willbjew

I just got my yellow lab. it has blue eyes. and for some reason is scared. It is 7 weeks old. I know it is probably in shock from being away from it mom. But what do yall susget for the first night.

Idaho hunter 58

blue eyes??? is this a pure yellow lab, or a mut? I thought yellows were only supposed to have brown eyes if they were pure.. correct me if i am wrong. My dog was a little scared at first, he whined a little bit, but soon got comfortable, and settled in. Takes a lot of love and attention though! i had to sleep next to him for the first week! lol! He would get upset if i left sight. Probabley because he was so young when we got him. He got over it extremely fast! Don't worry, just give him lots of love.

willbjew

yea ........ the eyes are green/blue ((((hazel))))))))) also it is full bred. I will probably put his pin next to mine. Also when should i start training him to sit and stay and all that junk. He doesnt have a very long attention span

SWOSUMike

A lot of puppies have blue eyes when they are young. It doesn't necessarily mean a mixed dog. Don't be surprised if his eyes change to brown soon.

You can start associating the dog with sit and stay commands after it has a good grip of its own name. That way you can say, "Sit, Spot/Spike/Sam etc. The dog needs to know it's name first usually, but this takes very little time. Use it's name every time you talk to it, feed it, put it in it's crate, etc.

Also, get two people 8-10 feet from each other, armed with dog treats, and call the dog back and forth using it's name and rewarding it as it figures out that coming will get it a treat.

Don't overdue too much at once, keep it fun/rewarding, and you'll be teaching the dog to sit within no time at all. I trained my Siberian Huskey (pack dog) with techniques like this, and she is a fine dog, and they're are an unruly breed sometimes, too.

critch

Congratulations on getting your new pup. You can start training it immediately. But if you start using doggie treats then your dog will learn quickly to obey when you have a treat...and at no other time. Leave the treats out of it. Train with love and affection...positive reinforcement.
If you're too cheap to buy a book on training a lab, then check one out at your local library.
If "it", as you called it, is timid (scared) right now you can do some pretty severe damage to "it" if you don't know what you're doing. Get a book or "it" will soon be training you.
Good luck.

critch

SWOSUMike

I still say it'd be fine to use treats. Some dogs (like my trained pack dog) are not people pleasers, and learn better with a tangible reward as opposed to affection and high pitched voice praise. My lab mix, on the other hand, is a real people pleaser, and you don't need treats with him, he thrives on affection.

What you do is slowly condition the dog to obey by gradually using fewer treats. Then the dog won't know when it will and when it will not get a treat, and it won't be able to resist the possibility. My pack dog (Siberian Huskey) is now 11 years old and obeys on command. If I have a treat for her, good. If I don't, she obeys anyway.

willbjew

My dog is going on 7 weeks old. And has a 2nd grader without his rittlin attention span. When can i seriously train him. I am starting him now with sit. The day i got him i brougt him dove hunting and he just slept the whole time and did nothing around doves......

bucks4me

If you put him in a crate at nite give him your tee-shirt to snuggle with. It will have your sent and should be more likly to sleep through the night.

willbjew

i will try this. is it ok to leave the pup in the kennel while it is whining and jumping around. When will he stop doing this.

LKing

Will, just catch your breath a minute. Now, think about this, your dog is only 7 weeks old for crying out loud! Would you even think of instilling discipline in a newborn child? Let pup adjust to his new surroundings, let him get accustomed to you and your family, and get your rear end to a book source center and pick up a training book to follow based on your long term plan. All of the obedience will come in due time. You are teaching your dog each and every day how to function in it's new world, and what to do and not to do. Here are some suggestions for authors who know their stuff: John and Amy Dahl, Paul and Julie Knutson, Evan Graham, James Free, Jim Dobbs and many others.

Good Luck