Before you start your puppy training

I trust you have already read over ‘good means good’ which will give you the basics of how to make your dog understand you more effectively.  Some other good grounding articles in lead walking can be found at this link.

Training Tools

A leash, around 3 ft long is ideal.

A flat buckled collar, preferably leather.

Low value dog training treats – biscuits / dry dog food.

High value dog training treats – meat / cheese.

A favourite dog toy.

Leash training

Begin by encouraging your puppy over and asking for a sit.  As you give your puppy a treat for sitting on command with your left hand, use the right to attach the leash to the collar.  This will create a positive attitude towards the leash, whilst promoting a calm demeanour.  If your puppy is excitable do not attach the leash whilst he is in this frame of mind, drain some of the energy with a game or concentrate on some obedience to ensure he is attentive and ready for the training session.

Training your puppy to walk to heel – start in the house!

So your puppy should now be in the sit looking up at you.   Using the low value dog training treats, firmly grip the treat in your fingers with enough poking out to allow your puppy to smell and lick at.  If your puppy is uninterested in the low value treats you will have to start with high value such as meat but the same process applies.

Now you have your puppy sniffing at the treat (you want an almost magnetic effect) use the treat in a semi circular motion to guide your puppy around to your left hand side.  You will still have the leash in your right hand and your treat in the left.  REMEMBER if your hand is any higher than the dogs height he/she will jump up to obtain the treat, do not reprimand, just lower your hand so your puppy is comfortable with all four paws on the ground.  Should your puppy paw at your hand simply ignore this action, as long as you do not release the reward as he does this the behaviour fades out quickly.

Shoulder to leg

You want your puppies shoulder to be in perfect alignment with your leg.  This is your benchmark position.  If your puppy moves further forward you should repeat luring him around in a semi circular motion again to your left hand side.

By keeping your hand just in front of your leg you can maintain a good position.  If your puppy is creeping forward keep your arm movement in check. Many people fail to notice their hand being pushed forward by their puppy and end up stretching out, which isn’t good for anyone.

Walking

Encourage your puppy to walk with you on the leash by taking confident paces.  Remember we are still in the house so the  limited space will actually benefit you right now.  By walking in fairly small circles anticlockwise you are able to block your puppy from speeding off ahead of you or veering to the left.

As you walk tell your puppy ‘good’ every time he is in the correct position with a loose leash, followed quickly by the reward in your hand.  When filling your hand with treats ask your puppy for a sit so he has something to do.  If you don’t give your dog a task to do whilst you are sorting out the treats he will inevitably wander.

The heel command

Once you have established a nice response, whereby when you put the leash on and your puppy looks to you for treats you can start adding in the ‘heel’ command.  So remember the routine is ‘heel’, ‘good’, treat.  It is going to take sometime for you puppy to respond to this command so take things slowly and try not to push your luck.

Venturing outside

Okay so you are confident your puppy knows the command and is walking brilliantly on the leash inside the house.  Now you are ready to venture out and its time to bring out the big guns – meaty treats or cheese.  There are so many distractions around your treats need to be better than the dog pee on the lamppost or next doors cat.  Repeat the process again, still using the circles if your dog begins to move in front of you.  This may look a little odd out and about but its less embarrassing than having a fully grown dog dragging you down the street due to lack of puppy training.  Have a toy to hand and every now and then after a good walking stretch of no pulling, produce the toy and have a thirty second game. Keep the game short, calm and snappy.

Reducing rewards and puppy lures

Okay so you are all sick of bending over to get that lovely relaxed puppy walking on the lead and having dog treat hands.  You are now going to slowly reduce the lure into a reward.  Begin with the lure, give one treat then retract your hand.  Keep your hand away for a second or two then reward again.  Continue with this and slowly build up how long you can keep your hand away.  As soon as your puppy pulls, stop immediately and request him to return to the heel position (you can still use the lure if necessary – do not pull your dog back or you will undo all the positive work you have done to make your puppy WANT to walk at your side) and reduce the time you take your hand away.  This is just the puppy telling you that you have moved on a little too fast for him or her.

Other problems?

For help with dogs with excessive pulling, jumping or refusal to walk see this link.

Picture by Wrote

Treats

Any way back to the all important dog training!  So Sophie was suitably calm after a good walk and a nap and we were ready to go.  I knew as soon as I used a treat to lure her to the down position she would go into her default ‘play dead’ so I had to use something extra special so she could not react more quickly than I could direct her behaviour.   So, as odd as this sounds I used bread!  Its important to use whatever motivates your dog the most rather than something you perceive to be tasty to the dog and for Sophie it’s bread all the way.

Lure

I held the bread in my right hand and placed it on the end of her nose and guided it to the ground.  Then I moved my hand forward, making sure to keep it low to the ground to stop her from wanting to get up into the stand.  Unfortunately I moved my hand a little too quickly forward which resulted in a bit of a bunny hop.  So starting again I moved my hand across the floor very slowly.  I repeated this for about five minutes or so and then we had a little play and cuddle to chill out.  I have to be careful with Sophie as she can get quickly stressed when learning something new.

Command

About half an hour later I repeated the process and began to add a verbal command.  Using ‘crawl’ as she moved, followed by ‘good’ and a treat.  This was repeated a fair few times and quickly she was following my hand signal without food being present.  Tomorrow we will be working on moving the hand further away concentrating on the verbal command.

All in all a successful training session and by doing it in small chunks she picked it up quickly and we avoided the rain whilst keeping both of us entertained.

Photo by Tim in Sydneys

**If your dog is already anxious and you know firework season is fast approaching contact your vet for calming medication and begin this process once the worst part of the season is over.

Equipment Needed

The first thing to do is to buy a CD called ‘crash, bang, wallop’.  This CD will provide you with the necessary sounds for desensitizing your dog to the stresses and strains of fireworks and many other unpleasant noises.

You are also going to need whatever motivates your dog the most. Is Fido crazy for treats or does he love to chew on a toy?  Think about this as you are going to need the strongest motivator for your dog possible.  If your dog loves treats then save the tastiest (usually hot dogs or cheese) for this occasion. If your dog is toy motivated, keep a special toy tucked away out of reach that only comes out when its training time.

How to desensitize and counter condition

Desensitizing is to take your dog from a state of anxiety around a certain stimulus to a relaxed state and counter conditioning will allow your dog to make a positive association with the sounds.

Play your CD at the lowest possible volume, literally so that you cannot hear almost anything. Reward your dog with a game or lavish them with treats.  Your dog should not be showing any signs of stress at this point whatsoever.  If you do see excessive panting, yawning, scratching or general anxiety then turn that volume further down (you have it too high). If necessary place the CD player in the next room.

TOP TIP Playing the CD at meal times is a great way to make a positive association.

Timing

Repeat this around four times a day for no longer than three minutes.  You can squeeze a session in whilst you wait for the kettle to boil its that quick.  Keeping it short and sweet is definitely the way to go with fear issues.

Make things fun for your dog and ensure that you are rewarding good behaviours.  This is crucial to your success and a peaceful night when those fireworks start banging.

Increasing the noise levels

After you notice your dog is overjoyed when it begins to hear the noisy fireworks you can start to increase the volume. Remember your timing and increase the volume by the slightest increment.  Repeat the steps for desensitization and counter conditioning.  Rewarding your dog and playing games.  You need to be very aware of how your dog is reacting and take the increasing volume at your dogs pace. If you increase too quickly your dog will become anxious.  Over a few weeks you can slowly build your dog up until the CD is playing at a considerable volume whilst you and your dog are having a great time!  Just make sure you are constantly looking for signs of stress. Read the article on reading my dogs body language for a refresher.

TOP TIP DAP diffusers or collars can help calm your dog through appeasing pheromone.

Your signals

Try to make sure you stay calm and relaxed if you see any anxiety for your dog. Do not respond to anxious behaviour, just calmly take a step back and lower your levels and expectations. Remember you have to go at your dogs rate and there is no quick fix although this method only takes a few minutes a day.

Picture by jonrawlinson

Email from owner

Hi Louise,

Both of my dogs are mini schnauzers. The baby is female and  Kane is of course is the male.  He has been so very very good with her and all she wants to do is go at him. She has hurt him a couple of times with those sharp needles in her mouth.  Finally today he has been a little tougher with her but never hurts her. Sometimes her voice has become so aggressive when she growls while so called playing with him.  I did pry her off Kane once because she would not release her bite and he was yelping. She had him in his beard area.

Also, I had been keeping her in her crate quite a bit because I am trying to housebreak her but someone suggested to take her out and let her have more run time with Kane and they may simmer down.  That part is doing better today  Far from perfect but better.  I can keep her outside for 30 min and bring her in the house and then she lets it go.  Kane was trained in 2 weeks but I only had him at the time.    Am I expecting too much or is this all happening because of having two dogs this time vs one.

Thanks Yvonne

Reply

http://www.teachingpuppies.com/how-to-teach-my-puppy-to-leave-it

and see http://www.teachingpuppies.com/reading-your-puppies-body-language

This will give you a better idea of the signals your dogs are sending each other.  Make sure you reinforce Jake’s place as head of the dogs by feeding him first, not letting the pup push in and not carrying her about too much around him.  You will probably find she ends up as the more dominant, this is entirely common for new dogs but this won’t happen for another 6 months or so but keep your eye out for the changes (the body lang link will let you keep a tab on this).

I would suggest when they spend time together when she jumps all over him you give the ‘leave it’ command and as she comes away from him towards you reward her with a kong toy stuffed with her food (he can have one too). You can actually freeze them so it takes ages for them to get through and they love it.  This will give both dogs a positive association of being around each other and teach Kane that the new pup isn’t so bad after all, whilst teaching her she can be around him without actually being a terrible pest.

Dogs do tend to bite and growl when they play and the roughest play to us is just fun and games to them.  My dog will happily hang off my older dogs ears and he does not bat an eyelid as he is so laid back. Then every now and then when he has had enough he will bark at her to tell her so, at which point she backs off immediately.  This will happen with your dogs too. It actually sounds like Kane is a bit too tolerant of the new puppy, which is lovely to know as he is obviously a very gentle dog but give him a chance to tell her off and if he doesn’t but yelps (like you have mentioned with the beard) another few times you can begin giving her time outs. So if she is over the top take her by the collar and lead her into another room for one minute (don’t use the crate or she will end up hating it).

Okay well that is a fair bit of information to digest so I will leave it at that for now. Get back to me with how you are getting on.

Thanks
Louise

Picture by aresauburntm’s photostream

Use a quality brand dog (not human) toothpaste (available from most good pet shops or vet) and toothbrush. Dog toothbrushes are much softer than a humans to protect their gums.

At first just put a little of the doggy toothpaste on your finger and allow the dog to lick this off. You can then progress quickly to putting your hand on their muzzle whilst they lick the paste.  Begin lifting their lips up gently to get them acclimatised to the unusual touch.

Then begin running your finger over their teeth briefly and reward.  You can now use the toothbrush.  Imagine it is your finger again and begin the process of them licking the toothbrush with the paste on it.  Start running it over the dogs teeth. Do this for a few days on the run, then you can begin actually brushing their teeth in the same way you would do your own. Be gentle and make it fun!

You can use a word like teeth before each session so your dog learns to expect what is happening. This way when you go to the vet and they want to look in your dogs mouth you can use the same word and your dog will be happy to have them examine their mouth – simples! Job done.

Potty training information found here.

Photo – Tooth fairy by the giant vermin

Step one

Groom your puppy or dog BEFORE bathing them. This is important if you don’t want your drains to be clogged with dog hair and your hands looking like that of a yeti.

Step two

A quick brush to get rid of the excess hair is fine.  Use something with wide teeth and be sensitive around knots and matted hair (especially at first).  Give them a chew to have whilst you brush them down.

Step three

Use rubber matting in the base of your bath, you can buy this pretty cheaply and it will stop your dog slipping and sliding all over the bath.  When picking up a large breed put one arm to the right of your puppy under his neck and the other under his bum (under the tail). This will bring his legs into a central point and stop that manic scramble.

TOP TIP – Even if you have an twelve week old large breed, start picking them up like this straight away so they are comfortable with it when they grow up.

Step four

After grooming your dog or puppy take them to bath. This time you are not going to bathe them at all. Simply pop the dog in – give it loads of delicious treats and tell you dog how wonderful they are. Repeat this for a few days, as many times a day as you can manage.  It will only take two minutes a time.

Step five

Start asking your dog to turn around in the bath by using one of the treats as a lure and giving ‘turn’ as the command.  Reinforce the ’stand’ command and give them treats for standing still. Give them a chew in there, feed them in there anything to make it a positive place. Avoid toys you do not want them to be overly excited in the bath.

Step six

Use a lead as a tether to the tap or somewhere to secure. Reward your dog for this and any calm behaviour.

Step seven

Turn on the water, a shower head is best.  Do not soak your dog, just give treats and allow the water to trickle at the base of the bath. Whilst the water is trickling begin to rub your dog in a circular motion as you would with shampoo, stopping every twenty seconds to give a reward (have a tub of treats next to your bath).

Step eight

So now you are actually ready to bathe your calm and relaxed puppy or dog.  Use the water all over your dogs back whilst giving the stand command and rewarding every so often.  If they begin to scramble use a ‘no’ in a low authoritative voice whilst holding their collar, then resume the bathing.

TOP TIP Remain calm and take your time. I know its something you want to get out of the way but the more frustrated you get the more your dog will scramble.

Step nine

Towel dry your dog to get the excess water off whilst they are in the bath – most dogs enjoy this bit and its a great training aid as they will soon learn that the chain of behaviour is remaining calm in the bath gets you lots of attention.

TOP TIP If you dog begins panicking in the bath, do not reinforce this, simply hold the collar firmly and play the waiting game.  When your dog stands still, reward and resume.

Potty training information found here.

Photo by TheGiantVermin

First things first you need to change how your dog feels about you being around food.  You need to teach your dog to leave it, you can learn how here.  It is good to understand your dogs behaviour by reading their body language, this article will show you how.  As soon as you are more familiar with the dogs language, you can move on to feeding.

When dogs freeze this is an indication they are about to nip or bite. You need to be completly ready for this and pre empt your dog getting to this level.  When feeding your puppy or dog put the food into three different portions and three different bowls.  Ask your dog to sit before you give the food. Then put one bowl down, wait for your dog to finish then the next and so on until the dog has eaten all three bowls. This teaches the dog that you control their food intake. Repeat this for a few days.

Next you can begin putting a quarter of the dogs food in the bowl, once the dog has finished it you can then add another quarter and so on until you have fed the dog.  Do not touch the dog when you are doing this, it will teach your dog their space will not be invaded yet you will giving them more food, allowing them to make a positive association between you being near them and food being constantly put in the bowl.

Do not take the dogs food away from them whilst they are eating, this will cause the dog to be protective over their food. Feeding the dogs treats whilst praising your dog is good to build up a sense of trust between you both.

Once you notice your dog is becoming more relaxed around their food you can teach them to lift their head up whilst eating to give them an extra tasty treat. This will help break the cycle of obsession of the food in their bowl.

You need to think about a dog that fits your lifestyle.  Make sure you have read am I ready for a puppy before you consider getting a dog.  Remember there are thousands of wonderful dogs and puppy’s waiting for homes in rescue shelter. This can be a great idea as you will have a good idea of what your dog is going to be like.  Whether you opt for a puppy or older dog you really need to consider the breed.

Activity levels.

• Highly energy dogs – requiring constant training and excersise, not great with being left alone, best suited to very active, dedicated owners. If these dogs do not receive the exercise and mental stimulation they require they will find other unwanted outlets for their energy, so choose one of these breeds with caution.  High energy dogs are not recommended to households with young children.  These breeds include:

1. Border collie
2. Dalmatian
3. German Shepard (Alsation)
4. Pitt Bulls
5. Boxers
6. Jack Russell
7. Husky
8. German Short Haired Pointer
9. Springer Spaniel
10. Collie crosses (anything with collie in it at all requires a lot of work).

• Medium energy dogs – Require lots of walking, at least one to two hours per day.  Good for activities, tend to be good with childen, although there are breed exceptions such as the cocker spaniel and Akita.

1. Labrador
2. Golden Retriever
3. Newfoundland
4. Border Terrier
5. Old English Sheepdog
6. Malamute
7. Akita
8. Cocker Spaniel
9. Poodle

• Low energy dogs – require at least 45 minutes of walking a day.  More relaxed in the home but still enjoy activities.

1. Dachshund
2. Lasa Apso
3. Pomeranion
4. Yorkshire Terrier
5. King Charles Spaniel
6. Greyhound
7. Irish Wolfhound
8. Lurcher
9. Basset Hound

Research your breed the kennel club offer good breed breakdowns.  Then check out the breed club websites or buy a book on your breed of choice.

It is vital you read up and talk to people who own the breed before making this massive commitment. When you decide on a breed check out the article picking the perfect puppy.  Followed by other essentials like house training and my puppy’s first night.

Have one toy that you use specifically for fetch.  Don’t let your dog have this at any time other than when you play fetch.  This will make your dog much more keen to engage with you and the toy.

The toy

Start with something that your puppy can tug on and is soft for them to pick up.  If you have a terrier avoid anything that squeaks at this stage or they will be reluctant to return this to you, due to prey drive.

Getting you puppy interested

Get down on your puppy’s level and trail the toy in quick movements on the floor. Praising your puppy for chasing it.  Work simply at this for a few days until when you get that toy out your dog is keen to play.

Teach the ‘leave it’ command

If you haven’t done already this is a vital time to teach the ‘leave it’ command. This article will show you how.

Using a long line or long light lead

Attach a washing line or long piece of string to their collar.  Leave it trailing on the floor without any tension.

Throwing the toy

Throw the toy gently and encourage your puppy to chase after it.  If your puppy goes to the toy and picks it up skip to retrieving the toy.

My puppy won’t chase/ pick it up

Run over to the toy and point it out, if necessary. Praising when they pick it up or even touch it. If they pick it up run backward calling their name for a few feet and make a huge fuss when they follow you.  If they don’t pick it up, as soon as they sniff, pick it up yourself and run backwards engaging in a game of tug of war to encourage them.

Retrieving the toy

Once your puppy is running after and picking up the toy call your puppy back.  If he ignores you then pick up the long line and reel him in, using praise as he comes.  Make a huge fuss, even if you had to use the line.  This will teach him bringing it back is great.  Reward with a game of tug of war for about thirty seconds, then give the leave it command and take the toy.

Training your dog or puppy to complete other commands is hugely beneficial to your dog and to you see these dog training articles to help you out.

Once again make sure your dog has mastered the good means good training before beginning.

First step

So this time we are going to focus on keeping our puppy calm and relaxed.  A jumpy, excitable puppy will only make things worse. So take your puppy out for a good walk first.

TOP TIP

When training the stay remain very low key, don’t repeat the commands or shout them at your dog. A firm tone of voice for the ’stay’ is required but a low key ‘good’ will stop your pup coming over for its treat.

Second step

Ask your dog to either sit or down (its up to you) in front of you.  Make sure you have an upright posture (most people bend over when calling the dog, so don’t send mixed signals).  Don’t have any treats in your hands, keep them in your pocket for now and make sure your puppy knows this.  Give the dog the command ’stay’ with a flat palm facing the dog as shown in the picture to the right.

Keep one foot in place and step back with the other.  As quickly as you moved that foot away, take it straight back and use the sequence ’stay’, ‘good’, reward.  Do not try to move away too quickly or you will undo all your efforts.

TOP TIP

Do not use your puppy’s name, they will think you are calling them over.

Third step

Once your puppy remains sat or lay still when you move your foot away, you can now take one step back with both feet. Once again return immediately and ’stay’, ‘good’, reward.

TOP TIP

When returning to your puppy don’t make too much of a fuss or they will break the position they are in. A simple low key good is all that is required. Let the treat do the talking not you!

Fourth step

This time stay away and count to three and return, slowly but surely building this up to at least twenty seconds before you create a greater distance between you and your dog.  You can then start moving further and further away as your puppy remains in the same spot.

TOP TIP

If your puppy gets up and moves during any of this training then you must say ‘no’ gently and patiently take them back to the EXACT spot they moved from, without exception.  Even a small creep will damage their understanding and your control.

Training your dog or puppy to complete other commands is hugely beneficial to your dog and to you see these dog training articles to help you out.