MEET THE PUPPIES - Junior, Blizzard, Angel, and Mr. President

Junior

When I first imagined writing a book about raising the perfect dog, I wanted it to have a personal touch and a hands-on feeling. In my experience, it’s easier to teach using real-life examples. I have raised many dogs in my life, but I wanted to reacquaint myself with all the different stages of puppyhood while I was writing about them so that I would be totally in tune with the behaviors I was describing. To do this, I decided to raise four puppies of different breeds—a pit bull, a Labrador retriever, an English bulldog, and a miniature schnauzer—bringing them up in my home and with my pack using the principles of dog psychology. I want to illustrate to you, my readers, how raising puppies as naturally as possible will prevent problems and issues and will avoid the need for intervention in the future. My goal was not to rehabilitate dogs but to raise balanced dogs and show owners how to maintain the natural balance that Mother Nature has already given them. Therefore, I wanted to select dogs with a certain inborn energy level—what I call “medium-level energy,” which is the perfect energy level for even an inexperienced dog owner to deal with. We’ll talk more about selecting for energy in PERFECT MATCH - Choosing the Perfect Puppy, but keep this concept in the back of your mind as you join me in the adventure of meeting the puppies.

JUNIOR, THE PIT BULL

Daddy and his protege, Junior

Although my pit bull, Junior, made his first print appearance in my last book, A Member of the Family, I still consider him to be the most significant of the four dogs whose puppyhoods I’ve chronicled here. When I began writing this book, Junior was a little over a year and a half old, smack in the heart of his canine adolescence, which lasts from about eight months to three years of age. Since the day I brought him home, Dog Whisperer cameras and my own records have recorded nearly every day of his progress, from clumsy toddler to the energetic, confident, yet serene teenager he is today. There are many wonderful lessons from Junior’s upbringing that I am thrilled to share with you here.

It was of great personal significance for me to adopt a pit bull puppy as a role model, to be right by my side as I work to rehabilitate unstable dogs. The bad rap that pit bulls get here in the United States is, to my thinking, a crime. First of all, pit bulls are dogs first. They’re not wild animals; they’re domestic dogs like any other domestic dog. Of course, pit bulls are not always the right dogs for every family—but in blaming pit bulls as a breed for all those horrendous incidents we read about in the news, we’re forgetting the basic fact that we humans have created the very characteristics we vilify in pit bulls, simply to fill our own needs. We are responsible for them. Over the centuries, we have genetically engineered these dogs to have strong jaws, relentless staying power, and a high tolerance for discomfort or pain. Those are the plain, unvarnished facts of their DNA. But even in the dog world, DNA isn’t destiny. Pit bulls are not born aggressive to dogs or to people—we make them that way. Hundreds of thousands of pit bulls languish in kennels and shelters across the United States because they were originally conditioned by their owners to be “tough,” but then they became too much for their owners to handle. Many of those dogs, destined for euthanasia, were bred to fight in the illegal dog-fighting culture, then abandoned on the streets when they didn’t prove profitable for their hard-hearted owners. Properly socialized and raised with the same consistent rules, boundaries, and limitations that their natural pack would instill in them, it’s been my experience that pit bulls make the most amazing pets.

The very pit bull attributes so often maligned by society can actually be rechanneled into the most positive outlets. For instance, the inborn characteristics of determination and staying power can be transformed into unwavering loyalty and patience. A balanced pit bull has the ability to wait calmly and respectfully for long periods of time, until its owner gives it a new command or direction to follow. With children or smaller puppies, pit bulls can be the epitome of the indulgent babysitter, because their bodies are built to easily withstand the climbing, pushing, and pulling that playful juveniles of both species can inflict. A well-socialized, balanced pit bull will put up with all sorts of childish antics and show stoicism and good humor. I am raising Junior to be much more “dog” than “pit bull,” and between him and my senior pit bull, Daddy, I believe I can change the mind of anybody who harbors blind prejudice against the breed.

Any reader who has watched my television program is probably familiar with the soulful green eyes and stocky, golden body of my faithful companion, Daddy. At nearly sixteen years of age, Daddy has experienced everything a modern dog could possibly dream of—traveling all over the United States with me and even walking the red carpet at the Emmys. Daddy’s original owner, the rapper Redman, sought out my help in raising Daddy when he was still a playful puppy just four months of age. It was absolutely the most perfect time to start shaping his young mind. Daddy was an eager and receptive pupil to both dogs and humans, and he has grown up to be the best, most positive role model imaginable for his much-maligned breed. He now has his own legion of fans and even has his own Facebook page! He definitely deserves his brilliant reputation. Today Daddy officially belongs to me. He and I share a bond that goes beyond anything nature or science can explain. I believe we have achieved a kind of ideal communion between human and dog, one that I like to use as an example to my clients to prove to them that this kind of healthy closeness with their pet is something very real and within their reach as well.

On dozens of Dog Whisperer episodes, when I’m called in to help unstable dogs, Daddy has unquestionably earned his props as my right-hand canine. More often than not, however, he’s also my teacher, and I end up following his lead on how to proceed, not the other way around. Daddy possesses that rare quality that you can’t get without a lot of experience and a lot of years on this planet—genuine wisdom. Because his energy is so completely balanced, sometimes just being in the presence of Daddy will turn a troubled dog around. On other occasions, if I’m not sure of how to proceed on a case, I’ll bring Daddy in and closely observe his behavior. One of the most important points I’ve made in all my teachings—and that I particularly want to stress when it comes to raising puppies—is that a balanced adult dog can teach you more about “dog training” than any book, manual, or video. Daddy doesn’t have any diplomas or certificates on the wall of his kennel, but he is the absolute master of dog rehabilitation, as far as I’m concerned.

As a senior dog, Daddy still takes the same delight in the small moments of life that he took as a puppy, but his advancing years are clearly catching up with him physically. I have recently begun to grapple with the reality that he won’t be able to play the role of my best pal, sidekick, and co-Dog Whisperer forever. I’ve heard some dog lovers who, when considering the demise of a lifelong companion, make statements like “There will never be another one like him” or “I could never love another dog, because no other dog could be as wonderful.” Of course it’s true that there will never be another dog exactly like Daddy, but when I called this book How to Raise the Perfect Dog, I wasn’t being glib. I really do believe it’s possible to raise another dog to be as balanced, stable, well behaved, and as perfectly in sync with me as Daddy has been. I had a plan—Daddy himself was going to pass the baton of his greatness to the next generation—by helping me raise his ideal successor!

PASSING THE BATON

A longtime friend of mine, a vet tech who also happens to be from my home state of Sinaloa, Mexico, understands and agrees with my philosophies about raising dogs and also owns a female pit bull that I know to be calm and balanced—an easygoing family dog that had always been a dream “nanny” to his own small children. My friend informed me that he had selectively bred this dog and that she had a new litter of puppies. Knowing of Daddy’s impending retirement and my growing concerns about it, he invited me to come take a look at them, saying, “Who knows, you might find the next Daddy.”

When Daddy and I arrived at my friend’s house to see the litter, I was relieved to find the bitch just as affectionate, gentle, and submissive with human kids as I had remembered. She had the ideal temperament for a family dog and was also an active, alert, and attentive mother to her pups. The temperament of a pup’s parents is vital, because temperament is a characteristic often passed down from generation to generation. My friend showed me a photo of the puppies’ father—also a well-bred, healthy pit bull, as well as a prize show dog. Though I couldn’t meet the sire in person because he was already back in his home state, I know that show dogs by definition need to have a degree of self-control, patience, and stability above and beyond that of the average household pet. As I looked over the litter of cuddly, clumsy eight-week-old puppies, one dog immediately caught my eye. He was all gray with a little white on his chest, and he had the most gentle powder blue eyes. He was what is known as a blue pit. But what attracted me most to him was his energy. Though he didn’t resemble Daddy at all physically, his serene demeanor reminded me of him instantly.

I was immediately drawn to this particular pup, but in this case I wasn’t the most experienced dog whisperer in the room. This was a job for Daddy. Any dog can tell you much more about another animal—dog, cat, or human!—than a human can, which is why I always take my dogs’ instincts very seriously. In fact, I frequently bring Daddy or another of my most balanced dogs with me to business meetings, to see how the dogs respond to any people I am meeting for the first time. If one of my easygoing, calm-submissive dogs inexplicably shrinks away from, ignores, or otherwise avoids a certain person, I always pay close attention. My dog may be trying to tell me something I need to know.

I escorted Daddy into the room full of playful pit bull puppies—a dignified elder statesman making an appearance in a boisterous kindergarten class. I had noticed one of the puppies acting a little dominant around the children in the family—climbing on them and mouthing them—so I tried introducing him to Daddy. Daddy immediately growled at him and turned away. At Daddy’s age, he hasn’t got the energy or patience for ill-mannered, pushy youngsters. Another pup I picked out—a lower-energy fellow—didn’t interest Daddy at all; he totally ignored him. Older dogs don’t waste their precious energy on puppies that annoy them. But how would Daddy react to the gray pup that had so attracted me? I was praying that our energies and instincts would be on the same wavelength for this very important decision.

I gently lifted the little gray guy up by his scruff and presented his rear to Daddy, who showed immediate interest. He checked the puppy out by sniffing, then signaled with his head for me to put him down on the ground. When I lowered the puppy, the little guy automatically bowed his head in a very polite, submissive way to Daddy. It was clear that at only eight weeks of age, his mother had already taught him the basics of canine etiquette—respect for your elders. Daddy continued to smell him, and it was obvious there was an attraction there. But the most wonderful thing happened next! When Daddy finished checking the puppy out and began to walk away, the puppy immediately started to follow him. From that very first moment, I was certain that this little gray bundle of fur was going to be Daddy’s spiritual “son.” And America would soon have a new, calm, well-behaved pit bull role model to look up to.

HOW NOT TO RAISE MARLEY

Blizzard, the Labrador Retriever

John Grogan’s Marley and Me was on the New York Times bestseller list for fifty-four weeks, then was adapted into a feature film that grossed more than $215 million worldwide. It even spawned a sequel named (much to my chagrin as Dog Whisperer!) Bad Dogs Have More Fun. Through Grogan’s heartfelt, evocative writing, Marley has become the symbol of one of the most popular family pet breeds in America, the Labrador retriever. Labradors are the number one pet dog in America because of their friendliness, energy, and happy-go-lucky demeanor, and Marley epitomized that same goofy, exuberant, bouncy behavior. But Marley took that behavior too far, to the point of being out of control. “Marley,” writes John Grogan, “was a challenging student, dense, wild, constantly distracted, a victim of his boundless nervous energy. … As my father put it shortly after Marley attempted marital relations with his knee, ‘That dog’s got a screw loose.’”

Marley became the inspiration for me to adopt a yellow Lab as the second dog whose puppyhood I would chronicle for this book. As much as I laughed and cried reading John Grogan’s memoir of Marley, and as much as I appreciated having the chance to work with the Grogan family and their current Lab, Gracie, I wanted to offer a different perspective on the life of a Labrador retriever. In other words, I wanted to write the chapter on how not to raise the next Marley.

I turned to Crystal Reel, the intrepid researcher at our Dog Whisperer production company, MPH Entertainment, to help me find the perfect Labrador puppy. Though there are plenty of Labrador breeders in Southern California, we decided to show our support for one of our area’s excellent rescue groups that save the lives of lost, abandoned, and rejected dogs every day. Crystal contacted Southern California Labrador Retriever Rescue, an eleven-year-old nonprofit organization dedicated to the mission of rehabilitating and rehoming Labrador retrievers and educating the public about these wonderful dogs. Over several weeks, Crystal coordinated with SCLRR volunteer Geneva Ledesma, screening several potential puppies available for adoption. We finally narrowed the search down to two dogs, and Geneva and her fellow volunteer, Valerie Dorsch, agreed to bring both dogs to meet me at the original Dog Psychology Center in downtown Los Angeles.

The month of October can still feel like summertime in Southern California, but there was a morning breeze easing away the heat as I slid open the gates to my downtown Dog Psychology Center, revealing the two Labrador puppy candidates from which I would choose my Marley. Geneva and Valerie each held the leash of one of the rescues. The first, a sleek and solid black Labrador pup, had been picked up as a stray running loose in a field. The other, yellow like the Marley of literary fame, had been dropped off at a shelter with a couple of his litter-mates. Both were male, around two months old, and both were incredibly cute. Both had also just finished with their second set of shots, so their medical histories were in order, despite the fact that they were rescued off the street.

Since my goal for this project was prevention, not intervention, I wanted to choose a puppy with a naturally calm-submissive demeanor and raise him to remain that way, so he could become the perfect family dog. It took only seconds for me to determine that the yellow Lab was the right guy. He sniffed around a little, slightly curious, then sat back on his haunches and relaxed. Within a few minutes, he was stretching his body out on the sun-warmed pavement. The black Lab, on the other hand, was already acting a little skittish, nervous, and overexcited. His body was turned away from us and he was pulling back on the leash, holding himself slightly back. Now, I could easily work with him and rehabilitate that state. But I wanted to do something different for this book—I wanted to use the natural balance Mother Nature has already programmed into dogs and show you, my readers, how to nurture and maintain that state.

Both Valerie and Geneva were shocked that I chose the yellow Lab, because they thought I’d be attracted to the more “active” puppy. “I thought the yellow puppy was lazy,” Valerie commented. Despite being experienced “dog people,” they were not able to discern nervous energy from playful energy. Once I pointed out the indications of the black Lab’s anxious energy, Geneva began to see what I was talking about. “Can I ask you, how do they become like this?” she queried tentatively. “Are they born this way?” I told her that sometimes scary early puppyhood experiences can make a dog unsure, especially if he doesn’t have an attentive mother or a pack leader to guide him through the experience the right way. A normal dog is a curious dog, even if he is a little tentative at first. When you see extremely fearful, shrinking behavior from the beginning, that’s a potential red flag.

Some puppies are born weak or scared, the proverbial “runts of the litter,” and the brutal truth is, in a natural habitat, those puppies probably wouldn’t make it. As humans, we tend to feel bad about them. But we have to learn to help them overcome that state of mind. Otherwise, we will keep them that way, by feeling bad about them. It’s a wonderful thing to rescue dogs that have become lost in the physical world, but we also need to learn how to rescue them from their fearful psychological worlds. No dog should have to live his whole life in fear. And that kind of rehabilitation starts with our own calm-assertive energy. It’s easy to go running up to a nervous puppy and, in a high voice, cry out, “Oh, it’s okay, sweetie, it’s all right!” We think by showering them with what we define as love, affection, and comfort, we can help them. But for a nervous puppy, an approach like that will only intensify his anxiety or excitement. I showed the ladies how to use scent to distract the black pup’s nose, to help release his brain from being “locked” into that negative, nervous state. I passed a can of organic dog food just in front of him, without invading his space. Just a whiff of the food and the little guy perked up, then sat back on his haunches. His ears relaxed. I didn’t use words. I didn’t use petting. By remaining calm, strong, and silent but engaging his strongest sense—smell—I was able to snap him out of his anxious state of mind.

“The truth is,” I continued, “this yellow guy, in the hands of an owner who doesn’t give rules or gives only affection, affection, affection, could easily become overexcited or anxious or nervous, too. My goal is to nurture his beautiful, natural state for the first eight months of his life. Because by eight months, that’s it. Puppyhood is done. At eight months, they hit adolescence, so they begin to challenge, but if they are raised with rules, boundaries, and limitations, they will always know how to go back to balance.”

While I had been chatting with the ladies from Southern California Labrador Retreiver Rescue, my little Marley had become so relaxed, the sun had lulled him into a deep, peaceful sleep. I reached for my can of dog food again. “With puppies, sometimes we can create a nervous or spooked reaction from them if we startle them while they are sleeping,” I explained. I waved the can of dog food under his nose, but he didn’t wake up until he sensed the black Lab nudging his way over to get a sniff at the food as well. “See how he was not shocked or surprised when he awoke?” I pointed out. “It’s a normal behavior among puppies, with their littermates, to nudge one another, step on one another, wake one another up. So I’m triggering the brain to wake up in a familiar way, not a startling way, since my hand is not familiar to him yet.”

Having made my choice, I was ready to introduce the new puppy into the pack. But with puppies, every first impression is important, so I had to do it right the first time. Attracted by the food, the mini Marley happily followed me toward the inner area of the Dog Psychology Center, to the fence behind which the pack eagerly awaited their newest and youngest member. He sniffed the fence cautiously, then his tail started to wag. If he had been too excited or too bold, the pack would have perceived it as a negative, but the little guy kept his head held low, in a respectful manner. He was ready.

A quick note here about puppy health and safety (which we’ll consider in more depth in future chapters). Before introducing the new Labrador puppy to my pack, the ladies from SCLRR and I had to be sure that the health of the puppy and the health of my other dogs were being protected. The SCLRR volunteers first made sure that both puppies had clean bills of health and had their first two rounds of shots. Even with shots, however, a pup’s immune system is still developing until four months of age, and it is during these crucial months that he is still susceptible to diseases, particularly the parvovirus. Parvo is passed through the feces of infected dogs. Therefore, before SCLRR would sign off on allowing whichever puppy I chose to interact with my dogs, SCLRR wanted me to verify that all the dogs at the Dog Psychology Center were also up-to-date on their immunizations, that our facility was sanitary, and that we had not had any recent outbreaks of parvo or other contagious diseases. Once the SCLRR volunteers were sure of this, they okayed the Labrador to be with my dogs. In this case, there were two parties—the rescuers and the new adoptive owner—looking out for the puppy’s health and welfare. We must be responsibly cautious during this window of a puppy’s life, while his immune system is still developing, but at the same time, we can’t deprive him of normal socialization experiences, which are equally as important to his overall well-being.

I put one hand on the scruff of his neck and lifted him off the ground. That gesture immediately sent him into a relaxed state, although I was supporting his full weight with my other hand on his lower body. Bringing him low to the ground, I presented him to the pack. His tail was partially between his legs, signaling a little anxiety, so I waited until it relaxed before placing him on the ground. The other dogs sniffed him gently, accepting him immediately. Within ten minutes, he was happily and confidently exploring his new environment. This little guy may have looked exactly like the Marley of literary and cinematic fame, but he was going to have an entirely different experience of life.

Blizzard shows Cesar some affection.

FOLLOW YOUR NOSE

Angel, the Miniature Schnauzer

Having selected my Labrador puppy from a rescue group, I wanted to go to a top-notch breeder to find a dog in the terrier category that would become the next puppy for this project. A characteristic of the terrier breeds is that they are exceedingly scent-driven dogs. Since “nose-eyes-ears” is the formula I always teach my clients to employ when communicating with all dogs, I wanted to have a nose-dominant breed among the puppies I raised for the book. A dog’s nose can get him into trouble if he’s bored, but if that scent-driven energy is properly channeled at an early age, your dog’s nose can become your key to his heart—and his mind.

Brooke Walker is a statuesque redhead who oozes positive energy, and if given the opportunity, she can talk all day about her life’s passion: breeding show-quality miniature schnauzers. From the first moment I met her, I could tell that Brooke really knows her stuff. I asked her how she came to be interested in this particular breed.

“After I retired from thirty-eight years as a flight attendant, I knew I wanted a dog and I hadn’t had a dog in a number of years. So I went to a dog show and visited with the breeders, asked a lot of questions. That’s a great place to go to learn about dogs, because every breeder imaginable is there and breeders like to talk. The miniature schnauzers caught my eye because they have an elegance about them; they’re just an elegant, handsome breed.”

Of course, like most breeders, Brooke has become even more an aficionado of her chosen dog over the five years she has been raising them. “Miniature schnauzers don’t shed; they don’t have dander. They are the perfect size—you can take them on an airplane in a carry-on and they fit right under the seat so you don’t have to put them in the plane belly. I travel with my dogs all the time.”

It had rained the day before I drove down to Costa Mesa, California, to pick out my schnauzer from Brooke’s latest litter. The home environment was serene and peaceful, neat and tidy, despite the fact that there were three two-month-old puppies, a breeding pair, and a senior male dog running around on the property. That’s an excellent sign right there. If you go to check out a breeder and walk into chaos, with jumping, yelping, or nipping dogs all over the place, it’s important to remember that this is the environment in which your puppy had its first formative experiences. A dog raised in a chaotic environment will naturally absorb that unstable energy from the moment it is born. I’ve worked with several clients with miniature schnauzers who’ve told me they just assumed that hyperactive energy and incessant barking were part of the “package” of the breed. Brooke’s pack quickly disproved that myth. The atmosphere was quiet and calm, although her pups were still curious or playful.

We sat on Brooke’s well-tended flagstone patio and observed the pups as they wrestled and explored, delighting in every new sight and sound they encountered. Watching along with us was their vigilant mother, a schnauzer named Binky who was nearly two years old. While she seemed relaxed and interested in our human activities most of the time, every now and then one of her pups’ antics would catch her attention. I noticed that when the female pup harassed one of her brothers a little too long, Binky jumped down from her perch on the stone firepit and, in a split second, gently mouthed the offender and put her on her side. A mother dog allows her pups to play dominance games with each other, but when they get too intense, she will step in and manage the situation. As soon as the female pup relaxed, as if to say, “Okay, Mom, I got the message,” the mother went right back to nosing around Brooke and me. Such is the speed, precision, and matter-of-fact nature of a mother dog’s corrections, and it is this calm-assertive, gentle but firm, natural discipline that I advocate owners emulate with their own dogs. Observing and imitating good canine mothers such as Binky is exactly how I learned my own techniques.

Brooke had three schnauzer pups to show me—two males, one with a blue paper collar and one with a green, and a female with a pink collar. The female was the smallest of the three. Upon observing her pouncing on her green-collared brother, however, I could tell that her energy level was still quite high. Brooke’s clear favorite, and the dog she assumed I’d choose, was Mr. Blue Collar, a coal black schnauzer with glistening silver eyebrows, chest, feet, and tail. She introduced him as “the pick of the litter.” “He was the first to do everything. He was the first to climb out of his whelping pen. He was the first to bark. He was the first to go over to the other puppies when he was just in ‘swimming’ mode, and he was even the first one to get on all fours. He has a lot of natural intelligence, a lot of leadership qualities.”

Her description of the first two dogs’ energies placed the green-collared male at the bottom of the family hierarchy. But it was clear to me that he was not a fearful or anxious dog, and his energy was medium level, not low. To test their different temperaments, I put each of the three pups up on three different garden chairs. Mr. Blue immediately jumped right off the chair and came running back to me; he wanted to be in the middle of things. When Brooke put him back on the chair, he jumped right off again. It took a little longer for the female, Ms. Pink, to jump off, but eventually she couldn’t take the waiting anymore and followed her dominant brother’s example. Of all the dogs, only Mr. Green was able to sit on the chair and just observe. He didn’t whine, he didn’t squirm, he simply waited, alert, to take his next cue from me. I asked Brooke about her experience with him. “I think he is going to make a fabulous pet because he is so, so loving. He’s more mild-mannered than his brother, less independent. But personally, I like the more independent dogs because I find they’re very easy to train.”

Like the ladies from Southern California Labrador Retriever Rescue, Brooke also seemed genuinely surprised when I chose Mr. Green Collar—the medium-energy dog—as the dog I wanted to raise for this book. I reminded her that, although as Dog Whisperer I enjoy higher-energy dogs, most potential owners are not as experienced as she and I, and can easily let an independent, dominant pup overwhelm them once they bring him home. My goal for this book was to find pups that would start out life with the perfect, inborn “medium” energy level—suitable for any average or even inexperienced dog owner or family—and to share with my readers exactly how to maintain that state of mind during the crucial months of puppyhood and beyond.

Angel and his littermates

After choosing Mr. Green, I asked Brooke if she could find me a towel or cloth that carried the scent of his canine family of origin, to help ease his transition from his first pack into my pack. Brooke did much more than that. She presented me with his “papers”—including his passport certifying that he is a miniature schnauzer male, his AKC certification, documents showing the date, place, and type of inoculations that he had already received, and the recommended dates for his next round of shots. She also gave me a brochure with rich information about the miniature schnauzer breed, a trimming chart, and a little “going-away” gift basket containing treats, a teddy bear dog toy, and a grooming brush. That’s the “personal touch” that you’re going to get when you adopt a dog from a top-notch breeder. For breeders like Brooke, every dog is not just a dog. It’s absolutely a family member, and while her life’s mission is to find these dogs great homes, every pup that she sells will take a little bit of her heart with it when it goes out the door.

I’m a major supporter of shelter or rescue organization adoption, and I always encourage people who want to go this route for finding the right dog. The problem of canine overpopulation in America is staggering, and two to three million dogs are put to death each year simply because there are no homes for them. Every dog that finds its way into a family from a shelter or rescue group is one less dog that will lose its precious life simply because it was unwanted by a human. And there’s a special satisfaction that comes from giving a rescue dog a great life. But for those of you who do decide to go the breeder route, finding someone like Brooke is like striking gold. When you bring home a puppy from a breeder with Brooke’s level of high ethics and years of experience, you are not just bringing home that one dog, you are bringing home the rarefied bloodlines of many generations of dogs—in essence, you are owning a little bit of canine history. Brooke says the three most important qualities she breeds for are health, temperament, and conformation—that is, maintaining the integrity of the breed. In PERFECT MATCH - Choosing the Perfect Puppy we’ll talk more about how to find breeders like Brooke.

One of the ways such breeders preserve their chosen breed’s lineage is to make sure their puppies do not fall into the wrong hands. A huge red flag indicating a less-than-reputable breeder is someone who will sell you a puppy sight unseen, without asking you any questions about your experience with dogs, your home environment, and your intentions for caring for the dog. An important item for most breeders is the adoption contract. Brooke had me sign a contract that stipulated that I would not neuter Mr. Green until the eight-month puppyhood period was up. Personally, I prefer to neuter male dogs at six months, to prevent them from ever experiencing the overwhelming, uncomfortable urge to mate. But I understand Brooke’s criterion—as a breeder, she wants the pup to grow to full adolescence before she decides whether or not to mate the dog, to continue its valuable bloodline. I also agreed that, at the end of the puppyhood period, I would return the dog to her if I decided not to keep him or didn’t find a placement both she and I agreed was suitable. I greatly admire Brooke’s devotion to her litters.

During the half hour or so we spent going over the puppy’s paperwork, Mr. Green sat next to me, quietly chilling out. That’s pretty amazing for any puppy. Then and there, Mr. Green confirmed for me that I had chosen the right miniature schnauzer puppy to raise for this book.

After signing the papers and saying good-bye to Brooke, I brought Mr. Green to my car, first putting the blanket from his mother’s bed on the seat to attract him. Of course, I had to lift him from the ground onto the car’s running board, but I wanted to let him go onto the seat by himself as much as possible. With a puppy, patience is key, and the first time you separate a puppy from his first pack is one of those occasions when you need to call up all the patience you can muster. I held a bully stick—which is like a rawhide bone but is actually a dried bull penis—in front of his nose, and let him follow the scent as I gently pushed his rear up into the car. From there, I was able to easily guide him into the crate in which he would ride to his new home and family in Santa Clarita. Once I got him home, my boys were so impressed by his sweet temperament, they promptly gave Mr. Green the new name Angel.

HAIL TO THE CHIEF

Mr. President, the English Bulldog

Now that I had in place America’s next favorite pit bull, my happy-go-lucky Labrador, and my nose-driven terrier breed, I wanted to choose a breed with completely different inborn characteristics for the final puppy in the project. I’ve always had a special affinity for bulldogs—and in America, I’m not alone. According to USA Today, bulldogs have made their way onto the AKC’s “top ten most popular dogs in America” list for the past two years.1 imagine many of you reading this are considering a bulldog-type dog as a possible breed for you. There are lots of stereotypes about bulldogs—that they are all lazy couch potatoes, that they don’t need much energy or stimulation, or that they are consistently laid-back, mellow, and gentle in temperament. In many cases, these stereotypes can prove true, but there is another side of the coin.

The truth is, the bulldog originated in the British Isles, its name a reference to the purpose it was originally genetically engineered to fill—as a star player in the brutal but unfortunately popular sport of bullbaiting, in which a bull was placed in a pen or a hole, and one or more dogs were set upon him, to clamp down on his neck with their jaws. The first bulldogs—descendants of ancient Asian mastiffs mixed with pugs—were specifically bred for ferocity, staying power, and an astonishing resistance to pain. When bullbaiting was made illegal in England in 1835, a kinder, gentler generation of bulldog lovers took over the line, eventually breeding out most of the fierceness of the original Olde English bulldog. But those characteristics of pugnacity, persistence, and what many call “stubbornness” remain deeply lodged in every bulldog’s DNA. With some individual dogs, it can be quite a challenge to properly channel those breed-related tendencies.

One thing that is little known about bulldogs of all varieties is that they are in a sense handicapped from birth by the fact that they have been designed by humans to have pushed-in, flat noses and small windpipes. Mother Nature didn’t plan this kind of nose in her blueprint for canines, but back in the bulldog’s history, humans theorized that a flatter snout allowed for a stronger jaw to clamp onto the bull. The fact that bulldogs wheeze and snore is often a subject of good-humored sympathy among bulldog owners, and this is one of the side effects of their unnatural physical design as dogs.

Another result of their unique physical design means that bulldogs’ sense of smell is generally not going to be as powerful as that of other breeds, which puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to tracking and makes it harder for them to find their way back if they get lost or separated from their pack. They can also fall into a pattern of using their eyes more than their noses in responding to the world around them, which is not natural for a dog and can cause them to get into more conflicts with other dogs right off the bat, if they engage in eye contact with a stranger too soon or at the wrong time. Since I believe that a dog’s nose is the key to his behavior, I wanted to raise an English bulldog the right way, by going the extra mile to give him the kind of scent-driven upbringing that the rest of my dogs get to experience. I wanted to bring out the best of his species-related qualities—patience, loyalty, and affection—in order for him to grow up more dog than bulldog.

My dream English bulldog would come to me the same month I got Angel, from a longtime acquaintance of mine who specializes in breeding English bulldogs with mild, reliable temperaments. My friend knew I wanted a medium-energy-level dog and one of his bitches had just given birth to one. This chunky, white-and-brown guy who looked like he was wearing baggy pajamas was the only dog of his mother’s litter; in fact, he was delivered by C-section, the way most bulldogs must be—another side effect of human genetic engineering that’s made bulldog pups’ heads and barrel chests so much bigger than their mothers’ narrow hips and birth canals can bear. Our researcher, Crystal Reel, came with me to pick up the new bulldog puppy. She was ecstatic because English bulldogs are her favorite breed. I let her name the little guy, who is now known as General George Washington, or Mr. President for short.

If you’ve watched episodes of Dog Whisperer, you may have seen two of the many bulldogs I have been called in to rehabilitate—Jordan, from season one, and Matilda, from season three—both obsessed with skateboards. They would attack them, grab them in their jaws, clamp down, and hold on for dear life. Obsessive mouthing behavior—chewing, pouncing, and never letting go—is one of those ancient bulldog traits I described and one that you as an owner need to manage or discourage early on. Puppyhood is the time when you have the best chance of dialing down the volume on this breed-related behavior that resulted in the old cliché “stubborn as a bulldog.”

Mr. President started showing his bulldog nature as soon as I brought him home. He was the only one of the four puppies raised during the writing of this book that ever had a chewing issue. When the puppy reaches two months of age, however, owners have the perfect opportunity to stop or redirect that behavior before it escalates into a problem. With Mr. President, I began by distracting him with various pleasing scents, not only to redirect his naturally obsessive energy but also to encourage him to use his nose more. If his intensity level is too high, a very light touch to his neck or haunches snaps him out of obsessive behavior immediately. I’ll discuss redirecting and correcting unwanted behavior more in PUPPY COMES HOME - Easing the Transition from Litter to Family.

Hand correction to Mr. President’s neck

THE PUPPIES COME HOME

By the time I began writing this book, I had my four puppies in place. Junior was a full-blown adolescent, a year and a half in age. Blizzard, the yellow Lab, had just turned four months old, and both the little miniature schnauzer, Angel, and the English bulldog, Mr. President, were just over two months old. Since I was in the process of moving my original Dog Psychology Center in downtown Los Angeles to a new 43-acre plot of land in the wild, hilly terrain of Santa Clarita Valley, I had already dispersed many of the dogs in my pack to permanent homes, to temporary foster homes, or to the facility in Templeton, California, of my friend and protégée, Cheri Lucas, where she keeps her own pack of fifty dogs for rescue and rehabilitation. This meant that the new puppies would be raised at Casa Millan—our midsize, suburban ranch-style home in Santa Clarita Valley—with daily excursions to the outdoor oasis of my new Dog Psychology Center property just a short drive away, as I worked to prepare it for its opening in the fall of 2009. All told, our core family pack (including my wife, Ilusion, and sons, Calvin and Andre) now comprised the four puppies, Junior, Blizzard, Angel, and Mr. President; my grandfatherly pit bull, Daddy (fifteen); our Chihuahuas, Coco (five) and Minnie (two); our Jack Russell terrier, Jack (four); Apollo, a Rottweiler (approximately two and a half); and a two-year-old Yorkie, Georgia Peaches, a puppy-mill survivor that I had recently rescued while in Atlanta for a speaking engagement. Because the Dog Psychology Center was in flux, I also regularly brought home dogs from the Dog Whisperer show that needed more intensive rehab, so the pups would be exposed to a revolving cast of different breeds, ages, and levels of stability.

My puppy experiment was ready to begin. The goal was to raise four balanced dogs of different breeds, to maintain the stability they were already born with, and to prevent any future issues from forming. Throughout the rest of this book, these puppies will appear in costarring roles with me as they go through their different developmental stages, so you can see exactly how I applied the concepts of dog psychology to their rearing.

I felt inspired and invigorated as I set up a line of baby gates and rearranged the row of comfortable kennels where our dogs sleep in my large garage, which has an open door that leads to the side yard. Eager to help, Calvin and Andre pitched in to prepare our home for this exciting new experience. For the next seven months, my whole family and I would be immersed in the pure delight of watching these dogs as they lived through the magical season of life that is puppyhood, and on into their adolescence.

Cesar Millan