PUPPIES: The importance of training at a young age

TRAINING IS AN INVESTMENT INTO YOUR PUPPY'S FUTURE

Puppy's are purely positive energy. They have not had the chance to form any bad habits and are a completely clean slate.  I want to drive home the importance of getting them in training at 3 months of age when they haven't had a chance to form lasting bad habits.  The majority of puppies I have come into my programs are around 6-8 months old. Most pet owners want to wait till the pups have had all their shots and many don't realize that they can start working with a private trainer in their home well before the 6 month mark.

By the time I see these puppies they have already gone through their 2nd fear period and have already begun to develop some behavioral issues. Most range from excessive barking to digging to jumping and a combo of those unwanted behaviors. Some have graduated to counter surfing or leash reactivity. Many of these unwanted behaviors stem from over excitement while others have developed real fear in some situations.

By having some formal training with a private trainer who comes to your home you can build a solid basic obedience foundation and this sets the tone for the puppy's development.

When the  puppy first comes home immediately take for a neighborhood walk keep it short and just allow pup to explore and sniff. I walk about 100 feet then back. Do this every day. Take to new neighborhoods and new areas. Never dog parks or areas that are frequented by lots of dog traffic. Take to nature walks to get puppy out as often as possible. These excursions are to build confidence and allow puppy to just take in all that surrounds them. Sights, Sounds, and Smells every new experience builds the puppy’s memory rolodex and helps that puppy begin the process of making good choices and learning how to handle many different situations.

When Blaze was a puppy (pictured above) I was in dog training school (this is where I got him from and that story will be another post). He spent half his time in a large indoor/outdoor kennel the other half was split between training and class time.  Every single morning before classes started I took him to the nature trail which had random agility obstacles on it. Each day I let him try one out if he was concerned about a certain one  we moved to another until he wanted to try it. Then we would go back to the one he was concerned about until he had the confidence to try it out. By the age of just 5 months (he was just 3 months when he was brought into the program) he was a very confident puppy. He was confident enough to try all the obstacles and even ones that had an unsteady surface. This is because I made sure to allow him to make the decisions to try these obstacles out. We always ended
the training with him doing an obstacle even if it was one he had been on before this way we ended
on a positive note and he always had fun!!

It’s important to know what your puppy was bred for and provide those needs. They go beyond just physical exercise and this is where a lot of disconnect happens. Border collies are highly intellengent and need to herd, beagles are extreme trackers and need to use their nose and track, wirehaired pointing griffons are versatile hunting dogs and need to track and point, labradors are retrievers and need to mark and retrieve. By providing your puppy’s needs you will have a well balanced dog. All too often these needs are not met and behavioral issues begun to creep up. Sometimes it is hyperness, sometimes it is destructive behavior done out of boredom, sometimes it is frustration which causes reactivity. So by getting out ahead of these issues you can provide that much needed mental challenge alongside the physical ones!

My top commands that should be taught to every puppy: 

POTTY ON COMMAND:  Teaching a puppy to relieve themselves On Command helps the puppy learn to fully relieve themselves and helps the puppy learn to go on any surface and in any situation. This should be started as soon as you get your puppy home. Immediately set up a specific area in your yard or in front of your home. Have puppy on leash and either carry or leash walk to this designated potty spot. Do NOT bring any treats with you, you can reward once puppy is finished and inside the house. Once at the designated potty spot just stand like a statue and allow the puppy to have the full leash to walk around in a circle so they can catch the same scents and be triggered to go potty. Once they go into position to relieve themselves that is when you say whatever words you want the puppy to learn.  I choose Hurry Up when off leash and Go Potty when on leash. You will say this every time the puppy relieves themselves. After a few times saying it when they are in the process of igoing they will associate the words with their actions and you will be able to start saying  the words as soon as you get to their potty spot. The reason I do Not give a treat when the puppy is going potty is because they will learn to watch your movements and as soon as you go for the treat they will stop going to get it and then finish going in the house.

LEAVE IT:  This command is important to teach right away as it will be used if you see the puppy begin to go after something. I do Not teach leave it and drop it at the same time. These are two very different commands and I don’t want the puppy to get confused.
With a few high value treats in hand you will hold your hand open and out to the puppy as the puppy goes for the treats say Leave it and at the same time quickly close your hand. Open your hand as often as you can with the pupppy close so the puppy learns the second it stops trying to get the treat it will get one. I always hand the puppy a treat from the opposite hand, then the next time he gets a treat I toss it so he can come back and try the game again. I do this exercise for about 5-10 mins. After the puppy is consistently leaving the treats in your hand you place the treats on the floor and cup your hand over them. As the puppy tries to get them say Leave it and quickly cover with your hand. The puppy will try to paw, lick, nibble, and maybe even bark t the hand to try to uncover the treats but you ignore all those behaviors and say Leave it until the puppy moves away, then you give them a treat!

PLACE COMMAND: This is a command where you want to build a solid Reward History!! Get high value treats that you ONLY use for this command. 

All dogs start out ON leash. With treats in your hand you will walk to the place bed ( must be 

a raised cot type you can get it at either of these places. www.chewy.com or www.kuranda.com) the raised COT type is important because it has defined edges and works as a boundary. Dogs don’t know they have a rear end so this prevents them from creeping off the bed.

As you walk to the bed you will say PLACE ( or whatever word you want ) and Guide them with the treat onto the bed. Once they are all the way on you will say Down ( only this one time) and reward the DOWN. Once laying down you will say a RELEASE word of your choice and Toss a treat and let them get it. Guide them Off with the leash if they stay on the bed. 

After they go get the treat immediately say Place and guide back on this time WAIT FOR THEM TO GO INTO A DOWN and then reward them! Wait a couple seconds and then use release word and toss a treat.

You will initially have the leash in your hand then lay it on the ground and finally take it off. Don’t rush through moving too far from the place bed at first.

You will have the dog on place and SAY Place and take a step to one side then the other. Then say Place and take a step back. If at any time the dog gets up or off the bed no problem just guide back on with the leash and say Place and repeat the above.

You’ll want to say Place and sit on a chair or at a table ( close at first) when you go to sit down say Place to remind the dog what they are doing. 

You are building pictures in the dogs mind so each movement you make ( sitting, walking to door, in kitchen, living room, these all are pictures and the dog learns when they see this they know they still need to stay.

With the Place command The word you use MEANS down and is an implied STAY.

Practice when you are cooking, watching tv, eating. When watching tv have the dog on place for 10 mins then with you for 10 mins. Build Duration then Distance!!