What extent of training is needed for the average puppy?
My family is thinking of getting an Australian Shepherd puppy. Is professional obedience training a must?
I want to do a 2-3 mile run with Fido every day. Does that need professional training? I mean to not like chase after animals and stop to sniff at everything.
And what about the fence issue? We can’t get a fence. Does it need professional training to not run away?
Being socialized? Fido needs to be friendly to the neighbor kids and other dogs. Can we do this ourselves? Also, to the two cats in the house?
Crate training? I’ve heard a lot about this but don’t know if it takes a professional.
What training do you recommend, and what training can me and my family do? How much do you think the recommended training will cost?
no answers yet? come on, guys!
OK, Crate training. I done this myself. All you need to do is when you’re playing with your puppy, with “fetch” throw the toy into the crate. He will associate the crate with playtime. he will form a positive association with it. Whenever he looks at the crate, PRAISE HIM. If he wants to sleep, stop him from sleeping anywhere. Just call him whenever he tries to lie down. He’ll soon figure out that the crate is the place to be if you want to be left alone! It should take a day or so. Also, try feeding him in the crate. Whatever you can do to make him love his crate will help.
I think running with your dog will be great training in itself. If you’re running at a good speed, he won’t have the ability to think about other things. Puppies may be easily distracted, but when they’re exercising he should be quite focused. I recommend taking some treats with you and holding it in your hand with the leash during the first couple of times. He’ll be so focused on the treat and running he won’t think of anything else! Also, have the leash up near his ears at the top of his neck. this will prevent his nose from going to the ground. removes alot of temptation!
Socialising your puppy is so important. You can do this yourself too. You can just take him to the dog park, or invite your friends over with their dogs. If he seems overly excited, just remove him from the room for a little while to calm down. He could get too excited and annoy another dog. Also, remember polite dogs allow other dogs to sniff him. If your dog is shy, make him turn his bum to the other dogs. You can do this just by turning him. But he should be coming to you from a litter, so it should be easy to do as he will be very socialised already. Just keep introducing him to new dogs as much as possible
If you want the puppy to ignore the cats, which is what you should be after for now, give him treats whenever the cats come in. If he looks at the cats, distract him. Whenever he doesn’t look at the cats, give him a treat. He’ll soon learn that the cats are not toys. And if he does forget, trust me, your cats will put him in his place!
Now, not running away. I don’t know about leash laws, but he is a puppy and WILL run away more often than not. If I were you, just to be on the safe side, put him on a leash that is long enough to run around, but not too long to get past the garden.
let him roam and play with supervision. Whenever he goes too near to the end of the garden, use a sound that you prefer to tell him not to go there. Whatever short sharp noise you prefer. When he comes away from the edge of the garden PRAISE him. He’ll soon learn that he gets more attention inside the garden than out.
Besides, running him 3 miles a day will tire him out enough so that he won’t want to run away.
I don’t know if this helps, but if you need any advice you can just message me. Good luck!
PS. never let him sleep in your bed and make sure he earns his food!
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