The most common reason that people end up with an out of control, dominant and potentially aggressive young adult dog - of any breed - is the relationship that develops in the early days; when your pup is so cute and cuddly and in your eyes can do no wrong, and your main worry is 'is he eating enough?' or 'is he house trained?' etc.?

It is important to understand that your new pup is building its relationship with you from the moment he arrives at your home and that, when in his litter, he played and developed his relationships by using his teeth!!

All dogs learn right and wrong behaviour by the physical re-action they get to their actions. Working hand in hand with key words (which will later be­come commands to be obeyed) dogs learn through play, which can also be used as a reward. All pups in this early stage of development want to use their teeth on anything and everything. With this fact in mind I put a lot of effort into playing 'tuggy' with the new pup, from day one. Encouraging the pup to hang onto a small piece of rope or a knotted tea towel. They love to chase such a toy, grabbing hold of it and tugging.

With encouragement, they gain confidence and pull harder and harder. I don't mind if they get really excited, even growling while tugging. If this happens it is important to be able to touch and stroke the pup, proving that at the peak of excitement they will accept your physical contact and therefore dominance.

The Key-words mentioned earlier are 'get it' when the toy enters the mouth and the pup is tugging, and 'leave' when the pup accepts you, opening his mouth to release the toy, physically dominating him again. The praise for releasing the toy is the continuation of the game. NEVER re­peat the 'leave' command. He will quickly learn to 'leave' when told to avoid the contact to his mouth.

If the pup makes a mistake, making contact with you instead of the toy, he needs to receive a negative reaction from you. Contact with his collar with a small shake and most importantly a big voice reprimand. It does not matter what you say, so long as it is the same every time you correct him.

This is a simple game that pups really enjoy and is a fantastic way of getting to know your pup. Is he bold? or shy?, is he easily excited?, does he use his teeth when he gets excited?, is he verbal? - all these things are important in assessing your pups temperament. As you get to know him you can start to mould his character by your reactions to what he does.

Always finish the game before he wants to. Put the tuggy away and turn the pup off by holding the pup still, preferably on your lap. The key word here is 'gentle', restraining the pup if he struggles until he accepts being held still and only release the pup when he is completely relaxed and accepting your dominance. Never allow the pup to struggle free from you.

Using this simple game and turn off routine on a daily basis teaches the pup that there are play times and calm times dictated by YOU, not him. The respect that the pup is learning at such a young age will stay with him for life.

So long as the same guide lines are used, (i.e. correct reactions to his actions) he will continue to positively develop his character and temperament. Basic respect from a dog is the starting point for all forms of training - especially if he can weigh 60+ Kgs as an adult.

If you can't control an exited 10 week old pup, how can you expect to control a stroppy 10 month old youngster???

I would like to think that the above can be of some assistance to the people with their new pup, or adult dog, so that we can all continue to enjoy this mag­nificent breed.