Hi Everyone, My wife and I got our first Labrador Retriever puppy 2 weeks ago. After a year and a half of looking and researching, we finally picked up Titan. He is currently 9 weeks old. Tonight he begins his puppy kindergarten! I have a few things about training and exercising him. He picks up extremely quickly on things, whether it be good or bad things. For instance he was learning to sit nicely for treats the same night we picked him up; however, he also learned that I put his treat bag on top of his crate and to climb up to get it he had to shut the crate door and use it as a ladder. Let's just say we found a new, higher place for his treat bag. As of now, he knows how to sit and responds very well to his name. He knows the hand signal for down and is easily lured into the position. He hasn't quite gotten the hang of the verbal cue yet, but that's okay. I have a few things I'm worried about: 1. In our puppy kindergarten booklet, we are to teach the puppy to sit on our left side. Titan sits directly in front of me. I try to lure him to my left side and have him sit, but after I lure him, he'll walk back in front of me and sit. I don't want to make him think sitting is wrong so I click and treat him anyways. What would you recommend me to do to help him understand to sit on my left? 2. To teach his name what I will do is say his name and as soon as he looks at my eyes, I will click and treat. However, most of the time he is sitting when I train his name. I'll alternate between sit. Then his name. So now, when I say "Titan!" he'll sit down and look at me. I'm worried that he is confusing Sit and Titan, thinking that both mean for him to sit. What I'll do to try and differentiate it is to walk outside (off leash as we have a huge yard). I'll let him do his own thing and when he's not paying attention I say "Titan!" and if he looks up I'll click and he'll come running for a treat. Other times I'll say "Titan!" and when he looks and runs towards me I'll add "Come here!". Should I be worried he'll confuse sit and his name? The other thing I'll try to do to make his name different is I'll say different words. I'll say things like Red, Carpet, Food, Puppy. Then I'll say Titan. Then click and treat. Even if he's looking at me through all the words. 3. Jumping. I have no idea how to stop this. When I praise him he'll put his front paws on my knees. I feel bad to stop the praise, but if I dont am I reinforcing him to jump up? The other thing is when I give him treats. He'll jump up or snap at it. If he does that I'll pull away slightly to make him go back to a sit. I only give him the treat once all four paws are on the floor. When he gets really excited with a toy or ball, he'll jump and jump. I'm afraid of his hips being affected by this. I'm not telling him to jump and I am not holding treats for him to jump up. Most of his jumping he does on his own. The vet basically told me to let him go at his own pace. Should I be worried about his hips and elbows? His parents were good and excellent on their tests. Thank you!!!!!
Re: Training Hi there and welcome! I wouldn't get too hung up about a formal sit by your left hand side. Your puppy is a baby and no doubt he will be the youngest in the class you will be going to. At that age i would be happy for a sit anywhere just for a millisecond!! ;D Plenty of time for the more advanced stuff in a few months time. The way I understand clicker training is that the click marks a behaviour that you like. A sort of freeze frame of the moment. You can't really teach the meaning of a name in that way. Not sure why you need to anyway? As for jumping up, I am probably not the best person to advise you on that. My spaniels will hop into my arms given half a chance, which is fine when it is a 13kg cocker but not so good when a 25kg clumber attempts the same manoeuvre Anyway, I would carry on with what you are doing already, just reward the behaviour you like, i.e. all four paws on the floor and turn away when he tries to jump up.
Re: Training Thanks heidrun! I appreciate your help! I always have to remind myself that my expectations may be too high for him and forget it takes time to learn. He is only 9 weeks. I think it's because he picks up quickly that I keep thinking he's ready to move on, but forget that he's still so young. I guess what I really want to be associated with his name is more of a "hey, pay attention" rather than him knowing it's his name.
Re: Training I have four dogs so it is very useful for them to know their names, i.e. to call just one out of the back of the car or send one dog on a retrieve with the others remaining in the sit. Here is a little video clip by kikopup. Her clicker training videos on youtube are some of the best around. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwPPIxC0J5s
Re: Training I've been watching alot of her videos. Definitely good stuff! So we went to Puppy Kindergarten yesterday. He didn't do terrible. We practiced 3 things. First, dominance walk where we walk towards the dog and he'll sit. We take a step back. If they walk into "our space" we take a step forward and they sit again. My guy just pretty much had me walking in circles lol. Second thing is sit at our side. Easy enough as we just lure them there. Third thing is his name. Again, he picked it up early enough. At the end they let the puppies have free time. So as soon as he went off leash, instead of playing he went around and humped most of the other dogs, one by one. I asked the instructor if we should do anything about it and she said no, he's just trying to be dominant. None of the dogs did anything about this... Should I be worried he humped almost every dog in that room, bigger or smaller than him???
Re: Training Hi there and welcome to the forum , Theories in dog training have changed quite a lot over the last few years, recent studies of dogs in groups have shown that most dogs don't actually place much value on dominance at all, and most behaviourists no longer practice dominance or rank reduction as a part of training sessions. However, old habits die hard and there are still trainers out there that do so. It would appear that you have found one of them. Humping in small puppies is rarely about dominance and is a normal part of puppy play. This article is quite a helpful summary. You needn't be worried about your puppy, I have seen no evidence at all linking humping in puppies with subsequent behavioural problems (apart from the humping itself which can become embarrassing) Humping can become a bit of a habit so it is a good idea to distract the puppy into different activities if you can, using toys or treats. Pippa
Re: Training Thank you for the response! I appreciate your input on this subject. I do have another question though... I know we should let the dog play and exercise at his own pace and not take him on long structured walks or runs. I also know stairs are really bad for their developing joints. My dillemma here is that in my house, Titan stays with my wife and I upstairs in our room. In order to go downstairs and outside, we have to go down one of two flights of stairs. Both have alot of steps to them. What I've been doing is carrying him up and down the stairs. When we first got him, he fit in one arm. Now I hold him with both arms and it seems like he likes to be carried up and down less and less. About at what age should I start allowing him to walk up and down these steps? Should I be prepared to carry a 50-60 pounds dog up and down the stairs? Lol. I know it's recommended to let the dog walk to the front door so we know when he has to go and to teach him that he needs to go outside. Will it hurt his house training if I continue to carry him to the door? Once I get to the bottom of the stairs I put him down and let him walk to the door. He sits, then the door opens and he does his thing. Thanks!
