Your new responsibilities Your new puppy Your new responsibilities

I have been made aware and I realize that as a large breed of dog my alaskan malamute needs training and guidance if they are to be a well behaved trustworthy companion An Alaskan malamute puppy needs to be well socialized with people and other dogs, failure to socialize a puppy can result in a timid dog that may display fear aggression. So a puppy must get out with you whenever possible, if you are going to the store, throw your puppy in the car and take them with you, stores like Canadian Tire welcome dogs now. Also never let people jump at your puppy, many people with no dog experience will jump at dogs in an attempt to engage them in play, jumping at a puppy in an upright stance amounts to a bluff charge, similar to what a confronted bear will do, this will confuse and make your puppy scared of people. If someone wants to play with your puppy ask them to get down and initiate play using a play bow, this is how dogs initiate play with each other. Puppies should be enrolled in at least one set of puppy obedience classes, so they can get used to being around other dogs, learn not to pull on leash, come when called and leave things you do not want them to eat or go near. Never let another dog act aggressively towards your puppy, it only takes one aggressive act by another dog to make your puppy dog aggressive as an adult. So a new puppy is an investment and will take a lot of time and attention if they are to develop into a well adjusted canine citizen.

Rank reduction, ensuring you are the pack leader An Alaskan malamute puppy must be raised knowing that the owners are in charge or dominant over them. This is easy and involves simple rank reduction exercises when your puppy is young. These exercises entail straddling the puppy while on your knees, putting the puppy into a down stay and massaging the puppy over the shoulders and behind the ears. While doing this the owner should examine the puppies feet, teeth, roof of mouth, inside the ears, eyes and under the tail. The puppy may protest, if it does you must continue to hold the puppy in the down stay and continue with the handling exercises. Next the puppy will be placed on its side by the owner and massaged over the whole body, the puppy will not get up for 5 minutes or when you are finished, you decide when the puppy gets up and it must lie quietly before you let it get up, the puppy will soon realize that this is a pleasant bonding time and that you are in charge.

Rank reduction continued Owners will also practice taking bones and toys from the puppy, if the puppy growls you must put the puppy in a down stay and take the bone or toy. Repeat until the puppy realizes you as the pack leader can take high value items away from them at any time, this is important when they get hold of something like medication dropped on the floor or something poisonous. Owners will also practice putting their hands in the puppies food while it is eating, if the puppy growls or stiffens it must immediately be again placed in a down stay until it stops protesting. At feeding time the puppy will also be trained to wait until the owner says ok before beginning to eat, the puppy must sit and wait without jumping at the food bowl.

If these easy exercises are done daily your puppy will soon realize that you are the pack leader Being the pack leader is easy if you think like a dog, never submit to your dog, this includes things like lying on your back on the floor and allowing your dog to climb on you even if you are playing, playing tug of war with your dog and letting them win by having the toy, letting your dog go through a doorway or up stairs first, ahead of you, do not let your puppy do what they want to do if it is not what you want them to do etc. etc. etc. Dogs use all of these cues and behaviors to communicate dominance and submission to each other, so never do things that your dog will read as submitting to them because you are their pack leader now and you must be a strong pack leader if this relationship is to work. Becoming a pack leader for your puppy is easy when they are young, all you have to do is maintain your position as they grow up, they will challenge you as they grow, you must meet these challenges firmly and swiftly, again the best way is to put them into a submissive position under you with them in a forced down stay.

Puppies and children Raising your puppy with your children is easy and rewarding if a few simple but extremely important rules are followed. Dogs rely to a large extent on body language and behavioral cues in order to read people and situations. Children's behavior is often unpredictable, this unnerves many dogs and they do not enjoy the company of untrained children, especially if they are not used to kids or they have had bad experiences. You as the adult must supervise ALL interactions between young kids and dogs, and NEVER allow your kids to ride, climb on, antagonize or tease your dog by pulling hair, ears, lips etc. Many people think this is cute, it is not, it is abuse. Many well socialized dogs will take this abuse for a while but no dog enjoys this, they are putting up with it for you.

Dogs and children continued So training your children to respect your dog and not treat it as a playtoy and supervising all interactions is imperative if bites are to be avoided. You as the supervisor must also learn to recognize signs of stress and uneasiness with what kids are doing, dogs will show stress which is a precursor to biting by yawning, licking their lips, averting their gaze, stiffening their body posture, trying to leave the area etc. next they will growl or lift a lip, if these cues are missed, the next reaction is a bite. So learn to recognize what your dog is telling you through its body language. AND PERHAPS THE BIGGEST NO NO is letting your kids jump or climb on a sleeping dog or a dog that is lying down, in this instance the dog will feel vulnerable and often react quickly with a nip or bite. If any of these signs of stress are noticed it is time to separate the kid(s) and dog(s).

Kids and dogs can be wonderful companions or an accident waiting to happen, it is up to you Under no circumstances should dogs ever be left alone with kids in the house or outside, no matter how good the dog is with you or has been with the kids. As stated earlier the unpredictable, random actions of kids are stressful for dogs even though they may not show it. It would be like you being around an irrational person like someone who is extremely drunk in a bar, you cannot read or rationalize with them and you are stressed by their unpredictable behavior. If your dog cannot get away from the situation, they only have one way of making kids stop and that is through warnings; yawning, averted stare, lifted lips, growling and if this doesn't work, a bite. Kids and dogs often get along very well if these few simple rules are followed, your dogs should enjoy playing with your kids, not be made to put up with their abuse. Once your dog has bitten a child it will be euthanized, there is no turning back, so it is your responsibility to make sure it doesn't happen; it is your fault if it happens, so please heed these few rules of engagement so to speak for your kids and dogs sake.