I just purchased a German Shorthair Pointer puppy about 1.5 weeks ago. It is an 8 month old pup. She is very active, which i hear all pointers are, and also seems to be very smart. i purchased the 8 weeks to 8 month DVD to help me in puppy training, but haven't recieved it yet. can't wait till I do. I wish i had purchased the dog obedience DVD too, but probably will shortly. Anyhow, long story short, my question is concerned with puppy training, obedience training to be specific and the question is, when should i really start to push the pup to be obedient, and by obedient I mean teaching it to sit, stay, come, etc. I realize probably immediately, however i don't want to put too much pressure on the pup since it has only been around a little over a week and is young. I figured 10 weeks was the 'golden' week to start into some more serious training, and correction, but was curious what others thought.

Also curious about dog houses...and any recommendations for a 70 lb, 25 inch tall dog, which hopefully she will be?

Last but not least, i have a big back yard, will it effect her training, once housebreaking in complete to let her stay in the back yard? this dog loves being outside, which is somewhat obvious since she is a sport breed.

any help is much appreciated.

Mark,

I'm so excited for you. Genuinely. If I could get a new puppy every week I probably would. God gave me a wife so I wouldn't be overwhelmed with Dogs. I totally understand your enthusiasm.

Training can start right now! Sits and Downs should be a piece of cake. Remember, keep your session short (2-3 minutes each, several times a day). Always end on a good note. After EACH session spend 5 minutes playing whatever your dog likes to play. Make a fool of yourself, the dog will appreciate it.

But remember that your dog won't be able to sustain a sit for or a down for several months. Work slowly. Start slow, then slow down, then when you think you're at your slowest, slow down. Puppies are pretty smart, but they can't handle long term stuff.

Also, for corrections with obedience work, I would wait till 6 months at a minimum. This varies and your dog may be fine with corrections earlier, but correcting too soon can damage your bond, and correcting too late will have absolutely no possible detrimental effect. Why not wait? Introduce them very gently, and again, go slow. if you take a month to introduce corrections you have the opportunity to teach your dog that there ARE corrections, but that they are rational, and will not be administered randomly, or for no reason.

A big chunk of information on that specific DVD is in the "Introduction" chapter. You'll want to watch this a few times, take notes. Any questions you have, you know where to find the answers.

Actually, I may be thinking of the Beginning Obedience DVD where the "intro" chapter is awesome and packed...let me go watch 8wks - 8mo's.

 Quote:

10 weeks was the 'golden' week to start into some more serious training, and correction

Did you meant 10 Months? You start by saying that she is 8 months old...

I don't think Ed advises any "training" corrections for a pup in the 8 weeks to 8 months DVD. You can correct "pack behavior" problems, but all the "training" should be positive and reward based.

Check out the E-Books while you wait for the DVD.

http://www.leerburg.com/dogtrainingebooks.htm

Starbuck is almost 9 months old and has received very few “training” corrections.

Yes, I meant she is 8 weeks old, not 8 months. And the corrections starting at 6 months makes sense to me. I really didn't know where to go in that regard. Currently, if she chews on something she shouldn't be (something that would hurt her) or nips, etc, I tell her no and pick her up by the scruff. i am assuming this is acceptable or is it too early even for that?

Also, she is a real whiner...and this is another question (I am full of questions because I want to do this right) she is nearing getting over the whining while she is in the crate, which is awesome, believe me, however even when she is out of the crate and I am out of site for minute, she starts whining, howling, etc, sounds like she is having her hair pulled out haha. But anyway, I assume this is normal? and should stop once she is used to being by herself.... also, is it advisable to give her more crate time if the whining continues to further emphasize being alone??

Thanks very much for your help thus far, crazy how many people use this site.

I think correcting for chewing on things at this age is something you should consider. Is your expectation that she not chew on certain things a reasonable one? If you're using the corrections to teach her what not to chew on, make sure the corrections are as light as you can give. The goal of a good correction is to have her stop doing what she's doing and go do something else, or look to you for guidance, without having her tuck her tail or "turn inward".

Make sure you ignore the whining and it should resolve itself. Reward it with so much as a glance and you're in for it. hah.

Oh my goodness, the puppy is 8 weeks old and you've had her a week and a half?? You got her when she was only six weeks?

You might need to do some research on how to train the behaviours, such as bite inhibition, that she would have learned from her littermates had she been left with the litter longer. I *think* it is possible to train this. I'm not sure how though. Find out what you need to do with a pup removed from its litter too early. These puppies are at a much higher risk of behavioural problems.

You've done a good thing by starting with training early. Now you will be able to curb any problems that crop up.

Here is a link called "Puppy Survival Kit" and talks about socializing and other useful topics. http://www.4pawsu.com/puppies.htm

Puppies can do any kind of motivational training. My litter knew to sit at the door of their pen to be let out when they were 4 weeks old. No punishment or scolding, just - you don't get out until you sit. They also understand "time to go inside" and will all run to the door (since age 8 weeks). Get thee a clicker and some treats and start clicking, your puppy will be able to sit, down, come and shake in no time.

On the crate problem. I have a 9 week old pup. It took her about 2 weeks to adjust. She will wine do not take her out of the crate if she is wining. All that teaches her is if I wine I get out bad idea. She will get the picture real quick pups are young and learn quick. The only time my girl wines now is to use the restroom. If the crate is small enough for her size she will not for any reason go in there. Unless you wait to long and she can not hold it. To stop the wining put a sheet blanket anything over her crate so she cant see anything. My girl already scratches at the door the go out. I think it is because of the kennel.

Sorry for confusion, she is 9 weeks as of yesterday, 7.5 weeks roughly when I got her. Thanks for the input.

One final crate question, she is usually very quite until she hears me get up in morning, etc. Then she begins to whine a little. Question is, in the morning, she needs to be let out for bathroom, and I like to give her a bit of excercise before i leave, so if she whines at all, for whatever reason, should i just let her sit there? It's kinda hard when you HAVE to go to work to make her sit there, you have to take her out. Of course I could quit the excercise thing and just put her right back in. I never give in when she is whining, except in morning when i need to be on a schedule.

Any help appreciated once again.

 Quote: Mark Surgenor

...I never give in when she is whining, except in morning when i need to be on a schedule.

Giving in even once will imprint to the puppy that whining works. You might want to consider getting up 1/2 hour earlier, wait till she's quiet for a short while, then let her out to potty and play a while. There are great articles about puppies and house training here: http://leerburg.com/housetraining.htm and many more articles to read about puppies here: http://leerburg.com/puppytraining.htm

That should keep you busy until you get your DVD . Note not all the articles are on house training, there are articles as well on training in general such as Ed's Philosophy of Dog Training, Theory of Motivation and Theory of Corrections in Dog Training.

I agree with no corrections on a pup that young. There are numerous threads on this forum about training puppies that address corrections, age, motivational teaching, etc. If I had more time right now, I would look some up for you. I will try to do that tomorrow or the next day if I can. In the meantime, you can do a search as well by clicking on Search Our Site on the left side of this page or by clicking on Search at the top of this page.

Welcome to the forum Mark

 Quote: Mark Surgenor

Also curious about dog houses...and any recommendations for a 70 lb, 25 inch tall dog, which hopefully she will be?

A 70lb pointer? That is huge for a GSP. Or at least way bigger than what we had at one time. All ours weighed around 50 to 57 lbs.