A puppy arrives: how to welcome the puppy and live happy together.

“I will lead him by the hand until he has the strength to go it alone; and I will remove from his path as many stones as I can, I will teach him to avoid the remaining ones or to walk firmly on them.“
Anne Brontë, The Lady of Wildfell Hall

The eyes of puppies are something magnetic for me. It’s wonderful to imagine how much life, how many qualities and how many undiscovered talents are hidden in those tiny creatures!
It will be equally exciting to welcome a puppy into your life: from my experience, I’m reporting four focuses to always keep in mind that will allow you to live this adventure with awareness and serenity.

1. DON’T HURRY
A puppy needs to experience, yes … but let’s not forget to respect his times in order to be able to count on a linear psychophysical development that will lead to a balanced and serene adult individual. For this reason, catapulting him into all situations without carefully evaluating his experiences could jeopardize his future emotional stability in various situations. It is essential to observe and know how to correctly interpret the answers he gives us, recognizing the critical moments alongside him and supporting him with patience and empathy when he is in difficulty. Rest and sleep are just as important as playing and learning about the world!

2. BE THERE
We will have to build a solid relationship with our puppy based on trust to become the best secure foundation he can have: it is necessary to fulfill his emotional needs, welcome his emotions, give constant support, indicate the right direction so that the puppy can learn how to make it by himself in such a delicate and sensitive moment of his growth.
The moments of solitude and detachment must be built gradually, commensurate with the age and the responses that the puppy sends back to us. It is good to foresee and introduce a coherent and stable secondary reference figure who can take our place in our absence, especially if prolonged and systematic. We always protect the puppy from anything that could scare him, traumatize him and from potential dangers! If we know how to be a present, close and loving guide, we will both benefit for life!

3. GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER
We have the privilege of admiring its growth day after day, conquest after conquest… let’s not forget it! The best gift we can give to our relationship is to allow ourselves to know who we are dealing with without the preconceptions, expectations and superstructures typical of us humans, by observing our puppy and trying to understand who he is, what he wants to do and what his place is in the world. Each individual will show us tendencies and interests, he will make us understand what stands out in his eyes, what he finds gratification and self-efficacy in: it is our duty to know how to read and “listen” to all these mental dispositions as well as respect them as much as possible. Allowing our puppy to be himself will make us identify and savor his happiness which will also become ours! As for us…. We will be under constant observation and nothing of us will escape our life partner who in a very short time will know who we are, what we want to do and what our place in the world is (often better than we know!!).

4. RELY ON COMPETENT PEOPLE
It is a sign of responsibility not to leave anything to chance or to go by trial and error: the puppy’s developmental phase is a moment in its life that deserves attention and dedication. My advice is to rely on specialists in the sector who, first through specific consultancy and then through educational paths, can accompany us right from the choice of the puppy, favoring the establishment of a balanced and correct relationship, a harbinger of uplifting and enriching experiences for the whole herd.

5. CREATE ROUTINES!
With the help of an expert professional figure, it is important to set up “rituals” from the very first days (such as, for example, that of the meal, the walk, the rest) to allow the puppy to fit into the family dynamics more easily, building up expectations clear about what will happen for the benefit of his precious psychophysical balance and for us owners to systematically “remember” all our dog’s basic needs, fulfilling them effectively and correctly.

Final advice: ENJOY EVERY MOMENT!
Your puppy is puppy only once: enjoy every little conquest, every new adventure, cuddles, moments of play and those of absolute relaxation. Live every experience made together with enthusiasm, as if it were a gift you give to your bond. Almost without realizing it, you will find yourself looking at the photographs taken of your puppy and remembering that beautiful period with a bit of nostalgia.

I believe that a puppy literally turns our lives upside down: welcoming him will be a challenge but the prize that awaits us is priceless.

Angelica Gaffuri

My name is Angelica Gaffuri and one constant has always accompanied me in life: dogs.
I was born and raised among dogs and their company has always been indispensable for me so much that I decided to undertake a course of study that allowed me to become, as a starting point, a cognitive-zooanthropological dog educator with the qualification of Prime Orme technician (skills and specific knowledge regarding the growth and education of the puppy).
I am an educational zooanthropology operator: I strongly believe in the educational value of the human-animal relationship, especially for children and adolescents. I am in possession of the Basic Animal Urgency Operator patent. I attended a specific Master on intraspecific communication of the dog and I am completing the training as a Consultant in Phytonutraceuticals and as an Assistant of the dog in Assisted Interventions with Animals (IAA)…. I am projected into a future that I see as rich in training and experience in the world of dogs.