# Raising a Puppy during the Pandemic



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

For those of you with young puppies, if you don't know about Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, which is an on line dog school, I STRONGLY recommend that you look it up. For a LOT of reasons. Absolutely WONDERFUL content, on a HUGE number of subjects. But the MOST important thing for all of YOU right now is that Denise Fenzi, the founder, and a BRILLIANT, positive dog trainer has a brand new 9 week old puppy.

If you buy even ONE webinar or workshop or class (and webinars are only 19.95!) you become an "alumni" and are eligible to join the FSDA FB alumni page. Denise is currently videoing almost every bit of work she does socializing her new puppy, every day. This is very casual, not in a class form, and is just up there for you to catch live or watch later, depending on your schedule. This is an unprecedented amount of material with free access for any Fenzi alum. I do not currently have a puppy and don't PLAN on a puppy in the foreseeable future. But I am watching these with great interest. Every single one of them is FULL of tidbits of how to handle "raising your pup". A lot of it applies to any pup at any time. A tremendous amount is applicable to those of you who can't use traditional 
socialization" methods right now due to the Covid outbreak.

https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com

When you've signed up for "something", the FB group URL is: 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/fdsa.alumni/about/


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## Dexter and Reia’s mom (Feb 20, 2020)

Thank you SO much for this info! We are about 6 weeks away from our furry addition and I’ve been wondering the best way to handle raising her puppyhood during this craziness. I know it’s not the best time to get a puppy but we’ve been on a waiting list for awhile and finally have a puppy waiting for us😊Also we are all home to help for awhile! What better way to make the most of the situation... Dexter will such a great big brother!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

kshpenn said:


> Thank you SO much for this info! We are about 6 weeks away from our furry addition and I've been wondering the best way to handle raising her puppyhood during this craziness. I know it's not the best time to get a puppy but we've been on a waiting list for awhile and finally have a puppy waiting for us&#128522;Also we are all home to help for awhile! What better way to make the most of the situation... Dexter will such a great big brother!


There is some of what she's doing, of course, that won't be necessary with a Havanese puppy... Her puppy is a high-drive (VERY high-drive herding breed puppy (Tervueren) and a lot of time is spent wear him down (6AM "adventure walks) and very structured toy play to keep him from biting her, not things that are generally needed with our Havanese puppies! LOL! But there is still TONS of good information there, and it's easy enough to fast-forward through the stuff you don't need.

I DON'T know whether she will address it much, because I'm not sure this is a "Tervueren thing" but one thing that IS a SPECIFIC danger with OUR breed is a puppy becoming TOO attached to having his/her people around all the time, and then having a VERY hard time with separation later on. So ESPECIALLY during this time of isolation, make SURE that you work in times for the puppy to practice being alone, for tiny bits of time to start with. (in their ex-pen for 30 seconds while you go into the bathroom to pee to start with! LOL! and slowly building up to longer times when you PURPOSELY leave the house, even if that means quietly sitting in your car and reading a book while the puppy naps in their crate or ex-pwn in the house. (whatever you've decided) This is something you will have to work on in a much more thoughtful way than most of us do with busy normal lives in "normal" times!


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## Wulfin (May 3, 2019)

Thanks Karen!! We are a month away from puppy #2, plus we feel like we are missing out on a few months of puppy classes for Denver, so this is a fantastic resource.


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## Dexter and Reia’s mom (Feb 20, 2020)

I don’t know how to quote a specific portion of a response...but I wanted to say thank you for the advice about getting puppy to have periods of alone time. I want to avoid separation anxiety as much as possible since I’m home so much with them on a regular basis. That is something I will really work on with this puppy!


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## HoneyBunny (May 11, 2010)

Thanks for posting this, Karen! I've been watching Zak George's series on youtube, but I will check her out as well. I'm getting my puppy in 5/6 weeks, and I think my biggest concern is socialization. I know I'll be able to train her, but one of the reason I brought my Honey (RIP) to puppy kindergarten, basic, beginner and intermediate classes was to get used to other people and other dogs - I live alone but in an apartment community. With COVID19, I don't want her to develop bad attitudes or become defensive or resistant to others. I'm not sure I will be able to find a puppy kindergarten (I'm in northern NJ, where it's still very prevalent, and everyone says it will be here in some capactiy through the summer and get much more virulent in the fall 

Any recommendations as to how to socialize my puppy during a pandemic?

Thanks!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Yes! I've posted a couple of really good articles by a couple of people. The important thing is to get them out and about, as often as you can, SEEING people "doing stuff", even if they can't interact with them. Go to store parking lots (at a safe distance) Open the car door (or a hatchback, where you can sit beside her crate would be even better) and let your puppy just watch everything that is going on. If people notice the two of you, have a long distance conversation! Tell them what you are doing and why. Just hearing you converse with these people will normalize the situation for her.

Take her to as many different places as you can to see as many different THINGS as you can. At home, have her climb different surfaces. Be creative. Pile up pillows and make little obstacle courses for her. 

Hunt a bit on the forum. I know I've posted more on this stuff.


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

The articles Karen posted were great! keep in mind that part of socializing isn’t just about humans, it’s about exposure to different experiences so that new things aren’t startling or frightening. There is a lot you can do at home to expose all of their senses to different sounds, textures, machines, etc.


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## madra (Jan 25, 2020)

Thanks Krandall. I've seen her name pop up on many lists. I'll check it out.

Up here in Canada, Susan Garret has put out an online course that is freely available for some time. I'm not sure if it still is.
The website is homeschoolthedog.com, https://www.facebook.com/groups/homeschoolthedog/


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

madra said:


> Thanks Krandall. I've seen her name pop up on many lists. I'll check it out.
> 
> Up here in Canada, Susan Garret has put out an online course that is freely available for some time. I'm not sure if it still is.
> The website is homeschoolthedog.com, https://www.facebook.com/groups/homeschoolthedog/


Susan Garrett is great! I've taken a number of her classes in the past. I particularly found both Crate Games and Recallers useful. I took them both with Kodi, but have used the material with all three of my dogs. (As well as her method of teaching weave pole entries) Anything she offers is going to have good material in it!


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## HoneyBunny (May 11, 2010)

Great recommendations - thank you so much! 

For Susan Garret, do I join this Facebook group, or is there another place to join her online class?

Thanks again!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Here is one:

https://susangarrettdogagility.com/...kGP2-qLFnCf3hhO1_IbcLVXWefKIN2Gu6cx43MThIRi4E

And this:

https://susangarrettdogagility.com/tag/puppy-training/


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## madra (Jan 25, 2020)

Here is a link for homeschoolthedog, but it appears this session may be closed. However, if you are medical or frontline worker you might still be able to freely access the content if you email them.

https://dogsthat.com/?_ga=2.131734159.147966788.1588550082-1824238931.1586217025
https://dogsthat.com/homeschool-waitlist/

It has 3 modules, and some bonus materials: Build the Value, Transfer the Value, Use the Value.
Within the the modules are 12 game demonstrations that are ~ 10-25 minutes in length, coaching tips(like you should record training sessions), and Q and A with Susan.
I find Susan Garret to be an excellent teacher.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

madra said:


> Here is a link for homeschoolthedog, but it appears this session may be closed. However, if you are medical or frontline worker you might still be able to freely access the content if you email them.
> 
> https://dogsthat.com/?_ga=2.131734159.147966788.1588550082-1824238931.1586217025
> https://dogsthat.com/homeschool-waitlist/
> ...


She definitely is!!!


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## Dexter and Reia’s mom (Feb 20, 2020)

For anyone who’s taken the Recallers course, is it something you can start with an almost 3 year old dog? I’ve been doing Crate Games with Dexter and I love her style of training! But it’s not a cheap course and want to make sure it will work for him. We have a new puppy coming in the next few weeks and would like something that will work for both of them. Thanks!


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## madra (Jan 25, 2020)

I received an email yesterday from Susan Garret's Homeschool the Dog course that it is open again for 48 hours, now about 24 hours. The code is TOGETHER.

https://dogsthat.com/home-school/


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

kshpenn said:


> For anyone who's taken the Recallers course, is it something you can start with an almost 3 year old dog? I've been doing Crate Games with Dexter and I love her style of training! But it's not a cheap course and want to make sure it will work for him. We have a new puppy coming in the next few weeks and would like something that will work for both of them. Thanks!


Absolutely! You can do it with any age dog. Kodi was an adult when she first offered it. It wasn't really designed with little puppies in mind, though it works with them too.


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