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Puppy - Where/when/how To Start

Luke W
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Luke W

Luke W

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Hi All

I must say I'm very impressed by the level of expertise on this board. I'm hoping for some general advice.

My cocker spaniel pup came home 2 weeks ago, he's now 10 weeks old.

Eventually, I'd like to work in either obedience or agility with him (probably both).

I'm wondering how early I should be starting with him, what I should be doing, when, in what sequence, etc, etc. I've heard about burn out but I also want to get as good a start as possible.

I want to do the best I can and I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the information available.

It's not so much the specifics I have trouble grasping, it's the generalities and timelines.

So...

Is there a particular age I should be starting serious obedience work? Clicker training? Agility training? Phase out food rewards/lures, put him on a variable reinforcement schedule? Etc.

When should he start going to obedience school (not puppy school, he starts that next week)?

Is there a particular sequence he should be taught in?

Any common mistakes I'm likely to make?

For what it's worth, I've been reading books and watching training videos (mainly Ian Dunbar, Jean Donaldson, Gwen Bailey).

He's crate trained, settles well. He will come, sit, down and stand (sit and come on cue, the others with hand signals/lures). He retrieves pretty well, complies with 'let go' and is starting to get the hang of 'off' and 'take it' I'm socialising him as best I can.

Any books to recommend (something like "The complete encyclopedic guide to training your dog in obedience and agility, from puppyhood to old age, volumes 1-10" would be perfect)... ???? :cheer:

General advice?

Rambilng thoughts?

Sorry for such general questions, any comments much appreciated.

Thanks and Cheers

Luke.

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helen

helen

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Is the book you have Puppy School by Gwen Bailey? I think following through with all the exercises there would be a great start. If you are going to go to training classes with a young gundog I would recommend one that does not do group heeling exercises, ie a place where you are required to all heel in a line together but find a place where you can practice heeling in your own space away from the other pups a bit.

I love clicker training and most people who have breeds like spaniels who were previously considered untrainable to stupid are really showing what the dogs are made of with this method that is more suitable to those breeds.

I would say never completely phase out rewards but they can of course be gradually reduced.

Edited by helen
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helen

helen

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Is the book you have Puppy School by Gwen Bailey?

The one I've read is "The Perfect Puppy - Gwen Bailey"

The Perfect Puppy is more comprehensive. Puppy School is a consendensed version which is more like a series of exercises to work through with your puppy with some great photos for each exercise.

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Luke W

Luke W

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Is the book you have Puppy School by Gwen Bailey?

The one I've read is "The Perfect Puppy - Gwen Bailey"

The Perfect Puppy is more comprehensive. Puppy School is a consendensed version which is more like a series of exercises to work through with your puppy with some great photos for each exercise.

I must go back and read it again - it's amazing how much information overload makes you forget stuff.

I've just been teaching puppy to go into his crate on command (he's happy in there anyway) I'm luring him in with food and after about 5 goes he's anticipating the hand signal...

and also I just got up to a 10 second "off"..."take it"...his little legs were a'tremblin' with anticipation!

Great fun!

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poodlefan

poodlefan

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Luke I would suggest you scope out the dog sports clubs in your area and become a member of one. You can accomplish a lot on your own but there's no substitute for being trained by people who are successful in the sports you aspire to do.

There are some very wise people who emphasise keeping it light and fun with a very young dog.. train but don't over face or put too much pressure before they have the maturity to deal with it.

Good advice can be found in experienced folk who do what you aspire to. Just look around till you find a club whose training philosphies match yours.

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Luke W

Luke W

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That's my link!! :laugh:

Okay, how about a video of Clover at 14weeks, as we were working through the levels:

Fantastic!! Made me smile! Great work!

My cocker doesn't seem as food driven as that - hehe maybe I over feed him :laugh:

Was that session before dinner? :rofl:

Great video - I'm defininitely going to be having a really good study of that site.

I already seem to have made some mistakes - trying to teach cues at the same time as the behaviours especially.

Edited by Luke W
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Luke W

Luke W

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Luke I would suggest you scope out the dog sports clubs in your area and become a member of one. You can accomplish a lot on your own but there's no substitute for being trained by people who are successful in the sports you aspire to do.

There are some very wise people who emphasise keeping it light and fun with a very young dog.. train but don't over face or put too much pressure before they have the maturity to deal with it.

Good advice can be found in experienced folk who do what you aspire to. Just look around till you find a club whose training philosphies match yours.

Thanks - I'm heading down to Dogs Of Vic (Albert Park, Melbourne) this weekend to check them out. I'll probably post another request for club recommendations soon.

I've seen mentions of Moorrabin and Clayton South, so I'll probably check them out as well. I'm in the inner bayside area of Melbourne (St Kilda ish)

...Training philosophy? I want to be an exceptional, happy trainer with the happiest dog in the world who's also great fun and a joy to be with. Not too much to ask for is it? :laugh:

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Cosmolo

Cosmolo

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Congrats on your new puppy. Some good suggestions so far! I think alot depends on the dog in terms of how far how fast to push. While you do need to be careful about burning dogs out, you also need to be mindful that some intelligent puppies can get bored if you stick to absolute basics for too long. One of my now adult dogs progressed very quickly as a puppy- because she wanted and needed to while my latest puppy needs to take things a little slower.

Have you considered attending a puppy pre school as yet? I just want another cocker puppy to come to my puppy school- love them! They tend to be very bright little pups!

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Luke W

Luke W

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Congrats on your new puppy. Some good suggestions so far! I think alot depends on the dog in terms of how far how fast to push. While you do need to be careful about burning dogs out, you also need to be mindful that some intelligent puppies can get bored if you stick to absolute basics for too long. One of my now adult dogs progressed very quickly as a puppy- because she wanted and needed to while my latest puppy needs to take things a little slower.

Have you considered attending a puppy pre school as yet? I just want another cocker puppy to come to my puppy school- love them! They tend to be very bright little pups!

I'm booked in for 2 different puppy pre-schools so far...first one starts next week - at a vet clinic - then another one starts at 13 weeks (assuming they have enough numbers).

Can you ever do too many puppy pre-schools? Do you have one starting in South Melbourne in 3 weeks? What day/time and where?

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Cosmolo

Cosmolo

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I have one starting in South Melbourne next Saturday :laugh: Don't think you can do too many good puppy schools- you are likely to get different advice at each but you can take what works for you out of each one and socialise your puppy with a number of different puppies and places.

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Luke W

Luke W

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I have one starting in South Melbourne next Saturday :laugh: Don't think you can do too many good puppy schools- you are likely to get different advice at each but you can take what works for you out of each one and socialise your puppy with a number of different puppies and places.

Your inbox for PMs is full..

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