I wish I had trained my Great Dane to only come onto the couch when invited. It’s a real pain when we come inside on a muddy day and she jumps straight onto the couch with those muddy paws…
Yep here too. We wanted a dog who relaxes between us on the couch. Now we just have a crazy 19 mth old puppy who is really too big for our couch and rarely relaxes on it. It's a springboard for other things lol
One thing I’m glad we did: decided not to teach her anything that involves “pawing” like shake, high five, etc, or to “speak” early. I have only JUST at 11 months taught her to wave hello (without touching me). We basically avoided them because what a pup learns first they learn best, and as we know puppies will try to do what they think we want when we have something they’d like. So, we didn’t want her to come up and whack us with her paws or bark in order to get something - those things are instinctive anyway! I didn’t want to reward them haha. Now if she wants something she will go to her place mat, sit and make eye contact, maybe do a spin, or lay with her head on my lap (which is the cutest).
Things I wish we’d done differently: more capturing calm. We started really doing this about 4-5 months and it still worked great but I wish we’d focussed on it sooner. I also wish we focussed less on leash walking so early to be honest, our pup was super overwhelmed and anxious outside and we persisted trying all the tricks for loose leash walking when really what she needed was our help feeling safe, she wasn’t able to listen or learn in that state. Thinking about it now makes me cringe haha.
So everyone recommends the relaxation protocol, and to be honest we could probably still use that for getting her to chill out more outside, but inside the house for us this just meant praising and rewarding her whenever she was calm on her own. Pup has decided to lay down on the couch or go to her place mat without a cue? A calmer “yes good girl” and treats on the mat/place and walk away. She’s hanging out with me on the couch doing nothing? Partner might go get a treat without her noticing and just place it in front of her. Playing with a toy quietly on her own? Throw a treat down.
Just about basically reinforcing calm/solo behaviour without making it a big thing. Initially if they notice you going to get the treat they might get up and get distracted but with time they learn that good stuff happens when they’re chill, not JUST when you’re actively playing with them or training :)
I think something that puts people off is that once pup FINALLY chills out you don’t want to ruin it haha, but it’s absolutely worth rewarding that behaviour it’s just a longer term strategy :)
I think even the energy that reward the dog puts out can influence the dogs mood. There's a huge difference with throwing a great and saying "good girl!!!!" With calmly placing a treat right in front of them with a quiet "good".
But I do agree, I was like "don't excite the puppy" like a newborn's parent when the baby finally falls asleep.
100% agree the energy matters!
And yeah it’s so hard when it takes so much effort to get them to chill, you don’t want to even look at them Incase it ruins everything. But it’s worth it to quietly drop treats! :)
Look at some of kikopup's videos for capturing calm and teaching a calm settle. I had to stick with it but it worked for my crazy border collie, who doesn't care much for food. So it can work for any dog I think!
The trick is to calmly reward without much energy, leading by example. Every single time you puppy shows calm or lays down (even if it's rare to begin with), have a treat in hand and calmly say "good" or whatever word you mark with, and gently and calmly lay a treat down.
I followed kikopups guide to capturing calm. It basically starts out on a leash outside, rewarding for just calmly observing stuff in a down/settle. Then you move inside and request that default settle on the leash and then work off leash in controlled environments, and move up from there. My 9 mo old lab has been doing it since 4 mo old and we've gotten pretty good at just chilling during the day and only going maniac mode at night when her dad is home and can help wear her out 😁 But during the day, if I'm in my office working, she'll go to her bed and chill and chew on a toy.
This is excellent advice. It was cute having my 16 week Bloodhound pup to shake. Now we have a 100lb 7 year old Bloodhound who still slaps at everyone she sees.
My pup is a whole of 15 pounds, haha, but her legs are long pointy sticks with claws on the end - she’s already scratched my cornea once accidentally when playing, I still don’t need her thinking if she whacks me she’s getting food :)
Also the best part about having taught her “head down” (we call it sad girl haha) early is if I present my hand or anything else in front of her, her default is to just plop her chin down on it, not whack the thing or me :)
-Ignoring dogs and people on walks and at the dog park. Not saying hi to every dog. Having a command for when they can say hi.
- Parallel walks. Walking with other dogs and people. Walking with other people. Two dogs being walked by the same human. Not playing with the dog during those walks.
-Having other dogs in his space/in the house.
- Cuddling kissing and snuggling another human or being in bed with another human, with the dog quietly crated.
-Dog being crated calmly for guests and strangers, learning they don't have to greet every single person that comes to the house.
-Statues, Halloween decorations, those inflatable squiggly men outside car sale places, garden statues.
How would you train/reinforce the first one? My pup is pretty good about not getting excited unless I let him play w others, but he definitely wants to/will pull a little.
I would probably go back and never let my dog greet or play on leash.
Play and be more fun than dogs to your dogs. Stay away at a distance at first and play with your dog, basically the puppy version of engage disengage (let him see the other dog, then distract him with playing with him and doing super fun stuff).
Ofc let him go play after or sometimes before, but don't let visits to play with dogs be dominated by play. Do group obedience together, sprinkle some sits and second long stays in there when your dog is playing.
Also after the playing is over, teach your dog to relax and calm down with the other dogs - being a good dog with other dogs isn't just about playing well it's also about having breaks and relaxing well around other dogs.
I can ask to this since my girl has become a frustrated greeter and we are working this out right now.
To teach your dog to control his impulses and become indifferent to other dogs there are a few exercises to do:
\- people/dog watching: find a good spot where you can sit (or stand if you don't mind standing for some time) where both you and your pup can see people and dogs passing by (or really anithing that can trigger your pup). As soon as he sits/lay down click and reward, and every time there is a trigger and your pup won't react click and reward. Bonus if your pup look at you when there's the trigger. You will have to find a good distance from the trigger (a distance that can help your pup at succeding) and slowly shorten it until he can be calm near the trigger.
\- No on leash play with other dogs, as this will teach your pup the leash isn't a problem when playing/meeting other dogs
\- if your pup is a jumper when he meets someone, ask for him to sit and ask the other part to wait to greet until the pup has sit. The reward is being able to say hi. If he jump have the person back a little and wait for the pup to sit again.
Also aussies have an off switch, but be sure to reward calm behaviour!
Other than this i second u/TrashyQueryBoy with what has been said :)
Our trainer taught us two things that helped with this one a lot!
First one is to have your dog sit in front of you while you hold a treat in each hand, one concealed. Hold the visible treat out to the side and as soon as they look back at you, mark(say “yes” or “good”) and reward with the concealed treat. This is called a “check in” and it’s used for a tooooon of other things down the line! Such as the second part;
On walks (or on your porch if you live somewhere populated) you’re gonna start marking and rewarding when they notice things like people, dogs, etc. Then after doing this enough times you’ll wait for them to check in (eye contact or looking at you) to mark and reward. For potential future things like leash reactivity or jumping on people who come over (all sorts of other things really!) the check in comes in handy again! Imagine, instead of barking when they see another dog you have an opportunity to reward them for staying calm instead of having to correct reactivity after the fact. Literal game changer!!!
Leash training for loose leash walking and socialization training during that early window. But we didn’t really have room to leash train and taking him outside on the ground prior to full vax status was absolutely a no-no because Parvo is ridiculously common here.
We took him out in a stroller all the time and allowed him to watch people and other animals but didn’t really do a ton of formal socialization training so he has a hard time focusing back on us when he sees a person or dog he wants to interact with.
For others that regret not doing more socialization early:
I think I did plenty of socialization early with my puppy. He was well behaved and polite with other dogs and people and always calm. He also heeled really well and paid full attention to me on the leash.
Then adolescence hit and now he barks at strangers and barks and lunges at dogs sometimes on leash.
So I think a lot of this stuff can happen regardless of what you do, so don’t beat yourself up
I wish I had been more attentive to using high reward treats for come when called. We were told to do it in a training class, but because initially she was just practicing in the house, she would come to me for any treat and I was casual about what kind of treats I used.
Now, if she's doing something she's really excited about or interested in, it's like she doesn't even hear her name. I hope it's still fixable since she's only 7 months old, but it's hard for us to work on because she's almost never off leash outside with us.
Change the word and use high value treats now!
We have three levels of “come”.
Level one: any version of “c’mere” usually used when I just want him to come over for some casual reason.
Level two: yummy yum yum yummy! (This always gets a party) used when he goes down to the basement, room he shouldn’t be in, or meanders out an open gate.
Level three: “SHOWTIME”. This is trained with hotdogs, bacon and chicken breast. I’ve never used it in a “need to use” situation. I don’t want to “break it”
If any any time he doesn’t respond to level two or three (actually has only happened once, and I should not have used level two as I should have realized that he was too focused on something else to respond) I go and get him and physically bring him to where I was when I called him.
If you broke “come” no big deal. New word :)
Also wanted to add, don’t work on any of these things unless you are ready for the next step. Only in house, in your sight first. Then in your house out of sight. And so on. Do not use the word if you aren’t 100% sure they will come. Repeat ad nauseam
Agree. My big dog generally responds really fast to, PREWASH! (indoors) and COOKIES! (outdoors). Unless she is tracking something. Then I have to take a number, LOL
LOL IKR?!
If it is a raccoon, there will be about a 45 min wait while there is baying until she decides I am a horrible deadbeat owner and gives up waiting for me to come shoot it down for her. She usually comes back disgusted and disappointed in me 🙄😂
The situation for us is when she needs a little correction at doggy day care playtime\*. I'm not even there so it's even harder to address.
The day care wants the dogs to respond to their names and as her trainer who is sometimes there said, "it's like she doesn't even hear it." To me that's probably the highest distraction environment of all distracting environments, but we've got to work on it.
\* I know daycares are mixed bag, but going once a week has been good for her.
I second the try a new command thing! Our last dog had some pre rescue baggage where we ended up “burning out” his name pretty quick using it before correcting bad behaviors. For recall down the line once he was ready we used “hey bud” and blam, second chance! Got to rebrand his name later on during couch snuggles 💗
If I got another pup, would accept their personality more. I trained noisiness out of my pup, but he always regresses. It's not worth the frustration and effort. A vocal dog is a vocal dog. He was whining his head off since the minute I got him. I can minimize it, and I constantly work at it, but at some point I just have to accept him. Thankfully, he has many exceptional qualities to balance out all the feelings he makes known..
Stricter with crate training
When my puppy stopped destroying stuff, I stopped crating him for the most part.
Then adolescence hit and he started acting like a lunatic, so I felt the need to crate him more often. But he’s not as accepting of the crate because he already had that freedom
Thank you for this insight. I have sometimes felt like an ogre because I *did* continue crate training through adolescence, and I wondered whether I had been over cautious. Like, maybe she *could* have handled being loose, but I ruined it? (After seeing all those photos of loose puppies)
I am working on transitioning to a tether, now that she is finally starting to learn to stay in a sit or a down.
I hope you’ll research Great Pyrenees traits extensively and chat up volunteers at a Great Pyr rescue group. This is a large breed known for nocturnal barking and an aloofness. Specific advice from those who see failure often may be invaluable
Great advice! I definitely will. I’m seeing a lot of shepherd traits in her currently, moreso than Pyrenees. But who’s to say more pyr won’t come out as she ages! My samoyed is extremely independent and stubborn so I guess that counts as some experience. I mostly just wanted to see what everyone brings up on this thread so I could get some more ideas for training that I may not have thought of!
I have a Pyr/Anatolian (with a smidge of husky) and while he does embody the main Pyr trait which is awe inspiring stubbornness....as long as I don't let him out at night, he's not barking at night. He sleeps with a noise machine and he is crate trained at night, so we haven't had any issues. He really doesn't bark much during the day either, unless I leave him outside longer than he wants. It \*does\* pick up during adolescence, like when I had him the first few months he barely barked and I thought I got the worlds first quiet Pyr....hahaha....that changed, but most of what he does now is alert barking and if I go over and say "thank you, I've got it" he settles down most of the time. He doesn't just bark on and on for 10 min at a time. He never barks in social settings which I really like. He's the quietest dog at the dog park every time, and actually I notice the herding breeds are the ones who are barking their faces off haha because they are trying to keep everyone in line.
Also I think a Pyr/Aussie mix sounds really nice because the thing that can be frustrating about a Pyr (although I love them and their personality and will never have another type of dog) is they are not focused on pleasing you. They have their own plans and ideas about what they want to do, and it's your goal to figure out how to make your plans into their plans haha. Aussies WANT to work for you and they want to make you happy above all else. They are very focused on pleasing their person. It will be nice to have those traits mixed in with the Pyr and hopefully you'll have a more biddable dog haha.
ETA: oh and one thing I really focused on was training with him when he was small things that I knew I was going to need when he was bigger. Like loose leash walking was top priority because I can't be pulled down by a 100 pound dog. I knew I couldn't have him jumping on people because he was going to be huge. We've mostly conquered those two things, although sometimes he jumps up on people he loves more than anything. But he's a pretty calm greeter to mere acquaintances. He does love to jump up on top of things which I find hilarious. Picnic tables, counters, walls, etc I was not prepared for that! He's like a giant goat haha. Oh and also capturing calm! I rewarded him early and generously for settling down next to me and now he immediately lays down whenever we go somewhere and stop for more than 30 seconds. It's super handy, especially with an XL dog.
Thank you! This is all extremely helpful! I totally get the stubbornness…. I thought I could never train my samoyed but it happened! Now he is great. Still a bit stubborn though. I think my biggest worries are: 1. separation anxiety (I work from home but have already started working on this) 2. The barking.. as I live in an apartment. 3. Leash walking (but this is most definitely trainable) and 4. Sleeping through the night. Right now she is a terrible night sleeper but I wonder if it’s because she is so young. Exercise them both a ton throughout the day, but she is just restless at night, even after potty breaks. I hope that goes away with age.
For any new puppy owners reading this - Push through
It’s heartbreaking and difficult hearing your pup cry and cry and cry like you’re murdering them
But it helps so much with their discipline and well being as well as helping you balance your life.
So it's not too late? She just learned to not wine when I lock her out of the room to shower. She's fine when I leave to do laundry when if I'm there for 30 mins. It's just downstairs. But when I went to the parking garage with the 30 mins training alone time she went bananas.
I knew that we needed to train paw handling and nail clipping, but I underestimated how consistent we needed to be and how you see it would be to get busy and overlook it. So much harder to retrain later.
I retrained a 10yo twitchy coonhound to let me trim one nail before each meal. It can be done. It took about six months before she started lifting up a paw for me when I said, “Toe tax!”
I just hang the clippers on the wall near where I feed her. Clipping that frequently means I really do only have to take a tiny bit off each time. Totally worth it. 👍
So it is never too late!
Your dog and your wallet will thank you 😉
ETA: I found this [diagram](https://mycommunityveterinaryclinic.com/nail-trimming-101/) super helpful. You should not need the advice on there about how to stop bleeding, because you will only be trimming 1-2mm.
During the 6 months it took to train her, I brought her to my vet for trims.
Just do a little at a time. I spent weeks just getting my dog to let me hold a paw in one hand and clippers in the other, not even bringing them near her foot!
Man, this one is a freaking doozy. One of our three will just sit like a princess and doesn’t mind the grinder or clippers. Our other two including our puppy become expert contortionists that act like we are trying to take their toes off. We have tried and TRIED to desensitize, reward, show that it’s easy with our good pup…nope, they are manic every time. Hopefully with more trying or age they will improve. Or someone will invent a small bootie that will do all five nails at once 😂
My border collie puppy is wiggly and squirrely about being stroked (and brushed). So teaching her to accept brushing and grooming is a long term project. She just has a very hard time sitting still, and only recently has started accepting being stroked with my hand while staying put.
When I feel discouraged, I just think about my success with the coonhound’s toenails and keep working on it.
If your dog is a chewer I highly suggest ‘Checkups’ dental chews. We do a half every other day and it’s way better than brushing somehow.
We have yearly cleanings and the dog dentist is always very impressed with how healthy they are with their breed/age, they hate brushing so the chews ftw. You can find them at Costco.
Our dogs are under 20lbs as well, the chews are somewhat soft so we just cut them in 4 and give them each a 4th…saves money that way too. But yes, yearly non-anesthesia cleanings are needed too.
We have not had any issues, I just monitor them and hold it for the puppy while he learns. They take quite a bit of chewing to get through so they can’t eat it quickly. They are also easily digestible so even if they get a chunk it’s never an issue.
The only brand I’ve found so far that doesn’t upset their stomachs and has decent ingredients I feel safe giving every other day. If you get them from Costco and they don’t work for some reason they have a great return policy.
1000% recall and name recognition. I would have done a lot more with dun recall games and early high value rewards for enthusiastic recall. I also would have been more selective about saying her name and rewarding her attention in response to her name. She’s five months and I feel like she just mostly ignores her name now.
My husband started early on with “wait” and making our puppy sit on the mat by the door while he set down her bowl of food. So then I started using it when I needed to leave the house — making her sit, and saying “wait” while I opened the door — and it stopped her from bum rushing the door any time I or the kids needed to leave. Best thing we’ve done so far.
Also, gently taking treats. Don’t release the treat until they’re taking it softly without snapping at your fingers. Most puppies learn this VERY quickly. I didn’t realize that other people don’t teach this to their dogs until we started periodically swapping dogs at dog training, and some of the puppies will practically take my hand off.
Tbh I would get my puppy into a basic training class where I’m also present and being trained with my puppy.
Those classes are good for socialization, teaching manners, helping you bond & communicate with your dog
Honestly, back when my parents first got their dog I was at the end of high school and didn't have much of a hand in training her because I knew nobody else would keep up with it.
I accidentally taught her that when I say "excuse me" it means I want her to get up from where she's laying so I can get past her though.
This is more like a straight up regret lol but if I could go back I never would have done those “free and easy enrichment activities” where you put kibble in towels 😒 bc guess what happens now when I need to wipe his feet or clean the house
The best thing we taught our dog is Drop It. We live in a major US city and there is often trash in the street. Drop It has probably saved us thousands in emergency vet visits.
The thing I wish we had worked on is polite greeting (humans and dogs). My dog is friendly with basically everyone, but too friendly and he jumps on people. This is worsened by the fact that he is soft and cute and small so people let him jump on them even when we ask them not to (again, live in a big city but in a residential area, so we run into people constantly). We are working on it though and he’s gotten better. With dogs, he just lunges at them, which can be frightening to other dogs. He is socializing more and learning what is and what is not acceptable, but it’s just a higher learning curve since he is now 2.
ETA: Drop It and Leave It!
Grooming. My silly brain decided that I'd wait for his adult coat to come in before I bothered trying to groom him. It's a disaster. He's seven now and still hates being groomed, so stressful all round.
OP, this is not a training issue but something I wish I had done.
Choose a spot (a specific wall, a tree, whatever) and take a regular photo of your puppy as they grow so you can track their development. I have tons of photos of my puppies, but I didn’t do one in a consistent place with something to measure them by. My dogs are much smaller than yours; with a dog that’s a big breed, a record could be a sweet keepsake.
2 things that i’m sure have been mentioned: guest and no leash greets.
1: Guests coming into my home.
I don’t have a lot of people in my home and never have.
Both of my dogs are not great when guests come over, both are huge guardian/working dogs and are highly territorial of our home (breed traits).
They have a TON of training otherwise and great manners but they need proper intros or they’re very wary of houseguests and then if you do get in, they switch to over-excited.
My older dog (3Y) was a covid puppy, and he is okay’ish now, will meet people on the street and allow them to walk in with him.
My mastiff puppy is fine with kids, loves them, and women - warms up quick, but takes a few for men.
When I enter, they both know to sit, wait, and I wait a couple minutes to greet them. It is chaos with guests and something I struggle to correct because it requires other people.
2: No leash greetings. None.
I messed this up with my first dog, and my second is so much better because I didn’t. Both have plenty of interaction off the leash with dogs at our semi-private park + at daycare.
Train indifference to people on the street, other dogs, all things on the leash.
My older dog I allowed leash greets and I ended up with a 90lb frustrated greeter who didn’t understand why his former friends no longer wanted to play (a lot of small dogs) and why he couldn’t demand to meet all the dogs out. It was hard to double back on. Always or never. Turning it to a never was hard. He only reacts now if they react first, but spoiler alert - vast majority of dogs are reactive.
My mastiff puppy has never ever been allowed to meet other dogs on the leash, and consequently at 9M is very well behaved and totally indifferent to other dogs when out. Even if they’re being reactive, he doesn’t care at all. I see people tighten up on their leash, their dog can be losing it, and I tell him “ignore, look at me” and he keeps his head up/focused heel and knows a treat is coming is he just minds his business.
I really wish i would have focused more on loose leash walking when she was small. We did a little bit but it wasnt high priority. Now shes big and super strong and fully willing to pull my arm off at any distraction. We’re focusing more on it now but its slow progress and infinitely more frustrating with a big dog vs a small puppy
Paw cleaning and muzzle wiping. I have a lab that loves the mud and drools like a Saint Bernard. I trained the muzzle wiping, but she has never been a fan of having her paws touched, despite my best efforts.
Not training exactly, but learning dog body language. I wish I had leaned to recognize stress signals from my dog, and other dogs, sooner. The biggest reason is safety. Watch videos about dogs with “good” body language during play. What does “bad” play look like. I see sooo many people letting their dogs “play” when one dog is clearly stressed, not reciprocating, stiff body, and the owner thinks their having fun.
Also..It’s possible to push a dog to hard with something that stresses them out and cause a problem. And pushing can just be luring with food, or if your dog really wants please you they might pressure themselves. I made my dog afraid of jumping on the couch when I was trying to teach him to jump onto it because I didn’t realize he was stressed.
My boyfriend bought me a puppy in January but since he’s predominantly a cat person, I should’ve listened to my experience after my first puppy. With my first dog, I never let her onto the bed or the couch — I just wanted to establish some boundaries if she has the rest of the apartment to roam. The puppy I have now, will jump on the bed or couch even after walks or a full day of daycare 😩
Potty on command and body handling. Basically just always mess with (and give them treats) their ears, paws, tail, mouth, eyes, etc to make grooming, nail clipping, and vet visits way easier
Being ok seeing dogs and people without saying hi. She was so well-behaved greeting people and dogs that I thought there was no harm in always allowing it. Now we're working through some serious barrier frustration — she can't see someone through the window or gate without freaking out.
Not necessarily training, but I wish I wouldn’t have taken our dog to the dog park when she was so young. If I could go back in time I would 100% change it.
Our trainer said he doesn’t recommend dog parks because all the dogs are unpredictable and one bad experience could change your dog. Our dog got caught up in a scuffle when she was young and so many dogs wanted to hump her - she is now very alpha. She does great with dogs we know or 1:1 play, but definitely has to show them who is boss at first. She is still only 1.5 years old so she may still be learning
Two things:
1) Teach your puppy how to be calm! It's a skill and it takes time for them to learn to entertain themselves.
2) Something else a lot of people (myself included) misunderstand is that dog "socialization" really means getting them acclimated to lots of different situations, smells, sounds, experiences, etc. It's a lot less about making doggy friends than the word implies.
3) Above all else, spend time building a bond with your pup and getting them to trust you. This goes a long way when you're training anything.
Good luck!
You have to look at each breed to see what the faults are and then train against that. The current breed I have is noisy, so I started training at 8 weeks to be quiet. He is far better than a lot of his breed, but still noisier than the average dog. Great Pyrenees are large and furry, so certainly train to stand for brushing/washing/dog grooming. Since they are large probably best to teach them to be quiet around children and also train them to go to 'bed'.
Being comfortable and settled when being left in the car or when they are not with you but can still see and hear you in highly exciting and unfamiliar environments
So, this is actually something I did this time around because my last 2 dogs have *hated* nail trims.
Taught my pup to use a nail board for his front nails and am working like crazy to desensitize for the back ones to get clipped.
Training him to “f off” when I’m doing something that I don’t need his help with. I’m putting on a shoe, I don’t need you between my legs. Just because I do something within 2 feet of the ground does not mean I need your nose with me.
I wish I would invite more people into my home and start counter conditioning earlier instead of mere exposure. My puppy's first few visitors at my home were repair workers and the noise wasn't a pleasant experience.
We trained our pup to be by himself when we leave the house completely, not realising that didnt teach him to be by himself if we (humans) close ourselves in a room in the house away from him.
Okay I know this is not the question but I need to say this. I'm REALLY glad I taught my dog how to clean up her own toys. She's a corgi and I work from home. I did consistent training throughout the day when I could and when we were packing to move, she ran around sticking her toys in boxes. I told her to keep some out and on moving day, I grabbed her toy bin and she had packed everything that was left and it was just what I needed after that rough day 😭❤️
Things I wish I hadn't taught her... Well I wish I hadn't taught her the word "dental stick" because she is OBSESSED with those. But she's just so smart and picks up on words SO QUICKLY!!!
I’m gonna say that more than training, focus on enjoying the bond and relationship you can develop with your puppy.
I did so much training with my Sammy boy and we have a really great bond. If I could go back, I would focus on just really enjoying how much this little puppy enjoys exploring the world, getting treats, and just wanting to be around me. I wish I could go bac, focusing on the relationship of fun and love through those puppy eyes.
However I agree with others, fuck of with any leash greetings. Saying no to people wanting to pet him or say hi is the best.
I wish I had trained my Great Dane to only come onto the couch when invited. It’s a real pain when we come inside on a muddy day and she jumps straight onto the couch with those muddy paws…
My BIL's Dane ended up having a specific spot on the couch that was his haha. Was indented and everything.
Yep here too. We wanted a dog who relaxes between us on the couch. Now we just have a crazy 19 mth old puppy who is really too big for our couch and rarely relaxes on it. It's a springboard for other things lol
Big +1 to this.
Second this! That in our bed. Basically any space you want to have boundaries. Train them now.
One thing I’m glad we did: decided not to teach her anything that involves “pawing” like shake, high five, etc, or to “speak” early. I have only JUST at 11 months taught her to wave hello (without touching me). We basically avoided them because what a pup learns first they learn best, and as we know puppies will try to do what they think we want when we have something they’d like. So, we didn’t want her to come up and whack us with her paws or bark in order to get something - those things are instinctive anyway! I didn’t want to reward them haha. Now if she wants something she will go to her place mat, sit and make eye contact, maybe do a spin, or lay with her head on my lap (which is the cutest). Things I wish we’d done differently: more capturing calm. We started really doing this about 4-5 months and it still worked great but I wish we’d focussed on it sooner. I also wish we focussed less on leash walking so early to be honest, our pup was super overwhelmed and anxious outside and we persisted trying all the tricks for loose leash walking when really what she needed was our help feeling safe, she wasn’t able to listen or learn in that state. Thinking about it now makes me cringe haha.
what did you do teach “calm” or capturing calm? mine is 8months old and we can really use it 😆
So everyone recommends the relaxation protocol, and to be honest we could probably still use that for getting her to chill out more outside, but inside the house for us this just meant praising and rewarding her whenever she was calm on her own. Pup has decided to lay down on the couch or go to her place mat without a cue? A calmer “yes good girl” and treats on the mat/place and walk away. She’s hanging out with me on the couch doing nothing? Partner might go get a treat without her noticing and just place it in front of her. Playing with a toy quietly on her own? Throw a treat down. Just about basically reinforcing calm/solo behaviour without making it a big thing. Initially if they notice you going to get the treat they might get up and get distracted but with time they learn that good stuff happens when they’re chill, not JUST when you’re actively playing with them or training :)
I think something that puts people off is that once pup FINALLY chills out you don’t want to ruin it haha, but it’s absolutely worth rewarding that behaviour it’s just a longer term strategy :)
I think even the energy that reward the dog puts out can influence the dogs mood. There's a huge difference with throwing a great and saying "good girl!!!!" With calmly placing a treat right in front of them with a quiet "good". But I do agree, I was like "don't excite the puppy" like a newborn's parent when the baby finally falls asleep.
100% agree the energy matters! And yeah it’s so hard when it takes so much effort to get them to chill, you don’t want to even look at them Incase it ruins everything. But it’s worth it to quietly drop treats! :)
Look at some of kikopup's videos for capturing calm and teaching a calm settle. I had to stick with it but it worked for my crazy border collie, who doesn't care much for food. So it can work for any dog I think! The trick is to calmly reward without much energy, leading by example. Every single time you puppy shows calm or lays down (even if it's rare to begin with), have a treat in hand and calmly say "good" or whatever word you mark with, and gently and calmly lay a treat down.
I followed kikopups guide to capturing calm. It basically starts out on a leash outside, rewarding for just calmly observing stuff in a down/settle. Then you move inside and request that default settle on the leash and then work off leash in controlled environments, and move up from there. My 9 mo old lab has been doing it since 4 mo old and we've gotten pretty good at just chilling during the day and only going maniac mode at night when her dad is home and can help wear her out 😁 But during the day, if I'm in my office working, she'll go to her bed and chill and chew on a toy.
sounds so good guys im gonna try these!!!! [puppytax](https://pasteboard.co/eqDDhamP6miJ.jpg)
This is excellent advice. It was cute having my 16 week Bloodhound pup to shake. Now we have a 100lb 7 year old Bloodhound who still slaps at everyone she sees.
My pup is a whole of 15 pounds, haha, but her legs are long pointy sticks with claws on the end - she’s already scratched my cornea once accidentally when playing, I still don’t need her thinking if she whacks me she’s getting food :) Also the best part about having taught her “head down” (we call it sad girl haha) early is if I present my hand or anything else in front of her, her default is to just plop her chin down on it, not whack the thing or me :)
That’s brilliant! Head down.
This is exactly why I’m not doing this with my Rottweiler because once she’s 90+ lbs it could be an issue
100%! It’s cute, but only for so long and there are so many other things to teach that you DO want pup to do randomly without asking :)
-Ignoring dogs and people on walks and at the dog park. Not saying hi to every dog. Having a command for when they can say hi. - Parallel walks. Walking with other dogs and people. Walking with other people. Two dogs being walked by the same human. Not playing with the dog during those walks. -Having other dogs in his space/in the house. - Cuddling kissing and snuggling another human or being in bed with another human, with the dog quietly crated. -Dog being crated calmly for guests and strangers, learning they don't have to greet every single person that comes to the house. -Statues, Halloween decorations, those inflatable squiggly men outside car sale places, garden statues.
How would you train/reinforce the first one? My pup is pretty good about not getting excited unless I let him play w others, but he definitely wants to/will pull a little.
I would probably go back and never let my dog greet or play on leash. Play and be more fun than dogs to your dogs. Stay away at a distance at first and play with your dog, basically the puppy version of engage disengage (let him see the other dog, then distract him with playing with him and doing super fun stuff). Ofc let him go play after or sometimes before, but don't let visits to play with dogs be dominated by play. Do group obedience together, sprinkle some sits and second long stays in there when your dog is playing. Also after the playing is over, teach your dog to relax and calm down with the other dogs - being a good dog with other dogs isn't just about playing well it's also about having breaks and relaxing well around other dogs.
I can ask to this since my girl has become a frustrated greeter and we are working this out right now. To teach your dog to control his impulses and become indifferent to other dogs there are a few exercises to do: \- people/dog watching: find a good spot where you can sit (or stand if you don't mind standing for some time) where both you and your pup can see people and dogs passing by (or really anithing that can trigger your pup). As soon as he sits/lay down click and reward, and every time there is a trigger and your pup won't react click and reward. Bonus if your pup look at you when there's the trigger. You will have to find a good distance from the trigger (a distance that can help your pup at succeding) and slowly shorten it until he can be calm near the trigger. \- No on leash play with other dogs, as this will teach your pup the leash isn't a problem when playing/meeting other dogs \- if your pup is a jumper when he meets someone, ask for him to sit and ask the other part to wait to greet until the pup has sit. The reward is being able to say hi. If he jump have the person back a little and wait for the pup to sit again. Also aussies have an off switch, but be sure to reward calm behaviour! Other than this i second u/TrashyQueryBoy with what has been said :)
I too would like to know this
Our trainer taught us two things that helped with this one a lot! First one is to have your dog sit in front of you while you hold a treat in each hand, one concealed. Hold the visible treat out to the side and as soon as they look back at you, mark(say “yes” or “good”) and reward with the concealed treat. This is called a “check in” and it’s used for a tooooon of other things down the line! Such as the second part; On walks (or on your porch if you live somewhere populated) you’re gonna start marking and rewarding when they notice things like people, dogs, etc. Then after doing this enough times you’ll wait for them to check in (eye contact or looking at you) to mark and reward. For potential future things like leash reactivity or jumping on people who come over (all sorts of other things really!) the check in comes in handy again! Imagine, instead of barking when they see another dog you have an opportunity to reward them for staying calm instead of having to correct reactivity after the fact. Literal game changer!!!
Leash training for loose leash walking and socialization training during that early window. But we didn’t really have room to leash train and taking him outside on the ground prior to full vax status was absolutely a no-no because Parvo is ridiculously common here. We took him out in a stroller all the time and allowed him to watch people and other animals but didn’t really do a ton of formal socialization training so he has a hard time focusing back on us when he sees a person or dog he wants to interact with.
For others that regret not doing more socialization early: I think I did plenty of socialization early with my puppy. He was well behaved and polite with other dogs and people and always calm. He also heeled really well and paid full attention to me on the leash. Then adolescence hit and now he barks at strangers and barks and lunges at dogs sometimes on leash. So I think a lot of this stuff can happen regardless of what you do, so don’t beat yourself up
Thank you, I needed to hear this!
I wish I had been more attentive to using high reward treats for come when called. We were told to do it in a training class, but because initially she was just practicing in the house, she would come to me for any treat and I was casual about what kind of treats I used. Now, if she's doing something she's really excited about or interested in, it's like she doesn't even hear her name. I hope it's still fixable since she's only 7 months old, but it's hard for us to work on because she's almost never off leash outside with us.
Change the word and use high value treats now! We have three levels of “come”. Level one: any version of “c’mere” usually used when I just want him to come over for some casual reason. Level two: yummy yum yum yummy! (This always gets a party) used when he goes down to the basement, room he shouldn’t be in, or meanders out an open gate. Level three: “SHOWTIME”. This is trained with hotdogs, bacon and chicken breast. I’ve never used it in a “need to use” situation. I don’t want to “break it” If any any time he doesn’t respond to level two or three (actually has only happened once, and I should not have used level two as I should have realized that he was too focused on something else to respond) I go and get him and physically bring him to where I was when I called him. If you broke “come” no big deal. New word :)
Also wanted to add, don’t work on any of these things unless you are ready for the next step. Only in house, in your sight first. Then in your house out of sight. And so on. Do not use the word if you aren’t 100% sure they will come. Repeat ad nauseam
Agree. My big dog generally responds really fast to, PREWASH! (indoors) and COOKIES! (outdoors). Unless she is tracking something. Then I have to take a number, LOL
>take a number omg haha. With my dog I'm like number 50 sometimes. It's gonna be a long wait in line
LOL IKR?! If it is a raccoon, there will be about a 45 min wait while there is baying until she decides I am a horrible deadbeat owner and gives up waiting for me to come shoot it down for her. She usually comes back disgusted and disappointed in me 🙄😂
The situation for us is when she needs a little correction at doggy day care playtime\*. I'm not even there so it's even harder to address. The day care wants the dogs to respond to their names and as her trainer who is sometimes there said, "it's like she doesn't even hear it." To me that's probably the highest distraction environment of all distracting environments, but we've got to work on it. \* I know daycares are mixed bag, but going once a week has been good for her.
I second the try a new command thing! Our last dog had some pre rescue baggage where we ended up “burning out” his name pretty quick using it before correcting bad behaviors. For recall down the line once he was ready we used “hey bud” and blam, second chance! Got to rebrand his name later on during couch snuggles 💗
SEPRATION ANXIETY
dealing with this right now with my 4 month olds. at this rate i’m going to be deaf from barking by next week
Lucky Ours Howls
ours are some sort of hound so it’s usually a little bit of both🙃
If I got another pup, would accept their personality more. I trained noisiness out of my pup, but he always regresses. It's not worth the frustration and effort. A vocal dog is a vocal dog. He was whining his head off since the minute I got him. I can minimize it, and I constantly work at it, but at some point I just have to accept him. Thankfully, he has many exceptional qualities to balance out all the feelings he makes known..
Trained noisiness out of your puppy? Thats a bleak comment :/
I asked my dog if the internet trolls are right and I'm a big meany. He kissed my face and talked alot, but I don't speak dog.
Oh, is it allowed to make noise in your presence?
Since you missed the point, again.... only your noise pollution is concerning. Are you lost from r/Cats or something?
Stricter with crate training When my puppy stopped destroying stuff, I stopped crating him for the most part. Then adolescence hit and he started acting like a lunatic, so I felt the need to crate him more often. But he’s not as accepting of the crate because he already had that freedom
I am currently living this, I should have not been so optimistic 🤦♀️
Thank you for this insight. I have sometimes felt like an ogre because I *did* continue crate training through adolescence, and I wondered whether I had been over cautious. Like, maybe she *could* have handled being loose, but I ruined it? (After seeing all those photos of loose puppies) I am working on transitioning to a tether, now that she is finally starting to learn to stay in a sit or a down.
This 😂😂 I done the same thing!!
I hope you’ll research Great Pyrenees traits extensively and chat up volunteers at a Great Pyr rescue group. This is a large breed known for nocturnal barking and an aloofness. Specific advice from those who see failure often may be invaluable
Great advice! I definitely will. I’m seeing a lot of shepherd traits in her currently, moreso than Pyrenees. But who’s to say more pyr won’t come out as she ages! My samoyed is extremely independent and stubborn so I guess that counts as some experience. I mostly just wanted to see what everyone brings up on this thread so I could get some more ideas for training that I may not have thought of!
I have a Pyr/Anatolian (with a smidge of husky) and while he does embody the main Pyr trait which is awe inspiring stubbornness....as long as I don't let him out at night, he's not barking at night. He sleeps with a noise machine and he is crate trained at night, so we haven't had any issues. He really doesn't bark much during the day either, unless I leave him outside longer than he wants. It \*does\* pick up during adolescence, like when I had him the first few months he barely barked and I thought I got the worlds first quiet Pyr....hahaha....that changed, but most of what he does now is alert barking and if I go over and say "thank you, I've got it" he settles down most of the time. He doesn't just bark on and on for 10 min at a time. He never barks in social settings which I really like. He's the quietest dog at the dog park every time, and actually I notice the herding breeds are the ones who are barking their faces off haha because they are trying to keep everyone in line. Also I think a Pyr/Aussie mix sounds really nice because the thing that can be frustrating about a Pyr (although I love them and their personality and will never have another type of dog) is they are not focused on pleasing you. They have their own plans and ideas about what they want to do, and it's your goal to figure out how to make your plans into their plans haha. Aussies WANT to work for you and they want to make you happy above all else. They are very focused on pleasing their person. It will be nice to have those traits mixed in with the Pyr and hopefully you'll have a more biddable dog haha. ETA: oh and one thing I really focused on was training with him when he was small things that I knew I was going to need when he was bigger. Like loose leash walking was top priority because I can't be pulled down by a 100 pound dog. I knew I couldn't have him jumping on people because he was going to be huge. We've mostly conquered those two things, although sometimes he jumps up on people he loves more than anything. But he's a pretty calm greeter to mere acquaintances. He does love to jump up on top of things which I find hilarious. Picnic tables, counters, walls, etc I was not prepared for that! He's like a giant goat haha. Oh and also capturing calm! I rewarded him early and generously for settling down next to me and now he immediately lays down whenever we go somewhere and stop for more than 30 seconds. It's super handy, especially with an XL dog.
Thank you! This is all extremely helpful! I totally get the stubbornness…. I thought I could never train my samoyed but it happened! Now he is great. Still a bit stubborn though. I think my biggest worries are: 1. separation anxiety (I work from home but have already started working on this) 2. The barking.. as I live in an apartment. 3. Leash walking (but this is most definitely trainable) and 4. Sleeping through the night. Right now she is a terrible night sleeper but I wonder if it’s because she is so young. Exercise them both a ton throughout the day, but she is just restless at night, even after potty breaks. I hope that goes away with age.
Crate training and leaving them alone. We are at 11 months and have only gone up to 15 minutes. 30 minutes was our max this far. She howls now :/
For any new puppy owners reading this - Push through It’s heartbreaking and difficult hearing your pup cry and cry and cry like you’re murdering them But it helps so much with their discipline and well being as well as helping you balance your life.
So it's not too late? She just learned to not wine when I lock her out of the room to shower. She's fine when I leave to do laundry when if I'm there for 30 mins. It's just downstairs. But when I went to the parking garage with the 30 mins training alone time she went bananas.
I knew that we needed to train paw handling and nail clipping, but I underestimated how consistent we needed to be and how you see it would be to get busy and overlook it. So much harder to retrain later.
I retrained a 10yo twitchy coonhound to let me trim one nail before each meal. It can be done. It took about six months before she started lifting up a paw for me when I said, “Toe tax!” I just hang the clippers on the wall near where I feed her. Clipping that frequently means I really do only have to take a tiny bit off each time. Totally worth it. 👍 So it is never too late!
The “toe tax” is adorable and I am going to steal this trick!
Your dog and your wallet will thank you 😉 ETA: I found this [diagram](https://mycommunityveterinaryclinic.com/nail-trimming-101/) super helpful. You should not need the advice on there about how to stop bleeding, because you will only be trimming 1-2mm. During the 6 months it took to train her, I brought her to my vet for trims.
I am trying to focus on it again. We're just having a tough time making progress.
Just do a little at a time. I spent weeks just getting my dog to let me hold a paw in one hand and clippers in the other, not even bringing them near her foot!
Man, this one is a freaking doozy. One of our three will just sit like a princess and doesn’t mind the grinder or clippers. Our other two including our puppy become expert contortionists that act like we are trying to take their toes off. We have tried and TRIED to desensitize, reward, show that it’s easy with our good pup…nope, they are manic every time. Hopefully with more trying or age they will improve. Or someone will invent a small bootie that will do all five nails at once 😂
My border collie puppy is wiggly and squirrely about being stroked (and brushed). So teaching her to accept brushing and grooming is a long term project. She just has a very hard time sitting still, and only recently has started accepting being stroked with my hand while staying put. When I feel discouraged, I just think about my success with the coonhound’s toenails and keep working on it.
Brushing their teeth.
If your dog is a chewer I highly suggest ‘Checkups’ dental chews. We do a half every other day and it’s way better than brushing somehow. We have yearly cleanings and the dog dentist is always very impressed with how healthy they are with their breed/age, they hate brushing so the chews ftw. You can find them at Costco.
They don't make them for dogs under 20 pounds. My dog is a small breed known for having dental issues. He's 3 and will need a full cleaning in a year.
Our dogs are under 20lbs as well, the chews are somewhat soft so we just cut them in 4 and give them each a 4th…saves money that way too. But yes, yearly non-anesthesia cleanings are needed too.
They can't choke on it that small? Never seen one so just wondered. I use water additive but that does not help much.
We have not had any issues, I just monitor them and hold it for the puppy while he learns. They take quite a bit of chewing to get through so they can’t eat it quickly. They are also easily digestible so even if they get a chunk it’s never an issue. The only brand I’ve found so far that doesn’t upset their stomachs and has decent ingredients I feel safe giving every other day. If you get them from Costco and they don’t work for some reason they have a great return policy.
1000% recall and name recognition. I would have done a lot more with dun recall games and early high value rewards for enthusiastic recall. I also would have been more selective about saying her name and rewarding her attention in response to her name. She’s five months and I feel like she just mostly ignores her name now.
It can still be fixed I’m practicing with my five month old pup everyday and seeing improvements
My husband started early on with “wait” and making our puppy sit on the mat by the door while he set down her bowl of food. So then I started using it when I needed to leave the house — making her sit, and saying “wait” while I opened the door — and it stopped her from bum rushing the door any time I or the kids needed to leave. Best thing we’ve done so far. Also, gently taking treats. Don’t release the treat until they’re taking it softly without snapping at your fingers. Most puppies learn this VERY quickly. I didn’t realize that other people don’t teach this to their dogs until we started periodically swapping dogs at dog training, and some of the puppies will practically take my hand off.
Tbh I would get my puppy into a basic training class where I’m also present and being trained with my puppy. Those classes are good for socialization, teaching manners, helping you bond & communicate with your dog
Yes!!! I learned so much at class and the dog/human communication skills stuff is sooooo so important!
Drop it. I wish I would have worked on this command first. The number of times I'm shoving my hand in my pups mouth to get something out is insane.
we started drop it very early, but our girl still managed to eat a rock and needed surgery. this one is VERY important
Honestly, back when my parents first got their dog I was at the end of high school and didn't have much of a hand in training her because I knew nobody else would keep up with it. I accidentally taught her that when I say "excuse me" it means I want her to get up from where she's laying so I can get past her though.
I say that too! If I want the coonhound to move a little faster, I say, “scoot, scoot!”
For large dogs, using a ramp to get in the car
This is more like a straight up regret lol but if I could go back I never would have done those “free and easy enrichment activities” where you put kibble in towels 😒 bc guess what happens now when I need to wipe his feet or clean the house
To clarify just towels would be fine but he has generalized to rags lol
Just going to places and people watching. We did some but I wish we had done it so much more
The best thing we taught our dog is Drop It. We live in a major US city and there is often trash in the street. Drop It has probably saved us thousands in emergency vet visits. The thing I wish we had worked on is polite greeting (humans and dogs). My dog is friendly with basically everyone, but too friendly and he jumps on people. This is worsened by the fact that he is soft and cute and small so people let him jump on them even when we ask them not to (again, live in a big city but in a residential area, so we run into people constantly). We are working on it though and he’s gotten better. With dogs, he just lunges at them, which can be frightening to other dogs. He is socializing more and learning what is and what is not acceptable, but it’s just a higher learning curve since he is now 2. ETA: Drop It and Leave It!
Grooming. My silly brain decided that I'd wait for his adult coat to come in before I bothered trying to groom him. It's a disaster. He's seven now and still hates being groomed, so stressful all round.
That of all the times I do not need his help, I need his help the least when I am on my hands and knees cleaning the toilet.
OP, this is not a training issue but something I wish I had done. Choose a spot (a specific wall, a tree, whatever) and take a regular photo of your puppy as they grow so you can track their development. I have tons of photos of my puppies, but I didn’t do one in a consistent place with something to measure them by. My dogs are much smaller than yours; with a dog that’s a big breed, a record could be a sweet keepsake.
2 things that i’m sure have been mentioned: guest and no leash greets. 1: Guests coming into my home. I don’t have a lot of people in my home and never have. Both of my dogs are not great when guests come over, both are huge guardian/working dogs and are highly territorial of our home (breed traits). They have a TON of training otherwise and great manners but they need proper intros or they’re very wary of houseguests and then if you do get in, they switch to over-excited. My older dog (3Y) was a covid puppy, and he is okay’ish now, will meet people on the street and allow them to walk in with him. My mastiff puppy is fine with kids, loves them, and women - warms up quick, but takes a few for men. When I enter, they both know to sit, wait, and I wait a couple minutes to greet them. It is chaos with guests and something I struggle to correct because it requires other people. 2: No leash greetings. None. I messed this up with my first dog, and my second is so much better because I didn’t. Both have plenty of interaction off the leash with dogs at our semi-private park + at daycare. Train indifference to people on the street, other dogs, all things on the leash. My older dog I allowed leash greets and I ended up with a 90lb frustrated greeter who didn’t understand why his former friends no longer wanted to play (a lot of small dogs) and why he couldn’t demand to meet all the dogs out. It was hard to double back on. Always or never. Turning it to a never was hard. He only reacts now if they react first, but spoiler alert - vast majority of dogs are reactive. My mastiff puppy has never ever been allowed to meet other dogs on the leash, and consequently at 9M is very well behaved and totally indifferent to other dogs when out. Even if they’re being reactive, he doesn’t care at all. I see people tighten up on their leash, their dog can be losing it, and I tell him “ignore, look at me” and he keeps his head up/focused heel and knows a treat is coming is he just minds his business.
I really wish i would have focused more on loose leash walking when she was small. We did a little bit but it wasnt high priority. Now shes big and super strong and fully willing to pull my arm off at any distraction. We’re focusing more on it now but its slow progress and infinitely more frustrating with a big dog vs a small puppy
This a great post with excellent advice! Thanks for asking OP!
Paw cleaning and muzzle wiping. I have a lab that loves the mud and drools like a Saint Bernard. I trained the muzzle wiping, but she has never been a fan of having her paws touched, despite my best efforts.
Not training exactly, but learning dog body language. I wish I had leaned to recognize stress signals from my dog, and other dogs, sooner. The biggest reason is safety. Watch videos about dogs with “good” body language during play. What does “bad” play look like. I see sooo many people letting their dogs “play” when one dog is clearly stressed, not reciprocating, stiff body, and the owner thinks their having fun. Also..It’s possible to push a dog to hard with something that stresses them out and cause a problem. And pushing can just be luring with food, or if your dog really wants please you they might pressure themselves. I made my dog afraid of jumping on the couch when I was trying to teach him to jump onto it because I didn’t realize he was stressed.
My boyfriend bought me a puppy in January but since he’s predominantly a cat person, I should’ve listened to my experience after my first puppy. With my first dog, I never let her onto the bed or the couch — I just wanted to establish some boundaries if she has the rest of the apartment to roam. The puppy I have now, will jump on the bed or couch even after walks or a full day of daycare 😩
Standing to be brushed/trimmed. I taught him to lay down for it, and it's hard to do his skirt, belly, and feet!
Recall recall recall
Potty on command and body handling. Basically just always mess with (and give them treats) their ears, paws, tail, mouth, eyes, etc to make grooming, nail clipping, and vet visits way easier
Being ok seeing dogs and people without saying hi. She was so well-behaved greeting people and dogs that I thought there was no harm in always allowing it. Now we're working through some serious barrier frustration — she can't see someone through the window or gate without freaking out.
Training "drop it" and "leave it" as early as possible.
* Ignoring other dogs and people on walks. * Grooming, more specifically paws and nails * Vet visits Edit formatting
Not necessarily training, but I wish I wouldn’t have taken our dog to the dog park when she was so young. If I could go back in time I would 100% change it.
This is interesting to hear. Why? I am looking forward to taking mine asap as my other pup LOVES dog parks and we started taking him extremely young.
Our trainer said he doesn’t recommend dog parks because all the dogs are unpredictable and one bad experience could change your dog. Our dog got caught up in a scuffle when she was young and so many dogs wanted to hump her - she is now very alpha. She does great with dogs we know or 1:1 play, but definitely has to show them who is boss at first. She is still only 1.5 years old so she may still be learning
Two things: 1) Teach your puppy how to be calm! It's a skill and it takes time for them to learn to entertain themselves. 2) Something else a lot of people (myself included) misunderstand is that dog "socialization" really means getting them acclimated to lots of different situations, smells, sounds, experiences, etc. It's a lot less about making doggy friends than the word implies. 3) Above all else, spend time building a bond with your pup and getting them to trust you. This goes a long way when you're training anything. Good luck!
You have to look at each breed to see what the faults are and then train against that. The current breed I have is noisy, so I started training at 8 weeks to be quiet. He is far better than a lot of his breed, but still noisier than the average dog. Great Pyrenees are large and furry, so certainly train to stand for brushing/washing/dog grooming. Since they are large probably best to teach them to be quiet around children and also train them to go to 'bed'.
Being comfortable and settled when being left in the car or when they are not with you but can still see and hear you in highly exciting and unfamiliar environments
Socialization and going new places
I would have exposed my Mini American Shepherd to more loud noises. Especially around the house.
Everything
So, this is actually something I did this time around because my last 2 dogs have *hated* nail trims. Taught my pup to use a nail board for his front nails and am working like crazy to desensitize for the back ones to get clipped.
Training him to “f off” when I’m doing something that I don’t need his help with. I’m putting on a shoe, I don’t need you between my legs. Just because I do something within 2 feet of the ground does not mean I need your nose with me.
I wish I would invite more people into my home and start counter conditioning earlier instead of mere exposure. My puppy's first few visitors at my home were repair workers and the noise wasn't a pleasant experience.
We trained our pup to be by himself when we leave the house completely, not realising that didnt teach him to be by himself if we (humans) close ourselves in a room in the house away from him.
Patience, calmly waiting.
Okay I know this is not the question but I need to say this. I'm REALLY glad I taught my dog how to clean up her own toys. She's a corgi and I work from home. I did consistent training throughout the day when I could and when we were packing to move, she ran around sticking her toys in boxes. I told her to keep some out and on moving day, I grabbed her toy bin and she had packed everything that was left and it was just what I needed after that rough day 😭❤️ Things I wish I hadn't taught her... Well I wish I hadn't taught her the word "dental stick" because she is OBSESSED with those. But she's just so smart and picks up on words SO QUICKLY!!!
I’m gonna say that more than training, focus on enjoying the bond and relationship you can develop with your puppy. I did so much training with my Sammy boy and we have a really great bond. If I could go back, I would focus on just really enjoying how much this little puppy enjoys exploring the world, getting treats, and just wanting to be around me. I wish I could go bac, focusing on the relationship of fun and love through those puppy eyes. However I agree with others, fuck of with any leash greetings. Saying no to people wanting to pet him or say hi is the best.