no no in training

[big_fish]

So my Brittany pup is 10 weeks old now and we are working on house training and basic obedience. This will be my first pointing breed dog we have had retrievers for the past 15 years. My question for all of you both experienced and novice trainers what would you say is your biggest no no in training ? I have heard some say not to train sit and some say to train it some say work on whoa early some say wait until they are around 5 months what would you say not to do and what to do?
thanks,
Bo

[Doc E]

The biggest and most common "No-No's" that I see in dogs is poor Obedience and a less than adequate "HERE" command.

Other mistakes that I see are training "piece meal" (not following a sequential sequence of training) and moving on to a new training task too soon.


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[RoostersMom]

Putting too much pressure on the dog as a youngster is my biggest no-no. Let them be a pup - socialize the living crap out of them! But let them be a pup.

[RayGubernat]

First and foremost:

Puppies can do no wrong. If something goes wrong it is the trainer's fault for not thinking of it.

Puppies can do no wrong.

My biggest no- no is for me, the trainer, to lose my patience or lose my temper and to continue to try to train. That is a trainwreck waiting to happen.

If I start to lose patience, or find things are just not going right and I am not in a good frame of mind...it is time to either put the dog up and go have a beer or just play with the pup. maybe even share some beer with it.

Puppies can do no wrong. They are puppies. The trainer(me) screwed up.

RayG

[Duckdon]

Not setting your standards and sticking to them and maintaining your patience. Ray mentioned being in the right frame of mind............so important. Don

[ezzy333]

Lack of patience in when to start and what you expect.

[Sharon]

Inconsistency
Example:
You call pup in the house but she doesn't come.
You let it go because you are lying on the couch watching TV
To morrow you call her in from the back yard, and guess what?......

[Gertie]

Noticing a problem and glossing over it in an attempt to move on and hope the dog just figures it out instead of getting to the root of it and resolving the issue first. All goes back to consistency.

[amconnor]

My pointer is about 15 weeks now and I think my biggest mistake was pushing to complex of commands to fast. At such a young age, you want to build a confident pup! This may sound strange, but you almost have to teach your puppy how to enthusiastically learn. If a puppy identifies training with fun from a young age, you set yourself up for a motivated learner in the future.

[whoadog]

The biggest "no no" in training is to do no training at all. I can't tell you how many people I know that get their dog out 2 days before the opener for "a run" and then can't understand why the dog is uncontrollable when they are hunting . A close second would be improper introduction to gunfire. But, you have had dogs in the past so that shouldn't be an issue. An issue when switching to pointers from flushers can be teaching sit before whoa which sometimes lead to problems sitting on whoa so I would hold off on that. But, a bigger issue would be shooting birds a pointer bumps. No problem with a flusher, big problem with a pointer (turns them into flushers).

[UpNorthHuntin]

First and foremost:

Puppies can do no wrong. If something goes wrong it is the trainer's fault for not thinking of it.

Puppies can do no wrong.

My biggest no- no is for me, the trainer, to lose my patience or lose my temper and to continue to try to train. That is a trainwreck waiting to happen.

If I start to lose patience, or find things are just not going right and I am not in a good frame of mind...it is time to either put the dog up and go have a beer or just play with the pup. maybe even share some beer with it.

Puppies can do no wrong. They are puppies. The trainer(me) screwed up.

+1.

And also my biggest mistake is not realizing that with a puppy, everything is training. They are like sponges and they pick up on all of our cues when they are young. Most of which develop into undesired behavior we later have to train out of them. One example that actually turned out good for me... When I would take my pup out for walks when he was very little when we would change directions or I wanted him to change I would move my head in the direction I was going. Well, he picked up on that little cue and now he will change direction with just my boddy movements and me saying nothing. Keep it light and don't expect too much, but realize that even if we are not conducting "formal" training, they are learning.

RayG

[DogNewbie]

When it came to early field training, my biggest no no was not having a clear goal for the session and not fully thinking through how I would correct and handle the range of possible situations. There are so many things that can go wrong when training and when one catches me off guard I'll often look back and say I really wish I had handled that differently because I only ended up confusing the pup. For everyday obedience, treat the pup like it's a full grown dog. Everything a puppy does is cute. Many of those things are no longer cute by about 8 months.

[buckeyebowman]

The biggest "no no" in training is to do no training at all. I can't tell you how many people I know that get their dog out 2 days before the opener for "a run" and then can't understand why the dog is uncontrollable when they are hunting . A close second would be improper introduction to gunfire. But, you have had dogs in the past so that shouldn't be an issue. An issue when switching to pointers from flushers can be teaching sit before whoa which sometimes lead to problems sitting on whoa so I would hold off on that. But, a bigger issue would be shooting birds a pointer bumps. No problem with a flusher, big problem with a pointer (turns them into flushers).

Man! I wish there was a way to multi-quote this forum! There seems to be a divide between those who expect too much and those who expect too little. Some folk seem to expect a 10-12 week old pup to perform like a Field Champion, and others who seem to expect nothing from a pup until it's at least a year old. No! Training is ongoing from birth, but, for what we want dogs to do, some patience is necessary.

[campgsp]

 For everyday obedience, treat the pup like it's a full grown dog. Everything a puppy does is cute. Many of those things are no longer cute by about 8 months.

This statement couldn't be more true. Lots of folks will think he's just a puppy its ok if he jumps on me, its ok he's sleeping on the couch instead of his crate. Awe your so adorable trying to nip at me. Etc..etc.

They are only small for so long, allowing them to get away with the little things when they're young will only cause more problems as they grow bigger. Every day is a training day. From the day you bring the pup home until the day he passes. Whether it be not jumping on people, staying in his crate, or obeying commands, etc. Not understanding or enforcing that their has to be an end goal is a big no no.

[whoadog]

wish there was a way to multi-quote this forum! There seems to be a divide between those who expect too much and those who expect too little.

Is it expecting too much for you dog to do the simple things? I'm guessing the people saying "let pup be pup" still expect their dog to recall on command. I'm not saying a 6 month old pup should be steady to wing and shot. I am saying that it should have a grasp of some basic concepts like recall, ground coverage, intro to gun and birds, these sorts of things. These things don't magically appear without spending quality time with the dog. What I am referring to are people who literally spend no other time with there dog but feeding and watering for 6 months and think the dog will suddenly switch on in the bird field. It doesn't work that way. I also have some pragmatic reasons for getting some yard work in before I turn one loose. I need to I know I can keep him safe before I take a young dog to the field. At a minimum the dog must recall reliably. I have a highway running right past my training grounds and I need to be able to keep pup away from it. When we dog get out, I make it a practice to keep my mouth shut as much as possible. Still, there are times to take control. The secret, IMO, is finding a way to balance it.

[RoostersMom]

Maybe clarification is necessary. I expect pups to recall reliably, stay off the furniture, crate train, kennel when told, lie on their blanket when told, walk calmly on a leash, and not jump on people. I expect that pretty much from day one (though the crating/kenneling and going to their blanket takes a while). As for training, we do tons of socialization - just absolutely everything we can do. We go in the field at least 5 times a week - in the taller grass and brush. I don't use commands during this field time at all. I don't call the dog in to me while in the field at all if I can help it. I let them develop independence on their own. For the first 9 months or so, the dog is just exposed to everything - including birds - wild is best, but we use homers a lot. We do gun training when the dog is psycho over chasing birds. We do whoa breaking usually after the first season - force fetch as well.

That's just my plan - everyone has a different one!

[will-kelly]

Talking too much because I haven't properly shown the dog what to do. If you show them what you want them to do they will eventually work hard to do it. Say it once...if the dog fails to respond. Do not say it again. Instead show it what you want to do and start over. Eventually the dog will begin to understand. Saying site 4 times and the dog listens is actually worse in my book than saying it once and the dog doesn't listen.

[Shagrunner]

I'll add my 2 cents. Always remember that dogs are dogs and not people. Dogs only know reward and punishment. Of course verbal praise and gentle touching/stroking are forms of rewards. Tugs on a check cord or stimulation from an e-collar are forms of punishment. As much as you may want or like to, you cannot "reason" with a dog. You have to take the role of alpha dog. Once you establish yourself as such, your dog will respond accordingly. If the dog does not view you as the alpha dog in your pack, s/he will always be looking for a way to challenge you on any and every front. When it comes right down to it, if your dog does not/will not obey your commands it not that s/he doesn't know what they are, it's more likely that s/he doesn't feel you have the authority to enforce those commands. Learn how to be the alpha dog in your pack and all of your training will go a lot easier. Remember, the alpha dog is respected, not feared.