Is it too early?

L

LuvtheShiloh

Forums Regular
So I was browsing youtube videos of shelties the other day, and I noticed several very young shelties (9, 10, 11 weeks) following commands...such as Sit, down, come, paw etc.

Now I have an 11 week old (today actually!) and she just barely sits on command. We are working on it though, although part of my problem may be that we haven't been all that consistent. I realize she probably isn't too young to be doing simple commands, but her attention span is ZERO lol.

I guess I'm wondering if I'm jumping the gun. If not, how do I go about wrangling her attention for a few minutes everyday? Should I hold her training sessions somewhere confined without distractions? Like the bathroom? I should also mention she likes treats (of course) but will not drop everything she is doing to have one. She is moderately food motivated I guess. Should I have her on her leash while training? How consistent do I have to be? Obviously I should be training a couple times a day, but for how long and should the training be at the same time everyday?

Well now that I've written a novel...I'll let ya'll get on with your lives :rolleyes2:
 
Puppies are sponges so if you are willing to teach, she will learn.

Personally, I think that training should be off leash in an open room, like your living room, so that your pup is choosing to be with you and choosing to learn.

Sounds like you need better treats like real meat or a toy that your pup goes crazy for as a reward. You might even want to try clicker training as I noticed that some dogs pick up trainign easier and faster with that method.

Good luck!:biggrin2:
 
If it were me I would train the puppy on a leash. When you train a puppy on a leash you are killing several birds with one stone.

1. You are getting your puppy used to wearing a leash so that when you go on a walk the puppy will be used to having it on.
2. The puppy cannot wander off.

Smudge was taught most of his commands on leash, except shake. It would have been near impossible to teach him sit without the leash using the method I used, which was the Victoria Stilwell way where you just stand there until the dog gets tired and sits on his own. Then when he sits on his own he gets to treat.

Smudge also learned down with a leash on.

You don't have to use the leash, but especially for a smaller puppy I don't see how the training session would last for more than a few seconds. Smudge was (and Fluffy still is!) a puff ball of energy that wouldn't stand still.
 
I always train my puppy commands off leash and in the house. Usually in my bedroom or kitchen. I don't think it really matters where you train, a young puppy is always going to be distracted by something. You also need to find a treat that your puppy loves. You can try cheese, pieces of chicken, turkey hot dogs. I also use Zuke's mini naturals. They sell them at petco.

You want to keep the training sessions short because puppies have a short attention span. I like to do about 3 (5-10 minute) sessions a day. Training sessions should always be fun, fun, fun. Also, don't get frustrated if your puppy gets distracted and doesn't want to learn. They're just babies. If you train for a few minutes and your puppy doesn't seem to be "getting it", then end the training session and try later that day, but always end on a positive note.

A puppy is never too young to learn commands. Bailey knew come, sit, paw and down by 12 or 13 weeks old.
 
LuvtheShiloh said:
So I was browsing youtube videos of shelties the other day, and I noticed several very young shelties (9, 10, 11 weeks) following commands...such as Sit, down, come, paw etc.

Now I have an 11 week old (today actually!) and she just barely sits on command. We are working on it though, although part of my problem may be that we haven't been all that consistent. I realize she probably isn't too young to be doing simple commands, but her attention span is ZERO lol.

I guess I'm wondering if I'm jumping the gun. If not, how do I go about wrangling her attention for a few minutes everyday? Should I hold her training sessions somewhere confined without distractions? Like the bathroom? I should also mention she likes treats (of course) but will not drop everything she is doing to have one. She is moderately food motivated I guess. Should I have her on her leash while training? How consistent do I have to be? Obviously I should be training a couple times a day, but for how long and should the training be at the same time everyday?

Well now that I've written a novel...I'll let ya'll get on with your lives :rolleyes2:
Click to expand...

Your pups not too young to learn sit, or any other command. The trick to training a pup is to keep the lessons short. 10 min a day is suggested for older pups, with yours I'd probably go with 5 min.

"Treats", there is a special trick to treats that most people don't get. They go out and buy one "treat" for their pup at the store and they expect their pup to do backflips for them. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

What you want to do is go out to the grocery store, buy some mozarella sticks, get some turkey or chicken hotdogs, get some baby carrots, and some chicken breasts. Then head down the dog food isle and look for some junkfood treats you think your pup might like (My pup likes pup-eroni, and I like it as well because of it's shape, size. I can toss one into my pocket quickly when out walking with my pup).

Poach the chicken in some water or broth, then let it cool and cut into bite sized peices then stick it in the fridge.

With the hotdogs you've got two options, cook them normally and cut into bite sized peices. Or you can cut them up into bite sized peices put them on a paper towel and then cover with a paper towel and microwave them until they turn crispy (6 min in my microwave) (this essentially dehydrates them and turns them into something you can take with you on walks, training without worrying about bacteria or the like).

Now cut the carrots, mozarella and your puppy junkfood into bitesized peices as well.

Put a few of each of the treats on a plate and put the plate down in front of your pup. This should give you a general idea of which treats your puppy seems to like the most. You will have NO problems getting a puppy's attention once you discover their favorite treats, heck you'll likely have to pry the pup off your leg. Once you have a general idea try to make a mental note (or write it down) of which treats your puppy likes the best and which he likes the least.

You will find this very useful for example teaching a puppy to "Stay" when you've got a hot-dog in your hand is going to be very difficult.

Alternatively if your teaching your puppy to sit and he's got a short attention span then a high value treat like a hot-dog is just the thing to keep their attention.

The second trick to treats is to mix it up. If your pup doesn't know if he's getting the hot-dog, the carrot, or the junkfood he's always going to be intrested in what treat you have (even if it's not for him :P)

As for the leash thing.... In order to teach a puppy you need to have their attention. If you have a high-value treat and the pup knows you have it, holding their attention shouldn't be a problem. If you have a high value treat and your pups not paying attention then that's a pretty good indicator that it's time to end the training for a while.

Adding the leash to the mix is really something you could do if you wanted, but it's not really going to help their attention span. It might also create attention issues where the pup is distracted by the leash/collar and is bucking like a wild horse or gnawing on the leash when you want to teach him to sit.
 
jerros said:
Adding the leash to the mix is really something you could do if you wanted, but it's not really going to help their attention span. It might also create attention issues where the pup is distracted by the leash/collar and is bucking like a wild horse or gnawing on the leash when you want to teach him to sit.
Click to expand...

For the record, once again everybody seems to have completely looked over what I am trying to say. I taught Smudge to sit and lay while on a leash.

Smudge was 10-11 months old at the time.

He did not strangle himself, buck, ect. I own a sheltie, not a bronco, and I am not trying to wrangle or wrestle anything. Just teach him to sit.

There is nothing wrong with using a leash to train your dog to do something as long as you do it the right way. For the record, Smudge's last walk through in obedience class was better than most. :rolleyes2:
 
I think it really depends on the puppy and the age. I can only speak from experience with my dog Bailey. At 11 weeks old, there is no way she would've focused on training if she was on leash. She would've been too busy trying to chew and play with the leash. I also, want to make learning fun for her. So, I felt that keeping her on a leash would be like forcing her to learn. I wanted her to want to learn.

She is 13 months old now. We are taking rally novice classes. Rally novice is performed on leash, so a lot of her training now is on leash and there are no issues. All she wants is that treat and figuring out what she has to do get it. She could care less about the leash.
 
Have you tried doing the training sessions BEFORE meals? Your pup will stay more focused on an empty stomach working for treats.
 
LuvtheShiloh said:
So I was browsing youtube videos of shelties the other day, and I noticed several very young shelties (9, 10, 11 weeks) following commands...such as Sit, down, come, paw etc.

Now I have an 11 week old (today actually!) and she just barely sits on command. We are working on it though, although part of my problem may be that we haven't been all that consistent. I realize she probably isn't too young to be doing simple commands, but her attention span is ZERO lol.

I guess I'm wondering if I'm jumping the gun. If not, how do I go about wrangling her attention for a few minutes everyday? Should I hold her training sessions somewhere confined without distractions? Like the bathroom? I should also mention she likes treats (of course) but will not drop everything she is doing to have one. She is moderately food motivated I guess. Should I have her on her leash while training? How consistent do I have to be? Obviously I should be training a couple times a day, but for how long and should the training be at the same time everyday?

Well now that I've written a novel...I'll let ya'll get on with your lives :rolleyes2:
Click to expand...

I certainly do not think you are jumping the gun at all. I will tell you for both of ours,on thier trip home (4-4-1/2 hour trip) they were both primed for a clicker.
I used that time,every time we would stop say to get gas,I would click & treat.

Using a high value treat (chicken cubes,hotdogs,cheese) work well for those short times of training.I certainly would'nt overwhelm your new pup,but there is no need to not start early.
Both of ours learned to sit very early in life.At least within the first 2 weeks home,both would sit with a cliker & treat.

Having a quiet place,not sure how many pets you have in your home,but being alone,undisturbed would be helpful.We have 3 dogs here,so for serious one on one,we are outside.
But our training really is ongoing.And it should be I feel.When they are in public,riding,meeting new folks,all of this is a part of being socialized.so carry treats with you,and you can reinforce a sit,or which ever you are teaching.
 
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