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Post by Callie on May 2, 2016 21:55:32 GMT
We bought our son a miniature American Eskimo puppy at the end of March. We are new to dogs. He (the puppy) is really, really smart and can already run faster than I can. Other than a few little oopsies in his training, we're all getting along just fine. We're reading and learning as fast as we can, but he gets ahead of us sometimes. He can learn tricks after being shown 2-3 times. He is 3 1/2 months old.
Here is my questions:
1. He's white - dirt is brown.......he loves to dig to China in the garden. He does not like the bath that comes afterwards. Does dog shampoo sting their eyes? I know I could try some on my own eyes and see......but.....it's much easier to ask here. I had hoped that he would learn to love a bath since he's going to be getting one quite often. Usually, we just spray him off with warm water in the tub but sometimes the shampoo is necessary. I have tried to not let any get in his eyes but afterwards, he runs in circles and wipes his face (as well as every other part of his body) on a rug or towel.
2. Any tips for training them to a leash? I'm working on holding a treat at my knee and getting him to walk with me and he does okay for a few steps, but between treats, he rolls over and over and flops over and around and then charges away. I can't react fast enough so he hits the end of the leash and it isn't good. I'm hoping that he will eventually get over this if we keep working. He really needs to be on a leash so he can enjoy being with us the most. Is there a situation when a halter is better? I was told that halters make them want to pull more than the leash will. Eskies are great at slipping out of collars though.
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Post by nyhunter on May 2, 2016 22:27:12 GMT
Yes shampoo will sting their eyes. Most I have seen say on the bottle to avoid the eyes. When you walk him on the leash keep the dog at your side and hold the leash close to his neck. If he starts pulling try to pull his head up rather than pulling back on him. When you pull straight back the pressure makes them pull harder if you lift up and raise his head he should stop pulling each time you do it.
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Post by Callie on May 2, 2016 23:01:19 GMT
That makes sense....but I'd really have to bend down to hold the leash next to his neck...he's a long ways down there.
Didn't think to read the bottle. How dumb is that?
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Post by aoconnor on May 2, 2016 23:27:33 GMT
You can use human baby shampoo, it won't sting the eyes:-)
He is being a puppy on the leash. Its like when I first put a halter on a young foal, they feel trapped and it frightens them and they will sometimes bolt of roll their heads around and try to get away from the pressure of the halter. In your pups case, he is probably not frightened, but he wants that darned thing off his neck NOW, and he has figured out a way to get you to stop making him obey you and walk nicely on leash:-) I would calmly talk to puppy while walking him next to you in the house. When he starts the silly stuff, stop walking and give him a little tug with a firm no, then release the pressure the instant he gives in to the tug. Praise him when he calms down, then keep walking. No treats until he is done walking nicely for a short time. Don't do more than 5 minutes of training at a time, it gets to be a little long for a young puppy. Rather, do several short training exercises daily. When he behaves, reward him with a hearty GOOD BOY, and a pat or rub. A little treat is fine, too. Lots of praise goes farther than treats though! I don't use treats here because then my dogs will expect treats every time they behave. I have no time for digging out a cookie or treat each time they do what I ask!
Anyway, enjoy your puppy! A puppy time training class somewhere might be beneficial to you as new dog owners. Petsmart has classes, as well as some of the bigger specialty dog food places. Just check out your area for a class and get him in one:-)
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Post by mollymckee on May 3, 2016 1:42:08 GMT
I'd look for a puppy class at local dog training club. Here the classes are cheaper than Petsmart classes and much better. My dogs love to go. You want your dog to learn to walk quietly with a collar and leash. Your son might like to do dog training in 4-h.
I use baby shampo on my dogs heads, dog shampo on the rest of them.
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Post by motdaugrnds on May 3, 2016 18:57:33 GMT
Training a small puppy can be tiring yet fun. Just don't expect perfection. ROFL Were that pup mine, I'ld put the leash on it, sit on the floor with a pocket full of his favorite treat and teach him to "come", "sit", "down", whatever else you want it to learn WITHOUT expecting him to STRICTLY obey but just to "play" while being obedient and getting treats. (Even human children learn more easily while playing.)
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Post by Callie on May 3, 2016 20:37:34 GMT
I'd look for a puppy class at local dog training club. Here the classes are cheaper than Petsmart classes and much better. My dogs love to go. You want your dog to learn to walk quietly with a collar and leash. Your son might like to do dog training in 4-h. I use baby shampo on my dogs heads, dog shampo on the rest of them. Yes, this is what we have been doing. I just wanted ot make sure I wasn't hurting him in any way. My sheep did the same thing only bigger. I'm just not sure if sheep are that much the same as puppies. If we had time for 4H..... |
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Post by Callie on May 3, 2016 20:40:09 GMT
Training a small puppy can be tiring yet fun. Just don't expect perfection. ROFL Were that pup mine, I'ld put the leash on it, sit on the floor with a pocket full of his favorite treat and teach him to "come", "sit", "down", whatever else you want it to learn WITHOUT expecting him to STRICTLY obey but just to "play" while being obedient and getting treats. (Even human children learn more easily while playing.) LOl...oh, he plays. I didn't think of doing more than just basics in the house. DS taught him 'roll-over' and 'lie down' yesterday. This puppy is really quick to catch on. And a bit headstrong. We've made a new rule. When he goes out- it's only with the leash on. After a few minutes, we let him free to run. Today, I repeated that a few times. Why don't they make all dog shampoos tear-free? That seems pretty basic to me. |
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Post by countrymom22 on May 4, 2016 1:31:29 GMT
Baby shampoo is fine for his face. The rolling he is doing after the bath is to help him dry himself off, nothing to worry about.
I would start out with the puppy on lead and you step away from him, then call him to you. Reward with a treat. The key is to make him want to be with you more than he wants to fight the leash. Then you can begin to try to go short distances when you want him to, not when he wants to. Use his name and teach him to make eye contact with you. Then he will automatically be next to you as he seeks out the contact. But keep[ the treats coming if that is what's working right now. You can wean him off of expecting treats when he is more reliable. Just keep it fun and short. They don't have real long attention spans, and you don't want to bore him.
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Post by motdaugrnds on May 4, 2016 2:14:33 GMT
LOL That reminds me of the initial training my son did with my LGD who, at the time, was only 8 weeks old. He was teaching Valentina (the Bulgarian Karakachan LGD) where the boundary was by walking all around the parameter fencing with her on a leash. She would follow playfully awhile and then not want to follow at all but want to go her own way. My son would just stand still and patiently wait (no verbage) until she got tired of trying to go her own way. Then my son would start walking again. She would follow. ROFL Some dogs really are more subborn than others; yet all puppies need to "enjoy" their new life. It is good they learn to "think" for themselves that following is a good thing. ROFL
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Post by Callie on May 4, 2016 18:07:47 GMT
I wish I knew a better line to draw with this guy. I want him to have fun. I want him to be safe on our property and be able to go for walks with our son....that means down the road. so he has to be on a leash, but it doesn't have to be every minute. We keep telling ourselves that he's just a baby and isn't going to learn everything the first day. It's a process. It's amazing how much I feel like we have another child! I can't be gone from home too long. I can't leave him alone. he doesn't want to sit on a lap- he wants down to explore. At least, I can leave him in the car on these cooler days so he's not home alone for too long. I prefer to think that he'd rather be in his crate in the car with me than home alone. Soon school will be out and it will be easier on me.
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Post by motdaugrnds on May 21, 2016 16:06:34 GMT
Oh I'm wondering if being an Eskimo pup, does he want to run? If so, you might try putting him on a long lead and let him run kind of like training a horse...or run with him. Doing this before teaching him more slowed-down commands may help. He might even "follow" on a lead better after running awhile.
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Post by dodgesmammaw on Jun 4, 2016 5:38:08 GMT
I am taking my puppy to classes. It has been a good learning experience for us both.
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