<p>In my old age, I have acquired a new puppy who is currently 14 weeks old. I have had two dogs previously but I would like this dog to be a beautifully mannered, confident companion with impeccable behavior. I have been advised to send her for a 4 week training program away from home when she is 5 or 6 months old. I would, of course, investigate individual programs thoroughly, but I am wondering if anyone has had personal experience–good or bad–with this sort of thing. It also seems to be called “puppy boot camp.” As always, I am very grateful for any and all comments and advice.</p>
<p>What breed?
I would suggest you start on your own earlier … as in the minute you get the pup no tolerance for bad behavior. </p>
<p>Pup learns stay and wait ASAP … by the gate, the door, the crate, feeding time etc. </p>
<p>Also, be sure the training facility will work with you to train you to work with the dog. That’s almost more important!</p>
<p>We never have but we have friends who did. It was FABULOUS. The pup came back to them as a wonderful family member who is very well behaved. The boot camp they chose had the family come for regular visits the last week or so of the training so the pup could ease back into family life. It was costly but they said it was well worth it.</p>
<p>20 years ago we had a stubborn lab who we had trained at Santa Monica Kennels (the dog kennel to the stars!). I think he was there for 2 weeks. One upside was that if we ever boarded him there in the future they would refresh his training at no or low extra charge. It worked well for him (and us, as we had 3 small kids at the time).</p>
<p>Fast forward 20 years and we have a new lab puppy. We have taken him to dog training school ourselves. It is a lot of work and a real time commitment, but I think we’ve ended up with a better trained dog. Of course our kids are pretty much grown now, so we have the time to do this.</p>
<p>I’m sure that at 14 weeks old you have already been working on good manners with your pup. We have a 200lb. dog that is the sweetest gentlest guy in the world. We started the second day we had him at 8 1/2 weeks creating the doggy good citizen that he is today. Yes, we went to basic training classes but the real bond and fun works starts at home. There are many fun and useful training exercises that you can start on that really work wonders. Here are 2 of my favorites:</p>
<p>Unfortunately the usual obedience classes don’t teach life skills like self-control so we have to do it.</p>
<p>The added benefit of doggy Zen is that the dog won’t try to take candy from babies!</p>
<p>General rules:</p>
<p>Always be calm.
Other than when instructed, keep your (very verbal species) mouth closed We always want to talk to “help” our dogs get it right. Self-control is best learned by the dog learning to make the right decision without interference. That’s what the clicker or marker word does, it “marks” the right behavior.
Always end on a positive.</p>
<p>To avoid excess typing, when “mark” is used, it means click or say your marker word.</p>
<p>Doggy Zen Step 1</p>
<p>Put a treat in your hand and close your fist.
Put your fist right in front of your dog’s nose, I like to be sitting and rest my forearm on my leg.
Let the dog sniff, nibble and mouth at your hand. If the dog is mouthing hard, put a glove on. Fireplace/barbeque gloves or heavy winter ski gloves are thick enough to protect your hand.
Be patient. Dogs who have not ever learned self-control take a while to figure this out.
The instant the dog moves the head away from your fist, mark, open your fist, drop the treat on the floor and cue the dog to “go get it”.
When the dog does not mug your fist three times in a row in a cold trial, move on to the next step. Note: a cold trial is the first “trial” in a session.</p>
<p>If children are wandering around with food in their fists, your dog won’t try to take the food from the child!</p>
<p>Doggy Zen Step 2</p>
<p>Hold a treat in your open palm right in front of the dog’s face.
If the dog tries to grab it, close your fist. Do not pull your hand away from the dog.
When the dog backs off, open your fist.
The instant the dog backs away from your open palm, mark, drop the treat on the floor and cue the dog to “go get it”.
When the dog does not attempt to snatch the treat three times in a row in a cold trial, move on to the next step.</p>
<p>Doggy Zen Step 3</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Put a treat on the ground and cover it with your hand.
The instant the dog stops trying to get the treat out from under your hand, mark, pick up the treat and hand feed it to the dog.
When the dog does not attempt to mug your hand three times in a row in a cold trial, move on to the next step.</p>
<p>Doggy Zen Step 4</p>
<p>Put a treat on the ground with your hand right next to it. If the dog tries to grab it, cover it with your hand. When the dog backs off, uncover the treat.
The instant the dog pulls his head away from the uncovered treat, mark, pick up the treat and hand feed it to the dog.</p>
<p>Doggy Zen Step 5</p>
<p>This is the same as step 4, except wait until the dog looks at your face before you mark and hand feed the treat.
If you feel like you are waiting forever, you can make little noises (do not say the dog’s name), the first one or two times.</p>
<p>Doggy Zen Step 6</p>
<p>Hold a treat in both hands.
As you are feeding the dog with one hand, drop the other treat on the ground.
As this is difficult for everyone except the most coordinated people in the world who use a clicker, unless you have a second person to click, use a marker word.
If the dog grabs the treat off the ground, do not feed the treat in your hand, just do it again.</p>
<p>Doggy Zen Step 7</p>
<p>Drop the treat first, then feed from your hand, then pick up the treat and feed the dropped treat.
Increase the duration of the “stay”, but don’t cue the dog to stay to a count of 5.</p>
<p>Doggy Zen Step 8</p>
<p>This is the same as step 7, except wait for the dog to look at your face before you hand feed the treat, then pick up the other treat.
And it’s time to name it. “Leave it” is the most common name used, “mine”, “not yours” are also common names. It doesn’t matter what you name it as long as it is something you will say consistently, so make it something familiar and easy for yourself.</p>
<p>Doggy Zen Step 9</p>
<p>Put a wad of treats in one hand.
Drop a treat and then back away from the dog, saying “Leave it!” (or whatever you have named it), “Come!” in your happy voice.
If the dog comes with you, feed the wad of treats, then pick up the dropped treat and hand feed that.</p>
<p>Doggy Zen Step 10</p>
<p>Put some low value treats (kibble is often a low value treat) in a bowl on the ground.
Walk the dog past the bowl, staying out of leash range of the bowl. If the dog tries to get to the bowl, be a tree (stand still, no talking).
The instant the dog looks at you, mark and treat with a high value treat (steak, chicken, cheese, hot dogs, etc).</p>
<h2>Repeat, repeat, repeat until the instant the dog sees the bowl, the dog looks at you.</h2>
<p>Be A Tree</p>
<p>Dogs are excellent at reading body language which is one reason that I prefer to be a tree because once a dog gets the concept, being a tree can be used for a myriad of problems: jumping, elbow nudging (especially when you’re holding a cup of hot coffee!), pawing, begging at the table or any other pesty behavior.</p>
<p>To be a tree:</p>
<ol>
<li>Cross your arms in front of your chest</li>
<li>Turn at least ¼ turn away from the dog</li>
<li>Look away and slightly upwards</li>
<li>Keep your mouth shut. We are a very verbal species but trees don’t talk.</li>
</ol>
<p>For example, if a dog is jumping up, be a tree. Ignoring the dog is the worst thing you can do, no one ever wants to be ignored!</p>
<p>If you push the dog away your arm motion is like the front legs of a dog when the dog is playing and ‘boxing’ and the dog might think you are playing and that will only positively reinforce the jumping.</p>
<p>If you talk to the dog, the dog who is jumping to get attention is getting attention and so talking, even yelling NO!!! is what the dog wants and the jumping will be positively reinforced.</p>
<p>Even more important is to remember that if the dog comes up to you and doesn’t jump, make sure the dog knows what you want and give the dog lots of attention! It’s always easier for a dog to learn to do something (come up to people without jumping) than it is for a dog to learn to not do something (don’t jump).</p>
<p>We often forget to make sure that we positively reinforce the behavior we want because we don’t think about it when the dog does it right.</p>
<p>If you are sitting at a table or in a chair and the dog paws or begs for food, instead of turning, twist your upper body away from the dog.</p>
<p>BE PATIENT!</p>
<p>This will probably not work the first time. Stay in tree position until the dog gives up and goes away. If you give in to the dog, even once, you are a slot machine and instead of stopping the behavior, you are making it stronger…oops!
People sit at slot machines all day (the dog keeps jumping) because sometimes money comes out (sometimes the dog gets the attention he wants, even bad attention like NO!), even though money rarely comes out (even though your dog rarely gets any attention).</p>
<p>If money never came out of slot machines, no one would put money in. So, if your dog never gets any attention, your dog will stop jumping.</p>
<p>Once your dog understands the body language of ‘be a tree’ for one thing, it’s easy to start being a tree for all the pawing, nudging, etc. that your dog might do. It will take a few times to sink in, but the dog will learn faster each time.</p>
<p>Sometimes dogs are so reinforced for jumping that being a tree doesn’t work very well, although you can still use it for pawing, etc.</p>
<p>If your dog’s jumping is not starting to decrease in frequency and you don’t see your dog hesitating before jumping and sometimes not jumping after a while (be patient, it will take some time!), then you try using your hands.</p>
<p>Its best if you can move before the dog launches herself, but if not, do it as fast as you can.</p>
<p>Keep your hands low because raised hands seem to be a target for dogs, turn your palms downward and slightly outward so they are directed at your dog and extend your arms towards your dog.</p>
<p>Do not push your dog or it won’t work. If your dog jumps against your hands, try not to push – it’s hard because pushing back is a reflex - and try not to let the dog push you – keep your hands/arms as steady as you can, preventing the dog from getting closer to you, even if you have to back up, the dog should be at arm’s length or more. Keep your hands in position and look up and slightly away from your dog and do not talk.</p>
<p>Repeat, repeat, repeat. And always remember to give your dog lots of attention if your dog comes up to you and doesn’t jump.</p>
<p>Have you done something fun with
your dog today?</p>
<p>Differing philosophies or dog training tend to be something people get very passionate about and I will not enter into an argument about this. We are very strong believers in positive reinforcement training. I have seen incredible results with these 2 methods. The trick is to really stick with it. Why don’t you see how it goes before thinking about boot camp? I’m sure that there are some good ones but IMHO I want my family to be the one that trains my dog.</p>
<p>PS… what kind of pup do you have?</p>
<p>I have a friend who always sends her puppies to boarding school.</p>
<p>I like her dog a lot, but I also observe that her dog was clearly trained using fear and punishment methods. Not my cup of tea.</p>
<p>I train my dogs in agility, which requires positive methods, since the dog has the choice to stop working with you at any time: they are off-leash and not even wearing a collar. </p>
<p>If you truly do not have time to train, it’s my opinion that you don’t have time to have a dog.</p>
<p>Training a dog is a 24/7 proposition (i.e., you can easily train it that there’s stuff on the counter if you’re not paying attention)–but you can do “formal” training (sit, down, house manners, etc.) in about five minutes a day. I do a lot of my initial training while I’m in the bathroom with the dogs, since they come in there with me anyway and there aren’t a lot of distractions in there.</p>
<p>Since you have to do house training, let me suggest my method. Set up an exercise pen for the dog, with pads, etc. Put it next to wherever you are. If you can’t supervise, puppy goes into his crate. EVERY HOUR (I actually set an alarm), take the dog outside. Just as the dog starts to pee, say “hurry up!” (Some people say other things: hurry up is what comes out of my mouth. It’s rainy here.) After a while, saying “hurry up!” to the dog will cause him to pee. (My younger dog will actually squat when I say “hurry up!” even if she’s just gone.) (I don’t bother with the other thing–doesn’t happen that often.)</p>
<p>We sent one of our puppies many years ago to a boarding boot camp…I have to agree with poster who mentioned fear training. We found out, after the fact, that these so-called “trainers” did stuff like lift up pups by their ears. With our latest enormous pup, we’ve just gone the standard route of finding the best puppy kindergarten trainer around, who offers unlimited, free phone counseling for non-routine issues, such as fear of loud noises etc. We’ve also become much better owners, spending much more time working with our pup. I would never again use a boarding boot camp…too brutal and traumatic.</p>
<p>I will also mention my favorite source for free training information: [LevelBook[/url</a>]</p>
<p>And this is my absolute favorite book on basic dog training: [url=<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Train-Your-Dog-Like-Pro/dp/0470616164/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291827102&sr=8-1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Train-Your-Dog-Like-Pro/dp/0470616164/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291827102&sr=8-1]Amazon.com:</a> Train Your Dog Like a Pro (9780470616161): Jean Donaldson: Books](<a href=“Sue Ailsby’s Llama Training Manual | Sue Ailsby”>Sue Ailsby’s Llama Training Manual | Sue Ailsby)</p>
<p>(I should mention I’m the librarian for my dog agility training club. I read dog training books for fun. Lots of them.)</p>
<p>digitalmom, Those were great tips. I am ashamed to say that while we accomplished several of those training behaviors we failed miserably at the jumping with my (mostly) Australian Shepherd. The issue is that I am so often in a hurry getting home and starting dinner and ‘being a tree’ is a little time consuming. People kept telling me to knee the dog really hard, but how can you do that to a dog that is over-the-moon excited that you are home? Just too cruel! I will try your tips for jumping again and send them to a friend who has a new puppy.</p>
<p>You will have a better bond with your dog if you do the training yourself–and the training itself is lots of fun! Look in your area for a clicker-training class for puppies; the person leading it should ideally be certified by the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT). If you don’t have time to go to classes, a great video to buy or borrow is Ian Dunbar’s Sirius Puppy Training. It covers the basic real-world manners all dogs need to know, and uses kind methods only. It’s easier to learn how to train a dog from a video than from a book because you get more relevant information on timing, etc. from watching a video.</p>
<p>Some 5-6 month-old dogs are in a “fear period” and are traumatized by being boarded. I had to go to England for two weeks in early November and arranged for my 5-month old puppy to stay with my dog agility instructor, who is great with dogs and has nine of her own. She was not going to train my puppy–I just wanted to make things easier for my husband and to give puppy a fun experience with a new group of friendly dogs. But although he’s quite a confident, sociable puppy, he had a meltdown at her house–whining and diarrhea all over her floor for 48 hours, until she called my husband and asked him to come pick him up. Once the puppy was back home with my husband and my other dogs, he settled right down.</p>
<p>Jumping dogs: I finally got my dogs to stop jumping on me by creating a command for it. I have to pat my chest AND say “mug me!” but if the dog jumps on me then, she gets a nice treat for it.</p>
<p>Why did that work? Well, after I got it on cue, I gave the command over and over and over again until each dog decided it was only worth doing if I gave her a treat for it!</p>
<p>(Imagine if you got paid for something you really enjoy doing… and then someone kept demanding you do it, even if you said “but I’ve done that 15 times already!”, wouldn’t that take all the fun out of it?)</p>
<p>I knew I would get great advice and feedback here. Thanks to all. The dog is an English springer spaniel, the second that I have had. My first one was adopted when she was five years old, and was a lovely, dignified friend until she died at 13. After her, we had a Welsh springer spaniel that we got as a puppy for my son (ha! You know how that goes). She had tons of personality but was not very well-trained by me. She died at 12, and it was a great loss to all of us. It has been a long time since I have had a puppy, and I think a lot of it was subsumed by the demands of having young children. Maybe I can do this with the help of a good local trainer. I have had my new dog for three weeks and I have taught her to sit, come, and go into her crate on command. She is also house trained (well, at least I am–I take her outside a lot, and we have very few accidents in the house). My biggest current problem is that I can’t get her to walk on a leash in a reasonable way. I have tried both a regular collar and a gentle leader (was very successful with this with my last dog). But even so, when I write what I have accomplished, I feel pretty proud and think perhaps I can do the work on my own. I have tons of time. Also, my spouse works at home and is willing and able to share the responsibility. I am opposed to punishment-based training, and it sounds as if that is the main way results are achieved in these training programs. I have also been feeling overwhelmed by the stresses of Christmas, and yesterday, things just all seemed too much. Anyway, thank you all so much (imagine I said that just like Brenda on “The Closer”). I will check out the resources people have suggested, and maybe I will start a thread for “new pet owners.” I have read many, many posts about the losses of pets, so perhaps I should write about the happiness of acquiring a new one. I would love to be able to participate (with my dog, of course) in field trials or other performance based events. Thank you all again, and wish me luck.</p>
<p>Fear training is disgusting. When we got our first dog we listened to my in laws who said they had a “great” trainer. We went once to a class. The sob “hung” a dog for a minor infraction. (He was a very popular trainer at the time.) The dog fought. And the trainer snapped the dog’s neck.</p>
<p>We didn’t go back.</p>
<p>The above humane training is on target. Treats for good behavior/positive/varying activities whatever. Remember: no one is perfect. Not you, your significant others/your children. Don’t expect a pet to be perfect either.</p>
<p>Walking nicely on leash: this web site has THE BEST METHOD: [Leash</a> Walking | Ahimsa Dog Training, Seattle | Dog and Puppy Tips from Seattle |](<a href=“http://ahimsadogtraining.com/blog/leash-walking/]Leash”>http://ahimsadogtraining.com/blog/leash-walking/)</p>
<p>(BTW, make sure you don’t try to train loose-leash walking using a flexi-leash–the dog can’t make it slack, so you train the dog to pull, not to walk nicely. Ask me how I learned that.)</p>
<p>Here is a link to Dogstar daily. Lots of great free info and videos</p>
<p>[Dog</a> Star Daily](<a href=“http://www.dogstardaily.com/]Dog”>http://www.dogstardaily.com/)</p>
<p>Lots of good advice upthread about positive training. I would never send a puppy to “boot camp.” You can’t expect a puppy of that age to be a perfect canine citizen, and having a well-mannered dog is something only you can work on.</p>
<p>Don’t overlook the possibility of training your dog to heel on and off-lead in the house. I used to take my last puppy for a spin around the first floor a few times a day. You don’t have to wait for the time when you can make a big production of a training session outdoors: just do a bit of it when you are in the kitchen cooking dinner, for example. 
I also trained him using both hand signals and verbal commands for sit, stay, stand, come from the moment he entered the house at 8 weeks. He ALWAYS was required to sit at the door before going out. I would have him sit, then I would go through the door, then I would invite him out. We don’t have a fence, and I didn’t want him charging the door every time it was opened for both safety and general manners. (He would not go out without permission, even if the door was left open.) I also never played with the dog in the house as a puppy. I wanted him to be calm indoors. Play was outdoors. I discouraged all of the puppy biting behavior, never making it into a game as people sometimes do. I never played tug-of-war games with him: I didn’t want him to be mouthy.</p>
<p>On the jumping thing, one other thing that works is to anticipate the jump and give the dog attention while all four feet are still on the floor, or when in a sitting position. He is then unlikely to jump at all. I’ve found that a dog who gets through their youth without developing the jumping habit will outgrow the impulse. I eventually trained that dog to “dance” with me: I’d pat my chest and say “Dance!” and he would jump up with his paws on my chest and I’d sing a few bars while we took a few steps. Then he would happily return to the floor. He never jumped on anyone unless invited to “dance.”</p>
<p>It goes without saying that you should never feed a dog from the table, right? :)</p>
<p>Wait…let me read the dog’s memo re: human food. </p>
<p>Ok, it says right here (drawn up by my dogs’ congresspawson) All members of the family shall have healthy and varied diets. This includes, but is not limited to, kibble, grammy’s pot pie and all manner of human beef, chicken, salmon (and other creatures of the sea), apples, (and other fruits) and occasional bites of dessert.</p>
<p>So, yes…it’s right there…doggy rights.</p>
<p>ellebud, I didn’t say that you should never give a dog human food. I said you shouldn’t feed them at the table. That is, not unless you WANT them to learn to beg. :)</p>
<p>Our kitchen and family room are one big room. The dog has a mat in the family room. When it is dinnertime we say “mat” and he goes there for the duration of our meal and is released afterwards. Absolutely no begging at table. I hate that!</p>
<p>Some suggestions for leash walking (worked for me):</p>
<p>Try an “Easy Walk” harness. </p>
<p>When you first start the walk (and dog has a lot of energy) – walk FAST. But if the dog starts to pull on the leash… slow down. (dog eventually gets the idea that to move at a nice pace, it’s better to stick close to you). One reason for the FAST walk is that when you first go out the door, the dog has a lot of energy… so if you can start out brisk, then you have a chance to work off some of that energy. </p>
<p>Despite the high energy, I always make my dogs wait at the door step, on leash, until I say o.k. before we start the walk… so they know they can’t just go bounding out the door. </p>
<p>Bring lots of dog treats and try these things:</p>
<p>“Look at me!” - dog gets a treat when he looks at you.</p>
<p>Toss a small treat a few feet away from the dog, to one side or another, but not in front. As you do this, say “find it” – this gives the dog something interesting (and rewarding) to do while sticking close to you, other than forging ahead.</p>
<p>Switch directions suddenly and without warning while walking, especially if the dog is pulling ahead. Zig zag, cross the street, walk back and forth – whatever. The point is that the the dog needs to pay attention to where you are instead of pulling ahead. </p>
<p>Teach “heel” with treats – its surprisingly easy if you start by simply watching and saying “heel” and treating whenever the dog happens to be in the heel position. </p>
<p>Every once in awhile, praise the dog and give a reward just for walking nicely on its own. That is, your walking along, you notice the leash is slack and the dog is ambling along nicely beside you – you say “Goood dog!” and offer up a treat. (Over time the dog figures out that treats only come when the leash is slack and the dog is in whatever position the owner deems acceptable for loose leash walking.)</p>
<p>(Note: while training, don’t feed the dog early in the day – you want the dog to be hungry and of course choose healthy treats. ).</p>
<p>I’m new to this myself but I have 2 very young dogs and I am amazed at how nicely they walk by my side on the leash now – and the really cool thing is that I don’t have to use the treats any more. I do bring treats along still just in case, but they now have got everything figured out and the don’t really expect treats any more. </p>
<p>It does take some time and I think some exploring as to what works best with your dog. I think one thing that dog trainers miss is the need to mesh the dog’s response style with the human’s natural behavior style – everyone advocates their own technique, but they forget that the human & dog really have to develop their own style of communication. </p>
<p>So my point is – try various strategies, and observe which seems to work and what seems to be the most fun with your dog. You’ll hit upon something that works well for you and your dog.</p>