hello, i dont think ive introduced myself in the Puppy section yet!! but HI! me and my gf recently bought a 6 and a half week old Shihtzu.. im jw can i start teaching her NILF and Sit, stay commands yet? She likes to sleep ALOT! also she runs weird.. kinda like.. crooked lol its hard to explain. Can it be because shes so young?
Whens a good time to start training?
- Thread starter tomatoboi
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T
You can start training right away! 
The first thing that most all people teach is to "sit". You can do this by luring. Use the treat, place it infront of the dog's nose and lift up and back, which makes the dog's rear fall back. When the puppy's butt hits the floor, say yes and treat. At this point in time, don't say any command. Get the dog familiar with the behavior. Once the dog is quickly sitting when you begin to lure, you then add the command. When the butt hits the ground, say "Sit" and then treat and praise.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESZozdpmQMs
You can also teach your dog to down on command. Simply place the treat in front of the dog's nose again, and this time lure down and back, in between the dog's legs. The dog should begin to lean back and into a down. Again, yes/treat at first, and then soon add the command.
You can also teach this from a sit in the same exact way, except that the dog will instead lower its upper body instead of folding back into a down. I always teach my dogs both ways.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmwJWAAv6so
I also recommend that you start working on the recall command very early!
The first thing that most all people teach is to "sit". You can do this by luring. Use the treat, place it infront of the dog's nose and lift up and back, which makes the dog's rear fall back. When the puppy's butt hits the floor, say yes and treat. At this point in time, don't say any command. Get the dog familiar with the behavior. Once the dog is quickly sitting when you begin to lure, you then add the command. When the butt hits the ground, say "Sit" and then treat and praise.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESZozdpmQMs
You can also teach your dog to down on command. Simply place the treat in front of the dog's nose again, and this time lure down and back, in between the dog's legs. The dog should begin to lean back and into a down. Again, yes/treat at first, and then soon add the command.
You can also teach this from a sit in the same exact way, except that the dog will instead lower its upper body instead of folding back into a down. I always teach my dogs both ways.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmwJWAAv6so
I also recommend that you start working on the recall command very early!
thanks alot..all that really helped.. now about the biting part. she likes to bite everything..how do you let her know NOT to bite people? i read about the IGNORING her thing, where you play with her, and when she bites you, you stop eveyrthing and walk away. I tried this but it doesnt seem to work LOL. everytime i walk away, she looks like she doesnt care and just starts playing by herself.
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It's important to remember that this is just a puppy and will have puppy behaviors for quite some time. And, your puppy is quite young to be without her mom and littermates, so the transitions may be a little more difficult.
I know that when our Bella clamped down on my fingers, I let out an , "owwwww" and that stopped her in her tracks. When your pup starts to chew or bite on things that are not okay, immediately redirect the behavior to something that is okay for her to chew on.. a rubber toy, chewie, etc..
It is never too early to start training. Just don't go overboard with it. your puppy needs to be a puppy. We got Bella on Tuesday and she is 12 weeks old, she's pretty comfortable with her name and is learning sit and come now. But these are not rigorous training sessions.
Good luck!
P.S. --- puppies do sleep... A LOT!!!
I know that when our Bella clamped down on my fingers, I let out an , "owwwww" and that stopped her in her tracks. When your pup starts to chew or bite on things that are not okay, immediately redirect the behavior to something that is okay for her to chew on.. a rubber toy, chewie, etc..
It is never too early to start training. Just don't go overboard with it. your puppy needs to be a puppy.
We got Bella on Tuesday and she is 12 weeks old, she's pretty comfortable with her name and is learning sit and come now. But these are not rigorous training sessions. Good luck!
P.S. --- puppies do sleep... A LOT!!!
sounds like your doign everythign just right, ignoring her when she cries at night is the best thing, you might want to get a little comfort heart (or a stuffed toy with a ticking clock behind) at 6 1/2 weeks shes VERY young (i dont suggest toy breeds going home before there 10 weeks, 8 weeks at the VERY youngest) shell be missing her littermates and feeling very lost and alone, be patient.
Dont give in to the crying (the first time you do shes won!)
as for traiing yes you can start trainign her now, just keep sessions short and fun and ALWAYS positive. at 6 1/2 weeks shes bound to sleep MOST the time and lose interes quickly!
Dont give in to the crying (the first time you do shes won!)
as for traiing yes you can start trainign her now, just keep sessions short and fun and ALWAYS positive. at 6 1/2 weeks shes bound to sleep MOST the time and lose interes quickly!
You're going to have significant biting problems for quite a while. 6 and 1/2 weeks is far too young to remove a puppy from its litter mates. Puppies learn bite inhibition from their siblings--so you are going to have to start working immediately to help her through this. http://www.canismajor.com/dog/bite2.html
I'm glad to hear you are crate training. You are right to ignore the whining and you will soon see that her whining to go to the bathroom is quite different than her whine to get out of the crate. She left her family very early so she is probably a little bit homesick. How far is the crate from your bed? If you bring it closer, it might help her feel safe and secure.
Your going to confuse her with the newspapers. I understand that she is quite young, but you're at an advantage with house training. Right now, you're teaching her that it is OK for her to go to the bathroom in the house (but only on the newspaper). That's a tough distinction for such a young infant to make. If you want to have a dog that only goes to the bathroom outside, you're going to have to take her out in the middle of the night. It's tough, but it's the reality of raising a puppy!
I'm glad to hear you are crate training. You are right to ignore the whining and you will soon see that her whining to go to the bathroom is quite different than her whine to get out of the crate. She left her family very early so she is probably a little bit homesick. How far is the crate from your bed? If you bring it closer, it might help her feel safe and secure.
Your going to confuse her with the newspapers. I understand that she is quite young, but you're at an advantage with house training. Right now, you're teaching her that it is OK for her to go to the bathroom in the house (but only on the newspaper). That's a tough distinction for such a young infant to make. If you want to have a dog that only goes to the bathroom outside, you're going to have to take her out in the middle of the night. It's tough, but it's the reality of raising a puppy!
^^^^ agree with the newspaper ! Will take longer housebreaking too . My grand-dog Seger slept between his new Mom and Dad from day one with them . Woke up the first night and from then on , slept all night long . He starts puppy obedience next week and is completely housebroken ....proud of him and them !
k this is What i THINK i learned from that article is ..
1) if she tries to bite me, i have to grab her by her scruff of the neck and say NO in a low voice.. (im scared im gna hurt her lol)
2)Do not play tug of war with the puppy ( i play that with her all the time..lol so do i just leave here there and let her play with her toys on her own?)
3)"She'd roll them over, pin them down, growling at them if they didn't lie quietly. " (Does this really work?
1) if she tries to bite me, i have to grab her by her scruff of the neck and say NO in a low voice.. (im scared im gna hurt her lol)
2)Do not play tug of war with the puppy ( i play that with her all the time..lol so do i just leave here there and let her play with her toys on her own?)
3)"She'd roll them over, pin them down, growling at them if they didn't lie quietly. " (Does this really work?
It's ok to chew your hand only if it doesn't hurt. Stick with the, "OWWW!," say it really loud and in a high-pitched voice so it startles her then immediately walk away for a few minutes. If you so much as look at her she'll notice it as she has better peripheral vision than you do. Don't look at her, just ignore her for 2-3 minutes. Walk away, no play, no anything.
Tug of war is ok if you're the one to initiate it and if you're the one to end it. Always end it with you winning. You can lose individual games bouts, just don't end the game entirely with her winning. Use a tug-of-war toy that doesn't get used for any other game. You keep that toy and decide when it gets played with.
This is called an, "alpha roll," and I don't know of anyone here who thinks it's ok to do. Mom doing it is one thing, you doing it is another. It's a very aggressive thing to do on your part and can harm the relationship. As I'm sure the trainers here will tell you, there are better ways that give better and faster results without stressing-out the dog.
Welcome to Chaz!
Tug of war is ok if you're the one to initiate it and if you're the one to end it. Always end it with you winning. You can lose individual games bouts, just don't end the game entirely with her winning. Use a tug-of-war toy that doesn't get used for any other game. You keep that toy and decide when it gets played with.
This is called an, "alpha roll," and I don't know of anyone here who thinks it's ok to do. Mom doing it is one thing, you doing it is another. It's a very aggressive thing to do on your part and can harm the relationship. As I'm sure the trainers here will tell you, there are better ways that give better and faster results without stressing-out the dog.
Welcome to Chaz!
Actually, sorry about that. I didn't read the whole article.
I just wanted you to get this out of that article:
"Biting and mouthing are normal behaviors for puppies. Dogs don't have hands so they investigate objects and their environment with their mouths. To a curious puppy, everything about this big world is brand new and exciting. He learns as he goes along. You can almost hear his thought processes as he discovers something he's never seen before: "Hmmm...what's this? [chomping on it] Something to eat? No? [tossing it around] Can I play with it? Maybe. Can I make it squeak?"
Playing is also a normal learning behavior for puppies, especially play-fighting. Play-fighting with littermates and other animals develops reflexes, coordination and physical skill. It also helps them develop social skills and teaches them how to interact positively within their canine society, their "pack." And it's great fun for them. Sometimes their fighting and "attacks" on us appear frighteningly fierce but to them, it's just a game. Much like a group of kids playing make-believe games and pretending to be grown-ups, puppies have their own games and pretend to be "grown-ups," too!
A dog's ability to control the force of his biting is called "bite inhibition." It's a critically important skill that every puppy needs to learn, the earlier the better. At first, they don't know their own strength nor how sharp their little teeth really are. Puppies learn to control the force of their biting from the reactions of their mothers and littermates during play and especially play-fighting."
Imitating a mother or another dog doesn't translate to dogs. At best, actions like scruffing and alpha rolling will scare your dog into submission. At worse, you will either hurt your dog or your dog will hurt you.
A better article for some techniques of teaching bite inibition:
http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/archives/bite.txt
I just wanted you to get this out of that article:
"Biting and mouthing are normal behaviors for puppies. Dogs don't have hands so they investigate objects and their environment with their mouths. To a curious puppy, everything about this big world is brand new and exciting. He learns as he goes along. You can almost hear his thought processes as he discovers something he's never seen before: "Hmmm...what's this? [chomping on it] Something to eat? No? [tossing it around] Can I play with it? Maybe. Can I make it squeak?"
Playing is also a normal learning behavior for puppies, especially play-fighting. Play-fighting with littermates and other animals develops reflexes, coordination and physical skill. It also helps them develop social skills and teaches them how to interact positively within their canine society, their "pack." And it's great fun for them. Sometimes their fighting and "attacks" on us appear frighteningly fierce but to them, it's just a game. Much like a group of kids playing make-believe games and pretending to be grown-ups, puppies have their own games and pretend to be "grown-ups," too!
A dog's ability to control the force of his biting is called "bite inhibition." It's a critically important skill that every puppy needs to learn, the earlier the better. At first, they don't know their own strength nor how sharp their little teeth really are. Puppies learn to control the force of their biting from the reactions of their mothers and littermates during play and especially play-fighting."
Imitating a mother or another dog doesn't translate to dogs. At best, actions like scruffing and alpha rolling will scare your dog into submission. At worse, you will either hurt your dog or your dog will hurt you.
A better article for some techniques of teaching bite inibition:
http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/archives/bite.txt
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I didn't read the article, but I see no reason for doing any of those things.
1. If she tries to bite you, say no or ow or something to that affect. Let her know that it hurt. And give her something that is appropriate for her to bite.. like a rubber toy or what not.
2. Many people do not play tug of war. We stopped and then we started again. As long as you are in control of the toy, I see no problem with it. For example, you always win the toy. When you say, Drop, your dog drops it, etc.. If I'm playing with my boys and they get too rough, I say drop and the toy then becomes in my possession and we dont play again until I am ready.
3. Im confused about this? Who rolls over who?
1. If she tries to bite you, say no or ow or something to that affect. Let her know that it hurt. And give her something that is appropriate for her to bite.. like a rubber toy or what not.
2. Many people do not play tug of war. We stopped and then we started again. As long as you are in control of the toy, I see no problem with it. For example, you always win the toy. When you say, Drop, your dog drops it, etc.. If I'm playing with my boys and they get too rough, I say drop and the toy then becomes in my possession and we dont play again until I am ready.
3. Im confused about this? Who rolls over who?
wow thanks alot guys for the help. one thing about the ignoring tho.. if i ignore her am i suppose to get outta the room? i cant do that becuz i have alota wires in my rooms and i cant leave her in there alone.. and if i ignore her and just walk away to the other side of the room.. she just plays by herself! like she doesnt care lol
