Teaching a pup the basics... And a nipping question

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emmae

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Well... Webber has been here 4 days today and today I think he has learnt the "sit" command... Also that he is NOT to jump up (who said Dalmatians are hard to train!?) Anyway, when do I move onto the "down" command??? I don't want to confuse him, but obviously it would be lovely to get the basics done ASAP!!!

First time puppy owner, could you guess!?

Also... He is still nipping a little when he gets excited, we've been saying "no" and givinghim one of his chew toys... Is this the right way to do this, any suggestions??
 
Harley never nipped really. When he was tiny someone told me to always have a stuffed toy to hand and if he ever put his mouth on me shove the toy in his mouth instead.

If you think you can teach your pup down... go for it I reckon!
 
How did you get him to stop jumping up? Ours are still leaping like ruddy salmon and I'm worried they're going to hurt themselves/their joints. They sit brilliantly but then leap up again.:(
 
How old is this puppy?

Don't rush him with the commands. When you do teach him something, try to just incorporate it in play so that he doesn't even realise he is being taught. Definitely don't put any pressue on him is he still just a few weeks old.

I would however, definitely put a stop to the nipping though - with a firm no when he does it.

He sounds lovely xx
 
Personally I teach the puppy's name first before anything else and then give the top priority to recall. When puppies are very young they tend to stay near you anyway, so I reward everytime the puppy comes near me and play recall games.

Again this is a personal preference but I don't use the word 'no' for no. This sounds counterintuitive as 'no' means no so why not use it, but the puppy does not speak English so it won't mind if you use another word! "No' is in very common usage and you are likely to desensitise the puppy by using it all the time for other things. I use the sound "uh ah" and when I make the sound it means the puppy has to stop whatever it is doing or I will make it stop - no exceptions. That word is never used for anything else and I always carry through if the puppy ignores it, so that he can learn not to ignore it.

For nipping this works for me: allow the puppy to mouth your hand and when he hurts you squeek in your most high pitched voice and leave your hand there. The last bit is very important. If you snatch your hand away, you are saying "chase me" and it becomes a game. If you leave your hand there and squeek you are saying "I am easily hurt, you hurt me, please don't hurt me again". Make the squeek sudden and really high pitches and then look for your puppy's reaction. He should look at you to say "my, I didn't expect that, you are very sensitive!". Repeat as necessary!
 
thanks for the replies... he is nine weeks today!! =D

He definitely knows his name... has done from about 7 weeks (his breeder taught him this!) he does recall (in the house.. not so hot when outside, there's just too much going on on the yard!? lol)... and we have been teaching sit with his toys and rewarding him by playing with him... always fun and we never let him get bored!!

cinammontoast- to stop him jumping up i just ignored him... turned to face the other way and moved my leg out of the way until he had all feet on the floor then praised him LOADS!


Booboos- thanks for that.. will give the nipping thing ago!!
 
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