Training Is So Important!

So...now you have that cute little puppy home! He is adorable, huggable and cuddleable(is that even a word?)! Enjoy these sweet moments with them. It is now time to start thinking about training. These little babies are sponges wanting to learn what ever you can teach them. Their attention span may be limited at their young age, but that does not mean they are not paying attention. You should immediately start doing basic training with them such as; Sit, Walking on a Leash, make them "Wait" when you put their food down and not go to their bowl until you say it is ok. This later command helps to establish you as their "Pack Leader". You are showing dominance over them in this regard. Some pups will be quite fine with this. Others will be a challenge. My Aruba Cunucu Jake....was a challange for sure!

Jake always wanted to be the boss. I recognized this right away with him and knew I had my work cut out for me. At the same time, he was also a frightened puppy. Pretty much afraid of everything and every noise he heard. I have a Black Lab name Lily who became his best buddy. They have an incredible bond and still do this day 2.5 years later. No doubt she taught him alot and he was also more confident when she was around.

Our first trip to the vet highlighted additional behaviors I knew I would need to deal with. Jake barked aggressively at other dogs he saw in the waiting room. (Mind you, he is only 11 weeks old) - My vet even made mention(who I have known for 20+ years) and said, you know you need to address this. Ya....I know!

I sought out the services of The Happy Retriever in Holliston, Ma. - We entered into Puppy 101 training in December 2016. We quickly realized Jake needed some additional 1:1 targeted training.
He was lashing out at the other puppies in an aggressive manner. Luckily, The Happy Retriever had "The Puppy Education Center"... Time for Jake to go to remedial training (as I called it!). He went 1 day every week for I think a half a day in addition to the training I took him to. They worked on his socialization and we could see the progress during play time of his Puppy 101 training. Before you knew it he was finally starting to play with other puppies. We were guarded and kept his leash on him as precaution.

As Jake approached 6m of age, the testosterone was present and his behavior was becoming a bit more aggressive. Guess what? Yup! Time to be neutered. Sorry buddy...but it was what needed to be done. Weeks and months post neutering his behavior started to change for the better. He started to become more "snuggly" and loving. Now at 2.5yrs old he is such a total love bug.

Due to the training he received at The Happy Retriever and the follow through that I did, over time, he got to the point where I can now take him out and not worry that he will go bezerk when he sees another dog. I can confidently walk him down the street and encounter people and other dogs and not worry that something bad will happen.  Will Jake ever be that guy that can go to a "Puppy Day Care" and be integrated with a bunch of dogs? Probably not. However, he continues to go to The Happy Retriever every Monday where they work on commands, socialization, and he has also been learning agility which helps his confidence. He loves it and is actually pretty good at it. He loves going to "Puppy School"! Initially Jake was not fond of Mike (an owner and trainer at The Happy Retreiver) now, he is Jake's best buddy. It is amazing how much Jake loves this guy.

The moral of this story is that training is so...so...so important! Will every Cunucu be like Jake? No!
However, as a person adopting a Cunucu or any rescue for that matter, you need to be willing to deal with what you encounter regarding your rescue and be willing to address the issues and provide the necessary training.

This is Jake as a puppy in his intial training!

This is a recent picture of me & Jake at agility training.

The Happy Retriever - Training Recomendation in Mass Metrowest Area