collies4me Posted March 3, 2007 Report Share Posted March 3, 2007 Hey Guys/Gals, Since we brought quest home in early Feb, I have been concentrating on the safety commands only (his name, leave it and come) and working on the leash and rewarding for loose leash walking and eye contat. My wife and I have been working very hard and with as much consistency as possible to create a strong relationship with him. He is probably at 75% with leave it on the first SD, and almost 90% on the second SD, and almost 90% with the recall, with distractions (he listens very well at the dog park among many other dogs). He is approximately 14 weeks old - is it too early to begin the other commands? Sit, stay, and some of the 'show tricks'? We believe we have a very solid relationship with him, he refuses to be anywhere other than right next to use in the house. If I leave the kitchen to go into the bathroom he will follow immediately and lay down at the sink while I brush my teeth, and vice versa. We are just trying to guage when it will be appropriate to demand more out of him... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anda Posted March 3, 2007 Report Share Posted March 3, 2007 It's not too early, just don't get frustrated if he doesn't get it quite the first time. I think their brain is like a sponge, ready to absorbe any drop of knowledge and information you're willing to throw their way. I think the more you stimulate their brains, the more they learn to use it... Bit O/T, but that is how I got my late guinea pig, Ozzy, to learn to go potty in the litter box, to come when called, to listen to his name, to beg for food, to follow us in the house, to great us at the door, to look into our grocery bags and steal things (well, that I didn't teach him! ) If I would have simply kept him in his cage and treated him like a "rodent" that he was he wouldn't have developed his brain the way he did. Same thing applies to puppies, and I am sure, to children! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenCollie Posted March 3, 2007 Report Share Posted March 3, 2007 Personally, i much prefer to stick with getting all the basicals absolutely rock solid, and then moving onto more advanced stuff at 6/7 months old. This is the way i prefer to do things though...I'm sure there are plenty of others who do things differently. But in my opinion, i think you should do what you think is best. Everyone does things a little differently I prefer to have my dog doing good sits, downs, stays, recalls and retrieves up until 6 months. By around 6 months, i then begin "heel" both on leash and off. I begin distance work too. Personally, i prefer this method, because i like to give my puppy the chance to be just that for the first few months - a puppy. I like seeing the puppy enjoy themselfs and not taking anything to seriously for the first few months of their life. Just enjoying exploring and seeing and smelling new things, with a little training added in everyday. But like i say, just basic fun stuff. This is the approach i have always taken, and I'm in the process of applying the same thing to my 16 week old BC This is just my method of doing things though, and what works for us! he refuses to be anywhere other than right next to use in the house Be careful of this! This sort of attachment can and may cause future problems, such as seperation anxiety. Collies are the type of needy breed which really get upset when you go away if they haven't been used to it from the start. The pup needs to learn that sometimes you go away, and he needs to be by himself for a while. He needs to learn that its not always convenient that he follows you around every room in the house too. If he learns to constantly be attached to your leg like a peice of velco, he will take it terribly bad if he ever has to be left alone when an adult. Goodluck with the training x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collies4me Posted March 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2007 Collies are the type of needy breed which really get upset when you go away if they haven't been used to it from the start. The pup needs to learn that sometimes you go away, and he needs to be by himself for a while. He needs to learn that its not always convenient that he follows you around every room in the house too. If he learns to constantly be attached to your leg like a peice of velco, he will take it terribly bad if he ever has to be left alone when an adult. Goodluck with the training x GD, I have been looking into this and have been working as much as possible to ensure the latter doesn't happen. And I should give a little more specifics too, he doesn't stay attached to our feet/legs, he just wants to have "eyes on" all the time in the house, which too some degree, is the same thing, just less intense. I am in the OR quite a bit on certain days, and my wife will about to sea on odd days, and sometimes he is crated for quite a while. And we crate him at night for no less than 8 hours to enstill that when the lights go off, its bed time. He is a litte vocal in the beginning of the night, but he hasn't had any accidents in the crate at all and doesn't become wrestless/vocal during the middle of the night, so it seems that he doesn't "protest" the crate as of yet Interesting opinions thus far..thanks for the info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenCollie Posted March 3, 2007 Report Share Posted March 3, 2007 ahhh i see! It's just the way you worded your first post, it seemed like the pup was around you a lot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bo Peep Posted March 10, 2007 Report Share Posted March 10, 2007 When people came to see their pups (when I DID breed- a loooooooong time ago) by 5 weeks I would go out and say "SIT" and all 6 pups would sit. It's never too young. Those BC's are smart!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haleigh Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 This may make it easier later on in life, but I would start training heel off leash. It's much easier on the dog, and it s a mircale for on leash stuff. Joy is approx. 6 1/2, 7 months right now. We got her at about 4 months. Now she can heel, front (come), twist, easy, go out, pivot, bring,target, down, sit, stay, off, ring a bell to go potty and go through a tunnel. All this in about 4 and ahalf months. You just have to be careful. I would set aside an hour for Joy; train for fifteen minutes, play for 30 minutes, train for 10 minutes, play for five. I would do that about twice a day. As she started to get more emotionally mature I would do less playing in between training sessions. I always end even bad sessions in a high note...with a five minute game of tug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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