Training Advice for a First Time Dog Owner
Greetings everyone!
I had the pleasure of bringing Winston into my life early this past summer. He's now 10 months old, and is generally a good dog. I realize this is a bit late to start him on a training regimen, but better late then never right?
He's also the first dog that I've ever owned, so I'm new to this whole thing :). With that in mind, I was wanting some advice from those of you that are very familiar with dogs and corgis in particular regarding training the little guy? I figure we can start with the most basic of commands like, come, sit, still, etc., and then work our way up to "bring me a beer" and "fold my laundry" haha.
Any input/advice/recommendations anyone has would be most appreciated. Thanks!
I had the pleasure of bringing Winston into my life early this past summer. He's now 10 months old, and is generally a good dog. I realize this is a bit late to start him on a training regimen, but better late then never right?
He's also the first dog that I've ever owned, so I'm new to this whole thing :). With that in mind, I was wanting some advice from those of you that are very familiar with dogs and corgis in particular regarding training the little guy? I figure we can start with the most basic of commands like, come, sit, still, etc., and then work our way up to "bring me a beer" and "fold my laundry" haha.
Any input/advice/recommendations anyone has would be most appreciated. Thanks!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tina on
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Hey Robbie,
I don't think it is too late at all to start training your dog. We have two corgis, one of which we have taken to two training classes so far and are trying to transfer that knowledge to our newer second dog-who is 1 year. If you are a visual person, there are a bunch of training videos on You Tube or even on the dailypuppy.com Our trainer said that a dog that is 1 year and under should be able to work their way to holding a stay for 30 seconds, after 1 year they should be worked to holding their staying for 1 minute. But this will be a very gradual thing, only starting with 1 or 2 seconds and slowly working you way up. Eventually you would add walking slightly away from them and around them.
The first thing that we did is teach our dog a marker word. Whenever they did an action we liked, we said "Yes" and then gave them a treat. So, if Ein was sitting, we would say "Yes" and give him a treat. Ditto for laying down, standing etc. After about a week of that, we started saying their name. If they even glanced our way, we gave them a treat. Then we also started luring them into the various poses. So, if you want your dog to sit, hold a treat in your hand, start near their nose and raise it above their head slightly. Usually this gets them into a sit position. After they are able to be lured into this position about 8-10 times in a row, start staying the word "Sit' prior to luring them. After doing this about 8-10 times reliably, give a slight pause between saying "sit' and luring them into position. If they sit when you ask and don't lure, give them multiple small treats, otherwise just keep luring the dog into the sit position. If they really don't get the "sit' stop giving them treats until they do a sit while not being lured. This type of process can be done with mutliple commands, but only train them in short increments. Our trainer recommended training sessions 3 times a day for about 5-10 minutes. This will prevent either you or your dog from being burned out. Always end your training session on a positive note. Even just saying their name and getting them to look at you, with a treat reward, is a good way to stop.
The best thing I would recommend is a training class, it's where I learned what I know as these are the first dogs I've really been in charge of. Each training class would be slightly different, but the above method is what I learned. The hardest thing for Ein and Ed to learn has been a down. Otherwise, they are very smart dogs. It is just making sure what you show them is clear and consistent so they can understand.
Also a quick note about food. if you are doing a lot of training and giving lots of treats, cut back on their food so they aren't getting too much in one day. Our trainer recommend we skip their afternoon meal prior to training just because we would be giving them treats for almost an hour.
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Permalink Reply by Ginny and Diggory on
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As an additional note... you should have a positive marker (yes, or good) and a negative marker. The negative marker is just a sound or word that means that they are no longer in the position you want them in. I use a sound like uh-uh.
How it works.... give the command "sit"
Try to lure them into a sit with a treat (but don't physically push down their butt)
The second that little butt hits the ground use your positive marker - "Good!" and give a treat so the dog associates the positive marker with a treat.
The goal is to not have the dog come out of the sit until you release them with a release command like "o.k."
If the butt comes off the ground, use the negative marker - "uh-uh". Don't repeat the sit command, just use the negative marker.
When they go back into sit, say good and give a treat.
Release the dog with "o.k."
Gradually build up how long you want them to hold in the sit position. At first, it may be only for a few seconds.
After a while, progress to taking a step away from them and see if they maintain the pose even if you back away. Also, start to increase the time between when you say "good" and when you give the treat. Once you have this down with sit, you can start with other commands like down, shake, stay, etc. They are quick little learners. I find the toughest one for me is "come when called" when there are distractions.
Good luck! Lots of practice and patience!
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Permalink Reply by Cindi on
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It's never too late to train! lol! Find a positive, reward-based obedience training program in your area. I work for PetSmart, so I'm a bit partial to our program. It's great for starters. Winston will learn the basic commands, have opportunity for socialization, and it will be a great relationship-builder for the two of you.
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Permalink Reply by Tiffany on
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My brother took his new lab to the Petsmart training course and then applied what he learned with his older, more out of control lab and now both dogs are perfectly trained! Ichi and I just started our training course, but we're already ahead of the gang because my brother's been giving me pointers. I highly recommend their courses!
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Permalink Reply by Kelly on
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I definitely recommend a training class! Not only is it good learning for your dog, but it's a great bonding experience and a fun thing to do once (or so) a week!
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Permalink Reply by Bella on
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Well in Cesar Milan's words, (sorta) its never to late to rehabilitate a dog or treat him. Sorry I watch a lot of dog whisperer, but I've seen him train lots of dogs who were older. when I got Bella, she was my first dog. She knows the basics sit, stay come, down, paw, off. The more fun ones are bang in which I act like i shot her with a gun, say bang and she rolls on her back to play dead. And somehow she knows get the kitties and then she'll go look for one of my cats. Once in a while she'll "be a begger." The only thing I cannot really get with her is walking properly on a leash. She does it so well when its us, but the minute another dog is near or a person gives her a glance....off she goes.
The way I read to learn how to train is to use positive reinforcement, and with corgi's only train for 10 minute periods since they have a short attention span, and try to have them burn their energy before training either running or walking. At first after every time they do the act, give them a treat AND pet and say good puppy to let them know your happy and approve of what they did. Over time, start to give the treats less and less and give more verbal/motor positive reinforcement. And sometimes you have to physically help out like raising their paw, pushing their butt to the floor, sliding paws forward to make them lay down, roll them over....basically everything.
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Permalink Reply by Warhol on
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It really is never too late to start. Petsmart has a class for older dogs. Dogs 5 months to however old a dog can get. Anything younger is puppy school. The classes in my opinion are very sucessful. It's just basic obedience, but after you graduated that you can do Intermediate class, Trick class, and even advanced class. The internediate education (at least at the petsmart i go to) prepares you for the CGC certificated, and the advance prepares you for Delta certification. They are fun, informative, and usually scheduled at convenient times.
:)
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