This comes up such a lot in the forum, I think it needs a new article. But I just want to re-iterate what I said in another post about feeding. This is just my personal view, and I would be interested in any comments. Here are some initial thoughts The first thing many people try and teach their puppies is 'sit' and 'stay'. I think this is because it is relatively easy to do, and you get a nice clear result. But here's the thing. I have met many very badly behaved dogs, and they all knew how to 'sit'. Many people struggle with their labradors, especially when they become larger and stronger. And it is not because their dog won't 'sit' or 'shake hands' with visitors. It is because their dog drags them around on the end of a lead, or because he won't come back when they call him. These are your two safety commands [li]Heel[/li] [li]Come (or a whistle recall cue)[/li] If your dog learned nothing else his whole life long, apart from these two things, he would still be a 'good dog' Bear in mind also, that an eight week old puppy has the attention span of a gnat, and if you try to teach a stay of more than a few seconds, he will almost certainly 'break' it within a few days. At which point you may be tempted to correct him. There is quite a risk of 'setting him up to fail'. And yes, you can teach a tiny puppy to stay whilst you prepare his dinner, but don't be surprised if he starts whining with frustration. I suggest that the very first thing you teach your puppies, is to race towards you on your whistle, and to walk next to you whenever you are outside. You can start both these things with a 8 week old puppy.
Re: What to teach your puppy first Wise words. What about 'leave it'? I was really glad I had taught that early when Tatze came dancing up with a poisoned rat! She was 16 weeks.
Re: What to teach your puppy first I feel confident in teaching those 2 things to start with. It's nice to have an achievable target. (I hope ???)
Re: What to teach your puppy first I agree with heel and come. Also agree that a dog is a "good dog" if he walks to heel and comes when called and who is not a total nightmare in the house. So the other thing I'd add is to teach good habits from day one (or just avoid teaching bad ones, which amounts to the same thing).
Re: What to teach your puppy first I agree 100% At 8 weeks old and for quite some time after puppies want to be close to you and bound back with enthusiasm to you so many times a day it would be hard to count. Perfect time to introduce recall, when they are already doing it They also follow you about endlessly getting caught up in your feet nearly tripping you up, again perfect time time to introduce heel, when they are already doing it. fun fun fun.
Re: What to teach your puppy first Puppies are like sponges, teach lots of things at different times. Concentrate on behaviours rather than 'commands', they come later. Reinforce all the positive behaviours now and your pup will come to realise what is and isn't expected. And the 'no' I think we get confused with 'proper' training and 'establishing behaviours' when the pup is very young. As an example, we want a calm puppy when we or strangers come into the house. The pup wants attention straight away!, without saying a word throughout, come in, make a cup of tea, ignore the dog and he'll stop pestering you. When he does, then give him his big hello. Consequently he learns that calm behaviour is better than acting like a looney. No different to how dogs would behave a last themselves. He won't love you less for it either! Does that makes sense? I hate to disagree with Pippa (sorry) but on teaching your dog to recall, at 8 weeks this is no more than reinforcing him coming back to you when he's doing it anyway. Don't introduce the whistle at this stage as he may not come back when you use it, you're then teaching him to ignore the whistle. Don't use his name or the whistle until you're confident that both will get the recall you want. Pat your legs, say come here, make encouraging noises to get his attention, wave your arms, walk away from him but leave the name and whistle until you've got the recall settled. Just to clarify, I'm coming from a future gun dog perspective, where the whistle MUST be obeyed, instantly and every time. Not sure why it would be any different for non gun dogs though. My best top tip for very young pups 8 a 12 weeks - reinforce the behaviours you want and reward them, ignore everything else, or remove them from the situation, or set it up so they can't do it, e.g. Baby gates
Re: What to teach your puppy first Gordon, I just ordered a whistle and was worried Id need it asap but I am now overwhelmed with what to do! I do feel that you're right that proper behaviours should be a primary focus right away, I also want to follow what Pippa recommends on taking advantage of their safety instinct to establish a good recall. But I was under the understanding the safety instinct to stay close to you will last a few months. So is it safe to assume for now, as long as I lock in on that before 6 months focusing on her proper behaviours at home for now would be ok? Overwhelmed, can you tell?
Re: What to teach your puppy first Aburns, follow the advice on the site, and just incorporate teaching a puppy recall into the very early days. It's simple, and fun. See this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t84Ajkj1lck&feature=youtu.be Why wouldn't you do that right away? Don't be overwhelmed. Just have fun with your pup.
Re: What to teach your puppy first That's a great example of how to do it right. Problem is people don't follow it through and they think one day doing that has it fixed and or trained. .......It takes months of doing it right. Same with heal same with recall same with sit same with stay same with NO.
Re: What to teach your puppy first [quote author=JulieT link=topic=5831.msg75040#msg75040 date=1399581866] Aburns, follow the advice on the site, and just incorporate teaching a puppy recall into the very early days. It's simple, and fun. See this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t84Ajkj1lck&feature=youtu.be Why wouldn't you do that right away? Don't be overwhelmed. Just have fun with your pup. [/quote] Thanks Julie. I have watched that video quite a few times, it's the reason I bought the whistle! I think I can handle doing that. I did just purchased Total Recall yesterday and trying to finish the happy puppy book quickly. So much to learn! Thank you
Re: What to teach your puppy first Sorry if I confused the issue, JulieT is absolutely right and the video is excellent. Problem is and the video highlights it so well, only use the whistle when she's actually coming to you. You're 'training' her to associate the whistle noise with coming to you and that takes months as Tillydyes says in her post. This was the point I was trying (unsuccessfully) to make in my post. There's a danger (as Tillydyes said) that people rush things; relax and take your time - a fully trained dog takes a long time. Don't be too eager to try out the recall whistle too soon or you'll be teaching her to ignore you - again the video makes this point. The only reason I suggested to not use the whistle straight away is to avoid making the mistake - maybe just me being over cautious to not training in an ignore response to my only tool when 'in the field' - but all that said, we all get it wrong sometimes and nothing is irreparable. And both previous posts are right, don't be overwhelmed - make it fun for you and the pup. It won't all go according to the great plan, that's the best bit (frustrating sometimes) but so rewarding when it all comes together and it will! Consistency, patience and at this stage, it's all about making things fun - just like kids! In the early days, tell her what she's doing rather than what you want her to do; so you say sit when she sits anyway, use your recall while when she's coming back to you anyway and so forth; she'll get the message and before you know it you've trained your dog! Let us know how you get on. One last thing, may I suggest another tool in your armoury? I've also found Lez Graham's books a useful read, The Pet Gundog Puppy is a good start, in addition to Pippa's also very good books.
Re: What to teach your puppy first It's ok Gordon you didn't confuse me at all. I definitely notice how stressed it is that you ensure to use the recall only when pup is running towards you. Thank you for taking the time to clarify and for the book recommendation. Will take a look at it.
Re: What to teach your puppy first How would you teach an 11 week old pup to heel when walking on the lead ? Thanks.
Re: What to teach your puppy first Don't worry about the lead just yet Just walk about in your house and garden and every time your pup approaches your left leg mark and reward. The approach is described here: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/clicker-training-heel/ Do you know what I mean by 'mark'?. The concept and use of a marker are described here: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/reward-markers-help-you-train-your-labrador/ Once you have got a pretty good response to cues to walk by your left leg then then you can introduce the lead. But wait till you've got it sorted off lead (in your garden) first. Check out this article which gives you a bit of an idea of what to aim for when: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/ages-and-stages-in-labrador-puppy-training/
