Anyone that is thinking of buying a puppy, I highly recommend this book:
How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With by Clarice Rutherford and David H. NeilIt has in it week to week changes in you puppy, (neurological) and why you should do this and that with your puppy. It explains why you should do certain things with your puppy in certain weeks of it's life, and how those things will affect it for the rest of it's life (how fast it learns, how it deals with new alien things, etc.) My breeder gives it to the people who are getting a pup (ahead of time) to help them be the best dog parents that they can be.
I'm seeing some things that they talk about in the book in just 5 days. I'm trying to show her new sights and sounds on a daily basis, not pushing, just exposing her to them.
She was very hesitant about going down the 5 steps from the back porch to the ground. I placed her front feet on the first step down, when she got all 4's on that step, I placed her feet on the 2nd step, etc., etc. An hour later we went out the same door and she ran down those same steps.
They even say to rotate toys, not having the same toys for the pup to play with for more than a couple of days. They say that toys don't have to be "toys". Empty cardboard boxes of various sizes, some with one end closed, some like a tunnel. A sock with a knot in it. A brown grocery bag, etc., etc.
She played with a few new toys today for the past 40 minutes and now she's
