Hello all. Thanks for the previous answers to my question. Now I am wondering WHEN should I start to teach my puppy Sammy tricks? He is 3 months old and we got him this weekend. For the rest of this week I have to be gone 4 hours a day (while husband home). Should I wait until after this time to teach him tricks or can he start trying to learn right now? Any good links for HOW I teach him? Which trick is easier to learn for this 3 month puppy? Was wondering if anyone knew or had ideas. Thanks!
2007-12-10 05:41:39 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Dogs
Teach him now. He will love it.
Sit: hold a treat,that he knows you have, above his head and as he reaches for he put it farther back. He will have to go into a sit to reach it. Use a word or hand motion each time he does it so he will associate the word/motion with the action. And praise him for doing well. Some times you may need to gently push his back side down.
Down: Just continue with the treats, when he sits, use another treat in from of his nose and lover it to the floor, he will have to go down to get it. Praise him.
Hi Five: Raise his paw when you say Hi=5 and hold your hand up but down near him. Praise and treat. Do it several times. He'll get it and be so proud of himself. You can even try a 10 with both paws.
My heeler when he was 6 weeks old would run up to a stranger, so his sit, down, and hi=five and then come to me for his treat. (Look what I did mom..now pay up)
Remember he is an infant and he does not speek the language.
have fun
extra trainer see: http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/
2007-12-10 05:54:29 · answer #1 · answered by Lyn B 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I started training my st. Bernard puppy on the way home from the breeder! Everything you do right now is training. From teaching how to sit, to not gently correcting him for chewing up your slippers, he is learning how to behave (Or not to behave) from every little thing you do. Puppies have a great ability to learn! I have a Great Pyrenees puppy right now that learned how to "sit" using the hand signal and voice command at 7 weeks old. When they are young, it becomes second nature and when they get older the thought never crosses their minds to disobey. After all they've been doing this since they were 8 weeks.... Also, when you teach, use voice commands as well as hand signals and teach your dog to respond to both. Some dogs actually learn better using hand signals as body language is how dogs communicate with each other, so they assume that it should be the same with you! You should read "At the other end of the leash". I found it very helpful!
2007-12-10 14:08:30 · answer #2 · answered by DakotaCowgirl 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can start teaching him right away... Just make sure to keep the training sessions short, 10 minutes or less and try to always end on a positive note... I wouldn't train with him more then a few times a day, and just focus on one trick till he learns it.. Then, every training session do a refresher of the ones he knows, then focus completely on the new one..
http://atrickaday.blogspot.com/
There's a good basic site with some tricks that should be easy to teach him..
2007-12-10 15:19:43 · answer #3 · answered by Unknown.... 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Right now right now! :D It's great teaching them and lots of fun. The younger they are the better. Teach him the basics to start with, sit and lie down. I had some probs with getting the dog to accept me as alpha so I also taught him to roll over at the same time. It's a lot more humane than the alpha roll and I could see whether the dog knew his place by how quickly he'd roll over (if at all during month 9 :S) Teach him hand signals too for things like sit and lie down it'll be worth it when he's old and slightly deaf. I taught my dog by positioning him after I'd said the command then rewarding him and he caught on pretty quickly. Read up on NILIF on google and get that into your training too. Have lots of fun teaching your dog.
2007-12-10 13:54:16 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
I say the earlier the better. Because puppies are like children it's easier to teach them new things while they're young. Probably something simple like "sit" would be the best first trick to teach them. I would go to petsmart.com they usually have good tips for training puppies.
2007-12-10 13:46:31 · answer #5 · answered by emma-me 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
jr obedience is soooo important, and they are little sponges wanting attention at this age. Take full advantage.
I would strongly recommend the Ultimate Puppy Toolkit and puppy kindergarten to get you going. From there, he can learn all sorts of things.
Have fun, and use everymoment as a training session.
2007-12-10 14:04:40 · answer #6 · answered by willodrgn 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My advice is to start now, if he learns them earlier he will have more practice, the younger the better. A good way to start teaching him is to find books in stores and before buying them look and make sure that they have the information you want.
2007-12-10 19:12:20 · answer #7 · answered by maria c 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can begin teaching tricks immediately. My Mastiff knew how to "sit" at 9 weeks old. Use treats and positive reinforcement to train. It's so much fun!
2007-12-10 13:45:50 · answer #8 · answered by Marina 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
you can start tricks anytime. but, i highly recommend proper socialization with other people and puppies first. then, basic obedience will serve you both (the puppy and his family) much better and longer than any tricks. tricks can be taught along the way, but nothing builds a stronger foundation for your relationship than basic obedience. good luck.
2007-12-10 13:47:36 · answer #9 · answered by no qf 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋