General Puppy Questions - Page 1

First off, great forums! Some great information here.

Background info: Got a pup Dec 1st who was listed as a Shepard / Collie cross although I don't see much Collie in her. She was a rescue so I'd bet they add on the Collie part to entice people to adopt. She is approx 14 weeks old now and is learning quite quickly. I'm not looking for her to be a guard/attack dog. I do want a level of obediance when I can trust her off leash and that she'll listen to my commands in high distraction areas. We have a basic obediance starting next week. 

She is a quick learner so far. It typically takes about 2-3 15 minute sessions (using a clicker and her regular food) for her to pick up basic tricks ie Sit, down, shake, roll, dead, cover eyes, going to her mat. I have been having plenty of problems with the more obediant commands.

1) When training, she'll come when called virtually every time. When she is outside, my commands fall on deaf ears. Should I be enticing her in with treats for now then weening her off this slowly? 

2) Heel is just not happening. I've been working on luring her around with treats which works, but once outside or on a leash, she refuses to listen. 

3) She will not stay for more than a couple seconds. I honestly can't tell if she is listening or being lazy when she does stay. 

Am I expecting too much from her? I really don't know what level of obediance she should have at this age. 

Also, approx. what weight should she be? She is about 22lbs right now. She had a pretty bad case of worms which stopped her from eating for a few days.

Thanks

  Hi

  You don't say how old the puppy is ?  You are trying to do way too much for a young
  puppy.  You should stick with one or two commands and when those are near perfect
  then you add more.  Always do on lead training outside, he has to get use to the
  noises and distractions.  Have him sit in front of you on lead, with treats in hand and
  say "watch"  the very second he looks at your face, reward him. 

She is about 14 weeks (it is in the first paragraph).


The problem with outdoor training right now is winter... in Canada. She doesn't mind it much but I sure do. 

Try the basic commands in all different environments, THEN progress to more intense things. She is still very young! Focus on what she knows in all different environments so that she understands training is NOT for just inside the house. I know many great dogs inside, but once they get outside everything goes out the window becasue they were only trained inside the house. Make her focus on you and not what she is going after outside or wherever you are, hope that helps a little.

for that young of a pup, 15 minute sessions are LONG. I say this because I did the same thing and had the same problems. try really short sessions at this age, and not just treats, try getting super excited when she does what you want and play and then ask her again. there's 3 areas in a pup's life: the den (this being inside the house), the yard, and the world. Start mastering in the first, then move to the second, then try the third. It's overwhelming for a pup outside (I mean, what pup can resist paying more attention to the outside distractions?). hope this helps, it did great for my girl

take her out on a leash when she's hungry.
have food at the ready.
every time she looks at you click and reward. next every time she looks at you and takes a step toward you click and reward.
she will learn to focus on you.
 
DVD from Leerburg - the power of training with treats shows excellent example of how to work with distractions.

From what I read this type of work can be done inside and the first thing I would do is shit can the clicker and wean off the treats.
She is too young for serious obedience still and you should be bonding and socializing at this stage.
Yes right now you may be expecting too much from her, obedience is a command and must be demanded, begging and pleading, bribing with treats will get you no where..
Save the treats for a job well done and begin using praise over treats.
Use commands not a clicker, communicate with your dog, she will understand you.
Repeat exercises until she gets it right then try some praise, treat only when it's right and only at the end of the exercise with more praise than threats.
There is more but that's all for now.


Moons.

I wouldn't can the clicker. I dont use one, but that is your preference. I like to use my voice. Concentrate on focus in distracting situations. Stop worrying so much about obedience and focus on what you want, FOCUS. Take the pup to a distracting place. Get the Pups attention and mark/reward. Then work on keeping the focus. Even if all you are doing is teaching the dog to drive you for the food, so be it. You are trying to move too fast. Remember, it is all about communications. You use a clicker, but you should also be communicating what you don't want. Does your clicker have a negative tone?

At 14 weeks old, I would not worry about teaching the puppy to hold positions (stay) for very long.  They have small attention spans.  You need to mark the behavior and reward before they break.  That is the timing of training, to know when you can catch it to reward before it's too late.  I start with a few seconds, then add in your small distractions like you moving your feet, then taking 1 step backwards and back forwards again, mark the behavior and reward, to begin stay.
For come, never use the obedience word when you are not sure they will come, or you just make it mean less.  If I'm outside with a dog in training, I don't say "come" if it's iffy... I just say let's go or make some clicking noises so they come to me.  I would have a dog in training drag a light leash around so if they do not come, I can grab the long leash and sort of reel them in while praising, basically just enforcing what the command was, and still rewarding.  For heel, teach as a position.  Also teach a free command, a release.  Teach your puppy "look" starting with a treat lure near your face, and you eventually fade out the lure.  Touch is also a fun lil thing to teach, targeting your hand.  At this young age you cannot expect full attention in a high distraction environment, you have to work it

You need to teach focus like Sita's Mom said...more excercises for that:

http://dogscouts.org/Indirect_Access.html

Need to shorten training to about 3-5 min short sessions a few times a day.  15 min too long for a puppy.

Always end on success and use high value treats.  When your puppy is distracted or bored you went too long.