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
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- 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”
Order is good for all! Horrible storm coming your way…I lost all my plants that were growing wonderfully. Sigh.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
You are absolutely right in your training methods for Blue. And being a ‘working dog’ like Borders, they need and appreciate the training so much. They like to know what their job and boundaries are. The only difference I had with my two was having some different words for the same command. For instance with Shelly I say “Come” and with Sam I say “Here”, that way they know which I am talking to with just one word. Being Mother dog can be hard work but is so rewarding! Being a pet sitter I deal with lots of animals that have no training and they can be a complete pain to deal with. If it is a long time client I start to enforce my own training (like walking on a lead/leash) as I will not be pulled all over the place!
With two good dogs of your own i can just imagine how frustrating it is takiing naughty dogs for walks! I always start a command or an affirmation with the dogs name, so they know I am talking to them .. but what a good idea to change the command word. i say sit to ton and everything on the place sits, including the kids!! c
I love it. So happy to see your newest addition. He seems like a sweet, smart boy.
You’re SO patient! Good morning!
This is precisely how I trained Molly. She’s a very clever dog, quick to learn, but she needs a lot of exercise or her attention span reduces to milliseconds. Blue will have lots to do and lots to occupy his mind on the farmy, but for a city dog this isn’t always easy, and they often find themselves in trouble because they’re bored or through lack of exercise. Molly has one habit that I’ve never been able to correct: she grabs the post as it comes through the mail slot. I know that she sees this as an intrusion, that envelope flying past her face, but when left alone at home (and if the post comes while I’m gone) she can’t help herself. Bye-bye post! Any suggestions?
You can buy these boxes that attach to the back of the mail box on the inside of the door to catch the mail before it hits the floor. At least I think you can get them over here. I used to have one in England as I had a dog that did the same thing.
Perhaps you could have a friend (not you as she will recognise your footsteps) post mail containing bad tasting but harmless substance, when Molly opens the mail it becomes a very unpleasant experience.
Lyn, the basket would bash into the wall behind the door whenever we opened it. Tried that; had to replaster the wall. 🙂
Hmm, well we will have to put our thinking caps on Misky, There must be a way.. let me think about it, what kind of dog is Molly? c
English Springer Spaniel, 10-years old, although I’m a firm believer that it’s possible to teach an old dog new tricks. Even at her age, she’s still lively and full of beans. 🙂
Good Luck Puppy Training:)
Celi, you could train dragons!!! V.
The consistency is so important! Good tips, indeed.
Sounds like a smart pup.
Good tips for training dogs or children…print those up and hand them on cards to new parents? (Giggles)
Excellent post! When we adopted a Rottweiler puppy from the shelter, we had one firm rule. What wouldn’t be cute at 80lbs was not going to be acceptable at 8lbs. Start as you mean to go on. They’ll catch on very quickly.
It really works – we pretty much did the same and ours respond too to hand signals, it’s really useful from a distance!
Enjoy and good luck!
You are so wise!!! What a sweet puppy that one is!!!
Very helpful, Celi: I hope you write more. My husband has been threatening me with a dog since we have been married (sorry; I’m a cat person) and I fear I cannot hold out for much longer. My prime concern is that he comes from a family of badly-trained dogs, so I think I must take charge if indeed a dog enters our lives.
You are very right, all it takes is 15 minutes training a day. Most of all sit together and decide how you are going to train your dog together so you both do the same things with the same commands. I think you will do a grand job.. c
Some of the specifics of the technique might be slightly different in practice, but what you say is a kind way to teach humans, too! Would that more parents and teachers and caregivers had the wisdom and patience to do this for the children around them. Not to mention to find ways to live it out themselves. I know I’m still working on it; I appreciate that you pass along the gift not only to your grand little Blue boy but to all of us too. xo!