Appropriate age to train?

[lost1700]

I have a 21 week old male who for the most part is very well behaved. I have worked with him lightly and he knows sit, down, and come (sometimes). I deffinately want to work alot more with him and teach him many different "tricks". I have been told to wait until my pup was 1 year old to start "heavy training" with him. I was just wondering if there is an appropriate age or an ideal age to start a more demanding training regiment. Also, are there any reccomendations on a collar or lead (etc..) to help prevent pulling? All help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Jan]

They are never too young to train as long as your using positive reinforcement. Your puppy is now old enough to go to puppy class as long as he has had at leash 2 sets of vaccinations. It is very important that he goes to class for socialization purposes. He needs to learn to play with other puppies.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "heavy training". If you mean rough of violent, well you should never train like that! You will get much further using positve reinforcement.

I would recommend a ordinary buckle collar and a leather leash. If you are having a problem with a pulling puppy you need to lure him into a position beside you with a yummy treat. You want him on a loose leash. If you yank and pull or keep the leash tight, they don't learn anything. If he has already learned to pull you could try a Gentle Leader. It will give you more control when he is learning.

Good luck!

 

[lost1700]

I deffinately use positive reinforcement and certainly am not violent or rough with my pup. Just wanted to clarify that. When I said "heavy training" I just meant training that was a little more demanding on my dog, since now I have just been working with him 20 min. a couple days a week, and he has done well but he could do alot better. I believe the puppy is very well socialized due to that my neighbor has a 5 year old boxer and they play at least 3-4 hours a week together and my friends mom has a 11 month old boxer and they play at least 2 hours a week together. Many of my friends have dogs as well, so he diffinately gets alot of playtime. Also, I take my pup everywhere with me so that he is put in many different enviroments. I have heard alot about the gentle leader so maybe I will try that. Thank you for your response.

 

[Jan]

It's always best to keep your training sessions short, like 10 to 15 minutes a couple times a day. Puppies have a very short attenion span so short and often session are better than longer ones a couple of weeks.

I am glad to hear the you are using positive reinforcement. It really is important that your puppy plays with puppies. When they always play with older dogs, they tend to be rough, as they need to be to keep up with the bigger dogs.

 

[lost1700]

Thanks for your advice!