Essay 2: Short IllustrationThe beautiful thing about raising a puppy from a young age is the ability to raise them precisely how you desire. Think about the traits you prefer in a dog. Do you like over-the-top cuddles? Would you rather have a dog that sleeps best in their crate? Those are just a couple of traits that you can raise your pup to have, providing you start from the moment you get them in that rambunctious puppy phase. Bear in mind that raising is different than training, though the two go together. Training is teaching your canine companion right from wrong and tricks. Raising your dog is the molding of their personalities and behaviors into what you deem as acceptable. My expertise in this stems from growing up in a dog-obsessed family, leading to me owning and raising my dog in my adult years.It would be best to be mindful of several vital points when raising a puppy: consistency, redirection, and positive reinforcement. Dogs thrive on structure and consistency. It is imperativeto maintain a set routine, especially when young, to gain the most success from your training andraising process. Structure sets their minds and bodies up to know what to expect and when to expect it. From food and bathroom schedules to sleep training and exercise, the structure is what makes your dog feel comfortable. A consistent, structured routine will teach a young pup that all his needs will be adequately met. You also must understand that as your puppy grows and changes, your routine will grow and change with him. My puppy, Hulk, at nine weeks old, needed to go outside to use the bathroom every two to three hours throughout the night due to hisinability to hold his bladder. By the time he was five months old, however, he could make it through the whole night with no accidents. His body became accustomed to a twenty-four-hourset schedule of bathroom breaks that gradually became more spaced out as he aged until we eventually hit the point of sleeping through the night and being officially potty trained.Redirection is another immensely important measure in raising a puppy. This point is all about catching a behavior, hopefully right before it is about to happen, you deem as unacceptableand redirecting your puppy to acceptable behavior. If you have a chewing puppy on the leg of your coffee table like my pup frequently did in his younger years, calmly say “no” or whistle to bring his focus to you, and give him one of his favorite squeaky toys as an alternative to the furniture. This will redirect his mind from chewing the table to chewing the toy. With this, you are teaching your dog what is appropriate to chew and what is not. It is important to note that when your puppy responds correctly to the redirection, you must positively reinforce him for showing the proper behavior. This is much like what we do with children. When kids play with something they shouldn’t be playing with them, we redirect them to a more appropriate toy. Redirection is a necessary tool in raising and training your pup to exhibit appropriate behaviors.Positive reinforcement is likely the most crucial tool of all and often goes hand in hand with redirection. Dogs cannot necessarily understand all the words that we say, but they can interpret our voice’s tones and specific commands taught to them. When he models good behavior, praising your pup lets your puppy know that you are happy with him and his action. People-pleasing pups will strive to repeat those behaviors to get that same praise again. Positive reinforcement could be any number of things. Something as simple as a good belly rub, verbal confirmation that he was a good boy, or giving him the reward of a small treat. When I was raising Hulk, I desperately wanted him to be a cuddle-loving pup. Every time he would come up to me and snuggle on his account, I would positively reinforce that behavior with lots of love andcommentary of him being a sweet boy. My now ninety-pound, full-grown dog still snuggles upto me in the same way he did as a baby, all thanks to raising him with loads of positive reinforcement, consistency, and