I have a 10 week old German Shorthaired Pointer. Brought him home at 8 weeks. Began sleeping in crate all night on the 3rd night, is doing great with come usin treats, and has begun the sit command using treats, and is doing great except for a few things. He doesn't chew things up and except for the things bellow is a joy. I am a reforming "yank and crank" (Kholer) guy trying hard to follow ED's philosophy. I don't know if I am expect too much too soon. In that light please make some suggestion on the following:

He is very nippy when petting. In the past I would have pushed his toung down till he quit. I am now trying to redirect to a toy and use my deep voice and "NO!" but he is still nippy.

He is jumping up. In the past I would have kneed him knocking him to the ground. Now I am trying to place him back on the ground with "NO!" but he is still jumping up I am mostly concerned with my 3 year old.

He is pulling the lead on walks. In the past I would have made some quick turns with a choke collar. Now I am using treats and a few quick jerks with a nylon collar. Would a prong collar be useful at this point?

He jumps up on his outside kennel door while I am trying to get him to sit to let him out.

He does not seem much interested in retreiving?

Thanks for your help,
Brad

1. Where in the rule book does it say it's productive, neccesary, or enjoyable (for the dog) to be pet?

2. For the first several months of puppyhood, and this is just me, I was more concerned with the dog exploring his world in force, rather than being civilized on a leash; particularly in new environments. Obstinent refusal to move and leash chewing, not-with-standing. I kept motivational leash civility very short and on home turf for quite a while. Then it finally boiled down having to use a prong at around 5 months when the pulling really got out of hand, given his size.

3. Jumping. I don't have kids and I personally don't care about it. Maybe someone else can chime in.

4. Don't worry about retrieving. Just make play time (and particularly yourself) the funnest thing ever. He'll get the idea to bring things back to you when he finds that the toy in your hand does more interesting things than the toy just laying over there.

5. Really crunch the "sit" with every morsel of food he ingests, not just extra-curricular treats. Continue with apparent food or treats at his kennel door if you want him to do something. Don't even consider him having effectively *learned* anything at this point.

At 10 weeks of age he's too young for a prong collar or for formal training. At this point you should be following the puppy ground work training instructions. This is the time for bonding with your pup and laying the foundation for later, more formal training.

As far as any nipping is concerned, if telling the pup no in a low firm voice and redirecting him isn't enough, you could utilize a scruff shake, geared to his age and size. And your children could stop all play, leave and totally ignore the pup (not even looking at him) for a few minutes. You, of course are always supervising their interactions with each other.

I missed that you were using a choke. I don't use any training collar, prong (pinch) or choke on young puppies.

I have a boy, will be 3 in March. Our pup will hopefully be here in April. I've been doing "groundwork" with my son for a couple months. Even though he's lived with my other dog, and knows good manners with dogs, it will be a whole 'nother ball game with a pup.

I agree with keeping the pup away from the child for a bit, and if they are together, very short, positive sessions. TOYS toys, toys (of course that are yours that you (or your child) offer your pup, keep it really fun yet calm. Even though kids and puppies go hand in hand, this is part of my plan because pups do have sharp teeth and claws. There will be plenty of interaction for bonding as time goes on.

My son also knows to not run or make "screamy/squeak" noises which may set the pup running and jumping. I've been testing my son on this hypothetically, am hoping it all follows through in practical application.

Way too early for prong. Stay all motivational at this point and keep re-reading--have you gotten the Your Pup 8 weeks to 8 months dvd yet?

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Patience is a virtue. Patience and time will produce the dog you want from the puppy you have.

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(patience, time and proper groundwork) SO, so true.

Agree with the above posters, everything they said (except for the scruff shaking, I'm not into that myself). Way too young for a prong collar, and no "need" for a prong at that age.

So at 10 wks old, he just got born. Everything is exciting to him, especially you coming to get him at the kennel. Very hard for a 10 wk old pup to sit when he's so excited. He doesn't have that kind of self control yet, and shouldn't be expected to, and since you're not in the kennel to guide him to a sit, it's even more difficult for him. He's smart enough to know what that open kennel door means, you and that kennel door are the only things he has the ability to focus on at that moment.

The jumping is a puppy behavior so should be treated gently, with guidance into the behavior you want (in the way Mike Arnold described). It's just their way of trying to get closer to our face, since they're so low to the ground.

I've found that pulsing the leash with a very young puppy (taking up the slack and just squeezing it 2 or 3 times with your hand so the pup feels it) is more effective in getting them to walk with you than pops or jerks on the leash. Even before the pulsing however, the walk should be with treats to motivate him to walk with you, starting with just a few steps at a time, treat and praise, then lengthening the walk the better he does. Basically setting him up to succeed.

Edited to add: RE: retrieving, your pup is a pointer, retrieving is in his blood. Try to find a way to bring that out. Maybe check out some Shorthaired Pointer websites for articles on teaching the retrieve. Other people on this forum may be able to help you also.

From the advice given to me on this forum, I used the "NO BITE" command on my young pup with great success. Whenever he went for me I told him "NO BITE" and redirected him to a toy that I always kept close at hand. And I ALWAYS marked the toy biting behavior in a happy positive voice. It took a bit of doing but he got the idea.

My Lab showed no interest in retrieving at 10 weeks. Now, at 7 months, he is a retrieving toy-driven FIEND.

I really appreciate the feedback. I have the "8weeks to 8months" video as well as the "Basic Obedience" video, and I have read a lot of this site, great and helpful stuff.

My largest concern is in creating bad habits that I would have to correct later. I have "trained(?)" several dogs using the "Kholer" method, because it was what I saw my grandfater do (Miliatry handler). Even though they were obedient on lead I had to use a shock collar for off lead work and was frustrated with the relationship that I had with my dogs. They were obedient out of compulsion not desire.

We are enjoying this new puppy and he is doing great for 10 weeks old. My concern again was in allowing him to develop bad habits, and over correcting him. It sounds like I need to chill out and be as consistent as possible.

My son is doing well with the pup except when the pup is running (20' drag) and comes up and jumps on him while we are hiking or paying on soccer fields. It just scares him. I have been using a "NO" command and grabing the lead so he can't reach my son and it seems to be getting better.

As far as walking he is not pulling so hard that he is choking himself or pulling on me. He is just forging ahead. I've seen Cesar's show were pack-stucture seems to be tied with getting the dog to walk beside you or at least following. We are working on sit with food before a door is opened and we always go before the pup.

Thanks for the help

As far as the nipping goes, I had a major alligator at 10 weeks. Getting him to stop the painfull nipping was a whole different story than it was with my Corgi. My Corgi would back off if we yelped. With my Shepherd, it just made him come on stronger. It's in his blood. Not only did the teeth hurt, but he had an incredibly strong bite, and biting (and I mean biting ANYTHING) was pretty much all he wanted to do for the first few weeks we had him.

If I were lucky enough to have a Schutzhund club even remotely in my area, I'd be getting him involved and would therefore be raising him differently. As it is, he's going to be involved in obedience and there's no need for him to do bitework.

So, the ONLY thing that worked for me in getting him to ease off on the painful biting was to press down in the soft spot UNDER his tongue EVERY time he took my hand in his mouth. This didn't hurt him, but he hated it. I rewarded him when he licked me instead. This process had to be repeated often at first because my guy is one hardheaded pup that likes to see if I really mean it. But he got it. I did redirect him then to something he could bite.

Puppies, even wolf and coyote pups, learn pack rules very early on. This was one rule that he had to learn to be part of my pack. It didn't damper his affection, his play drive or his enthusiasm. He just learned that my hands weren't the most fun things to bite.

I have a 7 year old and when Carbon was going through the teeth-of-death phase, their interaction was seriously limited to when the pup was sleepy.

If you're worried about your dog jumping up on your daughter when she's around and for whatever reason they can't be seperated, you could get a drag line for your dog to wear around the house. Then you can stand on the leash, preventing your dog from jumping up. The jumping is something you should work on with your dog eventually, of course, but I'm a big believer in having a contingency plan in the meantime.

Everyone's right about letting your dog be a pup, though. If you can really bond with this dog now, and let him know you're fair and fun, you'll have a MUCH easier time training him. I understand about not letting bad behaviors settle in...and you shouldn't let the dog have free run... but stick to groundwork to becoming a pack leader for now and the more formal training can come later.

Good luck!

Good luck!

I agree with everyone who said, "He's a BABY pup", so his training should be informal, FUN, and motivational only at this stage (no harsh corrections yet)...

Here's what worked on my little alligator, I mean Akita, when she would bite the hands that pet her during those early weeks:

I would give a high-pitched SCREECH at the top of my lungs, then say, "No Bite" (not loud, NOT mean, but all business) -- The screech made her stop & the No Bite associated a command with the "stop biting" behavior...

But if she resumed the hand gnawing, I'd fold her flews in the corners of her mouth OVER those sharp little teeth so it took all the fun OUT of chomping down on my hands (you know that drill) -- Then I'd re-direct her onto a peanutbutter-filled Kong <:-) This whole routine worked perfectly & she had THE softest mouth in her Puppy School class !

Here's what worked to stop her jumping up in greeting while I was trying to take her out for a walk:

I used a martingale lead (nylon collar & leash made all in one piece) because it slips quickly over Pup's head & cuts way down on the "fiddling around" time while she was overly excited -- I'd have her sit, but when she jumped up, I'd give the negative marker word "No", sit her again, give the positive marker "!YES!" along with a treat from my bait bag & off we'd go (I don't recall exactly how long this routine took to work flawlessly, but I'd guess about week or 10 days before she wouldn't jump up anymore)...

Here's what worked for her pulling onlead during our walks:

From 2 months to 5 months, I held a log of string-cheese in my left hand & would reward her with a tiny nibble off the end every once in awhile as she stayed at heel -- By 6 months of age, I switched her to a prong collar & let her self-correct...

Because I never allowed my Akita to put her paws on anything (people, furniture, kitchen counter, doors, side of the car, etc.) she taught herself to sit up on her butt & to stand alone on her hindlegs from earliest puppyhood -- Now when she stands straight up perfectly still, she looks just like a grizzly bear on alert (especially with her traditional Akita coloring, bear-head conformation & height of a grown man!) LOL