The New Puppy- Early Training

Note:  At the bottom of this article I have a video of teaching these commands.  In the video I am working with Fragoso (later named Charlie), from the January 2013 litter of "Great Labenees" puppies.

Passepartout.

     There aren't too many animals cuter than a puppy.  I mean, look at the photo!  It is all too easy to fall in love with one, and buy it simply because it's cute, and hilarious to watch.  But once you bring him (or her) home, the work begins.

Socializing

Emaline with the puppies.

     First, to have a good dog, he must be socialized.  Basically, this is gently and carefully exposing him to new people, places, animals, and things, and teaching him to respond properly, without fear or aggression.  The goal is to teach him to accept new things, and to be a friendly dog.  Once you begin other basic training, you can also use these scenarios to teach him to obey under pressure.  (For example, have him sit and stay near a new dog, before allowing him to get up and sniff noses with it.)  Some good ways to socialize him are to take him with you in the car, to bring him to the farmer's market (if dogs are allowed), to take him to family gatherings, the dog park, etc.  Also invite people to your house, to teach him that he must behave properly when they are in his territory, as well as when he is in theirs.  Here are a few quick pointers:

1.  Go slow, but not too slow.  If you don't socialize him young, (3-12 weeks) it will be much more difficult later on.  Don't push him so fast that he feels threatened and traumatized.

Raising puppies in a large family is a great form of socialization, but they also need to meet strangers, or they will likely only be comfortable with your family, and may become overly protective.

2.  Do not reward fearful behavior.  Petting, soothing, and coddling when he displays fearful or aggressive behavior are all rewards- at least, he thinks so.  I've made this mistake plenty of times even though I knew not to, simply because it's so easy to forget training in an effort to help him accept the new thing of which he is afraid.

3.  Make it fun for him to go places and meet people and animals.  For a very timid dog, it may help to carry treats for strangers to reward him with when he responds to them correctly.

5 Basic Commands Every Puppy Should Know

      Briefly explained below are the five basic commands I think every dog should know and obey, and the methods I've used to teach them.  I will be referring to the puppy as male, but there is really no difference in training.  When you are training a puppy, especially a young one, remember that they have a very short attention span.  Many 5- 10 minute sessions a day are what he needs- not an hour-long crash course.  Try to do five minutes before breakfast, lunch and supper at least.  Use any spare moments for this and give him a good foundation.

Eyes (attention)

     This command is not usually mentioned as being necessary, and really it isn't absolutely so, but it is very helpful.  Basically, this is a command which, properly taught, will cause your dog  to immediately look you in the face and give you his full attention.  For the actual command word I say "EYES", and at the same time snap my fingers, then point to my face to focus his attention there.

     Hold a small treat between your first finger and thumb.  Pass it in front of the puppy's nose so that he smells it.  He should immediately become very alert and start following the treat with his eyes and nose.  Draw it up towards your face while looking him in the eye, and lightly touch your nose with it, at the same time saying "EYES" (or whatever your word of command is).  The puppy will be focused on you and the treat, and will probably be perfectly still waiting for it.  When he is still, wait just a second then give him the treat.  Repeat often, and gradually lengthen the time he has to look at you before he gets the treat.  Later on you can phase them out almost entirely, but still occasionally reward him with one to keep the command fresh in his mind.  Use this command anytime you need his attention, including when you are teaching him other commands.

 

Come

    This is possibly the most important command you can teach your dog.  If you can't get him to consistently come when you call, you will probably not be able to teach him to do anything else either.  Also, it is extremely embarrassing when your dog supremely ignores you in front of others, because he's too busy chasing a cat, or checking out another dog.  (I know from experience, it's happened to me.)

     It doesn't take very long for most puppies to learn this command, but you have to make it worth their while, so be sure to praise him lavishly and frequently give him treats.

     I start with our puppies very young, around 6 weeks.  A well-treated puppy will love it's handler, and will naturally want to come to them.  (This is best done in an enclosed area.)  Set the puppy on the floor and let him run around for a little bit.  Then call him by name, and encourage him to come with body language- squatting down to his level (not crouching with a threatening action), clapping, calling in a cheerful, encouraging tone of voice.  If he doesn't come, walk over to him and bring him to you.  It is helpful to give him a treat every time at first, and gradually phase them out later on.  Be persistent.  Keep trying, and don't be discouraged if it takes a while for him to come the first time, but when he does, praise him to the skies, and reward him.  He will know that he's done something good, but might not know just what it was yet.  After another time or two though, he should start to get the point.

     Some puppies, especially older ones, learn best if they are on a leash.  Call the dog, then immediately begin gently pulling the leash, and reward him when he gets to you.  If he hangs back, don't necessarily pull the dog to you, just put enough strain on the leash to make him uncomfortable, until he takes a step forward.  Immediately release the pressure and praise him.  Hopefully he will come all the way to you then, but if not, repeat the procedure, and reward liberally when he gets to you.  Doing it this way precludes any chance of him running away from you, and teaches him both the come command, and to give to pressure, which will be important in leash training.
     Once more, go slowly, and be very careful not to lose your cool.  Many a good dog has been ruined by his handler getting angry with him.  If you feel irritated (and they will irritate you) then just put the training off for a little while.  Go cool off, then finish the lesson when you can handle it.

Sit

      After come, sit is the next command.  Even a very young puppy can learn this.

     I begin with the puppy within easy reach.  Although I  usually leave him off the leash, for some puppies it may be helpful to put one on.  Call it by name to attract its attention.  When he looks at you, say  "sit", gently, but firmly and clearly, then gently pull  upward on the leash, or place your hand on his chest, lift his chin up, and push him back into a sitting position.  When he sits, release the pressure, and praise him.  Repeat once or twice, but then end the lesson before he gets bored.  Again, the key to early training is many short sessions, not a few long ones.
     Some puppies are hard-headed, and it takes a while for them to get the idea.  For these, it may be best to simply push their rear downward, until they sit, after giving the command.  Reward liberally, and make the sessions fun.

      Something I consider to be an excellent practice is to make the puppy sit before feeding.  It won't take long at all for him to learn this, and later you can help teach him self-control, when you make him wait to eat until you give him permission to do so.

Stay

Thunder (now Kong).

      After the puppy knows sit, you can work on stay.  Have the puppy sit, then say firmly "Stay", and hold up your hand, to command him to remain seated, then slowly back away.  Use body language to help him get the point.  Remember, most young puppies don't understand English (or any other spoken language for that matter), but they do understand body language.  At first, only back a foot or two away, then come back and praise him before you release him.  He will almost certainly jump up as soon as you start to praise him.  Immediately change your tone and tell him to sit again.  Don't scold or speak harshly, just stop praising.  Something like this:  (Puppy is sitting)  "Good pup!  Good boy Fido!"  (Fido jumps up.)  "Oh no Fido, SIT.  You have to stay there.  Now STAY."  If you praise after he stands up, he will think that you are rewarding him for not staying, which is the opposite of what you want.
     Repeat this procedure, backing further each time, until he stays put even when you go out of sight.  For some puppies, it may help to tie them to something solid, with only a couple feet of slack, so that they don't go running off and disappear into the wild blue yonder.  Tying them up more tightly will not teach them to stay, it will only teach them to hate the leash.  The purpose of tying is simply to prevent the puppy from running off and trying to play, and help him keep his focus on you.  (I had to do this with Kep, who was a pain (literally) to train.)

Down

Boanerges (now Zero).

     This may be the most difficult of the four basic commands.  I have even questioned its importance, but if you can teach it, it is worth the trouble.  This command really teaches the dog obedience and respect, since lying down is a way they show submission to each other.  It is also useful to be able to calm him down and control him during a possible crisis.  Below is the method I use to teach this command.

     Have the puppy sit in front of you, with his bum against a wall or something so he can't back up (he will most likely try to do so instead of lying down).  Holding your opened hand flat, place a treat in it, holding it in place with your thumb.  Now turn your hand over (so your palm is toward the ground), and gently move it downward, directly under the puppy's nose, saying firmly (but as always, gently) "DOWN".  The puppy will hopefully smell the treat, and follow it to the ground, though he most likely will not lie down, only follow it with his nose.  If he goes down even a little with his shoulders, reward with some praise, and a small treat (not a large reward, or he'll think that's all he has to do).  You want him to know he did something right, but also that there's more to it than just bending toward the ground a little.
     Repeat the process over, and over.  But remember, keep the lessons short- no more than 10 minutes at most, and for a very young puppy, it would be best to keep the sessions under 5 minutes.  The second time around, make him go a little further down to get the treat.  If he won't, don't worry, just keep trying.  He will know that 1) you have a treat,  2)  he wants it, and  3)  you want him to do something before he gets it.  So he'll set to work trying to figure out what in the world you want him to do.  He'll try different things, and when one gets rewarded, he will immediately assume that must be what you want him to do.
     However, if he just can't seem to figure out that he's supposed to lie down, or doesn't want to submit that far, you may have to help him out a little.  There are two ways of doing this.
(Note:  Some people use these methods to teach the command without trying the other (more gentle) way detailed above.  I have found that these two methods are far less effective than the one above, but they can sometimes be useful to help teach the command when used in conjunction with it.)
     The goal of this is not to force the puppy to do what you want, but to help show him what you want, because he will then hopefully take the hint, and do it himself.  
     Method 1:  With the puppy still sitting, do the previously described hand motion for "DOWN", and at the same time, gently grasp the pup's forelegs with one hand, and pull them forward, so that he lies down with his belly on the ground.  Immediately reward with treats and praise. 
     Method 2 (least effective):  Say down, and gently push on the puppy's shoulders so that he goes down into the correct posture.
     The problem with both these methods is that the puppy usually resists quite stoutly, and you cannot reward him when he's resisting, so it will probably take quite a few tries before he responds well enough to be rewarded.  But with some puppies, it is necessary to use these methods.

Conclusion

     Be patient, firm and consistent.  Always reward good behavior.  Research further training- there's a lot out there, from agility and obedience, to herding, to tracking, to tricks- you name it.  As always, rewarding with treats can be helpful.  I love the way R. M. Ballantyne describes this in his book The Dog Crusoe and His Master. (Second 1/2 of Chapter 3)  A dog can be trained to do about anything (for example, Kep can climb some trees, and understand much of what I say to him.  As a puppy he would shut the front door on command, and go down the slide in the front yard.)
     Be careful to use distinctly different cues for each command, so that he always knows what you want him to do.  A common mistake that people make is using the word "DOWN" for both telling their dog to get off the bed (or whatever they are on), and lie down.  What if the dog thinks you means lie down on the bed?  But he would just be obeying you, so it's your fault that he doesn't understand, because you were unclear. You need to use a different cue, or he will have a hard time understanding you.  I use the word "OFF" when I want Keep to get off something, or stop jumping on people (he doesn't usually), and the word " DOWN" if I want him to lie down.

     With patience, almost anyone can train their puppy, and do a favor to themselves, the dog, and society by turning a rambunctious rascal into a well-mannered canine good citizen.  If everyone trained their dogs, there would be far fewer animals ending up in shelters, and far more happy, useful pets and friends.

Kep as a mischievous puppy...

Kep as a friendly, hard- working (usually) farm dog.

Video:  Teaching a Puppy the 5 Basic Commands