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"What are Imprinting and Bonding?" (New! 3/8/04) Imprinting: 1)"A special type of learned response that occurs in some animals at a critical period in their development". 2)"To fix indelibly or permanently (as on the memory)." Bonding: 1)"To join (two or more individuals) in or as if in a nurturing relationship." 2)"Something, such as a fetter, cord, or band, that binds, ties, or fastens things together." The wolf ancestors of our present day dogs lived in very structured packs, where the adults nurture and care for the cubs. The cubs are born defenseless, so they initially imprint on their mother, who is the source of warmth, food and care. As the cubs grow they learn to stay close to their mother or risk the possibility of being carried off by another carnivore, being swept away in a river, or falling off the edge of a cliff. They will follow her closely and watch everything that she does, thereby learning the things they will need to survive. As they grow larger and stronger, they will venture further away from their mother's side but will obey her warning growls and respect her and the other higher ranking pack members. It is from this close nit family that they will learn to hunt and the rules that govern the pack hierarchy and structure. Your puppy, although a long way from his wolf ancestors, still retains many of the same instincts and methods of learning that have served canines even though centuries of domestication and selective breeding may have made him look much different than those wolf ancestors. By the time you get your new puppy, he can already walk, eat, and do many other things without assistance, however he is still not old enough to be able to take care of himself if he were left all alone. Like his wild ancestors, he has bonded and imprinted on his dam and has spent weeks wrestling with his littermates, establishing his place in his little "pack". When you take your puppy home, you turn his short little life upside down and take him away from everything warm and cozy that he has known for his very short life. You bring him into your home with it's new sounds and smells, new people and maybe even other animals too. Your puppy will need to have a week or two to bond with you and begin to learn that you are now the center of his universe and the bringer of all things good. You are now the one that will feed him, care for him and love him. You will begin to teach him appropriate behavior, socialize him and eventually discipline him when he disobeys or breaks the rules that you have set and taught him. A young puppy will naturally want to stay near you. When you take the puppy in the yard he will stay close to you and will constantly be under your feet with you tripping over him frequently. This is the perfect time to begin training your puppy that with you is the best place for him to be! Walk a few yards away from him, turn and face the puppy, drop to your knees, and clap your hands while you call, "Puppy, Puppy, Puppy!" in a happy voice and encourage the pup to run to you. When he does, give him lots of attention and praise. Pet and play with him as if he was the most special pup in the entire world! If your puppy is interested in something and is distracted and not quite listening to you, try backing quickly away from him while you clap your hands and call to him. The movement will usually get him to happily run to you and then you again praise him lavishly for coming to you. "Is it bad for your puppy to imprint and bond with an older dog?" If you already have a dog and then get a new puppy and allow them to spend all their time together, the puppy will invariably bond to the other dog before bonding to you. Because of the greater time that the dogs spend together, that bond will often be stronger than the bond the puppy will make with you, and the pup will often look to the older dog for guidance before looking to you. If your older dog is a good roll model, it's ok to allow the pup to learn some of his lessons from the older dog. It makes your job easier to have that canine roll model to help teach your puppy the ropes. But to have a happy, well rounded relationship with the puppy, it's critical to separate them and spend time alone with each one, so that they each see you as the alpha. Having a puppy bond with the older dog first often makes it hard to separate the two. The older one will constantly look for his subordinate, and will be unhappy when you (the outsider, not a member of his little pack) decide to take the pup for a walk or a separate trip. It is often quite hard on the puppy as well. If he bonds to the older dog and then you decide to take him away for a trip, he will feel insecure and alone, because his leader, the older dog, isn't there to guide him. Therefore it is important to take the time to bond with, and work with each dog individually. - Debbie Knatz
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