What is a good age to start training a Puppy?

[jeffogden62]

My puppy is currently 2-3 months old and she knows "Go Potty" when we are outside and she is responding to her name and "Come". She doesn't respond greatly to "come" but she will still come to you. I'm basically just trying to get a better feel for when would be a good age to start training when she will have the attention span to learn the tricks. I would appreciate your comments.

Jeff

[Samsintentions]

Hi Jeff.

I start training all my puppies at the good ol age of 4 weeks. By then. They need to be socialized and learn right from wrong.

I start obediance training at age 6-8 weeks. Just starting on the sit, and come, and leash training.
By age 10-12 weeks we're really working on sit, stay, come, and down and they should be leash trained fully.

Alot of people don't start that early. But I personally breed working dogs. They MUST be obediant to work in the field. But the ones that don't make the cut go to pet homes with training and it makes it alot easier on their new families!

You can always start off by taking him to a puppy obediance class at your local trainer, PetSmart or PetCo

[honeybears]

like Sam said you can start now, if she has had shots, its a good idea to get her into a puppy socialiiation class, at that age, they teach socialization skills with other dogs and simple comands, and a great intro to them to learn and get used to other dogs. Come is one the hardest commands to master, its good she is already responding to that. That should be one that is taught throughout their life. I would would work on basic sit, stay, come, use tiny treats or maybe her kibble for reward.

[Shineillusion]

I do a lot of play training with my dogs. Every playtime is an opportunity to teach something. Do you play by throwing a toy or ball? If so, everytime you throw it, use whatever command you decide to use, be it "fetch" or "get it", as soon as she starts moving towards the thrown object. When she turns on her own to bring it back, use "bring it". Have her sit by holding her dinner dish over her head. When the head goes up, the butt goes down.

I've taught my dogs get it, bring it, take it, leave it, go over, down, sit, stand, wait, roll over, crawl, high 5, all as part of the games we play. I just watch for them to do something naturally, like chase the ball, then use the command as they start to do it. No formal training involved. Just a lot of fun. Pretty soon it becomes a conditioned response.

By the time we're ready to start formal training, they already have the idea that we're trying to teach you something, and they already know more than half the commands we're going to be using. An added benefit is the fact that they view learning as fun.

[furtherpeach3]

[DeLaUK]

Hi Jeff, not much to add to the comments already made. Just for the 'come' command, what I do is start off at just a foot or two away from the pup (more so with the younger ones) use small treats, something tasty like pieces of chicken, bologne or something, each piece only needs to be the size of your small finger nail, say the word 'come' or 'here' and use the pups name (I never use their name in a negative manner i.e. if the pup/dog has just run off with with your pork chop or something and you a little upset), as soon as the pup starts coming toward you start giving a lot of praise and motivation (like...'good puppy'....excitable) and as soon as the pup is near you, continue with the praise and give the treat....dont go to the pup to give the treat, if she gets a little sidetracked keep up with the motivation then gradually increase the distance between you and the pup, when she is coming back to you EVERY time immediately then only give the treat every second time you call her back but keep up with the motivation and praise....then go to just giving the treat once every 4 or 5 times, when shes responding every time you should be able to not have to give a treat. I usually tell people to spread it out over 4 weeks although it can be done in less time.

Training should be fun but it can become frustrating sometimes, if you find yourself getting frustrated then its better to give yourself and your pup a break, (we all have our off days as do our dogs), frustration on your part will upset/confuse your pup and will make the training more difficult for both of you.

Good luck.

[hermann muenster]

We started obedience training as soon as we get a puppy ususally 6-8 weeks. Simple commands sit, stay, come, no barking! It isn't formal training with a choke collar - simply done throughout the day as a playful type of game. I don't think a dog is mentally mature enough to start any formal obedience training until they are at least 6 months old. We have trained for CGC's and have an obedience champion.
I think the most important thing with early training is patience and repetition.
P.S. I don't believe in using a pinch collar on any dog - no matter how bad it may seem to be - and I don't believe in treat, clicker or whistle training. When I have a dog in the field and I need him to return quickly - I might not have a treat in my pocket or may have lost my clicker or whistle - oops! No doggy? I like to train with voice and hand signal. Our golden could go through a beautiful routine with only hand signals. It was really a lot of fun.

[Jamiya]

[hermann muenster]

Jamiya -
Please don't misconstrue my post.
The problem I see with treat and clicker training is that most people never reach the point with their dogs where they can ask their dog to do something and the dog will freely do it - without the clicker signal or knowing there is a treat at bay. PRAISE is the best reward. Real and sincere praise.
As far as a choke collar - it is NOT meant to choke the dog!!!! The collar is used for training only! If used properly, it is effective. Everyone knows the muscle mass in a dogs neck - and the choke collar allows an owner to make corrections without hurting the dog or themselves. Tell me another way to teach a 100pound puppy to heel close without dislocating a shoulder? On the other hand, I have see people using choke collars that constantly are tugging, and cracking the collar - hurting the dog. That is not what the collar was designed to do.
And what I meant by "formal training" is in a group with an instructor. There are only a small number of people that can really train their dogs without an instructor coaching them. Besides - the dog greatly benefits from being in a social class environment.
Cruelty to any animal is intolerable - needless to say.
But it is no less than cruelty for people to get big dogs and to not be able to teach them to live in a human family environment. I don't know about where you live - but the shelters up here are overflowing with dogs that have not been taught to live with humans. Almost daily there is a report of a dog mauling in the newspaper! It is sickening. Non of these problems would exist if these dogs were trained.

[honeybears]

"We have trained for CGC's and have an obedience champion."

only my my dreams




whats a CGD?

[hermann muenster]

CGC - Canine Good Citizen. It is an AKC title. It is the first step in AKC obedience trials.

[Jamiya]

[Jamiya]

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm sure you are a wonderful trainer and it sounds like you are very successful. That's great. But choke collars don't work on my dog - corrections only make her more obstinate and then everything escalates. She also doesn't give a flying hoot about praise, if there is something she would rather be doing. To her, pursuing her own course is much more rewarding than praise from me. But she will work for food, or the hope of food. And she LOVES the clicker.

Different dogs - different people - different methods. It's the relationship with your dog that's the most important.

[hermann muenster]

Jamiya -
I agree with you!!!
Dogs' biggest problems are usually their humans!
Train on!!

[honeybears]

thats neat, I misread your post, I was confused I thougth is said you had GCD as a breed