excited, I stand up and turn my back on her. Without noise or eye contact, there really is no fun and no game so she realizes that if she sits and stays in a sit position, the game will begin again. (This is hard because it is time consuming but it will pay off in the long run. )
Another habit that you do not want you lab pup to instinctively do is to ‘chomp chomp’ for his reward. I am finding once a command is done correctly the mouth opens automatically and starts a chomp chomp motion before I have time to send in the reward. This needs correction as the puppy probably does not even know this is happening. To stop the chomp chomp to get the reward again I ask for a sit and down, once in the sit/down position, I give her the reward. One would think that if the chomp chomp is happening at a sit, it most likely will still happen with a sit/down but it doesn’t. These are just basic habits that Labradors tend to exhibit at a young age and if you spend time correcting this relatively simple behavioral issues, the pup will learn and not perform this reaction again. Epokku will be starting her socialization class this winter – the class is really designed to help the owner and for the pup to make new friends. It has been a long time since I have attended a puppy socialization class, but because I have limited mobility from breaking my foot, I cannot get to her fast enough when she is causing some type of unwanted behavior. So I think this class (more than ever) will be very helpful. Remember what I had said in a previous blog, you only have 5 seconds to correct an unwanted behavior for the puppy to catch on to what you are trying to communicate. As I learn important training tips, I will blog my notes so all my KokoBo families will benefit. Enjoy, Pam