🏄🏻‍♀️ Unstable surfaces
(5.5weeks old)
Not much is phasing this little girl. She’s very inquisitive and her recovery rate is quite decent.
At this tender age I don’t expect her to be superwoman but what I am interested in is her ability to recover from situations that could otherwise cause her concern, stress or excitement. Yes excitement.
Being a single puppy she hasn’t had to deal with the frustration of competing for resources against other littermates so teaching her that nothing in life comes for free has been vital to her development. As should be for any dog. We make her work for meals in the beginning by making it harder for her to access the food readily. Not to the point where she goes crazy, that’s not our goal. She has to be biddable for her new home. Our goal is to create enough of a challenge so that we create a sense of urgency but also empower her with a sense of achievement when she overcomes the obstacles in her way. Obstacles include my body, metal bowls, bottles, containers, and soon simple mazes.
By giving her a taste of these scenarios not only are we building her confidence, but we are slowly putting skills together for her in her memory bank. So in future when faced with a challenge she won’t hesitate to tackle it head on.
Suitable mental and physical challenges are important for a pup’s psychological and proprioceptive development as they mature. And then the provision of further suitable challenges to keep building on these skills an important aspect of creating a well-rounded and adjusted canine companion.
Here we are building on pup’s confidence building skills by exposure to more surface types - namely, unstable. This is not only a physical challenge for her but mental one aswell. Not only does she need to control her body but she also needs to feel emotionally in control in order to be able to deal with this particulqr exercise, which can be quite intimidating for a pup so young.
This was her very first
