The month of December is a time filled with joy and happiness. Whether you're celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah, it is a time of giving, and one gift you may give or receive could be a puppy. If a puppy is on your list, then read on-the following may be of interest to you.

So the day has finally come and you are either giving away a cute and cuddly puppy or receiving one. There are more than 60 million dogs in the United States and only 10 percent have had some kind of obedience training. Over the years, owners have attempted to train their own pets only when bad habits have surfaced. Some have chosen to remove their dogs from the family, either by euthanasia (putting to sleep) or by taking the animal to a shelter. Mistreatment of dogs starts when owners don't attempt or know how to control them. For those of you giving away a puppy, some questions you might want to ask yourself are:

What is the probability of the dog remaining in the household?
Does the dog match the owner's lifestyle?
What are the chances the dog is being given to a good home when the owner hasn't been successful in preventing and correcting previous behavior problems?
What are the chances that the next good home may become even more chaotic for both dog and new owner?
If the dog's behavior is not tolerable for the average person considering a pet, will the dog be neglected or put to sleep?
Medical care, nutrition, exercise, and, of course, proper training, are all part of responsible pet ownership. Every day more and more pet owners understand the importance of training their dogs not only to fit in with human life, but to do it in a way that is mutually satisfying or rewarding. A canine that goes through behavior modification and is praised, petted, and given food rewards for obeying commands is playing out a subordinate but satisfying role in the household. That's good for both dog and owner. A well-behaved canine can be a positive experience for anyone. You can save the recipient of a puppy a number of headaches by purchasing a dog-training package to go along with the puppy. If dog training is not possible with your budget, then some type of training help in the form of a book, video, or a recommended dog-training instructor could make the difference between the puppy's survival and a one way ticket to the pound.

Keep in mind that not always is a training book or video the answer to all your puppy problems. The author cannot pop out of a book or video to correct a troubled handler or a handler who thinks he's training in accordance with the instructions. Although there are many good training books and videos on the market, they are not enough to solve the many specific problems that may occur which require special counseling by an experienced instructor. If you're on the receiving end and there's no dog training included with your puppy, then you have some last minute planning to do. At eight weeks of age, the brain waves of a puppy are the same length as those of an adult dog, so there is a lot of learning going on. Whether it's good or bad behavior depends on its environment, among many other factors. A puppy's attention span is very short; he is not completely developed physically and should be handled gently. Here are five easy steps for raising a puppy.

Never leave your puppy unsupervised. Always leave your pup in a crate or confined area where he cannot hurt himself. This will also prevent bad habits from developing.
Utilize critical stages. Weeks six to eight of your puppy's life are a time when a small amount of exposure to other dogs will have a lasting effect on how he relates to other canines throughout his life. Weeks eight to ten make up the critical stage for socialization to humans.

Carlos Puentes

Establish yourself as pack leader. Your pup is a social pack animal. By establishing yourself as the "alpha dog" or leader of the pack, your pup will grow up to respect you, respond to you, bond to you and show the will to please you. He will also become a much more happy and confident dog.
Mix food with water before serving. Mix your pup's dry kibble with water so that it looks like a stew. Allow it to sit for 10 minutes before feeding. Kibble can expand up to 30 percent; let it expand in the bowl rather than in your pup's stomach, thus avoiding indigestion and possible behavior problems.
Touch conditioning. Touch all areas of your puppy's body so he will become conditioned to your touch and feel comfortable with you. It is just as important to train your pup as it is to bond with him. Get to know your puppy. See what motivates your new pet and what he was bred for; it could aid you in understanding his natural drives to get him to do what you want. In the beginning, there was the one-size-fits-all method, but those days are gone, and I'm sure you know that all pups are different and that there should be a customized training program designed according to your pup's temperament.
There are also innovative ideas that go along with the different training for today's lifestyles. For example, the idea to incorporate one type of training throughout your day, taking only a couple of seconds at a time, sounds very appealing to someone with a home office and a spouse, or for people always on the run. With the new millennium coming, everyone can and should train their pets. There have been great accomplishments during this millennium in the dog-training world, from the studies of Pavlov to the programs of the great present day trainers. My belief, along with many other dog trainers and behaviorists, is that we are just now scratching the surface of how we can bring people and dogs closer together, and that's good news for the new millennium! Once the month of December has come and gone, it doesn't mean that the joy and happiness of owning a puppy can't remain. If you give your puppy the training he deserves, you have nothing to lose and the beginning of a great lasting relationship to gain. The choice is yours.