I am new to the Forum and website; bare with me as I try to share information regarding our Lab and proper training techniques...have not had to do it for 12 years ! Our Black Lab Oscar passed away last October at 11 and we have just welcomed a yellow lab into our family on Sunday. Hawk was 49days when we picked him up and brought him home for the first time. From what I have read, when bringing them home for the first time, was to take them to their soiling area and have them go to the bathroom with your command of choice (ours is go potty for both). This worked since he immediately squatted and went pee. Followed this up with a house introduction onto our main floor with gates to block the upstairs and downstairs travel. Crate We will be crating him so slowly introduced this to him and was not sure if it would be an issue? Yet, our breeder has appeared to prepare him quite well because within minutes, he was actively going in and out of it...even to the point where if we closed the door for a couple of seconds, he had no issues. We have been moving the crate upstairs and downstairs as required (upstairs at night, downstairs during the day) and he appears to feel quite safe in it. The first night we laid on the floor in our room with our hand on the door so he could smell us and then after we climbed back into bed (roughly an hour or so later), he would wimper and make a fuss. Would take him outside for a bathroom break, which he would do, then right back in the crate where it would take him a few minutes to settle down. So back to the floor where he could smell us and he would go back to sleep. For two nights we did this and I mentioned that to the breeder and she gave us a really good suggestion...elevate the crate to bed height and then we wouldn't have to sleep on the floor and he could not only see us but also have us touch the crate if need be. I should also note that the first night I got up twice to let him out, the next night once and last night, after elevating the crate...not at all! He slept through the night. I am certain it is an anomaly but I will take a full nights sleep. This is one of my biggest concerns with Hawk since my last lab took 6months to crate train...which I know was all my fault (too big of a crate when we started with no divider, maybe too long before potty breaks during the day). No accidents in his crate so far! Since my wife and I both work, I am getting him used to spending 1.5 to 2 hours in his crate during the morning so that when I do head back to work (I am home with him these first few days), he is accustomed to the daily routine he will have fairly soon. I have been trying to follow the suggested schedule outline by the Monks of New Skete in their book 'The Art of Raising a Puppy'. Commands Obviously using the 'Go potty' command outside right when he goes followed up by praise. Also trying to say 'sit' right when he sits down to be picked up to go up the stairs from outside, or any time he sits and we can catch it quickly. Also follow that up with a 'good boy' praise. Was going to wait a few more days before starting the 'go fetch' and 'bring it' command with a short leash or should I start that immediately? When should I be starting with other commands such as down, stay, etc? I will continue to read information as I go yet what I have read so far is that its never too early to start as long as the expectations are low! Well this is my first post so I will wrap it up and follow up with another shortly. All comments are welcome. I am still nervous about this new addition in our life and the busy schedule we have (we have two young kids ages 9 and 5 and have lots of extra curricular activity) yet I think we missed our lab this past year and we thought that we just needed to get back into the saddle and welcome another lovable lab back into our lives. Hope I can handle it !
Hello there, and a very, very warm welcome to the forum. I'm very sorry to hear that you lost your old dog. I hope your new puppy brings you lots of joy and happiness, and you seem to be settling him in really well. Things have moved on a lot since the Monk of New Skete were popular, and indeed modern dog training has little to do with the techniques that the Monks of New Skete became known for - I have to say, in my view this is not a suitable source at all as a reference material for you. So, for example, it's quite old fashioned to even use the term 'command' - which suggests that the dog is obeying some kind of order, in the same way as a human might. Instead, the term 'cue' is much more accurate, as modern training associates an action with a 'cue', a prompt for the behaviour, not a command. There is a helpful article here: http://totallydogtraining.com/5-advantages-to-modern-dog-training-methods/
Hello and a warm welcome to the forum from me and my two monsters, Willow and Shadow who are 16 months old. I looked at some articles by the Monks of New Skete when I was first reading up about training. I'm glad I found my way to positive reinforcement training after doing a lot of reading. It's the modern, science-based method and it's so much more rewarding for both the dog and for handler. I know that it can sound like just a matter of semantics to say "cue" rather than "command", but to me, it helps to think of it that way, because it really helps to put the emphasis on you, rather than the dog. If the dog doesn't respond to the cue it's because he didn't understand it, or it was too demanding to follow. It's very easy to think, if a dog doesn't respond to a command that he's being disobedient or deliberately bloody-minded. This isn't how dogs think, though. I'd recommend having a look around the articles on the main site (http://www.thelabradorsite.com), which has a vast amount of information on modern training methods, why they're the best choice and how to implement them. I'd also recommend buying The Happy Puppy Handbook, which was a godsend when my two were small. Good luck and let us know how you get on! Why not pop over to the introductions section and tell everyone a bit about your little man. We love pictures, too, hint, hint
Thanks for the feedback folks. I will look to this site for info on training for sure and snag a copy of that book by Pippa. Snowbunny, it looks like that fixed the issue for me viewing this thread (newbie to junior member); thanks...still cannot post pictures though ("You are not authorized to create or remove attachments").
No, you need to host them elsewhere. The forum doesn't like anyone (even the mods) upload files directly. There's info in the technical section about a couple of the various options like Imgur.
Well week one is in the books with Hawk and its been going fairly well. A few items: -He has been really good so far with being able to sleep a good chunk of the night (knock on wood); I put him in his crate last night around 9pm and he sleep, or at the very least, didn't scratch at the door or whimper until roughly 5am. Is this possible he could be able to make it through the night already at 8weeks? -He has not been keen on going for walks around the block. I thought he would for sure love this but getting a fair bit of resistance from him when we get out from the edge of the house. I have been picking him up and walking with him for several hundred feet, putting him down and trying again but he is resisting. Should are start taking some treats along in the pocket or try some other method? Or is it just a bit early? Honestly its not been that cold here during the day (40degreesF - 5degreesC) so I wouldn't think the cold weather is the issue. I don't let him stop and sniff around much on the walk since he has not had all his vaccinations yet (parvo my biggest worry) so maybe that's it. -House training has been ok. We have a two story and a basement and he has not had an accident on the main floor...the basement and upstairs is another matter. I have tried to watch him like a HAWK when on the other floor and try and ensure he has emptied his bladder yet he is still having accidents. I have been using a cleaner to destroy the pheromones (Urine Out) as best I can in hopes he is not recognizing a scent and that its his bathroom. Any tips out there from the masses as it pertains to this or is it just keep working away at it and working hard with him on the other floors in our home? My technique with him is to take him to the back door and scratch his paw on it as a sign that he wants out; he has done this a couple of times and when I have taken him out he has gone to the bathroom so that seams to be working. No accidents in the crate/kennel so happy about that. -He has been getting cues from me during the week. I have been working with sit and that is working fairly well. Stay and down not so much. His retrieving is not too bad. I can toss a ball a few feet away and we will bring it back two, maybe three times before he saunters off with the ball so I think that's decent for a 7-8week old.
