Hi: awwwww
lovely puppy days
14 weeks is very young and you have plenty of time to train Lily so try to relax and enjoy:blink: I hope what follows on will help you
Clicker training is very good as are food treats and games. There are a couple of books you might find helpful. Ian Dunbar wrote a good book (easy read) 'After you get your puppy'; which gives you goals for the first 26 weeks of your puppies life.
This book shows what to expect at each stage. I found this very helpful and have lent it to a neighbour who has just got a puppy and she has found it has helped her as well.
I found getting Dax to focus on me was quite a challenge at around this age and I tried all sorts of things which were not effective. I found an exercise on the internet which did the trick. It teaches the puppy that eye contact and focussing on you is a good thing! I feel it also builds up a trust between you as well. It is really simple and effective so may be worth a go. Here is what I did ...
a) sat on a low stool in the kitchen (clicker in hand)
b) had sausage in my other hand and held it at arms length at waist height. And WAITED! (and said nothing at all)
c) he reeeeeelly wanted the sausage ... he went through quite a repertoire to try to get it ... swirling around jumping up round and round the stool. I did not move - I waited in silence waiting for the golden moment when he gave eye contact THEN
- he made eye contact for a split second CLICK TREAT - bingo he got the sausage - I could see the cogs whirrring :005 working it out ...
d) I repeated the exercise - after 3 goes the penny dropped and he realised to get the sausage all he needed to do was to give me eye contact ... I repeated the exercise every day for a minute or so increasing the length of time he maintained eye contact before he got the sausage.
I think this is one of the most useful exercises I have ever done with him and I still use it today (I have taught him watch and get full eye contact then and at other times when he sits and looks up at me - smashing!).
The benefit of the exercise was that it was he who decided the eye contact was a good idea because it gets him what he wants.
Dax is much older that your puppy - he is 9 months old but it laid the foundation for other exercises.
if you do some short training sessions with Lilly each day (no more than 2 to 3 mins for now) using clicker training (see Karen Pryors website for some good easy reads on clicker training) you will start to see a difference gradually over time.
training classes are an excellent idea but please go and see them first to make sure they are ok - the APDT website gives a list of trainers in your local area who use kind training methods.
I hope this helps a bit ... good luck and enjoy!
