Heylne Medeiros- Holly’s owner

Her name is CH, Cookieland Seasyde Hollyberry, aka “Holly”, and she is a beautiful Pointer.  She took Best in Show at last year’s AKC/Eukanuba National Championship.  What an exciting year!  We had a chance to catch up with Holly’s owner to find out more about Holly’s latest litter of puppies (4/18/09) and if there are any future stars among the group.  For more photos and information about Seasyde Champions, click here to visit their site. 

Q: We’re all excited to see Holly’s puppies compete. Can you tell us about them?

They are all very sweet, outgoing and want to learn and please. They have outstanding temperaments!  

Q: How many of the puppies will be competing at the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship this year?

There are three of Holly’s puppies entered in this year’s show. Two boys, Seasyde Remington “Remy” (owned by Justin and Joanna Stebbins of Calif. and myself) and Seasyde Harbor Lights “Teos” (co-owned by Monique Latteier of Utah and me) will be at the show as well as one girl, Seasyde Hollywood “Rodayo” (co-owned by breeders Sean and Tamara McCarthy of New York and me). Rodayo lives with me and her mother Holly and brother Drew in Cape Cod, Mass. 

Q: Can you already see a champion in the making in any of the puppies? Do they remind you of Holly at that age?

Yes, I see a champion in several of the puppies. Certain traits in each puppy remind me of their mother and grandfather who I own and showed. I won Specialties with Holly before she went to be shown by professional handler, Michael Scott. I also showed the puppies’ grandfather who I won National Specialties and all breed Best in Shows with, years back. So to be able to watch these puppies mature so beautifully is really special for me. 

Q: Training a puppy can be challenging, how do you tackle this important part of raising a dog?

Puppies require lots of attention; I believe the more attention they get, the better! I do not expect perfection at this age; I just want to make sure they enjoy training, have a positive experience and are able to enjoy being a puppy. Early socialization is vitally important in shaping their personalities. The way training is handled will have long lasting implications for the pups and it is my job to make sure it is done right. I train our puppies by taking them to shows, socializing them and going to handling classes. 

Q: How do you reward your dogs and puppies?

Mostly with lots of praise. I also use food and toys but have found that puppies and dogs respond best to verbal and physical contact. I talk to them constantly; they love to hear my voice. The words are not as important as the tone of my voice. I am always telling them how great they are, how beautiful they look and what a good job they are doing. I really do believe they understand what I am saying to them. Physical contact is just as important: a pat or hug can give them so much confidence. By making them happy and confident and bringing out the best in them, I am hoping someday they too will be Champions.

Who will be this year’s top dog?  We would love to hear your thoughts on favorite breed or your predictions for this year’s winner!

Dogs, like people, start learning the minute they are born.  Although at that age, your new puppy won’t be winning any obedience competitions or fetching the daily newspaper!

The best time to start training your new pup is the minute you bring them home. From the minute you bring your new bundle of fur home he/she is starting to learn the ropes of the house.  Typically the first thing new owners teach a puppy is potty training.  From there you move to more of the traditional commands like sit, down, come, stay, etc. 

Puppies as young as 5 to 6 weeks of age can be taught to sit or down on command using gentle positive methods.

When should you enroll your puppy in “school”?

Puppies typically start classes between 10 to 16 weeks of age dependent on vaccination history.

The earlier you can safely start them in school, the better.  Twenty years ago it was common practice to keep puppies at home and not start school until your puppy was 6 months old.  This would be like keeping your child at home with no schooling until they were in 6^th grade!  Think how much they didn’t learn and how many interactions with other students they would have missed. 

Bailey-6 yr old Great Dane Lexi-10 week old Bedlington Terrier

Think about how much mischief you can prevent just be enrolling Spot early!

Most reputable puppy classes require prospective students to have at least their first two series of DHLPP vaccination (Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Parainfluenza and Parvo Virus) to keep your puppy and the other puppies in class safe from illness.  Once they meet the vaccination requirements of the class and your veterinarian gives your pup a clean bill of health, you and Spot are ready to start! 

Why is it so important to start them early?

Socialization is a crucial to your puppy developing into a loving, confident and well mannered member of your home and society.  The more positive interactions your puppy has with other dogs, people and new places the better he/she’ll be at accepting them later in life. Many fearful dogs in shelters and rescues are fearful because they are under socialized.  This is a shame since socializing a puppy is fun and easy! 

Make sure to socialize your puppy with friendly dogs both large and small!

Stories from a trainer-

Two people enroll their puppies in my puppy class–a 6 month old yellow lab and a 12 week old black lab.  The first night of class the 6 month old lab drags his owner in, knocks over a container of treats and looks like he’s on speed.  The 12 week old puppy walks in at his owner’s side and makes it to the training area incident free. 

The owners of the 6 month dog entered him in class because he has: eaten their couch, chewed their table, runs away, still has accidents in the house, won’t stop jumping and has pulled his owner down during walks in the neighborhood

The owners of the 12 week old puppy want to learn basic obedience and work on potty training.  He likes to play with his toys and still spends a lot of his day napping. 

Moral of the story: Your furniture and family will thank you for taking Spot to classes earlier rather than later.  Your neighborhood will certainly find someone else to laugh at while they are pulled down the street by their dog.