Dog training books
Ok, it seems like when i research puppy training in a book or online they all have different answers. One will say DO NOT play tug of war with a puppy and one will say be sure to play tug of war with a puppy. How am i supposed to know what is the correct way to train a dog? It has been very confusing to me.
dog training books
I feel your pain! I just went through the same thing this past month. We adopted a young adult dog from a shelter, and since I never had a dog before I was totally clueless about what to do about training, food, play, housebreaking, etc. It was so frustrating to find out that every person will tell you something different! You know, that would be fine in certain aspects of life, but when it comes to a puppy we can end up doing a lot of damage unintentionally by following bad advice.
What I ended up doing is finding books recommended by websites that I deemed trustworthy (nor commercial, not trying to advertise the newest training video, etc). Go to the ASPCA website and read through the pages that deal with puppy behavior. Find links to other trustworthy sites and go from there. Read books that explain not only what you should do, but also how to communicate effectively with your dog, how dogs learn, and what is the theory behind it. I personally found that I heartily disagree with the theory behind Cesar Millan’s school of thought, even though I found some of his practical advice worth a try (yes, dogs need LOTS of exercise!). The best book I have read so far is "The Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson. It has lots of practical advice for new puppy parents and step by step instructions on how to go about teaching new behaviors.
Good luck!
You can play tug of war, as long as you also teach your dog a command to stop instantly. This is because dogs will always see this as a game. So if they go after someone else’s stuff, and they try to pull it away, or heaven forbid a person, they will not know to let go. I have a black lab and a pit bull, I play tug of war with them because they enjoy it, they also both know the command "drop it" as soon as I say this command, they know to drop whatever is in their mouths and to lay right down. this is also good if they are chewing or eating something that you don’t want them to!
well how about some straight from the mouth experience, i play/played tug-of-war with my puppy all the time, i still do. I lost sometimes…she still knows i’m the boss…
Ok, so I have always played tug-o-war with Ceasar….but there are rules.
1. I begin and end the game as I (the leader) choose
2. When I say "leave it", he turns loose whatever is in his mouth (toys, food, etc…)
Its all about what boundaries you set from day one with your dog. It depends on the personality of the dog along with your ability and patience with training,
good luck
we’ve always played tug, you just have to make sure you win most of the time. which honestly isnt hard.
even my new puppy plays tug with our older dog, and the older dog lets him win about 10% of the time.
do what feels right with your dog. if he refuses to ever let you win, or gets overly aggressive, then its not a game for you guys. if he’s like our dog where they just flat out suck at it, or you can drop the toy and they know to either give it right back to you, or that the game is over and they need to give up, then its a fine game. you have to learn your dog.
Do what works for you. There is no law that says you have to train come, sit, stay, if your puppy sits when you say popcorn then say popcorn. I don’t use the command "no" because it comes up in conversation and it confuses the puppy, but if "no" works for your puppy, then go with it. I use different words, sounds, hand signals for each of my dogs, so if a dog is not responding to commands, I change them. None of my dogs like to play tug of war. Some of my dogs will catch a ball, one of my dogs has bad vision so we play games that work for him. My current puppy is a hunting dog, so she pounces on her toys. Do what works for you and your puppy. Puppies train at their own pace, so it doesn’t matter what your other dogs did, only what this one will do. One of my puppies killed a doggie pillow. 4 other dogs before her loved that pillow, but for some reason she decided the pillow must die. One of my puppies didn’t like the maroon leash, or the pink one, but she did just fine with the blue one. Sometimes puppies are just puppies. There really isn’t a right or wrong, just what works for you. Puppies want to please you, so show them which behaviors you allow, and which ones you don’t allow and remember to praise them when they do good so they know to keep doing good. My neighbor calls the ducks with a duck call, I just burp and the ducks come to my house, so now my dogs will also come if I burp. Do what works for you .