This series of weekly dog training tips  will include puppy training tips. That’s the case today, because bite inhibition is best taught very early on. In fact, the process begins with the puppy’s littermates. As they play, they naturally “mouth” each other — that is, they use their mouths to nip at each other. Their little teeth are plenty sharp, so it hurts, but their jaws are relatively weak at first so mouthing doesn’t do that much damage.

When one puppy does hurt another one, often the hurt one will stop playing for a while and move away. By this happening repeatedly as the litter grows up, puppies learn bite inhibition, that if they pretend to bite but use less force, the games continue. So the puppies begin to develop what’s called a soft mouth. This is one of several reasons that it’s important for puppies to stay with their mothers and littermates for a couple of months or so after birth.

The puppies’ mother or other adult dogs in the household will also correct the mouthing. If a puppy bites them, they may growl, curl their lips at the puppy, or get up and walk away.

Your Role in Training Bite Inhibition

If you get a puppy of whatever age, one of the first things for you to do — and it will naturally happen in the first day, most likely — is to determine just how far along your pup is in learning bite inhibition. At this stage, you are not looking for NO mouthing or biting. It’s actually much better for their training process if they will learn to develop a gentle bite. This is because if your dog should bite later on in life, the bite will do far less damage if the mouthing process has been allowed to develop into that ability to bite gently.

Of course, all this takes time and you will be enduring some sharp nips in the process.

Puppies often mouth when they are excited, or when they first wake up to an exciting new day. At those times, or at any time that your puppy mouths, here is what you or your children can do. Kids are more likely to be mouthed than adults because they are more lively than we are.

Say “ouch!” or yelp like another puppy would. Or say NO in a stern voice. Then stand up if you aren’t standing, and turn away from the puppy. Put your arms around your chest, to be less interesting to the pup. Stay like that, silently ignoring your puppy for around half a minute. Then resume interacting in a gentle manner.

Ian Dunbar has a wonderful DVD on training puppies which explains this in a lot more detail. Bite inhibition is actually one the very most important things you need to teach your puppy, and he explains why. See my review of Sirius Puppy Training here. One of the things I’m happiest about regarding this website is that hundreds and hundreds of people have bought this program and presumably gotten their puppies off to a better start in life. But with or without that DVD, keep at the bite inhibition process and within weeks you will see progress.

Marcie M. Jensen of CampRunaPup.com wrote a recent article I used on the site. Here is a longer one about puppy care.I like their blog at http://camprunapup.com/wp — Rosana

A new puppy is so exciting! It’s like getting a big chief notebook and being the first one to draw in it. Puppies are babies, and as such, require some effort on your part.

The first thing you need to buy is a crate. It drives me crazy when people tell me they “just can’t” put their puppy in a crate. Yet, these same people have no problem putting their human baby in a play pen or car seat. Why do they do this? To keep them safe! That’s exactly what a crate does for your puppy. A dog is a den animal and needs its own den. The size of the crate for most puppies should be about 36″ x 23″ x 26″, but that may vary depending on your puppy’s size. When your puppy is not under your direct supervision, it should be in its crate, or “house” if you prefer.

A puppy should be fed three times a day. Strangely enough, your puppy will tell you when it’s ready to eat lunch. Put the puppy’s food down, leave it there for 15 minutes, and then pick it up. A dog should not be fed like a cat and nibble all day.

Housebreaking your puppy can be accomplished quite easily. Early in the morning, probably around 5 a.m., get your puppy up out of the crate and take it where you want it to go potty. Put it down and wait WITH the puppy until it eliminates. The minute it does, start the parade! Give it lots of praise and pats, and maybe even a treat or two. Take your puppy back inside and feed it. Put it back in the crate for 10-15 minutes and then take the puppy outside again. Same program: it goes, you cheer.

Now it’s play time! Play with your puppy as long as you can. Show it during this time what is appropriate for it to chew on. When the puppy grabs the corner of your Oriental rug, make a soft scolding sound and distract it with a puppy toy. If you have to run errands or go to work, take the puppy out one more time and wait for it to go potty. Then it’s inside and back in the crate. A 12 week-old puppy should be able to stay in its crate for about three hours. The rule of thumb is one hour per month of age.

If you keep a diary of when your puppy goes potty, you will easily see a pattern within three days. This is very easy to do since you are with the puppy when it goes potty, and not just sending it outside. One last note on potty training: If you take your puppy outside for the night at about 10:00 or 10:30 they should be able to last until 5:00 or 5:30.

Now every time you put the puppy in the crate, it’s no big deal, just like putting the baby in their crib for a nap. Taking the puppy out is no big deal either. The minute you take the puppy out of the crate, pick it up and take it to go potty.

The crate or “den” is a wonderful way to build a wonderful positive relationship with your pet. Since it is safe in its crate, your things are safe in your house. When you come home, there is never a reason to scold or get upset. Your interaction with your puppy is always positive. Your puppy learns to look forward to you coming home.

A short story here about puppies and crates. Several years ago I had a client who simply could not bring himself to put his young dog in a crate. He had just bought a brand new house and insisted the pup should enjoy it. And, enjoy it she did. The first week she enjoyed chewing on all the lower kitchen cabinets. The next week she enjoyed chewing on all the lower window sills. The next week she enjoyed tearing up the brand new carpet in the living room. The next week she enjoyed gnawing the corner off the new coffee table. The next week he put her in the bathroom where she managed to get those cabinets doors to match the kitchen cabinets. The next week when I came over, he had purchased a crate, and there she sat, happy as a clam! Of course, this was after thousands of dollars of damage had been done.

(Then there was the guy who wouldn’t consider a crate. After his dog did damage to the home, the dog was put to sleep. I guess he thought that was a kinder, gentler way to solve the problem. )

So, there you have it. A positive way of bringing up puppy.

For more on crate training puppies, see my page on the topic by clicking the link. Also see my main page on potty training puppies here. And again, Marcie’s website is http://camprunapup.com/wp

The rule of thumb that she gives for how long a puppy can stay in a crate would NOT mean that a 10-month-old puppy could stay in for 10 hours. In my opinion, that is too long and you should have a neighbor, friend, or pet care person give the pup a break during the day.

I love finding clear dog training information that is suitable for both adults and children– so long as it uses teaching methods that don’t hurt the dog in the process. The economical Train Your Dog DVD: The Positive, Gentle Method, succeeds admirably in Read the rest of this entry

Chances are that your dog or dogs are already trained to sit, but are you taking advantage of the many ways this versatile word can be used? Today I’ll give some tips on training the sit with a clicker. These are hot from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, as I’ve been doing this a lot with Lola, the Rottie we adopted a few months ago.

CLICKER TIPS:

If your dog sits but you’d like him to do it more reliably or eagerly, consider the power of cheddar cheese and a clicker.

Cut a few slices of cheddar off the block, then dice till you have dozens of really tiny pieces, but large enough that you can still pick each one up! Put them in a small jar or a small zipper type plastic bag, and put them out of reach of the dog but where you can easily get them. Do this at a time when your dog is likely to be interested in cheese, not immediately after feeding. Of course, if your dog won’t work for cheese or is allergic to dairy, use something else.

Ask the dog to sit via hand signal or word. If your dog isn’t trained to sit, show him some him the cheese in your hand and slowly move your hand up over his head, and likely he will sit to watch. At the VERY INSTANT that your dog’s rear touches the floor, click. That tells him what you want. Then give him a tiny bit of cheese, from an open palm.

Lola thinks this game can go on for 10 or 12 treats easily.

If you’re not clicker training, you can use essentially the same method.

For more on clickertraining, see my favorite site: Karen Pryor’s Clickertraining, which is a huge site with lots of fascinating articles and videos.

SOME USES FOR THE SIT:

* To go in and out of doors without your dog charging through.
* To handle jealousy between dogs… I’ve been doing this to help with our older LarryDog’s acceptance of our pup Lola (who already towers over him). Say “Doggies, sit!” and give them each a tiny bit of cheese. It doesn’t take very may repetitions for both dogs to feel that being together has some distinct benefits!
* For your dog to stay beside the car till you’re ready to load, and to stay in the car till you’re ready for him to come out. (Naturally, be extra cautious if around traffic.)

[tags]clicker training dogs, train dog sit, dog training[/tags]