Heisenberg says MERRY CHRISTMAS.
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I love that pic!
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So happy about this thread! I’m a total dog N00B but we’re getting a puppy for my son in a couple of days so I know I’m gonna be relying on advice here. Thanks @clovis8 for the link to the training vids. We just watched the first one and it gave us a lot of ideas and an understanding of the challenges/responsibilities we’re about to face.
Pictures soon!
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That is awesome.
I’ll just caution in general Xmas dogs are often a bad idea only because they are the most common to end up at the pound because people don’t think about the commitment they are making. Sounds like you have done the work and ready for the commitment though. It will be frustrating at times but so rewarding.
The number one rule is put in the training time in the first year and be consistent. Also, don’t let anyone talk you into negative training like spike/shock collars or violence of any kind. Positive training is scientifically proven to be far superior.
Have fun with the pup and post pics!
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BilJac original recipe if she’s picky, kibble if she’s not.
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You can literally take kibble out of the bowl in front of the dog and it’s as effective as any other treat.
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I get one of those logs of meat and cut it up into very tiny pieces- you can just cube it and get hundreds of treats out of it. The dogs love it. But you have to keep the little pieces in plastic baggies and put them away in the fridge when you’re done with them. Your hands will stink like meat.
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But for that problem I think dog whisperer type neck pinches are better
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omg puppers
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Yeah for sure they’re going to bite with their needle teeth but treats can’t help set limits for that. You have to say hey man, knock it off, that’s enough. I don’t think treats can work for that, has to be very mild negative reinforcement.
But make sure it has plenty of things to play with and bite on, and ideally interact with other dogs as much as possible.
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Kibble is going to be less calorie dense than other treats. Stay away from kibble with grains in it, I always had very good luck with Costco’s grain free sweet potato and salmon meal dog food. Not for puppies but I think dogs don’t react well to wheat and corn a lot of times.
edit: this stuff
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You would also probably be in over rewarding / over training territory if you’re worried about over feeding during training. First your puppy may not follow the command, so you don’t reward. Second if the puppy successfully follows a command a few times, you can move on to another command or make the current command more challenging. Plus the idea is they’ll eventually do the command without treats, but that takes some time.
Also RIP any wooden furniture you have that the puppy can reach, especially table & chair legs.
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And under negative feedback!
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We were taught to make an exaggerated yelp of pain when our puppy bit us and then not pay attention to her for 60 seconds. It definitely worked. To get her to stop biting other things we just gave her lots of chew toys to always be gnawing on. She straight up destroyed about 10.
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I never know if he’s full of it or not. He’s very convincing. Also confident, which is impressive, considering that scarf.
Type of dog? He looks a lot like my Aussie mutt
Our trainer taught us the same and it was very effective
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