Can you please share your best puppy training tips?
and regarding treats and praise? how often do you give treats? sometimes is just praise okay, or are treats really important in the beginning?
with toilet training, apart from squatting, is there anything else we can look for to know he needs to go? or is it just a case of watching them constantly?
TT - start off with him on lead outside, and be prepared to spend a lot of time there with him! Cues to go outside include sniffing the ground, and usually after meals & big drinks. Every time he urinates, say something (we say WIDDLE WIDDLE WIDDLE) and then he'll learn to urinate when you say the word, but you have to say it when he does it naturally to begin with.
Give lots of treats for everything and praise at the same time, you can cut down the treats later but keep the praise up for life And when he's older, mix it up - he'll never know when he's getting a treat so he'll always behave
And check with your local vet for puppy preschool, great information at them (and free food samples!)
I found treats really effective when teaching my border collie to walk with me off lead. I would keep one (chicken or some meaty thing) in my hand and keep my hand down and out to the side I wanted her to walk on and take a few steps at a time then make her sit and she gets a treat. (she was 5 months and already knew sit when we got her)
You can do the same thing teaching the sit command by taking the treat just over his head slowly saying sit. As soon as bum hits the ground I give the treat and build up from there.
My dogs are tethered through the day on long leads (farm and no secure backyard) but a friend has a beagle pup who is very distructive and she was told to stuff wet dog food or raw meat into a kong (a type of ball what is meant to be undestructable that is hollow in the middle) stick in the freezer over night then when they go out ( or just whenever) to give the toy to the dog. The dog spends his eneergy trying to get the yummy smelling stuff out of the ball and stops him chewing on the furniture or her high heels because his attention is disracted - in theory could be a great idea.
Doggie school is also a great way to get out and socialise the dog so could be worth checking with your local vet where doggy kinder is.
My best tips would be firstly to look for a good puppy preschool. Find someone qualified (google delta society). There are plenty of unqualified people who run them but if you get someone who doesn't know what they are doing then they can set up lasting negative experiences in your puppy. Puppy preschool is partly about positive training, partly about how to survive puppies and a lot about socialising your puppy appropriately. It is a time of strong imprinting so that is why good socialisation is important during puppyhood.
Regarding treats you definitely don't have to use treats all of the time. You just have to use rewards - note that means whatever is rewarding to the puppy - not necessarily what you think they should find rewarding. For some puppies that means treats, some means pats and play, some means a special toy. Treats are most commonly used because they are motivating for most puppies and easy to use. Generally what you would do is reward every time until the puppy has learnt the target skill, then you taper it off so you reward less often and less predictably. That seems to discourage extinction of a skill (where they stop doing it) most effectively.
Regarding TT take them out at regular intervals to the same spot each time. The best times are as soon as they wake after sleeping, half and hour after eating and drinking, and then every hour or so during the day. Unfortunately puppy bladders dont last through the night so either resign yourself to that temporarily or get up at least once. Crate training is a great way to help TT along and is likely to be covered in a puppy preschool class. Dogs naturally dont like to soil their bedding area so they will try to hold their bladder and this takes advantage of that.
Your best puppy training tips?
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And when he's older, mix it up - he'll never know when he's getting a treat so he'll always behave
that is hollow in the middle) stick in the freezer over night then when they go out ( or just whenever) to give the toy to the dog. The dog spends his eneergy trying to get the yummy smelling stuff out of the ball and stops him chewing on the furniture or her high heels because his attention is disracted - in theory could be a great idea.
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