puppy training, when to start the corrective jerk?
Qυеѕtіοn bу cuno84: puppy training, whеn tο ѕtаrt thе corrective jerk?
I know thаt thе ideal age tο ѕtаrt training a puppy іѕ аt 7 weeks. Hοw soon саn уου ѕtаrt thе “corrective leash” jerk? (Wіth caution οf course)
FYI mу puppy іѕ now 8 weeks, pure bred German Shepherd
Best аnѕwеr:
Anѕwеr bу carebear
Yου саn ѕtаrt now bυt bе gentle whеn уου ԁο jerk hіm іn thе rіɡht direction.
Give уουr аnѕwеr tο thіѕ qυеѕtіοn below!
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Tags: corrective, jerk, puppy, start, Training
I think you are getting ahead of yourself.
You start leash training by letting the dog drag the leash in the house. With a puppy who wants to follow you everywhere, it’s pretty easy to get him to stay with you on-leash by encouraging him. Until he’s had all his shots, you aren’t going to be taking him very far anyway. When he has had all his shots, sign him up for an obedience class.
With proper training, I’ve NEVER had to use a corrective leash jerk. Sign up for puppy classes and you won’t ever have to use one either. Find a certified, qualified trainer in your area here:
http://www.apdt.com
You can start classes at 10 weeks of age if your puppy has had two shot series. Classes will be good because you need to socialize your GSD to avoid having a fearful, unstable dog. Just know that a certified trainer will warn you once, then ask you to leave their class if you try a corrective jerk in front of them.
Your best bet is to avoid corrections if at all possible, esp with protective breeds. Traditional Trainers (those that use force-based training) wait until 6 months to train their dogs because a puppy temperment is much too delicate to handle the pops, pulls and other harsh methods and you can do some major damage to her trachea. Ever heard old dogs wheeze, cough and reverse gag? Many of them were popped.
With force-free methods such as clicker, you can start training at 4 weeks of age.
Check out http://www.mypuppyproject.com
Also Sue Ailsby’s free Training Levels shows you how to train your dog from the day you bring him home. She teaches you step by step how to train all the behaviors that will help your dog become a great companion, even if you only train to level 3. By level 5, you will be able to figure out how to train ANY behavior to your dog quickly and pain free.
http://www.dragonflyllama.com/%20DOGS/%20Dog1/levels.html
Using postive methods, you get a dog that is eager to learn and performs willingly and eagerly. One that has been trained using punishment are generally sluggish and only perform because they are fearful. My brother’s dog is that way-she is a great dog but her personality is ‘flat’ since she gets corrected she is fearful of trying new things.
More and more professional dog trainers and sports are moving to the positive methods because they create dog that is a joy to work with, focussed and eager. not one that is an automaton.
Karen Pryor has a new book out called “Reaching the Animal Mind” that is very readable and explains what clicker training is all about using many different species as examples (from hermit crabs and fish to wolves, dogs and even humans!)
Good luck!
I take my dog to obedience classes. She has her Canine Good Citizen certificate, we’ve made it through Intermediate Obedience and are starting training for agility this week.
We didn’t start correcting our dogs with the leash until they were at least 6 months old. It’s really hard on their young bodies, even gentle corrections. Their necks aren’t strong enough to be jerked on.
We relied on positive reinforcement. Always rewarding good behavior. Obviously puppies still do things wrong. But some other ways you can correct your dog are to make a loud, irritating sound like “ah-ah”, etc.
It depends on the situation. If you tell them to do something, like sit, and they don’t, you put them in the position and praise. If they’re chewing on something they shouldn’t be chewing on, you get their attention, offer them something else, and praise. If they bite, you do the “ah-ah”, yelp loudly, or get up and ignore the puppy for a few minutes. Or a combination.
The “worst” thing we did to the puppies for correction at this age was if they were biting hard and really badly, we’d take the puppies by their scruff/collar, facing you, and pull them up on their hind legs. We’d get in their face and say “No bite!” really firmly. They didn’t like being scolded like that and usually got the picture.
So 6 months is when I’d say it’s okay to correct your dog with a leash. However, make sure you do it within reason – give a firm pop so they feel it, but not so hard that you’re hurting them a lot. It’s quick and it’s mainly to get their attention, not to hurt them. More like a “Hey! Listen to me!” than punishment. Dogs don’t understand punishment. After giving a correction, you always praise. For example, if you’re heeling with your dog and he forges ahead of you, you give a quick pop back, and once he’s in position again, you praise. Good luck training! It’s a lot of fun.
It depends on the dog but at 8 weeks it shouldn’t even be a distant thought in the back of your head. IMO the harshest correction should be not giving the treat in a timly fashion. In traditional obedience the normal time to start corrections is at about 6 months but all dogs are different. Some dogs are more difficult, some are more delicate. Some dogs do best with a chain, some prong, others flat collars.
My new girl a 1yo border collie in her first classes did best with a martingale and only required one soft collar pop the entire class and held her own practicing with the advanced class.
Once you finish puppy/ socialization start obedience and see what is best for your dog.
Never. The corrective “jerk ” is a great way to teach your puppy aggression to anything that you jerk it away from.
Example: Puppy pulls on the lead because he wants to sniff a passerby. You jerk the lead, pulling the pup away. Pup is taught that strangers are bad, and you have just taught fear and possible future aggression. Same thing with sniffing other dogs. A displeasant jerk teaches the pup that contact with other dogs results in an unpleasant experience, so other dogs must be bad.
Such an outdated training technique used on a breed that many people are wary of to begin with would not be my first choice.
I would suggest you at least investigate other methods before you begin down the path of negative correction.
Actually, the optimum time to train a dog is between 5 and 10 weeks if age! The problem is that puppies are not safe until they have their vaccinations. They are safe at Petsmart after 10 weeks and two series of vaccinations, but no where else until they are 4 months and have all their vaccinations.
The corrective jerk is a pull to the side, not up or back. You can start now, but make sure your puppy is safe!