Such thing as "Too Soon"?

ABroome · Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 6:25 am Post subject: Such thing as "Too Soon"?

Blue is only 8 weeks old and all ready I am trying to teach him sit, stay, and come. Thus far he has done really well with it all though like any kid, his attention span only lasts for up to about 20 minutes lol Is this too early to be training him these kinds of things or should I just let him be the beautiful puppy he is and wait another couple of weeks?

Truth be told, he almost seems to be enjoying it.....probably because of the treats and praise lol

Deiota · Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 6:38 am Post subject:

hi!
As soon as Gandalf arrived, we started teaching the basics, like sit, down, touch, up, paw, come, stay... One thing at the time, and he did pretty well.
Of course he was just a pup (he still is, 12 weeks) and doesn't pay attention for long. I try to keep the training sessions short and funny. Now we're handling the crawl and began with clicker... The come and sit and stay are also being reinforced everyday with the fetch and find and all..
In each session, we get it all at least once.
Deiota

waitingonmyweim · Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 7:21 am Post subject:

Nope never too early to start!

For a young puppy though, I'd recommend to keep it simple. Maybe just a couple of commands.

We started right into training with Lincoln but I think we may have started with too many commands, because for a while he'd do a down when we'd say sit, everytime! Then you just have to go back to basics!

pennywood3 · Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 8:23 am Post subject:

Keep it short and sweet and always end on a positive note. From past experience, find a class that keeps things fun and fast moving. Weims tend to get bored with too much repetition..(and so do I. LOL). I would highly recommend that you bring him to a puppy kindergarten class when he is age appropriate (and when he has his required vaccinations). It's great for socialization and further training of the dog (and owners). Smile

Oh, I have a stupid question. How do you put a pic above your name?
Jackie (who obviously is not computer savvy)

h20fwlkillr · Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 12:46 pm Post subject:

It's never to early to start w/ obedience, but don't expect much. Use it as building blocks for structured training later. Be forewarned, too much obedience at a young age can keep a dog from being independent. Not much of a problem unless you are going to hunt.

ABroome · Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:17 pm Post subject:

We will most likely enroll into the kindergarten when he is 10 weeks. Thanks for the heads up!

weimdawgs · Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:43 pm Post subject:

Seespotrun · Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 4:35 pm Post subject:

I started training a couple days after we got the pup. He is 13 weeks now or so. He can sit, lay down, shake, high five, sit at the door before entering, sit on the other side of the door to take off collar. He knows leave it, drop it, up, and bed, oh and go to your mat. As you can see these dogs are very smart and highly trainable. He likes doing some of these things better than others, but we review everyday, very,very short periods, several times. I am working on roll over, but he is not too keen on that. Some days he doesn't want to do any of it, but momma has the cookies! Laughing

Now for the love of doG, if he would leave the cat box alone, quit eating rocks, quit unwinding the toilet paper, and quit with the biting already, we might have something to brag about.

Oh, and as stated above, always finish on a positive note, lots of praise and treats.

pennywood3 · Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 1:51 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the information on the avatar. I think I will try it when I get home tonight..more pics there. Thanks again! Jackie