Hi all,

I'd like your opinions on my situation. I have been crating my 3.5 mo. old minpin puppy and following Ed's premise that she needs to earn such things as leash time outdoors and training sessions and other such attention. She is doing well with housebreaking, being quiet in the crate, and so I've started some beginning marker training.

Prior to her arrival at our house, she was pretty much only let out on a deck to romp with her littermates, and then confined for the last 3 weeks while her cropped ears healed. With so much crate time, she seems almost sensory deprived - it is very difficult to get her attention even in quiet surroundings. Every bird twitter, ant crawling by, airplane, or dandelion moving in the breeze - EVERTHING distracts her. It's like she has never seen these things before. She actually seems to get a little stressed out by overstimulation, just by being outside!

She is notvery food motivated, but does pay attention when she is hungry - so I use her meals (twice a day raw chicken and kibble - am switching gradually to all raw) as opportunities to train. But once she is full, that's it.

Should I be giving her plenty of time just sitting around or in an ex-pen outside to desensitise her? Should I just be content with two training sessions a day with her meals as rewards? One thing I've been trying is to marker train her to pull on a tug, again, though, it's something she is not too excited about. One of the things she loves is climbing into my lap, so I am trying to incorporate that into a reward for a "good" session.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated . . .

Cheers,
Cindy

Is this your first min pin?

 Quote: Cindy Shepard

I have been crating my 3.5 mo. old minpin puppy and following Ed's premise that she needs to earn such things as leash time outdoors and training sessions and other such attention.

The methods you are describing are used in groundwork for adult dogs.

Puppy groundwork is very different and early socialization is crucial. Social isolation and prolonged crating are not part of it. There are many free videos on this website that might be of help in your situation.

Yes, this is my first minpin, and I although I have had many dogs in the past, I have not trained a puppy since the 80's so I feel totaly new at stuff . . .
. . . and overwhelmed by all the info I've been reading. I have seen all of the Leerburg videos and simply forgot about the two different groundwork methods. Crap. Well, I have not had her long and she is out of the crate way more often then at the breeders. I am trusting her on leash now in the kitchen and we go for several short excersise walks a day.

Plus as I said, we go out in the yard and attempt to do some fun things together - play tug, reward for eye contact, etc.

Do you think I should just keep trying to get her to focus on me or just let her get distracted by stuff and not worry about it till she gets over her facination with the environment?

I believe you won't be able to keep your puppy focused on you If you try to force it the puppy will just get frustrated.

It is all about very short sessions that are fun for the pup. You could marker train "watch me".

Fascination with environment and exploring is very good for the puppy. It is a good time to expose your puppy to as many different environments as you could and keep the experience positive.

Hi Cindy, What makes your puppy happy and excited? Have you tried just playing and running with her outside and just bonding with her... Maybe just sitting outside in the grass and letting her explore the grass, leaves, butterflies, what ever it is which is causing her to be distracted - let her enjoy it! If she has been spending a bit too much time in the crate she probably needs some time to just be a pup and explore the world a bit. Keep in mind she is a very young baby at this age. Pics! We'd love to see her photo!

Thanks for the feedback.
It seems the most natural thing to do - let her just be and not rush things and yet you read so many things and see so many videos of young pups already doing incredible tricks and behaviors, it's hard to know what is the best for your own pup . . . I'm trying, so thank you for helping.

Also, I know this site is geared towards working dogs, and perhaps most here have larger breeds, but I very much respect the Frawleys, and the info I am reading here. My minpin is a show puppy and will go into conformation and hopefully obedience and some of the other dog sports if it seems to suit her . . . I showed Afghan Hounds in the 70's and 80's, (yes! I achieved obedience degrees with Afghans!)but back then I used the old yank and crank training - most definitely not now!

Is there anyone on the forum with toy dogs? Would love to hear from you.

Mitzi before:


And After:

She is very, very cute. There are folks on this site who have chihuahuas, JRTs, little mutts, etc... a bit of everything so no need to feel out of place.

I too felt pressured to do everything at the beginning and not make one tiny mistake... it was wayyy to stressful. Just relax and enjoy you pup. They grow so quickly!

Marker training is great! Keep the sessions short and fun and like you are doing - when she is hungry.

PS... you may need to resize your photos to a smaller size. You can do this on the site where you uploaded them.

 Quote: Cindy Shepard

Yes, this is my first minpin, and I although I have had many dogs in the past, I have not trained a puppy since the 80's so I feel totaly new at stuff . . .
. . . and overwhelmed by all the info I've been reading. I have seen all of the Leerburg videos and simply forgot about the two different groundwork methods. Crap. Well, I have not had her long and she is out of the crate way more often then at the breeders. I am trusting her on leash now in the kitchen and we go for several short excersise walks a day.

Excellent The reason I asked if this was your first min pin is that often times min pins have almost ADD in the early months. It's up to you to encourage focus which will help develop your min pin into a show dog as opposed to a spazz.

The first thing I'd work with you min pin on is building the clicker relationship and not worry about her being distracted. The world is a pretty cool place, she might as well be a puppy and enjoy that time, exploring will also make her less reactive to new surfaces in the show ring. Just remember to reward her when she comes back to paying attention and interacting with you. Training bits for these guys need to be tiny so I used something high value that crumbled easily like cheese or boiled chicken breast. Zukes training bits cut into 4 s also worked if your dog has a decent amount of food drive.

The second thing and this will be big is socializing. If you're doing confirmation your puppy needs to be very comfortable with every Tom dick and harry touching her. What this means is that you need to make sure that people petting her and handling her is a very positive experience when she is calm. You also need her to be pretty non reactive around other dogs. This means introducing her to controlled situations where other dogs will be there but not interacting with her and you will be rewarding her for being calm and focused on you.

If there is a dog club nearby often times they will have confirmation practice where you can teach your pup skills like free stacking, hand stacking, and how to behave with lots of other people and dogs that she's not allowed to play with. Puppies often time have difficulty with this concept but just use calm insistence and keep her moving and often times this turns around pretty quickly. Stay positive, and keep things fun while still achieving your goal.

Thanks, Melissa, for all that great advice.
It sounds like you know your MinPins! Mitzi is decidedly un-spastic - it seems her greatest pleasure is climbing into a lap and we've had her a couple of weeks now and not a single bark. We are wondering if she even knows how - but are glad for it (or lack of it, I should say).

I'm using various packaged training treats that are grain free and cut into tiny bits, but I think I'll try to find something higher value - she loves raw chicken, but that's a bit impractical, so I'll try the cooked.

Thanks again everyone - I think I was feeling panic stricken over what to do next and all your kind replies have made me feel more grounded and confident.