Every dog is spectacular.
The first 12 weeks of a puppy's life are crucial to their development. Early exposure is important because this is where their brain is at their most, shall we call it, accepting and collects information about the world at the highest rate it ever will. It's preparing your dog for life in their new environment.
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This is where problems start if we protect them too much or expose them to too much without thought and care. It is not about how many things they see but about how they see them.
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Bristol is a busy place full of diverse smells, sights and sounds. It is like countryside and city combined. Traffic mixed with squirrels, foxes and people makes for a highly stimulating environment. Which means high arousal. High arousal equals brain that is reacting, not thoughtfully processing.
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If you shape their brain to cope with the unexpected, you are on a runway to a steady dog.
Dogs want to explore the world through us as they build their confidence. We are their anchor. This relationship starts forming the moment we set our eyes on them. They are human detectives. They notice the tiniest little things. They know we're about to get angry before we even know it.
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This puppy social is for people that want to understand what happens with our dogs' brains when they learn. That want to respect their personalities and teach them how to thrive in this world.
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I'm Dominika. I study behaviour, learning theories, development and first and foremost believe in respect and kind leadership.
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Puppies do not come to us as a blank slate. They are born pre-disposed for certain temperament and it is dependent on genetics and mother's experiences during pregnancy. Those pre-dispositions can be positive or negative. Whether they are positive or negative actually depends on what we expect our dogs to behave like once they live with us. We expect them to be friendly, sociable and easy going. So a dog like a working border collie that is bred to recognise minute changes in their environment and be suspicious of them to protect livestock makes for a negative predisposition if you want to live with one in a city. It's far too busy for a border collie who's genetic make up tells them to notice all the business and protect and control themselves and their family. Forget relaxed off leash walks in parks and having visitors over all the time. If you don't do anything about it, that is :) So let me introduce you to neuroplasticity. I can't wait.