The Trials and Tribulations of Owning and Training a Puppy! Part 8

Finally, I feel able to say we’ve had the best week! We’ve done more work on our indications for scent work, had lots of playtime and training together in different locations and practiced our obedience lots too. I do feel I’m still battling Brin’s hormones and teething pain but, on the whole, it’s all going in the right direction and I’m trying not to be too much of a perfectionist.

I know it’s important to be clear for your dog but sometimes they need to know a try is good, even if it wasn’t exactly what you wanted, it is worth rewarding. It’s easy to get too into holding back the reward and then your puppy gets frustrated and switches off because he just can’t work out how to be successful. It’s our job to ensure he has every opportunity to succeed and that we set the bar at a level where learning occurs but he knows reward is possible.

For example, I know Brin knows how to lie down and I could try standing up straight and refusing to reward him until he lies down. However, this means he will probably walk away as he can’t figure out what I need, whereas if I bend over and also point at the floor and maybe even lure a bit with a treat too, he will work out what I want much quicker and get a reward. Then as he becomes more confident, I can gradually stand up more and more and just point down, working my point into a hand signal that means down. But all this takes time, and we need to be patient - to build obedience in your pup takes time.

I don’t think training is ever really finished but I do think we should allow our dogs the grace of teaching and training and supporting their learning until they are at least two years old. In fact, in some countries it a mandatory aspect of dog ownership to attend dog training class until the dog is at least two.