“We” got a puppy during the pandemic.
Gemma, age 10 weeks
This is Gemma! Gemma is an adorable black Labrador retriever and she is currently 12 weeks old. She is a happy, healthy, and very sweet little girl. She belongs to our Operations Manager, Erika and her family.
Gemma would be considered a “Pandemic Puppy” as she came home in early May, about 7 weeks into the“Stay At Home” and “Shelter In Place” orders placed in effect across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. However, Gemma was actually well planned for many months before anyone had ever heard of COVID-19.
Almost a year ago, we began looking for the perfect puppy to join the family. From that day forward, we’ve had many discussions about early puppy socialization opportunities we would provide to this little puppy! Understanding that the first 16 weeks of life for any puppy is very important and can impact who they ultimately become as an adult dog, we wanted to be sure that we got it right!
Enter Coronavirus...As a team, we all were immediately concerned about how we could ensure that Gemma didn’t have to miss a beat and wouldn’t miss out on this critical period of time in her life. With our skill, knowledge and creativity, we devised a plan that we are proud of and which sets Gemma up for success! And the good news is, all our thoughts can help you and your new puppy, too.
Here is a list of just some of the work we’ve been doing with Gemma to Craft Positive Experiences© for her! This means we are in control of the situations and her overall experience. We want to help Gemma associate POTENTIALLY scary and new experiences as being okay and safe and even “good”. Grab your rewards* (a note on those below) and let’s get to it!
Our goal for Gemma, first and foremost, is to help her be a wonderful member of her family and a go-anywhere kind of pup. Teaching her to be confident about the world around her is the most important step towards this goal. Without these carefully created and controlled experiences, she could develop fear triggers that could impact behavior for the rest of her life.
Start At Home:
New Surfaces:
Grass**
Tile
Hardwood flooring
Garden Stones/ gravel
Rugs/Carpet
New Noises
Dishes being put away
Lawn mower outside
Vacuum (low intensity in another room)
Doorbell ringing/ Door opening shutting
TV or music playing in background
Sirens, city noises
New Sights
Wear baseball hats or sun hats
Wear sunglasses
Wear big puffy winter coats
Wear Halloween costumes
Hang Halloween decorations that may move or sway. See video below!
Use crutches or a wheelchair you may have access to.
Bicycles / scooters (stationary or moving slowly)
Wearing your mask/gloves for social distancing protocols
Kitties in the home
Outside the Home:
Car rides around the block
Visits to the park to people/ dog watch
Hopefully you’ll see walkers, joggers, people of all ages etc.
Car wash
Drive through pick up
Watching farm animals from distance
Elevator rides***
* Remember the Treat Ladder; any new experiences will require food rewards your puppy finds particularly interesting! I.e. Fresh Chicken Breast. You’ll be offering a reward frequently when your puppy is interested in and/or exploring something new.
** Make sure to use an area free of pesticides recently sprayed and free from places other dogs frequently use!
*** This will be a slow process! You’ll need to just press the button to have the doors open/shut a few times, each time, rewarding your puppy with a morsel of food! Bring a mat you can place in the elevator for the puppy to sit on comfortably.