Obedience Dynamics
K9 Behavior Consulting & Training

Training Tips

TIPS FOR A WELL BEHAVED DOG!

Start training your puppy early on.
Train your dog gently & humanely, using positive, motivational methods. Keep training sessions fun!
Avoid giving your dog commands that you can't enforce.
One command should equal one response.
Avoid giving combined commands, which are confusing.
Use your dog's name positively rather than in reprimands, warnings or punishment. He should trust you when he hears his name!
Keep a lid on your anger!

TRAINING TAKES TIME, EFFORT, LOVE, PATIENCE, AND MOST OF ALL....
A GOOD SENSE OF HUMOR!

CRATE TRAINING

Remember that repetition is necessary. Your puppy will not understand what you want unless you repeatedly show him/her the desired behavior MANY times.

Keep in mind also that your puppy does not know what is expected and must be shown the proper place to eliminate, and when.

Your best potty training friend is your crate. When you cannot watch your puppy, use a crate. Think of the crate the same way you think of a playpen for a human child. Even if you are only leaving the room for a "minute," either take the puppy with you or use the crate. After all, you would not leave a toddler in the house alone "for just a minute" would you?

Crate training can be fun for the puppy if you make it a POSITIVE experience. The DEN is an integral part of the wild dogs upbringing and safety zone. The same thing applies to the "crate". Giving the pup special "treats" is a great way to introduce him to his crate. The only time the puppy receives these special treats is when he is in the crate; the treats become associated with the crate.

Use the crate wisely. Don't crate only when you are leaving the house. Place the puppy in the crate while you are home as well. Use it as a "safe" zone, or for "time outs". NEVER use the crate for punishment!

By crating when you are home AND while you are gone, the puppy becomes comfortable in the crate and not worried that you will not return, or that you are leaving him alone. This helps to eliminate separation anxiety later in life.

Most puppies will not soil their "den." The first couple of tries you might have some accidents, but don't be discouraged. An easy way to avoid accidents in the night for the first few weeks is by following this routine:

1. Set your alarm for about 3 hrs after your normal bed time. When the alarm goes off, get up immediately, go to the crate and CARRY the pup outside. Place him on the ground and encourage him to eliminate. PRAISE when he does, and bring him back to the crate. Go back to bed.

2. Set your alarm for another 3 hrs, and get back to sleep. When the alarm goes off repeat part 1.

3. After about a week of the above routine, IF it has been successful (no crate messing) then you can set the alarm for ½ way through your sleep time. Follow the remainder of part 1. When you wake up in the morning, TAKE the pup outside BEFORE you do anything else. Feed the pup and then crate. Follow your regular waking routine, then walk the pup one more time before going off to work.

4. Repeat the feeding, walking and crating at lunch time. Pups from the ages of 2 to 4 months CANNOT control their elimination for much more than 3 hours, so if you can't return home at lunch time, arrange for someone to do this for you at lunch.

If the crate is too large, the pup can easily soil on one side and sleep on the other. The way to prevent this is to buy a crate that will accommodate your pet when it is fully grown. Get a piece of cardboard that will fit inside the back of the crate. It should be large enough that there is only room for the puppy to stand, turn around, and lie down comfortably.

As the puppy grows, provide more room by putting the cardboard back further. When the puppy reliably asks to be put outside to eliminate, remove the cardboard so the puppy can use the whole crate.

If the puppy messes the crate, replace the cardboard to the point at which the puppy was reliable, and just give the pup a little more time to learn. In conjunction with crate training, potty training starts immediately.

Whenever you remove the puppy from the crate or just want the puppy to "go potty," take the dog to the door that will always be used to "go outside." Use the SAME door throughout the training period.

Reminder: During housebreaking DO NOT allow the pup outside to eliminate alone or loose in the yard. Yes, that means in the rain, snow, whatever: YOU GO OUTSIDE ALSO. Give the puppy plenty of time. Don't rush or you will be sorry. When the puppy urinates or defecates, praise the puppy with "Good Job!" and again, give the puppy a tiny, tiny treat.

Continue to wait. When the puppy poops, again praise the puppy with "Good Job!" and give a treat. If the puppy does not "potty" even after staying outside 15 minutes, return back inside, place the puppy back into the crate, wait 15 minutes and start again from the beginning.

If done religiously, this training process should take only about 2 weeks for the puppy to understand. This method will work with any dog, regardless of age. If you adopt a dog from a shelter or a rescue program, follow the same routine. Remember, even though the dog is older or even an adult, he still does not know the rules of your home, and may not have ever been in a house. Be patient and this method WILL work.

Finally, here is my advice to all of my obedience students: Get a newspaper, roll it up tightly and secure with a rubber band. Keep it handy. When your puppy has an accident in the house, eats your favorite shoe, or does anything else inappropriate, you take the newspaper and whack YOURSELF in the head very hard, Saying, "BAD MOMMY (or Daddy)", several times! In other words, its your fault!

Watch that pup every second, and please crate train!

HOUSETRAINING

Make sure your puppy or dog is healthy before undertaking housetraining. Intestinal parasites are the most common cause of inappropriate defecation.

Bladder infections are a frequent cause of inappropriate urination. Have a stool sample checked by your veterinarian. If you suspect a bladder problem, have a urine sample checked as well. Symptoms of bladder infection include frequent urination of small amounts, unproductive straining, or licking of private parts.

Feed your puppy on a fairly regular schedule, two or three times a day. Allow 20 minutes for each meal, and remove the leftovers after that time. Maintaining a feeding schedule helps predict output.

Schedule your puppy’s trips outdoors. A puppy needs frequent opportunities to eliminate. Start first thing in the morning with a trip outside as soon as your puppy awakens. Puppies feel the call of nature about every hour when they are awake and critical times are after any play, chewing, or stimulation. They need to go out soon after eating, and after drinking water. By the age of about 12 weeks, the average healthy puppy can sleep through the night. If your puppy has an accident, examine the schedule and make adjustments to prevent future accidents.

Every time you take your puppy outside, give him plenty of cues. As you walk out the door with him, say “Let’s go potty.” Take him to his spot, and repeat your cue phrase as he is about to eliminate. A few good cue phrases are "Hurry Up", or "Take a break". Just make sure that you use the same cue every single time. When he goes, praise him enthusiastically and reward him with a very small food treat, right there on the spot. After several repetitions of this routine, your puppy will learn to eliminate on cue (very useful in bad weather or strange places) and learn that eliminating outside is more fruitful than eliminating inside. After a week of this, continue to praise the puppy every time he goes outside, but reward with food on a more random basis. In a couple of weeks, you won’t need the food reward at all.

If you find an accident, clean it up, and consider adjusting your puppy’s schedule to prevent another accident. Punishing your puppy only teaches him to be wary of you. If you catch him in the act and punish or correct him, he will learn to eliminate when you aren’t looking, which will defeat your training program. If you should see your puppy circling as if he has to go, gently remind him to “go outside” and help him get to his spot where he can earn praise and a reward.

Unrealistic expectations are a frequent cause of problems in housetraining. On average, the bladder/brain connection is not fully formed until the puppy is about 8 months old. If a young puppy does go to the door and “ask to go out,” his need is immediate, he must go out right away. Some dogs never learn to ask to go out, while others learn quickly to go to the door and sit, or they develop some other way of letting you know. The best way to ensure success is to stick to a schedule long enough for the puppy’s body to adapt to it and get in the habit of eliminating at particular times.

BITE INHIBITION - MOUTHING

If you watch a litter of puppies playing, you will notice that they spend much of their time biting and grabbing each other with their mouths. This is normal puppy behavior. When you take a puppy from the litter and into your home, the puppy will play bite and mouth you. This is normal behavior, but needs to be modified so you and the puppy will be happy.

The first thing to teach your new puppy is that human flesh is much more sensitive than other puppies and that it really hurts us when they bite. This is called bite inhibition. A puppy has very sharp teeth and a weak jaw. This means that the puppy can cause you to be uncomfortable when mouthing or puppy biting you, but can not cause severe damage. An adult dog has duller teeth and a powerful jaw. This means that an adult dog can cause significant damage when biting.

It is simple to teach a puppy bite inhibition. Every time the puppy touches you with its teeth, say "OUCH!" in a harsh tone of voice.

When the harsh "OUCH" has stopped the behavior, you introduce the command, "No Bite". The command should come in the same harsh voice.

CHEWING

First, always keep in mind that it is natural for a puppy to chew. The puppy is not doing this to annoy you, but because it is a normal function of a puppy, just as it is in a human baby. Keep this in mind, and be sure not to ever hit or strongly punish the puppy for doing what is natural to it. Everything goes into the mouth, and everything is chewed.

What we need to do is to teach the puppy what is correct to chew on, and what is not. Be sure to supply your puppy with a variety of toys that are designed for growing - and chewing - puppies! A few good objects are:

Kong toy - insert a small milk bone or two inside to keep pups attention.
Nylabones
Marrow Bones - stuff a little cheese or peanut butter into the center!
Knotted Ropes

Remember, from your pup's point of view, everything he sees is a possible chew toy! He is the puppy - you are the human! You must puppy-proof your home....Use your intelligence to help keep the puppy away from unwanted chewing. If the pup chews on shoes, keep them in your closet with the door closed. Keep books and other possible "chew" items out of the pup’s reach. Go through your home (on your hands and knees if necessary) and look to see what is tempting for your puppy to chew on. Eliminate any unsafe or inappropriate items. Don't expect the puppy to know the difference!

I strongly urge you not to make toys for your new pup out of old socks, slippers or tennis shoes! Think like a dog! How is your new pup suppose to distinguish from an old slipper that is okay to chew or a new slipper that you like to wear? He can't. If you offer these things to the pup, you are not only setting him up for failure, but you will be conditioning bad habits that you will later have to re-train.

JUMPING UP

Dogs jump up to greet people because they want to make eye contact and physical contact. They are not interested in looking at your ankles or knees (smile).

Most dogs have been positively reinforced for jumping up, because it is hard not to pet and talk to a little puppy when they run up with their tail wagging, thrilled to see you, and put their little paws on your ankles. Their only sin is getting bigger and putting their paws on higher body parts. A cute, cuddly 2 month old Golden Retriever that is jumping up your shin is lots of fun....when that same Golden grows up to be 70lbs, it isn't fun anymore. And it can be dangerous!

We are dealing with normal greeting behavior by dogs that like and love the people they are greeting. It would be wrong to punish this behavior. It would also be wrong to prevent the dog from greeting visitors.

Here is how to teach your puppy/dog to greet people:

Teach the puppy/dog to sit using a treat as a lure and reward.
Make sure that you practice the sit command in any area you expect the dog to sit to greet people.
Have the dog confined while you invite the visitor in and get them in a comfortable chair.
Lead the dog, who is on a buckle collar with a leash attached, up to the visitor. Make sure you hold the collar or lead to prevent the dog from jumping up.
Give the dog the 'sit' command and hand signal. Have the visitor wait until the dog sits before gently stroking the dog from head to shoulder while they talk to the dog in a sweet gentle voice for at least one minute. You make sure that the dog does not jump up during this procedure by holding the dog's collar. Your visitor may be leaning over the dog and a broken nose or glasses may result if you don't do a good job!
If the dog does not sit right away, just make sure that nothing happens until the dog sits. The first time you do this, be prepared to wait. As soon as the dog sits and gets the visitors attention as a reward, walk the dog away from the visitor, return and repeat the procedure. The dog is going to be very excited the first time they greet the visitor. The fifth time in a row you walk the dog up to the visitor, the dog is thinking "Gee, it is still Joel." It will be much easier to get the dog to sit with each additional greeting.

If you do this with every family member and every visitor, you will soon have a dog that will sit in front of visitors to get petted and get their attention.

Once your dog is getting the hang of this and you are going to attempt letting visitors enter the house without leashing the dogs, make sure each visitor knows ahead of time that they shouldn't greet the dogs in an excitable voice, and not to offer any attention until the dog is in the proper position to accept a greeting.

Training Tips

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