Our daughter Katie getting to know our top dog Astor.

Have you ever walked by someone with a dog that was behaving so well in public that you said to yourself, "I wish that I had a dog like that"? I did. When I was in high school, I remember going to the local convenience store one afternoon and I saw something that I have kept as my motivation to help people to have the kind of dog that I saw that day. A homeless man walked up to the door with his dog and told him to "stay," and then proceeded to go inside. He came out carrying a donut and a cup of coffee and to my surprise the dog was exactly where he left him. The man gave the dog half of his donut and they walked off together. I said to myself, "When I get a dog I want it to be just as good as that one." Since that day I have had many dogs as good as that one and have helped hundreds of people to have dogs like that as well. So what's the secret? Great training and socialization. The way that I have achieved this is through a simple system called a "Wish List."

A "Wish List" is all of the things that you want your dog to be able to "do" and "not do" during its entire lifetime. This takes foresight, creativity, understanding, and patience. If you are thinking of getting a puppy, two puppies, or have a puppy (under 6 months) or puppies you should consider trying this system. The whole idea is to make training and socialization specific to your puppy. This list acts as a checklist as you are deciding which breed of dog is best for you and/or as you are raising your puppy. Your list and my list will probably not be exactly the same, but I am sure that there will be many similar things. For instance: I want to train all of my dogs starting with housebreaking, puppy class (8 weeks-food and praise), basic obedience (on leash), and advanced obedience (off leash). Although I am a trainer, I am also human. My dogs ARE allowed to eat "people food" but are NOT allowed to beg. They ARE allowed on certain couches and the bed BUT must get off when they are told to. These things are examples of good training, whereas socialization involves getting your puppy used to people, places, and things.

A properly socialized dog is one that is comfortable within any environment. This means that it has to be comfortable and confident around people, things, and at different places. The "Wish List" will help you to properly socialize your dog to the things that you feel it will encounter during its lifetime. Unfortunately, most people do not realize that socialization must take place before the dog is 6 months old. If not, you may have a lot of problems that are not really reversible. Some of these include aggression to friends in your home because the dog was not fully socialized to people. Those of you who have this problem usually lock your dog up when people come over. One of my clients told me about a night when they had to feed their friends a great spaghetti dinner in the bathroom because the dog wouldn't let them out. I still wonder why the people didn't put their dog away for the evening! The best protection dog is the one that is well- socialized to people and knows the difference between an aggressive person (bad) and a friend. Not one that goes after everybody.

An example of a place to socialize your dog to would be your veterinarian's office. It would be a good idea to bring your dog to your veterinarian for the receptionist to give it a treat on days when it is not scheduled to be poked, prodded, and checked out so that it does not go into "four leg reverse" half a block away from the office door whenever you do have an appointment. It should be as happy to go to the veterinarian as any other place and it would help if it were not so afraid during each visit (much safer for your veterinarian and techs!). By the way, not only are you achieving good socialization but you also have a great opportunity to train your puppy to be good in the car on the way there and back.

It is important for you to think ahead as opposed to what your life is like right now. As you know, things change. An example of this is children. If you are thinking that you want to have children at some time in the future while your dog is still alive it might be a good idea to get your dog used to babies, toddlers, elementary school aged kids, and teenagers now. I know of many people who did not do this and wound up having to give their dog away because it wasn't good with their new baby. Another example of thinking ahead is a boat. Let's say that right now you don't have a boat but think that you might want to get one at some point during your dog's lifetime. You need to get your puppy good around boats now because if you don't it may never want to get on a boat. What a shame that would be that you couldn't share your new toy with your best buddy because he/she was afraid (maybe terrified!). As you can see, heartache can be avoided with a little foresight.

If you are possibly considering getting 2 puppies there are some things that you should definitely think about before actually making this decision. Most breeders are NOT trainers or specialists in behavior. They are trying to SELL you something. Keep an open mind even if you have created a picture in your mind of what you want because it might not be the best way to go. An example of this would be to decide you want 2 Doberman males. Anyone who knows the Doberman will tell you that two males, even from the same litter and even neutered, will probably fight as they mature to see who is the dominant one.They will probably continue this with numerous trips to the veterinarian because that is how typical Doberman males act. Unfortunately, the show Magnum PI showed "the boys" (Apollo and Zeus) running together all of the time. What they didn't show was that often when they film they use a large female and a male or they find that uncommon pair of non-aggressive males to work together. A good pair is usually male/female or two non-aggressive females. Typically, two puppies being raised at the same time is "double trouble" (but not an impossible task). Just be aware.

This is the time of the year when people are thinking about getting puppies so hopefully you will try using this system of a "Wish List" to pick out the right breed for your lifestyle. Once you pick out your puppy or if you already have one, try this system to get the most out of your puppy in order to have the dog you always wanted but didn't know how to get.

This article is dedicated to the loving memory of my best buddy "Astor" who was an outstanding companion and was everything I always wished for in a dog!

Randy Scott is the owner of Canine Connection Author of "Make the Connection: The CANCON Method of Dog Training" This article is dedicated to the loving memories of my best buddy Astor Vom Hedgrun Sept 8th, 1984 - Oct 1th, 1997. You can reach Randy at (305) 245-DOGS (3647) or at http://www.k9connection.com