Puppy Fun & Focus Class - Week 1
Welcome to class Caesar, Foxy, Scout, Skadi, Louie and their parents,
I hope you all enjoyed the lecture on Sunday and I am looking forward to meeting the pups. :)
Don't feed your puppy 1 1/2 hours before class as driving in the car can upset their tummies.
Remember not to overdo exercises. We will often split up to practise something and I come around to one pup after the other to see how things are going and give further advise. Please use the time that I am not with you to play with your puppy and to take them outside for toilet stops. If they do have a mistake inside, please let me know, so I can clean and disinfect properly.
Please download the lecture here and watch the following 5 videos as preparation for next week:
Socialisation for puppies
We have talked about this in the lecture, but this video gives you a lot more information on the topic.
Positive Interrupter
Please note that any time Kikopup uses the click, we will be using the YES in class since it will have the same effect, but be more handy in every day life.
Desensitising to harness
Please use similar techniques for your dog's collar and lead. Make sure to have some play time with the lead on and then take it off again. If your dog bites the lead, just get a chain lead for now. A harness is always preferable to a collar. Hank and Mouse wear a collar with their registration tag and phone number all the time, but the lead is always attached to their harness that comes out for walks and other outings.
Free shaping walking training
I will show next week how to teach the puppies to walk on a lose lead. This week I would like you to focus on "conditioning the pup to be at your side". Please choose a side that you would like to use for your lead walking and stick to this side until your pup really knows the command, even in harder environments. Hold your toy/treats in the opposite hand. So, if you choose to walk your puppy on the left side, have the reward/s in the right hand. We don't want to bribe our pups. Now we are going to encourage our puppy to walk on that side by waving our fingers and/or clapping the leg on that side. Be enthusiastic to motivate your pup and have a good pace to make sure your puppy doesn't naturally walk faster than you. This exercise is done off-lead and in your living room or backyard. As soon as your puppy is next to you, say YES to confirm that's exactly what you were after. There is no rush to reward straight after the yes, but bringing the occasional treat over into the free hand and rewarding the pup while walking will help to keep them at your side.
Does your pup keep slowing down? Throw the treat on the ground just ahead of you.
Does your pup jump a lot? Reward on the ground just next to you.
Does your pup keep getting ahead of you? Reward out of your hand, slightly behind you and make sure to always turn around and walk the other way to get your pup to stay next to you.
When you are ready to finish the exercise which shouldn't take longer than 30 seconds, say OKAY to release your pup and have a great time with your special toy. You can repeat the exercise a couple of times in one session, but not more to make sure you end on success. Feel free to have multiple sessions a day.
First exercise Week 2
Feel free to comment with questions and see you at week 2.