small Breed Dogs
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Topic of the Month - New Dog Information Each Month
Learning at the Right Pace
Whether you have a brand new puppy or your dog has been a family member for a long time, you may wonder if your dog is up to par in regard to training, intelligence and knowledge. At certain stages, your dog should be able to:
• Learn commands
• Know how to perform tricks
• Understand games
• Show intelligent thought, such as recognizing people and locations
As a loving owner, you may have wondered from time to time if your dog is at the normal learning development phase. Therefore, our Topic of the Month will discuss if your dog is learning as they should be.
Whether you have a brand new puppy or your dog has been a family member for a long time, you may wonder if your dog is up to par in regard to training, intelligence and knowledge. At certain stages, your dog should be able to:
• Learn commands
• Know how to perform tricks
• Understand games
• Show intelligent thought, such as recognizing people and locations
As a loving owner, you may have wondered from time to time if your dog is at the normal learning development phase. Therefore, our Topic of the Month will discuss if your dog is learning as they should be.
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Do keep in mind that all small dog breeds are different and will learn at varying speeds. However, if you find your dog is far behind on the majority of these elements, you should reevaluate a few things:
• Perhaps you need to spend more time with your dog to show him or her what to do and how to do it
• If your dog shows no interest in doing activities and spends most of their time resting and/or sleeping, bring your dog to the vet for a full medical checkup.
When You Should Begin Training
2-3 Months Old
This is when simple and basic training may begin. This type of
training will allow your puppy to feel comfortable as part of the
family. This is also vital because to a puppy, the world can seem like
a very scary place! Knowing they can depend on certain elements will
allow your dog to be emotionally well balanced.
While still depending on you for their care, this will also teach them how to begin to be independent and have their own thought process.
Routines must be established. If your dog is over 3 months and you have not done so yet, do not delay. Having a daily routine is healthy for your pet. At 3 months old, your dog should know exactly where his or her food and water is kept. It is vital to choose one area for their drinking and eating needs and not keep changing the location. Your dog must be able to learn where to go when he or she is thirsty and where to sit when it is dinner time. A dog will become very confused if your make this area in random spots throughout the home.
Attempt to keep a simple routine of when your puppy eats, sleeps, is brought outside to eliminate and when it is time for a walk. Dogs have a wonderful inner sense of time; when you establish these guidelines early, your dog will eventually bring their leash to you and tell you when it is time to go for a brisk walk!
At this age, it is best to begin teaching simple words for your dog to recognize. You must repeat the word several times while doing a certain action. For example, when setting down their food you should clearly say, "Food, food...food". If your puppy has any bad habits, now is the time to begin teaching them the word, "No". When you say "No", do so in a firm and commanding voice. Never yell or slap your dog! The tone in your voice of disappointment and shock will be enough once do this repeatedly.
House training your dog should be underway at this time. If you have had missteps in this area before, you can simply begin fresh. The basics of house training will be to keep your dog very close to you and bring them outside whenever they appear they must eliminate and also at designated times throughout the day.
4 - 6 Months Old
Beginning at 4 months and continuing on until approximately 6 months is a crucial time for your dog to learn very important commands. Once learned, you will find life to be more calm; you will no longer have an energetic puppy running around with no destination and unable to understand you!
During this training, it is essential to reward your dog when they show that they understand what you wish for them to do. Rewards to do not need to be food (Your dog could quickly become overweight!). An occasional doggie treat is fine; however rewarding their good behavior can be excited happy words along with hugs and kisses.
• Teach your dog to sit. Gently press on their bottoms when they are in a standing position and repeat the word "Sit". Alternatively, you can gently scoop their hind legs with your arm, which automatically causes a dog to sit. When they do so, reward them.
• Teach your dog to stop barking when it is not necessary. When they bark you should whisper, "Shhh" and in a very calm and quiet voice tell them everything is "Okay". If they quiet down, reward them.
• Teach your dog to come to you when you call their name. It is important to enunciate the first syllable of their name. A dog only reacts to this first sound of their full name. For example, a dog named "Cutie Pie" will respond to "Cute" when said in a tone that you wish for their attention.
• Teach your dog to walk appropriately with you while on their leash. They key to this is practice, practice, practice. When you are just beginning this, remember to reward your dog when they walk well for even 10 seconds.
6 - 10 Months Old
This is a great time to have your dog; he or she will be very familiar with their routines and have the basic commands down pat. You can now add on some extra commands that will make your life easier. These dog commands are a bit trickier; therefore a younger dog cannot be expected to understand the concept of these. Only through patience and repetition will your dog be able to:
• Stay in a sitting position until you call to them
• Bring you an object that you ask for
• Walk right beside you without a leash (of course we strongly suggest you always keep a leash on your dog when outside!)
• Perform tricks such as rolling over and shaking your hand. These are taught by gently making your dog do the action while repeatedly saying the command word. Rewards when done will reinforce their learning.
Aside from understanding more of the words you say to them, your dog should now be able to distinguish many individuals by name. They should be able to recognize a person that they see at least once per week. To teach your dog this, each time a certain person approaches your dog, take a moment to stand next to that person and repeat their name clearly. You can test your dog to see if they are at this intellectual level by having 2 people standing in a room while you give the command to run over to one of them.
11 Months On
By this time, you can fine tune any training your dog needs. If your dog does not focus well on one particular element, you can try again to teach it to them. Some dogs can be very stubborn regarding certain commands. If it is one that you can live without, you are better off skipping it and being happy that the other ones are mastered
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