Today it was cold and overcast.
07:30am – He was VERY noisy this morning. Here is why: his little bladder was full and he didn’t want to pee in his crate so he did the only thing he could – yell and scream. One of our rules is if the puppy yells we don’t respond. 100% of the time. So as you can guess it took some very careful observation. He hit a 30 second span of no noise and that was my cue to get him out. As soon as he came out he was hopping like a Mexican jumping bean, I put the leash on, we walked to the closest grass and I stopped to let him pee. He peed for a few minutes.
Then we walked, he pooped, we came back, he drank some water and accompanied me to get his breakfast, we walked to the kennel, I gave him his breakfast and a new toy (kong).
11:00am – Session 1 we worked place, house, whistle recall, kennel and ultimate workout. He was absolutely incredible!!! He ate about 7/8 cup of the dry kibble and he’s loving his hot dog (training treats). His big breakthrough was going into the crate, the door closes and then opens WITHOUT him breaking out! That got rewarded big.
He’s getting the idea that he can have anything he wants but only if he does certain things. It is so critical for the puppy to feel control – you want him controlling his destiny – not you using coercion, intimidation, bribery to get your dog to do what you want them to.
This is the foundation that all other trainers will have with Babe as he matures.
4:00pm – Session 2 we worked whistle recall, place, house, ultimate workout and name recognition. He was very very very good! With his crating behavior he runs in, turns around, I can close the crate and reward him. Then open the gate and he sits in there until I release him. His prey drive is still extremely high and he’s teething – which means he’s going to lock into anything he can with his mouth.
5:30pm – play time and dinner.
7:30pm – play time and walk.
9:30pm – play time and walk.
A few things to remember when you are training puppies.
Pulling Your Puppy From The Crate
Your puppy should LOVE his crate! But as much as they love their crate when they see you their excitement builds fast. By the time you open the crate door you have a puppy who is almost out of control with excitement! Obviously everything is dependent on the exact circumstances but in our situation we NEVER have our puppies off leash. It’s too great a risk for them to spook and do something unforeseen – like run into the road when a car is going by. So one of our rules is when the puppy is anywhere but his outdoor kennel or crate he is on leash. This allows us to have “longer” arms and keep him out of danger.
As soon as Babe comes out of the crate we clip on the leash. Regardless of how much he is hopping around! Sometimes a finger gets twisted and your wrist gets strained but we always put on the leash right away.
As your puppy matures he’ll come out of the crate and know the rule – which is to sit or be in a down, you attach the leash and then release him.
Just remember: you can’t violate your own rules. The #1 rule with a puppy of this age is “…if you yell, you don’t get access to us…” But if you’re quiet all kinds of fun things can happen – car rides, walks, play sessions, training sessions, relationship sessions but to unlock the goodies you have to not be yelling.
Puppy Peeing
As Babe gets older this won’t be a factor but it’s important to not disturb him when he’s peeing. If you say “good boy” or get down close to him he’ll get distracted and want to play. Let him pee in peace and then continue on.