Pup Basic Manners Training

Here is my article on Pup Basic Manners Training.

Lots of structure, with both mental and physical exercise is imperative, and some breeds require a lot more than others.  I recommend owners research the breed(s) found in their pup to help understand why they act they way they do. 
Pups need to be mentally challenged more than physically, as developing growth plates shouldn’t be over worked, and mental stimulation will tire the pup out faster anyways.

I always recommend pups stay with their siblings until 10-12 weeks, as they get past most of the critical fear imprint period, get their second set of vaccinations, and learn about bite inhibition and social skills from their siblings.  Good breeders spend time with each pup , exposing them to various sights, sounds, and textures to make sure all the pups are confident and outgoing.  It is extremely important to set up the pup for the best it can be, both physically and mentally, during the first few weeks of it‘s life.  I have an excellent article titled Buying A Purebred Pup, with more valuable information. 

Canine Parvovirus and puppies-  Parvo is a highly contagious and potentially deadly virus, especially for puppies under four months old.  It’s spread from direct dog to dog contact, contact from contaminated feces, food/water bowls, collars, leashes, or surfaces.  
It is easily transmitted from place to place on people’s shoes or on a dog’s paws.   I highly recommend having your pup vaccinated against it, and keep them off the ground in high risk areas like parks and pet shops as much as possible ( safer in a cart, carrier, or held in your arms) until they are fully vaccinated.

Reward calm behavior, for the pup just sitting there doing nothing. It will pay back threefold. 

If they are acting pushy, whiny, or demanding without due cause - ask the pup to engage in something constructive first in exchange for your attention, THEN you can reward them. 
Asking him to do something basic like an already learned sit, down, or heel will encourage calm behavior from him, and helps put you in charge of the situation.

Socialization- This is a very important part of their development, but a pup can easily get frightened when a stranger or new dog rushes over to them.  It’s our job to advocate and keep the pup safe.  Please see my article on Fear Aggression for more information.
Pups don’t need to directly interact with other dogs, they can get socialized by just being around other dogs.  If you do choose to let them directly interact- choose healthy, mentally well balanced dogs for your pup to spend time with. Good play involves both dogs enjoying the play, no bullying allowed.
Structured walks are excellent as well, I have a detailed article on Structured Walks, with many easy to learn training tips to help you achieve your goal.

Properly crate train the pup which will give them a safe place to go when when they need some time to rest.  Close the crate door when the pup is out, so other pets /children don’t go into the pups crate.  I have a very detailed article on Crate Training. 

Excessive play biting- In many dogs under one year of age the main reason for excessive play biting is the dog having sleep deprivation.  This occurs more often in households with young children. 
Try scheduling the dog’s day with one hour of quiet crate time then one hour of play time outside the crate. Rotate throughout the day.  Repeat for a minimum of one week, then assess the dog’s behavior and schedule daily “naps” as needed.  Dogs thrive on a consistent daily schedule.

I recommend using ALL the pups daily meals as rewards for obedience, tricks, good manners, and in interactive food toys- frozen if possible as it takes much longer for them to get it out. 
Hand feeding gives “ value” to the human from the dogs point of view, instead of giving “value “ to the dog bowl.  It helps the dog focus on the handler instead of being distracted- this is a huge advantage in our favor. Hand feeding also lessens the chance of resource guarding, as there is no longer a bowl to guard. 

Very young pups training session may be less than five minutes, but train several times a day.  If the pup has a difficult time with something- have them do an exercise you know they will succeed at,reward very well when done, then ask again for the more difficult exercise - but first break it down into smaller,easier to accomplish segments so the pup can succeed. Reward well for good efforts from the pup.

RECALL training is one of the first commands I train, and the most important in my opinion because of the safety value it represents.
I use a long line with verbal praise and reward about 70% of the time, just praise the other 30% of times. The pup needs to learn recall is non-negotiable. Call them by name and a verbal HERE ,and reel them in if needed.
“Jackpot” (handful of food) every now and then builds excellent drive. Proof often for best results.  Food will be phased out later once the pup understands the exercise well.

You can train the WAIT and TAKE IT game to build impulse control, and focus on the handler.  Take a piece of food in your hand, with fist closed. Bring your hand close to the pup.  Give a verbal WAIT command.  Let the pup sniff, but don’t let them have it till they settle a bit and are calmer, then say TAKE IT, and open your hand and reward. Goal is to have direct eye contact before rewarding. 

HANDLING the pup all over is very important, use part of their daily meal for this.  Opening their mouths, handling their paws and ears is especially good to do.  I recently added a detailed article on Restraint Training for Dogs to my site.

PLACE command is very helpful for older pups, they will learn to go to their dog cot, lie down, be quiet, and stay there until given a release word. Sessions should be fairly short to start.  A tie back can be used at first, always supervised. I have a very detailed article on training PLACE as well.

TOUCH ( to a hand) is also a very helpful command.  A verbal TOUCH command can be used as a redirection away from an undesirable object. TOUCH is also very valuable when I have a pup who is worried about an object. Utilizing a clicker as a marker, I’ll condition the pup to touch the fearful object - then click and reward for doing so.

Tether the pup to you on a short lead inside the house when he isn’t in the crate.  Correct and redirect the pup as soon as he starts to do something inappropriate.  If he goes for an inappropriate object give a verbal “ah “or “nope”, a couple quick light tugs on the lead, and immediately give him something better to do like bite a tug or appropriate chew.

Owners need to be patient, but firm and consistent. 
Not having “grey”areas in training helps a lot - like today it is okay but yesterday it was not, or it is okay at my house but not okay in public. Having everyone in the household on the same page with training will set the pup up to succeed.

I also train OUT or DROP command, which is to disengage fully from whatever they have in their mouths, or they are looking at.  I have a very detailed article  describing several different techniques utilizing lures and tug toys that can be used to successfully train the OUT command, in another post.

For correcting the pup jumping up I use a verbal OFF command.  I have a detailed article on Dogs Jumping, and How To Prevent It. 

There are many more articles like Nail Trimming, Adolescent to Adult- problem solving, Treadmill training, Senior Dog Care, and Potty Training in my other posts.  

Here are the links to my free, open to the public sites. ❤️🐺❤️

https://allbasics-dogtraining.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/AllBasicsDogTrainingKimChappell/