Pup Training Tips Required

gud4u

Can anyone advise on the following,

Apologies for the long post, I have highlighted the main points.

My 15 week old rottweiller pup can only walk for about 10 mins, when I say walk, that's stroll behind me and stopping every few steps. I'm bringing him with me everywhere for socialising at the moment, to he seems just want to sit there and take in the world. Is this what they're like. I haven't had a rott pup before.

If I bring him out for a few hours, like I would love to do today, I'II end up carrying him, and he's getting too heavy for that. It's a sports event I'm going to and I would be doing a bit of walking but mainly sitting around at the finish line.

He has a tendancy to walk between your feet if off lead, around the house like, last night I thought we'd be off the emergency vet as I was coming in with an armful of sticks and didn't see him, he got tangled up and nearly knocked me over but the poor thing get stood on and was limping for a bit.

When people want to pet him, do I treat him, when he sits there like a good pup and just pull him back when he goes to jump up.

I leave him stroll around me, with his lead on the ground, call him and when he returns I give him a treat, is this how you start you're recall, should I be saying 'come' instead of his name.

I say 'stop' to stop him and 'walk' when we start walking again. Do I treat then as well, how much treats are ok, I don't want to stuff him.
Is he too young for any of this yet.

House breaking is not going well, despite bringing him out and keeping a check on when I think he'll go, I'II bring him out, he'll look all over the place and as soon as we come in, he'll try and find a corner, sometimes I catch him and just pick him up gently and bring him out, but when I put the lead on him, he won't come. Again, he's getting too heavy to pick up.

Despite being extrememly lazy, is this normal?, he is very intelligent and looks like he can pick up stuff very fast, If I had a better knowledge.

I can't afford a training course at present, he'll be about 6-8 months when I can do it, so it'd be great if I could get some tips to keep him right till then.

I am saving towards bringing him to a really good dog vet I know for a good checking over, hip score etc, I've changed him onto Clinivet food for good joint nutrition as was advised, so other than that, he's getting the best bar his masters not so hot training skills.

Any help appreciated.

are you serious

OK I will do as best as I can to reply in reference with my experience with my two. i'll answer with underlined answer

My 15 week old rottweiller pup can only walk for about 10 mins, when I say walk, that's stroll behind me and stopping every few steps. I'm bringing him with me everywhere for socialising at the moment, to he seems just want to sit there and take in the world. Is this what they're like. I haven't had a rott pup before.
I wouldn't bring him out for that long, growing up so fast as Rotties do is hard work so he will get tired after 10 minutes walking and just will not want to move he will want to go home to sleep off this "long walk".

If I bring him out for a few hours, like I would love to do today, I'II end up carrying him, and he's getting too heavy for that. It's a sports event I'm going to and I would be doing a bit of walking but mainly sitting around at the finish line.
This is the last scenario you want, him getting used to being carried is a big NO, so stop this straight away! He is too young to be going anywhere for that long that he can not be comfortable for a sleep when he gets tired.

He has a tendancy to walk between your feet if off lead, around the house like, last night I thought we'd be off the emergency vet as I was coming in with an armful of sticks and didn't see him, he got tangled up and nearly knocked me over but the poor thing get stood on and was limping for a bit.
Yep both of mine do this the whole time, it is them trying to "help out" all puppies are like this though but I would imagine after last nights episode he will be more reluctant to doing it again!!

When people want to pet him, do I treat him, when he sits there like a good pup and just pull him back when he goes to jump up.
Perfect yes do this!

I leave him stroll around me, with his lead on the ground, call him and when he returns I give him a treat, is this how you start you're recall, should I be saying 'come' instead of his name.
Again great idea, use whatever works for you and your dog, I now use about 4 or 5 different calls to work some times 1 wont work so i'll use another

I say 'stop' to stop him and 'walk' when we start walking again. Do I treat then as well, how much treats are ok, I don't want to stuff him.
Is he too young for any of this yet.
Rotties are very intelligent so no he is not too young, the pup wont keep walking if he sees you stop, so I wouldnt use this command, because I'm sure you have told him to "stop" when he is doing something bold.... You dont want him associating "stop" in the walking experience because then he will think "stop" but i'm just walking and not doing anything bad

House breaking is not going well, despite bringing him out and keeping a check on when I think he'll go, I'II bring him out, he'll look all over the place and as soon as we come in, he'll try and find a corner, sometimes I catch him and just pick him up gently and bring him out, but when I put the lead on him, he won't come. Again, he's getting too heavy to pick up.
All pups take different lengths of time to toilet train, at 15 weeks, keep on truckin! He is going to take some more training in this area!! When you go outside and want him to wee tell him to go.. sounds weird but when he does go praise him a lot and keep doing it over and over and over, eventually like i do now, you go outside then say (i use) "go wee2 and hey presto both dogs go wee!!!

Despite being extremely lazy, is this normal? he is very intelligent and looks like he can pick up stuff very fast, If I had a better knowledge.
Everything above is normal he is a normal puppy being a Rottie puppy does not make him any different

I can't afford a training course at present, he'll be about 6-8 months when I can do it, so it'd be great if I could get some tips to keep him right till then.
Keep working at what you are doing, as well as growing being hard work, learning and growing is even harder for them!!!

I am saving towards bringing him to a really good dog vet I know for a good checking over, hip score etc, I've changed him onto Clinivet food for good joint nutrition as was advised, so other than that, he's getting the best bar his masters not so hot training skills.
Hip scoring shouldnt be done until he is fully grown as it can only be done once so whatever you do do not do this too early!!!

So in a round up, dont bring him out for hours at a time he is just not able for it, neither would any puppy!!! You dont want him not liking walks because he is being brought out for far too long every time he is out
He is growing and learning loads from what you say so you are doing a good job, keep it up!

Hope this has helped....

gud4u

Thanks a mil,

You have given me a lot there. I took him out for an hour and arranged to have him picked up and brought home. I usually take older dogs, the only other pup I had was a jrt, which is one of his bessie mates now.

He did great. I didn't know about the hip score so thanks for that, I wont have it done sooner.

Just wondering if you can recommend something for his coat, it looks like he has dandruff. I don't over wash him, I try to wash him as little as often tbh.

are you serious

I have washed both mine just once this year!!! The rain gave them a second wash 2 days ago... I'm always getting complimented on their coats and people do be shocked when I tell them how little they are washed!!

When they were as young as your fella I washed them the day I got them so that was about 8 weeks... Then it must have been another 2 or 3 months before they needed a wash again!!!

All dogs produce a natural oil for their coats so there is not a need to wash them as often as you might think.

Buddy got a dandruff look once (he was about 8 months) when I used a shampoo supposedly especially for black haired dogs...So the day after I noticed it I went back to the shampoo which I originally used (see pic attached) this worked perfect for him and now Izzy and it smells great! I towel dry them both when done in the shower....
I got it in MAXI ZOO.

Anything else just shout

Cherry Blossom

I just have two points I want to comment on as garkane has already said most of it

Hipscoring:

Puppies aren't hip-scored, it's dogs that are to used for breeding that need to have this done. You can have this done if you wish when the pup is full grown but there is no need if you don't plan to breed from this dog and there is no evidence of him having any problems with his hips. Exercise and diet can have just as big an impact on the condition of his hips as his genes. You have the diet end covered but you really need to tone down the exercise big time. This will have a big impact on a growing pup which doesn't manifest itself until the dog is older.

Training at 6-8 months:

This might turn out to not be the best time for formal training. All pups go through a 'moody' stage where they forget everything they have ever learned and refuse to cooperate with anything, it may not happen at 6 months but very often it does. The best way through this phase is to just put up with it until it passes, don't try to teach anything new at this point because you will probably struggle with getting him to remember his name at this stage never mind expecting him to absorb new information. You will know when you hit this point and it passes in a month or two so I'd just keep the plans for training classes open ended, you will both benefit a lot more from them at a stage when the pup is in the right frame of mind for it.

gud4u

Thanks,

Forget the hip scoring then, it was the vet that suggested it and I'm not breeding him, so there'd be no point.

I'II just let him be, I take him nearly every where which comprises of him just sitting in the car really, little walks here and there, but that's about all.

It's just first pup stuff I guess:o

Thanks

Sigma Force

gud4u wrote: »

Can anyone advise on the following,

Apologies for the long post, I have highlighted the main points.

My 15 week old rottweiller pup can only walk for about 10 mins, when I say walk, that's stroll behind me and stopping every few steps. I'm bringing him with me everywhere for socialising at the moment, to he seems just want to sit there and take in the world. Is this what they're like. I haven't had a rott pup before.

That's typical for his age and I'd stick to the short strolls he'll let you know when he's able for more. Short walks 2 or 3 times a day at that age is better than one long one. Let him take the world in everything is new and interesting they are easily distracted at that age but at the same time you want to teach him to walk nicely on the lead but I do think that no dog enjoys a walk around a town for instance unless they can stop and start and sniff the odd lamp post and puppies do this more because everything is so new.

If I bring him out for a few hours, like I would love to do today, I'II end up carrying him, and he's getting too heavy for that. It's a sports event I'm going to and I would be doing a bit of walking but mainly sitting around at the finish line.

Our Papillon is only small and even he gets heavy after a while so can imagine a Rottie pup really would be a weight, we are going to get a doggy stroller (yes it's nuts) I know your dog would grow out of one and it's not very macho but it is one solution. I know it's hard to leave them at that age on one hand you want him to get used to being left on the other hand you can't leave them too long. If you allow time at the event for stopping and starting maybe you could bring him along.

He has a tendancy to walk between your feet if off lead, around the house like, last night I thought we'd be off the emergency vet as I was coming in with an armful of sticks and didn't see him, he got tangled up and nearly knocked me over but the poor thing get stood on and was limping for a bit.

lol remember that well we have a foster pup atm and he loves to get under your feet, if you stand still too long he'll sit on your feet and fall asleep. He will grow out of that they just want to be near you all the time at that age, once he realises it's not the end of the world if you leave the room he'll start to relax more and won't be under your feet as much. Takes a few weeks.

When people want to pet him, do I treat him, when he sits there like a good pup and just pull him back when he goes to jump up.

When he sits just say good boy, maybe give him a treat and do get other people that come to pet him to give him a treat perhaps if he's sitting nicely. When he goes to jump (ideally have him on a harness if possible..better for their necks) go "ah ah" in a shrill voice and pull back on the lead gently. Or ebetter still teach him the "down" command and he'll soon learn. You can do this by using treats and clicker training.

I leave him stroll around me, with his lead on the ground, call him and when he returns I give him a treat, is this how you start you're recall, should I be saying 'come' instead of his name.

When teaching him anything keep the words simple as long as you don't change the words some people say the dogs name to get their attention first then tell them to come. Victoria Stillwell has a great tip if you teach him the 'look at me' command it helps get their attention esp. when pups are easily distracted. You basically get a treat let the dog see/sniff it then put the treat up to your eye (always against your eye never just hold it up in the air) and say 'look at me' or their name perhaps, when the dog looks at you (well looking at you and the treat) then you give the dog the treat (as long as the dog is standing or sitting nicely).

I say 'stop' to stop him and 'walk' when we start walking again. Do I treat then as well, how much treats are ok, I don't want to stuff him.
Is he too young for any of this yet.

They're never to young to learn I found our Papillons attention span was very limited at 12 weeks of age once he around 16 weeks he improved a lot. You don't need to treat him every time he does something good you can just say 'good boy' in a nice voice. Eventually you can give him less and less treats as he learns things, a pat on the head and a "good boy" will be enough. Keep training sessions very short to keep them interesting but not to bore the dog. Use teeny tiny pieces of chicken or anything meaty that's low fat and low salt. You could boil up a chicken fillet and one chicken fillet cut up tiny will last ages. It's healthier than a lot of the dog treats you buy and they love it.

House breaking is not going well, despite bringing him out and keeping a check on when I think he'll go, I'II bring him out, he'll look all over the place and as soon as we come in, he'll try and find a corner, sometimes I catch him and just pick him up gently and bring him out, but when I put the lead on him, he won't come. Again, he's getting too heavy to pick up.

This will take time, you'll get lots of accidents and I find they like to sometimes do a few short pees instead of one long one. Keep taking him out first thing in the morning, at night if he needs to, and after every meal and in between as well..basically as often as you can. Keep him out for longer sometimes pups like to have a run about, sniff, and arse about for ages before they'll pee. If you have other dogs or have other dogs visiting have them pee in the garden this can encourage him to pee over it. He's still very young so he'll take a while and there's usually a set back or two. When taking him out use the words ' we go outside do pee pees..or whatever you want to say' then when he does pee or poop in the garden say 'go outside do pee pees' while he's peeing. Make a big fuss of him when he does pee outside when he has an accident indoors say nothing and just go fetch 'Mr Mop'. Our Papillon got so used to this if he did have an accident he walked over the Mr Mop by himself lol.

Despite being extrememly lazy, is this normal?, he is very intelligent and looks like he can pick up stuff very fast, If I had a better knowledge.

He's only a baby and will loose interest in things, keep training sessions short and he probably will need a nap or two during the day, an over tired puppy can be a handful and like ourselves can get grumpy so plenty of sleep at that age and plenty of cuddle time. He's going to grow up so fast so enjoy him at this age, take plenty of piccies as he grows because soon he'll be so full of beans he won't need as many naps.

I can't afford a training course at present, he'll be about 6-8 months when I can do it, so it'd be great if I could get some tips to keep him right till then.

Training at any time is great, but for now if you can't get to them just keep up the socialising get him used to people coming into the house, and out and about get him used to traffic, people, buggies, bikes etc. etc. Some training classes are about a tenner a go. What county are you in perhaps some classes can be recommended to you. Check out at the vets to see if they advertise puppy socialiastion classes. It's important he gets used to other dogs of all shapes and sizes as well. It'll be a lot more difficult when he's older and bigger.

I am saving towards bringing him to a really good dog vet I know for a good checking over, hip score etc, I've changed him onto Clinivet food for good joint nutrition as was advised, so other than that, he's getting the best bar his masters not so hot training skills.

Were his parents hip scored? No harm in having his hips checked any decent vet should be able to do this. There are so many dog foods out there and different vets try to push different foods on you and every dog owner you ask will have a different opinion on foods. As long as you're happy with the food and you find he's doing well on it stick to the one brand so as to avoid an upset tum.

Any help appreciated.

Hope that helps, invest in some black kong toys they are great. It's hard to get toys for adult Rotties that will last so it's worth shopping around now to see what's on offer.

Oh and if you can't get to classes then deffo buy a clicker with the training manual it's about a tenner or even less and comes with instructions it's great for teaching basic commands using treats as a reward.

catherine1984

gud4u wrote: »

Thanks a mil,

You have given me a lot there. I took him out for an hour and arranged to have him picked up and brought home. I usually take older dogs, the only other pup I had was a jrt, which is one of his bessie mates now.

He did great. I didn't know about the hip score so thanks for that, I wont have it done sooner.

Just wondering if you can recommend something for his coat, it looks like he has dandruff. I don't over wash him, I try to wash him as little as often tbh.

My vet told me to some oil in with their meal each day. Its is really good for their skin and coat. jsut a tablespoon or so

gud4u

catherine1984 wrote: »

My vet told me to some oil in with their meal each day. Its is really good for their skin and coat. jsut a tablespoon or so

Any particular kind?

are you serious

If you feed a tina of tuna once a week that will be enough

Another day, mix in a raw egg...

Put up some pics for us gud4u

All this advice and nothing in return is just being rude!!!

gud4u

will get some up tommorow.

gud4u

I finally got the lead for my camera, there's no stopping me now,,

dirtyghettokid

gud4u wrote: »

I finally got the lead for my camera, there's no stopping me now,,

what a beautiful dog!
& yup pups go through that "teenager" like phase..:P so hard to train em at that point!

Darkginger

He is gorgeous! Sounds like you're doing all the right things - our Missy (not a Rotty, a black lab/collie cross) is around 5 months old now, and has only recently become reliable re housetraining. Took our other dog (a collie) about the same amount of time. We've only just started taking Missy out for proper 'walks' as opposed to a play session in our field, or a short stroll on the beach - despite seeming to have boundless energy (especially when we're trying to sleep!) she does tire pretty quickly and is just beginning to build up her stamina. I think we're about to hit the teenager phase - pray for me!

Best of luck with your pup - he seems to have found himself a wonderful home

are you serious

Quality pictures gud4u, makes me want to get another one...... :eek:

axle108

catherine1984 wrote: »

My vet told me to some oil in with their meal each day. Its is really good for their skin and coat. jsut a tablespoon or so

Cod liver oil, great for the coat especially dandruff. A lot of people i know that show dogs use it. I've also heard its good for dogs that have trouble passing stools. If its dry food, mix two tablespoons with the food and a bit of water.

_Lady_

Gorgeous pup Gud4U - thanks for the pics. And thanks for all the tips on this from everyone - am applying as many as possible to my fella - he's just hitting the six months mad mark

Best of luck!

Zapperzy

axle108 wrote: »

Cod liver oil, great for the coat especially dandruff. A lot of people i know that show dogs use it. I've also heard its good for dogs that have trouble passing stools. If its dry food, mix two tablespoons with the food and a bit of water.

I read up on this before and from what I gathered cod liver oil is too high in vitamin D and shouldn't be given every day. Salmon oil is much better for them from what I read. It's the EPA's and DHA's in it that are beneficial which the salmon oil has more of, or whats in it is more easily accessable or something like that. I feed salmon oil anyways a few days a week.

gud4u

Hi,

As the weeks are flying by and Bruce is getting bigger, the challenges are rolling in.

What can I do about the following, as in what actio do I take,

I successfully trained my other three not to come upstairs, Bruce is having none of it..I increased the punishment for ahah.with a timeout as suggested and it works for everything but the stairs.

What way do you handle meeting new animals...sheep and cows, he gets all growly and barks, we pass them on our walk, so would like to encourage good practice now.

He doesn't understand 'out' my other 3 go out on command...he runs the other way or sits!

I'm thinking of introducing a muzzle as I want to bring him to the summer shows. Any suggestions for how and what types.