Puppy advice

[Tanya&Fritz]

My brother bought a book on Bishon Frise's because Sparky's mom was one. We were looking through it last night and it seems a lot of the book was about showing your dog. There was a whole page about when the puppy is really young how you're not supposed to pick it up unless you absolutely have to :( If the puppy cries you're to ignore it :( Have you guys ever heard of such a thing? We couldn't believe it. I think 2 month old puppies need to be held as much as possible. I know Fritz was always in my arms, in my lap, etc. What's your opinion on this???

[fosteraussie]

That is strange. I heard that you are supposed to expose puppies to as much handling as possible. This helps the puppy be familiar to humans and form positive associations. Of course, within reason, you do not want the puppy to be harmed. Perhaps this latter reason is why the book had that comment. It may have stated to avoid handling of young pups to cover all bases and prevent those who would drop a pup or be to harsh from handling young animals.

[Dixieland Dancer]

THROW THE BOOK AWAY! Hold that dear little pup as much as you want! Dusty will be in the breed ring when he gets mature (it may be awhile!) and he gets hugs and kisses (right on his beautiful hairy lips :) ) all the time. You want a bond with the dog in the ring. What better way than to have a special relationship with them!

[Cincy'sMom]

When we had Cincy in puppy kindetgarten, they emphasized handling the puppies, both to bond with humans and to get them used to being touch for nail clippings, ear cleanings, and the like. How could you keep your hands off a cute little puppy anyway?:)

[RachelJ]

Originally posted by Dixieland Dancer
he gets hugs and kisses (right on his beautiful hairy lips :) ) all the time.

Candy, you are my kinda gal!

[jennifert]

Maybe they mean in the middle of the night? I do remember when I was a little girl (8yrs old) when we got Bandit the dog as a 6 week old pup. He slept in a cardboard box turned upside down with blankets, a ticking alarm clock and a little door and windows cut out of it!! (the predecessor of today's "crate") But all the books and advice was that if he cried in the night, to ignore him. My mom would get up about 3 times a night to take him to pee when he was really small but they told her then not to handle him, ie pick him up, (except for stairs, etc, that he couldnt' get up or down), just to take him out, prompt, praise and then back to bed with no talking or playing! Otherwise the puppy would want to play in the middle of the night and would quickly learn that if I cry, people come and hang out with me!!!

How OLD is that book? Because the book that my parents read when we got Bandit is over 22 yrs old now!!!

Could that be what the book means?