Basic training

[fergmatt]

Hello all,

 

I have a good idea the answer to my question but I figured I would through it out there to get everyones response. What basic training does everyone suggest for an 8 week old BC puppy. We have a good handle on the potty training as we watch Jax like hawks and he rarely has mistakes. What else?

 

Thanks! Matt

[Lizmo]

First thing I would do, besides name, is "here".

 

Good luck with the new pup

[bsms99]

Sit seems very easy. My main emphasis at that age is building confidence in me, so I don't worry too much. Potty-training, here & sit pretty much suffice.

[Sue R]

A puppy of eight weeks old is like a sponge - ready to soak up lessons of all sorts. Learning his name and that to come to you is a pleasure and an obligation are primary lessons. Learning to sit and lie down, along with staying put, are lessons that can be learned over time (the sit is especially easy to teach a pup).

 

One other lesson that I find is very easy to teach a little pup that is valuable throughout life is "leave it". Sit in a chair in the kitchen (or anywhere else with a suitable hard floor). Toss a piece of kibble or some other desireable (but not too good) treat on the floor. When the pup approaches it to get it, quietly put your foot over it. The pup will tend to try and figure out where it went and then will usually look up at your face. That is the "magic moment" to say "YES" (or whatever reward word, or click the clicker) and give the pup a treat, preferably an even better tidbit.

 

I was amazed at how quickly a pup could learn this lesson, which comes in very handy when he wants to pick up something that you don't want him to eat or play with. It's also a necessity should you ever want to train him to be a therapy dog and visit nursing homes and such.

 

Do remember that you are always training, whether you realize it or not. For that reason, always make sure that you are teaching desireable behaviors, and not things that you will regret.

 

Very best wishes!

[hsnrs]

We try to get the pups used to walking on a leash. Also a sit and lie down. Just to get them used to it. Also taking them in the noisy diesel truck was fun. One red merle pup took to it real easy. He loved to ride in the truck and wasn't scared at all. The leash thing was really easy too. These were Aussies and fun to train. Also turned them on their backs in my arms and got them to settle down and relax. My friend who raises GSDs for service dogs told me to do this. A real eye opener to see how each pup reacted to it. You are right about the sponge thing. They loved to follow us around, see the sheep, chickens and follow the older dogs. One of my Aussies just loves puppies and they took to her very easily. N

[Sue R]

Those are some very good suggestions, Narita.

 

At puppy class, we always do what is called "gentling". Although they don't tend to hold the pups upside down, I do kneel on the floor with the pup sitting between my knees and facing away from me, with my left hand on the pup's chest for gentle restraint and support, and touch and handle the pup everywhere - ears, face, lips, mouth, neck, body, legs, paws.

 

This is also a good position for administering meds, and we prepare the pup for that by using TicTacs as fake "pills" and a smallish syringe with room-temp water in it for liquid "meds". This allows a pup to be calm and comfortable about medication. There is nothing worse than a dog that is sick or in pain, and fearful about medicating. I would wait until the pup was a bit older for doing these exercises, maybe three or four months.

 

Giving a pup a good foundation will be more than worthwhile in terms of behavior for years to come. Best wishes!

[SoloRiver]

Things Jett learned early included sit, down, here (VERY important), her name, "touch" (touch nose to my hand, very useful for directing puppy and getting her to come directly to your hands if necessary), "leave it," and "go kennel."

 

Other than that, I didn't put many behaviors on her and let her be a puppy.

 

I think way too many well-meaning people put too much pressure on puppies early and turn them into little clicker robots that are incapable of behaving spontaneously. To me, there is nothing sadder than a young, vibrant dog who just sits there and throws learned behaviors at you all the time instead of acting like, well, a dog. But I guess some people want that. If that's what you want, it's easy enough to do with a Border Collie.

[sweet_ceana]

*****Whatever you do, don't chase your puppy EVER. Run away and have your puppy chase you***** We made this mistake with Ceana and I promise you it is a concept that is incredibly hard to un-do. I wish I could go back in time and smack us for playing "I'm going to get you!"

[sluj]

This is also a good position for administering meds, and we prepare the pup for that by using TicTacs as fake "pills"

 

I don't know about TicTacs, but many candies contain xylitol. From the ASPCA poison control site:

 

Xylitol

 

Xylitol is used as a sweetener in many products, including gum, candy, baked goods and toothpaste. It can cause insulin release in most species, which can lead to liver failure. The increase in insulin leads to hypoglycemia (lowered sugar levels). Initial signs of toxicosis include vomiting, lethargy and loss of coordination. Signs can progress to recumbancy and seizures. Elevated liver enzymes and liver failure can be seen within a few days.

 

So please do check the packaging before giving your dog candy.

[Sue R]

Very wise advice. I believe that TicTacs are sweetened with sugar but you should always check labels before giving anything to your pup. As you pointed out, many mints and small candies do have artificial sweeteners and can be toxic to dogs and pups.

[Ooky]

I liked to teach Odin in games when we first got him (older than your pup, 10.5 weeks). One that is pretty well known was called "airplane" in my puppy class. You know when you feed a toddler and you zoom the food around like a plane that had to land in their mouth? For the puppy, take a treat, show it to him so he knows you have it, and then do "the plane" from way up above his head. However, he does not get the treat until he sits quietly. Don't tell him to sit, just keep airplane-ing out of his reach and eventually he will. To help, you can move the treat directly above his head so he has to look up. This will pretty naturally encourage a sit. Then treat. I used a clicker with this sometimes but I wouldn't think you'd have to. You can work your way up to longer and longer times with more erratic "flying" the more you play, so he has to sit for distractions. They said it teaches them patience and calmness is a good thing, and I guess would also be encouraging spontaneous expressions of good behavior. But mainly, we liked playing it!

 

Have fun, post cute puppy pictures--

[BNM1980]

*****Whatever you do, don't chase your puppy EVER. Run away and have your puppy chase you***** We made this mistake with Ceana and I promise you it is a concept that is incredibly hard to un-do. I wish I could go back in time and smack us for playing "I'm going to get you!"

 

I am not disagreeing with you, sweet_ceana, but I would like to share the following experience.

 

I had a major problem with my puppy Blake running away from me when let off-lead. Once I had to chase him for almost an hour. My solution, endorsed by a trainer whose opinion I first sought, was to teach Blake to run away from me on command, and still to come when called.

 

We usually spend about 2 hours a day at the park, and for most of this time I am chasing him! He tears round and round and all I have to do is pace towards him saying, "Run, run", or run in the opposite direction to get him to chase me. However, every minute or so, I'll do a recall—careful to change my tone of voice and posture—and reward him when he comes to me. For Blake, at least, this has worked like a charm. His recall has improved and I have not had to chase him involuntarily once since. He becomes so engrossed in the game, that he even (to my amazement) now totally ignores other people, kids, and joggers during it. During the game he also does all the border collie tricks of crouching, tucking in the tail, and giving "the eye". It's almost like "playing herding", where we both take turns at being the sheep!

 

Chasing my dog is fun for both of us and a great and fairly easy way of tiring him out. Blake has learned when it's okay, and has the game as an outlet. It's almost like he gets running away from me out of his system, even becomes bored with it sometimes, and is much more biddable as a result.

 

It may be that others will disagree. I'd be interested to hear their views. I am merely following the advice of the trainer I spoke to who said, "You can play any game with a dog, so long as your dog understands who is in charge."

[AllieMackie]

*****Whatever you do, don't chase your puppy EVER. Run away and have your puppy chase you***** We made this mistake with Ceana and I promise you it is a concept that is incredibly hard to un-do. I wish I could go back in time and smack us for playing "I'm going to get you!"

 

I totally hear you on that. Sometimes Finnegan gets chased, but more often, I run away from him and allow him to chase me, which he LOVES. When it's a particularily long run to get to me, I'll say "Finn here!" and reward him with a treat. He's slowly grasping that recalls = good. When he's out back eliminating or exploring, a "Finn here!" generally gets him running back to the door unless particularily distracted. Progress!

[Root Beer]

I had a major problem with my puppy Blake running away from me when let off-lead. Once I had to chase him for almost an hour. My solution, endorsed by a trainer whose opinion I first sought, was to teach Blake to run away from me on command, and still to come when called.

 

We usually spend about 2 hours a day at the park, and for most of this time I am chasing him! He tears round and round and all I have to do is pace towards him saying, "Run, run", or run in the opposite direction to get him to chase me. However, every minute or so, I'll do a recall—careful to change my tone of voice and posture—and reward him when he comes to me. For Blake, at least, this has worked like a charm. His recall has improved and I have not had to chase him involuntarily once since. He becomes so engrossed in the game, that he even (to my amazement) now totally ignores other people, kids, and joggers during it.

 

. . . .

 

Chasing my dog is fun for both of us and a great and fairly easy way of tiring him out. Blake has learned when it's okay, and has the game as an outlet. It's almost like he gets running away from me out of his system, even becomes bored with it sometimes, and is much more biddable as a result.

 

It may be that others will disagree. I'd be interested to hear their views. I am merely following the advice of the trainer I spoke to who said, "You can play any game with a dog, so long as your dog understands who is in charge."

 

I much prefer this approach to "never chase".

 

In addition to this providing a way to improve a recall, this gives you an extremely powerful reward that you can use with your dog any time and any place.

 

It's the same with the "airplane" thing that was suggested in another post. I wouldn't stop with teaching the eye contact. I would teach the dog to look at my hand on cue and look at my eyes on cue. If the dog learns to look away and give eye contact attention on cue like that, it will translate nicely into situations where the dog is distracted and you need to ask for eye contact. Default attention has it's place, but you won't always get it.

[pammyd]

Lots of good advice

Really depends how you want to train

I introduced the clicker right at the start (not for a clicker robot just so he knew it)

 

Socialisation is of course the most important

 

and with the rest of it just remember treat em the same as what you want them to do when they are big

If you dont want them to jump up - dont teach it (or teach a command for jump up and another for not too)

if you dont want them begging for food dont give into the puppy begging

If you dont want them on the sofa dont let them on now - or if you want them on sometimes teach a 'on' and 'off'

 

and make sure everone is doing the same thing, they are so smart they are learning all the time, whether you ment them to or not

[BorderCollieSam]

My puppy is 9 weeks old and i train him 4 times a day for around 5 minutes each time.

 

He is allready doing sit, down, stay (in each position for a count of 10), come here, leave.

 

However, the potty training hasn't really got much better since when we first got him!

[diane allen]

Couple o' thoughts here....no bad advice given so far either!

 

1) Training a very young dog is an absolute blast - they "get it" and everything is wonderful! However, beware the teenage months (for mine, it was about 8-12 months of age) - they seem to forget everything they've learned! So, I just tried to prevent the possibility that he'd not do what was asked (e.g., mostly "come" - now he's great at it, no matter the distraction; but I didn't give him those teenage months to learn that "oh, she doesn't really mean it" or "I'll be there in a minute, I'm busy."

 

2) Highly recommend the book "Building Blocks for Performance: Give your puppy a head start for competition" by Bobbie Anderson. Whether you will do any kind of performance with your pup is irrelevant - all the skills taught are great for every day living. If you'll do any kind of performance, you'll be that much farther ahead.

 

Have fun!

diane