Well, as of today, Ed has 11,011 members on this board. I think that says it all!

(I mean, that's larger than the year-round population of my town...by a long shot!)

Hi,

I have a question regarding the leash correction stuff you guys are discussing... I have Ed's 8 week to 8 months DVD and in it he says he DOES leash correct a puppy for not coming when called or dropping what's in their mouth. I took that to mean right away, that the leash correction is part of the teaching the dog to drop something (his "Yuck" command)... is this wrong?

I think I am very lucky because my puppy is definitely a "hard" dog! But I don't want to start too early! I thought I was doing the right thing teaching him that if he doesn't "leave it", then he will get a pop. Anyone have comments on this? He is only 13 weeks old and we have only been leash correcting him for "leave it" (and only started doing that this week) since he doesn't really need it for "here" (he has extreme food drive!), and sometimes biting (probably not the right thing, but he's terrible some days and doesn't respond to anything else).

Thanks!
Meghan

It sounds like you are on the right track Meghan. It does depend on how hard or soft your puupy is. Usually with puppies that young I will only give a correction that will redirect their attention. Is your pup going after things he is not supposed to? If he is, try to give enough correction to change his focus and turn his attention to something he is suppossed to go after. Watch how he reacts to your correction if he reccovers quick and it doesn't make him afraid or skiddish you should be ok. If you under correct he won't listen. If you over correct you will loose the relationship you are working toward having. He might not be getting enough exercise on the days he gets really bad. If you have days that he gets really rowdy and doesn't listen take him out and walk around with him and/or play ball or something with him to burn off some energy. If he bites you give him just enough correction to make him loose focus on biting you and transfer the biting to a toy. If he doesn't come when asked give just enough correction to get his attention and pat your leg and say come for him to get the idea, or squat down and pat the ground and say come. You could also wiggle a toy or show him a treat and say come. When he comes praise him. His attention span isn't going to be very long at this age either. There is a fine line where you can or cannot correct. Don't nag him with a command over and over, he'll end up ignoring it and you will have to use another word later on. You won't be able to give up if he doesn't listen, that will let him win and you will loose the leader position. He needs to know who the pack leader is. You can't correct for an obedience command that he doesn't know. Be patient it takes time he is still really young and needs more guidance than corrections. Read Ed's ebooks on Ground Work for puppies, Theory on corrections, all the puppy stuff he has on here and watch the video. It takes time and practice and gaining experience to learn the proper timing

 Quote: John Corbett

He might not be getting enough exercise on the days he gets really bad. If you have days that he gets really rowdy and doesn't listen take him out and walk around with him and/or play ball or something with him to burn off some energy.

And remember; sometimes he'll just have bad days and your best bet is to ignore his weirdness. I noticed that any time Noah ate his meals really, really quickly he also had days of...grumpiness. There's a lot going on inside that fuzzbutt, I just approach each day like a new adventure. Most days you can redirect, but if you feel like you're hitting a brick wall one day don't carry it into the next day.