December 30th 2014 Daily Training tip and information Puppy play dates Puppies need to play. The mental and physical energy spent while playing with a playmate is exhausting! So how do you schedule a play date and how do you know its safe? In your local breed groups or animal groups you can meet all kinds of people that want to get together and let their puppies blow some steam off. Where should these play dates be held? Your local vets may have a play yard you can use or you can hold these in your own backyard. Places that are NOT safe for young puppies would be; apartment complex yards, homes that have had a puppy with parvo within the past 2 years, public parks, and playgrounds. Play dates should be scheduled during the prime socialization age of 8 weeks to 14 weeks. It is during this time that puppies have that window of Im going to experience everything without being scared or fearful. To schedule a puppy play date, make sure that your play date partner is utd on their vaccinations and is at least 7 days post vaccination. It is also important that the puppies are healthy and have been kept in a safe environment themselves. Puppies older than 14 weeks can and should have play dates as well. Keep them supervised so that no one puppy gets overwhelmed. It is important to keep play dates supervised so that no one puppy is playing too rough and traumatizing another less boisterous puppy. Dont allow puppies to pin others down, mount, or bite too hard. Puppies do play with their mouths, but some control is needed. When one puppy is playing too rough, the other puppies tend to withdraw or get defensive, which could start a tussle. This is not healthy play. If its your puppy that is too rough, take them out of play for a few moments and then release them with the cue play easy. Continue to remove them if its too rough, but remember to release them again as a time out should only be about 30 seconds. Dog-e-training hosts some puppy play dates when the weather is nice. Have fun and remember that socialization with other animals does not count if its your own pack! Get out and meet other dogs in safe environments! Jolynn Payne CPDT-KA
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 15:15:56 +0000
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