Training - Start Early - Straight Away - Don't Delay - The Clock is Ticking​

You'll find obedience training a happy family time and most rewarding, an obedient dog is like a child with good manners... a pleasure to have around. 

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• Functional and consistent dog training will create a balanced relationship and a reliable dog not a liability

• It will take a while for you and your puppy to learn how to communicate with each other, the sooner you start training, the easier it will be for your new friend to understand what your asking them to do. 

• Eye contact is an important part of training, a new pup should be trained to bring their eyes up to yours, your goal is to have them looking at you avoiding distractions and feeling comfortable.

• Just like a baby learning to walk, a dog needs to learn any new behaviour incrementally for them to be successful.

• The key is to reward immediately so they can associate the correct behaviour with a great happy result, you can use the clicker if you wish to reinforce.

• If they have excelled, it's worth more than just a small treat, go the jackpot and hand out multiple treats in a row.

• Remember to keep the training sessions short, ALWAYS end on a win-win, positive note, if we train to long, pups get tired easily/disinterested and make mistakes.

• Engaging in training sessions is a combination of patience, making it exciting and gratifying for your puppy, whether you choose a variety of high-value treats, healthy options, or handmade treats.

• Rotating treat options between different flavours, textures, and consistencies not only keeps your puppy’s interest but also improves the outcome of training, guarantees that your puppy doesn’t become overly accustomed to one specific flavour, maintaining its value as a reinforcer and keeping your puppy eager to learn.

• These varied rewards stimulate your puppy’s senses by creating a feeling of novelty and excitement, making training sessions more pleasant and successful.

• Reward when they accomplish, not half way.

• Affection is always the last reward.

• Corrections are not punishment they are for solving the problem and moving them in the right direction moving forward to succeed.

• BE PATIENT, we are often too busy and want solutions too quick, WAIT long enough, its magic.

• Consistent training builds up the desired habit, increasing the likelihood that your dog will perform the learned behaviour again and again.

• Be present in the moment of training your dog, don’t be on your phone or distracted, set aside the time for them, they deserve it.

• A trained dog doesn’t happen by accident, an untrained dog is an unhappy, stressed dog.

• Well raised dogs don’t have behavioural problems

• Remember dogs can't speak, their behaviour is their communication, they can't read books or watch TV to learn.

• Your dog is doing the best he can with the information you’re providing.

• A trained pup will become a trained dog

• Never compare your new puppy to your last dog.

• Take notes with training sessions, noting clarity with your commands, where to perhaps switch out words or try another method and note the time.

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Exercise/Growth Plates​

 

• Avoid anything that will exert too much pressure or high impact activities on the puppies joints, such as long walks, abrupt stops while running and bounding down stairs, incorrect type of exercise/activities can cause some long term issues and have detrimental effects on their joints.

• Until your puppy is around 18 months, try to limit the amount and type of exercise that they are allowed to do. The information is better explained by certified Canine Athlete Specialist Angela Ahern founder of Dog Solutions The Bioknetic K-9.​

• Minor muscle and growth plate strains can make your dog vulnerable in the future to injuries including sprains etc.

• Also would like to encourage you to keep them on the lean side, they should have a definite waist, keep in mind a lot of dogs we see are overweight, this is not how they should be, it's quite dangerous for their health when in their senior years, please don't let your dog get to this stage.

• An overweight dog is an unhappy dog.

• Keep in mind the types of enrichment, new toys keep them interested and entertained all over again. 

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Positive Reinforcement/Leadership

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• Good behaviours are always rewarded, always reinforce this behaviour, they look for leadership from us as their owners.

• Discipline is Structure not punishment, use a strong, louder voice and a sound that will result in immediate reaction.

• Have the end goal in mind and and not just focus on stopping the unwanted behaviour, so they learn what to do next time, giving your instructions clarity for you as well to keep repeating consistently, consistency creates predictability, predictability builds confidence.

• Always show your pup you're in control and you should be there to teach... own the space. If you starting worrying or showing signs of stress and tension, you are showing your weakness and your not in control and your puppy/dog will pick up on the tension through the lead and feel like they now have to take control. This might sound strange/unbelievable, but believe me its true....see Cesar Milan's YouTube.

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Basic Commands​

Whats your intention? Nuture what you want in the future from the beginning (Cesar Milan) 

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• ​Teaching your new puppy basic commands is one of the most important lessons they will learn.

• If you use their name only for recall and not repeat it and mix it up with other commands all time, you will really notice the difference with a recall, as their name is far more clearer for them when they hear it called in the happy tone, meaning you are showing love to them and they will come running, tail wagging.

• Never call your dogs name in an angry voice or used combined with "NO". 

• Use a stern and louder tone when correcting undesirable behaviour, the 2 tones for good and undesirable behaviour should be very distinctive so they understand the good behaviour is happy tones with treats and undesirable behaviour is loud and stern tones with no treats and ignoring the behaviour.

• A one syllable word is more successful than multiple words or sentences.

• They can learn a lot of commands if simple and consistent, repeat, repeat and repeat the same commands.  ​

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Walking on the Lead

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• Get your puppy used to a soft collar soon after coming home, so you are ready to place a light lead on as well once they have mastered the collar.

• You can start taking them on short adventures around the house and your yard first, the aim is to keep their attention on you as much as possible, encouraging them when walking by your side.

• Stop and sit your pup, have breaks and have a nice cuddle together.

• Don’t let your dog pull on their leads, practice inside your house and in your yard without the distractions until they get the hang of it so they won’t want to pull when they get to the outdoors.

• Be aware of your energy, eg: are you tense on the lead, they react on our energy. Remember they live in the moment, so when walking don't carry the world on shoulders or sad past experiences with you, this shouldn’t affect you here and now, be in the present.

• Have multiple leads: a long training recall lead  - 5 or 7 metres, one for inside the house with the cut handle, slip leads are great they are so simple to use.

• Practice off leash recall

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Tips on lead pulling:

Take it slow, change directions, walk in zig zags, figure 8’s, walk in big circles, pick up the pace, jog a little.

no tension - loose leash = calm, relaxed and confident.

 

Leash’s are for:

Connection, guidance and stopping - you’ve got to have the brakes to and not just the accelerator.​​​​

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In Summary

We have to trust they will do it, they don’t know what you are asking them to do straight away, so we need to wait, show patience and be repetitive for clarity.

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It is far better to think about what you do, rather than what your dog is doing. Stay calm and then show direction, shows you are in control and makes us happy. Always be calm and confident. (Cesar Milan)

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These aren’t all mine words, there are some important words from the many Cesar Millan’s YouTube videos I have watched, and The Good Dog Project podcasts.​

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