[luluxoxo83]

Hi Ya'll....

I have a few questions about puppy training.

1. When is a good age to start training? My Kano is only 5 weeks old and everytime I try to have a training session with him he is so distracted.

2. Taking him for walks is difficult because he will not walk on the leash....I have to drag him to get him to move. I end up giving up because I do not want to hurt his feet.

3. How do I get him to stop chewing? He likes to chew on shoes and clothes.

4. at least the potty training is going somewhat well.... He doesnt sit by the door when he has to go out, I take him every hour.... Will he eventually learn to tell me he has to go?

Thanks for your help Ya'll....

 

[Curbside Prophet]

5 weeks old? As in you've had him for 5 weeks? Otherwise, a 5 week old puppy should be learning from his littermates. It's never too early or too late to train a dog, and if you've really found yourself in a position where you have a 5 week old pup, you need to find a puppy class ASAP.

You should not be walking this pup anywhere other than to his potty area (an area not frequented by other dogs), to a puppy class, or to meet new people in their home. And your home should be puppy proofed such that shoes and clothes are not lying around for him to chew. You do not want to discourage chewing. You want to encourage chewing of appropriate items.

 

[wvasko]

Hi Ya'll....

I have a few questions about puppy training.

1. When is a good age to start training? My Kano is only 5 weeks old and everytime I try to have a training session with him he is so distracted.

2. Taking him for walks is difficult because he will not walk on the leash....I have to drag him to get him to move. I end up giving up because I do not want to hurt his feet.

3. How do I get him to stop chewing? He likes to chew on shoes and clothes.

4. at least the potty training is going somewhat well.... He doesnt sit by the door when he has to go out, I take him every hour.... Will he eventually learn to tell me he has to go?

Thanks for your help Ya'll....

Just one quick thought to throw at you. If this pup is 5 weeks old, it is like trying to teach a 3 month old baby to read and understand Latin. I know I'm being a tad silly with the comparison but not that much. It's just not going to happen.

 

[luluxoxo83]

I saved him from being put to sleep on Monday. He was with litter mates in a kennel. Now he is here with me. He has more chew toys than I do shoes!!! My question was....When is it a good age to start training him? 6 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks?

 

[sparkle]

Training can start at any time but preferrably when the pups eyes are open and can move about and sit up. I started my litter of pups at 4-5 weeks to come when called and sit using treats and a clicker. Taught them to shake at 6-7 weeks . I would like others point out that certain tasks to training are probably beyound the comprehension,ability,and stress value of such undeveloped minds of really young pups. You might consider the many ways in which you can manage your pups so that they have a special place to go poop and pee away from the living quarters. I made a special area with cedar shavings and my pups just seemed to like to go to that area to poop and pee. With such young pups it is best to be careful not to cause too much stress in what is demanded of them.

 

[Thracian]

1. When is a good age to start training? My Kano is only 5 weeks old and everytime I try to have a training session with him he is so distracted.

I'd say it can't hurt to try training him now, but definitely go slowly. He's not going to have a long attention span at all. If I were you, I'd try one or two basics (sit, down), but I'd wait until eight weeks before doing too much.

2. Taking him for walks is difficult because he will not walk on the leash....I have to drag him to get him to move. I end up giving up because I do not want to hurt his feet.

I think he's too young for this. Wait until he's older and has had his shots.

3. How do I get him to stop chewing? He likes to chew on shoes and clothes.

Puppies are chewers--teach him what he can chew. If possible, remove the shoes and clothes so he can't get to them. If he does get them, take the item away and replace it with a chew toy. You might say, "Good chew" to praise him so he starts to get the idea.

4. at least the potty training is going somewhat well.... He doesnt sit by the door when he has to go out, I take him every hour.... Will he eventually learn to tell me he has to go?

Taking him out every hour is very good. Keep in mind that some dogs will let you know and others won't. My friend's seven-month-old puppy goes to stand by the door when he needs to go out. My two-year-old dog will respond if I say, "Do you need to go outside?" but he won't let me know via any other sign. Or if he does, I haven't picked up on it. Sounds like you're taking the right approach.

Bless you for saving one of the young pups. So sad that they were at the kennel so young.

 

[hulkamaniac]

I agree with pretty much everything everyone has said. The dog is still in a whole brand new world for him that he's trying to learn about. Normally at this stage he's still learning from his littermates and his mom, but obviously that's not an option here. While it's not too early to train him, his attention span isn't going to be very long at this age so I agree that you should stick with just the basic stuff. Until he's had all his shots I would not take him on a walk. You're just exposing him to too much stuff. Get him in situations where he gets to meet people is a good idea though. You may try training him to bark or ring a bell when they need to go out.

 

[Angie's Bella]

4. at least the potty training is going somewhat well.... He doesnt sit by the door when he has to go out, I take him every hour.... Will he eventually learn to tell me he has to go?

I hung a bell on the door when Bella was potty training and everytime we started to go out to potty I would take her foot and ring the bell. In a very short time she started ringing the bell everytime she needed to go out !!!

 

[wvasko]

Just an idea, instead of worrying about pup telling you when he has to go out, First worry about just taking him out regularly and getting pup housebroke. Later on you can add whatever and teach bell-ringing or horn-blowing or how to use a cell-phone to inform you when he wants to go out. The very first step is no peeing-pooping on your floors. You may find that may be a small problem, at least there are a bunch of OPs that have had that particular problem.

 

[Angie's Bella]

Just an idea, instead of worrying about pup telling you when he has to go out, First worry about just taking him out regularly and getting pup housebroke. Later on you can add whatever and teach bell-ringing or horn-blowing or how to use a cell-phone to inform you when he wants to go out. The very first step is no peeing-pooping on your floors. You may find that may be a small problem, at least there are a bunch of OPs that have had that particular problem.

Wow, that was kind of harsh! Forgive me, but I thought that the question was "Will he eventually learn to tell me he has to go?", I was just offering a suggestion for training a dog to eventually be able to say "hey I need to go out".

 

[wvasko]

Wow, that was kind of harsh! Forgive me, but I thought that the question was "Will he eventually learn to tell me he has to go?", I was just offering a suggestion for training a dog to eventually be able to say "hey I need to go out".

The reply by no means meant to be harsh as I was not even replying to you. If you read back you will see replies stated about starting a litter of pups at 4 to 5 weeks and the OP's pup is 5 weeks old. I am blunt about such unrealistic goals in replies. After the average owner reads such gibberish, he then thinks his pup when not getting with the 4 or 5 week old puppy program is stupid. If you had any idea through the years the amount of young pups/dogs 5 months to 2 years dropped off for training and the owners tell me how stupid the animals are because of unrealistic goals and just plain owner stupidity. You would be appalled, that pales in comparison to the dogs turned into shelters/pounds because of imagined stupidity. I know there are exceptional pups with exceptional owners that do some amazing things. That though is not the average owner/pup. A lot of replies I end with the "my opinion only" statement. This reply is indeed a fact and not my opinion.

 

[luluxoxo83]

Thracian...Thank you so much for responding and answering every question. I am def. trying everything you said. Angie's bella, thank you so much for your response as well....I knew what you meant! lol.I like the bell idea, I will be trying that when he gets older as well! Everyone else....Thanks so much foryour imput. It's nice to have people that can answer my questions.

I tried a short training session and he is now sitting on command (if I have a treat in my hand), but at least he knows what the word sit means! I am excited.

 

[Angie's Bella]

The reply by no means meant to be harsh as I was not even replying to you. If you read back you will see replies stated about starting a litter of pups at 4 to 5 weeks and the OP's pup is 5 weeks old. I am blunt about such unrealistic goals in replies. After the average owner reads such gibberish, he then thinks his pup when not getting with the 4 or 5 week old puppy program is stupid. If you had any idea through the years the amount of young pups/dogs 5 months to 2 years dropped off for training and the owners tell me how stupid the animals are because of unrealistic goals and just plain owner stupidity. You would be appalled, that pales in comparison to the dogs turned into shelters/pounds because of imagined stupidity. I know there are exceptional pups with exceptional owners that do some amazing things. That though is not the average owner/pup. A lot of replies I end with the "my opinion only" statement. This reply is indeed a fact and not my opinion.

No offense taken!! I agree with you, a lot of people put unrealistic goals on puppies and dogs and label them "stupid", when indeed it is a stupid trainer issue and not a stupid dog issue. I personally would not be worried about about any kind of training with a 5 week old puppy beyond not peeing in his/her bed.

 

[wvasko]

No offense taken!! I agree with you, a lot of people put unrealistic goals on puppies and dogs and label them "stupid", when indeed it is a stupid trainer issue and not a stupid dog issue. I personally would not be worried about about any kind of training with a 5 week old puppy beyond not peeing in his/her bed.

That's what I'm talking about, at that age I'm worried about health issues and not ruining a puppie's psyche. If possible pups should be with mommy.

 

[CMBMom]

Oh, it's so sad that someone out there couldn't have kept mom and babies together for the first 8 weeks of their lives... the irresponsibility kills me. I'm glad that you were able to give him a home. I agree with wvasko though, don't expect too much too soon - your pup is basically an infant right now... his job is to eat, sleep, grow, pee and poop... that's what babies do.

As for potty training - the bell can't hurt right now... you probably won't even have to teach him to ring the bell - he'll figure it out eventually (key word - eventually) because the door opening and closing will make the bell ring. Make sure to praise him like you're a crazy person when he goes outside - find a key phrase, and repeat it when he pees or poops outside and give him treats (I like "good outside" because the word "potty" is often used by kids. I was housebreaking a puppy at the same time I was toilet training my son - I would ask my son if he needed to go potty and the dog would pee on the floor... won't make that mistake again!).

One of the concerns when a puppy is taken away from his littermates at an early age is that they fail to learn things that their littermates would have taught them. For instance, bite inhibition. When the pup bites his littermate too hard or plays too roughly his littermate would yelp and leave the situation. You need to do the same. If your pup begins to play too rough, yelp and turn your back to him for 30 seconds.

Good luck with your new pup and thanks for saving a life.