Early Puppy Days (Very Flexible & Tentative)
              
                Philosophical concepts to follow:
                      Never force a very young puppy do something.  It is very difficult to push a rope. 
                      Sometimes speed comes from going slower, but the first six months are a terrible
                               thing to waste.
                      Read the pup 24/7. Puppy FF means Frequent Fun! 
                      Dogmatic (pun intended) puppy activity rule:  It Depends!

           A single session (with a few exceptions like “The Walk” or trips in the truck) takes 5 minutes
           or less and are spread out over the entire day. However, each day has a very predictable flowing
           sequence. The premise is puppies thrive on fair, consistent and fun structure.  Productive
           (optimal) learning occurs in the first three or four minutes of any new activity.........especially
           when there is a huge change in environment.

           For example: confine (rest)……….Activity…….…confine (rest)….…...Activity

           One of the first issues in "training" a puppy revolves around "How soon? How slow?.....How
           fast?" Pups are all different and many may eventually move from A to Z, but it is not a race! 
           Move too fast and stifle, but move too slowly and stagnate. 

           Being a teacher, it always bugged me hearing my colleagues tell perplexed students, "Think
           about it!"  Just what does that mean? While in dog training you always hear, "Read your
           dog!"........hhhhhmmmmm?  What does that mean?

           Here are some important perspectives which I use when "reading" a pup/dog. 
                 1) They have no clue of how to irritate me (let alone plan it).
                 2) Each does what I have taught him/her to do (good or bad).
                 3) All pups are created equal (NOT)! 
                 4) Pups thrive on predictable and fair structure which is regularly applied. 
                 5) If I cannot train regularly, I will become a remedial "reader".
                 6) My personality greatly affects my ability to "read".  Modify.
                 7) Make a list of things to "see" which relate to "reading".  It must be yours.
                 8) Plans require a rationale.  Learning to "read" requires a conscious effort
                     which may in the beginning seem mechanical.
                
            If it can't be done with a "fun and games" focus, find something else to do. Build by creating
            activities that foster success and simply avoiding situations where negative behavior can happen. 
            Each session is best presented with something old, then something new and ending with
            something they are really good at. The primary focus to produce a learning mode puppy. They
            come ready to play and ooze, "This is fun!  What's next?  That was interesting! Are we done
            already?  I'm special!"  

            Dog training is somewhat like chess "it depends a great deal on how much you know.
            But, what you know is really everything you've learned, minus all you've forgotten......and
            the forgetting process is powerful." Rolf Wetzell