JUST THE WAY YOU ARE

By knowing our canine companion's fears and triggers, we can prevent problems from occurring, and can better work alongside them in their training

- Rosie Tilley

The world needs different minds to work together. We are all different, our dogs included - we all have our quirks, characteristics, our personality and opinions. It's what makes us unique. It's what makes us stand out, and gives the world colour - and our dogs are no exception, they have their very own personalities too! Much like children, a dog's character begins forming at an early age. Puppyhood is when core memories are built, associations are made, and a dog first begins to show its true colours. This is such an important stage of life for a pup, and thus, we must be on hand to create positive experiences, guiding our pup to become a happy, healthy adult dog.

Puppies learn through their senses, much like children do, albeit leaning more towards scent than other senses, due to their incredible sense of smell. Did you know, a dog can smell as far as 11 miles, and scents as deep as 15 feet underground? In the way we use our eyes to perceive the world around us, a dog uses their sense of smell to learn new things. Dogs essentially 'see' with their noses, and therefore, the smell is a very important part of character building for a puppy.

At this young age, we should ideally begin introducing a puppy to the world slowly, giving them the best chance of becoming a confident, mature canine. This is also the case for older rescue dogs who must find their feet in their new surroundings. The latter was the case when I took home my wonderful rescue dog Mishka, six years ago. Initially, a very skittish, nervous girl, Mishka came to me with an abundance of fears and behavioural issues.