Too young to start training?

[carnegiesmum]

My 7 week old Boxer, that I’ve only had for 5 days, is VERY smart.
He is already 99% house trained/paper trained. He is also very eager to please. This makes me think that I should start some training even though it seems really early.
Last night I had him in a harness and on a leash, not to walk him, but so that he wouldn’t run where we were at. He did wonderfully!!! Never pulled, came back to me on command, I could have sworn someone started training him when I wasn’t looking!
Am I jumping the gun here or did I really luck out? If training at this age is ok, what are some basics that I should start with?
This is my first puppy this young, all previous dogs I got when they were 7 to 8 months.

 

[TwoDogs]

It is great that you're off to such a great start with your little guy. I hate to burst your bubble, though. At 7 weeks he really isn't 99% housetrained--physically his urinary system just can't be. Pups that young lack the muscle control to hold their urine for any real length of time. If you haven't had any accidents, it really is probably because you are doing a great job at reading his signals and getting him on an eating/elimination schedule. That is absolutely excellent and is the first step to getting him to be completely housetrained. I just don't want you to feel bad though if he seems to regress with the potty training--it's natural as his body grows and changes that his ability to control his bladder will fluctuate.

As for other training, I would focus on continuing to aclimate him to the leash and loose leash walking, building bite inhibition, teaching a "drop it" and a "leave it", and an informal recall. I would not bother with any other basic obedience stuff like sits and down and such. There is plenty of time for that later. Instead I would concentrate on building a confident and well-rounded pup. Take him outside, have him walk on different surfaces and different elevations and inclines. Encourage and reward any exploration of his world. Expose him to lots of people of all kinds of appearances in a positive way with lots of treats and praise and rewards for interacting with people. Let him explore boxes and bags, bushes, papers, things that rattle, move, and change shape. If you and your vet are comfortable with allowing him to interact with other dogs, let him meet and play with pups his own age. Let him interact with calm, well-mannered adult dogs as well. Handle his ears, paws, toes, mouth, etc. often. Get him used to all-over body exams and nail clippings right from the start in a positive manner with lots of rewards and praise.

The period between 8 and 16 weeks is a critical time for socialization (not just to other dogs but also to the environment). Leave the obedience for later and instead give your pup opportunity to explore and enjoy his world.

 

[Caney Creek]

That's wonderful that he's off to a good start appicon

You can start with training as early as you want -- the earlier the better! Some basic commands are "sit," "down," "come," "stay," and "off." Sit is definitely the easiest to master IMO. Also work on teaching the pup his name by rewarding him when he responds to it.

Bite inhibition training is a very important one. Read how to teach that here:
http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm

Also spend a lot of down-time with pup massaging every part of him to get him accustomed to poking and prodding. That will help tremendously in the future whenever you need to administer medication, clean ears, tend to paws, or if he will ever be around young children who might poke and pull at the dog.

I second TwoDogs' post about him probably not being so close to housebroken. From my own experience, and from reading posts from other members of this board, boxer puppies tend to "trick" us into thinking that they've mastered this before they really have. Once we let our guard down, the accidents start popping up everywhere! If you stay on top of things for the next few months I'm sure you'll have no problems though.

 

[StacyT]

Its never to early to start training and it is such a wonderful way to bond with your puppy.
Congrats on your new baby!!
Stacy

 

[carnegiesmum]

Thank you both for your advice! I would be lost without it.

I have already started working on the bite inhibition thing as it is the only way he knows how to play right now. I have never heard of this technique until recently so I have been reading lots of info on it.

I have 2 very hard roadblocks with this.

First, I have a 13 month old daughter who Carnegie just adores. He thinks she is the most interesting thing EVER and would love to snuggle and play with her. I am trying very hard to keep them apart for right now when they are playing as he is a little too rough for her and I am afraid she will become afraid of him. Is it best for just my husband and I to work on the biting when she is not around, or have her sit with me while we are letting him explore biting on us?

Second, my husband is afraid of big dogs. I know this sounds crazy, that we got a Boxer who will definitely become big, but he really loves the breed and needs to overcome the fear. The fear comes from his childhood. He had to go door to door as a child and when people don't want you at their door they send their big scary dog barreling at the door. I know that the best way to help him with his fear, is to make him a very active part in the training of Carnegie. I think the bite inhibition will help him a lot but I also think working on the "leader of the pack" status for both of us will also help. Any tips on things I can have him work on to show both him and Carnegie that he is in charge, not Carnegie?

Again, thank you for your help! I know that once the overwhelming puppy days are over we will have a lifetime companion that will be totally worth it!

 

[Caney Creek]

First, I have a 13 month old daughter who Carnegie just adores. He thinks she is the most interesting thing EVER and would love to snuggle and play with her. I am trying very hard to keep them apart for right now when they are playing as he is a little too rough for her and I am afraid she will become afraid of him. Is it best for just my husband and I to work on the biting when she is not around, or have her sit with me while we are letting him explore biting on us?

If you are sure that there's no way he will get rowdy and end up chewing on your daughter, it should be OK to let her sit next to you. BUT if you have any doubts about it it may be safer to do the bite inhibition when she's not around. My cousin went through the same thing with her GSD puppy -- her two young daughters HATED the dog while it was teething! After bite inhibition kicked in though, they were just fine interacting with the dog, but they were 4 and 8 at the time, so older than your girl. Since she's so young there may be more of a chance that a bad experience with puppy will cause her to fear him, so it's probably best to do the bite training without her. And, of course, carefully supervise any interactions they have for a while.

Second, my husband is afraid of big dogs. I know this sounds crazy, that we got a Boxer who will definitely become big, but he really loves the breed and needs to overcome the fear. The fear comes from his childhood. He had to go door to door as a child and when people don't want you at their door they send their big scary dog barreling at the door. I know that the best way to help him with his fear, is to make him a very active part in the training of Carnegie. I think the bite inhibition will help him a lot but I also think working on the "leader of the pack" status for both of us will also help. Any tips on things I can have him work on to show both him and Carnegie that he is in charge, not Carnegie?

I think that raising Carnegie from a small puppy will help a lot with his fear. I wasn't afraid of big dogs before having my boxers, but growing up we always had small dogs so I really wasn't used to big ones. I can definitely say that since raising little Caney, I look at large dogs very differently -- as big babies (most of them anyway ). Always apply NILIF -- Nothing In Life Is Free -- to your training. That means that Carnegie needs to work for everything he gets, whether it be a meal, a treat, getting up on the couch/bed with you, going out the door, jumping into/out of the car, etc. Once he's learned his first command -- most likely it will be "sit" -- always have him sit before he gets what he wants. Once he learns more commands you can mix it up.