I know she is very young and I am definitely giving her time to just be a puppy and am enjoying it, but she is in training to be my service dog in the future. She is one of the only dogs I have experienced in my 30 years of training dogs and 13 years of training service dogs that REALLY struggles with impulse control. I am not expecting that she is totally in control of herself at this age, of course. I just want to get started on impulse control training early because I know she is quite impulsive and stubborn. I have had easy success in training past dogs and puppies in impulse control but this one is a little tricky for me. I use positive only training. Clicker training to be specific. Does anyone have any good games or training techniques that could help a young pup with the beginning of impulse control? I would appreciate it very much! Thanks, Chanda & Kestrel
Well, for a start, you can use thing like coming out of the crate. You wait for a sit before she can come out. My first puppy had this down pat by about 8.5 weeks If she's bouncing around, just wait. Eventually, she'll sit. Then, you can go to open the door. If she moves, remove your hand and wait for the sit again. Repeat until you can open the door all the way with her sitting until released. This can also be used for door etiquette and for things like not sticking her head in the dishwasher. Here's a Kikopup video for door manners: Basic "no mugging", so she learns that she gets what she wants (the treat in your hand) by not mugging your hand - and you can add a requirement for eye contact later if you want. If she likes chasing stuff, you can roll a ball across the room, restraining her by holding her harness, before sending her to "go get it!". In time, you can fade the restraint so she can sit and watch before being released. Here's a video with a few more ideas:
