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The new gold standard in raising puppies for the enlightened dog owner: a unique whole-dog approach combining health, training, and behavior. If you feel bombarded with conflicting advice about what to feed your new puppy or uncomfortable rapping her under the chin, if the idea of a choke collar makes you wince even though you've heard it's the right way to go, here at last is advice you can trust -- and embrace. The faculty of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, one of the most prestigious and pioneering veterinary schools in the world, now shares its accumulated knowledge and experience in this groundbreaking whole-dog approach to raising the healthiest, happiest, most well-behaved puppy possible. The authors of Puppy's First Steps are singularly qualified to look at a puppy from all angles, physical, emotional, and behavioral. In contrast to a single breeder's or trainer's theory about what is effective most of the time, the recommendations in this book are scientifically proven to work. This integrative body-and-mind approach stands out from the one-size-fits-all mentality that pervades the dog-training world. And the advice here delivers not just during the puppy's first year -- the most essential twelve months of a dog's development -- but throughout the dog's life, ensuring a strong, happy bond between you and your new best friend for years and years to come. Puppy's First Steps features: How to test a puppy's temperament before you decide which one to take home. The most nutritious, safest food for your puppy. To crate or not to crate?. Socializing your puppy with other people and dogs. Easy-to-implement training methods based on reward, not punishment. Housetraining in less than a week. Overcoming puppy's fears and phobias. Keeping your puppy happy while you're at work. What to do in a medical emergency. You'll want to get your puppy off on the right foot, and now the best advice is in your hands. Comprehensive yet accessible, sensitive, and, above all, practical, Puppy's First Steps is the only book a puppy owner will need.