Puppy/Dog Training Tips

[roadman]

Our family is receiving it's first dog, a English Springer Spaniel tomorrow. The dog history is that the dog is a very good hunter, but I only fish. It's suppose to be a good family dog as well.

The puppy is 8 weeks old.

Any good suggestions from dog owners on tips for training puppies and dogs. I know the first rule of thumb is to show who is boss and the second rule is to be consistent.

Currently, the puppy is going potty on newspapers and outside.

Any house training, feeding, potty training, and general training suggestions?

Thanks in advance for the suggestions.

I'll answer any questions I can.

[Pared]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

I'm not a pro when it comes to dogs but The Dog Whisperer is a great, entertaining show IMO. Lots of great tips there.

I was able to teach my g/f's Yorkie how to sit and lay down. Can't get him to jump or roll over though. And he only plays fetch when he's interested.

[fishepa]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

I would seriously do a search on google, you can find tons of great information.

[Pared]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

Any sites in particular you recommend through personal experience, fish?

[roadman]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

It's overwhelming how many sites there are by just putting in Puppy Training.

1, 500,000 hits.


Thanks for the tip about The Dog Whisperer, Pared. I didn't even here about that show.

[joshuar9476]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

get a cage and cage train the dog. it will be a lot quicker to housetrain the dog when caged. get a cage that is just big enough for the dog at full size, then block off part of it so that it's just big enough for the puppy. as the dog grows, move the divider back. a dog will by instinct not use the bathroom in the spot where it sleeps. so when you are gone and at night, put it in the cage. it will let you know when it needs to go out. do not, however, let the dogs whining get the best of you and take it out when it cries. if you are true to this method, you will housetrain you dog in less than a month. plus, the dog might become attached to its "home' and will go there when it wants to sleep later on. good luck.

[Pared]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

A cage?? Wow I don't think I could do that to a dog... I feel bad enough seeing them at the Pet Store in a cage let alone one that I love and care for.

[roadman]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

A cage?? Wow I don't think I could do that to a dog... I feel bad enough seeing them at the Pet Store in a cage let alone one that I love and care for.

Actually, Pared, I just read something on line that cage training is really good for house training.

A dog needs to feel there is a place in the home that is kind of his own.

Good suggestion, Joshua.

[Pared]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

I use a small bed that was purchased from a store... it's padded, soft... it has little "walls" that the dog can get around if they like... but it's a home that I trained the dog to sleep-in and they realize that now. The dog goes there and lies down when they want to.

But just thought of a cage... I wouldn't be able to do it. Guess I'm a big softy.

[aukevin]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

I didn't really crate train my dogs to house-train them, but they do have their own crate that they sleep in at night or whenever no one is home. We used the bell method which is putting bells on the door and ringing them each time we took the pups out to potty. It worked real well and within a day or two for each dog they began ringing the bells to go outside and potty. Eventually it turned into bells ringing all the time just to go out and play, that's when the bells were taken away, but we'd always make them go potty if they rang the bell even if they were doing it just for fun.

Here's a vid of one my dogs using the bells when she was a pup:

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The best trick IMO to teach your dog is wait. Always make them sit and wait for permission to eat when pouring their food, always make them sit and wait for you to go out a door first, etc. It really helps with the dog understanding who the boss is. Wait isn't exactly the same as stay, so you need to be sure to you teach the difference. For wait, that is when the dog is waiting for permission to do something like go outside or eat or something like that. You can instruct the dog to wait and walk away and call them when you are ready. With a stay command, you shouldn't walk off and call them to you, they need to know a stay is to stay in one spot until you return to them and tell them they can move.

And just because I like showing vids of my dogs, here's a couple rollover and play dead LOL. We used the clicker to teach tricks because it made a distinctive signal to the dog that what they did was right even if they really didn't understand what it was they just did LOL.

How to learn a roll-over and play dead:
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Here's the result of that training:
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[McLite]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

Crating the dog while you are asleep or gone is one of the best ways to potty train/keep them out of trouble while they are young.

Trust me it's not cruel at all. My gf's puppy actually goes in his at night when he gets tired now. It gives them a place where they can feel safe and on top of that they won't use the restroom where they sleep. So immediately upon getting home or waking up they learn to go outside to do their business.

[Stu]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

My wife and I are getting a yellow lab puppy on the 27th. He'll be about 7 1/2 weeks when we get him so I'll be in the same boat. A couple notes from the reading we've done so far:

- A crate is the best way to train/housebreak them and is not inhumane at all if used correctly. The key is to make sure you NEVER use the crate as a form of punishment. They should want to go into the crate to sleep, rest, etc. This is their den so it's important not to associate it with punishment.
- Don't take them out of the crate if they whine or bark (make sure it's not because they need to go out). Wait until they calm down before letting them out. This shows them that whining or barking isn't the way to get what they want.
- At 8 weeks they can't hold it for more than a couple hours. It's important to take them out as much as possible. Because of this you can't leave them in the crate overnight unless you want to get up every two hours. Leave the crate door open and put newspaper on the floor. The rule I've heard is that they can hold it for the same many hours as their age in months. So 8 weeks = 2 hours, 12 weeks = 3 hours, etc. This might vary by breed.
- Other than that, consistency is the key. All members of the family should use the same words for the same commands, etc.

[Holic]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

My wife and I are getting a yellow lab puppy on the 27th. He'll be about 7 1/2 weeks when we get him so I'll be in the same boat. A couple notes from the reading we've done so far:

- A crate is the best way to train/housebreak them and is not inhumane at all if used correctly. The key is to make sure you NEVER use the crate as a form of punishment. They should want to go into the crate to sleep, rest, etc. This is their den so it's important not to associate it with punishment.
- Don't take them out of the crate if they whine or bark (make sure it's not because they need to go out). Wait until they calm down before letting them out. This shows them that whining or barking isn't the way to get what they want.
- At 8 weeks they can't hold it for more than a couple hours. It's important to take them out as much as possible. Because of this you can't leave them in the crate overnight unless you want to get up every two hours. Leave the crate door open and put newspaper on the floor. The rule I've heard is that they can hold it for the same many hours as their age in months. So 8 weeks = 2 hours, 12 weeks = 3 hours, etc. This might vary by breed.
- Other than that, consistency is the key. All members of the family should use the same words for the same commands, etc.

Very good tips camulos. We did the crate training with our chihuahua back in April. He was crate trained in a matter of days, I must stress that you must block off the cage. If the pup has any extra room in the beginning he will try to go in one corner and sleep in the other.

Once our pup had went awhile without going in his crate, we finally put him a nice little bed in the crate. Now at night he goes to his crate, or when he gets spooked by a noise he'll go their for comfort.

[Knight165]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

Wow...it's been a while since my "girl" was a puppy(both of them...I hope my wife doesn't read this!!!)...

I'm not opposed to the crate, I just truly don't think they are necessary IF you don't have kids(if you do....it's a good place for you dog to "escape" to )

My wife and I would just put her dog bed(a deep one...with sides...they like the womb/snuggle with other dogs feel when sleeping) next to our bed....and inside we put an old wind up clock wrapped in a shirt that one of us wore. It helped when she would wake up in the middle of the night to remain in the bed. She just felt safer with the sound(heartbeat) and the smell(us)

Forget newspaper....there are going to be accidents. Like camulos said....get the dog out often.
As soon as you wake up(or get woken up)...get the dog out. Don't go to the bathroom yourself...don't brush your teeth. Get dressed(if you have to walk the dog...and I suggest doing that rather than letting it use the yard) and get out.
Clean up accidents quickly....and thoroughly. Use some sort of disinfectant spray...one that will cover the smell of urine(to the dog)....it will keep the dog from thinking that's his/her spot.

Right now you have an excellent chance to train your dog ...but don't go overboard. It's still a pup and while it can easily learn bad habits at this point.....it may not be ready for heavy training. You don't want your dog to ignore you when you really want to train it.

Now is a good time to teach it not to jump on people though. When someone enters the room...if the dog runs over and jumps....simply don't let the person praise/pet the dog until it is corrected and calmed down a little.
If you call the dog up onto you...then fine...
Depending on the breed(larger breeds)....now is a good time to teach the dog not to "paw" people. While cute as a pup.....when the dog is larger, it can be quite annoying to guests. The situation is when someone is petting and then stops or even ignoring your dog...the dog will begin to paw at the person for attention.

There are a ton of things that I'm sure other owners of dogs can chime in with.

M.K.
Knight165

[joshuar9476]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

if you don't cage train then at least don't use newspapers or even worse puppy pads. that just teaches them that it's ok to go in the house. you may think a cage is cruel, but it will keep you blankets, carpet, walls, everyting from being destroyed while you are gone.