Puppy training advice

[ShrekDawg]

This happens when you get a free dog or spend $100 on one.. when you’re spending upwards of $1000 on a dog or more, you’re pretty serious about owning one. Like I said, when I rehome my dogs, the last thing I worry about is whether or not the dog will be taken care of. My people come and visit their puppy regularly while they grow, and we pretty much stay in contact once puppy goes home. I see all the pups I have sold at LEAST twice a year. And that’s not a requirement (but I do love it) the people who buy these dogs are just so in love with them that they are the proudest of parents! Here’s a little girl who picked her puppy out when he was only 2 weeks old, dad paid the deposit (which is non refundable, if someone changed their mind, they forfeit their deposit) and they came to see him every single weekend until it was time for him to go home. About 2 weeks after they went home, dad sent me this pic of her and her pup at the vet. We talk to them pretty much weekly, they check in and so do we. Breeding isn’t always a sketchy transaction, when someone cares about their dogs and puts time and money into them, THATS BREEDING! these people selling muts (mixed breeds) from their backyard for $50 is NOT.

And that picture is adorable.

 

[reddogmaster2]

Hi! I’m a new BYC member but long time reader. We are getting a new puppy. I have never trained a puppy. I have always adopted older dogs. What books, videos or websites do you recommend for basic obedience training? I don’t have my chickens yet (need to build the house first ) but I want very well trained dog for when I do!

Finally! A thread where I have first hand expert experience and advice!

My training techniques are geared toward Herding Breeds like Border Collies, German Shepherds, and currently we own Australian Cattle Dogs.

I could write for hours but the 3 things I like to teach is;

Consistency.
The second thing is CONSISTENCY.
AND FINALLY, CONSISTENCY!

I kid you not, being consistent and repetitive is very important.

SIT means Sit. It does not mean, sit for a second until I see a bird and run away. SIT means Sit. There is no such thing as STAY. Sit means sit until released. And DOWN means down. Until released.

As far as calling your dog, pick one word. HERE or COME are good examples. Do not mix them up. Use one and stick with one.

Work on those commands first. And have fun with those commands. Dogs react to fun better than not having fun if that makes sense.

Tone of voice is important. High Pitched and fast voice cadence for praise. Low pitch and slow cadence for discipline.

Learn the HEEL command and do it right and the same way every time. Teach them leash ettiquette and as someone said, introduce them to other family members and pets early and often. Socialize them.

Choke collars work, so use one. No table scraps, no jumping on people EVER. Don't use the high pitch squeal voice when you come home, it only reinforced bad behavior. Also YOU are the master. The puppy NEVER gets above you. No laying on the floor and raising the puppy over your head. Dogs are below humans and shit like raising them above your head only confuses them. Never walk down stairs before the dog. Never let the dog walk up stairs before you.

YOU eat first, they eat only when you give them the command. And make sure they NEVER EVER EVER growl at you when you put your hand in their food bowl.

Good luck and please don't be stupid when training your dog, think before you train.

Did I mention CONSISTENCY?

 

[NightingaleJen]

Just have to say this is a wonderful thread, much good advice. It has been twelve years since we trained a pup, and we're hoping to have another soon, so this is a good refresher (not that I have not already been engaged in that!).

Does your veterinarian's office offer classes? Ours does, all the way up to Canine Good Citizen and basic agility (a tired dog is indeed a well-behaved dog). We plan to take advantage this time around merely for socialization, since we live in the middle of nowhere—Ben never went to class but was wonderfully well-behaved. Then again, I brook no foolishness. Well...disobedience, anyhow... People always asked which puppy class he'd gone to... ;D

@BigBlueHen53, *love* "At ease", that's excellent. When I was training Ben (he had "leave it" and "sit" down in 24 hours...not so much with "stay", since he Had To Be With His Human(s) At All Times, sigh...), I really tried to avoid commands that would lead to confusion and hated "okay", even though of course they do know when you are speaking to them. (Someone else mentioned "break", and that's good, too.)

It seems to me you are also correct about a) not sharing the dog's name and b) other people ordering *our* dog around. That drove me batty, particularly when Ben was still a pup. I really wish I could get my husband on board with the name one.

Our retired next-door neighbor was fabulous, though—he'd be working on his '30s Ford while I was training Ben, and would use the exact same methods I did when interacting with Ben! (He would then affectionately refer to Ben as a "bad dog"—which delighted Ben to no end. Dogs are probably better at picking up projected mood than words!) We did not mind him knowing Ben's name.

 

[NightingaleJen]

Finally! A thread where I have first hand expert experience and
I could write for hours but the 3 things I like to teach is;

Consistency.
The second thing is CONSISTENCY.
AND FINALLY, CONSISTENCY!

I kid you not, being consistent and repetitive is very important....

Did I mention CONSISTENCY?

Is there a way to upvote this a couple more times?

(We are collie people, ourselves. Herding dogs are the best in the universe!)

 

[reddogmaster2]

Our current Matriarch, Beasley. She is not the smartest dog, but she is the best behaved and most obedient dog we've ever owned. ACD's are bred to; Herd and Please their Masters.

Wonderful dogs. Note the white blaze down the center of her forehead. Its called a Bentley Mark and indicates that she may be a descendent of a famous ACD breeder Mr. Tom Bentley. Bentley's dog was simply called Bentley's dog and is widely credited for his outstanding characteristics that have been bred into the breed.

 

[reddogmaster2]

Millie was the absolute smartest and best herding dog. She was pretty old in this picture but she was waiting out some young adolescent sheep and giving them the Border Collie Eye!

All it took was one look from her and animals got in line, quickly! Her hips failed at about 12 or 13 years old but in her prime, she made a Trainer look like the best Trainer EVER. Instincts were everything with her. Funny thing, I don't think she ever LOVED her humans (us). Humans were just a means to end. Smartest dog ever!

If I were younger, Border Collie is the breed of choice! But not for an old ornery man who has no cattle, no sheep just chickens and mean ol Wife! ACD's are a better choice.

My point being, BREED CHOICE is important. Do not put a round peg in a square hole when it comes to choosing dogs.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I am going to be the odd one out here on one thing I keep hearing on this and other threads: "a tired dog is a good dog." Sorry, but, um ... phooey. To me, this sounds like saying that, first thing in the morning, early in the day, before a five-mile run, I should expect my dog to be a jerk and that I shouldn't expect obedience until I've worn him out with hours of running. Sorry, but I disagree. Exhaustion is not obedience; fatigue is not obedience! Obedience is obedience! I'm old and decrepit. I can't run my dog for hours. But I still expect my dog to Heel, Sit, Down, Stay, Come and not jump on me, regardless of time of day or how nutso he happens to feel. And that's what my dog gives me. And he's a hyper, formerly crazed, energetic 2-yo Sheltie who couldn't sit still for five minutes when we got him back in October. He was pacing, spinning, demanding to have a ball thrown for him. In short, a PITA we seriously considered re-homing and nearly gave up on. Obedience training made the difference. He is now a calm, disciplined, still energetic but controlled, communicative, bright, delightful companion the whole family enjoys. All day long.

 

[reddogmaster2]

I am going to be the odd one out here on one thing I keep hearing on this and other threads: "a tired dog is a good dog." Sorry, but, um ... phooey. To me, this sounds like saying that, first thing in the morning, early in the day, before a five-mile run, I should expect my dog to be a jerk and that I shouldn't expect obedience until I've worn him out with hours of running. Sorry, but I disagree. Exhaustion is not obedience; fatigue is not obedience! Obedience is obedience! I'm old and decrepit. I can't run my dog for hours. But I still expect my dog to Heel, Sit, Down, Stay, Come and not jump on me, regardless of time of day or how nutso he happens to feel. And that's what my dog gives me. And he's a hyper, formerly crazed, energetic 2-yo Sheltie who couldn't sit still for five minutes when we got him back in October. He was pacing, spinning, demanding to have a ball thrown for him. In short, a PITA we seriously considered re-homing and nearly gave up on. Obedience training made the difference. He is now a calm, disciplined, still energetic but controlled, communicative, bright, delightful companion the whole family enjoys. All day long.

Agree @BigBlueHen53 Nothing wrong with tiring a dog out but as we get older, it is more difficult to do.

There are other alternatives;

One thing that I suggest to all new puppy owners is practicing a drill called LONG DOWNS.

A LONG DOWN session is basically time to calm the puppy down and socialize with the puppy. One on One, Master and Student so to speak.

I usually do this at night before bed. Take the puppy and give it a couple of small treats and give the DOWN command. Sit over the puppy and stroke and pet the puppy, rub its ears, speak quietly in a nice tone, but keep the puppy down for an extended period with no distractions. Do not allow the puppy to get up, and continue to reinforce the DOWN command.

It is a calming exercise that builds trust and reinforces the DOWN command. Later, if the dog is stressed, the LONG DOWN is a good one to comfort and teach self discipline.

 

[NightingaleJen]

I am going to be the odd one out here on one thing I keep hearing on this and other threads: "a tired dog is a good dog." Sorry, but, um ... phooey. To me, this sounds like saying that, first thing in the morning, early in the day, before a five-mile run, I should expect my dog to be a jerk and that I shouldn't expect obedience until I've worn him out with hours of running. Sorry, but I disagree. Exhaustion is not obedience; fatigue is not obedience! Obedience is obedience! I'm old and decrepit. I can't run my dog for hours. But I still expect my dog to Heel, Sit, Down, Stay, Come and not jump on me, regardless of time of day or how nutso he happens to feel. And that's what my dog gives me. And he's a hyper, formerly crazed, energetic 2-yo Sheltie who couldn't sit still for five minutes when we got him back in October. He was pacing, spinning, demanding to have a ball thrown for him. In short, a PITA we seriously considered re-homing and nearly gave up on. Obedience training made the difference. He is now a calm, disciplined, still energetic but controlled, communicative, bright, delightful companion the whole family enjoys. All day long.

Oh this is true. I agree. I wonder—nobody (I think) means a completely worn out dog. But that energy a living animal has needs to go somewhere, and the all-important obedience training isn't really enough, even for a puppy.

We have always been big on making sure our dogs were regularly walked multiple times a day, and depending on weather, time with the ball or frisbee or whatever. But that is not par for the course at all. Far, far too many people take a dog that is never actually *exercised*—being put into the yard does *not* count—and then they can't figure out why the dog is bouncing all over, distracted and "not trainable". I see it constantly. "She won't take to potty training! I can't get him to sit! Why won't he listen?" "Do you go for walks? Throw the ball for him for ten or fifteen minutes?" "Well, no. But we let him out in the yard." Well, there is your problem.

Dogs should absolutely be obedient, but if they're full of pent-up energy, you are going to have a heck of a time training them. No doubt we can all agree on that. Six months after we brought Ben home, I was so sick that I'd have to lean on or sit beneath a tree on my neighbors' hell strip to rest for a few minutes during my walks with Ben. Thanks to a sudden health problem, I was utterly exhausted only five or six houses away (after having worked out every day for a decade). But gosh-darn it, we made it around the block if it took an hour. Some days, it did. Thank God we lived in a quiet neighborhood full of understanding people...!

Dogs also absolutely need structured exercise, every day. I think that is probably where the 'tired dog' is coming from—not exhausted dog (that won't help either, unless you want Funny Farm's Yellow Dog), but they need to move in a regular, structured fashion. Daily. Too many people don't understand the responsibility to do this...and little dogs need it, too.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I am going to be the odd one out here on one thing I keep hearing on this and other threads: "a tired dog is a good dog." Sorry, but, um ... phooey. To me, this sounds like saying that, first thing in the morning, early in the day, before a five-mile run, I should expect my dog to be a jerk and that I shouldn't expect obedience until I've worn him out with hours of running. Sorry, but I disagree. Exhaustion is not obedience; fatigue is not obedience! Obedience is obedience! I'm old and decrepit. I can't run my dog for hours. But I still expect my dog to Heel, Sit, Down, Stay, Come and not jump on me, regardless of time of day or how nutso he happens to feel. And that's what my dog gives me. And he's a hyper, formerly crazed, energetic 2-yo Sheltie who couldn't sit still for five minutes when we got him back in October. He was pacing, spinning, demanding to have a ball thrown for him. In short, a PITA we seriously considered re-homing and nearly gave up on. Obedience training made the difference. He is now a calm, disciplined, still energetic but controlled, communicative, bright, delightful companion the whole family enjoys. All day long.

I don’t think anyone was necessarily saying that you have to do all that stuff or that the dog will be bad if you don’t or whatever but just that most dogs do at least need some form of an outlet. A lot of people think that they can just let the dog rot all day or whatever and while yes, they can and should, be trained and still expected to listen, it’s definitely a lot easier if they’ve gotten all their beans out so to speak. And also not really fair to them to keep them cooped up all the time. Once they’re trained and know the commands, yes, they should listen all the time, but when they’re still learning, it can be very hard to focus when they’re bouncing off the walls.

Agree @BigBlueHen53 Nothing wrong with tiring a dog out but as we get older, it is more difficult to do.

There are other alternatives;

One thing that I suggest to all new puppy owners is practicing a drill called LONG DOWNS.

A LONG DOWN session is basically time to calm the puppy down and socialize with the puppy. One on One, Master and Student so to speak.

I usually do this at night before bed. Take the puppy and give it a couple of small treats and give the DOWN command. Sit over the puppy and stroke and pet the puppy, rub its ears, speak quietly in a nice tone, but keep the puppy down for an extended period with no distractions. Do not allow the puppy to get up, and continue to reinforce the DOWN command.

It is a calming exercise that builds trust and reinforces the DOWN command. Later, if the dog is stressed, the LONG DOWN is a good one to comfort and teach self discipline.

This sounds somewhat similar perhaps? I’ve never had a chance to try it yet but it sounds very useful so I definitely will be with future dogs haha

http://sanityshome.blogspot.com/2010/01/sit-on-dog-aka-long-down.html?m=1

https://caninelifeskills.com/sit-on-the-dog-exercise/