At what age should I start training him, what shud I start with?

Question

I have a 6 week old Rottweiler Akita Cross, I just want to know at what point to start training and where to start. What is the best resource? Is it all in a book or can I access it online. He seems very playful and goes for my shoes whenever i'm out in the yard. I have tried to distract him but it doesn't always work. I a trying to get him to come when I say 'Come here boy' but its intermittant. Another major surprise to me was that he doesn't eat any of the treats that I buy for him, hence I have nothing to bargain with. He's even started nipping at his age! Boy those teeth! Please advise me. Also are there any free info packs that I can get from anywhere. Advise much appreciated... Thanx

Answer 1

Hello the not so easy thing to do is train a dog but when you do it it can be rewarding, i am not a dog trainer but have trained all my own dogs. Firstly you start training him a.s.a.p that means now! if he doesn't like treats find something else he likes maybe a toy or a ball something that he is interested in, at a young age dogs are always easilly distracted so you must try and stay calm never raise your voice and never end a training session on bad terms. When giving a command such as sit! keep the words simple and clear and never use confusing words i:e sit down! by teaching him to Sit! he will get confused if you suddenly start telling to sit down! keep training sessions sort but constant usually half hour and most of all socialise him that means once all the innoculations have been done and the vet gives the all clear to take him out do so take him everywhere you can get him used to all types of noises and situations the more the better a well socialised dog is a happy dog.
As for the teeth, yes they are sharp more like little needles than teeth but the simple way to stop him mouthing is to yelp when he does it, yes i said yelp! just the same way as he would yelp if you was to stand on his paw it's the only way that he will understand he is hurting you, i know it sounds silly but it works. When training never give a reward to him unless he has worked for it! he must get the idea that if you tell him DOWN! that you mean it and when he does it reward him even just by telling how good he is and giving him lots of fuss. Once you acheive this you should start to pick up things quickly any further help can be found in books at the library. One of the books i had a couple of years back was by a chap called Dr Roger Mugford, hope you have lots of fun traing your dog and hope i have helped a bit.

Answer 2

You can begin training right away with basic commands like sit, down, come and stay. You will have to wait until your dog has had some of his vaccinations (at least 2 rounds usually) before getting into a proper class. But the first one you should persue is a puppy kindergarten. It socializes your pup and teaches the basic commands. To find a good trainer, call/email a local breed club, obedience club or agility club in your area and ask for suggestions. They will refer you to trainers they have used, trust and like their training methods. Just because someone is a trainer, doesn't mean they're a good one.

Here is a link to a question answered about puppy biting and preventing it http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ar8i88UAhLp860UxRCwMPGgjzKIX?qid=20061012090716AAWmiU9
You want to nip this in the bud while she's young as if you wait it will be harder when older.

Here is a link on a question of how to teach your dog to come as well... lots of good training methods here.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AgSMkWukBKpfIuBPlfqZc03sy6IX?qid=20061025124342AAI1DDL

Also, if the treats you have don't work, try something else. A soft treat will work better than a milkbone style and keep them small as a little treat goes a long way. Our trainer suggests cooking up hotdogs and cutting them small. The smell of cooked one are irresistable to my puppy. Only use this for training tho, not every day treats.

Answer 3

6 weeks is really young are you sure he's 6 weeks...??? usually 8 weeks to go to a new home. Dont worry about treats he is so young will upset his tummy. Make sure youre feeding him same food as breeder did and use that to bribe him with ... Take his food bow - filled with food and call him by his name to you ( with the food bowl) when he comes to you give him his food. He will soon associate you saying eg 'Fred come' with food and hence everytime u call his name then 'come' he will come to you. Do this every day for at least a week. then carry it on
As for biting/ nipping. He is going to be a REALLY big dog.As you prob know Akitas were bred as japanese guard dogs- they need a firm hand ( by this i dont mean physically). Next time he goes for your shoes or nips you say 'ouch' really loudly in a high pitched voice oooowwwwccchhh. he should jump back and move away.
Yep free info from rottie breed club or akita breed club - google them.
Ps- also ask the breeder that you got him from they will / should be able to give you some great advice.
Pps- make sure you take him to puppy socialisation classes once he has had his jabs so he learns to interact well with other dogs and grows up to be a nice natured boy.
good luck

Answer 4

He is still young but make sure he stops the nipping now! show him who is boss, go down to his level and tell him "no" in a sturn low voice then turn around and ignore him. he should get the idea. I would start training now personally. if he doesnt like the treats try toys or even ham etc out the fridge. my great dane wouldnt eat treats but loved a bit of cold chicken! if he wont come to you, again get down to his level and in a high excited voice call him, make it sound like you have something that he just couldnt live without. he will come to you eventually and then just make a great fuss of him. then go from there, to the sit and stand etc
You might find that once all his jabs are done that taking him to a puppy class helps for some specialist advise.

Answer 5

Just make sure you don't do any training that gets him wild, e.g. trying to make him a guard dog. That he'll do by himself. Contact a professional, who does positive training (careful, check that they don't use any violent methods, because that could ruin the dog.) For the time being, build a relationship of love and trust with the dog, but make sure to show who is the boss, without EVER hitting him. This is important, not for being humane, but for not making him come against you at some point and losing his trust in you. But you must be firm, not to accept nipping etc as playing. Normally professionals begin training a little older than that (3 months or 6 months, I think), but ask what you can do till then.

Answer 6

Firstly, well done for being a responsible dog owner and realising that your dog will need training...especially in your case, because as an adult dog, he's going to be extremely large...and they are two breeds that have "bad" names, so you need to do all you can to show these sceptics, that not all dogs from a certain breed can be tarred with the same brush!

Anyway, I got my GSD at 6 weeks, it is pretty young, and most good breeders wouldn't have released them that early. My dog came from a pretty chav home, so I was pleased to get him away. He's 7 months now, and is a brilliant dog. I started taking him to socialisation classes when he was 9 weeks (after his first vaccination - most classes will accept after this)...and we started proper training with the APDT when he was 12 weeks, of which we passed the first course, and are now well on our way to passing the second. He can now sit, stay, come, go down, retreive...and he listens to my every word, as if I truly am his master and he'd never want to disobey me!

You certainly can do basic training at home (I taught mine to sit, stay and retreive before he was 12 weeks), but it's more fun and rewarding for both the dog and you, to go to a properly structured class. They get to socialise with different types of dogs, and you get to learn training tips which otherwise you wouldn't. To be honest, when the dog is before 12 weeks, THE most important thing is socialisation...take him everywhere...on the bus, train, to see different people, animals etc etc...they need to realise early that they have nothing to fear in strange situations. Most aggressive dogs are not actually aggressive, but fearful of new situations/people/animals, so simply bark and growl to protect themselves....however, a dog like this will not be a nice dog to own, and you'll never be able to have them off a lead, because you'll offend other owners with a dog who seems "aggressive".

As for the treats, buy specialised puppy treats, because their mouths and teeth are very small and delicate, and they struggle to get anything down unless it's small and soft.

Good luck.

Answer 7

He is too young to train with treats. Praise at this age is plenty. I used to breed dogs (only one litter at a time) and by the time pups left my house at 8 weeks they could sit, stay, and come.

"Come here boy" is not a good command. NAME, Come! is better. A very enthusiastic "Good NAME" and an petting below the chin will get you repeat performances.

Try Cesar Milan's advice!

Answer 8

start now with sit, and really work at the potty training, then move on to down and stay. Get enrolled into obedience too - and strat teaching him to stand still and tolerate grooming

Answer 9

hiya!!
well you should try and start teaching basic commands like sit and lay down and stuff like that! pups are just like babies they are learning all the time!
the treats you are buying him may not taste nice to him i had problems with my dog at first but now we give him winalot shapes which she loves!
hope i was of help
Good luck with the dog training!
x :) x