Puppy training questions

[Zephyrpower]

In case the dog breed is important I have a german/lab mix which I think is a mixed breed combo with a lot of potential.

I've had him for 3 weeks ( I believe is he 9 now), but the only command I've taught him with 90% efficieny is "Sit". He usually associates that command with a treat though, and sometimes He'll also sit when I say "good dog", or hold up a treat, and sometimes when I say "Pudge" (his name), he also sits.

He also knows "No" to an extent but he usually ignores it if he's having a lot of fun biting my leg--which is usually when I use it!

So basically my questions are this. How much training should I do with my dog and how much should he I expect him to learn at this point?
I've heard some people say 15 min a day for the amount of time and I guess you should be able to teach them most of the basics.

Also, what are the most important commands? I've heard the Magic Seven are the key commands to teach at first...such as Name, No, Come, Sit, Stay, Leave it...etc (don't remember them all)

If anyone has any advice on how much I should be training my puppy please let me know.

Anyways, the next command I'm tryin gto

Also, aside from

[Doberluv]

The very most important thing to teach your pup is socialization IMO. Get the pup accustomed to all kinds of people, places, objects, other dogs, the vet's office (for a quick social visit), different ground surfaces, procedures, (clipping nails, baths, cleaning ears, brushing teeth, brushing body...etc) The next most important thing which is a foundation for the other training is attention training...("watch me.")

Right...don't work your dog longer than his attention span. Quit while he's still wanting more. End on a good note. Make training lots of fun.

You can browse through the forums and see what you can find. Go back a few pages if you need to. (on bottom of page are page numbers)

http://www.dogpatch.org/obed/obpage4.cfm

http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/index.htm

I've had him for 3 weeks ( I believe is he 9 now)

He's 9 months, years, weeks??? NOt that it really matters in regards to how you train, but it does matter in what you expect to a degree. A 9 week old wouldn't be expetec to down or sit for anything more than a moment for quite a while, where an older dog, might progress a little faster.

and sometimes He'll also sit when I say "good dog", or hold up a treat, and sometimes when I say "Pudge" (his name), he also sits.

Remeber this piece of advice, one command = one action. having him sit when holding a treat, when you say good dog, or his name... He doesn't understand sit, he just knows that the sitting behavior will get him a treat sometimes. Until you have it a learned behavior, use only one command

I've heard some people say 15 min a day

If its a puppy, keep it short quick and lots of success, always end on a "winning" note for the puppy or any age dog. You can do this many times a day, if you're doing it for only about 2-3 minutes you can do it 5 or more times a day easily. Do it in a quiet room, no distractions, no other animals, no other people until the behavior is learned. Then you can use distractions.

Also, what are the most important commands

For young dogs, down, sit, and a recall. They learn their names easy enough, i've never "tried" to teach it conciously like I teach the other stuff. anything after that is up to you. Leave it is good to, but not one of the first things I teach, that can come later. When biting on things you don't want, remove the object and replace with an appropriate one. Chewing on a sock, take away and immediatley present a toy and play, type things.

[kidsanddogs]

Excellent advice given above. It's so important to remember that your dog is a baby and everything must be fun. Even with my older dogs, I train for very short amounts of time - 10 minutes (several times a day) - and end happily. Play with your dog. All the training right now should be playtraining. Be silly and have fun.

And to me the most important is socialization - let your pup become a good member of your community (http://loveyourdog.com/fieldtrips.html).

I also have a page with some very general guidelines of what a puppy is capable of learning the first year. It might give you some ideas:
http://www.loveyourdog.com/firstyear.html

Congrats on your new pup!

[kidsanddogs]

Oops, got the URL wrong on the socialization ideas:

http://www.loveyourdog.com/fieldtrips.html

[Zephyrpower]

A little update on my puppy. I've been training him to lay down and he's getting really good at it.

So now he's fairly competent at Come and Laydown. He also fetches but I don't think he does it because I command him too...I think it's still part of play so if I throw something he will fetch it whether I say Fetch or nothing at all.

The other thing I was wondering is what to do when your puppy anticipates your command before you give it, expecting a treat..I call it preemptive sitting.
I.e. I'll call his name to get his attention. He'll see me and almost immediately "sit" before I say anything since he's so used to doing that for praise or a treat.


Also, I clicked on the links given above and I have some questions about socializing them with noise. Everytime I turn on the vacuumer he runs to hide somewhere or at least stays far away from it. Also when I was shaking out a new bag to put in the garbage can...he got scared and went yelpiung and scampering downstairs this morning. So it's pretty obvious loud noises are very frightening to him.

P.s. He also gets very scared when dogs bark at him...if they appear friendly, though, he's more than happy to approach them and try to play.

[OutlineACDs]

People say the best time to train a puppy is between 8-16 weeks. While this is true, I have not really had much success with commands and motivators during that time. I focus on socializing, walking on leash, name recognition, and basic house manners/crate training. I do play with the dog using toys, and encourage tugging. You can usually get a good sit. But it took me a while to teach my newest a strictly shaped down. (I use primarily a clicker) She did not seem to be 'getting' the shaping thing when she was very young. She almost didn't seem to make the association between click and treat. I just played 101 things to do with a box, and LOTS of recall games instead. She is 5 months now and is doing great. It took a while for her to learn to really focus on working.

[Zephyrpower]

Originally Posted by OutlineACDs

People say the best time to train a puppy is between 8-16 weeks. While this is true, I have not really had much success with commands and motivators during that time. I focus on socializing, walking on leash, name recognition, and basic house manners/crate training. I do play with the dog using toys, and encourage tugging. You can usually get a good sit. But it took me a while to teach my newest a strictly shaped down. (I use primarily a clicker) She did not seem to be 'getting' the shaping thing when she was very young. She almost didn't seem to make the association between click and treat. I just played 101 things to do with a box, and LOTS of recall games instead. She is 5 months now and is doing great. It took a while for her to learn to really focus on working.

Cool, well...I don't feel so bad about him not laying down or coming all the time then. However, I was wondering about the crate training bit. Are there any articles that you might reccomend (or you can tell me how you do it). Right now he only goes in his crate to eat and then sleeps under my bed or somewhere else! I also want to know what is the longest period of time I should lock him in the crate. I'm thinking about doing it while I'm at work so he is safe inside but not getting into stuff around my house. Right now I'm in a bit of dilmena because I don't think he's quite housebroken yet so if I let him run free around the house I'll more than likely come home with some messes to clean up!

[OutlineACDs]

Play with him, get him really tired, walk him around the block or whatever, then feed him in the crate and close the door, usually the exercise is enough to have him settle down after eating for a nap. As soon as you hear him rustling around let him out to potty. Or else give him a 30 min nap and wake him up. Do not let him out if hes barking, whining, etc. If you continue with this he will soon learn to enjoy being in the crate.

A good rule of thumb that I have heard is use how old he is in months. For example a 4 month old dog should be able to be left for 4 hours without needing outside. You may need to come home at lunch to potty him and/or pay a neighborhood kid to walk the puppy a few times a day.