Meet Sophie

Meet Sophie, an 18 month old boxer adolescent, think teenager with all the accompanying behaviors. Her general motto in life is: It’s good to be queen! At this age she is like a 16 year old on a mission! When she sleeps, she is down for the count and when she is awake, look out! She can be funny, charming, determined, obstinate, aggravating, etc. She needs to be engaged at all times and while I may need a time out, she rarely does! While she has plenty of toys, they are only interesting if I am also involved. She has a large fenced yard but it is the same yard she was in yesterday and the day before and it no longer engages her mind. She goes for a walk nearly every day (weather permitting) but this is not nearly as long as she would like, say 8+ hours; what she really needs is socialization.

Socialization is extremely important for all dogs of any age but particularly for puppies to adolescents for it engages their mind with things such as: playing, learning bite inhibition, and learning to read behavior and body cues plus giving them an outlet for all that ENERGY. My answer to this was to take her to doggie daycare. While at daycare she is in an intensely focused environment which completely engages her mind. She has learned quickly that when entering the kennel area with other dogs that her place on the social hierarchy is not the top position i.e. queen therefore she needs to stand quietly and be greeted by the other members of the pack. Only when they have finished their greeting is she permitted to move away. She has learned that size does not guarantee the top position either, Bogey and Jasper quickly taught her that attitude is far more important. She has also learned to play nice, to read the body cues of other dogs including puppies and to take no for an answer. That took some help from Judy as her supervisor.

Young dogs need a tremendous amount of engagement and supervision. Remember that your dog is always learning and you decide the things they will learn. Every moment that you spend with them provides opportunities. When Sophie is bored she comes looking to involve me in some activity and if I do not provide her with an activity she will find something guaranteed to involve me; for example grabbing something she shouldn’t have and ensuring I am involved by running past me with it. She is trying to create a game and wants me to play to be engaged with her. I have taught her that if she grabs some item such as a ball of yarn I will "play" with her by chasing after her to take it away. This was not my intention but it was my result! I am now engaged in retraining this behavior, a much more difficult task.

All young dogs from small puppies to adult dogs learn and every moment you spend with them you are teaching them something. It is up to you to teach them the things you want them to know, to help them develop into the companion you will enjoy. Daycare has allowed me to give Sophie something she really needs, an outlet for her energy; it enriches her life by providing interesting activities and best of all it gives me a time out!