Let’s assume you now have your puppy…

You now have your puppy....

Your bundle of joy has arrived. After clearing up the vomit from the car and changing your clothes, you can now settle down to Boerboel ownership. So where do you start? Everyone tells you what wonderful creatures they are, how joyful their lives have become since becoming an owner, but this little dog just arrived, pee’d on the carpet and is now asleep on the cat! So, what now?

Day 1.

The main thing today is to get home safely, lots of hugs and reassurance, familiarise your pup with the areas it is allowed to be in and introduce the “toilet” place.

Week 1.

Work on house training by being consistent and formulating a good routine of feeding, sleeping, play and going out in the garden.

Week 2 and 3.

Introduce puppy training. Basic and gentle commands for “sit” “wait” “leave” etc. Use lots of reward by praise and maybe the odd treat to re-enforce. Practice giving the puppy it’s food and putting your hand in the bowl while it is eating, maybe adding something tasty like a small piece of cheese or chicken. Practice giving a toy and getting your pup to give it up, then praise and reward with the toy again. Introduce lead training. Get as many people round to ooh and aah over your new puppy.

Week 4.

This week is “vet” week. You pup is now around 12 weeks old.

Take your pup to the vet, preferably 10 or 15 minutes before your appointment. Let your pup experience the sights and sounds of the surgery whilst on your lap. (Don’t put your pup on the floor yet, too many nasty germs there) Lots of praise, smiles, reassurance.

It’s your turn now in the consulting room with the guy in the white coat! Place your pup on the table and hold it gently but firmly. Vet tables are by design slippery and you don’t want your pup to feel unsafe. Talk to your puppy, it doesn’t matter what you say just the sound of your voice is enough. The vet will go through an examination and vaccinate your pup. When this is happening, ignore the vet and concentrate on your pup, he or she is watching you, so smile!

Discuss worming program, flea and tick medication, fill in about a million forms, answer a million and one questions and you’re away!

Remember your puppy may feel a little off-colour for a few days after the vaccination, so plenty of rest and be a little forgiving this week.

Month 2.

Now you need to start some training and re-enforcement of desired behaviour. Find a good local puppy class and try to socialise with dogs you know will be friendly and playful with your pup. Meet as many new people as you can with your dog and show him or her what the world around them is like. Traffic, push-chairs, screaming kids, bicycles, all those things we take for granted, but are a brand new experience for your puppy. Reassure, but don’t flap. DON’T PRAISE THE BEHAVIOUR YOU DON’T WANT. If the pup is afraid of something, say “ come along it’s fine, trust me”. Do not say “poor baby, come to mummy (daddy) I’ll protect you from the nasty … Good boy/girl it’s ok”. Follow through with new experiences, do not back away or make a diversion to avoid them.

Puppy teeth begin to fall out and be replaced by the adult version. Okay, they don’t hurt like needles anymore, but they sure do more damage! Discourage using people or other sentient creatures as teethers! Provide hard rubber toys, rope tug toys and if it is really bad, ice cubes to chew on.

Month 3 – 6.

Training in earnest. Teach good manners too like sitting at the door before going through, waiting until told before eating, not mugging the cat (if it hasn’t moved out by now!). Discourage jumping-up, it’s bad for the pup now and worse for you later! Teach “meet and greet” behaviour with new people. You can expect some regression in toilet training at this time. Just when you thought it was safe to go barefoot, you are proved wrong for a couple of mornings! It happens, it’ll pass if you go back a step and re-enforce your puppy training routine.

Keep your puppy’s weight down during this time. Nice and slim, not skeletal or fat. You should be able to feel ribs easily and vaguely see the last 2 or 3.

Month 6 – 12.

Now things begin to change. Suddenly, your perfectly trained pup ignores you. Girl pups get moody, boy pups get above their station! Think teenager! Watch girls for the first sign of coming “into season” or “on heat”. You can’t miss it usually. You will wonder what that new bit is on the back end? Then you wonder what those red spots are on the floor? Yep, you’re little girl is turning into a big girl! Keep her safe from unwanted suitors as soon as you notice her season. This will last for approximately 3 weeks, sometimes a few days less, sometimes a few days more. It’s perfectly normal, if a little messy and a very good reason not to let your dog on the sofa or bed to start with!

Now for the boys. Boys will be boys as they say! You might become irresistibly attractive to your dog, but so might the rug or the cushions! Or the vicar or Aunty Maud! You will be so glad you trained your boy to sit or down on command. Ignore this behaviour if possible and distract your dog if it gets out of hand. Do not laugh, get angry or embarrassed. Do not draw attention to the behaviour. It is not a reason to castrate unless it gets beyond control. It is usually a phase and with some discouragement and training it will pass. This behaviour is partially hormonal, partially behavioural (dominance) so deal with it in a two-pronged attack. Train and distract, a good walk will take his mind off things and re-enforce your training. (That’s why teenage boys do sports!)

Keep a close eye on your puppy’s weight during this “hyper growth” stage. Slim is good, fat is bad, you know the story. Any growth problems will show themselves during these 6 months, so get any lameness checked by your vet immediately. (And please let us know).

Month 12 – 18

You’re now getting into “big dog” territory. Nearly adult, but not there yet. Now some good and regular exercise is necessary to build muscle strength, stamina and put some weight on as muscle, not fat.

Training is SO important at this time. Your dog is now finding his or her place in the world and may be willing to defend it. The protection capabilities will come to the fore and will need to be managed. Your dog does not know yet what it should protect, so some dogs will protect everything – just in case! This is where you come in to build on your basic training and communicate to your dog what it can and can’t do. Remember, YOU make the decisions about entry to your property, NOT YOUR DOG. If you say it’s OK, it’s OK, no arguments. Do not make excuses for your dog. “He didn’t know” “He’s just guarding his territory” “He’s just playing” are not reasons for your dog to be out of control. If your dog hurts someone accidentally, it’s YOUR fault for not training him or her. There are no “accidents” with dogs, just lack of training and communication.

You have entered into the world of Boerboels voluntarily. Be responsible and protect not only your dog, but the reputation of the breed and everyone who comes into contact with your dog. Your dog will protect you, so protect them too. Make your dog a true Ambassador for the breed, a dog to be proud of and admired. You get out what you put in, magnified tenfold!