13 wk old lab
03-07-2005, 04:04 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Blakely Ga USA
Posts: 71
13 wk old lab
I know this has probably been asked before, but here goes.
I am reading water dog while im trying to train my pup. When we try to play fetch in the yard with a dummy, he will chase after it, sniff it, then he would rather chew on sticks, leaves or random stuff nearby it. The same goes for teaching him his basic commands(sit , stay, and come). He would rather sniff and chew on random stuff. Sometimes,he does what hes supposed to , but lots of times hes just too distracted with all those sticks and leaves for me to even get his atteention.
Please tell me this will get better, and maybe how to handle this.
I am reading water dog while im trying to train my pup. When we try to play fetch in the yard with a dummy, he will chase after it, sniff it, then he would rather chew on sticks, leaves or random stuff nearby it. The same goes for teaching him his basic commands(sit , stay, and come). He would rather sniff and chew on random stuff. Sometimes,he does what hes supposed to , but lots of times hes just too distracted with all those sticks and leaves for me to even get his atteention.
Please tell me this will get better, and maybe how to handle this.
03-07-2005, 04:59 PM
#2
Spike
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 18
RE: 13 wk old lab
Hi,
Welcome to the wonderful world of puppeis[8D]!!! It will get better, I promise! It might not seem so right now, but it will.
First off, the average attention span of a puppy is about 9 seconds. This is according to some very good trainers I know. On the bright side, that's twice as long as my teenagers
. So that kind of puts into perspective the stick chewing and lack of focus by your pup.
Secondly, he IS a pup. 13wks is not really very old. So you've had him home now what, maybe 3 to 5 weeks, less perhaps? He is probably just getting to point where he is comfortable around you and his new home. It might be a little early to get into real serious training with him just yet. I personally don't get really serious about much more than the really basic stuff (come, hup, and house breaking), until they get around 3 to 4 month old mark. Maybe let him enjoy his puppyhood a little longer (Labs do tend to mature slower, as do most large breed dogs).
What can you do? Well, first and formost, all training MUST be treated as a game for him. Throughout his entier life. The instant they aren't having fun doing something, they stop doing it! Kinda makes them a bit smarter than us in someways. Keep sessions short. I try to keep my training sessions no more than 15min at a time for dogs of any age. Less for pups. Retieving drills for your pup, no more than say 6 tosses at a time. Then it's play time with you. Now, that doesn't mean that 's all for one day, you certainly do multiple sessions in a day. But keep each session short.
Second, be lavish with your praise anytime he does something right. They live to please you! Use that to your advantage. Another thing to do, get down on his level. Don't stand on your feet, get down on your knees and get at his eye level. Standing upright, we are a huge and imposing figure to a pup, and a bit scary to approach.
Lastly, always end your session on a good note. No matter how aweful the session went, have the dog do something that you know your pup will do right. Then love him up and end it. If you feel yourself getting frustrated, end the session also. They know when your mad.
He might be a bit young to retrieve yet. So don't fret that too much yet. What I do to start retrieving is, to start in the house. I have a long narrow hallway that I use. Keeps them from running around or away from me, they have to come back to me. I don't use a buck at first. They are a bit too hard feeling in the mouth for some pups. I use some wadded up old socks. Get on your knees and tease him with it, be excited about it. When he's wound up, toss it 5-6ft. He should go after it. When he gets good at it, move outside to the yard. Watch out for teething. Their mouths' get pretty sore then and they can stop retrieving on you during that time.
Have fun with him and enjoy everything with him! Just be patient, good things will happen!
Dale
Welcome to the wonderful world of puppeis[8D]!!! It will get better, I promise! It might not seem so right now, but it will.
First off, the average attention span of a puppy is about 9 seconds. This is according to some very good trainers I know. On the bright side, that's twice as long as my teenagers
. So that kind of puts into perspective the stick chewing and lack of focus by your pup.Secondly, he IS a pup. 13wks is not really very old. So you've had him home now what, maybe 3 to 5 weeks, less perhaps? He is probably just getting to point where he is comfortable around you and his new home. It might be a little early to get into real serious training with him just yet. I personally don't get really serious about much more than the really basic stuff (come, hup, and house breaking), until they get around 3 to 4 month old mark. Maybe let him enjoy his puppyhood a little longer (Labs do tend to mature slower, as do most large breed dogs).
What can you do? Well, first and formost, all training MUST be treated as a game for him. Throughout his entier life. The instant they aren't having fun doing something, they stop doing it! Kinda makes them a bit smarter than us in someways. Keep sessions short. I try to keep my training sessions no more than 15min at a time for dogs of any age. Less for pups. Retieving drills for your pup, no more than say 6 tosses at a time. Then it's play time with you. Now, that doesn't mean that 's all for one day, you certainly do multiple sessions in a day. But keep each session short.
Second, be lavish with your praise anytime he does something right. They live to please you! Use that to your advantage. Another thing to do, get down on his level. Don't stand on your feet, get down on your knees and get at his eye level. Standing upright, we are a huge and imposing figure to a pup, and a bit scary to approach.
Lastly, always end your session on a good note. No matter how aweful the session went, have the dog do something that you know your pup will do right. Then love him up and end it. If you feel yourself getting frustrated, end the session also. They know when your mad.
He might be a bit young to retrieve yet. So don't fret that too much yet. What I do to start retrieving is, to start in the house. I have a long narrow hallway that I use. Keeps them from running around or away from me, they have to come back to me. I don't use a buck at first. They are a bit too hard feeling in the mouth for some pups. I use some wadded up old socks. Get on your knees and tease him with it, be excited about it. When he's wound up, toss it 5-6ft. He should go after it. When he gets good at it, move outside to the yard. Watch out for teething. Their mouths' get pretty sore then and they can stop retrieving on you during that time.
Have fun with him and enjoy everything with him! Just be patient, good things will happen!
Dale
03-08-2005, 06:46 AM
#3
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: golden co
Posts: 852
RE: 13 wk old lab
357
There are MUCH better reference materials out there than Water Dog. Jackie Mertens"Sound Beginnings" video is an EXCELLENT material for the early months of training(highly recommended), 10 Minute Retriever, SmartWork- series by Graham, Mike Lardy tapes, are a few. I would get with some training groups ( informal groups who pool resources and throw bumpers for each other) they can be found thru your local AKC clubs, you can go to www.akc.org to find the clubs. If this is your first dog it would be better to work with a trainer for you have FF and CC to teach yet. Recommendations for trainers can be gleaned from the club members as well. Pick the trainer wisely, and watch them train several times to get a feel for who you are most comfortable with, they are not created equal.
There are MUCH better reference materials out there than Water Dog. Jackie Mertens"Sound Beginnings" video is an EXCELLENT material for the early months of training(highly recommended), 10 Minute Retriever, SmartWork- series by Graham, Mike Lardy tapes, are a few. I would get with some training groups ( informal groups who pool resources and throw bumpers for each other) they can be found thru your local AKC clubs, you can go to www.akc.org to find the clubs. If this is your first dog it would be better to work with a trainer for you have FF and CC to teach yet. Recommendations for trainers can be gleaned from the club members as well. Pick the trainer wisely, and watch them train several times to get a feel for who you are most comfortable with, they are not created equal.
03-08-2005, 03:38 PM
#6
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Ironwood, Michigan
Posts: 123
RE: 13 wk old lab
I am not a big fan of Walters. I don't like... if youare at week 20 you should be... or get rid of the dog. I like James B Spencer's ideas much better. He believes we need to look at dog training as a baseball game instead of a timed sport. Baseball games theoretically could take days to play the 9 innings. It's done when it's done, not when the clock says it's done. My youngest son ruined a jagd I was training. I threw balls and socks for him. I threw ten tosses and had him retrieve 3 (that's a hint for you) this kept him excited. My son was five and saw dad throw ten tosses so he and three of his friends threw 20 tosses each and the dog never picked up again until I finished force training. Calm down. Your pup is fine. Just relax and don't be in such a hurry. You're in the top of the first you have plenty of innings left. There's no clock.
Dr Fatguy
Dr Fatguy
03-08-2005, 04:51 PM
#7
Spike
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 18
RE: 13 wk old lab
Hi,
Hear, hear!! drfatguy!!! Training your dog is a journey to be enjoyed, not a race to get to the end.
I've got my share of books and have begged and borrowed many others to read. But I don't consider any of them to be a bible to be followed exactly. They make a good starting point and have some good suggestions, but every dog is an individual. And what works for one dog, may prove disasterous for another. I like to take their ideas and see how I can make them work for me and my particular dog to get the results I'm looking for.
Wolters' books are ok for some things. But one has to remember they were written 30 some years ago. And he tended to write from a trial and Pro trainer perspective. Training methods have progressed. And we tend to try and work with a dogs' natural behaivior more today. Rather than try to hammer it into a cookie cutter mold.
Dale
Hear, hear!! drfatguy!!! Training your dog is a journey to be enjoyed, not a race to get to the end.
I've got my share of books and have begged and borrowed many others to read. But I don't consider any of them to be a bible to be followed exactly. They make a good starting point and have some good suggestions, but every dog is an individual. And what works for one dog, may prove disasterous for another. I like to take their ideas and see how I can make them work for me and my particular dog to get the results I'm looking for.
Wolters' books are ok for some things. But one has to remember they were written 30 some years ago. And he tended to write from a trial and Pro trainer perspective. Training methods have progressed. And we tend to try and work with a dogs' natural behaivior more today. Rather than try to hammer it into a cookie cutter mold.
Dale
