A Person and Breed Recommendations

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     Would you believe a dog psychologist who once prescribed a box turtle to fulfill a poodle's maternal instincts. What you can expect from him is that he takes his work seriously that he even wrote a book called understanding your dog. When it comes to the credentials of this doctor, he is an associate professor of psychology at local university and associate director for research at the local zoo and his book explains how animals are also individuals. There are occasions when people imagine things but he expresses himself rather honestly.

One young couple, as he mentioned, owned a dog but the dog refused to allow the husband to enter the bedroom. In his book, he mentioned the couple's dachshund which had a catatonic fit whenever they would fight. Similar to that of humans is the body language of dogs and he says that they develop like young children. Different abilities in tolerating closeness are possessed by dogs just like humans, he said.

As the doctor points out, the best time to get a puppy is when he is between six and eight weeks old for dogs develop through several stages. Unless a puppy has been raised with a lot of people around then getting one puppy older than 10 weeks is not advised. Whenever you buy a dog, first see how well it is able to interact with other puppies. Actually, a dog that is very outgoing can be the most aggressive out of the bunch.

What he will do is investigate it should you have an old scarf or a glove but see if he will agree to a game of tug of war. A puppy aged between five to six weeks does not need any discipline training because he will only forget it but what he needs is some tender loving care and a lot of experiences that can enrich his environment.

At eight weeks, there is a sensitive fear period, he says, and at that time the dog owner should avoid any undue trauma for his puppy, such as taking him to the vet for the first time. It is by 12 weeks when the dog has become emotionally bonded to his owner and even discipline training will not be able to break his spirit or attachment. This is a doctor who has a veterinary degree and a doctorate in psychology from a London university and he offers recommendations with regard to dog breeds to various people in different situations.

A golden retriever is the best choice for a family with children, terriers are advised for young couples, apartment couples on the other hand will love a schnauzer, a Yorkshire terrier, or a poodle, and considering older couples they will definitely be happy with a Yorkshire terrier, pekingese, or pug. What he mentioned was how the temperament of a dog is harder to identify nowadays based on breed than before. He blames less quality in breeding for this problem.

He calls dog breeders cranks if they are the ones who get together and decide on changing breed standards. He mentioned how people have the responsibility not to change standards without knowledge of the results. In terms of the necessity of testing for prize dogs, this is being emphasized today before they are named the best in the breed. In this case, you would know that the winner was no frankenstein.