With the addition of Blue on the verandah and the peacocks in the Gods, the morning and evening chores have taken a reshuffle. I know that is not a particularly exciting development. But the settling and early discipline of the pup is crucial. It is important for me not to let the training of the pup get muddled.
Like a child the first thing he needs to learn his boundaries, where he is safe and can sleep safely, to come when he is called, that I am the boss and what his name is. And like with a child it is important not to ignore bad behaviour. Misky asked me how I discipline such a tiny dog. Well, I pretend to be the mother dog.
Mother dogs will play with their pups for a short while, then when they get out of control they put their foot on their heads, if that does not work they will woof sharply at them and the pups will scatter immediately.
Straight after this the mother dog will proceed to lick and cuddle the babies settling them all back down.
For example yesterday Ton and I took Blue to meet the old codger, (this will not be a frequent occurrence as the old Codger is TonTon’s friend.) In the car I placed the pup in the well of the passenger seat. Then began to drive slowly – waiting. Of course he popped up and tried to climb into my lap. I placed him back in his place and said Good boy, Stay, showing him my Stay hand signal. He immediately struggled to get back up. No, I said, much louder. Pushed him back down. Stay, I said. He got back out again. No. I said louder and sharper, clapped my hands for a fright, then pushed him firmly and abruptly back to the floor of the car. Gave him the stay hand signal. Stay, I said. He sat there and stared at me then lay down. Good boy, I said and patted him on the head. I continued to tell him he was good as long as he lay there and off we drove.
We got out and in at Nannys, out and in at The Matriarchs, out and in at the vets. And every time I put him in the exact same place, using the exact same tone and word and signal and by the third time he went straight to his space and lay straight down and stayed there. Pat – pat. Good dog
.
- There are three important steps to training a pup.
- You decide beforehand what you want him to learn and how to teach him a step at a time.
- You decide beforehand what commands to use and the repercussions and use the same tone, words and hand signal every time.
- Put the pups head on the ground and firmly scruff him and growl if he gets it wrong, then pat, pat, good dog the second he gets it right. The very second he gets it right.
Good morning. I hope that is useful. Have a lovely day. Today things will have settled into a pattern I hope. Pups and grown ups need some order in their lives!
love celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
55 responses to “How to discipline a very young pup”
Great post and advice.
Everyone needs some order in their lives…wish I’d learned that one sooner 😉
He’s adorable, C. Has Ton made peace with him yet?
not quite, he went to the junk yard with me today without the pup and his relief was comical! c
Ha ha – I’d do much the same thing, it seems logical to me, though I think people think I’m weird when I growl at a dog or hiss at a cat 🙂
I have been known to woof loudly at full grown dogs too, it sets them back! c
Good morning Celi great advice just like the mother dog . he should be a great dog .
This pup will grow up to be an amazing dog! Nothing like some love and good training to reach that, and of course, you are a pro! 😉
Consistency, love and determination = a well behaved dog. A well behaved dog = a joy forever.
Lovely post… dogs are just like kids.. reward them for what is right and admonish them for what is wrong.. they learn very quickly… all they really want to do is please…
Blue is going to be such a good boy.
🙂 Mandy
Hi Celi! Dolly our Blue Healer, as you know, is a sweetie, very smart, and almost always obeys. The problem is that she gets so excited to see/be with us (even after being with us in the yard for some time!) that she still jumps up on us. We make her sit, and she will, then, as we move on to the other animals, or other things it seems she just can’t contain herself and desperately wanting our attention jumps up again. Any advice for teaching her not to do this??? xo
Any long standing habit is hard to break. All I would suggest is that you get ahead of it and call her to Dit, then down before she gets a chance to jump. Then practice down and stay every day for the 10 minutes of so. Shout a loud NO if she looks like jumping, then down, then good girl. every time. Only ever pet her and tell her she is good when she is sat or down. Make the hand signal for down, every time you see her and go down to pet here there. It will take some time. And you will have to do it over and over again every day so she does not get a chance to jump at all. Let me know how it works out. c
Thanks a bunch Celi! What hand signal for down do you use? I will begin today. She is great with Sit and Down, so I will just have to be very aware and consistent as soon as I walk out of the door, as that is usually when she does it, overjoyed to see either of us any time of the day or night, and wanting undivided attention.
Darling, darling, Blue. Still cannot get over how adorable that pup is. Sounds like you are doing just fine training him. You continue to amaze me with your insights, your connections to these animals.
The colors in that first image are fabulous–the blue shade of the sky contrasted with the vibrant green of the grass and the red of the chicken combs. Just, FYI, snow here on the ground in Minnesota this a.m. and more expected, much more. Can I come visit? I need Spring.
You just rock on over any time Audrey, You can help me hang the washing on the line, i know it is your favourite thing! I love that first shot too, that blue shade is deep dark rain clouds.. with the sun hitting the chickens, my favourite combo. c
I’m glad that unlike a real mother dog you have [thus far] refrained from licking the puppy. When you mentioned it in your post I was immediately concerned that you might get a bit too deep into your role as Mother Dog– and overdo things. But clearly my concern was for naught. You seem to have puppy training well in hand.
He tasted all furry anyway!!! morning ally..c
Excellent advice! And the extra work in the beginning is SO worth it.
good morning erin, lovely to see you.. am reading your questions pig right this minute.. c
I’m entirely in agreement with your puppy training methods. But it does all take a lot of time. Fortunately, the last time I had a pup to train, I was unemployed for six months. That dog was the most perfectly trained dog I have ever known! Later, when I had a job and used to take him, it was the custom for me to take him for a walk at lunchtime to fetch the sandwiches for the 9 young men I worked with. Once, I told him STAY outside the bakery, and started thinking of something else. I walked back to the office forgetting to release him to walk to heel down the busy road. The boys said “Where’s Tim?” In fear and horror, I ran back to the shop and there he was, still sitting outside but drooping a little.. As you can imagine I made a terrific fuss of him, feeling horribly guilty.
What a lovely story. 🙂
Oh i remember that story, it still makes me laugh!! c
Awww, what agorgeous little gentleman! He looks an amazing little soul. I am drooling here, and dreaming about new pups…
Very well done Celi! Those are pretty much the same ways I trained my extremely headstrong and Alpha-male Malamutes. Gosh I miss having a dog. Ah well, some day when I grow up and settle down. I hope you’re having a lovely day. 🙂