Training an 8 week old puppy

[graydawntreader]

Hi everyone.
I will be bringing home an 8 week old pup next Sunday. I haven't worked with a baby in many years and was wondering, outside of the potty and crate training, how should I go about teaching sit, stay, come, down, etc to him? Should I work on one thing at a time or spend a little time on a few things in one session? How long can I expect him to attend? Also, I read somewhere about teaching a dog to "chill" to calm them down. Any thoughts?

The earlier you start, the better. Only teach one command at a time. Once he knows one, you can use that command in other training sessions, especially if you for some reason have to abruptly end a training session, you can at least end it with a success. Also, teach in several different locations and reward every single time the puppy obeys, but once he knows the command perfectly, start reducing the treats (or whatever reward you use) and only reward him sometimes. Eventually, you can only reward enough that the puppy obeys in hopes of being rewarded. Several 5 minute training sessions a day are more affective than one long 20 minute one, especially with a little puppy. I have never heard of the chill method. Is that the same as "time outs"? IMO, those aren't necessary.
I, myself, use positive reinforcement training with my dogs and they learn pretty fast, especially my Papillon/Sheltie mix. I also use negative punishment. (The term on that last one is confusing. It means "Negative" as in something good is taken away to make the dog obey.)

 

[LaOsaLinda]

then you mean negative reinforcement, where something is taken away but a positive reaction is given. I know its confusing for most people. I am a psychology freak haha.. Got my degree in it. Punishment is where you basically punish someone.. even though there are negative and positive punishment many confuse reinforcement with punishment.

 

[graydawntreader]

then you mean negative reinforcement, where something is taken away but a positive reaction is given. I know its confusing for most people. I am a psychology freak haha.. Got my degree in it. Punishment is where you basically punish someone.. even though there are negative and positive punishment many confuse reinforcement with punishment.

No, positive reinforcement trainers that I know use negative punishment when needed. Positive punishment is adding something to make the dog stop a behavior (like a shock collar), positive reinforcement trainers do not use that. That's what I mean when I say that the terms for + and - are confusing. I didn't understand the terms myself (although I understood the methods) until I realized...positive as in adding something, negative as in taking something away. I only use punishment when needed as well.
Most of the time, I lure the dog with a treat until he learns that behavior well.

 

[BarbV]

I'm mostly into positive reinforcement but the nipping thing is getting out of hand. The funny thing is he only does it in the morning.

I can get him to sit on command now - both with verbal and hand signals. Even if he's in "nip" mode. Stay is another story. Stay works when he's in training mode but not when I'm crossing the room with my morning coffee in hand. It's hard to carry the cup of coffee, do hand signal and have a reward ready ....all at 6 a.m. when I'm barely awake myself

Getting progress on Down. Combination of hand signal and treat working 9 out of 10.

So when the morning nips happen, I often have to resort to more aggressive tactics on my part. Sometimes I "chase" him instead. Sometimes I remember to have a toy in hand and when I'm carrying my coffee across the room, I'll toss the toy away to distract him. I don't know if this is helping or hurting the training.

Come and fetch is fine.

I look forward to more posts on this topic as I continue to work through the issues.

 

[listarz]

Okay, the pup, Indy, is home. He is learning his name, sit, and come. Crate training was a breeze. House training is going fairly well. My problem now is what are the best treats to use a s a reinforcement? Anything too big even if broken into pieces takes too long to chew. Years ago, I used bits of cheese, but I was told that cheese is not good for the digestive system. He doesn't seem interested enough in pieces of his kibble to use that. HELP!!!!!

 

[Shetland Sheepmonster]

There are these treats called Zukes Mini Naturals that are all natural (no wheat, gluten free), that are tiny and perfect for training. They're usually sold by smaller boutique pet supplies stores though and aren't carried by Petsmart or Petco. You can also order them online. I also like to use green beans because they provide me with a healthy alternative that isn't going to make Ripley gain weight even if we train for longer periods. Remember that lots of training treats equal lots of extra calories! Try getting your pup used to veggies early on, a bag of cut green beans is about $1.00, versus a bag of dog treats that will run you about $6 - $10. I'm a big fan of the beans.

 

[tehluhlah]

I second the Zuke's suggestion, both of my boys looove them and they only have 2 calories each. Smoke also loves the Natural Balance dog food rolls, I just cut it up into little squares to use as a training treat.

I do keep close track of how many treats I'm feeding so I can cut the kibble serving back a bit to match. At our last trip to the vet I was warned that Smoke was starting to get just a little pudgy, I guess his puppy metabolism has gone away

 

[listarz]

Excellent! I'll check out the Zukes. I am really liking the green bean suggestion as well. With all the training I have ahead of me, a low calorie treat is what i am looking for.
Thanks for your help!

 

[Chris]

Try getting your pup used to veggies early on, a bag of cut green beans is about $1.00, versus a bag of dog treats that will run you about $6 - $10. I'm a big fan of the beans.

That's for sure! I think Annie Laurie could learn to pilot an airplane if I used veggies.

 

[OntarioSheltie]

At home I mostly use carrots, which Sadie can't seem to get enough of. My parents sheltie also loves carrots, as well as my uncle's schnauzer. I give her baby carrots either whole or in small pieces if we're training.

Carrots were also the only thing Sadie liked to chew on when she was teething. I would by her the largest carrots I could find, cut them in half and then give her the halves. One half would last her a couple of days, when she stopped chewing on it I would rinse it off then put it in a plastic bag in the fridge. The carrot was great because it wasn't too messy and held the cold for up to an hour.