New pup Training questions and the 1st year expectations.

[Buba27]

I have a fantastic new Blue Merle tri that i brought home at 9 wks from a reputable breeder that I have been clicker training daily since day 1.

He is now 4 months old.

I guess my question is at what age does he start acting like a dog and should serious training start.

 

My puppy is doing well but is easily distracted as expected. If a butterfly goes by he is like forget about training.

Also somedays he is good and some he could care less. He may and may not sit depending on his mood. Come in from out side only works when I blast off fireworks and hang a roast around my neck while standing on my head.

On good days I can get him to : sit, down, crawl, spin, touch, fetch, wave and a few others. Nothing from distance or with any stay ower yet.

He is very active and a high drive, just not to focused at 4 months.

This is my first BC and i'm just looking for some general info as all dogs are different even in the same breed.

I want him to be a frisbee dog as well. He catches 6 foot tosses of the soft frisbees in house and brings them back.

At what age should i move to hard disks and longer tosses, out doors? i have read not to start to early on this.

Thanks for any advice or info.

[Brad]

My boy is almost 2 yo now, and the butterflies still throw him off At 4 months, I wouldn't expect a great deal of concentration, there are a lot of cool things to see and chase.

Sounds like one of the important tricks to work on is recall. Start in the house, work out to the yard. If you call him from the yard and he doesn't immediately come running, go get him, or at least make the movement to go get him until he shows that he's coming.

Serious training can start at a young age, he doesn't need to be a real dog. Serious should always be short fun sessions, I train for 2 or 3 minutes at a time, with a play break in between sessions. Keep it fun.

As for discs, make sure he doesn't do any jumping until at least a year old. For fetching, roll the frisbee across the ground. Don't be in a rush for any of it, it all comes way too fast.

[Guest echoica]

Like Brad said above...short sessions is key. Daily. If your pup is really excited, try doing training when the dog is tired (before bed and after a good walk) and always be sure to start any training where there are minimal distractions first. You can move on to distractions when things become a little more solid. The most important commands you want to teach right away are: Come, Stay, Sit, Down, Leave It, Drop It (these sort of commands can save your dog's life in the wrong situations!). You'll also want to practice "Nothing in life is free" principles as well: The dog should have to work for food, toys and affection. For example, at meal times...work on sit/stay and release with an 'ok'. When playing with toys practice leave it, drop it and take it. Another thing I would highly recommend - even though this is usually taught in more advanced formal obedience - is heel. I think this is important for a puppy early on to build a solid and respectful relationship for walks. One of my favorite YouTube channels for positive training that helps you improve the bond you have with your dog as you create solid commands is Kikopup (she also uses a clicker and has a merle BC): http://www.youtube.com/user/kikopup

 

He is a sponge right now...take advantage of it. My latest addition is only 5 months now and she gets really excited and distracted as well. But if you are careful to not reinforce the excitement (never reward him for completing a task unless he is calm as well) and be patient he will calm down when it is time for learning and enjoy it more. I use a clicker and positive reinforcement/negative punishment for training - in case you were wondering.

 

And please post pictures!! We love pictures =)

[desertranger]

Jin just soaks up training. He gets so excited that while he knows what I want him to do he gets confused. Now at 1 yr old he is beginning to settle down and is taking hjis training more seriously. I tried to teah him wax on/wax off months ago but it didn't work. I tried again a few weeks ago and he got it in just a couple of sessions.

 

I suggest you work on a solid recall and lie down.

[ejano]

I have a fantastic new Blue Merle tri that i brought home at 9 wks from a reputable breeder that I have been clicker training daily since day 1.

He is now 4 months old.

I guess my question is at what age does he start acting like a dog and should serious training start.

 

My puppy is doing well but is easily distracted as expected. If a butterfly goes by he is like forget about training.

Also somedays he is good and some he could care less. He may and may not sit depending on his mood. Come in from out side only works when I blast off fireworks and hang a roast around my neck while standing on my head.

On good days I can get him to : sit, down, crawl, spin, touch, fetch, wave and a few others. Nothing from distance or with any stay ower yet.

He is very active and a high drive, just not to focused at 4 months.

This is my first BC and i'm just looking for some general info as all dogs are different even in the same breed.

I want him to be a frisbee dog as well. He catches 6 foot tosses of the soft frisbees in house and brings them back.

At what age should i move to hard disks and longer tosses, out doors? i have read not to start to early on this.

Thanks for any advice or info.

 

 

 

I had the same question this summer....my guys are ten and a half months old --I found that they learn as fast as their brains develop, each at their own pace. Most would agree, I think, at this age, he should come, sit, stay and lie down on command.

 

Work on the recall first....that needs to be down really well before you can do a whole lot with him besides play. He also needs to know there is play time and serious time.

 

Liz

[LazyGRanch]

I have a fantastic new Blue Merle tri that i brought home at 9 wks from a reputable breeder that I have been clicker training daily since day 1.

He is now 4 months old.

I guess my question is at what age does he start acting like a dog and should serious training start.

 

My puppy is doing well but is easily distracted as expected. If a butterfly goes by he is like forget about training.

Also somedays he is good and some he could care less. He may and may not sit depending on his mood. Come in from out side only works when I blast off fireworks and hang a roast around my neck while standing on my head.

On good days I can get him to : sit, down, crawl, spin, touch, fetch, wave and a few others. Nothing from distance or with any stay ower yet.

He is very active and a high drive, just not to focused at 4 months.

This is my first BC and i'm just looking for some general info as all dogs are different even in the same breed.

I want him to be a frisbee dog as well. He catches 6 foot tosses of the soft frisbees in house and brings them back.

At what age should i move to hard disks and longer tosses, out doors? i have read not to start to early on this.

Thanks for any advice or info.

 

 

I may or may not have done this the "right" way, but I started my pup at 9 weeks, and everytime he reoriented towards me (not a sit front, watch, per say, just basically remembering I existed) he got a treat. No prompting, no commands, no luring/bribing, etc. I just waited until he was done being distracted, and treated when he reoriented on his own.

About 6 months old, we started playing "Look at That" from Control Unleashed, and his attention for a 9 month old puppy is pretty darn good

[BorderCollieSam]

I started training Sam as soon as i got him at 6 weeks.

 

Kept training times short, a few minutes at a time, 3-4 times per day.

 

In the early days i found i got better results before feed time, especially as he was aware i had nice treats in my pocket and he only got them if he did well.

 

However, Sam is a predator and devours anything and everything in site, some dogs might not be so food motivated, you need to establish what works for your dog....praise/reward, food, playtime etc., etc.,

[martySQ]

Ranger... You have Jin waxing your car??????