Some puppies will be braver than others, but you can help your pup get braver by encouraging them to face new challenges as they grow up.
Puppies don’t know how the world works, and it’s our job as their parents to show them. Do so, and they can build more trust in us, and in their environment, and hopefully grow into happy, confident adult dogs. As dog parents, that’s all we want, right? If your pup is content playing with the best puppy toys and spending their days enjoying themselves, that’s ideal.
But how can we help our pups become braver? Well, award-winning trainer Lisa Burton of Listen Dog Training has got some valuable advice to share in a recent Instagram post.
“When puppies learn to face new challenges – whether it’s a busy sidewalk, a noisy lorry, or a walk in the rain – they build trust in their environment, and in you!” begins Burton. “The more experience they have feeling safe and secure around novel things, the more confident they’ll become.”
Socialization plays a big role, and it’s important to take your puppy out and about and introduce them to new things, but it’s just as important to set up small challenges at home to expose them to new and exciting things. Want to kill two birds with one stone and tire out a puppy too? Setting up some fun activities can help with this at the same time!
Give them plenty of enrichment, encouraging them to climb through cardboard boxes, for example, or – like Burton recommends – create a noise box by scattering treats around noisy items like tins.
“When introducing new experiences,” Burton adds, “Work at your pup’s pace and let them approach and explore at a rate they are comfortable with, to help grow their courage and resilience steadily but surely.”
She describes confidence and optimism as being “so important” when it comes to building calm behaviors, facing new experiences, and growing the ability to train and learn, and it’s best to begin putting the work in with your pup as soon as you can.
Don’t forget, even if your pup is a bit more hesitant when it comes to new things, that dogs are still some pretty phenomenal creatures. Look at these amazing things dogs do without even trying to start with – you’re bound to be impressed. You might also find these differences between a puppy and a dog interesting, too.
