New puppy, sprocker

littleredhen

I am curious about off lead training because I do hope to take her walking in woods without lead eventually but want her to keep checking back on me, any tips

Fosterdog

littleredhen wrote: »

I am curious about off lead training because I do hope to take her walking in woods without lead eventually but want her to keep checking back on me, any tips

Start young, recall in the house and garden before vaccinations, look up the YouTube videos I mentioned in my last post. Invest in a long line, it gives the dog the freedom to wander and explore but you still have control until recall is set in stone.

You have to be more fun than anything else out there so pup wants to come back to you.

Person_one

littleredhen wrote: »

Thanks all. I am glad to say all above has been done, puppy pack chipped, first injections, we left a blanket for her to come home with, not getting till 8 weeks, get a pack of puppy food, 4 weeks insurance, will be getting puppy training classes too.

What are the breeder's reasons for crossing, out of interest?

I haven't had a puppy since the family dogs we had when I was still at home but I believe this book is very popular and generally well regarded: https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Perfect-Puppy-Take-Britains-Number-Care-Book/060061722X

Will someone be at home full time for the first few weeks?

bmthmark

littleredhen wrote: »

I am curious about off lead training because I do hope to take her walking in woods without lead eventually but want her to keep checking back on me, any tips

I did this last week. It is very nervous first time but as already mentioned do it whilst they are young.
They will naturally look for the owner and stick close.

I recommend taking some lovely treats to encourage the puppy to come back and when he/she does make sure you give lots of praise.
I took mine to the beach as it was fairly enclosed area and most of all no roads near by.

You can practice at home easily by throwing a treat and when the puppy gets it you shout 'come' and have another treat ready for the pup. You can make it in to a game by going further distances.

Pop_Up_Pirate

littleredhen wrote: »

Hi everyone we are getting our new puppy in four weeks, we haven't had dogs before but have had cats and still have a cat now.
We would love all your do's and don't although I realise you could all end up arguing amongst yourselves:cool::rotfl:
Anyway helpful tips appreciated X

A "sprocker" is not a breed. It's a mixed, a mongrel, a mutt so maybe save yourself a few hundred quid and not buy into this racket.

There are loads of great mixed breeds out there in rescue that will love a new home.

Mojisola

bmthmark wrote: »

I did this last week. It is very nervous first time but as already mentioned do it whilst they are young.

They will naturally look for the owner and stick close.

You're lucky if that's been your experience. There are plenty of dogs who will just take off when they see something interesting and become selectively deaf to anything their owners say/shout.

I don't think an owner should let their dog off lead in a public place until recall training done in a secure place is embedded.

bmthmark

Mojisola wrote: »

You're lucky if that's been your experience. There are plenty of dogs who will just take off when they see something interesting and become selectively deaf to anything their owners say/shout.

I don't think an owner should let their dog off lead in a public place until recall training done in a secure place is embedded.

Perhaps I was lucky and maybe the poster should not take my advice on this on as I wouldn't want the puppy to shoot off.

From my experience I was told by my puppy training teacher to find a secluded area (she recommended beach) and let him off whilst he is young. She said he would follow as he would be too nervous to be without me. But keep calling him back and give him treats.
This is exactly what we did and he was completely fine, he just stayed within 5 meters of us.
But I knew from practice in the garden that he would come to me when I called his name.

sheramber

I t does depend on the breed and the individual dog.

A German Shepherd will naturally stay close and check in but a spaniel is programmed to flush birds out from the undergrowth so are very busy little dogs who want to go rummaging in bushes and hedgerows.

First training should be in an enclosed garden encouraging the dog to follow you. You need to interact with your dog so you are more interesting than the surrounding area. Walking along looking at your phone will not cut it.

If your puppy will not stay with you in the garden you have no chance out in the big, interesting world.

Fosterdog

Just to add with the recall training, always mix it up. Never just recall your dog, reward then put them straight back on the lead to go home or they know what will happen. Make it unpredictable.

Choose random times to call the dog back, sometimes they go back on the lead other tims they can go back off to play, even when the lead has been put on let them back off after a few minutes sometimes so they don't just associate it with the fun walk ending. As soon as the dog thinks recalling means going on the lead and going on the lead means going home you are suddenly the less fun option.

It's like when you see someone screaming for their dog, when it finally goes back it gets punished for not listening, next time it will ignore for longer because it expects punishment as soon as it goes back and it's a viscous circle. If the dog gets rewarded for coming back even if you've been calling him/her for half an hour it will come back quicker next time to get the reward.

Mojisola

sheramber wrote: »

If your puppy will not stay with you in the garden you have no chance out in the big, interesting world.

Quite so - remember Fenton?