Teaching Your Dog What No Means

Many people teach their dog the zen or often called leave it command. I decided to use the word NO because it is often what I say to the dog when they are touching something they shouldn't. Just because you yell No at them doesn't mean that they understand what you are saying. The only thing they understand is that you are really upset with them. No should be voiced like anyother command and shouldn't be yelled. Once your dog has been taught what the word means in several different places it can be used effectively to keep the dog out of things you don't want them to touch.

Day 20 - Puppy House Training

It has been a challenge making sure 4 dogs get outside at the appropriate times to go to the bathroom. Amelia picked up clicker training quickly and I have been able to teach her many things. Potty training has still been a challenge. I think the medication she was on made her thirsty because she literally had to go every 15 minutes sometimes. She had to go so frequently that I couldn't keep up with her. We have put potty on command and she has no trouble going. The challenge has been getting her to poop outside. I would walk her for a while and she wouldn't go then she would come inside and poop.

After eating is the best time to take her out to potty. But I have been using her food to train, so she has been feed throughout the day. It has made her schedule hard to catch. With frequent potty breaks, I hope I can pick up her signal that she wants to go outside. Tanner's signal is he will come up to you but won't let you touch him urging you to follow. If Kota has to go really bad he will jump on you and bark until you take him out. Daisy is the least reliable and she really never tells you when she has to go, so she has accidents.

We taught her to jump through a ring. My daughter ran in a circle and pointed with the command ring. She jumped through at a low distance from the ground and slowly raised it so she wouldn't just run under the ring at first. She learns quickly and we almost have to add a command every day to keep her interested.

Puppy Training Should Start Early

This video has veterinarian, Ian Dunbar, discussing how a puppy at eight weeks of age should be ready for it's new home. He says by eight weeks it should be potty trained, but I have a hard time believing that. I have never tried to house train a puppy before eight weeks, but I guess it could be possible.

With punishment training they always said you had to wait until they were six months old so you didn't hurt them. Now with positive reinforcement training, that seems like a long amount of valuable time wasted. In just a few weeks I have taught Amelia what some dogs only learn in a lifetime.

We Are Now Up To 18 Days

We were pretty busy this evening so I wasn't really planning on doing any direct training. I was going to log onto the computer and Amelia brought her ball over. I threw the ball and expected her to get the ball, then not bring it back. But she surprised me by bringing it back. We had two balls, so instead of trying to pull the ball out of her mouth I just threw the other ball. I praised her when she returned to me with the ball. I must have done that 10 times successfully.

It worked better by not having any treats and only using praise as a reward. If I had had a treat she would have dropped the ball before she got to me to receive the treat. It also helped because their was no pressure to train or to try to get it right. We were just having fun.

Day 17 The Days of Puppyhood Continue

We went over many of the behaviors that she already knows. We have had great opportunities to continue proofing the come which has been almost 100% reliable which is amazing. We would like to work on agility training and she must be completely reliable off leash which doesn't look like it would be a problem.

I tried teaching them a little trick. My goal is to have the dogs stand in line biggest to smallest and have Daisy the smallest dog to walk under the bigger dogs and then Amelia and so on until just Tanner is standing their. I can lure the dogs under each other, really the hardest part has been getting them to stand in place. They always want to sit or lay down. It is a more difficult trick because you have to get all 4 dogs to cooperate but hopefully with practice they will get it down.

I have been using many different treats and I think I would like to make some sort of cracker that I can cut into little squares to bake so that I won't have to break the treats apart or get my fingers slimy from the small bits of meat.

Day 16 Of Continued Training

I worked on having the dogs run to bed when someone knocked on the door. Amelia doesn't really want to go in the laundry room because it's boring and she thinks she spends too much time in there already. I really had to coax her in and make sure I left the door open.

We worked on teaching our puppy to beg where she sits on her haunches and puts her feet up. I wanted her to take but she didn't want to put the ball in her mouth. I would like to teach her to fetch but all she wants to do is run to the ball and run back right away.

She is still completely reliable with come. It's like she doesn't know how to disobey. A boy rode his bike down the street and she stood their and barked, then I called her name, she came bouncing back. We will have to see if it works in the field with the cows. The first time we took her out their she just wanted to chase the cows because the would run away from her.

Day 15 Puppy Training

We worked on Leave It. The command is for anything you don't want the dog to go near or chew on. You can use it to let your dog know that you don't want it to chew on the item in its mouth or you don't want her to chase the cat. We worked on leaving a food treat, when she looked away she was rewarded. You want to get to the point where you can put the food on the floor and she won't touch it at all.

We used the command in the house every time Amelia grabbed a shoe we told her no, leave it, and when she let go she was rewarded with a treat. Carry a treat bag with you so you can treat frequently through the day. It's crucial to treat frequently as a puppy until they learn to communicate with you better and then you can use verbal praise more than food reward.

We had one problem today when I ran out of food and we were trying to enter the house. She was off leash and has had no problem coming to me 100% of the time. She hesitated going in the house because I didn't have a lure for her. Kota decided to exit and I was worried she would follow and chase him. She ran across the street to the neighbors and I crouched down then said, "Amelia, come." in my sweetess voice. She came running at full speed, no hesitation, and I grabbed her by her leg when she tried to dodge my hands. I was worried that that action would ruin it for her but we took her to the park later with no problems.



I have included a video to show how fast she comes running back. We have even been able to call her back after she decided to chase our cat in the yard. One of the keys to come is to never get mad or impatient or you will scare them away. You can't shame a dog into coming to you.

Day 14 - Teaching Your Puppy A Reliable Come When Called

This is the first time we have ever started with a puppy in clicker training. Teaching come after you have abused the command with your ignorance can be difficult and sometimes an almost impossible feat. Amelia has been a fresh slate to teach and come has been fun. Just call her name, say come, and she will run at you full speed ahead. She wasn't easy to call at first but has really come a long way with training. Just bring out the food and she is ready to listen.

Some Tips For Training Come

• Don't run after the puppy. Back away a few steps and they will become interested.
• Squat down so your not standing over your puppy when they return. It's less threatening.
• Don't ever use come if something negative is going to happen after they come, like having to stay in a crate while your away.
• Make sure their name is always used in a positive connotation. If you need to tell your dog no don't attach their name instead you can make a sound to distract them.

Her dinner feeding is used to train her. If your dogs not fond of having their kibble used during training mix it with bits of meat so that the scent can be spread around and the kibble will be more enticing.

Day 13 - Puppy Training

With a wave of my magic wand I taught Amelia to turn. It was more like my arm, but hey sometimes it does work magic. I just have to circle with my arm and she turns in a circle. It only took her a couple days of training and she was able to do it without any luring.

We used her bowl of dinner kibble to train with. My daughter thought it would take forever to train her, but it was fun. We used a crate to teach her to voluntarily go in. It's a little small for her because we have used it for the cats and Daisy. We threw in a piece of kibble to the back of the crate and gave her the command. When she entered the crate to get the kibble she got a click to tell her she was doing what we wanted her to.

Fetch was a little more interesting, she did well in the beginning and she only got a treat if she brought the ball back. But after awhile she wanted to run to the ball and not bring it back so we focused on the other behaviors she knows.

She knows sit, down, stand, turn, touch, come, roll over, and we have just started working on crate.

Day 12 Puppy Training

Potty training is going better. I would highly recommend tying a leash to your waist to keep your puppy contained. Many don't like to keep their dogs in crates for long periods of time and this is a great way to still contain your puppy with you. Though crates should be used when you need to leave home. Many dogs can become very distructive from the boredom of being alone. It could also be dangerous if they were to ingest something they were chewing on. By keeping your puppy leashed you are still able to walk around the house and do things but the puppy will still be within reach. This keeps Amelia from drinking too much water and having to go potty literally ever 15 minutes.

She had no problem remembering the touch command. I tried to teach her to turn in a circle but she has down so well that she wanted to stay down the whole time she turned. She loves training, I think if you had a whole bag of dog food she would never leave until it was finished. They always say that training should be kept short but this is the first time we have started with a puppy and she has learned that dog obedience training is rewarding not to mention fun.

She shows some fear of strangers and will bark, but if you walk over to them she quits barking and wants to jump on their legs. It's hard for others not to reward her when she seems so cute.

Day 11 With Puppy Training

We worked on teaching the target command. This command can be used to further lure your dog to do other behaviors. It is probably the simplest command to teach and all you need is your hand. Put your hand in front of your dogs nose and dog's will naturally sniff your hand when they do just click then treat. You want your dog to get to the point that they will touch your hand on command. After a few tries add the word "touch" and click then treat when the dog touches your hand.

We will have to try tomorrow to see if she retained the information but with such a good start It will be no problem if we have to take a couple steps back. Amelia was able to get to the point where I could hold my hand far away and she would come to my hand and touch it with her nose. I tried to get her to shape a behavior. I wanted her to pick up the bowl on command. But she never quite got the hang of it.

Day 10 With New Puppy Training

Puppies have the sharpest teeth sometimes I wonder why they have to be so sharp and the really seem to have the need to use them on EVERYTHING. I am one of the walking wounded when she tries to grab her toy at the top and misses and gets my arm instead. Keeping her on a leash attached to my waist keeps her calmer. She is not tearing around the house chewing on the cat or the chihuahua. The kids really need to learn to pick up everything and get it out of reach.

Amelia does not like to share the toys with Daisy. It's been hard because Amelia almost constantly needs a toy to keep her from grabbing something else. I think I should invent the puppy pacifier to keep her from chewing we could just stuff it in her mouth. I will be glad when she sheds those teeth.

Day 7 Puppy Training Help

There has been some friction between Daisy and the new puppy. Daisy is the only dog that still enjoys playing with toys. Tanner's days of chewing are over unless he is able to get a container with food in it. Kota only chews on car doors aggressively when the farm dogs chase the car but he never plays with toys.

The puppy would love to have somebody to play with but the only one remotely interested in playing is Daisy. With the puppies size about three times that of hers it's almost physically impossible. The puppy wants to take Daisy's toys from her which causes her to growl and the puppy is not afraid to growl back. The puppy will attack Daisy if not separated immediately.

I've never really heard of toy aggression but we will have to limit the playing of toys. I normally keep the toys in a basket on the floor but I will have to distribute the toys at my discretion. It will be time consuming because anything that is left on the floor is fair game for the puppy to play with. It may be a great way to get the kids to pick up their belongings.

Day 6 With Puppy Training

Here's some puppy training advice on another puppy quirk they try to use on you is barking to get your attention. The natural human response is to turn an look at the puppy. Well then they have you because you just rewarded the puppy with your attention. That rewarded behavior is sure to be duplicated, if you remember not to look when they bark at you then that behavior will become extinct because they will not be rewarded for barking at you. It's kind of like the jumping on you or stealing your shoes, if the behavior is ignored they will try something else to get your attention. Make sure to reward them when they are quiet and they will want to continue remaining calm.

You will get to see our new puppy in action in the above dog obedience training video. We have had her less than a week and she knows sit down pat. Down is still eluding her and she needs a lure to get there, but with the lure she is quick to respond. Stand and turn both need to be lured. We only do about 5 minutes of formal training a day but of course training continues every time she grabs a shoe or tries to dash out the door.

We took her to the park to socialize her to new surroundings and new people. Unfortunately there wasn't very many people there but we did learn that Amelia likes to go down the slide on her own. I wish I had brought the camera with me, so we will have to go back again and I will try to video tape it.

Day 5 With Puppy Training

We have decided to name the puppy Amelia. It's been a while since we've had a puppy, about 4 years, and it is amazing how quickly you forget what it was like. She has become a thief, grabbing anything that looks like it would be fun to take. Our natural instinct is to run and chase the puppy down until you can corner them to take back the object. This is so much fun for the puppy because now they have a fun game and will learn to repeat this behavior because it is rewarding.

Next time your puppy takes something you don't want them to have, grab a fun dog toy and make a trade. If you start to squeak your toy that will be a great distraction and will bring the puppy for play. When they have taken the toy you can retrieve the object. The puppy will learn that leaving an object is rewarded instead of giving chase with the object.

Amelia laying down on her own.

Amelia is learning to sit, down, stand, and turn. Sit is coming more naturally and I try to remember to reward her when she does it on her own. When I'm sitting at the table sometimes she will sit on her own and I praise her often. She was able to do down once without any luring. If she doesn't respond to the command right away I use the lure so that she will be successful and receive the treat. It's amazing how fast a dog can learn what a clicker means and how fast they can learn behaviors. This is the first puppy we have had since I have really learned about dog training and it will be interesting to see how she progresses.

Day 4 With The Puppy Training

Jumping is a big problem with puppies. My daughter was running in the yard with the puppy laughing and caring on. Well, she was such a fun thing to play with and exciting that the puppy was jumping all over her. I had to explain to her that she needed to make like a tree. She needed to stand still and become very boring for the puppy to lose interest. The puppy did find her boring and found some wonderful peaches from the near-by peach tree. We used them as little tennis balls to throw for the puppy. She would run and chase them down till she found them in the tall grass.

No one likes the sharp puppy teeth she has, but their all too lazy to go get a toy instead of using their body parts. When a puppy starts chewing on you grab an exceptable toy for it to play with. Puppies use their mouths to explore things and need to chew to lose their baby teeth.

Having a puppy is similar to raising a child. They aren't born knowing what to do. They have to be taught what is exceptable and unexceptable behaviors. It's a long process but hopefully with the help of the larger dogs she will learn quickly.

Day 2 With The New Puppy

Puppy being taken alive by the kitten.

Day 2 with the new puppy has been pretty uneventful. I'm starting to wonder if the dog is really going to end up at Nanny's or not. I haven't really named it because I don't want to get to attached. But my husband keeps making up excuses, so I'm wondering if he really wants to keep it. It is much easier having a puppy when you have other semi-well-behaved dogs (Hey, no dog is perfect.) The other home she came from she chewed on their new leather couch. Though that is not a problem because we don't have a leather couch. The only thing the puppy has chewed on is the kitten, which has outgrown Daisy.

Daisy is no longer trying to viciously attack the puppy. She has admitted defeat, that the puppy is going to stay at least for a little while. I think Daisy liked the fact that she got to sleep in the bed with me last night. She normally sleeps in the laundry room, but we knew the puppy needed a place with other dogs so she wouldn't cry and we weren't sure Daisy was going to be nice to the puppy. 

Daisy has corrected the puppy once when she was jumping on my daughter. That's another nice thing about having a pack because they will correct the puppy and help keep it in line.

The puppy is an expert door-dasher. I just tried to get out the door of the car and before I knew it she was at my feet. I think we are going to have to keep a leash attached to the waist to insure she doesn't run out until she learns that she has to wait at the door.