One of the most frequent questions I'm asked is "When do you think I should start training my new pup?"
This is a vexed question; in reality, you are training from the moment that you pick up the new puppy. Building a bond with your pup from the begining is the most important thing you can do. This bond is the foundation of everything else will you do with the dog, and a a fair measure of how successful you will be in achieving your training goals.
Formal training may not start until the pup is 6 months old, but you should start "play" training from day 1. Everything should be fun. I'm a firm believer that pups should have a "puppyhood" where they are allowed to run wild, before turing the screw in terms of training.
Dogs learn by positive association. This means that they associate a certain routine with a "positive" - whatever that may be. Positive praise comes in many different forms and you will have to find the one that works the best for you and your pup. I am big believer in not using food as a praise, as this encourages dogs to "potter" in the field - however, I know of many trainers who use the clicker system, where this works well. Many police dog trainers use a tennis ball. Find what works for your dog and stick to it. I use tone of voice to praise - generally high tones associate positively with dogs and low voice tones associate negatively. This is why children get on well with training dogs, as their high voice tones are seen as positive praise.
Repetition and routine are the mainstays of training. Dogs LOVE routine. Get one and your relationship with the dog will be so much easier
Most people take a new pup at 7 or 8 weeks old. I prefer to let mine go @ 8 weeks, that extra week allows the pup to mature just a little bit more and put a bit more weight on. Obviously, pups are not ready to explore the outside world to any great extent until their vaccinations have fully kicked in, which in reality means that your pup isn't going to see the outside until at least 12 weeks old.
From 12 to 16 weeks, you are tasked with one of the most important aspects of a pups development - socialisation! It's easy to spot a mature dog that has undergone a proper phase of socialisation; they are calm, usually unphased by new situation, behave relatively well in public spaces and generally have a well-rounded character. The theory of socialisation is based around an establish biochemical theory. The autonomic nervous system in young pups is not fully developed until about 16 weeks old, hence pups do not have very high circulating levels of adrenaline (the hormone of fight, fright and fllight) - in other words they don't scare very easily.
It's VITAL that you use this period of bravado in order to introduce your pup to as many different situations as possible. In that way, when the adrenaline levels ramp up, they already have a a level of experience and confidence to deal with whatever life throws at them.
So, how do you start socialising your pup?
One of the easiest ways, if you have youngish kids, is to take the pup to the school gates, when you pick up the kids. You and the pup will be swamped with attention, which is great for the pup and not bad for you either, if you like that sort of thing!
Take the pup into noisy environments; short trips into town (if you don't live there already), You'll have to carry the pup, if it hasn't had it's second vaccination, but the benefits are well worth it.
As well as introducing the pup to other humans, pups need to be socialised with other dogs as well. Older dogs are usually pretty understanding with pups and will allow a certain ammount of tail biting and ear pulling before correcting the puppy with a growl or a quick snap. Find a dog that is tolerant - as a general rule of thumb, don't try to socialise a spaniel pup with a terrier - that's almost always going to end in tears. It is also important that pups understand that it has to respect older dogs - to some extent the bitch will have taught some of this in the whelping box, usually by ear biting or growling, but it is no bad thing for an older dog to put an over exhuberant puppy in it's place, as long as you are on hand to stop things going too far.
I also think that it is important to introduce a new pup to the car as soon as possible. Many new owner avoid doing this until the pup is really a young dog, and as a consequence have dogs that travel badly. My dogs spend a lot of time with me during the shooting season, travelling between different shoots, so I need my dogs to travel with me with the minimum of fuss - that means asleep or resting in the dog cage and not whining, crying, throwing up or generally being a pain in the backside!
It's a fact of life that some dogs get motion sickness, but as dogs learn by repetitive association it's as well that for the first couple of trips in the car, an empty stomach is the order of the day. What you are aiming for is a positive asociation between travelling in the car and the dog, so a short journey followed by a treat often works well. However, I have to say that most of the working strain pups I have had are natural travellers who generally take it in their stride.
Its also never too early to introduce your pup to the lead. By law they should wear a collar (but I have to say mine never do!!!), so it should be a simple matter of attaching the lead. Pups are used to pretty much going wherever they please within the bounds of their confinement, so most react pretty negatively to a lead in the first couple of instances. If your pup hasn't been on the lead before, it's a good idea to let your pup get used to the weight of the lead before dragging them around the garden. Simply clip the lead on and let the pup run around with it for a bit. That's probably enough for a first session. Next time, take the lead and "guide" the pup in the direction that you want it to go - I'm right handed and shoot off my right shoulder, so I need my dogs to heel to the left so that I can carry a gun and walk with a dog at the same time. Choose a side that you want the dog to heel to and stick with it.
Up to now, the pup is probably used to having free rein in going exactly where it likes, within the confines of it's living environment. Chances are that the pup will not take too kindly to been forced to go where you want it to - it will spin on the lead, dig it's heels in and generally be obstinate. Be firm but gentle - remember you are far stronger than the pup - don't exert too much force on the lead. All the pressure is placed on the neck and you can do serious harm if you are too rough. Also don't use a slip lead at this stage, a light puppy lead and collar will more than suffice. Also don't use a harness - aside from looking appaling, they are useless. Your dog also will look like a wuss!
Once or twice around the garden should be fine for the first session on the lead. After that, leave it a couple of days and repeat, you should notice a difference after a couple of sessions, the pup should be less oppositional and generally go in the direction you want it to. However, you are not aiming for heeling on the lead at this stage, just combatting the urge for the pup to drag you down the street. Walking to heel can be left until the pup is older.
As with any training, positive praise is essential, and it is always a good idea to end any training session, be it play training or formal work, with a positive. Also remember, pups like kids, get bored really easily, so try to vary things and remember fun is the order of the day.
Something that you may want to think about carefully in the early days is planning your training sessions. When you come to do more formal training with an older dog, it is generally true that most of us are too busy / tired / stressed to do any training with the dog during the working week. Instead, all the intended training is forced into a couple of hours session @ the weekend. Whilst anything is better than nothing, little and often is far better than a huge dollop @ the weekend. Fifteen minutes a night is invaluable, and gets much better results than cramming @ the weekend. This isn't as important when the pup is very young, but as the dog progresses, you will find this to become much more tricky to manage.
Never train your dog if you are angry, stressed or emotional - dogs pick up on your mood very quickly. If you loose your temper with a dog (and believe me there will be lots of times when all you would like to do is batter the little sod!) YOU LOOSE. Hopefully you have spent time developing a loving bond with your dog - your dog should look @ you as if you are the best thing in the world. Joe Irving (a fabulous, pragmatic dog trainer and breeder) said "your dog should devour you with his eyes" 30 seconds of anger can destroy that for ever. It's far better to keep the dog in the kennel than to train when you are not in the correct frame of mind. A missed training session is of no consequence in the big scheme of things.
In addition, if you are lucky enough to have a pup that is showing potential, don't be tempted to rush ahead with the training - just because you can, doesn't always mean you should. We all know pups that @ 12 months could heel, retreive, drop to shot, and not run in!!! And we all know a badly behaved prima donna of a 2 year old dog, that had huge potential as a yearling.
Trust your own instincts, have a plan and stick to it. You know more than you think you do. It's what you learn after you know everything there is to know that's important.
This is a vexed question; in reality, you are training from the moment that you pick up the new puppy. Building a bond with your pup from the begining is the most important thing you can do. This bond is the foundation of everything else will you do with the dog, and a a fair measure of how successful you will be in achieving your training goals.
Formal training may not start until the pup is 6 months old, but you should start "play" training from day 1. Everything should be fun. I'm a firm believer that pups should have a "puppyhood" where they are allowed to run wild, before turing the screw in terms of training.
Dogs learn by positive association. This means that they associate a certain routine with a "positive" - whatever that may be. Positive praise comes in many different forms and you will have to find the one that works the best for you and your pup. I am big believer in not using food as a praise, as this encourages dogs to "potter" in the field - however, I know of many trainers who use the clicker system, where this works well. Many police dog trainers use a tennis ball. Find what works for your dog and stick to it. I use tone of voice to praise - generally high tones associate positively with dogs and low voice tones associate negatively. This is why children get on well with training dogs, as their high voice tones are seen as positive praise.
Repetition and routine are the mainstays of training. Dogs LOVE routine. Get one and your relationship with the dog will be so much easier
Most people take a new pup at 7 or 8 weeks old. I prefer to let mine go @ 8 weeks, that extra week allows the pup to mature just a little bit more and put a bit more weight on. Obviously, pups are not ready to explore the outside world to any great extent until their vaccinations have fully kicked in, which in reality means that your pup isn't going to see the outside until at least 12 weeks old.
From 12 to 16 weeks, you are tasked with one of the most important aspects of a pups development - socialisation! It's easy to spot a mature dog that has undergone a proper phase of socialisation; they are calm, usually unphased by new situation, behave relatively well in public spaces and generally have a well-rounded character. The theory of socialisation is based around an establish biochemical theory. The autonomic nervous system in young pups is not fully developed until about 16 weeks old, hence pups do not have very high circulating levels of adrenaline (the hormone of fight, fright and fllight) - in other words they don't scare very easily.
It's VITAL that you use this period of bravado in order to introduce your pup to as many different situations as possible. In that way, when the adrenaline levels ramp up, they already have a a level of experience and confidence to deal with whatever life throws at them.
So, how do you start socialising your pup?
One of the easiest ways, if you have youngish kids, is to take the pup to the school gates, when you pick up the kids. You and the pup will be swamped with attention, which is great for the pup and not bad for you either, if you like that sort of thing!
Take the pup into noisy environments; short trips into town (if you don't live there already), You'll have to carry the pup, if it hasn't had it's second vaccination, but the benefits are well worth it.
As well as introducing the pup to other humans, pups need to be socialised with other dogs as well. Older dogs are usually pretty understanding with pups and will allow a certain ammount of tail biting and ear pulling before correcting the puppy with a growl or a quick snap. Find a dog that is tolerant - as a general rule of thumb, don't try to socialise a spaniel pup with a terrier - that's almost always going to end in tears. It is also important that pups understand that it has to respect older dogs - to some extent the bitch will have taught some of this in the whelping box, usually by ear biting or growling, but it is no bad thing for an older dog to put an over exhuberant puppy in it's place, as long as you are on hand to stop things going too far.
I also think that it is important to introduce a new pup to the car as soon as possible. Many new owner avoid doing this until the pup is really a young dog, and as a consequence have dogs that travel badly. My dogs spend a lot of time with me during the shooting season, travelling between different shoots, so I need my dogs to travel with me with the minimum of fuss - that means asleep or resting in the dog cage and not whining, crying, throwing up or generally being a pain in the backside!
It's a fact of life that some dogs get motion sickness, but as dogs learn by repetitive association it's as well that for the first couple of trips in the car, an empty stomach is the order of the day. What you are aiming for is a positive asociation between travelling in the car and the dog, so a short journey followed by a treat often works well. However, I have to say that most of the working strain pups I have had are natural travellers who generally take it in their stride.
Its also never too early to introduce your pup to the lead. By law they should wear a collar (but I have to say mine never do!!!), so it should be a simple matter of attaching the lead. Pups are used to pretty much going wherever they please within the bounds of their confinement, so most react pretty negatively to a lead in the first couple of instances. If your pup hasn't been on the lead before, it's a good idea to let your pup get used to the weight of the lead before dragging them around the garden. Simply clip the lead on and let the pup run around with it for a bit. That's probably enough for a first session. Next time, take the lead and "guide" the pup in the direction that you want it to go - I'm right handed and shoot off my right shoulder, so I need my dogs to heel to the left so that I can carry a gun and walk with a dog at the same time. Choose a side that you want the dog to heel to and stick with it.
Up to now, the pup is probably used to having free rein in going exactly where it likes, within the confines of it's living environment. Chances are that the pup will not take too kindly to been forced to go where you want it to - it will spin on the lead, dig it's heels in and generally be obstinate. Be firm but gentle - remember you are far stronger than the pup - don't exert too much force on the lead. All the pressure is placed on the neck and you can do serious harm if you are too rough. Also don't use a slip lead at this stage, a light puppy lead and collar will more than suffice. Also don't use a harness - aside from looking appaling, they are useless. Your dog also will look like a wuss!
Once or twice around the garden should be fine for the first session on the lead. After that, leave it a couple of days and repeat, you should notice a difference after a couple of sessions, the pup should be less oppositional and generally go in the direction you want it to. However, you are not aiming for heeling on the lead at this stage, just combatting the urge for the pup to drag you down the street. Walking to heel can be left until the pup is older.
As with any training, positive praise is essential, and it is always a good idea to end any training session, be it play training or formal work, with a positive. Also remember, pups like kids, get bored really easily, so try to vary things and remember fun is the order of the day.
Something that you may want to think about carefully in the early days is planning your training sessions. When you come to do more formal training with an older dog, it is generally true that most of us are too busy / tired / stressed to do any training with the dog during the working week. Instead, all the intended training is forced into a couple of hours session @ the weekend. Whilst anything is better than nothing, little and often is far better than a huge dollop @ the weekend. Fifteen minutes a night is invaluable, and gets much better results than cramming @ the weekend. This isn't as important when the pup is very young, but as the dog progresses, you will find this to become much more tricky to manage.
Never train your dog if you are angry, stressed or emotional - dogs pick up on your mood very quickly. If you loose your temper with a dog (and believe me there will be lots of times when all you would like to do is batter the little sod!) YOU LOOSE. Hopefully you have spent time developing a loving bond with your dog - your dog should look @ you as if you are the best thing in the world. Joe Irving (a fabulous, pragmatic dog trainer and breeder) said "your dog should devour you with his eyes" 30 seconds of anger can destroy that for ever. It's far better to keep the dog in the kennel than to train when you are not in the correct frame of mind. A missed training session is of no consequence in the big scheme of things.
In addition, if you are lucky enough to have a pup that is showing potential, don't be tempted to rush ahead with the training - just because you can, doesn't always mean you should. We all know pups that @ 12 months could heel, retreive, drop to shot, and not run in!!! And we all know a badly behaved prima donna of a 2 year old dog, that had huge potential as a yearling.
Trust your own instincts, have a plan and stick to it. You know more than you think you do. It's what you learn after you know everything there is to know that's important.