Pups... do’s don’ts and anything in between

[DazAllison]

Thought I’d try see if I can get a bit of a conversation going about what we all do with our pups up until you start proper training at around the general 6month mark. It’s the time of year again a lot of people are getting new pups and maybe be interested in how others bring on their pups, do you just leave them until 5-6month before any training? do you train right from the beginning? Do you use place boards? Etc etc.....

[ips]

Cant help got my first and only dog at 6 months.
Interested in the topic though as i will be getting another at some point

[trekmoor]

I start "training a pup" the day I get it. I've had lab pups and one GSP pup that won puppy tests by 6 months old but I do nothing "serious" in the way of training a pup until it is a lot older than 6 months old. I first train "should do" then very gradually change that into "must do."

I differ from most other gundog trainers in Britain by giving my very young pups contact with gamebirds, rabbits and hares if at all possible. I used to get told by tut-tutting "experts" that I'd ruin pups but my dogs were often both very keen and very steady when the experts dogs were not.

It worked for me so I kept on doing it.

Wullie

[Naj]

There used to be an Irish pointer setter trainer and breeder who said the training starts as soon as a pup leaves the womb and dropped into his hands and that pretty much sums it up. Pups are learning from their Very first breath and if you don’t show them how you want them to behave they’ll simply make it up to suit themselves. So I start gentle training from the get go and the pups I buy in at 8 weeks are on gamey ground from day one. I was shooting over my current pup at 10 months of age but I’m lucky in being able to develop them more or less on the job, but even when I didn’t have such easy access to game and shooting I would start pups from the get go. But how you progress will depend upon your current level of experience and the facilities and ground you have at your disposal, and what you ultimately want to do with the dog.

Naj

[romanriver]

Let the pup be a pup, is about the most misleading and unhelpful advice you will get, start early, make it fun and go from can do to should do to must do

[newf]

I would say, pretty much the same as Wullie and Naj. Play training right up to 6-8 months, exposure to dead game, gamey ground and free running. Where I probably break ranks with my fellow members even with very young pups are around social behaviors like hard biting and a little later, door scratching in or out and barking; I use mild but effective punishment to stop those behaviors and positive reinforcement of course for the right behaviors.

As to hunting them early, I like to introduce the gun and retrieve before 6 months so the pup can participate in some actual hunting. I keep it simple and safe and nothing tough, to further develop the puppy skills.

Like Wullie, as the pup matures - 8 months onward, I will start to require compliance for all behaviors, hunting and social obedience. This, I feel, has to be done gradually in terms of distractions, duration and skills. A pup of 8 months can't be required to have the same patience or security of a dog of two years, so common sense, reading the pup, and some humor has to be a large part of your training playbook.

[CockerCanuck]

I agree with early training. I give them about 48 hours to settle in, this may not seem long but I bet the memory span of a 8 week old puppy is probably not much longer. Then I start fun training. With very young pups I keep it positive and use treats. However I do deal with mistakes in house-training and any destructive behavior with mild correction and a firm NO! The pup quickly learns what NO means (stop whatever you are doing right now!) very quickly. This becomes a very useful command for the dogs whole life. It will always be associated with correction but once learned no correction is needed to have them comply (I bet Naj will have a comment on this )

I also try and take the pup with me whatever I am doing for the first six month. I also take them for as long a walk as they can take on gamey ground a couple of times a week. This has many benefits, it is good for socialization with new people and dogs, it exposes them to the world strange smells, other animals livestock loud noises etc. etc in a way that makes them more confident. I keep all my dogs in the house so it also gives the pup time away from them and only with me. I beleive this helps with bonding and getting to know the pups nature and keeps them from getting to focused on the other dogs.

[Nickheref]

I am training or perhaps moulding behaviour from day one but the main thing is neither I nor the pup realise we are doing anything. It is just what we do and it is fun. The big mistake I see is people talking about training as if it is a formal thing you do once a day or once a week etc for 10 minutes or half an hour and the rest of the time the pup can do whatever it likes and is ignored and so learns to get by without its human who effectively becomes a hindrance to having fun rather than a help in their life. Then when you need it to really pay attention it is long past caring what you think as it has decided you are not worth listening to.

[ips]

I am training or perhaps moulding behaviour from day one but the main thing is neither I nor the pup realise we are doing anything. It is just what we do it is fun

Pretty much how i approached it

[Naj]

I am training or perhaps moulding behaviour from day one but the main thing is neither I nor the pup realise we are doing anything. It is just what we do and it is fun. The big mistake I see is people talking about training as if it is a formal thing you do once a day or once a week etc for 10 minutes or half an hour and the rest of the time the pup can do whatever it likes and is ignored and so learns to get by without its human who effectively becomes a hindrance to having fun rather than a help in their life. Then when you need it to really pay attention it is long past caring what you think as it has decided you are not worth listening to.

That’s a great point, that training isn’t just for during a ‘session’ and not much else is done until the next training session. There’s a popular saying that goes along the lines of ... every time you are with your dog either you are training it or it is training you.

Although I agree with my learned friend CC that NO, once taught, can be an effective conditioned punisher, it does require ‘topping up’ from time to time, even if only by the threat of action on the handler’s part if the dog is tardy in responding because should the handler lack consistency and the dog receives mixed messages then the NO will lose it’s effectiveness as a correction. But you don’t have to physically correct to get a response from the dog, simply being consistent in stopping or moving the dog will have a similar effect without the fear factor.

And I would never correct a pup for chewing or having an accident in any event, or puppy biting. The problem with corrections is that you become part of the context so you’re effectively teaching the dog not to do stuff when you’re there and when you’re not there the dog may revert to the unwanted behaviour, and house training accidents are simply that and if you correct the pup it is likely to learn to pee when you’re not about or in a quiet corner. But house training, chewing and biting are just phases that pups naturally pass through. They can’t help themselves and just require a bit of understanding and management on the handler’s part and they’re soon over them.

Naj