Puppy Training Advice 1
Set up a schedule and carefully supervise your puppy.
The little puppy is very curious and will get into trouble every chance he gets. To save yourself a lot of agida, and to save your puppy from stress, set up a schedule which very importantly includes crate time, dog play time, walk time, and handling/grooming/cuddling time.
Puppy Training Advice 1 - Set up a schedule and carefully supervise your puppy.
When your puppy is out and about in a non-dog-proof area, make sure you have the time and attention to supervise him. If you don’t he will definitely get into some type of trouble!
If you are around, you get to teach him right from wrong without too much damage to your furniture and belongings. If you do not have the time then crate him (if you are not home) or put him on a tie-down (if you are home but just don’t have the time to supervise).
Puppy Training Advice - If you do not have the time to supervise your puppy then crate him.
As a general rule, the longest time you should keep your puppy in a crate is (age of puppy in months + 1) hours.
If your dog is not crate trained, here is what the Humane Society of the United States and the American Dog Trainer’s Network have to say about crate training.
If you will be gone for a long time (> 3 hours) put your puppy in a long-term enclosure; which can be a secure puppy pen or a secure and safe room (e.g. kitchen). Make sure there is nothing in the enclosure that your puppy can destroy. Put bedding, a water bowl, some puppy pads, and safe chew toys and food toys in the enclosure.
As a general rule, the longest time you should keep your puppy in a crate is (age of dog in months + 1) hours. An 8 week old puppy can be kept a maximum of (2 month old + 1) = 3 hours in a crate. Note that this is just a general guideline for the maximum crate time.
Most puppies need to go outside more frequent than that for exercise and potty training. Take your puppy outside as soon as he wakes up and right after any kind of vigorous play. Initially, my Siberian Husky puppy needed to potty after about 10-15 minutes of play.
At night, I crate my dogs in my bedroom. Keeping your dogs with you in the bedroom will help with the bonding process and will show them that they are part of the pack.
Puppy Training Advice - If you will be gone for a long time ( 3 hours) put your puppy in a long-term enclosure; which can be a secure puppy pen or a secure and safe room (e.g. kitchen).
Puppy Training Advice 2
Puppy Training Advice 2 - Keep a drag-lead on your puppy.
Shiba Inu Sephy wearing a drag-lead so that we can easily keep him out of trouble.
Keep a drag-lead on your puppy.
Always keep a drag-lead on your puppy when he is roaming freely in the house.
This will help you control your ball of energy without resorting to chasing games. When your puppy tries to run away, all you need to do is step on the leash.
Please use a regular, thick (1 inch wide), flat collar and not a training collar (choke chain, prong collar). Make sure you cut off the loop on your leash so that it doesn’t catch on anything around the house. Start with a longer (6 feet), light leash and shorten it according to the level of control you have on your dog.
Once your puppy matures and is better behaved, you may switch to a leash tab or remove the leash altogether.
It is best to use a 6 foot leash during puppy leash training and not the flexi-leash. The 6 foot leash gives you better control of your dog and is necessary to keep your dog safe when he decides to go chasing after other dogs, cats, or squirrels.
Puppy Training Advice 3
Puppy Training Advice 3 - Start with reward based dog training on your puppy.
Shiba Inu Sephy sits and waits patiently to be let into the house.
Start with reward obedience training on your puppy.
It will be easier and less stressful, on both you and your puppy, to start with reward obedience training. I started out with aversive obedience training and it made my puppy develop even more behavioral issues as well as develop dog aggression. Even aversive based dog trainers will not use leash jerks and alpha rolls on dogs that are younger than 6 months old.
Today, I only use reward training because it is more effective for me and my dogs.
It is also important to establish yourself as the leader of the pack by controlling your dog’s resources through the Nothing in Life is Free (NILIF) program. This simply means that your dog has to do something for you (e.g. a Sit) before he gets any resource (e.g. food, toys, affection, freedom). Any bullying will be ignored or will result in the removal of that resource.
Many people make the mistake of equating pack leadership with the use of aversive training. Aversive dog trainers may tell you that for a difficult, strong-willed, dominant dog, you must use stronger, punishment based methods in order to show him who is boss.
This is not true.
One of my dogs (a Shiba Inu) is extremely strong willed and can be quite difficult but he responds much better to reward training.
Be careful of advertisements for 10 minute puppy training programs and the like. There are no miracle cures in dog or puppy training.
Shiba Inu Sephy and Siberian Husky Shania both wait patiently for their Birthday cake. Pack leadership is most effectively attained through reward training.
Puppy Training Advice 4
Teach your puppy bite Inhibition.
Puppy biting is common because puppies are naturally curious and want to examine everything with their mouths.
The good news is that puppies have not developed the jaw strength of an adult yet, and so will not do much damage to you when biting. Because of this, puppy-hood is a good time to train your dog to have good bite inhibition.
Hand-feeding is a great way to train a puppy to have good bite inhibition.
Hand-feed your dog at least some of his kibble every day. If he bites too hard when getting his food, do a sharp ouch or yelp and ignore him for a few seconds then start hand-feeding him again. If he is taking food from you gently then praise him and keep feeding your dog.
You can also combine hand-feeding with training and dog grooming sessions. Hand-feeding also helps get rid of food aggression issues so it is a good thing to continue this practice throughout your dog’s life.
Ian Dunbar’s book After You Get Your Puppy, gives a good overview of bite inhibition, and how to best train your puppy to have a soft mouth.
A puppy, and ultimately an adult dog who has a soft mouth is a great asset. Because my Shiba Inu has good bite inhibition, we were able to solve many of his problems which would have been difficult to deal with if he was biting at full strength.
Puppy Training Advice - Because my Shiba Inu has good bite inhibition, we were able to solve many of his problems which would have been difficult to deal with if he was biting at full strength.
Puppy Training Advice 5
Practice calm and assertive energy.
This is something that is always emphasized by Cesar Millan (the Dog Whisperer) and it is extremely important; especially for a hyperactive puppy.
If you interact with a dog using nervous, submissive, fearful, or otherwise weak (non-assertive) energy, the dog will sense that and start acting out even more.
Anger, impatience, frustration, and all other non-calm energies will only excite your puppy and cause him to exhibit even more extreme behaviors.
In order to achieve calm, assertive energy, you must first overcome whatever fears you may feel towards your dog and become his pack leader. This is much easier to do if you have achieved good bite inhibition.
Puppy Training Advice 6
Puppy Training Advice 6 - Handle your puppy as much as you can, but only in a positive way.
Handle your puppy as much as you can, but only in a positive way.
Dogs can get shy and stressed about being handled. This is especially true of sensitive areas such as paws, muzzle, and ears.
While taking care of your dog, you will need to handle these areas when trimming his nails, brushing his teeth, or cleaning his ears and paws. Because of this, you want to get your dog used to handling as much as you can. This is best done when he is young, and more open to new experiences.
Make sure that handling your puppy is a positive experience, accompanied with a happy voice and dog treats or dog toys. Make the puppy handling sessions short and stop before your puppy gets stressed.
Ian Dunbar’s book After You Get Your Puppy also has some helpful lessons on how to desensitize your dog towards handling of sensitive areas.
In addition to grooming demands, handling exercises become extremely important when visiting the vet. A dog that is not used to handling will be very stressed and mouthy with vets, and may have to be sedated for examinations. Try to find a vet who will spend some time in getting to know your dog and who will combine the physical examination session with calm energy, praise, and sometimes food.
Make sure that handling your puppy is a positive experience, accompanied with a happy voice and treats or toys.
Puppy Training Advice 7
Puppy Training Advice - Make restraint fun, and NOT a punishment.
Dogs use their mouth to interact and play, not just to attack.
Make restraint fun, and NOT a punishment.
In addition to handling, most dogs also dislike restraint.
Some dog trainers and books suggest using restraint to settle your dog or puppy down. Restraint does not work with my Shiba Inu. Instead of calming him down, he just gets more stressed.
What worked best for me is to treat restraint like any other puppy handling exercise. Make it fun and short. Stop before your puppy gets stressed. Definitely stop if he is already stressed and trying to get free.
Note that this is counter to the advice of some trainers who only release the dog when he stops squirming, mouthing, or whining. This makes sense in cases where the puppy is not really stressed, and is only trying to get back to what he was doing. However, it does not make sense for a really stressed out puppy who is afraid of or dislikes restraint. You must make your own judgment as to which group your puppy belongs to.
I always prefer to set my dog up for success, and stop before my dog starts misbehaving. It is best not to use restraint as a dog discipline method. Use time-outs (see below) instead.
When I say restraint, I mean simple dog hugs, or picking up your dog – I DO NOT mean alpha rolls. DO NOT perform alpha rolls on your puppy or on any of your dogs. At worst you will get bitten, and you will most likely lose your dog’s trust.
Set your puppy up for success, and stop restraining him before he tries to escape.
Puppy Training Advice 8
Puppy Training Advice 8 - A busy puppy is a good puppy.
Puppy Training Advice - Make sure you always have control of your puppy's play-time.
Keep your puppy busy because – A busy puppy is a good puppy.
Puppies have a lot of energy and will get into trouble if you do not keep them busy.
Make your puppy work for ALL of his food. Don’t just present food to him on a silver platter or a silver bowl. Use his daily rations of kibble and treats for puppy training and handling. If there is food left over, stuff it in toys so that he has to work to get it out.
Make sure you have dog play time with your puppy. Some games that my dog likes include the flirt pole, the water hose game, and sometimes soccer.
When you start with any new game make it fun by handing out lots of dog treats for effort. Once your puppy understands the game, switch to only treating the more stellar performances.
Make sure you always have control of your dog’s play-time, which means that you own all the dog toys and you decide when to start and stop games. Play-time can be very useful in training your puppy to calm down, and to pay attention to you even when he is excited.
Schedule two or three short (10-15 minutes) obedience training sessions with your puppy every day. This will help establish you as the leader, exercise your puppy mentally, and be a good bonding experience.
Other good ways to exercise your puppy include neighborhood walks, walks in the park, dog playgroups, and dog sports.
Puppy Training Advice - Do obedience training sessions with your puppy every day.
Puppy Training Advice 9
Use Time-outs.
Dogs and puppies like their freedom, and they like being with their family/pack.
Since a time-out takes away both of these things, it is an extremely effective method of dog discipline. To give your dog a good time-out, make sure you put him in a really boring room (no low windows), where he can’t misbehave, i.e. there is nothing in the room that he can play with or chew on. My dog’s time-out area is in my laundry room.
Nobody is to give your puppy any attention during a time-out.
I only use time-outs for extreme misbehavior. Some of my dog’s time-out offenses include biting on humans, any kind of humping, and leash biting. When my dog starts or even thinks about starting any one of these actions, I will give him a stern NO or ack ack. If he stops, then I praise him and let him continue with his regularly scheduled programming. If he continues with the behavior, then I say Time-Out and quickly remove him to his time-out area.
I start with short time-outs (approximately 1 minute). If my dog continues the bad behavior after he gets released, then I lengthen the next time-out significantly (15 minutes). It is best to be flexible and to tailor the time-out duration according to your dog’s age, temperament and behavior.
Some trainers do not believe in long time outs while others may ignore their dogs for hours or even days. Do not use time-outs for training mistakes or lack of motivation.
Puppy Training Advice 9 - Use time-outs.
Puppy Training Advice 10
Always remember that you are not alone.
The most important thing to remember while bringing up a difficult puppy is that you are not alone!
Your journey will be filled with many triumphs and much happiness, but there will also be challenges and pit holes on the road. Sometimes you may feel discouraged with your puppy’s behavior or with his performance in dog obedience class.
You are not alone!
There are many support groups out there where you may post your questions. I also find it very helpful to just visit these groups whenever I feel discouraged or when I feel like my puppy is some mutant strain of devil dog.
Do not think you are a bad dog owner/trainer when your puppy behaves badly. Many other dog owners are facing the exact same problems. Also remember that with proper rules and training, your puppy’s behavior will improve with time.
Puppy Training Advice 10 - Always remember that you are not alone.
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Hi Will,
That is a great question. I usually save time-outs for more serious offenses like biting on people and not stopping when I tell him to. Humping is also a time-out offense. Biting on the leash when I am holding it also results in time-out. In general, if Shiba Sephy can’t behave well with me or other people, then he doesn’t get to be with people.
In terms of chewing on the drag leash that is probably more like a play move rather than anything else. Some things that may help –
- You could try spraying it with bitter apple. Dogs dislike the taste of the stuff and will usually stop.
- Redirect puppy onto something else, e.g. a sanctioned chew toy. When he redirects, make sure to reward him well with play, affection, and food rewards. In this way, puppy will learn that certain objects are better and more rewarding than others.
- Be very consistent with what he can chew and what he cannot chew. Puppies usually just don’t know what is chewable and what is dangerous. To a puppy everything is new and they learn about new things by putting them in their mouth for taste and manipulation. It will take puppy a bit of time and a lot of consistency to learn the rules of the house.
- Structured activities will also help a lot. For example, walks, obedience exercises, or structured play sessions. Structured activities help of channel a puppies mega energy into positive avenues, teaches him to listen to you, and helps build a good bond.
You can also remove the leash as you suggest, then put it back on before you let him out. Make him do a sit and stay calm, put on the leash, then let him out. This could also be a good training exercise where he learns that if he is calm and does what you say – then he gets what he wants.
Hello!
I was just wondering what you meant by giving it a time out when it bites on it’s leash. When you put him on time out won’t he just chew on the leash during that time out? Do you remove the drag leash when you place him in time out? What if he comes out and starts chewing on it again? I just worry that if I do this time out thing enough, i’ll end up sending him to the restroom (the time out spot) 100 or more times a day! Lol.