#177 Raising Independent Puppies

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That adorable new puppy has everyone in the family enchanted—especially the kids. But amid the excitement of tossing toys, floor-level play sessions, and non-stop attention, you might be accidentally creating a future problem: a dog who can't function without constant entertainment.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Let's talk about something that is super easy to
get wrong with a new puppy andespecially in a house with kids.
You bring home this adorablelittle fluff ball and suddenly
everyone is entertaining thepuppy non-stop.
You're tossing toys that kidsare crawling on the floor,

(00:25):
someone's always talking to himor petting him, and sure it's
fun and he's new.
But it also sets up a patternwhere the puppy starts to think
I should be entertained all thetime, and that's not the kind of
adult dog we want to raise.
If your puppy only feels calmor happy when they're getting

(00:48):
constant attention, then they'llstruggle when it's quiet or
when you leave the room or whenthe kids go back to school and
the house gets quiet again.
So here's the reality.
You cannot be your puppy'sentertainment 24 hours a day,
seven days a week, and neithercan your kids.

(01:08):
Instead, your puppy needs tolearn to relax, explore
independently and be okaywithout constant human
interaction.
Now, in a house with kids, thisis extra challenging.
There's motion, noise, littlehumans on the floor.
It can be really hard for apuppy to learn how to settle,

(01:33):
and that's why it's reallyimportant to talk to the kids
about puppy settle time.
They need to know that if thepuppy is resting or chewing or
lying down, they should let himbe.
Don't interrupt just becauseyou're ready to play.
And if the puppy gets up afterthe kids start interacting with
him, well, that's not thepuppy's fault, it's ours for

(01:57):
engaging first.
We want to reward calm andindependent behavior, not
restart the chaos.
So here are a few tips thatmight help.
First, give your puppy a safespace, like a crate or pen or
quiet room, and make it a normalpart of their day, not a

(02:19):
punishment, and use those timesto give him a chew or an
enrichment toy and let himengage without hovering over him
.
Let him learn how to entertainhimself.
And if your puppy follows youfrom room to room, don't punish
it, but don't narrate it either.

(02:40):
Don't talk to them, don't lookat them and, as hard as it is,
don't reward the behavior witheye contact or attention.
If you do, you'll raise a dogthat expects your attention and
interaction every time you getup and move around the house,
because every oh, you're so cutemoment is reinforcing that

(03:03):
being glued to your side is thegoal.
Instead, we want to teach themthat following you is sort of
boring.
And when your puppy lays downquietly in another room.
Perfect, let them, becauseconfidence and independence
aren't built through constantentertainment.

(03:23):
They're built through quiet,consistent practice.
Remember you are not yourpuppy's entertainment director.
You are simply trying to raisea dog who can handle life even
when nothing exciting ishappening.