Quote: beth fuqua

Step 4: Play with pup, indoors or outdoors, have a ball! (literally + figuratively)

Hi Beth,

I'm pretty doing everything here except playing in the house. Tell me if I'm wrong here. My thinking is that he's only 16lbs now at 9 wks and it's cool to play and romp in the house. But, when he's a 90-100lb adult, it's not so cool, so I'm refraining from any "horse play" in the house.

Many thanks,
craig

 Quote: craig campbell

 Quote: beth fuqua

Step 4: Play with pup, indoors or outdoors, have a ball! (literally + figuratively)

My thinking is that he's only 16lbs now at 9 wks and it's cool to play and romp in the house. But, when he's a 90-100lb adult, it's not so cool, so I'm refraining from any "horse play" in the house.

Many thanks,
craig

Well, you can set the level of excitement..... indoor play can be very low-level.

Hee hee. Watch a movie together. Consider sharing popcorn. This is really fun in a large bean bag chair.

Beth

OK - editing. I understand what you mean about controlling the level of craziness in v. out of the house. My only thought is that you CAN play in the house and control the level of crazy play. You should always be in charge of the game anyway..right??

Craig,

I grew up at a time when wooden "potty chairs" with straps were popular

The secret to avoiding accidents is to take the pup outside often.

Hans is now 2 years old and weights 87 lbs. We do play in the house, throw toys for him to go after, play tug, that kind of thing. At night when I'm sitting on the couch with my wife watching TV he brings us toys. He wants us to either play tug with them or throw them. At first he stands in front of us with the toy. If we don't reach for it, he brings it closer. If we still ignore it he drops it in our lap, then steps back. If we still ignore it he will bark softly at us. The big thing now for him is for me to throw the toy and he tries to jump up in the air and catch it.

Of course, this means we have to be careful with the kind of toy and the direction we throw it, for a couple of reasons. First, Hans doesn't care what he has to go over, through, or around to get to the toy, and he only goes around if he's convinced, through experience, that through or over won't work. Second, we don't want to throw a toy in the house that is going to cause damage if there is an errant throw. There are a lot of errant throws. Third, don't throw anything towards the TV. Can't see through the dog to see the TV if we do that.

Have fun with your little guy.

Craig:

I know what you mean about your parents correcting you, etc. Remember the huge cognitive difference between the smartest dog, and a 3 year old. It's vast. An ocean of higher reasoning ability. You have posed a really interesting question, and I think it's important to do what you're doing, to always think about how a dog learns and why they learn that way. By considering what we're really teaching, we are enabled to refine our methods.

Incidentally, your very own potty training analogy reminded me of a story. My friend has twin children, a boy and a girl. He told them that if they go in the potty he'll give them cake. So the boy finally went for the first time, and they all clapped for him, and the first thing he said was, "I get cake now??" -- It's a pretty powerful motivator!

I think the "creature of habit" comment is right, too. that's what training is about. You condition a dog to stop thinking about what you expect, and to just do it. You do this through repetition, this is how training gets from the "correction" phase to the "maintenance" phase. Just so with potty training. First they try, NOT because they're thinking "I want a cookie!" but because they have developed a positive association with pottying in a certain place. Eventually it's just...where they go.

 Quote:

I guess I think about things too much and over analyze them. I eventually learn that if I pee in this spot, I get a treat. However, if I'm in the house and have to pee, I might not get a treat, but that's OK this time, because I have to pee.

This is the kinda thinking that will get you in trouble

Dogs think in the most simplistic way, and as someone said, they are creatures of habbit.

If you repeat a behavior enough times, it will "stick". The dog "won't know any better".

This is what drives me crazy when people talk about "correcting a puppy" and believe their puppy is being "spiteful".

Puppies are a completely BLANK SLATE. They dont know anything that they haven't learnt in the time that you have owned them. If they are doing something wrong its because either YOU ALLOWED IT, or YOU TAUGHT THEM TO DO IT. Period.

People often say "well my dog chews up the sofa, so I scruffed him till he squeeked and now he doesnt do it anymore". I tell them "if you don't allow them the opportunity to chew the sofa, then they won't form the habbit". Ofcourse, this doesn't always sink in with some people, so I have gotten the response "but when the dog is older, do you correct him THEN? How will he know not to start doing it when he does have access to the sofa?". Chewing is a puppy thing, if they have never had the opportunity to do it, and never developed the habbit, then as adults they will never do it either.

Unfortunately this takes alot of consistency and patience, and some people just don't "get it". They spend too much time comparing puppies to kids. Kids have what I call "intuitive learning". Once a kid is a certain age, he can think for himself, to find creative ways to get out of doing things. A dog is very simple. Either he does it, or he doesn't do it. He doesn't think of ways to "con" you like a 6 year old does.

 Quote: mike j schoonbrood

Kids have what I call "intuitive learning". Once a kid is a certain age, he can think for himself, to find creative ways to get out of doing things. A dog is very simple. Either he does it, or he doesn't do it. He doesn't think of ways to "con" you like a 6 year old does.

So, should I correct my 5 1/2 year old for chewing on the sofa?

That's some serious dominance right there. Try a dominant kid collar

Mike,

On comparing dogs to kids ...

I buy my dog's groceries.
I house him.
I take him to the doctor and pay the bills.
I buy all his clothes and accessories (collar, leash, remote collar)
I wash his dirty dishes.
I take parenting classes (Leerburg DVDs)
I consult with parenting experts (you and others here)
I toilet trained him and cleaned up after his accidents.
I praise him when he is right and correct him when he is wrong.
So far, he hasn't asked for the car keys, but I'm sure that's coming.

So, how is he different from a kid???

 Quote: Rich Pallechio

So, how is he different from a kid???

He does stuff when you say to.