When should i start training whiskey???

[BADWHISKEY]

When should i start training whiskey the sit, lay and come commands. He is 8 weeks now and i've been trying this. The only one that i've been barely succesful at is the sit command. Also, when do puppies start recognising their names? Sometimes i call him and he won't response. The lay only worked once. What tips can you give me? Please help with this!!!! Thanks in advance!

-robert

 

[Caney Creek]

Training starts as soon as the puppy comes home. It will take time and practice though -- remember that these are completely foreign concepts that he will only learn through repetition and praise for doing the right thing. Training sessions should be short since puppies have very short attention spans -- keep it to 5 minutes at this age. You can do several a day though. Always end the sessions on a positive note, and before he gets bored.

Make sure you're not using the command until he's actually doing what you want him to do. For the next few weeks the word "sit" should ONLY be said to him WHEN he sits, not before. Remember he doesn't yet know what it means, so you can't tell him TO sit -- you can only tell him that what he just did is "sit." He should then immediately get a treat and lots of praise for sitting.

To respond to his name is something you'll have to teach him as well. I taught Caney this just by saying her name while she was right next to me and already looking at me, and then I'd give her a treat. I did this over and over for a minute or two. Then I paused for a few seconds, waiting until she looked away from me. As soon as she did that I said her name again, she looked at me and then she got a treat. I gradually worked up to calling her name when she was farther and farther away, and with more and more distractions. Just don't move too quickly -- when you're still training you want to make sure that your pup is likely to respond to a command that you give. For instance if you've only been working on his name with him for one day, don't try to call him from across the yard when he's playing with a toy. He's likely to be too distracted to listen, and the more you use a command without getting an immediate response from him the more he's learning that he doesn't have to respond.

 

[BADWHISKEY]

Your advice is very helpful... I was doing the opposite. I'll try this from now on. How long did your pup take to learn her name though

 

[Furface]

As for the lay command, get your baby in the sit position; then with a treat put in front of his nose and slowly lower it to the floor, then move treat towards him, right to his tummy if necessary, in the attempt to eat it it, normally they will lean back and drop down - just make sure he is down properly before saying the command and rewarding enjoy

 

[JLinz]

at 10 weeks Baxter knew sit, paw, and down...Now at 12 weeks he will sit on command 90% of the time without food...Paw on Command with no food...and we're still working on down...

Get some nice soft treats and have at the training...The Blue Buffalo soft chews in salmon got my dog moving in the right direction for training...

 

[BADWHISKEY]

i went home about an hour ago to check up on him during my lunch and he was doing great. i tried the sit command and praised him everytime he did it. i was succesful like 3-4 time in a row. however when i give him the treat he launches at me. i've tried pulling it away and restarting but he doesn't seem interested anymore after that. so i think i may need to take care of this issue before putting it in front of him and doing the lay command. what advice can you give me here? i appreciate your time and help!

-robert

 

[JLinz]

All of this is just going to come with time...You keep working with the dog it will catch on...

As puppies they have no attention span mine still is a goof 75% of the time...Patience...Do small little training sessions for a few min and just leave it at that...

Im going to do obedience training because i want to be sure I get STAY right...Sit and Stay are probaly the 2 commands that will save your dogs life...

 

[BADWHISKEY]

Yeah i've been told to do small sessions at a time. It's been two good days in a row. He hasn't pottied inside the house and we practiced sit for a good little while today. He starting to catch up but he still launches when i give him the treats. Also i wanted to ask, how many treats should i be giving him at a time? Or how often?

 

[Caney Creek]

Also i wanted to ask, how many treats should i be giving him at a time? Or how often?

You can take part of his meal (kibble) to use during training so that you're not giving so many treats. If you run into problems where he's not motivated to work for the kibble then you might have to switch to a higher value treat, but until that happens I'd stick with the kibble.

 

[Davedbd]

You should begin training as soon as the puppy is home.
Tiara is 13 weeks old, she knows the sit, stay, come, leave it, down, roll over and bang!! your dead trick.
They are like little sponges I tell ya. I keep it short and sweet maybe 5 small treats twice a day. She will do it on call with a treat 100% of the time. She is a bit slower without a treat but I just praise the heck out of her. Slowly giving her less treats for simple commands and more praise.
I'm trying more intricate tricks but I think she is still too young.
Oh, I forgot, she also does give me five! and High Five.....she is so smart!! It kills me.
Just work at it everyday, a couple times a day. We taught our friends Boxer puppy to sit in one night at the house. Now he sits all the time when told. Its very easy if you just find out what motivates them. Is it treats, praise or toys.
Good Luck to ya!