First, let me apologize if this has been covered. I did a search on walking puppy and got over 2,700 results.
Second, thank you so much to all of you who take the time to post responses on these boards. I am new to training a puppy and I am incredibly grateful for the wisdom here to help me get through this. I have already learned a great deal.
So, here is my question. I have a 12 week old lab puppy. What should I reasonably expect his behavior to be on walks? He's okay with being in a harness and on leash. He is very well behaved and doesn't try to chew the leash or jump. But, about every 20 yards, he lays down in what I would call "sphynx position" and just surveys his surroundings. From what I read, that is common for a puppy. I let him get comfortable and then try to encourage him to get moving again. Sometimes, he gets "stuck" for a while. And if he sees anything that interests him, we are stuck for a very long time (like the roofers down the street last week- he just thought that was WAY too interesting to walk away from).
Should I just let him be and let him be a puppy? Or, should I be trying to work on training in this situation? What is a reasonable expectation of behavior on walks at this young age? I am trying to keep walks to around 15 minutes. I'd say about half of that time is just waiting on him to decide it's okay to keep going.
Many thanks!!!
3 mo old puppy - what to expect on walk
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
3 mo old puppy - what to expect on walk
surviving puppyhood
AHA! I realized how to search properly and found a very similar string. Dated 9/18/07 by "Mojo" about a 3 month old GS. Here is "emmabeths" answer:
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Hiya
At 12 weeks old shes not old enough for long walks anyway, she should only be having 15 minutes on the lead per day maximum.
How forceful should corrections be?...
Not at all, ever. Do you learn faster if I smack you with a stick? Or do you just get stressed and try to find fast ways of avoiding the smack?
(im not saying you smack her with a stick, but just as old fashioned people taught children by hitting them with a ruler if they made a mistake, old fashioned dog trainers taught dogs by leash pops and jerks to the neck - either way its still painful!).
Instead avoid the need to correct her, just as you dont give a child University level maths aged 5 years old and then beat them til they get it right, you dont give a 12 week old puppy a world of amazing smells and yank her till she ignores them.
Instead, spend time rewarding her for coming when you call her name.
Take a look at the clicker training thread stickied at the top of this forum. Click and reward her for walking nicely, she will want to walk nicely more because she gets her click and treat.
Teach her an 'ok go sniff' cue and a 'off we go' carry on walking cue which is easily done by clicking and treating when she is sniffing and saying 'ok go sniff' and clicking and treating when she looks to you cos shes bored and you set of walking again, and saying at the same time 'off we go' in a happy cheery voice.
At her age a lot of behaviour you can set her up to do, have a better sniffy smell in your hand by carrying some cheese peices around, make some of her walks places that are less full of interesting smells so you can concentrate on rewarding her for walking with you.
Its always better, everyone learns better if they are set up to succeed rather than fail.
I wouldnt worry too much about it anyway because at her age the world is a brand new place and she needs to learn about everything, strange sniffs and funny looking things and all. The long brisk walks are a year away from you, the competition standard obedience is probably 2 years away or more, just let her be a pup and learn at her own pace, with encouragement and praise.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Anyone want to add anything to that??
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Hiya
At 12 weeks old shes not old enough for long walks anyway, she should only be having 15 minutes on the lead per day maximum.
How forceful should corrections be?...
Not at all, ever. Do you learn faster if I smack you with a stick? Or do you just get stressed and try to find fast ways of avoiding the smack?
(im not saying you smack her with a stick, but just as old fashioned people taught children by hitting them with a ruler if they made a mistake, old fashioned dog trainers taught dogs by leash pops and jerks to the neck - either way its still painful!).
Instead avoid the need to correct her, just as you dont give a child University level maths aged 5 years old and then beat them til they get it right, you dont give a 12 week old puppy a world of amazing smells and yank her till she ignores them.
Instead, spend time rewarding her for coming when you call her name.
Take a look at the clicker training thread stickied at the top of this forum. Click and reward her for walking nicely, she will want to walk nicely more because she gets her click and treat.
Teach her an 'ok go sniff' cue and a 'off we go' carry on walking cue which is easily done by clicking and treating when she is sniffing and saying 'ok go sniff' and clicking and treating when she looks to you cos shes bored and you set of walking again, and saying at the same time 'off we go' in a happy cheery voice.
At her age a lot of behaviour you can set her up to do, have a better sniffy smell in your hand by carrying some cheese peices around, make some of her walks places that are less full of interesting smells so you can concentrate on rewarding her for walking with you.
Its always better, everyone learns better if they are set up to succeed rather than fail.
I wouldnt worry too much about it anyway because at her age the world is a brand new place and she needs to learn about everything, strange sniffs and funny looking things and all. The long brisk walks are a year away from you, the competition standard obedience is probably 2 years away or more, just let her be a pup and learn at her own pace, with encouragement and praise.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Anyone want to add anything to that??
surviving puppyhood
I will - coo i must have been a bit ranty that day!
Its a big world out there for a little puppy, so your main goal is to make sure all experiences are positive.
You do this by having lowwwwwww expectations and a whole heap of rewards (treats and toys) that are very high value.
When you see something that makes pup grind to a halt, thats ok - its you who decides if its going to be a confrontation or not after all, you can sit there with the pup and go 'Oooooooooh look at THAT' and feed treats or play with a toy. No one says you have to walk at a constant speed for exactly however many minutes... this is your pup and you intend to share hopefully 12+ years with him.... starting out now as a team, experiencing the world through his eyes has to be more fun than trying to force him into adult behaviour just now.
Once he has the idea that going out on the lead is funfunfun and you are a source of interesting stuff, AND he has experienced much of the stuff he will come across on the streets around your home, you will naturally see progress.
As a general rule, save the really good rewards for stuff he could potentially be scared of - if his reaction seems to be taking stock of a situation 'is this going to kill me' then thats when you want to step in with the treats and toys and 'hey this is nice and safe and rewarding'.
For a while all things he sees will potentially be dangerous and worth keeping an eye on. Once hes a little wiser then offer the treats for coming along with you rather than sitting there and if he really is wanting to just sit and stare then you can think about ignoring him or even a bit of 'headology'.... making out you have, or have found something WAY more interesting .... juuuuuuuuust over there.
If he truly finds something so scary that he has to take action... either bark or back away, then you have to handle this differently, by taking a step back with that particular situation and desensitizing him to it slowly.
Its a big world out there for a little puppy, so your main goal is to make sure all experiences are positive.
You do this by having lowwwwwww expectations and a whole heap of rewards (treats and toys) that are very high value.
When you see something that makes pup grind to a halt, thats ok - its you who decides if its going to be a confrontation or not after all, you can sit there with the pup and go 'Oooooooooh look at THAT' and feed treats or play with a toy. No one says you have to walk at a constant speed for exactly however many minutes... this is your pup and you intend to share hopefully 12+ years with him.... starting out now as a team, experiencing the world through his eyes has to be more fun than trying to force him into adult behaviour just now.
Once he has the idea that going out on the lead is funfunfun and you are a source of interesting stuff, AND he has experienced much of the stuff he will come across on the streets around your home, you will naturally see progress.
As a general rule, save the really good rewards for stuff he could potentially be scared of - if his reaction seems to be taking stock of a situation 'is this going to kill me' then thats when you want to step in with the treats and toys and 'hey this is nice and safe and rewarding'.
For a while all things he sees will potentially be dangerous and worth keeping an eye on. Once hes a little wiser then offer the treats for coming along with you rather than sitting there and if he really is wanting to just sit and stare then you can think about ignoring him or even a bit of 'headology'.... making out you have, or have found something WAY more interesting .... juuuuuuuuust over there.
If he truly finds something so scary that he has to take action... either bark or back away, then you have to handle this differently, by taking a step back with that particular situation and desensitizing him to it slowly.
stuck on treats
Emmabeth, thanks so much for responding.
I have to add a new dilemma to this. Mr. Zeke is so smart, that he has figured out to sit and look at me so that I have to do the "come" command. When he "comes" he gets a treat. We may make it another 2 feet when he just sits back down and looks at me like "okay, give me that treat". I did switch to just praising him instead of the treat. Same reaction.
He got to play with a 2 year old lab last night, just a few houses down from us. I finally had to pick him up and carry him home since there was no way he was leaving. Even when I lured him with a piece of cheese and got him out of sight of the other dog, he just got his treat and headed back toward the playmate.
I'm using lots of patience. I guess I was just hoping for a great trick to get him moving so we can get back home eventually. He's getting WAY to big to carry!! :lol:
On a side note, do you have any opinion on whether taking him to the bus stop to see the kids is good or bad? He loves it, but he does get crazy and jumpy as expected around a bunch of kids.
Many thanks!
I have to add a new dilemma to this. Mr. Zeke is so smart, that he has figured out to sit and look at me so that I have to do the "come" command. When he "comes" he gets a treat. We may make it another 2 feet when he just sits back down and looks at me like "okay, give me that treat". I did switch to just praising him instead of the treat. Same reaction.
He got to play with a 2 year old lab last night, just a few houses down from us. I finally had to pick him up and carry him home since there was no way he was leaving. Even when I lured him with a piece of cheese and got him out of sight of the other dog, he just got his treat and headed back toward the playmate.
I'm using lots of patience. I guess I was just hoping for a great trick to get him moving so we can get back home eventually. He's getting WAY to big to carry!! :lol:
On a side note, do you have any opinion on whether taking him to the bus stop to see the kids is good or bad? He loves it, but he does get crazy and jumpy as expected around a bunch of kids.
Many thanks!
surviving puppyhood
I think i would make the 'follow me' game a seperate thing to practice elsewhere rather than it becoming an issue on walks. Then on walks... wait him out. Take a book and ignore him!
You can also get him doing more stuff than just sits - pre-train things at home like giving a paw, down, turns in either direction etc and then practice outside, and then on a 'walk'.. he sounds a very smart puppy so this ought to give you more 'ammunition' so to speak.
He doesnt know what a walk is... and its in our heads that a walk is 'walk for x period of time round x loop/to x location'.... it doesnt HAVE to be that though!
So what if your walks are 'go out for ten minutes and see five new things' or 'go play sitting/downs/paws/spins on the leash on the street'.
You can also get him doing more stuff than just sits - pre-train things at home like giving a paw, down, turns in either direction etc and then practice outside, and then on a 'walk'.. he sounds a very smart puppy so this ought to give you more 'ammunition' so to speak.
He doesnt know what a walk is... and its in our heads that a walk is 'walk for x period of time round x loop/to x location'.... it doesnt HAVE to be that though!
So what if your walks are 'go out for ten minutes and see five new things' or 'go play sitting/downs/paws/spins on the leash on the street'.
A suggestion for taking him to the bus stop to look at kids: if he does get jumpy and crazy around kids, then back it up, back it up, back it up, until he can see them but not react. If you really must, that is.
Another idea is to expose him to few kids at a time and then build up to the bus stop. Increase the # of kids a little at a time. Decrease the space between him and the kids a little at a time. Don't do both at the same time. Make sure you have treats and toys to distract him. If he is too focused and the treats/toys don't get his attention, then you're too close.
Another idea is to expose him to few kids at a time and then build up to the bus stop. Increase the # of kids a little at a time. Decrease the space between him and the kids a little at a time. Don't do both at the same time. Make sure you have treats and toys to distract him. If he is too focused and the treats/toys don't get his attention, then you're too close.
Thanks! Sounds like this human needs to change her frame of mind! And who said it was about training the puppy???? As long as he's out and about and not stuck in the yard/basement all the time, we'll consider it "walk time". Whether we walk or not. He's so darn big, it's hard to remember that he's only 13 weeks old today.
I think he'll like the different tricks. We did "find it" with the treat under the cups last week and now he loves to attack the cups to find a treat. Now I need bigger, heavier cups. HA! So, this boy is going to thrive on mental games. I'm so very grateful to this board for all the ideas and advice!!
I think he'll like the different tricks. We did "find it" with the treat under the cups last week and now he loves to attack the cups to find a treat. Now I need bigger, heavier cups. HA! So, this boy is going to thrive on mental games. I'm so very grateful to this board for all the ideas and advice!!
surviving puppyhood
Hi Noobs,
You posted while I was typing my other response. That plan sounds good. I can put some distance between us and the kids. My gut feeling was that it wasn't working very well for him to be in the midst of that scene. I was trying for socialization, but maybe he's just a bit young for being in the middle of it. The good news is, he is definitely not afraid of the loud bus or the excited kids.
You posted while I was typing my other response. That plan sounds good. I can put some distance between us and the kids. My gut feeling was that it wasn't working very well for him to be in the midst of that scene. I was trying for socialization, but maybe he's just a bit young for being in the middle of it. The good news is, he is definitely not afraid of the loud bus or the excited kids.
surviving puppyhood
Yep sorry i got distracted in the middle of my post!
Back it up away from the crazy intense scene with the kids at the bus stop... go for 'being quiet when he can see there are kids over there' and ' yay theres a bus that means sweeties' sort of stuff.
Theres plenty of time for meeting kids and passing close to crowds of people later on!
He sounds like hes actually doing great and you are figuring out what makes him tick - thats where you want to be right now so each time you think 'hmm is this right' or 'oh help im not sure'.... step away from any confrontation and think it through. Can you back off, can you focus on the positive in a situation, can you think outside the box a little or readjust your goals.
Its meant to be fun... so have some!
Back it up away from the crazy intense scene with the kids at the bus stop... go for 'being quiet when he can see there are kids over there' and ' yay theres a bus that means sweeties' sort of stuff.
Theres plenty of time for meeting kids and passing close to crowds of people later on!
He sounds like hes actually doing great and you are figuring out what makes him tick - thats where you want to be right now so each time you think 'hmm is this right' or 'oh help im not sure'.... step away from any confrontation and think it through. Can you back off, can you focus on the positive in a situation, can you think outside the box a little or readjust your goals.
Its meant to be fun... so have some!
