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Training Tips:
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TEN TIPS for TRAINING Your Puppy:
ONE: Your dog is a dog; not a person in a fuzzy dog suit. Even though he is a member of your family he will act like a dog.
TWO: Bad behavior isn’t personally directed at you so don’t take it personally. Treat bad behavior as a mistake and try to prevent it from happening again.
THREE: Limit your dog’s freedom in the house. He should not have free run of the house until he’s two to three years of age – no younger! Until then he’s not mentally mature enough to handle the responsibility.
FOUR: Limit your dog’s freedom off leash outside of a fenced yard for the same reason.
FIVE: Prevent problems from happening instead of trying to correct bad behavior. Bad behaviors can be self rewarding. Plus, corrections after the
fact don’t work.
SIX: Teach your dog that ‘good’ is a magic word. Use it whenever your dog does something right, smile as you say it, and follow it with praise, petting or a treat.
SEVEN: Timing is very important. Praise your dog the instant he does something right and interrupt him the moment he makes a mistake.
EIGHT: Decide on rules for the house, the yard and out in public and enforce them consistently. Make sure everyone else in the house does so, too.
NINE: Make sure your dog gets plenty of exercise every day. A walk is not enough exercise for a young, healthy dog. A run, a jog, a vigorous game of Frisbee is better. A tired dog is a happy dog!
TEN: Remember, you are taking the place of your dog’s parents so act like it. You are his leader, not his best buddy! Your dog is a dog; not a person in a fuzzy dog suit. Even though he is a member of your family he will act like a dog.
Article: Training 9 weeks to 16 weeks
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POTTY TRAINING:
WE have started crate training and potty training the puppies. In order to continue on and prevent relapses, you must be CONSISTENT. Do not SCOLD your puppy for peeing/pooping in the house. This will just build a fear in them or stress them and they will hide from you to do it next time. Do not take the puppy out every hour or they will not build the muscles to hold it a bit longer but try to get them out before they need to go (like after they play hard or just wake up). Clean the accident thoroughly so they can't smell it and go there again. Do not give the puppy too much freedom in house. If you can't watch the puppy, put it in a crate, outside or in a pen. You can also attach a leash to them and you so the puppy doesn't wander off. Too much freedom too soon could set them back weeks or months. Do not confine your puppy so far away from family that noone hears it ask to go outside. Be sure to watch for signs, they will be there, you need to watch! USE A CRATE or PEN. Confining to it's own living space is the only way to truly succeed at potty training! Do all this consistently for 1 month and straight and your puppy should be pretty reliable to hold it!
RECALLS: Recalls are highly important, it can save your puppies life!
A recall for a puppy is quite simple - BUT a recall with distractions could prove to be more difficult. Use classical conditioning to get your puppy to have a solid recall. This is where the puppy learns to make an association between two stimuli. Ivan Pavlov illustrated classical conditioning through his experiments - when food was presented to dog it naturally salivated. After repeating the sound of a bell with food the dog salivated just by hearing the bell even when food was absent. The bell meant nothing to the dog in the beginning.
Typical recalls people use are 'come' or 'here' a whistle or blinking light (in the case of a blind dog). What you do after the recall word/sound will dictate what your dog's response will be. Say the word/sound then treat when the dog comes. No other behavior is necessary, just coming. The puppy learns to expect something good when it comes. Don't just call the puppy when it 'expects' you to - call when it's looking away, playing with a toy, etc. Also do not call the puppy to come to do something it won't like - such as brushing, checking teeth, putting in the crate, give it a vaccination, coming in the house if it wants to be outside, etc. GO pick up your puppy if you are wanting to do any of those things.
Puppies/dogs are smart, they know when you are being predictable - if you go for a walk off leash and call the dog to come then put it in the crate to go home (and it doesn't want to, of course) it may come the first few times but after a few times it's going to know that 'game' and not come. In order to prevent these things from happening you need to be UNPREDICTABLE! Yes, unpredictable! So before you go to work, let your puppy play in the yard, call him to come, give treat then let him go back out to play. One day do this 1ce, another 2ce, another 3 or 4 times (take the time to do it, it will be worth it). Keep that puppy guessing! On your walk - have the puppy come like you are going to leave, treat it, DON'T leave, let it go play again. When you decide to leash him to go home, walk a ways away from the area you leashed him last time, call, treat, leash and walk home!
Crate Training Info:
We highly recommend crate training for going to bed and potty training. We have them well started before they leave here. Many pups will sleep 6 hrs before they leave here and they all eat their meals in a crate. You may need to place the crate in your room close to you for a few days. As they get used to that, move the crate further from you each night. Be consistent - it will pay off!
Until the puppies know where we want them to go potty we go out with them. Use a word like 'go' or 'potty'. When they go have a celebration - clap your hands and say "good potty". If you see the puppy circle or whine, get him out before he has an accident. IF the puppy has an accident, do NOT punish him, he will just start hiding to have his 'accident' (it's really not an accident - they have to go when they have to go, it's up to us to watch for the signs and/or take them out plenty of times to give them a chance to go). Plan to get up with the puppy until about 12-14 weeks old. If you wake up, take the pup out potty then put it back in the crate. If the pup wakes up he may need to go potty or you may just keep quiet for a few minutes and see if it goes back to sleep. Be sure to withhold food 2 hrs before bedtime. If you can get the puppy out BEFORE he cries it's best as he won't think the crying is what made you let him out (like praise). If he needs to go out in the night be sure to go with him outside, go potty, then put right back in the crate. Do not play or get too exciting at this time. Never put your pup in a dirty crate.
We give the pup a treat when they go in the crate so they begin to enjoy it and know there's a reward for going in. Puppies sleep a lot! Be sure the puppy gets plenty of quiet rest during the day. You will notice eventually the puppy may go in to the crate with the door open on his own.
Submissive peeing can also happen: When a puppy is extremely happy, excited or frightened, he may pee. This is INVOLUNTARY, do not punish the puppy. That will make it worse. Ignore it, usually they outgrow these emotional reactions.
Make sure everyone in the household is 'on the same page' when it comes to potty and crate training. Consistency is highly important for the puppy
Basic Training:
When they start to chew on something he shouldn't, say 'No', take him away from it and what he's doing and give him something to chew on. Rawhides and cowears are fine but not too many as he could become constipated, plush toys or ties on a rope are fine if supervised. Rotate toys so he doesn't become bored. If you want him to play frisbee later, feed him in one now, he will get used to the smell, taste and texture. Start with rolling it on the ground, then tossing low right to him, then you can graduate in to tossing further away and in a location they have to look for it to go. You want him to succeed at whatever he does, don't set him up for failure.
Don't break your puppy's spirit: Control the environment and reward positive actions and confidence. Do not reward unwanted behaviors. Have them work for their treats and love - a sit or down instead of jumping up and such.
Do not wait for them to 'settle in' before training. The puppy will form new habits right aware, whether you are aware of it or not. The humans in the household are also developing habits. Be sure to develop good habits for both humans and puppy right away. Set clear rules and guidelines, communicate them by rewarding those desired behaviors exactly when/as they occur. Puppies will be more aware of your body language than human words.
Online Training:
www.ultimatepuppy.com Be sure to click on the box on the right side "Sign Up for Puppy Bytes" to receive weekly emails.
Go to Youtube and search for Zak George videos - short, positive training and fun!
www.avidog.com Search around for training tips
Baxter and Bella - training tips for life!
Susan Garrett
WHY SHOULD YOU TRAIN YOUR PUPPY? BECAUSE soon it will be an adolescent/ a teenager...! This article will help you know what to expect!
What Happens When Dogs Hit Adolescence? - Dog Discoveries
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