During this important period of about 14 to 26 weeks of age, or 3-½ months to 6 months of age, your puppy's temperament in terms of protectiveness and aggressiveness will be set. Some of your puppy's personality has been pre-determined by his genetics, his breed, and the input of his parents. However, a great deal of what nature has given to your puppy can and will be affected by the environment in which he is raised. We encourage you to investigate this aspect of development completely, and to carefully and closely consider what you want from your adult dog. In our urban world, a dog that is highly protective and aggressive is potentially very dangerous, especially with the tremendous density of humanity in the city. We encourage you to happy-talk your dog out of his early signs of protectiveness and/or signs of aggression. Use a startle interrupt sound, loud, and out of his line of sight. Then call your dog to you and give him a lot of happy-talk about how silly he is being in this situation. If these early protective signs (barking, hackle-raising, growling) are encouraged, an over-aggressive dog may emerge as sexual maturity nears. If, on the other hand, these same early protective signs are harshly punished, a fearful adult dog may emerge as sexual maturity nears. By tempering your dog's early protective signs, it is likely that your puppy will learn to trust your direction in terms of when being protective is appropriate. If a situation occurs in which you really need the protection of your dog, your dog will take your lead and will do everything he can to protect you.
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protectiveness and aggressiveness will be set. Some of your puppy's personality has been pre-determined by his genetics, his breed, and the input of his parents. However, a great deal of what nature has given to your puppy can and will be affected by the environment in which he is raised. We encourage you to investigate this aspect of development completely, and to carefully and closely consider what you want from your adult dog. In our urban world, a dog that is highly protective and aggressive is potentially very dangerous, especially with the tremendous density of humanity in the city. We encourage you to happy-talk your dog out of his early signs of protectiveness and/or signs of aggression. Use a startle interrupt sound, loud, and out of his line of sight. Then call your dog to you and give him a lot of happy-talk about how silly he is being in this situation. If these early protective signs (barking, hackle-raising, growling) are encouraged, an over-aggressive dog may emerge as sexual maturity nears. If, on the other hand, these same early protective signs are harshly punished, a fearful adult dog may emerge as sexual maturity nears. By tempering your dog's early protective signs, it is likely that your puppy will learn to trust your direction in terms of when being protective is appropriate. If a situation occurs in which you really need the protection of your dog, your dog will take your lead and will do everything he can to protect you.