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- beth
- Luna
- Tailspin
- eve.macnamara
- kathymcgrady
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beth
northern wisconsin
6 posts
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Hi There! I am a first time puppy owner (had 2 dogs growing who came to us as adults)and a teacher which is giving me some free time to put in to train this new addition to our home. We have an English Pointer “Rocky” who is almost 11weeks old. He is just about potty trained (has had 2 accidents in the last week due to us not getting his cues). He is also sleeping well in his crate and will even crate himself from time to time during the day. Have recently started walking him using a harness-type collar since I was worried I was hurting him with the regular collar. He is heeling-nicely right now. He is able to sit & wait with assistance (sometimes I have to tap him on the rear to remind him what he needs to do). He will sit/wait before he is allowed inside and before he receives his water or meal. The main problem I am having with him is that he DOES NOT come when called if off a leash. He has bolted off on us a few times already—seems like his good nose gets on the track of something and he’s gone. Any suggestions? We live in a pretty rural area, yet I do not want him to wander off and get hit on the road and there are other wild animals which roam through our yard such as deer, bear, fox, and the neighbors down the road have had a wolf by them. We use a tie-out when he is not under our constant supervision outside (heck, can’t even play with our 5yr old son without the tie out right now for fear the dog will take off). We have also just purchased a wireless invisible fence system from Pet Safe but have not had an opportuinty to install it yet. Is he learning at the right pace for his age or am I expecting too much from him at this age? Any advice would be great!!!
Thanks so much~~
Beth |
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Hi Beth,
Rocky is way too young to have perfected the “come” command. You should always keep him on the leash but start practicing with him inside the house and outside. I like playing the “come” game with my children, we hide around the house and call our almost 5 months old puppy. When she comes, we asked her to sit and give her a treat and praise, then someone else calls her and she runs towards them. We also do it outside but once in a while her nose takes over her brain and she will not respond. In other words, she will come if there are not distractions but will mostly “ignore” us if there are other dogs, or distractions around. As I understand, this is part of training. When you call him, if he doesn’t come, go to him and put a tasty treat by his nose. Lure him to you saying come and walking backwards until you take him back to where you want him. Don’t dispare, it’s a long process but being able to recall your dog effectively can save his life. Hope this helps! |
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I agree with Luna. Your boy is doing really really well but it is far too soon to be doing off leash play and expecting a recall. He is more interested in the world at large and investigating it than he is with listening to you!!
Start working in the house with recall and ONLY use the word COME if you absolutely know he is going to respond to you. When he comes to you lure him into a sit and then reward him with a very yummy treat. He needs a reward each and every time at this age, so he learns that coming to you is a big deal and a pleasant event. Once he knows come in the living room, do it in the kitchen, then the hallway..once you are sure he knows what it means start playing the Come game outside on a long lead…expect him to be highy distracted whenever you change locales.
Good luck!
Oh, and just be sure that over the summer you make sure he gets to be alone at home occasionally…it is very common to spend all your time with the pup and come school time…BAM separation anxiety! You owe it to him to teach him it is ok to be alone. |
beth
northern wisconsin
6 posts
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Luna & Tailspin~
THANKS for the advice! It’s good to hear from other dog owners who have been through the puppy stage. I am giving Rocky alone time at least once a day in his kennel without any contact so he will be used to this when it’s time for me to go back to work at school. Yesterday after an hour long walk, I did some training outside with Rocky. I read in a training blog to use hot dogs for treats—-guess what? Rocky LOVED the hot dogs and it was a huge incentive for him to come when called. Then he just kept staying about 5 ft around me anticipating the treats so I would wait until he either wandered off a bit more or I would move out. He did super! I felt very confident. So today after our hour walk I repeated the process only this time I would try to get out of his sight and have him come when called. This was a little more difficult since he seemed confused as to where I was but yet he still would find me in the end. During our walks and when he is called I have been having him get into a sit (usually needs a hand on his bottom to gently tap so he know what I want) and to wait for the treat. During our walk today there were even times where I would stop and he would automatically sit without my verbal or physical prompt. WOO HOO!!! Next question…..when we walk, he will shake at times. Not sure how to interpret this…fear, unhappy, etc.? Trying to find a resource to understand dogs cues/body language so if you know of where I can look, that would be great. |
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By Shake do you mean he trembles??? It could be fear, overstimulation or even muscle exhaustion. What is happening when this happens???
There are a couple of great books out there that talk about body language. One is “Calming Signals” by Turid Rugass (she has a video as well), another is Stanley Coren’s “How to Speak Dog” and also “For the Love of a Dog” by Patricia McConnell. Not all are available in bookstores, I found the Calming Signals one on line. There is also a fantastic book on training called “The Power of Positive Dog Training” by Pat Miller…I HIGHLY recommend it.
Sounds like you are making Good progress!!! YAY |
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Hi Beth,
Isn’t an hour walk a little long for a young puppy? I guess it depends on the breed but if I give my dog a 1/2 hour walk, she is exhausted. Maybe the shaking is due to muscle exhaustion, like Tailspin is suggesting…
Congratulations on your progress, keep it going! |
beth
northern wisconsin
6 posts
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Hi!
Yes, the shaking I talked about is like a big tremble in his body. He did this right from the get go when we got him…..I thought early on it was fear or anxiety when first getting home. Now I notice it early in the morning if it is cool outside & during walks. I hadn’ thought that I was walking him too much. Started changing that up to a 30 minute walk am & pm (someitmes we only get 1 big walk in) in addition to our regular play time outside and I also put him on the leash and walk the perimeter of our yard to teach him just hopw far we want him to go. This is hard because he wants to explore the woods but we don’t want him too go out of our sight, expecially since he doesn’t consistently come back. Thanks for the book suggestions. I checked out the book our library had and it was good.
Happy 4th everyone! |
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Hi Beth!
For your Rocky’s age, he must be doing great already. Anyway, regarding your problem, i caught upon this link that can probably help you with it.
Rgards.
http://tinyurl.com/5en6a8 |
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When dogs fail to come when called their behavior falls into one of two categories: active or passive disobedience. With passive disobedience, the dog doesn’t come and it isn’t doing much else besides. Instead it simply stands, sits or lies down and watches its owner call. Either the dog is apprehensive of approaching (a major temperament emergency), or it fails to see the relevance of the owner’s request and simply can not be bothered (a minor training emergency). With active disobedience, however, not only does the dog not come, but also, it has a darn good time not coming. This is a major training emergency.
Here’s a solution for dogs not coming when called http://dogtime.com/dog-training-behavior-not-co… |
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Discussions: HELP w/NEW PUPPY
