Hello, I know there is a lot of information in these forums about training etc but reading the information in many different posts can be quite confusing so I thought I would be nice to have everyone's advice in one place. My main question is regarding the first few weeks at home. We are due to pick up Dexter on August 29th and we want him to settle in and feel comfortable but we have also read its important to start training immediately. Most important of course is toilet/crate training which we will being at day one! Any advice on what else to concentrate on in these early weeks or more importantly the first few days? Thanks in advice for your help An eagerly awaiting her puppy - Daniella
Hi, I bet you are very excited I would concentrate on toilet training to start with as this is the most important in my opinion. I would also get him used to his name by saying his name when he looks at you. You could start training sit and recall, but would wait a few weeks to build your relationship. Hope this helps a bit
I would recommend the happy puppy handbook -------------------> click to the right. It gives so much good information about what to do with your puppy, especially socialisation, which is far more important than training (getting them used to all the sights, sounds, people and transport they will meet in the future) this needs to happen every day asap before 12 weeks and on going after that, but the pre 12 week window is crucial. As far as training goes we started, after a few days settle in time with 'sit' then 'down' then 'upsit' she has these completely sorted with both hand signal only and voice only so now we are working on 'stand'. Also 'wait' in each position. We teach 'wait' with either increasing distance or increasing time - not both, yet. Twiglet is 12 weeks old so her training sessions are only 5 minutes 4 times a day at the moment. We are also getting her used to being groomed and having her eyes, ears, paws and teeth looked at and handled. We do these exercises every day too. We are working on recall to name and whistle - she can recall form anywhere now, like a rocket. Of course, it will be back to the beginning once she's allowed free on grass! Lead walking we do for 15 minutes a day and she's learning to walk on a loose lead - I don't move at all unless it's loose, and if it begins to tighten as we walk I about turn - so we don't get anywhere. But she's learning fast
It is really bewildering with a puppy for the first time, thinking about training - so many dos and don'ts... With my next pup, I wouldn't waste a second of those early months. Things they learn when young (good and bad) are so powerful. I'd think of it in terms of skills though, rather than cue (your dog can learn to sit anytime you care to train it). So I'd think in terms of impulse control, attention on you, recall (returning to you), being calm, and so on....
How exciting, the next couple of weeks will pass so fast! Best to remember that your puppy learns from every single thing that happens to him, so it is important to expose him to as many positive experiences as possible at this early stage, without overwhelming him. So carry him down the road to buy a newspaper, take him to the pet store with you, introduce him to lots of nice people - young people, old people, people wearing hats, people using crutches... The socialization period is crucial. But don't worry, it'll fall into place once he's with you. Well done for thinking about this now already!
Thank you everyone! I have the puppy handbook but I think I was so excited I was speed reading it trying to get all the information at once I'm going to re-read over the next couple of weeks. I have a few things planned for socialisation, I have a check list we are going to work through, carrying him over to the horses and cows, the shops, vets, pet shop etc and introducing him to my mums beagle too. I wont take him out and about straight away but give him a couple days to settle in (although plenty of family members will be popping in for a cuddle) and then begin socialisation and sit, recall etc Thanks so much guys Daniella
I concur with the importance of "skills" rather than necessarily focussing on the regular behaviours at this point. Impulse control is a fabulous thing to learn, and with a very young puppy you can start immediately with teaching "no mugging". Put some treats in your hand and let him sniff at it, but he doesn't get anything until he moves away from it and stops fussing. As soon as he does, you can click and give him a treat. After a while, you can extend this to showing him the treats in your open hand, but if he goes to take them from you, you close your hand and he only gets his reward for backing off. It's a very simple thing to do and will set up up for learning other, more complicated things, such as "leave it". Any training needs to be kept to just a minute or so to start off with, several times a day, because he'll tire and get bored very quickly. Definitely work on your recall, too. If you're using a whistle, then use it at mealtimes to associate it with good things. His instinct to follow you round at this stage can really be utilised to get a good puppy recall - and you can turn it into a game with him "ping-ponging" between you and another family member. Even at a year old, my two adore playing this game. Another thing mine learnt from a very young age was to sit as a way of saying "please". To start off with, this takes a lot of waiting around - you're not luring him or cueing him into a position, you're simply waiting until he offers it. It's a very simple concept, though - when they want something, they don't get it until they sit. If the pup is in the crate and wants to come out, you stand there until he sits, you then move to open the door. He will undoubtedly move, so you stop moving until he sits again, then you continue. If he tries to barge out of the door as it's opening, close it. I found this very, very quick to train and is invaluable now that I have two big beasts (ok, not that big, but there's still two of them!) because they know to wait politely to come out of a crate, or a car, or though a door. I use the same thing if I have a toy they want, or if I'm giving them a treat. Unless I ask for a specific different behaviour, they know that the way to ask for what they want is to sit, without me asking for it. It just needs a little patience at first to wait for the sit to be offered Try to remember that he will be feeling afraid at first, having been taken away from everything he knew, so it's very important that he has somewhere quiet he can escape to, especially when you have guests coming around. It's very easy to overwhelm a young puppy, or for him to become over-tired. Good luck!
