Training is a Lifelong Commitment!

For the next 6 weeks we are teaching our Dogs to heel, sit, down, stay and come. We are teaching them patience and how to pay attention to us. We have set aside time each day to work with them and repeat over and over what we expect from them. Yea! We made it through the 6 weeks and our dogs have graduated. Now what?

My dog knows all his basic commands and does them when he chooses, he is still crazy in the house, and he doesn’t always listen. Am I doing something wrong? Does he need more training?

Does any of this sound familiar? I am sure it does, I hear it all the time. Training is an ongoing commitment for the rest of your dog's life. It is time for you and your dog to spend quality time together and have fun. Dogs see Training time as a job and they really enjoy jobs.

When your 6 weeks of Basic training is done, it would be time to make a commitment to yourself and your dog, to continue to set those 15 minutes aside for him each day. Put his leash on and take him for a walk, while you are out practice the automatic sit, ask him to sit and stay. You can incorporate all his commands into your daily walk. At night while you are watching TV call him over and put him in a down stay, ask him to hold it for 15 minutes to a half hour. Those times when the crazies hit and your puppy is running around like a nut in the house. Tell him enough and ask for a sit stay for 15 minutes. After this give him a rawhide or filled Kong to work on for a little while.

Playing fetch or Frisbee is another great training opportunity. Throw the ball call him to come and drop it. Tell him to sit and stay, then throw the ball, release him with the "ok" and tell him to go get it. Wow! The things he can learn while having fun.

So, remember training does not stop just because class has. You have a dog for his whole life and that means you need to be responsible and make a commitment to make him the best dog he can be.

There are many training opportunities for you and your dog. Stay active, try one of my continuing education classes or a class just to have fun with your dog.

Tips for a Well Behaved Dog

Start training early; what’s learned earliest is often learned quickest and easiest. The older the dog the more bad habits will likely need to be ”unlearned”. When it comes to raising and training a dog, an ounce of problem prevention is certainly worth a pound of cure.
Train your dog gently and humanely. Whenever possible teach him using positive motivational methods. Keep training sessions upbeat so that it is enjoyable for everyone.
How well your dog responds to you at home affects his behavior outdoors as well. If your dog doesn’t respond reliably to your commands at home, he certainly won’t respond to you properly outdoors, where he is tempted by other dogs, birds, children etc…
DO NOT give your dog commands you cannot enforce. You must be able to carry through with the command or the dog quickly learns that commands are optional.
One command equals one response. Give your dog only one command (repeat 2 times max), and then enforce a response. Repeating commands over and over teaches the dog he does not have to respond to the first few commands. Example: Telling your dog to “sit,sit,sit” is ineffective. Simply say sit one time and follow through by “no” and “sit” If still not sitting place into a sit and praise.
Avoid combined commands. Commands such as “sit-down” can confuse your dog. It should be either “sit” or “down”. “Sit-down” simply doesn’t exist.
Before blaming the dog when he doesn’t respond to a command, you must determine A) If the dog knows what you want. B) He knows how to comply and C) He is not simply being unresponsive due to fear, stress or confusion.
Avoid giving commands in a loud voice. Even if your dog is extremely independent/unresponsive, your tone of voice when issuing commands should be calm and authoritative, rather than harsh or loud.
Always use your dog’s name in a positive manner. Never use it in connection with a reprimand or punishment. Your dog should trust that when he hears its name or is called to you great things will happen.
Correct, or better yet, prevent misbehavior, don’t punish the dog. Communication between you and your dog is what it’s all about. If you take the “it’s you against the dog, whip him into shape approach”, you’ll undermine your relationship and trust and miss out on the fun of motivational training. After the fact discipline DOES NOT WORK.
Often owners inadvertently reinforce their dog’s misbehavior, by giving their dogs lots of attention (negative attention) when they misbehave. Example: If your dog receives lots of handling and attention when he jumps that behavior is being reinforced and will likely be repeated. Your response to jumping should be a sharp “no” and walk away or turn your back. When he stops jumping praise.
Good timing is essential when training your dog. Example: you’ve prepared a Turkey for Thanksgiving dinner; you left it sitting on the counter. The dog comes into the room smells the air and spots the Turkey. He is poised to jump; this is the best time to correct your dog, before he actually jumps.
Never Train your dog when you are feeling grouchy or impatient. Earning your dogs respect is never accomplished by yelling, hitting, or handling your dog in a harsh manner. Studies show that fear and stress inhibit the learning process.

Recall Games

The recall or “come” command can be the most important command you ever teach your puppy. It could be the command that saves your dogs life. This being said I cannot stress more the importance of reinforcing this command often. It is not a command to be taken lightly. Play the recall games around the house. When you take your dog out for potty or play fun, call him to come a few times and follow through making everything very happy when he gets to you. Practice this command in as many different situations you can think of. Use distractions (people, dogs, children, toys, food etc.) Remember he must come or be made to come to you every time. Reward is very important for this command. Verbal praise should be very happy and excited, a yummy tidbit can be given every so often, and playtime can be enjoyed after a good recall practice. Be creative and think of rewards your puppy will really enjoy.

A good place is to play Recall games with your puppy. Below are some recall games, you can also use your imagination and come up with your own.

Round Robin
Have the whole family sit in a circle on the floor. Now take turns calling the puppy’s name and using the come command. When he comes to the person who called reward with small treats, a favorite toy, or lots of praise.

Upstairs, downstairs
This is a 2-person game. One person will stand at the top of a flight of steps, the other at the bottom. Take turns calling your puppy back and forth. Remember to praise each time.

You can do the above game with a hallway as well. These games set the puppy up to succeed. You don’t give him the chance to wander, so he sees that he can really receive your praise by coming to you.

Hide and seek
This game can be played with 1 or more people. For only 1 person you must put your dog in a sit stay go into another room and hide behind a door, piece of furniture, etc. Be happy and call your puppy’s name and the command “come”. If he is having trouble finding you call “come” again until he finds you. Remember his praise or reward. For 2 or more people, one person stays with the dog while the others go hide. Remember to plan ahead and decide who will call first, second and so on. The person who stayed with the dog will call last and can hide when the first person calls the puppy.

Use your imagination; there are many games that can be played, indoors and out, on leash and off (if you have a fenced area that you can use).

Repetition of this command is the key to success. No matter how boring these games seem to you they are very important for your pup. Please follow through with this command.

Housebreaking

You must start this the day your puppy comes home. Housetraining should only take approximately 2 weeks to form a routine IF:

You are consistent and committed.

You are prepared to train your puppy from the moment you bring it home.

You are prepared to maintain a schedule.

You will need a leash, collar and a designated area for potty. (Preferably outside)

Be prepared to maintain a schedule. Retraining a dog that already has bad habits can take 6 weeks or more. Your attitude is one of the most important parts of housetraining. Your puppy does not know what is wrong. He needs to be taught what you expect of him. You must take him out to the designated potty area at scheduled times on his leash. Tell him to “go potty”. (Do not play or otherwise distract your puppy while trying to go potty) Keep repeating, “go Potty” until he does and as he starts going begin to say, in a quite tone, “good potty”. When he is finishes give him a small treat and tell him how pleased you are.

If your puppy makes a mistake tell him “no”, but do not be to harsh, and take him outside to the designated potty area. You want him to know you are unhappy, but you do not want him to be afraid. If an accident happens and you cannot prevent it, calmly put a leash on your puppy take him to the spot, tell him bad potty or no potty, blot it up or take a piece of the feces with a paper towel outside to the potty area put the paper towel on the ground, when he sniffs it praise him. This shows him that inside is wrong outside is right.

To avoid accidents keep a close eye on your puppy. Know where he is at all times and what he is doing. When a puppy stops playing and starts sniffing for a spot he needs to go out.

Put your puppy on a schedule you can follow. If you can’t adhere to it you can’t expect your puppy to.

Do not allow free feeding and drinking. Your puppy will need to relieve himself 20 minutes to ½ hour after meals and drinking, so it is easier to regulate it at first. He will also need to go out when waking from bedtime or naptime, after playing, and after chewing on rawhides or chew toys for a period of time.

Adolescence
The adolescent, or juvenile period begins as around 6 months, and continues until your puppy is both sexually and behaviorally mature. Sexual maturity can happen as early as six months, but behavioral maturity sometimes doesn't occur until your dog is a year or two old. Adolescence is a stage in your puppy's development that is somewhat similar to the teenage years of children. It is a time of transition and physical, mental, and emotional change. The puppy's behaviors are changing from the immature behaviors of youth to the mature behaviors of the adult. He is no longer a puppy anymore, but he isn't an adult yet either, either. By being knowledgeable and aware of the typical behaviors that are displayed by adolescent dogs, why they might be occurring, and how in turn to deal with then, you can make this transitional time easier for both of you.
Be Consistent
Consistency and persistency will pay off. Even if you have to revert to more basic training methods from time to time, make sure that you follow through and see that your puppy responds to your directions. Do not lower your standards for your dog's behavior during this turbulent period. Even though there are understandable reasons why your dog may be less reliable during this time, that doesn't mean ignoring your requests is acceptable. You must focus on not rewarding or giving into undesirable behavior patterns such as attention getting and pestering. You've already learned that dogs do what works for them. Make sure that what works for your dog is listening to and responding to the cues you give him. Don't make excuses for why your pup didn't want to respond to you, just calmly see that he does, using the methods you've learned in your basic obedience course.
Increased Independence
An adolescent is more confident in himself and more willing to start exploring his world on his own. He feels more comfortable being away from family members and the security they provide. Because the world has become such an exciting place to explore, your adolescent may be very distracted and seem not to listen as well as he did when he was younger. This shouldn't be characterized as rebellious behavior, but a reorganization of the puppy's priorities. You may not be the most important thing in his life for a while.

What you want me to sit here?
Even though you've done a great job with your puppy so far, training is incomplete. Your adolescent needs to learn that "sit" and other cues you have begun to teach him require the same response in many different environments and in the face of many distractions. You have begun this process of teaching your dog to respond to you no matter what's going on around him, but you and he haven't had enough time together yet for him to completely understand this concept. In a completely new environment, or under unfamiliar circumstances, your dog may act as though he's never heard the word before.
I can't hear you
A time of change means that a dog's behavior patterns are variable. Your puppy may immediately respond to your every request one day, and act as though he can't hear you the next. More puppy like behavior patterns may be the norm for a few days, followed by the actions of a mature dog. He may greet a stranger with typical puppy exuberance one day, and shy away from him the next. Many adult behavior patterns fully develop between one to two years of age. It is not uncommon for some types of aggressive behavior problems to develop during this time. Puppies of this age still have a strong urge to chew. This is normal.
Nothing In Life Is Free
Adolescence may fool you, because you might be thinking that you've just about got this puppy hood thing under control. Keep up with and stay on top of the behaviors you taught him in class. Continue to apply and enforce what you have learned in this your basic obedience course. Training should be a part of your dog's daily routine. Use whatever your dog perceives as highlights of his day, as real life rewards for compliance. Nothing in life comes free. Before you do anything for your dog, request him do something for you first. For example, always have him "sit" and "wait" before you feed him, take him for a walk, allow him to get out of the car, etc. Help him learn that the quickest way to get what he wants is to simply comply with your requests. By shifting the responsibility to the dog to choose to want to comply in order to earn a reward, you take all the confrontation out of your training.
Aggressive Actions
The most serious and concerning behavior that can surface during adolescence is aggressive behaviors. As mentioned above, aggressive and threatening behavior patterns seem to become fully developed around this time. Adhering to the previously described format will certainly help to circumvent problems in this area, but if your dog exhibits aggressive behaviors contact me immediately.
Not Coming When Called
Your dog's increased independence may make it more difficult to get him to come when he is called. When you least expect it and/or if the right opportunity arises, it is not unusual for an adolescent dog to run off property for the first time. Take every precaution to prevent your dog from ever having the opportunity to run off. A dog that is never given the chance to roam even one time, never knows what he's missing. The dog that has tasted freedom can't wait to do it again.
Now is the time to install the fence you were contemplating or put up a dog run. When none of these options are available, put him on a 50-foot long line and allow him to drag it around so you can exercise him. If he makes an attempt to run off, you should step on the line. This ensures his safety. Adolescents are unpredictable, undependable, and untrustworthy. They give no warnings to their erratic behavior. Your adolescent still needs plenty of constructive exercise, but you must keep his safety first in mind.

Enter supporting content here