heres a 'puppy post' i made a few years ago people seem to like.
Well, you start training your dog the first time you see it. Everything the dog expereinces, goes into the dog... it's up to you to manipulate the expereinces to be postive.
Crate training, starts day one. A dog that will go quietly into its crate on command, and stay there as needed is a dog that is a pleasure to travel with, be it to a hunt, hunt test, or road trip. Crate training makes housebreaking a snap... cause pup doesn't mind going in your house, but doesn't want to go in his! So go to crate, get pup, take outside and tell him GO PEE. Make a big deal when he does. Sound elementry? Imagine a 10 hour road trip, and a rainy hotel parking lot, and your dog pees on command, does his business and gets you out of the rain... Training starts day one on the kind of dog you want to carry around for the next 10 years or so.
Quiet... (or for us southerners, HUSH). Teach it the first night if you're smart... HUSH... nothing good ever happens to a dog making noise. If he's noisey, he doesn't get out, or in, or whatever he wants. HUSH, and a kennel rattling... or when a little older, a chin chuk... Make it be the dogs nature to be quiet, and to know noise gets him nowhere. A dig quiet by nature, who knows noise is going to lead to a correction, is a dog that accepts that, and never wants to. Head off problems, instead of looking for a tip or trick to fix them later. Dogs that whine on the line, or in a duck blind, or in a kennel crate at a training day, are doing that because they did it when they are puppies. Never let them.
SIT... take a puppy, and get his attention with a treat or a piece of dog food, when hes watching it, move it over his head. As he watches it he'll raise his head higher and higher until his read end touches the ground... GOOD SIT. He just sat. He sat for a treat, which isn't sit per say, but he did it. After a few times, he'll make the connection of head high and tail on ground and you're happy. Now, make sit part of his nature... feedtime, hes hungry, bounching around, SIT, one time... with no emotion... he wont sit at first, cause hes hungry and you got the bowl... just wait him out, he'll sit. When he does, put the food down. After a few tries, make him SIT, till you release him with OK to go to the food. Dont tourte him making him sit for 5 minutes, but make him sit till released. You're making his nature be to sit to make things happen. Before he's released from his crate, SIT, open door, OK to come out. before you walk thru a door, SIT you walk thru, then relase with OK. Before ANYTHING good happens, its preceded by a sit and a release.
DON'T nag him... SIT, SIT, SIT BOY, SIT, SIT DOWN NOW, STAY... You're teaching him your words mean nothing to him until you get mad. SIT, and make him comply. If you can't make him comply, don't give the command. Never let him know you're powerless and he can disobey you. Soon, its his nature to always obey, the first time, because he's never done anything else.
If you want a dog that doesnt get on the couch, or the bed, or go down the hall to the bedrooms, never let him. If you let him once, you'll have to bust him at some time or another for it. NO, and put him where hes supposed to be. Same for jumping on people, or any other obnoxious habit. NO, and show him what you want. its that simple. As much as he wants to explore his big new world, he will understand it has boundries, as long as you show him, and ALWAYS make the rules the same. Just one times on allowing things is the most unfair thing you can do to a dog.
So bout 3 weeks into this, you got a dog that will SIT, KENNEL, HUSH, GO PEE and knows the house rules. He's had fun, and so have you. He's too young for serious obedience and pressure so what do you do with him for the next 3 months? Plenty.
Big new world. let him see all of it! Birds, boats, guns, water, 4 wheelers, the smells of cut grass, the smells of uncut grass, a hootchie bird flying by, all of it. Take him everywhere, and let him see and smell all he can. Give him time to run a little, and explore, he'll check up and won't wonder too far. let him see people, other dogs, other people with dogs, cats, you name it... Let him see everything.
Retrieves are where the fun is. Don't overdo them. If pup wont come back with bumper, you're making bad habits. Dont do it. If he gets bored after 5, only give him 3. When he comes back to you with bumper, don't snatch and grab.. Let him hold, while you pet him with bumper in mouth and tell him GOOD HOLD. Yeah, you're teaching him, and he doesn't even know. If he wont come back, long lines or another bumper twirled around will usually do it.. never chase, or play tug of war. The retreiveing at this part is fun, nothing is being learned about retreiving, but a bunch of bad habits can be... Dont do it. Make it simple, focusing on the eyes, and if he wont go and come back, don't throw it.
So your dog sits for treats and his food bowl to released. Sit him in kitchen floor facing you. Piece of dog food behind him 4 foot on floor (let him see you place it). If he moves, pick it up. He needs to sit, till you walk in front of him. SIT (so he'll be looking), tell him OK, his release. Do your hand up like your casting (but slow so you dont scare him). Repete, with OK BACK, then BACK OK. Wow, he's 12 weeks old and takes a back cast. Teach overs one at a time, with the hand signal and chaining commands. Will he cast in the field now? No, but you've got a fun game that he did learn something on, and makes other steps easier. Some dogs really like the back cast, and during formal obedeince lessons (read no fun) a pile of bumpers in the cornor of the yard and a back cast can be as much fun as a hup hup bumper... If you're gonna have a fun game for treats, 3 handed casting to them is more productive than your kids playing tug of war with a stuffed animal or him pissing in your boots.
Now you're 6 weeks or so into it, and you've introduced everything in his life as a hutning dog, and intorduced things (like hold and casting) that are much eaiser for a puppy to understand now than later.... Much like those classes for newborns to learn to swim I suppose.
Around 5 months, the adult teeth start coming in. Mouth gets sore. No fetches for pup... Retreiving is his life, never ask him to do it when its painful for him. Time to formalize formal obedience, with a lead, choke/pinch collar, and stick... Time to start with a dummy collar if your going the ecollar route. You're pup will breeze thru this, as its his nature to SIT, and he already knew what it was.. HERE is no problem, hes on a leash, and he's never been allowed to run off while you yelled HERE cause you never gave commands you couldnt enforce. HEEL is a no brainer, because this dog likes to learn, doesn't fight it. Hes been learning since day one, and never even noticed it.
Training is fun, for you and your dog. If its not fun for either of you, you're doing it wrong. Never correct a dog in anger, never correct a dog for a misteak. Correct dogs for willful disobeience, or not trying. Every time you allow an unwanted behavior be it running the bank, or jumping on someone, or creeping on a hard mark you are being unfair to your dog. Saying, I'll fix it later when its a problem, is saying you don't care enough to not put your dog in that situtation, rather you'd just wait till it blows up, and you'll hammer him for it. Thats wrong. For a dog to always try his hardest for you, you must for him. That means being fair to the dog always. And that starts by making rules stick, and not putting the dog in sitations he's not ready for... if hes not decheated, dont throw cheating marks. if hes not steady don't try to see if he'll break. Testing him instead of teaching is a recipie for failure. travis
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Lots of good programs out there... get one and stick with it. Dont mix and match, or skip around. evan grahams smartworks seem to be the most bang for the buck/ easy nuff for a beginer to succeed with/ results for effort you'll find. Also, find a local hunting retrever club... it takes a village so to speak. Even if you dont think you want to get involved in tests and trials, you might be surprised when you get around some the dog folks and your new pup starts coming along. regardless, having a training group is important to get maximum outta even a duck dog. Be wary of internet advice as well.. lots of exspurts on the internet that if they spent their time training instead of talking, they wouldnt have to tell anyone how good they are! hehe. travis
