Energy Burn Off

ENERGY BURN OFF NEGATIVE ENERGY BURN OFF

These are definitely not fun for you but your puppy will have a real ball. This type of energy burst happens When you have not removed the stored up reserves before leaving the puppy alone. Your puppy becomes very creative in his method of energy release. Even in a confined area like a laundry room or a kitchen, he will find all kinds of things to amuse himself. Things like chewing on baseboard or door frames, lifting up or shredding the cushion floor, clawing window frames or tearing curtains down. Do you see the picture. Not a pretty one at all. Probably for this reason, many pup-pies are given up, sold or placed in humane shelters for behavior that is really not their fault. Just simple lack of knowledge on the owner's part can destroy many good pups. Can you imagine what giving free-roam to a whole house would do to a puppy energy burn off time. Pretty great party for the puppy but beyond comprehension for the owner. (How could our beloved FEE-FEE do this assault to the couch when we love her and trust her with the whole house to live in.) POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE. It's really up to the owners to provide the proper direction for the puppy.

Breaking Down The Segments Of The Retrieving Exercise

• Have a flat leather or nylon collar on your pup for this type of session. You also need a 30 to 40 foot energy burn off rope, (if playing outdoors) and attached to his collar (See energy burn off in topic #5). This is crucial to insure a safe playtime and accurate training sessions well.
• Next, get the puppy excited over the toy or article. Toss it out a couple of feet from where you are to warm the puppy up. Command to the puppy ?Take It?, (while it is still moving), using a fun and energetic voice. As soon as he takes the article, turn and start running from him so that he has to run to catch you. Start off by making these catch-up distances quite short, about 10 to 20 feet. As he's closing in on you, turn and face him, calling out his name and the command ?COME?. Coach him with lots of “GOOD PUPPY“ Praise.
• When he's almost to you, bend down to his level with open arms. Remember, if the pup gets too silly or out of control at any time, the long line is there to reinforce your commands. Should he refuse to come to you, simply reel him in like a fish line and praise heavily with voice and hands when he gets to you.
• Once within arms reach, command ?SIT? To the pup. If he's facing you, lean forward over him while he's still in the we are having fun frame of mind. If he still resists, just apply a bit of pressure on the indent spots near his hips. (Feel along the pup's backbone and just before the hip bones you will feel 2 indent areas. Place your thumb in one and your middle finger in the other, on the opposite side. These I refer to as the indent spots). Do not press straight down or firmly. Your puppies bones are growing and you don't want to put unnecessary pressure that could perhaps contribute to future
  Problems. Rather then pressing, guide the puppies rear end back and down in a 45 degree manner towards the floor, into a sit position.
• Once in a “SIT” Position, commands “GIVE” to the puppy. Now most puppies want to hang on to the article and start the tug- of- war process. If this happens just pry his mouth open, using your thumb and middle finger over the top of the muzzle. Push his own lip in-between the jaws and guaranteed, your pup will gladly spit out the article. This method eliminates the possibility of the pup putting tremendous bite for this type of session. You also need a 30 to 40 pressure on one of your fingers while teaching him the command “GIVE“.
• On the release of the article, instantly give tons of “verbal and hands on praise”. Repeat the process a few more times gradually adding a bit more distance for the recall each time.
• Depending on the breed that you have will deter-mine the number of repetitions you need to do in a session. (i.e. a border collie can go on endlessly; where as a laid back personality may only tolerate 2 or 3 reps at one time.) The most important thing to remember is to keep this playtime fun for both you and your puppy. Stop when either of you have had enough so that neither party sours on the activities. There is nothing wrong with teaching the puppy the “ENOUGH"  command. This is another verbal, growl type of command that your pup is familiar with as he has heard it from his mother at very early stage. When she had ?ENOUGH? of the puppy silliness, she would growl in a disciplinary tone that basically told the puppy to back off and entertain itself for awhile. Hence the reason for the growling tone. Now a good tug of war game is lots of fun for your puppy, However there is a right and wrong way to play the game. You can play tug of war type games with your puppy, if the article is a doggy type article. Not the towel off the kitchen stove. You see, you must win at the game and the trick to success is to force the pup to release the article to you with the ?GIVE? command, then toss it away and allow him to retrieve the article himself. If you were to give in and release the article to the pup in the heat of the game, then you are teach-ing him that he is stronger than you, both physically and mentally. This is a terrible foundation to start the training process from. He would already disrespect you as a strong leader in his eyes. If you choose to play this game, ensure your winning then return the article to the pup for his use and amusement. Otherwise, avoid the game altogether.

ENERGY BURN OFF

Most all puppies have big bursts of energy at one time of the day or another. These energy burn off times can be a positive or negative experience. Let's analyze the positive first. If an energy burn off comes up when you are at home with your pup, it can provide you with an excellent opportunity to structure some really fun and educational use of a playtime. The results of this type of session are easy training, fun learning plus the added bonus of a tired out pup at the end of it all. A tired pup is a quieter and less destructive pet in the house. For this reason, I recommend working owners or busy families, to try at all costs to have an energy burn off session with the puppy before leaving for the day. Even 5 to 10 minutes will make a tremendous difference. Then place your puppy in the most puppy-proof room or spot available in your home. A garage is OK if it has been completely puppy proofed and the temperature is reasonable for your particular breed. Provide lots of chewy things, and an old blanket or towel. (OLD so that when you come home and Find it shredded you can laugh as you sweep it into the garbage and replace it with another old one.) Remember, what you give him in that restricted area is his, so don t leave anything you are too attached too. Playing a radio also helps soothe the puppy and give him a feeling of not being left alone. Someone really should try to exercise the puppy at least every 4 hours if possible. In some situations this is impossible, but don t feel guilty. Your pup will adjust to whatever lifestyle you provide for it. Perfection is not what is important to your pup. Your mutual love and his respect for you are what really count. Now you actually have to have respect for your puppy as well but, don't forget you are the master, not the puppy. Like your children, you love them and respect their space but you still are the parent. And, to be sure, kids should love and respect their parents. At least that is the ideal situation. Ordinary walks are good for your pup but these are not energy burn off where the pup rips and tears around at full speed, being himself, a silly, clumsy, typical puppy.

NEGATIVE ENERGY BURN OFF

These are definitely not fun for you but your puppy will have a real ball. This type of energy burst happens when you have not removed the stored up reserves before leaving the puppy alone. Your puppy becomes very creative in his method of energy release. Even in a confined area like a laundry room or a kitchen, he will find all kinds of things to amuse himself. Things like chewing on baseboard or door frames, lifting up or shredding the cushion floor, clawing window frames or tearing curtains down. Do you see the picture. Not a pretty one at all. Probably for this reason, many pup-pies are given up, sold or placed in humane shelters for behavior that is really not their fault. Just simple lack of
Knowledge on the owner's part can destroy many good pups. Can you imagine what giving free-roam to a whole house would do to a puppy energy burn off time. Pretty great party for the puppy but beyond comprehension for the owner. (How could our beloved FEE-FEE do this assault to the couch when we love her and trust her with the whole house to live in.) POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE. It's really up to the owners to provide the proper direction for the puppy.