Puppy training tips

[lokki]

Hi,
I will be getting a Puppy in a couple of weeks (Border Collie)
And I have been trying to educate myself on how to train the puppy, Read a couple of books but sill have a lot of questions.

Any tips on the puppy's first day at home?
Does Anybody have any books/videos/sites that they can recommend?
Does Anybody have any experience with Petsmart obedience training?

Thanks

[AtomSmasher]

I haven't had a dog in a long time, so I don't have much advice, but I remember that you should never let the puppy do something that you won't want him to do when he's full grown, this includes things like sitting on furniture or sleeping in your bed at night.  They won't understand why something was acceptable when they are young and not acceptable when they are older, so they will continue to do it.

[BobA]

Most of training a puppy is being around to get him/her used to going out and finding a place to go or going out for a walk.   You cannot rain the puppy if you are not around to train him/her.  Training pads serve a purpose if you are all at work or out but are not a way of training the puppy to properly go when walked or let out.   I actually think that puppy training is more about training the people.

[pointdablame]

Amazon LInk for LEADER OF THE PACK

Get that book.  You can get it and the companion book as a set for $13 on that page.  They are great books, and really open your eyes to how you should treat your dog.  It focuses more on how YOU should act around the dog, not on how to train him/her.  The training will actually fall into place after that.

I'm also a huge proponent of crate training.  I know some folks say its cruel, but I'm convinced they have never seen it done correctly.  My pup never had an accident in his crate, it was not used as punishment, and he wound up going in it all day long just to hang out.  It's great because it gives them a "den" to have to themselves which is very important.  Shut the door at night when they sleep, but all other times it's their place to go when they want.

Get a good leather leash too.  Those retractable plastics things are horrible and other materials will often fray when the pup decides to chew it.  Work the leather a lot for the first few days to loosen the entire leash up... it helps with training and leading the dog.  I trained with a corrective collar as well (choke chain) and found it to be a great method.  I didn't use the collar with  those hooks that press into the neck, just a normal choke chain.  LIKE THIS 

I'd also recommend reading or watching Cesar Millan ("The Dog Whisperer")  Some folks think he's totally nuts, some think he's the only option.  I think he can give you a lot of good information, though you don't have to take everything he says as gospel.

Good luck with him/her

[MikeQ]

Urinate in every corner of your house so he knows your the boss.

[BobA]

Have to agree with pointdablame 100% on the puppy crate training.   Just make sure you get one where it can turn around because some breeds grow very quickly.   Had a crate when my wife and I both worked and after being you in the yard in the morning he would know it was time for the crate and almost go there automatically when we left.  Gave him a treat and never used it to punish him.   After about 5 months I took the chance and left him out and all was good.   Left the crate in the corner with the door open for a few more months because he thought it was his diggs.

[pointdablame]

When we got our crate (this was 6 years ago now) we got one with a partition.  Get a crate that will be large enough for your dog when he/she is full grown, then partition it.  If you don't get one with a partition, just cut a piece of cardboard or something and zip tie it to the frame.

You want to make sure the pup has enough room to turn around and nto be cramped, but not enough room so that he/she can go to the bathroom in one corner and sleep in the other. 

[pointdablame]

Urinate in every corner of your house so he knows your the boss.

This might work too. 

[Ed_McCarron]

Border Collies are incredibly smart dogs - they need either a job or constant entertainment.

Be prepared to spend at least an hour a day playing flyball, teaching it agility, or letting it herd your kids.

[tommy]

Just make sure you correct your dog and use your hands to get his attention when he is doing something you do not want him to be doing. (don't hit though) When the dog is on a leash it is even easier to get the dog to do the right thing. You have to tug on the leash and get him going in the right direction or to get him to stop doing or paying attention to something other than you. Overall, be firm with the dog, you're the boss. You can start out slow depending on how old the dog is but you must keep up with enforcing that you are the one in control and that the dog needs to do what you want him to do at all times, after some time goes by this will all come natural to the dog. 


Edit. Also the crate thing works very well. What i did was when i leave the house the dog must go in the crate until i get back to avoid having the dog tear up the house while i was gone and it worked out well. Now, when i leave the house (even though my dog does not tear the house up anymore) all i have to do is point at the cage and he walk right in, he even goes in there by himself sometimes as it is a place he feels safe and comfortable in.

[lokki]

Thanks for all the advise, I was planning on doing crate training.
We do have a big back yard, but I'm hoping he dog will spend most of his time inside.

pointdablame, I'll take a look at he leader of the pack.

Thanks

[SithMaster]

point did you recommend that book because the author was talking about it on the Today Show this morning?

Border Collies are incredibly smart dogs - they need either a job or constant entertainment.

Be prepared to spend at least an hour a day playing flyball, teaching it agility, or letting it herd your kids.

  This is good.

Get him a really awesome costume for Halloween and toys.  They love toys.

[lokki]

One of the books I bought  The Art of Raising a Puppy
recommends using the choke collar. But Since I found a bunch of sites that recommend against it. So I think I will try with out he choke collar first.

Thanks

[ChadTower]

 I helped train a lot of dogs as a kid.  I usually stay out of the whole training methods debate... but I do chime in with advice to avoid a choke collar.  There are a hundred ways to train a puppy that aren't painful like a choke collar.

[tommy]

You don't need to almost choke your dog to death to get him to learn and follow directions. With chad on the other hand, it might work best.

[spacies]

We actually foster dogs and puppies from a Dog Rescue place. No, we don't have a pack of dogs running wild out our place, just one dog at a time until it finds a new home. We have our own dog as well.

I would also recommend the crate training. Like mentioned before you can be sure the dogs aren't ripping apart Grandmas sofa or your best shoes while you are out. It also gives your dog/s their own space. Every time you put the dog in there, give it a treat and a pat and also give the crate a name, like Bed. Our dog gets really excited about going into her crate at nights. We just say 'On your bed' as we are heading to the bedroom and she knows she is going to get a treat and will sprint to her crate all excited.

For toilet training, the first few weeks are the hardest and always watch your puppy and take it outside on the lead to do toilet. When they do go, encourage them with a treat and a pat. Also give that a name. Even though they get older, don't stop rewarding them.

Socializing puppies with other dogs, puppies and people is another 'must do'. Find out if there is a Puppy Class or something similar near you.

Forget Ceaser Milan. He its nuts and his methods should not be encouraged. Positive training from the start is much easier then trying to be the dominant one after things go bad.

Border Collies do require a lot of exercise.  I would definitely look at enrolling it in some agility class.

[ChadTower]

You don't need to almost choke your dog to death to get him to learn and follow directions. With chad on the other hand, it might work best.

I respond better to starvation than strangulation.

[RTSDaddy2]

My wife, the animal trainer, sent you a small novel (I'm kidding) via email - hope it will help!

[jbox]

I respond better to starvation than strangulation.

So you're saying you're more like Ghandi then Michael Hutchence? 

My wife, the animal trainer

Don't they *all* think of themselves that way?

[pointdablame]

point did you recommend that book because the author was talking about it on the Today Show this morning?

Nope, don't watch the Today Show.  The book was recommended to me by my trainer when my dog was a pup.

[pointdablame]

Forget Ceaser Milan. He its nuts and his methods should not be encouraged. Positive training from the start is much easier then trying to be the dominant one after things go bad.

heh, see I knew someone would pop in saying he's nuts 

I don't put a ton of faith in him, but I still say there's good info there if you take it on the surface.  You don't have to wait until something is wrong to be seen as the dominant member of the household.  If you use small portions of his training from the start, you (hopefully) would never get to the point where you'd need to be on his show with his more aggressive ways, heh.

As for the choke chain, I highly recommend it.  It doesn't even "choke" the dog unless you are appying constant pressure, which you should not be doing.  It's a quick tug for a corrective action, and that's it.  It also teaches the pup NOT to always keep pressure on the lead since he'll feel pressure on his neck.  My dog has his on all the time (even now at 7yrs old), and he likes it.  It's never been a problem for us.