Puppy training update. Whats worked, what hasn't

[96trigger]

Hi, just thought I'd update, the last time I was on here I was getting pretty frustrated with my pup. She wasn't listening and my wife and I were doing battle over discipline. Since then, things have gotten better, the dog is now rapidly responding to training. I think that she has just gotten old enough to really take it all in like a sponge. It seems that there are alot of people on here with little pups at home and I'd like to give some pointers on what has worked and what hasn't

What's worked

Reading a good training book. It will help immensly. Anything by Wolters or Lamb Free. When potty training we kept taking her outside to do her business and praising her when she did, scolding her for accidents. She has since been trained. We bought the crate for large dogs and she is still only 25 pounts. I used a blue plastic ten gallon tub to section off 1/2 of the crate. She seldom has accidents in the crate anymore. When she cried in the crate, we just left her, she eventually quit, I wouldn't let my wife go either, it was hard, but is now well worth it. When it comes to training her for her commands, we started with sit and come, at 3 months she will sit for over a minute until we release her. When giving her treats I like using the jerky strips because I can brake off small pieces to give her. When she does good things. From sit and stay we started working her on retrieving things. The dummies are too big so I drilled a hole in a small tennis ball and put a knotted rope through it so she could bring it back to me. That worked very well. I also take her to the country on the weekend and when have started firing a 22 pistol when we are out there. The first time I fired it I made sure that I was petting her and praising her, she was scared but got over it quickly and now it doesn't effect her at all.

What hasn't

The biggest problem that I have had has been the fact that my wife and I weren't always on the same page. She read one book and I read another. This is not recommended. Her book never talked about discipline, it was strictly a reward basis. We also tried to train her really early, the pup wasn't ready and it got frustrating. Lately she has really taken off, had I just waited and let her be a puppy, I would have been better off. Aside from that, it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

[LABS4ME]

Thanks for sharing your update. It sounds as if you are well on your way to having a rewarding hunting partner.

As you stated it is very important for each person who will work/handle the dog to use the same commands and training disiplines, to reduce confusion with the dog. Two different styles will only lengthen the process and reduce the guarantee of the outcome. As you proceed into the re-inforcement phase of the work, greatly reduce the treats (maybe one at the end of a good session) so they understand they are doing the command for you, not their belly.

Good Luck!

Ken

[gman2002]

im glad everything is going better, your right sometimes u need to realize that they are a little to young and need to be a puppy for awhile until they can grasp what it is u are trying to teach them. the one thing that i took notice to though was when u said when u first fired the 22 u were making sure u were petting her! i probably would have waited to fire it when she was off playing somewhere, then gradually fire it closer to her . this process could take weeks. thats a loud noise and a gun shy dog is something u dont want to deal with! good luck

[junior9]

So at what age did she really start learning and listening.

I have a 9 week old German Shorthair, and am in the same boat....getting really frustrated. Sometimes he listens great to sit and come, but other times he doesn't even respond to his name. Although house training has been remakably easy...he caught on to that really well....we also used a crate to help train.

Thanks,

Dave

[Eric Wettschreck]

Like I said in a different post, I'm no expert. My experience has taught me you shouldn't start to expect real results until the 6-8 month old time frame. Sometimes earlier, sometimes later.

I've also been told by a trainer (a really really good one) that real obidience training shouldn't even start until they are 6 months old. You can lay the foundation at an earlier age, but don't expect much. This trainer friend of mine believes that you should let a puppy be a puppy. In the first 6 months the only real result from training should be don't [PoorWordUsage] in the house and no barking. I agree, let him be a puppy, within boundries of course.

[LABS4ME]

Junior.... 9 weeks? and your frustrated? You gotta start off by setting some realistic goals! Your dogs capacity for learning hasn't even finished forming. Your dog at 9 weeks, would be like training a 1 year old child to do things expected of a kindergartner. There are somethings you can work on, address, and expose... but the real training is still weeks away. By 4 months they should have a good grasp on Sit, stay, here, heel, and after that begin to re-inforce and move into field training. You may want to read some books to begin to give you guidelines on where your dog should be in development at certain ages. Take it easy on them pups, any negative training episodes can have lasting results on their performance throughout their lives. The 1st year of training is a BIG committment of the handler, lots of repitition, introduction, re-inforcement... but it is not quick, nor is it always smooth. Go slow, set a game plan and stick to it and you will be rewarded.

Good Luck!

Ken

[96trigger]

9 weeks is really early. I was the same way though, I had just baught the puppy at 8 weeks and couldn't wait to start training her. I was like a kid putting together a new toy. I think that if I were to do it all over again, I would keep working the sit command. But I didn't notice her really "getting it" until almost 11 weeks. I know that its hard to wait but you will be extremely surprised how fast they pick up on things when they are ready.

As for shooting the 22 while petting her, we had been introducing her to loud noises long before the 22. We would bang pots and pans together intentionally while she ate and slam doors in the house. Another thing that greatly helped, and don't laugh, but I would watch movies with her using surround sound. At first I started at a lower volume and eventually increased it to where the shooting on the TV sounded similar in volume to a real gun. After awhile, she was sleeping through movies like Saving Private Ryan and Platoon. I really think that this helped her overcome her fear of loud noises and its something that you can do at home to train them for the gun season.

[junior9]

I completly understand that 9 weeks is very young and you nailed it on the head when you said it is like a kid gettting a new toy...I am very ancy to train him and watch him develop...Frustated was a bad word for me to use...I would say confused is a better word.

What I get "Confused" about...is the entire "knowing his name thing"....is there a good way to know if he knows it and is just ignoring me or if he just doesn't get it yet.

If he just doesn't get it yet, then what are some good ways to get him to understand and respond to his name more....I have read the eye contact is very important between a trainer and a puppy, but I am having a tough time establishing that with me....any advice.

Another thing that worries me...is taking him for a walk...should I let him pretty much just go at this age and be a puppy or should I try and keep him close to me....he is a strong puppy and will pull you along...I am glad he is eager to go, but worried that he will develope bad habits....I want my family to eventually take him for walks, not get taken for a walk by him.

Thanks,

Dave

[duckbuster]

Well at 9 weeks old I would say no. I'm going to guess you have not had him longer than 2-21/2 weeks. I know it is tough but you have to be patient. It will come in time but you know there will be times when the dog is 3 yrs old and you will wonder if he knows his name.

Enjoy that little ball of fur and remember, watch those razor's in his mouth they call TEETH!!!

[Ray Esboldt]

My lab Diamond is now 5.5 months. She does some things that amaze me and then brings me to near tears 5 minutes later. I've made some mistakes worked through them and will probably make some more. Here's a list of my mistakes.

1) I am not a patient person. I need to quit or reduce the training to simple commands when things get rough. Too many times I've tried to "coach" her through things and that just doesn't work. Best thing is to put her on a cord, do 5 sit, stay, comes, and call it a session.

2) I used too large of fetching items initially. She couldn't pick them up properly, which led to quite a bit of rough play with a dummy. She still is rough. However, we are begining to work through that. If she doesn't bring it on a line, we put the dummy down, work on sit-stay-come-heel with firm commands and then gradually work it to a normal tone of voice with praise. The next couple retrieves are perfect.

3) I needed to set my wife's expectations better. She didn't understand that there was only one right way for the dog to do things. That's been corrected, but I still wonder what goes on during the day sometimes.

4) She does not greet people very well. She doesn't jump on them, but is rather insisting on being petted immediately. That still needs work. Suggestions are welcome.

OK. More things have went right than wrong. Here's some things that have really helped training.

1) We were having a problem with actually picking up the dummy after bolting after it. A buddy brought over his older dog and I let that dog retrieve her dummies for almost an hour while she watched. This is no longer a problem.

2) A training assistant is a big bonus. My 8 year old daughter is mine. She can stand 300 yards away and throw dummies, and she's enough of a distraction to the dog that I can make everything about those sessions a learning opportunity. Nothing wrong with putting the dog to the test on the commands they know well.

3) The heel command (sit at heel) might be the best time investment I have made. The dog is much easier to control and direct when she's at your feet.

4) Training her in new and exciting places has also been a great time investment. She doesn't listen as well with all the distractions, but she gets a little better all the time.

Diamond is on her way. One thing I've been really impressed with is her natural instincts. I had her out with another dog a couple weeks ago, they screwed around and wrestled and really didn't listen very well. Unknown to them I stashed some pheasants wings in the field we were in. Diamond picked up scent and went from puppy to hunting dog in a second. She no longer cared where the other dog was and listened to my commands.

Thanks to everyone's advice here at FM. I read this forum more than any of the others because of the top notch advice. Special thanks for to Labs4Me for guiding me to Diamond. And, extra special thanks to Bryce for putting Diamond in our family. Heads up to all of you, next time one of Bryce's dogs has a litter hit the ground, get in on it if you're in the market.

[Eric Wettschreck]

4) She does not greet people very well. She doesn't jump on them, but is rather insisting on being petted immediately. That still needs work. Suggestions are welcome.

Ray, here's what I did.....This is gonna sound funny but it worked. Jeffrey, my GSP, is trained to sit/stay when the doorbell rings. It's funny as heck, the doorbell rings and Jeffrey goes into the kitchen and just plops his butt down until myself, wife, or kids let him up. I was having the same problem when people came over. He'd pretty much attack for a scratch and people couldn't even get in the door. Now that problem is over.

If I could just get him to stop drooling all over everything I'd be happy.

[Ray Esboldt]

Boilerguy,

That's similar to what we're striving for. I figure I'll have a neighbor come over and ring the door bell a few times and enter for a couple days. That might be a start. But, like I said, sometimes I wonder what the rules are here during the day.