It's your first day...let's do EVERYTHING!

Today's interesting phone call was from a very nice guy, a man who has adopted a 6 month old Lab Pit mix. Unfortunately, many people won't even consider a Pit or Pit mix. Yes, some of them can be challenging. On the other hand, so many of them are affectionate, balanced, intelligent and sensitive.

So right off the bat I liked the called because his heart is utterly in the right place. He told me, however, that he was a bit concerned. He's had the puppy for only a week and a half but she's already showing some signs of nervousness and defensiveness.

Since he had only adopted the dog a few days earlier, I asked him about the puppy's first few days.

"Well," he said, "we wanted her to have a fairly quiet first day, so we only took her to PetSmart and then let her play with some of the neighbor's dogs. That was it."

That was it? That was a lot from my perspective. So we talked more about that first day. At the pet store, people and dogs came to greet the new puppy. When she got home, some of the older neighbor dogs were out playing so he introduced his puppy to them.

At first, the caller told me, the puppy played very nicely, wagging her tail. But the other dogs were bigger and older, and as the play got a little rougher, she began to withdraw. Since that time, she is not as open about letting other dogs approach her. Sometimes she hackles, shows teeth or growls.

The basis for this behavior I believe is clearly fear motivated. On her very first day, nice but strange people whisked her away from her home, brought her to a busy public place filled with unfamiliar sights, smells and sounds. Then after another car ride, she was thrust into a dog pack. As the newest member, the others approached her in a group. She was friendly with them, but as they ramped up a bit, this poor pup simply felt overwhelmed.

Her response? She is now making her own decisions about what she wants near her. Because her initial experiences were frightening, the puppy has decided that perhaps her world isn't so safe after all. And she's taking steps to warn others away when she is fearful.

This is really a shame because those first few days should have been quiet ones, with ample time to merely absorb the new environment of the house where she's living along with slowly getting to know the human pack with whom she lives. The puppy would quickly have come to trust the family and then, introduced slowly to new situations and dogs, one at a time, I'm sure she would have been far more relaxed. The problem behaviors might not have surfaced at all.

Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer states that a dog's breed tells that dog what to do with excess energy. I believe that is true. But a dog's breed also tells that dog what to do with anxiety. So a Pit cross feeling overly anxious is more likely to default to warning with a growl, whereas a young Golden Retriever might be more likely to cower on the ground when frightened.

The good news for this dog owner is that his puppy is young, and these mistakes were only made a short time ago. We could easily help restore her confidence and educate the family on how to manage their dog's environment to produce a stable, relaxed dog. Balanced, relaxed dogs do not aggress without real justification. So we expect to help this family become successful with their dog in short order.

Next time you bring home a new dog, spend that first several days calmly and quietly with only the most necessary introductions. Give your dog or puppy time to acclimate and actually trust you. After all, you'll be introducing him to tons of new people and places. Once you understand your puppy's needs, he'll trust you when you want to show him he has nothing to fear.