What is the first thing to teach a puppy? - Page 4

But you CAN teach a pup that all good things come from YOU.  How it responds to that realization is another matter, but not too difficult to understand that a some will thrive for your direct attention, the training interaction, and even so far as attempt to manipulate your favorable mood as another form of reward to itself.

Daryl, I understand what you're talking about, but I posted a scenario of picking a pup up from the airport and taking it to the bathroom. Apparently, you're gonna "teach" it to love you before. Anyhow, it is a stupid conversation. StephanieJ was surprised so many put potty on their list. I just pointed out that most people start potty training the minute they get them.

If you have to be technical, puppy already knows "how" to potty by then.  You are teaching context.  You are merely facilitating where or when this event should occur, and either reinforcing that occurance with pleasantry or discouraging it with admonishment.  So, the relationship process is even occuring on some level while praising for the "potty break".
 
Identifying you as "the source" marks the beginning of a well bonded relationship, and serves as the framewok from which all things will be "taught". Many of things learned will actually be the appropiate placement and time of pre-existing behaviors; your guidance for the "context" of such behaviors.

you don't think a pup has to learn it is accepted & unconditionally ?? .. i thoughtsome of  you folks were knowledgable people here ....  case in point ....  I have a household with all my dogs in pack living  together .. my Larus daughter had three females that became part of that pack ... last year I imported a Yukon Bastillie pup - it was flown in from Germany .. i did what i described at the airport.  the pup became secure , became trusting in me [ etc. etc. ]  by the time I arrived hours later at home .. So : my Larus daughter ,  she new from scent that  the pup was not from her.. she toleratred the pup .. not watched over her like she did her pups when young ,, she tolerated the new pup,at first she did NOT  accept the pup !! .. so where did the new pup find it;s sense of security ?? comfort? safety ??  .. from me bacuse of how i interactedwith  it prior to arrival at home .. in a wolf pack .. other females will immediately help nuture the pups when dam is absent ..  ... accepteance , nuturing , confort and safety etc... are all based on caring and love.. even amoung the animals- LOVE exists  .. so .. if you do not understand this concept ..either don't have me think you ridicule , or you are iognornat , or worse ..  don't have me think you are less than an animal !!....  IF   Leaning that you are LOVED is not a concept .. then why are there so many children in this world feeling unloved and so many children emotional problems . LOVE does not exisat out of thin air.  ANIMALS fel love ... JUst look at all the literature from studies of monkeys , elephants , dolphins ... . the POSTED  QUESTION  was :   " What is the first thing to teach a pup "  ...  the question did not ask  what is the first training exercise to be taught '!!***[ or something or other ] *  everything in life is a LEARNING experience !! Many commentsd on this forum tell me exactly the type& kind  of people that frequent here .. as for me .. IMO -- I will always choose to convey to a  person or animal  & to communicate to themthat  "  they are accepted , cared for , safe   and loved by me"  ..  WE all are at liberty to make our own choices ... Let you conscious be your guide

Daryl, they already know how to sit, down, stand, and stay too.

Now I think some are starting to "split hairs". It's a good topic and I hear most of what you're saying APUP and feel the same on most of them here. Some people don't know how to have dogs, shouldn't have dogs or are just plain ole not a dog person.

My thoughts are the first form/molding of responsibility for a child is owning/caring for a pet. And the way one takes care of and interacts with a pet is a good sign how they will/can with humans.
Maybe the OP should have clarified the question? Once seeing the differences in responses the OP should have clarified even more. My interpretation was "to teach a command".

In my eyes one cannot teach love. If so them why are so many relationships in the mess that they're in? Because one can't teach or because the other doesn't/ want to or can't learn?

I live in Maryland and my last pup I purchased out of Massachusetts. My thoughts are that I would drive and pick the pup up. That way as soon as the pup leaves her family it's me and all about us. Now the bonding process starts immediately. The other dogs are with me and now she will learn who her new pack is and her and I have the ride home to get acquainted.

StehanieJ, my dogs are/will be service dogs. so that is why they are taught to "break" on command.

Alboe .. yes...  for clarification .. on my part.  the implication  in teaching love .i don't mean you teach love , like a seminar , that you teach the dog to love you .. . i meant that the pup " Learns that IT  is loved , unconditinonally .. e.g .. the pup pees on the floor - do you reprimand it or do you show love demonstrated as patience / kindness , simply pick the pup up cal;mly place it outside etc. etc.   how many times did i hear abpout bonding with the dog , yet there is an accident peeing , and the dog gets a newspaper across the face or screamed at ... . rather than demonstrating love in patience and kindness .. "do you not think that with all the dog knowledge that peop[le still treat the dogs that way when they pee as pups.. not everyone in the world is dog knowledgable .. peole on this forum amy be /and take that for granted . i still see otherwise .  ..also i do  not mean : the pup learns to love you " -- that is earned.. --my fault  for not enunciating more clearly [ my apologies ] ... so ... then ... please define what does bonding mean? ?? i think Love is more ecnompassing... you can 'bond' with co-workers .. but do you love them ??  .. my pup sarted to "bond with my larus daughter ... but that does not mean my Larus daughter accepted or loved that pup at first .. as i stated .. she tolerated the pup ... and i have seen this many times in a household .. one spouse Loves the dopg .. the other spouse , simply tolerates the pup /dog ..  ... it took time for the pup to be loved and unconditionally accepted by this Larus daughter female.. this was nurtured and learned .

The stakes are always low enough initially, so that the corrections don't outweigh the rewards.  Fairness and patience will help you to develop trust, but that's not the same as love.  While I may learn to love my dog, in time, and "allow" it to love me, I don't teach it to love me.  I may allow it to show affection, and I might comfort it with affection from myself, but that does not define "love" either.  And, while my behavior helps shape how it perceives me, love is an irrelevant part of the training process, and NOT a necessary component for a strong "bond".

Love is not the only kind of bonding relationship in the universe.  Having a strong bonding relationship with my canine means to me having an open and clear channel for communicaion; how I am continuously and accurately aware of my dog's thoughts and interests, as the dog is equally aware of mine.  He is an extension of my awareness and effectiveness through his senses and actions, and I am an extension of his motivation through my directives.  The result is a synergistic relationship, meaning that "the whole" is greater than the sum of it's parts.

Quote: "But you CAN teach a pup that all good things come from YOU. How it responds to that realization is another matter, but not too difficult to understand that a some will thrive for your direct attention, the training interaction, and even so far as attempt to manipulate your favorable mood as another form of reward to itself. "

Absolutely agree!

What the hell is all this love nonsense....thought I was at a Beatles concert:-) My pup and I ain't got no time for that mushy stuff...we're playing and whooping it up, running through fields....playing ball, tug, climbing on ladders, mounds of dirt.....shi* there she goes with my shoe...see Ya!