10 Wk Old Pup In Training

[Guest choice_brandy]

Chilli is the first dog I have gotten as a young puppy and I am desperately trying to get everything right (in the past I have rescued older dogs as I haven't had the time to focus my attentions on a pup)

She's just gone 10 weeks old and I am looking for a puppy class for her today, she had her second shot yesterday but vet assures me she's safe to take to puppy classes now.

Anyway, my question is regarding her training. So far she sits (exceptionally well) She even has an automatic sit before crossing the road. She shakes both her paws. She drops but tends to then try to roll over, which I ignore. She'll stay as long as I don't go more than about 3 metres from her but admittedly... she's 10 weeks old and far more advanced than I would expect. She is crate trained and house trained (99% of the time and the accidents are usually my own fault)

My problem at the moment is with feeding times. She will sit when I put her bowl down, and she's learned not to steal from the cats who are fed beside her... she knows wait, but scoots herself as close to the bowl as she can possibly get, she doesn't eat until I say but if I don't push her back she will rest her nose right on the food. Is pushing her pack and starting over the best course of action? A loud NO perhaps? Everything I am doing so far I have been learning from this site but i can't really find any information on this aspect yet. She's incredibly smart, so I don't want to confuse her or teach her bad habits.

[huski]

She sounds like a really good little pup

Have you tried the Triangle of Temptation (pinned at the top of this forum)? It's what I use with my dogs and have since my youngest one was a pup. I don't think she's pushing the boundaries at 10 weeks I would suggest she just doesn't understand what she should be doing.

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=64101

BTW - I see you're in Clayfield, you are just around the corner from me! When you say she sits automatically at the road, do you mean you have been walking her a lot?

[Erny]

My problem at the moment is with feeding times. She will sit when I put her bowl down ... but scoots herself as close to the bowl as she can possibly get, she doesn't eat until I say but if I don't push her back she will rest her nose right on the food. Is pushing her pack and starting over the best course of action? A loud NO perhaps?

No - No "loud" no's. We don't have to yell at our dogs, they hear perfectly well (all things being normal, that is). My Dad taught me that when people are debating, the one who raises his/her voice is the one who loses the argument. I tend to apply this philosophy to dog training as well.

Simply lift the bowl back off the ground out of her reach the very moment she begins to "scoot" (or even hints at scooting). You can accompany this with a "no reward marker" such as "ah ah" or "oops" (said in neutral tone and neutral volume). It might take a few goes to get the message across that if she moves before being told she can go towards the food the food will move out of her reach, but it should work. She's only a little babe at this time, so don't have over-realistic expectations of her. Set her up to win and don't make her wait an eternity (more than a couple of seconds of waiting can be an eternity for a baby pup) before you give her the release to her food command.

I agree with the suggestion of following the "TOT" program.

Edited April 17, 2010 by Erny

[Guest choice_brandy]

Thanks for that... we'll give that a go

Would it be ok to introduce her to a clicker this early? She's like a sponge at the moment and catches on very quickly. Not sure if its possible to overtrain a dog but she enjoys our little sessions.

As for walking... she has been going for walks around the local streets since 8 weeks. There doesn't seem to be many dogs in this area and we have virtually no yard. I figured around here was safer than a designated dog area. We've also visited the neighbours dog across the road who is fully vaccinated and I didn't want her thinking she could just run straight across there.

[Erny]

Would it be ok to introduce her to a clicker this early? She's like a sponge at the moment and catches on very quickly. Not sure if its possible to overtrain a dog but she enjoys our little sessions.

You can if you wish. I don't generally use the clicker. I use my voice or certain mouth sounds. But that's just me - I find it easier and it suits us. Just be careful not to move on too quickly with something, before it's really properly understood by your pup. Continue to build on the basics and get them better and better and more and more reliable. Add in new things to keep the novelty value of learning going, for sure, but for example don't push distraction before distance before duration. Have a couple of things going at a time and go back to easier stuff the pup knows well in between.

Training tricks is really good. They are fun for your pup and for you.

ETA: Regards the walking, it is about how far you walk as well. Not great for puppy joints to do too much "pounding the pavement" (just to coin a phrase). The preferred physical exercise for pups is free running, where they are more inclined to stop when they tire. When you're out and about, pup will want to keep up with you no matter what.

Edited April 17, 2010 by Erny

[huski]

Thanks for that... we'll give that a go

Would it be ok to introduce her to a clicker this early? She's like a sponge at the moment and catches on very quickly. Not sure if its possible to overtrain a dog but she enjoys our little sessions.

Absolutely! You can introduce clicker/marker training from any age.

As for walking... she has been going for walks around the local streets since 8 weeks. There doesn't seem to be many dogs in this area and we have virtually no yard. I figured around here was safer than a designated dog area. We've also visited the neighbours dog across the road who is fully vaccinated and I didn't want her thinking she could just run straight across there.

You just need to be careful, not just about her catching diseases but over exercising her when her joints are still forming. You can do serious damage if you aren't careful - the general rule for pups is no more than five minutes of structured exercise per month of age. So if she's two months old, nothing more than 10 minutes absolute MAX of structured exercise (i.e. walking). At ten weeks she really doesn't need structured walking anyway, playing and training with you should tire her out nicely without over doing it.

Edited April 17, 2010 by huski

[Guest choice_brandy]

With regards to walking... we only go around the block... When we get home Chilli usually gallops all over the front lawn chasing her ball so I don't think she's doing too much at this stage. I intend for her to be my jogging partner eventually... and being a suburban cattle dog I am trying to keep her entertained in the mean time.

Our biggest problem at the moment is my housemates untrained dog. I am worried he'll teach Chilli his bad habits but so far that hasn't happened.

[Addicted to Dogs]

I think it's great that you and your pup are getting such fun out of training. Keep up the good work - have a go at a few tricks as well as they're always good fun for both of you.

A tip which I learnt by not doing it with my pup is to also spend time teaching your pup to just chill and be there - to settle on a bed and just observe, to sit and watch the world go by when you go for a walk, to the shops or anywhere else. Life is not all about doing doing doing (although that's fun) and being at peace is a skill that takes practice.