We all know that you never need to strike your dog or puppy to teach him, not ever in his life. We know that, just like kids, getting his attention with a happy tone and big smile will be all it takes. A little reward, whether a tiny treat or just loving him up with squeally praises, presses home the lesson and makes him happy to return to work sessions again later. Naturally, the younger the puppy is when he starts this session the better. Hopefully he is 6 weeks old or so, before he has had access to something he should not have, and blissfully ruined it.
But so many things entice a puppy to chew, since it is a natural behavior for him anyway, how do you teach him what NOT to chew before something valuable has been ruined and his feelings have been hurt with scolding? The method I use is so easy and fast you won't believe you didnt think of it!
Instead of teaching him one thing at a time, which works best with behavior training in general so as not to confuse him with too much information at a time, do it all at once! Place everything you can think of on the floor within his reach. Shoes, socks, clean and dirty (two different things to a pup), 5 or 6 different "legal" puppy chewies, pencils and pens, newspapers and magazines, articles of clothing, wires, keys, anything you can think of that could some day wind up on the floor. Leave lots of space around each item so that he will have them separate in his mind.
First, take him out to go potty, we want no distractions here. Place him on the floor in the middle of all this wonderful stuff, and get on your knees or haunches to stay very close to him as he explores each item. Be a part of this "play" time with him. As he approaches each item, give him one second to sniff it so that you know he has smelled it and placed it in his brain. If it is a good item like a puppy chewie, make a happy face and say "Good chew! GOOD puppy!" [use his name] If it is a sock or other "illegal" item, make a scowl and slam your palm on the floor beside the item and say "NO chew! NO chew!" and swap the bad item with a legal chewie as you say it, wiggling it to make it more enticing to him to play with and chew, and as he goes for it say, with a big smile, "GOOD chew! GOOD [puppy]!" After ten minutes, he will be only going for legal chewies and having the time of his life. If you do this one more day with some different items, this will reinforce that only certain items are legal and some new items may turn up that are not legal because they are not the legal items. See? It works like a charm and they never forget it.
Your happy face is what a puppy wants to see more than anything. Learning the difference between what is legal and what is illegal to chew is the fastest and easiest thing your puppy will ever learn when you use this method, and it will save you and him much heartache and disappointment in the life of his training.
Showing posts with label house breaking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label house breaking. Show all posts
Monday, April 9, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Crate Training for your Puppy by Dy Witt
Teaching your puppy crate training is the first and best step in his life. It makes all the other steps in his training go so much smoother, much like a solid foundation makes for a superior wall.
Establishing you as the Alpha member of his “pack” is one very good reason for starting your puppy in a crate when he is very young.Another reason for crate training is that dogs love predictability. To know what is going to happen in any given situation makes him happy, and more apt to be the best-behaved dog he can possibly be.
A strong crate is the very basis of good puppy training. A wire crate with a lock is the best kind. Make sure it is large enough for him to stand up and turn around. But not so large that he can roam and wander around. A too-large crate will inhibit house breaking. A crate that is just the right size will be perceived as his “nest”, where puppies never “go potty”. They will learn to hold it if you don’t make a prison out of it. Never leave a puppy under 8 weeks longer than one hour in his crate. He will soil it, after struggling and suffering as long as he can.
Put a nice pad in there with a bone. Start with placing a tasty treat in there, he will go in and get it. Do this several times without closing the door, let him come in and out freely for an hour or so. Praise him highly each time he goes in, make it all very pleasant.Then when his attention is on his treat, close the door. Praise him quietly, “What a good boy, it’s ok, such a good boy!” In 10 or 20 seconds, no longer, let him out without a word, no praise, just a pat. Do this for increasingly longer intervals, but do not give him a chance to get upset. You can do this several times the first day.
Make sure every training session ends on a happy note, this is crucial. Once he sees the crate is his own private territory, he will go in there on his own, expecting treats and your attention. When he does, say, “Wanna crate?” with a happy face while getting his treats. Start leaving the room while he is in there for 2 minutes and onward, gradually. When you return, don’t make a fuss, just walk over and open the crate. In 3 days he will be officially crate-trained, ready to be left alone for an hour, no longer at first. Leave him gradually longer, slowly and carefully.
Q. Why do I want a crate for my puppy?
A. Because they love it is the best reason. They feel very safe and secure in there. Here are some more: When you leave a puppy alone, he always has some measure of separation anxiety. This leads him to any behavior that brings him comfort, which is chewing, digging, or when it is severe, voiding his bowels. When placed in a crate, he feels safe because nothing can get to him, nothing can harm him. He will sleep and chew and wait for you to return.
When leaving him overnight at the vet, if your dog is not crate trained he will cry the entire time, feeling lost and abandoned. With crate training, he is sure you will return, you always do. Of course the vet’s office is strange and will cause him some anxiety, but nothing like the pure terror he will feel without experience in being locked in.
NOTE: About crate-training, do not make a prison of his crate. Do not use it as punishment. Do not leave him there for more than 2 hours, just time for a long puppy nap and some chew time. After that he will cry. Do not remove him while he is crying. This will train him into thinking he has to cry to get out. No matter what, make sure he is being good when you open the door. He will learn he has to be quiet to get out.
Do not make a fuss when you are letting him out, just quietly open the door and take him out to potty. When he potties, praise him to high heaven! Dogs naturally do not go where they nest, but sometimes it happens. Do not scold, just clean it out with a bland face. He will learn the lesson. If possible, try to clean it while he is outside so he returns to a clean crate. In 25 years of training dogs, I have never seen any one thing more critical for a dog's well-being than good crate training.
Establishing you as the Alpha member of his “pack” is one very good reason for starting your puppy in a crate when he is very young.Another reason for crate training is that dogs love predictability. To know what is going to happen in any given situation makes him happy, and more apt to be the best-behaved dog he can possibly be.
A strong crate is the very basis of good puppy training. A wire crate with a lock is the best kind. Make sure it is large enough for him to stand up and turn around. But not so large that he can roam and wander around. A too-large crate will inhibit house breaking. A crate that is just the right size will be perceived as his “nest”, where puppies never “go potty”. They will learn to hold it if you don’t make a prison out of it. Never leave a puppy under 8 weeks longer than one hour in his crate. He will soil it, after struggling and suffering as long as he can.
Put a nice pad in there with a bone. Start with placing a tasty treat in there, he will go in and get it. Do this several times without closing the door, let him come in and out freely for an hour or so. Praise him highly each time he goes in, make it all very pleasant.Then when his attention is on his treat, close the door. Praise him quietly, “What a good boy, it’s ok, such a good boy!” In 10 or 20 seconds, no longer, let him out without a word, no praise, just a pat. Do this for increasingly longer intervals, but do not give him a chance to get upset. You can do this several times the first day.
Make sure every training session ends on a happy note, this is crucial. Once he sees the crate is his own private territory, he will go in there on his own, expecting treats and your attention. When he does, say, “Wanna crate?” with a happy face while getting his treats. Start leaving the room while he is in there for 2 minutes and onward, gradually. When you return, don’t make a fuss, just walk over and open the crate. In 3 days he will be officially crate-trained, ready to be left alone for an hour, no longer at first. Leave him gradually longer, slowly and carefully.
Q. Why do I want a crate for my puppy?
A. Because they love it is the best reason. They feel very safe and secure in there. Here are some more: When you leave a puppy alone, he always has some measure of separation anxiety. This leads him to any behavior that brings him comfort, which is chewing, digging, or when it is severe, voiding his bowels. When placed in a crate, he feels safe because nothing can get to him, nothing can harm him. He will sleep and chew and wait for you to return.
When leaving him overnight at the vet, if your dog is not crate trained he will cry the entire time, feeling lost and abandoned. With crate training, he is sure you will return, you always do. Of course the vet’s office is strange and will cause him some anxiety, but nothing like the pure terror he will feel without experience in being locked in.
NOTE: About crate-training, do not make a prison of his crate. Do not use it as punishment. Do not leave him there for more than 2 hours, just time for a long puppy nap and some chew time. After that he will cry. Do not remove him while he is crying. This will train him into thinking he has to cry to get out. No matter what, make sure he is being good when you open the door. He will learn he has to be quiet to get out.
Do not make a fuss when you are letting him out, just quietly open the door and take him out to potty. When he potties, praise him to high heaven! Dogs naturally do not go where they nest, but sometimes it happens. Do not scold, just clean it out with a bland face. He will learn the lesson. If possible, try to clean it while he is outside so he returns to a clean crate. In 25 years of training dogs, I have never seen any one thing more critical for a dog's well-being than good crate training.
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