by Steve and Jodie Ries, Top Gun Kennel
You’ve done all the research to locate the right breeder with proven traits in a sire and dam and required health certifications. The litter is born and, finally, it’s time to pick up your new family member. With the help of the breeder, you select the right one that should meet your needs and goals. Yet, as you begin the trip back home with this new puppy, your mind starts to wonder. You purchased a bag of puppy food the breeder recommends and you filled up a gallon of water from their water supply to help with the transition period. The puppy appears to be healthy at 8 weeks of age. You have the health papers and up-to-date vaccination records to justify.
But now what? When do you start the training process? How will you ever meet your needs and goals with this 8-week-old puppy? The breeder made sure to tell you that if you have any questions or concerns that you should contact them. But you don’t want to be a burden, especially as they are obviously very busy with their own training, phone calls and kennel obligations; however, maybe a few phone calls with updates and questions would allow you to walk through these first four months together to bring out the genetic potential of your new puppy.
Day 1
We encourage our customers to begin training the day they take home their newest family member. These puppies have been well acclimated to people, littermates and mom in a safe and healthy environment. You just need to bring them into your pack and continue the process. We firmly believe that the first 22 weeks provides us with the best opportunity to work with their sponge-like learning curve. You need to be consistent with commands and corrections early on to pave a solid foundation during this phase of their training.
Harvesting the Traits
Your breeder has earned their reputation by selecting the traits desired specifically for a select group of customers. These needs and goals were discussed in your very first conversation. Everyone wants a very natural, easy to train, versatile hunting and family companion; however, if you don’t do your part with harvesting those traits through basic obedience, they may not develop. Start with short sessions with some goals in mind.
Basic Commands
Start by teach your puppy basic commands, starting with “sit”, “here”, “heal” and “kennel.” Keep your basic-training sessions very short and all positive. You can begin training “whoa”, “place” and “hup” as the puppy gets closer to 4 months of age.
Kennel Training
Teach them to go in and out of their kennel “on command.” Start with them sitting and looking into their kennel. Let the pup smell a piece of puppy food then throw it to the back of their kennel and give the command “kennel.” Short sessions three to four times per day will return big dividends. Praise them to reassure them that the kennel isn’t for bad puppies only.
Potty Training
Train them to potty outdoors with a big “feel good” celebration after every accomplishment. When we start this process, once we notice the puppy going potty, we lay a command over top by saying “potty, potty” and praise them. The neighborhood might think we are crazy; however, this works well and soon after they learn to potty on command. Some of our customers have a bell by their door. This works well as they learn early that by ringing the bell the door opens.
Doorway Obedience
We train all our dogs to sit before entering or exiting doorways and we’re always the first person through the door. They cannot enter or exit without being given a command first. It’s not a race or bust out of jail move for them. This teaches so much respect for all family members. We use this same method when the dog is entering and exiting the kennel as well.
Feeding for Lifetime
When choosing a puppy food consider the importance of proper development, immune, gut health and longevity. There are many choices, marketing ads and opinions to choose from. Our biggest recommendation would be to start off feeding them smaller meals more often and maintain a healthy body condition.
Reading Body Language
God created these beautiful animals for us to enjoy making memories together. However, He didn’t give them voices for a reason. Reading their body language and understanding their ways of communicating back to us is critical. Are they confused or scared? If that’s the case, back up and learn new ways to be consistent with teaching before training. Some might be bolder or less willing to please. If this is the problem, then it’s time to work on different forms of pressure and let them see that they’re in control of stopping or avoiding the pressure. Correct communication doesn’t have to come from words we use. In fact, we recommend that you don’t use words at all until the command is understood. This will certainly confuse most of our readers. Simply put: We must teach them before we can correct them. By using fewer verbal commands, this provides them a given response that might please them.
Time Invested
When making this commitment to invest in your future hunting and family companion, the “best investment” is your time! Building a quality relationship together happens with time, exercise and filling their desire to please by continually working on new expectations followed with lots of praise. We want them to please us and follow that with a reward, which doesn’t have to be a treat. Our actions and words are what they respond to best. We must understand that we all have bad days. Upper management in any successful organization understands that we can’t be perfect in our careers every day. However, if we always continue to make progress towards our goals, then everyone succeeds.
Read the second installment in this Purely Dogs column – Building on a Solid Foundation at Four to Six Months.
