Can you help me with some very basic puppy training commands?
I’ve got a beautiful puppy named Blue. She’s actually brown with blue eyes and she’s a Chihuahua, Maltese/Poodle Mix.
She’s in about her 10/11th week.
Questions:
1. How do I potty train her correctly? (so far I’ve let a crack in the back door for her to go out whenever but I think she’s still going in the house)
2. How to teach sit?
3. How to teach paw?
4. How to teach come here? (I really need this one on command)
5. I’ll ask advice for rolling over.
6. What dog tricks or commands do you recommend she learn now?
Thanks so much.
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12 Answers
You could either take her to a class near you such as the ones at Pet Smart or search google for some videos on training. I saw a few out there and one was from IAMS, one from Purina, and I’m sure there are a few from Cesar, the dog whisperer.
However you decide to train her, my advice is to use a reward system. Everytime she does something you want her to do, give her a treat and a loving pat on the head.
I strongly recommend a puppy class. You’ll learn as much as she does. Also, it will help socialize her.
treats do well. Or clickers.
Take her outside several times a day to make sure she is doing her business and not sniffing out. Tell her thte word “potty” or such.
Sit.
The paw will come after a few commands.
My dog still waits on the come. Unless there is a treat.
The more you bond, the more the dog will love to do anything for you.
Puppy class will be fun together.
Here is an article on housebreaking.
First and formost, you need small training treats. I highly recommend small bits of freeze dried meat buffalo bites are the perfect size for your dog
The most important thing you train your puppy to do is to come when called. To do that, Blue needs to know her name. Next, she needs to learn to come.
Puppy potty training will be ongoing for the next few months. My suggestion is to be patient and calm.
Either buy/borrow some training books and a clicker and/or enroll in a training class ASAP.
No matter what, praise and reward.
Treat, treats, everywhere TREATS!
Based on what worked with my dog, here’s the scoop:
1. When the dog makes outside, you commend her and give her a treat. When she makes inside, you rub her nose in it, say “No”, and a tap on the nose. In the beginning, take her out every hour you are around, whether or not she has to go. She may not go everytime, but only give her a treat when she does.
2. Everytime she sits, say the word “sit,” whether or not you asked her to. She will associate what she is doing with the word. During actual teaching, push her but down and put her in the sitting position while repeating sit. Reward with treats!
3. Same thing applies to any command. For paw, I grabbed my dogs paw while sitting and held it and said “Paw.”
4. Come is more difficult and will come with her getting older, but call her name a lot, in the beginning you’ll have treats, but don’t ask her if she wants a treat. Make it about her coming to you without upfront and known incentive. I would suggest not just using her name, but follow it up with the word “come.”
5. Rolling over was an interesting one to learn, but for this I honestly just rolled her over and repeated the phrase. Treats!
6. i would also recommend lay down and stay. Stay is just as important as come. Have her sit and start to slowly back away saying “stay.” If she moves without you saying “come” or whatever your word will be to disengage the staying, say no and start over.
And as others mentioned, a training class amidst other dogs is good fro socializing. My town had one at a school gym, there are also ones at YMCA’s, you just have to find how your town or surrounding neighborhoods holds them.
Good Luck!
Good advice and one last thing that is really, really, important!
NEVER EVER, EVER punish a dog for not coming to you by screaming COME and then dragging them or otherwise associating the command “come” with punishment of any kind.
It never ceases to amaze me when I hear people shreiking at their dogs to “come” and wondering why they won’t.
I agree with those who suggested a puppy kindy and then on to obedience. It is so good for YOU and the pup, you will both learn. And most importantly your pup will learn how to behave around other people, dogs and venues. You could have a dog who behaves perfectly at home but gets freaked out by the world. So get the pup out into it as soon as shots are up to snuff!
Sounds like a cute combination, post a pic so we can see!
I think most bad dog behaviour is about bad owner training. So I also say, puppy training/obedience classes.
Teach sit by raising a treat over her head. Most dogs will automatically sit and look up. As her bum is moving to the floor say “sit” and as her bum hits the floor, mark and reward. To mark you can use a clicker or say “good” and rewards with a small treat. Don’t force her bum on the floor, this is not good for little joints.
To teach a strong “come” or recall, it is important that you make yourself the most exciting thing to your dog at the time. I practise this with my clients by getting them to run around the room like crazy people and encourage their dogs to chase them, making a game of it. The important thing is, once she has come to you whether it is on your command or voluntary, you mark and reward. In the early stages, encourage your puppy to come to you as often as possible, even if you are just sat on the sofa. Keep a supply of treats on you at all times so that when you call your puppy and she comes trotting over you can reward her. To avoid the puppy associating the recall command with negative feelings, try not to always put her on a lead or in the car which will signal the end of fun time. Instead practise this when you are able to reward the behaviour (recall) and then allow her to continue having fun off the lead. This wil teach her that, just because you have called her into you, it doesn’t necessarily mean that her fun is going to stop.
At this stage I recommend that she can sit, stay and come on command. “Come” and “Stay” in particular could save her life. For example, if you open the car door and she bolts out without permission she could get hit by another car. If she knows that when you say “stay” she doesn’t move, this will prevent an accident.
With toilet training, you can’t expect her to go out automatically just because you leave the door open for her. She needs to learn from you where it is acceptable for her to go. Every hour or so (especially after she has eaten, drank or just woken up) take her out. When she goes to the toilet, reward the behaviour. You can even introduce a key word (like toilet) to encourage her to go where you are happy for her to go.
I strongly recommend puppy classes though. These will not only teach your puppy basic obedience but it will help her to socialise with other dogs and people.
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