TAPUA LABRADOR RETRIEVERS

TRAINING PUPPIES

(PHOTO:Tapua Wiri and his best mate)

DISCLAIMER

The information stated in this section apply only to dogs owned or bred by TAPUA KENNELS. We do not assume nor expect any individual dog owner, breeder, show person or dog trainer to agree with or accept our agendas regarding the care, training, breeding or nutrition of Labrador Retrievers nor any other breed.

Preparing Puppies For a Purposeful Life.

When you buy a puppy from Tapua Kennels your puppy has already begun conditioning to learn. From birth your pup is given the optimum in learning environments. We use the American method of Early Neurological Stimulation of Puppies, which has been tried and tested with US Army sniffer dogs. This method of early neurological stimulation developed by Dr Battaglia in the USA gives your puppy every opportunity to adapt to changes and to be resiliant to the stressors of socialization, noise, people, vehicles, issolation with ease. The early stimulation also makes them more trainable as service, obedience or hunting dogs.

For this reason we prefer our puppies to go to homes that have a clear role for the pup or into service training.

We recommend any breeder or experienced trainer inform themselves of this method. We have learnt from experience that the pups are much more alert and open to learn from a young age. We are thrilled with the results.

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The Neurological Stimulous Program Details

Dr Carmen Battaglia PhD

These techniqies are to be applyied between day 3 and 16 of life ONLY

1 Tactile stimulation: between toes

Holding puppy in one hand, the handle gently stimulates (tickles) the pup between the toes on any one foot using a Q-tip. It is not necessary to see the pup is feeling the tickle.

2 Hold head erect:

Using both hands, the pup is held perpendicular to the ground, (straight up) so that its head is directly above its tail. This is an upwards position.

3 Head pointed down:

Holding the pup firmly with both hands the head is reversed and is pointing downwards so that it is pointing towards the ground.

4 Supine position:

Hold th pup so that its back is resting in the palm of both hands with its muzzle facing the ceiling. The pup whilst on iots back is allowed to sleep or struggle

5 Thermal position:

Using a damp towel that has been cooled in a refigerator for aleast 5 minutes. Place the pup on the towel, feet down. Do not restrain it from moving

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These five excercises will produce neurological stimulation, none of which natuarally occur during life. Experience shows that sometimes pups will resist these excercises, others will appear unconcerned. In either case a caution is offered to those who plan to use them.

Over stimulation of the neurological system can lead to detrimental results.

These excercises impact on the neurological system by kicking it into action earlier than normally expected. The result being an increased capacity that later will help to make a difference in performance.

Benefits of Stimulation

Five benefits have been observed in canines that were exposed to the Bio Sensor stimulation excercises.

1 Improved cardio-vascular performance ( heart rate)
2 Stronger heart beats
3 Stronger adrenal glands
4 More tollerance to stress
5 Greater resiliance to disease

In the aspects of learning, stimulated pups were found to be more active and were more exploratory than their unstimulated litter-mates over which they were dominant in competative situatons.

Secondary effects were also noted regarding test performance. In simple problem solving tests the non stimulated pups became extreemely aroused, whined a great deal and made many errors. Their litter-mates were less disturbed or upset by test conditions and when comparisons were made the littermates were more calm in the test environment, made fewer errors and gave only occassional stress.

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NUTRITION

All TAPUA puppies are raised on premium preservative free dry dog biscuits, we currently use the all Australian BOOMER WORKING DOG for our adult dogs and BOOMER PUPPY feed. There are a number of excellent dog food products I reccommend that the protien content is <25%. In addition our dogs are fed raw beef, chicken neck, brisket bones, eggs and fish. The fresh minced meat have garlic, multivitamins, brewers yeast and apple-cider vinigar add. In winter in particular I feed a stew which will have pasta, home grown organic vegies and meat in it.

No cooked or tinned foods are fed to our dogs. Some people prefer to feed their dogs totally naturally and eliminate dry biscuit from their diet all together, whilst we do feed raw as much as possible I have elected to retain some dry feed. Royal Canin is manufactured by Mars in Bathurst and is preservative free dry or wet feed we highly recommend. We encourage our buyers to maintain optimum weight for the Labradors in particular to aid in the prevention of HD & Elbow Displaysia

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SOME PRINCIPALS WE FOLLOW WHEN CONDITIONING PUPS

All dogs respond particularly well to motivational training, there are a miriad of 'how to train by motivational methods' books around. I strongly recommend 'Don't Shoot The Dog' by Karen Pryor. If you are really into understanding how dogs tick read Bruce Fogel's Dog's Mind, they have both been around for years and are an excellent read.

The principals we follow are based on over 20 years of experience. We do not gaurantee that any given pup will fulfill its intended purpose however certain behaviours can be reinforced and enhanced from a very young age and that make future targetted training more likely to succeed. Behaviours such as search, track & find, fetch, sit, stand, drop, stay, come are easily reinforced with positive methods.

The cute and appealing human/dog relationship behaviours such as shake hands, touch with the nose, crawl, roll over, sit up reinforce a positive human/dog bond and form a small part of the play/reward reinforcement, along with food and tugga-war. It is the quality of the relationship between the dog and handler that produce the best of results. Dogs are not robots and they respond to leadership and praise. Not surprisingly Labs are very food oriented however we transfer our reinforcers away from food as soon as possible to voice, play with a ball or tug-a-war. Most pups are like a sponge between 6 & 16 weeks of age. Conditioned competantly, they retain much of what they learn as they get older.

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SOCIALISATION

The socialisation period (between 6 & 16 weeks) in a puppies developement is considered most important and critical for the puppy. It is critical for establishment of social relationships - this time bridges both the time spent with the breeder and the new owner. If a breeder utilises this time well puppies adjust and engage in their social environment with people and other animal is a possitive way. If issolated from stimulation or presented with negative and fear inducing experiences these experiences can have can have long lasting effects. In principle what has been learnt can be unlearnt however thist take time, committment and skill on the part of the handler.

TAPUA pups experience Early Neurological Stimulation between days 3 & 16 however the cuddles, hugs and environmental stimulation throughout thier time here. Pups experience the normal household noises and distactions of a busy life and all are introduced in a possitive way. From birth pups hear clocks dinging, TV's and phones going, lights going on and off at different times of the day and night, the radio, vacuum cleaner and the general noise and distraction of daily life. Because Pete and I are both shift workers the constant coming and going as well as the activity of our other dogs contribute to a stimulating and normal household life. Whelped inside we follow a pregressive process of noise and stimulation, sound tapes are played for fire crackers, thunder, children playing and traffic noise. The litter which are planned for police or military service have tapes with gun fire, machine guns, helecopters and planes.

Our pups progress outside by 5/6 weeks, if the weather is good, pups will be outside during the day is a puppy day yard - Kindy II and at night in a smaller enclosure Kindy I. Kindy 1 is near the house and they sleep and rest in this earea there isa tunnel and a walkway over the tunnel and they are hhave a large kennel where they sleep together. Kindy II is set up to stimilate more interatction they have numerous places to hide and play and we use the childrens activity centres to hide items and enourage the pups to seek the toys or food.

The dam is not removed from the pups however as we introduce food pups tend to naturally see us as the primary sourse of food - concurrently the dam is drying her milk and while the pups though still interacting with mum learn the necessary behavioural boundaries and and signals from their mum which needs to continue until they leave at 8 weeks.

From approximately 5/6 weeks till they leave our pups learn to interact with our adult dogs during brief and supervised walks around our 1acre property. After pups are vaccinate their contact with strangers are increase. Following vaccinations we deliberately take our litter to TAFE where the animal studies under supervission handle and interact with the pups. This is saturation socialisation which the pups benefit greatly from and it is a pleasurable experience for everyone.

By the time you get your 8 week old you pups has had as many broad and normalising expreiences which they are well expereinced in - all these experiences help you pup adapt to their new life with you.

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NOTHING IN LIFE IS FREE

I love this program and base all my general training on NILIF. Written by Deb McKean in 1999 it it sound science and sound behavioural management.

I highly recommend this program for any dog owner at any level of competancy.

Undesirable behavior can be caused by many things, including undetected illness. No behavior modification program should begin without first taking the dog to a veterinarian for a complete physical examination. While you're there, give your vet a printed copy of this page and ask if it would be an appropriate technique for you to try. The NILIF program is an accepted standard in dog training/behavior but it is not, and is not intended to be, a substitute for an in-person, professional evaluation of your dog's behavior. This technique is intended for dogs in good health and of sound mind and stable temperament.

The NILIF program is remarkable because it's effective for such a wide variety of problems. A shy, timid dog becomes more relaxed knowing that he has nothing to worry about, his owner is in charge of all things. A dog that's pushing too hard to become "top dog" learns that the position is not available and that his life is far more enjoyable without the title.

It is equally successful with dogs that fall anywhere between those two extremes. The program is not difficult to put into effect and it's not time consuming if the dog already knows a few basic obedience commands. I've never seen this technique fail to bring about a positive change in behavior, however, the change can be more profound in some dogs than others. Most owners use this program in conjunction with other behavior modification techniques such as coping with fear or treatment for aggression. It is a perfectly suitable technique for the dog with no major behavior problems that just needs some fine tuning.

ATTENTION ON DEMAND
The program begins by eliminating attention on demand. When your dog comes to you and nudges your hand, saying "pet me! pet me!" ignore him. Don't tell him "no", don't push him away. Simply pretend you don't notice him. This has worked for him before, so don't be surprised if he tries harder to get your attention. When he figures out that this no longer works, he'll stop. In a pack situation, the top ranking dogs can demand attention from the lower ranking ones, not the other way around. When you give your dog attention on demand you're telling him that he has more status in the pack than you do. Timid dogs become stressed by having this power and may become clingy. They're never sure when you'll be in charge so they can't relax. What if something scary happens, like a stranger coming in the house? Who will handle that? The timid dog that is demanding of attention can be on edge a lot of the time because he has more responsibility than he can handle.

Some dogs see their ability to demand attention as confirmation that they are the "alpha", then become difficult to handle when told to "sit" or "down" or some other demand is placed on them. It is not their leadership status that stresses them out, it's the lack of consistency. They may or may not actually be alpha material, but having no one in the pack that is clearly the leader is a bigger problem than having the dog assume that role full time. Dogs are happiest when the pack order is stable. Tension is created by a constant fluctuation of pack leadership.

EXTINCTION BURSTS
Your dog already knows that he can demand your attention and he knows what works to get that to happen. As of today, it no longer works, but he doesn't know that yet. We all try harder at something we know works when it stops working. If I gave you a twenty dollar bill every time you clapped your hands together, you'd clap a lot. But, if I suddenly stopped handing you money, even though you were still clapping, you'd clap more and clap louder. You might even get closer to me to make sure I was noticing that you were clapping. You might even shout at me "Hey! I'm clapping like crazy over here, where's the money?". If I didn't respond at all, in any way, you'd stop. It wasn't working anymore. That last try -- that loud, frequent clapping is an extinction burst. If, however, during that extinction burst, I gave you another twenty dollar bill you'd be right back in it. It would take a lot longer to get you to stop clapping because you just learned that if you try hard enough, it will work.

When your dog learns that the behaviors that used to get him your attention don't work any more he's going to try harder and he's going to have an extinction burst. If you give him attention during that time you will have to work that much harder to get him turned around again. Telling him "no" or pushing him away is not the kind of attention he's after, but it's still attention. Completely ignoring him will work faster and better.

YOU HAVE THE POWER
As the human and as his owner you have control of all things that are wonderful in his life. This is the backbone of the NILIF program. You control all of the resources. Playing, attention, food, walks, going in and out of the door, going for a ride in the car, going to the dog park. Anything and everything that your dog wants comes from you. If he's been getting most of these things for free there is no real reason for him to respect your leadership or your ownership of these things. Again, a timid dog is going to be stressed by this situation, a pushy dog is going to be difficult to handle. Both of them would prefer to have you in charge.

To implement the NILIF program you simply have to have your dog earn his use of your resources. He's hungry? No problem, he simply has to sit before his bowl is put down. He wants to play fetch? Great! He has to "down" before you throw the ball. Want to go for a walk or a ride? He has to sit to get his lead snapped on and has to sit while the front door is opened. He has to sit and wait while the car door is opened and listen for the word (I use "OK") that means "get into the car". When you return he has to wait for the word that means "get out of the car" even if the door is wide open. Don't be too hard on him. He's already learned that he can make all of these decisions on his own. He has a strong history of being in control of when he gets these resources. Enforce the new rules, but keep in mind that he's only doing what he's been taught to do and he's going to need some time to get the hang of it all.

You're going to have to pay attention to things that you probably haven't noticed before. If you feed your dog from your plate do you just toss him a green bean? No more. He has to earn it. You don't have to use standard obedience commands, any kind of action will do. If your dog knows "shake" or "spin around" or "speak" use those commands. Does your dog sleep on your bed? Teach him that he has to wait for you to say "OK" to get on the bed and he has to get down when you say "off". Teach him to go to his bed, or other designated spot, on command. When he goes to his spot and lays down tell him "stay" and then release him with a treat reward. Having a particular spot where he stays is very helpful for when you have guests or otherwise need him out of the way for a while. It also teaches him that free run of the house is a resource that you control. There are probably many things that your dog sees as valuable resources that I haven't mentioned here.

The NILIF program should not be a long, drawn out process. All you need to do is enforce a simple command before allowing him access to what he wants. Dinner, for example, should be a two or three second encounter that consists of nothing more than saying "sit", then "good dog!", then putting the bowl down and walking away.

ATTENTION AND PLAY
Now that your dog is no longer calling the shots you will have to make an extra effort to provide him with attention and play time. Call him to you, have him "sit" and then lavish him with as much attention as you want. Have him go get his favorite toy and play as long as you both have the energy. The difference is that now you will be the one initiating the attention and beginning the play time. He's going to depend on you now, a lot more than before, to see that he gets what he needs. What he needs most is quality time with you. This would be a good time to enroll in a group obedience class. If his basic obedience is top notch, see about joining an agility class or fly ball team.

NILIF DOES *NOT* MEAN THAT YOU HAVE TO RESTRICT THE AMOUNT OF ATTENTION YOU GIVE TO YOUR DOG. The NILIF concept speaks to who initiates the attention (you!), not the amount of attention. Go ahead and call your dog to you 100 times a day for hugs and kisses!! You can demand his attention, he can no longer demand yours!

Within a day or two your dog will see you in a whole new light and will be eager to learn more. Use this time to teach new things, such as 'roll over' or learn the specific names of different toys.

If you have a shy dog, you'll see a more relaxed dog. There is no longer any reason to worry about much of anything. He now has complete faith in you as his protector and guide. If you have a pushy dog he'll be glad that the fight for leadership is over and his new role is that of devoted and adored pet.

©1999 Deb McKean

Contact Details
Pauline Gill & Peter Levett
Woodstock, NSW, Australia
Phone : PH:(02) 6345 0027 MB: 0429399341
Email : tapua@bigpond.com