HANDS-UP IF YOU DIDN’T GET A DOG, HAVE A BABY, OR BUY AN AIRFRYER DURING LOCKDOWN?

Words Erin Huckle @chucklecommunications

I saw an image doing the rounds on social media recently that said: hands-up if you didn’t get a dog, have a baby or buy an airfryer during lockdown. I put my hand-up, but a lot of the people I know couldn’t. It seems pups, babies and time in the kitchen have been a popular pandemic-pastime for many!

So with more first-time pup parents in the Illawarra, how can you prepare to welcome a new ‘furbaby’ to the family, and should you even be considering getting a dog right now?

Jacqui Tourle and Linnea Akpinar are the experienced dog trainers and behaviour experts behind The Dog Project, which has been running a puppy school, dog skills classes and dog behaviour training in Wollongong for 10 years.

They say the commitment of getting a puppy is often underestimated by people – both first-time dog owners, and ‘lapsed’ pup parents who may not have had a new dog in their home for decades.

“It’s common for people to have forgotten how demanding a new puppy can be,” says Jacqui, “Just like with human babies, we often forget the reality of those first few weeks with a new dog in the house.”

Adjusting to life with your new addition

Linnea says it’s really a two-year commitment of intense support and care when welcoming a puppy to the family.

“It’s two years of hard work, and then the joy and relaxation that comes from laying those good foundations. It’s important to think about what your time commitment is going to be like when life returns to normal and you aren’t necessarily at home as much,” says Linnea. “Prevention is better than cure, so we really need to set our dogs up for success from day one.”

When bringing a new puppy home, Linnea and Jacqui recommend setting up a playpen in your living area that can be the puppy’s space. This means they feel like they’re part of the action, without getting full run of the house – especially helpful when they’re still learning the house rules and being toilet trained.

Get your pup on the right path

During lockdown periods, Jacqui and Linnea are still offering puppy classes and dog skills classes online, and they say these are still really effective in developing skills: “Often you see skills progressing even more quickly, as the dogs are getting more focused attention, rather than being distracted by the other dogs in the class,” says Jacqui.

Outside of lockdown, The Dog Project’s classes are all run in a COVID-19 safe way, with high-standards of hygiene and social distancing.

Puppy school is recommended from eight weeks to 16 weeks of age, and then beyond that dogs can take part in ongoing skills training to keep building communication and confidence: “It’s about setting them up to be great members of our families, and giving them the right skills to thrive in our homes and when they’re out in the community,” says Jacqui.

“The more well-trained your dog is, the more freedom you can give them,” says Linnea. “It means you can confidently take them out to the park or the beach, without being worried about how they’ll behave.”

Food is also important when it comes to setting your puppy up for success, and most breeders will provide you with a sample of the food they’ve been using, so that you can help your puppy transition gradually onto whatever food you’ll be using.

“We always recommend gradually introducing any new food, so that your puppy has time to adjust to new things in their system,” says Linnea.

Linda Goldspink-Lord, founder of local business Poseidon Animal Health, is a big believer in setting puppies up with the right foundations for good health, and their new supplement Digestive K9 is all about supporting gut health for dogs. Linda’s own dog, Oscar, was the inspiration for this new product.

“We’ve been creating horse gut health supplements for around three years, and when Oscar arrived in our lives last year, we thought, what about dogs? We looked into gut health research for dogs and found their gut health is really closely linked with their anxiety levels, stress and behaviour. If you can feed your dog well and support their gut health, you’re going to be helping their overall health, their immune system, and their quality of life,” says Linda.

“We’ve worked with quite a few local dog owners and breeders, and the feedback has been really positive. So many people have said they didn’t know their dog could be this happy and this relaxed!”

Exploring with your dog

When it comes to taking your puppy or dog out and about, we’re spoilt for choice here in the Illawarra.

“We’re so lucky with the beaches, trails and parks here,” says Jacqui. “One great tip is to start with visits to the on-leash ‘orange’ beaches in the area before heading to off-leash beaches. This means your puppy or rescue dog can get used to being in that environment in a more controlled way. Using a long lead is another way to give your dog some freedom without being completely off-leash, especially when you’re visiting trails on the escarpment and can’t let them run completely free.”