Dog Training Behaviour (fundementals of obedience) Dog Training Behaviour (Fundementals of Obedience)
TEACHING A PUPPY THE FUNDAMENTALS OF OBEDIENCE
Obedience training needs to start as soon as your puppy or dog is bought home. Once you are well acquainted with your dog or puppy, you are more likely to be able to positively affect the early training of your pet. Studies have shown that puppies are able to absorb very little in the way of education, they are unaware of much except mom, food and sleep. Elimination is done by reflex at this point. This changes between 21 and 28 days of life. Puppies begin to leave the blankets and look for a corner in which to pee or poop. They become extremely aware of their environment, and are extremely sensitive to stimulation. In fact, any experiences at this stage, (either the negative or positive) will more profoundly affect the puppy than at any other point in its life. This is where you can help shape your puppy's life. Crate training and minor obedience training can actually begin at this age. A large wire crate padded out with blankets should be introduced placed inside. Papers are layered on the floor around the crate also. As the puppies explore , they will choose to sleep in the crate, and pee or poop on the paper. Puppies can be handled and stacked at four weeks, and it it is the ideal time to begin your training techniques. When stacking, remove a puppy from the litter. Place the puppy in position, hold in it in the position gently for just a couple of seconds using the "stay" command quietly do not raise your voice. Praise softly and release. Make it a fun, play kind of thing. Calling the puppy and clapping your hands and using a happy voice, is an introduction to the "come" command. This is effective as a pre-training method if the puppy can be induced to come to the caller by a friend or family member helping to urging them forward gently, and if lots of praise is used. They can learn lots of basic skills at 4-6 weeks, which will save the owner and handler all the headaches and frustration that would normally occur, when taught at a later age.
BASIC GUIDLINES Don't Use any Punishment, show lots of Patience and Confidence Timing and Consistency is vital, use Repetition use lots of Rewards and Praise, Keep it as Simple as possible Allow the puppy to Think for Itself, Talk to the Puppy as much as possible Work for Short Periods, Hands Off Do not Use any kind of Punishment:
Punishment as a training aid does not offer any positive effect only negative and will set your training back a great deal the willingness to please and excitement for work will only come with which positive reenforcement and treats. Any negative stimulation should be limited to using the word "no". Hitting and physical abuse of any sort are desperatly unnecessary in a young puppy, and should never be used even under the most extenuating circumstances in an older dog.
Timing and Consistency: Remember that timing is everything. Coordination of the trainers movements and corrections is directly related to the ability of the puppy to understand the lesson it is being taught. It is important to make it understand that the corrections given are a direct result of his behaviour, and will not take place if he does as the trainer wishes. For example, if a puppy is given the command "come" while in another room chewing on a toy, he is unlikely to respond. If no one brings him to the trainer on the command "come" he will learn the word "come" is synonymous with "ignore." On the other hand, the puppy is only told "come" under controlled circumstances, while on leash and in the hands of the trainer. He is gently pulled towards the trainer with praise and learns that "come" always means to approach the trainer, and that to do so brings praise.
Rewards and Praise: Directly related to timing is praise. when given the command "come" a puppy responds with the correct action and is not praised, it will quickly lose its enthusiasm and interest, but when given plenty of praise and caresses immediately upon correct completion of a given command, he quickly learns that the exercises are fun and profitable. He also learns to duplicate the correct action quickly in order to get his rewards faster. In this way, praise and treats strengthen the understanding and willingness of a puppy to respond to a command. Allow the Puppy to Think for Itself:Allow a puppy the chance to act on its own before forcing or using corrections. Guiding a puppy is more confidence building than being forcefull. When a puppy realizes that the trainer will do the work for him, he ends up with no motivation to perform any given task on his own. Given the choice between being lugged around on the end of a leash and getting a treat at the end, or having to pay attention and work for a few minutes, then getting praised, a puppy almost always chooses the lazy way. Let him work for the rewards and it will accept it as a job it must do. As the puppy progresses, it will become more sure of its self when it does not have to depend on the trainer.
Work for Short Periods: Puppies have very short attention spans. Keeping sessions down to about (10 minutes) and doing them fairly often (2-3 time daily) will ensure that the trainer will have the full attention of the puppy, and that the dog will not become bored. Again, working for short periods will be rewarding, too.
Repetition: This works hand in hand with working for short periods of time. Do an exercise for as many times as it takes to get it right, or almost to right. Once you get it right then STOP straight away. A puppy will learn that doing an exercise correctly and quickly will be a reward in and in itself, because it will not have to keep doing the exercise over. Patience and Confidence:Training a puppy requires patience and confidence. Puppies know when the trainer is confident and sure ofwhat he is doing. Lack of confidence can be overcome by the trainer practicing and working on his own, but will deter from the puppies ability to learn if not dealt with. Patience is not as easily learned, but if not used consistently, impatience will cause fear and lack of confidence in the puppy. Keep it Simple: Doing easy exercises one at a time is a much simpler and easier for a puppy than learning a whole exercise in one training session. The sit-stay for example, is not taught all at together, but broken down into its different parts. First a puppy must learn to sit reliably, on its own, then the trainer can add movement away from the puppy. Once that part is learned, the trainer can make the distance between himself and the puppy greater and greater. Then he can add time away from the puppy as a factor. Soon, the puppy learns that no matter how far and how long the trainer is gone, he must stay in the position originally placed, until he is allowed to be realeased. Talk to the Puppy, constant flow of happy chatter from the trainer to the puppy insures that the puppy is paying attention. Praise words along with corrections can be given, and the puppy will learn to watch the trainer and listen for changes of command given with tone of voice. In this way the puppy also learns to watch the trainers face, a great beginning for attention training. Hands Off:One sure way to defeat your training ideal, is to constantly touch a puppy while working. This does not apply to the first 12 weeks of life. At this time in his life a pup needs reassurance and cuddles, these are necessary to build trust and love. Once a puppy has started to learn and understand commands, withholding some touching and feeling will help the training process. If the trainer corrects a puppy who keeps leaving a sit-stay by using his hands, the puppy associates touching as positive reenforcement to misbehavior and will associate moving with being touched. Instead, use the leash to replace the puppy into a sit with very little use of the hands. During training, use the hands only to praise and pat your puppy at the end of an exercise. In the same way when a dog comes to the trainer and nudges for pats and attention while relaxing, take this opportunity to train briefly. The trainer must ask the puppy to "sit", or "down" or any other command to reenforce his training, then be generous with hugs and pats once the desired exercise is completed. This serves to build the rapport between trainer and puppy and further strengthen its discipline
