How Young Is To Young

[keds]

How young is to young. tried teaching my 7wk old pup to sit by holding a treat over her head and all she did is run around in circles. Is this because she is just too young or am i just doing it wrong. Any help would be greatly appreciated

[gareth]

She's too young. She should still be with her littermates and her Mum.

[puggy_puggy]

Mmmm yet another unethical breeder booting their puppy out to it's new home at a far to young age. So sad for the puppies and the people who are conned into buying them.

Keds ethical registered breeders will not let their pups go to new homes before they are 8 weeks old.

As for sitting for treats. Are you standing at the time you are offering her the treat? If you are kneeling it is more then likely your puppy thinks that you are wanting to play so try standing.

[Bully]

It is never too early to start training your pup. Now is the time to start

Have your heard of "clicker" training? Get a clicker (most pet stores or dog supply places sell them now) or simply use the word "YES!!!" (clicker works better as it is a distinct sound) and "power" it up. Your puppy doesn't know what the "marker" sound means yet, so you need to "power" it up. To do so "click" or say "Yes!!" and toss puppy a treat. After 4 or 5, maybe a few more C/T (click and treat) your puppy will be whipping her head around at the sound of the "click". Now you are ready to use it. Wait for your puppy to do something you like such as sit. C/T. Wait and when she sits again C/T. After a few times she'll start to work out that "Sit" = C/T and will start to offer the behaviour again. When she is offering the "sit" start to add the word "sit" just before she sits, then C/T. When she's reliably sitting on cue phase out the clicker and start to randomly reward the sit.

Use the clicker for other behaviours the same way. See something you like then C/T and your puppy will start to repeat what is rewarded. For things a little bit more complex start to reward an approximation of what you want. For example you want her to lie down, so you see her start to put the front legs lower to the ground so C/T, by now she'll be getting the idea of what the clicker is about so next time wait for a bit lower to the ground and C/T that until you have what you want then start to add the command just before the behaviour is completed and C/T as for the sit command.

Check out these web pages for more info -

http://www.clickerlessons.com/whatis.htm

http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/lessons.html

http://www.clickertraining.com/basics

You and your puppy will love clicker training and it will help you form a bond. There is no force or punishment involved so is perfect for young puppies. Good luck with your training

[Leema]

It's never too young to start training. Like these 6wk old sheltie babies:

[jacqui835]

I got my puppy at 7 weeks (he's a doberman cross-bit of rottie) and now at 8 weeks he knows sit, down, speak up, shake, go outside, come inside, leave it, NO, bring it here, go get it, go to bed, drop it, shh, go toilet and I'm sure there are others. He sits for his dinner and only goes to the bowl when I say OK. I don't use a clicker, I use treats with praise at first to get his undivided attention and to stop him from leaping on me, but I also do training sessions after exercise so he's not hyper. After he knows a trick though I just use praise. I do 2 10 min training sessions a day, plus in the beginning the dinner time thing. He quickly learned to sit and wait until OK that way, because he's very keen on his food. It might be his breed though, because I don't remember my last dog being this easy to train (he was a fox terrier cross). Funniest thing with this puppy is the first time we heard him barking we ran out to see what had happened (I was scared he was choking) and found him dancing around the cat's bowl which still had some food left in it, and barking at it, because he knew he wasn't allowed it. He does seem to be incredibly smart but just as importantly he's very keen to make us happy. I think my last dog was smart, but had a much more independent nature...

[Alyosha]

It's never too young to start training. Like these 6wk old sheltie babies:

A genuine question... Why are these puppies going in circles? Is that part of something else? It seems a behaviour that I would discourage... Could it lead to spinning when excited?

I would think that at 7 weeks old, a puppy's natural instinct when food is above it's head is to jump up for it. After all, they should be with their mum, and they would be jumping up to her mouth to lick for her to regurgitate food for them. Don't expect much from little babies - people need to do a human comparison sometime - how much would you expect from a two year old child? There's your 7 week old pup...

Edited April 1, 2009 by Nattylou

[Leema]

It's never too young to start training. Like these 6wk old sheltie babies:

A genuine question... Why are these puppies going in circles? Is that part of something else? It seems a behaviour that I would discourage... Could it lead to spinning when excited?

Lots of people teach dogs to circle left and right on cue in preparation for agility - so on the course they can call left and right with less degrees to get a turn.

Yes, they could do it when they're excited. But most dogs will do some trained behaviours when excited.

[poodlefan]

I'd say you're doing it wrong.

To "lure" the sit, you don't hold the treat over the dogs head. You start with it at the dog's eye level and slowly raise it back over the head so that the dog's head goes back towards it's shoulders and encourages it to drop its haunches.

If it doesn't work, you start again.

Edited April 5, 2009 by poodlefan

[sandgrubber]

Look at K9 Force's Puppy Development Calendar, pinned at the head of this forum. It is excellent.

[Kempe]

I got my puppy at 7 weeks (he's a doberman cross-bit of rottie) and now at 8 weeks he knows sit, down, speak up, shake, go outside, come inside, leave it, NO, bring it here, go get it, go to bed, drop it, shh, go toilet and I'm sure there are others. He sits for his dinner and only goes to the bowl when I say OK. I don't use a clicker, I use treats with praise at first to get his undivided attention and to stop him from leaping on me, but I also do training sessions after exercise so he's not hyper. After he knows a trick though I just use praise. I do 2 10 min training sessions a day, plus in the beginning the dinner time thing. He quickly learned to sit and wait until OK that way, because he's very keen on his food. It might be his breed though, because I don't remember my last dog being this easy to train (he was a fox terrier cross). Funniest thing with this puppy is the first time we heard him barking we ran out to see what had happened (I was scared he was choking) and found him dancing around the cat's bowl which still had some food left in it, and barking at it, because he knew he wasn't allowed it. He does seem to be incredibly smart but just as importantly he's very keen to make us happy. I think my last dog was smart, but had a much more independent nature...

He learned all that in one week!!! at 7/8 weeks of age!!!

Now I feel a failure

[Tesa]

I'd say you're doing it wrong.

To "lure" the sit, you don't hold the treat over the dogs head. You start with it at the dog's eye level and slowly raise it back over the head so that the dog's head goes back towards it's shoulders and encourages it to drop its haunches.

If it doesn't work, you start again.

I was thinking the same thing. Is it possible that you keep moving your hand?

[Christina]

I really think it depends on the breed.

My doberman puppy, years ago, was very receptive to training but no way would I try at 7 weeks with my toy poodles. I start groom/clip at 5 weeks to get them used to it but they are not trained at week 7.

For a smart breed I find them very silly until about 6 months old then it all seems to click in.

A dalmation I once had was an idiot for a good 6 months too but ended up really good.

Working breeds seem easier to start young IMO.

There is no completely right way to teach sit, everyone does it differently but they all get it in the end, whatever works for your dog is the right way.

[Stitch]

IMO it is never too young to start training, after all that is what you are doing when you play with a pup of any age - you are training it.

Don't expect much, go slowly, use food treats, be surprised when you achieve results and most important, keep practicing daily.

I should take my own advice!!!

[sas]

I got my puppy at 7 weeks (he's a doberman cross-bit of rottie) and now at 8 weeks he knows sit, down, speak up, shake, go outside, come inside, leave it, NO, bring it here, go get it, go to bed, drop it, shh, go toilet and I'm sure there are others. He sits for his dinner and only goes to the bowl when I say OK. I don't use a clicker, I use treats with praise at first to get his undivided attention and to stop him from leaping on me, but I also do training sessions after exercise so he's not hyper. After he knows a trick though I just use praise. I do 2 10 min training sessions a day, plus in the beginning the dinner time thing. He quickly learned to sit and wait until OK that way, because he's very keen on his food. It might be his breed though, because I don't remember my last dog being this easy to train (he was a fox terrier cross). Funniest thing with this puppy is the first time we heard him barking we ran out to see what had happened (I was scared he was choking) and found him dancing around the cat's bowl which still had some food left in it, and barking at it, because he knew he wasn't allowed it. He does seem to be incredibly smart but just as importantly he's very keen to make us happy. I think my last dog was smart, but had a much more independent nature...

I'm sorry, but I don't believe at 8 weeks your puppy has 14 commands proofed.

I understand like parents, owners can be really proud of their puppies but to others reading this, don't expect your puppy to be at that level, it's unrealistic.

[sas]

How young is to young. tried teaching my 7wk old pup to sit by holding a treat over her head and all she did is run around in circles. Is this because she is just too young or am i just doing it wrong. Any help would be greatly appreciated

You may want to revisit your technique, some dogs will not automatiocally sit when you hold a treat over their head. What you could do is place your puppy in a corner of the room so when she backs up she leaves herself little option but to sit if she wants the food.

Another method is to simply hold the treat in a clenched fist and let the puppy smell it and actually wait for them to sit which may take a few minutes and then say "Good Sit!".

At 7 weeks she is still meant to be with her litter learning socialiation, bite inhabilition etc. So don't push it.