This normal for a 4 month old pup, or am I not enforcing the commands enough? I try to train about an hour a day, doing sit, down, and come. Sit works so so off leash, down if I have a treat in my hand, and come...well, I'm sure you know. But, with her leash on, ANY LEASH, she performs miracles. Any suggestions?

As Always, Thanx in advance...

Vagelie A Karatzas
Phoenixx1978@msn.com

Watch Your Puppy 8 weeks to 8 months AND Basic Obedience that you can buy off the Leerburg site. Both have a wealth of information.

I work with my dog in the kitchen and backyard off leash using positive reinforcement (food & lots of praise).

How long have you been working with you pup? You may be expecting too much at this point.

Sounds like your pup associates the leash with being obedient. You need to positively reinforce the obedience when it is off leash. I feel No harm in giving it a treat and praise for an action it does on its own (to reinforce the behavior). Example: When it randomly sits say good sit and give it a treat.

I made come a game. I use HERE as I dont want it to be so formal yet with my pup. I say his name to get his attention and then say HERE as I walk backwards fast and then faster as he comes. As soon as he is close to me I give him a treat and praise him (extreme obnoxious praising). He now comes and sits in front of me waiting for the treat looking straight at me. I also use a flex lead and do this when we are on a walk and at the park. I let him go and sniff where ever, do whatever and then say here and he comes running for his treat.I know he has a huge food drive so this works. You need to find out what your pup likes (food or maybe a toy)and use it during training.

An hour a day is too much for a 4 mo. old puppy. Sessions should be kept short, a few minutes at a time, 2 to 3 times a day. Keep it motivational and fun at this point. If your letting your dog get bored, tired and distracted you are trying to do too much in one session. JMO

thanx for the advice, guys. The 8 weeks etc. video is phenomenal showing what good dogs do, hehe. Today I watched her enthusiasm level, and when her food drive diminished while we were training at the park, we called it quits. So, I'm gonna tune the time down to 20-30 min.
Also, if the pup is off leash, and she performs well, how does one praise and treat her 20 feet away? By the time I get there, she's mentally MILES away from what I'm praising her for.

Thanx again,

Vagelie A Karatzas

20 to 30 minutes for one session is still "WAY TO LONG" for a dog this age. Consider the entire Schutzhund obedience phase only last 15 or so minutes tops! What is she doing 20 feet away from you that is so good she needs a reward? Slow down, this dog is still young and has a long way to go. Again, JMO!

Johns right, your training way to long. At the rate your going, you are going to kill what drive your pup has. I would do like John said, train in small increments a few times a day rather than one whole 30 min session. No way a pup of 4mos can stay focused enough to benefit a 30 min session. Just my opinion.

ok, then what should I do at the park? The LAST thing I wanna do is hinder her drives, as she has already learned sit, down, heel, and come ON LEASH. I'm trying to teach her fetch, so we have something to do at the park, hehe. My wife and I also walk to opposite sides of a baseball or football field and practice the "come" command. She seems to enjoy that. Now you guys got me all worried I'm pushing too hard, hehe.

Awaiting reply,

Vagelie Karatzas

Making your dog heel at 4 months?

In my opinion you are expecting way too much.

When is your puppy allowed to be a puppy?

Guess I never looked at it that way... I was always told that pupies are trained easier, and I guess I've been trying that approach. The wierd thing is that if we just hang out in the park, she just sniffs around and follows me, but if we're training, her tail's wagging, and she's energetic. Catch 22.

You could play fetch on a Flexi or a 30 foot long line.