How Much, How Soon?!

[04callahans]

Before I got a pup, I vowed that my own dog would better trained than any of my parent's dogs ever were and have always had the intention to do obedience training, perhaps agility, etc. and put lots of effort into having an obedient, easy to deal with, well rounded dog!

Barney, it seems, is pretty easily bored, as with most puppies I suspect. So the other day I began teaching sit, which he got in about two minutes flat, so I then taught paw too, which again, he picked up instantly!
He now sits on command for anything he wants (dinner, treats, cuddles, etc.) and we will continue to do this with him, like you would with a child saying 'please' when they want something.

We are having a few little teething problems with him (excuse the pun) such as barking to get our attention or when he is alone/bored, biting and generally having mad half hours, so nothing drastic, however, yesterday he did growl and nip my OH when he tried to take away a bit of something he had found in the garden, which is not on and I'm sure is just him pushing his boundaries now the honey moon 'I want to be at your feet 24 hours a day' period is over. But I do think he needs more mental stimulation as he isn't allowed out yet, other than to go to work with me. I just wondered how much you think you can teach a puppy this early on? (He is 11 weeks)

There is a whole list of things I'd like to teach him eventually, such as 'bed', 'touch' with a lid or something to help focus him etc., recall with a whistle, 'close' to get him to heal and come back to me on walks, 'leave' with food, 'down'.... the list goes on...
But how much and how soon?? And where to begin?! lol! And how trainable are Cockers?!

Any tips or advise appreciated. I don't want to overload his little puppy brain and make him hate obedience training.

Oh and also, one more thing, what treats to use? He isn't all that fussed by little puppy biscuity treats... what high value treats work for you?

Thanks very much! Sorry it was long.

[Sarah1985]

If hes picking things up in his mouth naturally it would be worth encouraging him to bring things to you. That way when he picks up things from your garden you can ask him to bring it to you in exchange for a treat, rather than you taking it from him, which as you;ve found may result in conflict.
I always try and think about what I want my dog to do rather than what I dont want him to do and teach them that. 

With regards amount of training. As you've found puppys gets easierly destracted so keep sessions short. As well as training tricks its worth getting him used to being handled. So get him used to having his feet/teeth/ ears handled. Give him lots of treats while you go so that he finds it enjoyable. it will make any vists to the vets much easier as well as helping to build the trust levels between the two of you

Have you been carrying him anywhere? I used to take my two for little walks round the block or to the park before they were old enough to go on the floor. It means that when they are allowed out they will already be used to the noises of traffic.

[Mel]

Just a personal thing, but I would get basics underway first; sit, paw, down, stay, stand, leave, then sit down sit and down stand down combinations first, working with and without hand signals. They do pick things up really quickly but you will find some moves will be forgotten. E.g., Tali took longer to remember 'down' as a verbal command than as a hand signal, so I kept on with the 'down' command til he was proficient at it as a verbal command before moving onto 'stand'. Just work through them at puppy's pace and only move onto something new when they are 100% with the previous command.

Even when they are on more advanced stuff, always constantly return to the basics for reinforcement. And remember if puppy gets frustrated and keeps going wrong, always end a session with something they can do so the session ends on a positive note.

HTH

[Mel]

Yes Sarah is quite right, constant touching of puppy whilst drip feeding treats is also very useful. Coupled with the stand, it makes them easier to be examined and less likely to snap.

[04callahans]

Brilliant, thank you both. I've just ordered a clicker and am going to try clicker training for the first time.
My Mum, and friends, whom all have badly behaved dogs and haven't made the effort to work with them, laugh at me when I say I want him to be so obedient. But I don't see why this isn't possible. I have no children, and one dog, so he has all my attention when it comes to training and the effort I will need to put in.

[mooching]

I'd also suggest you read this thread by Top Barks on teaching a reliable recall - it's brilliant, and is very simple in the early stages, which means you could start stage 1 now.

http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?topic=69512.0

You can get Acme whistles on EBay quite reasonably and they do a number of colours as well!

[elaine.e]

This is probably something you're already doing and simply haven't mentioned in your posts, but are you grooming him and getting him used to things like having his teeth looked at, his ears looked into and paws picked up?

If not, it's something else you can incorporate into his training so that he accepts it all as a normal part of his routine. When mine have been tiny puppies I've always done a brief daily "vet check" and a very short session of grooming with a soft brush.

[Bluebell]

As well as all the invaluable advice given, I would also put alot of time into just playing with your pup and encouraging him to be near you, through play. Creating a strong and trusting bond will go a very long way towards achieving your goals

[04callahans]

elaine.e I have been doing this a little bit, I do tend to fiddle with his paws and ears and coat when he is sitting with me, but I will do this with more of a purpose, as a vet would do. Also, yes I have a brush and have used it a few times but not enough I suspect. All good things to add to the 'plan'.

Thanks all, very useful replies. Mooching, I have bookmarked that thread and now can't wait to get my whistle!

Also, what high value treats would you all recommend?

[mooching]

Also, what high value treats would you all recommend?

I notice before you said that Barney didn't really like "little puppy biscuity treats" - which brand were you trying?

What I did for Alfie when he was little was use bits of kibble for treats - but brands that were different from his normal kibble. I sent off for free samples from Arden Grange, CSJ and the Natural Dog Food Company, and used them as treats. I found the fishy ones worked particularly well. I also used "Coachies".

For a medium value treat I used (and still use) cheese - either tiny bits of what we have in the fridge, Cheestrings (for walks) or Primula (the one in the tube) for his Dental Kong.

For a high value treat when Alfie was little I used tiny little bits of cooked chicken breast. When he was a bit older I started making sardine or pilchard or tuna cake for him (which can be made easily in the microwave). Others here make livercake - I don't because the recipe I saw is just for the main oven (I don't want to stink the house out), and it also needs to be liquidised (I don't have a food processor/liquidiser). I think you can use livercake/sardinecake/tunacake/pilchard cake for puppies, I just didn't get round to it until Alfie was older.

Other high value treats I use now are chopped frankfurters or any bits of leftover fish (especially the skin) or meat that we happen to have. I've also bought dried ostrich meat from Zooplus, and that breaks up nicely into little bits for treats.

[Mel]

I'd go with Moochings suggestion, though I personally don't give frankfurters or cocktail sausages. Primula is very good. Just squeeze a tiny bit and pup will lick for ages. Also a good ham, chopped up, is quite high value too.

Personally, I've found the dried liver from Natural Instinct to be Tali's favourite. I think you can dry out liver in the oven, I'm sure someone said this was possible. I would like to find out how it's done as he goes batty for liver.

I also use cooked chicken from Sainsbury's. It's 2 packs for £5 from the Be Good To Yourself range. The ordinary cooked chicken has all manner of gunk in it but the BGTY range is just cooked chicken.

Just find out which your puppy likes. Plus if you use more natural treats you don't get the problem of extra calories, sugars and bad fats in their diet.

[mooching]

I'd go with Moochings suggestion, though I personally don't give frankfurters or cocktail sausages.

I only buy the best fresh ones, not the canned ones! 

Personally, I've found the dried liver from Natural Instinct to be Tali's favourite. I think you can dry out liver in the oven, I'm sure someone said this was possible. I would like to find out how it's done as he goes batty for liver.

I noticed someone mention liver recently too, and am going to try it for Alfie. I think the person mentioned gently dry-frying it and then leaving it to cool and chopping it up.

I also use cooked chicken from Sainsbury's. It's 2 packs for £5 from the Be Good To Yourself range. The ordinary cooked chicken has all manner of gunk in it but the BGTY range is just cooked chicken.

Or of course you can buy fresh chicken and cook it specially for your doggie!! 

[Mel]

Mooching, if I had the time inbetween mum's washing and everything else, I'd cook my own too but these are the next best thing 

Hey, each to their own, I just never buy frankfurters anymore as I'm allergic to them.

I'm sure someone said drying the liver in the oven but I don't remember who said it now.

[04callahans]

Brilliant. Going puppy shopping this evening so will try and get some different bits and pieces and see what he likes.
We had some meatballs left over in the fridge last night (which I made from mince from the butchers for our dinner) and I was breaking those up to give to him. It was the first time I've seen him truly interested in getting the food I was offering, other than his dinner. So that was positive.

[Sheryl]

I also don't give the frankfurters.  I tried it once with Kali for training and she developed pancreatitis which the vet said was due to the fat content.  I am not sure if that was the cause or not but I don't take any chances.  I try to get the healthiest sliced meat I can find and then I use an apple corer to cut into tiny discs.  Both girls loved the meat and trained well on it.  Remember if you do start clicker training, start each lesson by just click/treating maybe half a dozen times or so......... so they know that the sound of the clicker brings rewards.  At least, that is what the APDT taught me.