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Permalink Reply by Beth on March 8, 2012 at 12:15pm

I prefer physically blocking access to the food bowl rather than leashing.  It encourages the dog to look at your face instead of staring at the food.  Then as they progress you have already established that you can claim any space that the dog wishes to occupy, simply by moving into that space.   It alleviates the need for dragging leashes and teaches the dog to back out of your space at the same time.  

 

It makes it easy to transition.   You start out with the food bowl behind you (you are between the bowl and the dog).  You say "wait" and as soon as the dog pauses for a second you say "ok!" and move aside to release.  Once the dog naturally starts watching your face for the release instead of trying to stare at the food, you make the "wait" a little longer and a little longer.  You then do the same thing with the food slightly behind you and to your side, and if the dog tries to break the "wait" you move sideways into the dog's space, blocking access. 

 

The nice thing about this is it works on several issues at once.  It teaches the dog that you are the one with the most freedom in the house and can move into any space, whether the dog wants it or not (and the one who has the most social freedom is naturally viewed as the "leader").  It naturally teaches the dog to focus on your face when you are training, rather than staring at distractions.  It also helps teach the dog to stay out from underfoot (especially important for heelers like Corgis).   And it teaches a reliable "wait" since the dog learns that if he moves forward from a "wait" he will end up being forced backwards further than where he started.  

 

But I honestly did not start this with a 10-week old puppy.  First I taught him his name and worked on pottying.  After a week I started on "sit" and "come."  I certainly did not expect him to be patient at the food bowl until he had learned the concept of learning; a new puppy does not even realize that what you say is meaningful until you've worked on some basics.  

 

I WOULD teach a new puppy to take treats nicely from my hand. 

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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on March 9, 2012 at 12:26am

Very important thought...I actually get down on my knees and pretend to eat with them and they need to share nicely. I must be lucky to never have had a pup dive into their food:)

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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on March 8, 2012 at 11:59am

never too young to start! Franklin's breeder started with crate training and potty training when he was 5 weeks old and he came to me at 8 weeks potty trained and crate trained. Many puppy classes start at 8 weeks with basic obedience. They learn SO fast at this age so you can have a lot of fun with them. Just keep the sessions VERY short because they dont' have much attention span. Spend maybe 5 minutes on a command and then lots of play time and rest. As they get older you can increase training time, but in teh beginning start short.

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Permalink Reply by rachel nannola on March 18, 2012 at 7:23pm

That's so awesome how he was crate and potty trained when you got him at eight Weeks!

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Permalink Reply by Beth on March 8, 2012 at 12:21pm

First teach him his name!   Then work on "sit" and "come".   Sessions should be only a minute or two long.   Puppies learn sit and come naturally.  Here's how to do both.

 

Whenever the puppy comes by your feet, he'll probably naturally sit down to look up at you.  When you see his little butt about to hit the ground, say "sit!" in a bright voice and then "good!" and pop a treat in his mouth.  This is called "capturing."  You are waiting for the dog to volunteer the behavior, then you are naming it and rewarding it.  You can do this througout the day, all day.  After capturing the behavior for awhile (Maybe a week?), then start saying "sit" just before you expect him to sit.    After another week or so has passed, you can move to saying "sit" when he would not be inclined to sit on his own.  It's the same way little kids pick up language, by associating the word with an object/action that they are already witnessing.

 

For "come" again we work with pup's natural inclination, this time the tendency to run to you when you crouch down and clap your hands or wiggle your fingers.   Crouch down, say the pup's name, clap or wiggle, and he should start running to you.  When it is clear he's coming right to you, say "Come come come!" in a very happy voice and then praise him like crazy and give him treats.  ONLY say come when he's already coming, and if you say his name and he ignores you DON'T say "come."   After a couple weeks, try calling him before he starts moving towards you, but only when you are sure he was planning on coming over.

With pups this young, the idea is to only give commands when you are 99.9% sure they are going to listen.  Basically you are drilling the basic obedience commands til they are second nature by making it seem like a fun part of everyday life for the dog.  "I like running to my owner, and when I do I get fussed over and lovely treats!"   For young puppies, never ask for a command when what they are already doing is more fun than what you want them to do, and never ask unless you are almost certain they will obey.  Otherwise you teach pup to ignore you.  Distraction training will come much later.

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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on March 8, 2012 at 11:31pm

A fanny pack is handy for the dog stuff.  A tiny sturdy screw-cap -- maybe a pill bottle -- works well for all the little TINY treats.

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Permalink Reply by Snickmom on March 9, 2012 at 12:04am

Does it seem silly to say, be sure and teach your puppy how to play? Our rescue, Dolly, does not know how to play with toys or people. She plays with dogs and loves people, but if you try to play with her she just acts confused. Chase a tennis ball, tug on a rope, push a big ball around and play frisbee, chase each other around the house, play hide and go seek! Teach drop it or give and have fun fun fun!!!

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Permalink Reply by Paul, Carrie and Orion on March 9, 2012 at 9:20am

Thank you everyone for this awesome information!

We've had Orion home for a week now and he's doing really well with the potty training. He plays well with his toys, other dogs, and Carrie and I.

I started working with him yesterday on not allowing him in to his kennel to eat until he's calm. This morning was a little better. I sat between him and the kennel door and said his name until he focused on me for a very brief moment then let him in.

He already sits when he knows he's getting a treat (after bathroom outside) so I really like the idea of the capturing training. He comes when I get down and call him too so it should be pretty easy to start working on this right away.

Again, thanks for all the great advice, keep it coming if you have more to share!

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Permalink Reply by Paul, Carrie and Orion on March 18, 2012 at 9:40am

Just wanted to give a quick update about Orion. He's doing much better about allowing me to settle him down before he goes in to the kennel to eat. 

We start puppy classes today and we're so excited. We can't believe we've only had Orion home for a couple weeks because it feels like he's been a part of our family forever. He's such an incredible dog and Carrie and I are so in love with him.

I now know why all of you are so head over heels for your little fuzzy bottom friends.  

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Markley on March 18, 2012 at 12:07pm

If he's that eager, I'd start now.  Sit is always the best one to start with.  They say to do one a week, otherwise they get bored.  Seanna would pick up on a trick within the first time or two, and get totally bored and not want to do it again.

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