Debate continues unabated about whether or not crate training dogs is healthy or harmful. ‘Crating’ involves placing a pet in a cage, usually plastic or metal of roughly the size of the dog, for a period of time during the day or night. Proponents argue that crating gives the dog a sense of ‘property’, a…
Sometimes the distinction between training and control is too easily lost. Using commands and hand gestures, with leashes or treats, to solicit desired behavior is training. Using choke or ‘no-bark’ collars, electronic fences and similar devices is for control. Control isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Dogs naturally have and seek a social hierarchy in which…
Dogs are surprisingly complex creatures. Some official estimates of the number of breeds reaches as high as 800 in Western countries alone. Even given that distinguishing one breed from another can be carried to absurd extremes, the variety is astonishing from a human perspective, who have, perhaps, a dozen ‘breeds’. Complicating the picture still further…
A ten-week-old puppy should not be expected to respond upon command like a pro, anymore than would a child being taught to add and subtract while attending preschool. A puppy has the ability to learn upon completion of the seventh week of his life. Since that ability is there, it is important that the things…
The next step in preschool puppy training begins at around 10 weeks of age. We are now going to introduce your pup to the “stay” command. But first, a quick word of caution from the last training article. It involves the rewards given to the puppy when playing the fetch-sit game. As you near the…
At this point during the beginning of preschool puppy training you should now have your puppy slowly conditioned to expect his daily 10 minute walk, while learning that praise and tasty treats go hand-in-hand. As you continue each walk with your puppy, take notice to see if he is preoccupied with the sights or sounds…
While learning the fetch game, it is important that tasty treats be used in place of too much praise, as previously mentioned. The importance of praise hasn’t been firmly written on the chalkboard of his mind – so until it is, give your pup what is known to be a positive reward stimulus – food!…
The first positive command that your puppy should learn is the command to sit. By making it the first command, it therefore becomes the first positive word which we will write on the puppy’s “chalkboard mind”. In other words, at this age his mind is like a chalkboard – and not too much has been…
Because all of your puppy’s formal obedience training will be accomplished with the assistance of a leash and a training collar, his pre-school training should include familiarization with similar paraphernalia. Initially, the puppy should be fitted with a comfortable leather or nylon collar. Care must be taken that the collar is not affixed either too…
The personality of the canine develops most radically between the ages of 8 and 16 weeks. What the average family dog will eventually turn out to be is determined by the environment in which the puppy lives during that critical emotional time period. When an eight-week-old puppy comes into his new home, he arrives with…
