Text Box: Sit... Stay... Here... Obedience training your new puppy is a must!!! Whether you are going to be training your dog for field work or just a house pet, you will need basic obedience as a minimum (sit,stay,here). All gun dog training evolves around solid obedience training. Any puppy that is expected to be a manageable house pet with manners will need basic obedience training. Basic obedience training can be easily accomplished by you the new owner. We recommend that if you are going to pay somebody to obedience train your dog, that you participate in the training sessions with your dog. We hear it all the time, "I paid to have my dog obedience trained, he was great for about 2 weeks then wouldn't listen anymore." Dog training is never a one time deal and you're done! Dog owners have to be dog trainers. Paying someone to train your dog is fine, but you will have to enforce these commands and be firm with your dog for these commands to last. The earlier you start your puppy's training the better. A seven or eight week old puppy is ready to start learning sit, stay, here and of course the word "No". Treats/rewards help greatly with early obedience training. Most of our early dog training methods are based on the Richard Wolters book or video called Waterdog. For the gun dog enthusiast Wolters also has more advanced dog training videos, Top dog and Top dog II. Mike Lardy also has an incredible series of gun dog videos called Total Retriever. We highly recommend any of these. Early dog training should be accompanied by a lot of praise/rewards, and no forced discipline training yet. The only reprimand puppy should get during his first four weeks is for biting, nuisance barking, etc... An effective form of reprimand for a young puppy can be just a loud voice letting your puppy know you are not happy. A young puppy properly socialized should understand when you are not happy. Let your puppy know you love it, but be firm with it in your expectations. A puppy needs to know you are the boss. People who spoil their animals and are not firm with them usually create unmanageable dogs that do not listen. A dog that does not listen is a dog that may end up in the road getting hit by a car. Anybody not willing or capable of being firm with a dog should stick with an indoor cat or bird for a pet. Dogs have a "pack" mentality, they must understand you are the alpha. Establish the rules of the house from the beginning and be consistent. If you are not going to want you puppy on your furniture as an adult dog, don't encourage it to get up on it with you as a puppy. If you do not want a 65 to 80lb dog jumping on you or your company, do not tolerate or encourage this in a puppy. Crate training/housebreaking: We strongly suggest crate training your new puppy, this will aid in housebreaking and will provide your puppy with its own den/bedroom. Patience: Puppies will have accidents. Most children are not toilet trained until the age of 3-yet some owners expect their puppy to be perfect within a couple weeks. It may take your puppy 4 months. The better job you do, the quicker the transition. If you do not have the patience or the time for this, you should think twice about purchasing a puppy. A new puppy requires a lot of love, time and attention. Puppies do not train themselves. Attention: Your dog will give you signals that he needs to go out. Your puppy may whimper, start circling or best case, going to your door. You must watch your puppy like a hawk when it is out of its crate. If you are not watching your puppy you will not catch him in the act and be able to correct him. If you do find a mess after the fact, do not reprimand your dog as he will not know why he is being punished. Schedule: Establish a routine with your dog and it will trust you. Put your puppy on a regular feeding and elimination schedule. A new puppy should not be left in its crate and expected to "hold it" for more than 2 hours at a time. (except for at night when it should be sleeping) If you are not home during the day to accomplish this, you may have to recruit a neighbor or family friend to assist you until puppy is capable of holding it longer. Rules of thumb; puppy should go out first thing in the morning, right after meals, after and during playtime and after naps and last thing at night. Some puppies may sleep through the night, others may need you to get up around 2am to let them out until they are more stable.
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