SearchI don’t want to be too hard on the little guy?
Hi! I’ve had my new dobe puppy for two weeks now (he is 8 weeks) and of course he is adorable!
It seems from reading many other posts that you all are unbelievable experts, I feel fortunate that I stumbled across this beautiful community.
I have a question…. I want my baby to be very well behaved, but I don’t want to be too hard on him.
Example:
My husband works from home and I only two days a week – so we are home most of the time. I want Rogue to be a part of the family and not in his crate if we are unable to keep him in a direct line of sight (until he is trustworthy).
I put a bed for Rogue in the kitchen (3 feet from where my husband works at the dining room table). It has many fun things scattered all over it :-).
Rogue has learned the command “on your bed” fairly well. I would like him to get on the bed when told and not get off until called. This leads me to my question:
Do I allow him to get off of the bed and simply say to him in my “sing song” voice “on your bed” as I place him on the bed if he does not return to the bed on his own free will; or do I shout NO when he gets off of the bed and then place him back on the bed with my sweet “on your bed” command.
I have tried both techniques. Shouting NO and placing him on the bed often makes him nervous and he will whine a bit. But, using a sweet “on your bed” command doesn’t seem to portray my disapproval for getting up before called.
In my experience and based on what others have said, most dobermans do best with positive training methods. They are born wanting to please and when they get rewarded for the right behaviour it reinforces the training really well.
8 weeks is still too young to expect him to stay on his bed for any great length of time on his own. I would start by teaching him "stay." Tell him "on your bed" and tell him to "stay." Start with really small increments of time (5 seconds or so) and then call him and reward him. Gradually increase the amount of time. He'll get it :) If you need him out from underfoot for a while you can either crate him or tether him beside his bed. Like Kimbo said, it shouldn't be a place of punishment but the most fun amazing place ever! When he's in his crate or bed he gets toys, chews, treats, etc. That way he'll learn to enjoy it as "his" spot, where he can go and chill whenever he needs to.
I agree with Sweetpea, an 8 week old puppy has the attention span and staying power of a gnat! This is the time that they are exploring their world and trying to get the hang of things, the rhythm of the household, feeding and potty schedules, meeting people that come to the house regularly, etc, etc. Positive reinforcement is the way to go. He'll be beside himself with a "good boy!!". Training times should be short and done several times throughout the day. Stay is certainly something that can be started, but as said, very short increments. 8 weeks is also one of the fear imprint times (there are posts about this on this forum, or google it) so although saying "no" isn't so bad, don't shout it and get angry. Repetition is the key. I think it's alot to ask for a pup to stay on his bed out in the open at 8 weeks. Maybe you could set up a pen instead of just his crate for him with water, toys and a bed.
I don't crate and our Dexter can roam in the livingroom and kitchen. To make it easier to keep track of him, I attached a little bell to his collar. Now I know where he is at all the time^^
We use 'go to your bed' and if he does not listen at first I guide him there and repeat the command followed by a treat. He wont stay in there for long.... 8 week old puppies are a lot like 2 yr old kids!
Thank you all SO much for the experienced advice! I feel encouraged!
at 8 weeks I'd stick to positive reinforcement. They are too young to understand what they did wrong so you're really just yelling at them for nothing and it may scare him too. He's a baby, he's going to wander and want to smell and check out everything much like a small child. The bell is a good idea but I'd keep him close in sight for a few months. Even with a bell there's a lot they can get into in a short amount of time.
I don't like to correct until I am 100% sure that a dog understands what I'm asking, and then I have to think that the dog is intentionally not listening. If I don't think a dog is intentionally not listening, I usually won't do more than an "eh eh" softly... Just a little something to say "no, try again". You have to be careful, because you don't want a dog that is afraid to try things, and problem solve, and work things out. What will happen is if a dog is not 100% sure what you're asking, they will shut down, because they are too scared to do the wrong behavior and get corrected. Example, I can tell my girl "Dakota, buggy buggy boo". She'll probably look at me sideways like I'm an idiot, lol, but if I kept telling her, she will try to figure out what I'm asking... she will offer different behaviors she knows, and try to figure it out. This is a great thing, because when a dog is not scared to be wrong, the training is much easier, especially when you start getting into more complicated training. You don't want a dog that won't try because they're scared to be wrong.
For more specifics on your training situation, I would think that it's completely unreasonable to expect an 8 week old pup to sit for any length of time in a certain spot. if it happens, great, and I would consider it a nice bonus. But it's not fair to expect that, and I wouldn't correct if it doesn't happen. That's pretty advanced stuff for such a young pup, and especially if you had your dog at 6 weeks, he was not raised properly by the "breeder".
Any time you are training, especially at duration work, you dog HAS to be succesful. HAS TO BE. Don't let your dog fail, ever, because it will set you back in the long run. When doing duration work, ALWAYS release your dog before the command is broken. If you dog can sit reliably for 5 seconds, then don't go past that. Work for 5 seconds, release. Work for 5 seconds, release. After a few times, work it up to 6 seconds, than 10, then 12, etc. At this age it is a slow process to build time into a command, but if your dog breaks the command, it's only 1 of 2 things. Either your dog doesn't understand, or it was too long.
Take your time, build it up slowly, and keep asking questions!
That is some great training advice KevinK! Ima have to write that down and remember it. I have always tried not to let the my dog fail when obedience training, but you shed a different perspective on it that am definitely going to implement when I get my new pup...or dog whichever the case ends up being.
Thanks Kevin! I 100% agree with you on the correcting. Your tips are always excellent advice and well thought out. :)
Thank you SO much for all of the sound advice. I’ve switched a few things up based upon all of your suggestions and it seems to be working much better for Rogue!
I have 2 kids (and they are well behaved) – but somehow this is different. It really helps to have somewhere to turn for advice. 
Again, I appreciate the time you all took to respond – thank you again!
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We went through this not long ago so I can relate with you. What worked for us was a reward for going to bed or in our case, Kimbo's bed is in his kennel. this has worked for us. The bed or crate or kennel for us is not used as a punishment rather it is used for him to have a place to go to relax. Again, this may not work for you but it did for us.