Hello! This is my first post, though I've read dozens on this board. My question is - what should I expect from our new dog?

We just adopted a pit/chow/boxer/lab rescue, eight months old (my husband's and my first dog, though I grew up with a well-trained small dog). Beau was neglected and malnourished when we got him last Saturday. (We got him from a friend, not a shelter.) He is very friendly and SOCIAL. Unless it's night time, he hates his crate! We're house training him now. I stay home during the day and use the umbilical cord method with him. We take three 30-min jogs a day.

I've read almost all of Ed's e-books (the free ones) and I've seen his videos where the ten-month old puppy is doing a perfect sit-down-stay routine. I thought it'd be easy to train Beau that way. But Beau is seriously ADD! One second he is so focused on a treat that he's drooling. I tell him to sit (a command he's learned over the last week) and then the next second he'd rather sniff the pair of boots by the door.

A friend of mine says it will take him a while to learn since "he's just a puppy". But I have a hard time believing I will have to "put up with" a dog who won't learn "come" and "sit" until he's two and out of the teenage stage. What should I expect from Beau? He seems to have a high food/prey drive - until a leaf blows and he's off chasing it. If any of you experts can recommend sources or links for info, I'd really appreciate it. (He HAS learned to not pull on a leash ("wait") and that "hey" means "stop in your tracks!", though it only works in the house. Too many distractions outside.)

THANK you!

The main key here is patience. Teenagers in general seem to have attention spans of a gnat. Just keep working with him, set rules, be consistent,and patience, patience, patience.

Hi Maegan,

Since Beau is brand-new to your home and is probably still settling in, my best advice is to lower your expectations somewhat for the short-term. And yes, he IS immature at this age, but not so young that he can't learn anything. It just takes time and patience, like Elaine said.

The first and most important thing for Beau to learn is pack structure and his place in your home. That's the foundation on which all the other stuff is built so it's really worth it to take the time and establish that.

Second, keep training sessions very short, upbeat, and distraction-free in the beginning. End the session on a high note, while he's still interested. Right now, since he's new, that may mean sessions of only a few minutes at a time...and that's OK. A few minutes, 4-5 times a day, is pretty good and you may find, as he settles down, that you can keep his attention for longer periods of time.

I found it easier to train all new commands in the house first, get them down solid, before moving outside to proof them with distractions. And when you do move training outside, keep a line on him so he isn't dashing off chasing leaves.

There's no rush here so take a deep breath, take it slow, and I think you'll find you get good results.

Welcome to the forum!

You may want to rethink the forced exercise. Most instances of hip dysplasia is caused by over exercise. Wait until your dog stops growing at about 12 months before you start running with him. Walking - good. Running - not so good.

Are you doing marker training? Short upbeat sessions?

Okay - as far as jogging/walking - I did read where Ed said that jogging is best for older dogs. HOWEVER, when I walk with him - even though I'm walking as fast as I can - it seems like a leisurely pace for him and he tries to smell every little thing here and there along the way. When I jog, it looks like a brisk walk for him - the same speed that my little dog would go when you'd walk him quickly. AND when he's going that speed, he just stays by my side. That said, do you still think it's a bad idea? Because I'll stop if it is.

And Connie, yes, I am trying the marker training, as much as I know how from reading about it. He does know that when I say "Yes", he'll get a treat... but sometimes by the time I've said "Yes!", reached into my pouch, and pulled it out, his mind is somewhere far away and he doesn't seem to care about it. Maybe the answer to that is fasting him, but he came to us so skinny that I feel awful withholding food from him for a day or two. And I try to keep the sessions to about ten treats each. Is that too short? Too long?

I so appreciate all the comments.

Welcome to the board Maegan!

IMO, I'd take your new guy for upbeat leisurely walks(various speeds will keep his attention on you), letting him smell things here and there, but not stopping. My dogs at an early age learned that the only time I'm going to stop is if they have to potty. No stopping completely for a new smell, it helps keep their attention on me and where we are going(which could very well be nowhere! lol).

If you've kept him on a feeding schedule (once a day, twice a day, etc.) skipping a meal isn't going to hurt him. Especially if your training with treats, which you've said he drools over . You don't want to over feed him with meals and treats on top of it. But if you use treats through the day, then just adjust his meal(s). You could give him a little less in the evening or skip his morning meal and use treats(his food) to train with him.

This is JMO and I'm sure you'll get even more info from everyone else here with even more knowledge. Good luck!

That's quite a mix. Molly is lab/pit. At that age dogs are very ADD. Molly's attention span (she's just over a year old) is like flatulence in a tornado. Keep training sessions short about 4-5 minutes or better yet carry some treats around with you and surprise him with a training session. This also helps the dog to generalize the commands. Dogs are notorious for not generalizing. They will know "sit" perfectly in the living room but completely forget what it means in the kitchen or outside.

I highly recommend Ed's Basic Dog Obedience video. And no you won't have to wait for him to fully mature before he knows the basic obedience commands but he is going to be a bit of a scatter brain until then. Several of those breeds are known for staying big goofy puppies for some time. That doesn't mean they can't learn it just means you will have to practice some patience when training.

Thanks for all the advice! My husband and I started watching a borrowed copy of Basic Dog Obedience, and though we haven't finished it yet, one thing I've realized is that I haven't been marking his actions early enough. When I Wanted him to come, I'd wait until he got to me before I'd say "Yes!". Now, I try to mark behavior as soon as he turns to me.

Connie, I have a question about what you suggested. Should I mark his behavior even when we're not in a "training session"? For example, on our walks, if I call his name and he turns back to me, should I mark that? What if I don't have food on me? And is what you've suggested called "capturing", where you mark behavior that you like, no matter where or when it's happening?

Hope that wasn't confusing!

Megan, welcome to the board. How old is your pup?

I think you've got it on the attention and training part now. Just be patient.

On the excercise, I'd probably keep the walks short. Maybe drive to a park, walk him a little then, let him run around on a 20 ft long line. I've always read the best exercise for pups is short burts of romping around, then resting, then walking with you, etc. Long structured walks/jogs should be put off until the dog is mostly mature. Since your pup has some bigger breeds in him, maybe until he's 20 mos or so? For long jogs at least.