As one who awaits their first Berner puppy (visit set for late June and arrival home late July!!) , i have been reading with both excitement and trepidation about all the joys and pitfalls... I was just wondering if folks have any sense, scientifically based or not, as to WHAT might help a berner reach old age in good shape,putting aside the nasty uncontrollable stuff like cancers (of course, I suppose chemical free food and minimal vaccinations might help with that one..) . Perhaps NOT getting overfed? Or getting ENOUGH exercise? That seems true for humans, but I have no idea if it follows for dogs. My last dog long ago lived to 14, but as a retreiver/ samoyed, perhaps she would have made it to 18 if she'd had a slimmer frame and a bit more exercise at the end, when I was off at college... Just curious what people think about this topic. Do we think that having more than one dog adds to psychological/ social health in a way that extends life?
Also, the post from the gentleman a day or so ago with the new pup who is peeing everywhere, staying up all night and destroying everything. And he is frazzled at work and going sleepless, etc. While HE might enjoy that, I was just wondering if he is doing the dog a favor in not trying more to redirect/ not respond to the behaviors that will make the dog harder to live with in the long run? : I have been reading a lot about humane, positive reinforcement training, to quickly put in place the good behaviors that bring harmony (chewing on your TOYS, using the YARD, sleeping or at least not making a complete racket all night every night), The books I am reading tell me this can be done fairly quickly in a postive, loving way IF I am consistent with the positive reinforcement (rewarding the desired behavior, providing acceptable outlets for chewing, playing, tugging, ..) and use the negative (no response/ no reward) to let the negatives fizzle out... As with humans, the negative has to include not responding to/ reinforcing the type of demands for attention that totally disrupt everything, and then quickly rewarding the more appropriate demands. What I read is that I should not respond by coming running the minute the puppy whines or barks - but then to respond nicely when the pup gives up on that approach. This will already be hard for me in the middle of the night, when my children will be convinced that the puppy must be suffering horribly if it's yipping... Am I being totally unrealistic and I should expect to be up all night every night? I had the impression from what I read, that if you choose to crate train, the pup can make it through the night, or at least only have one potty break, if you take them directly outside before and after, and immediately reward the sniff..piddle...poop sequence outdoors. Onthe other hand, I want to make the crate a positive thing - putting some treats and toys and food in there and keeping the door open a lot.. I don't want it seen as a punishment or anything. I am willing to readjust my expectations to reality just as I did with my two very different children, but if the puppy CAN adjust in a healthy way that makes life less draining, then I sure want to do everything I can to train in that good behavior ASAP..
