And they call it ... Puppy love

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Rotorura Daily Post

Kelly Makiha

His manners aren't the best and he's a bit whiffy at times. Then there's the mess when he goes to the toilet ... and we're not talking about Hubby here. KELLY MAKIHA discovers a little training, for owner and pooch, can see those bad habits buried like a bone.

So you've got a new pooch.

She's only 7 weeks old.

You've thought about it long and hard and yes, you're ready.

You vow to give her the attention, love and training she needs.

She's going to be the most obedient puppy in the world.

You pick her up. You're ecstatically happy.





She's the cutest thing in the world.

She goes to sleep and you take photos like a proud mummy.

She wees on the carpet. That's okay. She's just a puppy.

She jumps in your neatly pampered garden and kicks up the bark. Nothing wrong with that. She's just a puppy.

She barks uncontrollably at the cat. How gorgeous. They'll love each other one day.

She takes your husband's slipper and runs away, refusing to let it go. Cuuute. There's a photo in that.

She wees again on the carpet. Oh well, she's just a puppy.

She won't go to sleep at night because she's pining for her mummy. Understandable.

You decide it's okay to let her sleep in your room - just for one night to settle her down.

She whines and barks constantly.

You get no sleep.

You get up in the morning shattered.

She wees on the carpet. Argghhhh!!! Why you little ...

One week later ...

I have post natal depression.

If we let her out on the driveway and then an accident happens when you're reversing out, no one will suspect a thing.

She hasn't even slept in the kennel yet. We could get our money back.

Ask the experts and they'll tell you that what we went through was completely normal.

And the best part is, it definitely gets better.

To help the process along, Boo was enrolled with Sylvia Bow's puppy training school on Owhata Rd.

For $80 you get up to 10 classes - every Thursday between 6.30pm and 7.30pm at the Rotorua Church of Christ Hall.

Boo, our golden labrador, is a new pup.

Let's turn back the clock a bit.

It's week one of our puppy lessons and Boo is 5 months old. Despite the soft fluffy things hanging off the side of her head, she has no ears.

When Boo is on a lead, she takes you for a walk.

So you pull her in to show you've got control and she chokes uncontrollably.

As I walk into puppy school, Boo is coughing and spluttering.

She spots another dog and takes off, you fly behind her like a kite. You finally get control of the lead.

You've never met the people in the room so you're politely and softly saying "Oh Boo, stop it. Boo, no. Boo, Boo. Haha. Ohh, she's a bit excited isn't she? Boo no. Here Boo. Boo. Ohh you wee trick, come here Boo. Please. Hahaha. Boo, please. What's wrong with you Boo? Eh? Here Boo ... "

Little do I know, I'm committing the first ULTIMATE sin.

Never have a conversation with your dog. Never fluff around with your instructions. Be firm, short and sharp.

Boo and the other dogs on their first few nights would much rather sniff each other and play. But that's not allowed at puppy school.

They have to learn to socialise but not roll around with the other dogs uncontrollably.

The aim is to sit on your chair with your dog sitting still and quietly in front of you. Yeah right.

Luckily Boo wasn't the only one playing up that night.

Next thing, a big black shar pei bull mastiff cross strolls in. He's gorgeous. Shiny, black, has proud wide shoulders and a look on his face like he's not going to put up with any nonsense. He grunts as white froth dribbles from the corners of his mouth.

Coming flying around the corner behind Norman is his owner.

Her hair is all over the place, she looks frazzled and I bet she hasn't slept.

We've been there!

So it's time to learn our first drill - the dominance exercise. You sit on the ground with your legs apart and you flop your pup on her back so she's lying face up in front of you.

Most dogs do this with ease but Boo's more interested in squirming out of position and sniffing everything around her. This one is going to take practice.

The first night is a real eye-opener. There are so many handy things we learned.

Here are some of the key lessons:


Never yell at your dog. Why would they do what you want them to do if you yell?


Never have a conversation with your dog. They only understand half a dozen or so short sharp commands.


Each time your dog makes eye contact or you call her and she comes, give her a treat. Be consistent.


When you take her on the lead for a walk, don't move if the lead is tight. She'll soon learn you'll only move forward when the lead is slack. Take one step at a time. The puppy will take off, stop'cause you've stopped, turn and look at you. She'll come back to you to see what's up, then feed her.

By the third and fourth night, Boo's starting to be a little less excited around the other dogs.

We are taught different drills each night and it's our homework to perfect them between lessons.

Each week, the concentration span improves. At the start it seems impossible to get your dog to sit still while you rock half a step backwards.

By the eighth night, Boo lies down flat when she is given the command "mat". She's told to stay, which she does. I walk around her and then off about 5m where I stand for 30 seconds. Boo doesn't move. Then I call her and she comes.

The efforts are rewarded at the graduation party. Sylvia presents Boo and me with a certificate - she got an A. I want to cry.

At the party, while we're celebrating our success, I'm on the verge of laughter as I suddenly realise that people really do look like their dogs.

There's the german shepherd by the door with the long-faced chap sitting next to him. He's wearing a black and ginger speckled jersey.

Then there's the lean mutt who sleeps most of the lessons with his just as shy owner, who also could do with a good helping of mashed spud.

There's the little jack russell sitting up perfectly with his straight-backed owner who's also paying attention. The owner just happens to be wearing a white sweater with two big orange/brown stripes.

I'm bursting to share what I've just discovered when I look down at my excitable golden lab and realise our blonde locks, big brown eyes, lack of sticky-outtie ribs and love of pork chops are also an uncanny resemblance.

Now if you think I'm lying, trust me, I'm not _ Look at the photo above.

People looking like their dogs has now been scientifically proven by Nicholas Christenfeld, a psychologist at the University of California at San Diego.

In short, his study took pictures of 45 dogs and owners and 28 judges who had the task of trying to match them. There were 23 matches out of the 45 pairs.

He summarised that people are drawn to mates or lovers who look a little bit like them, which is also true with dogs.

So I look at Boo and think, yep, she's gorgeous, she's fun and now, thanks to Sylvia, she's got more brains. I'm honoured to be likened to her.

And the best thing - she now wees under a tree.