Puppies and the big world-the beginning

I had a shoot yesterday with a young puppy; a 14 week old adorable pup. She is just starting her big world experiences but has been out and about in her neighborhood for a while. She did amazing for her first trip out to such a public place and it was a great place to take her. There are so many dog lovers there that just about everyone wants to touch; great socializing. We were at the Montage in Laguna Beach; a place I frequent often with the dogs. The scenery is spectacular and getting a bad photo is almost impossible.

So we meandered down the pathways letting the little one get a feel for the place; she had a few anxious moments near the construction and the ocean was pretty scarey. At one spot along the pathway where you can walk down to the beach the ocean crashes loudly on the rocks; this was much too loud and frightening spot for her introduction to the beach. So we headed back to the open beach area where the rocks were further away creating a much more calm introduction. She immediately knew she was on a different surface when she hit the sand; it was very cute watching her. She look at the sand for a while then moved onto digging it; she was quick to discover the joy of sand.

Next was the ocean; she had a look, got a bit closer and as the waves came in her tail dropped and she backed up a bit. She only moved away a bit; then came back for another look. When you consider that the ocean makes a huge growly sound it must be a little unnerving when you have never seen nor heard this before. All in all she did amazing and I got some adorable shots; the best were on the beach where she seemed much more relaxed. So what made this trip such a good one and not a frightening one? Her brain stimulation and socializing from birth.

I happen to know that this particular puppy received Early neurological stimulation from birth. Many breeders are now implementing this with their litters and are seeing the benefits. Of course it helps when you are dealing with good genes but bettering your odds for having better puppies is never a bad idea. Along with these stimulation steps there should be toys, noises, activities and scenery changes at the breeders home.

Once they have left the breeders home to live with their new family the socializing must continue. Gentle and slow is the best way to go always watching for reactions signals. And the way that each human reacts to situations will definitely impact on the puppies reaction.

So you are left with the same recommendation after this blog; do your research.