Emails to the new puppy owner -- Internet Bernese Mountain Dog Consortium's PandaSite

Emails to the new puppy owner (Part 7 of 8)

By Mary-Ann Bowman

I would define training as shaping desired behavior, and that has been happening with the puppies at our house for quite some time. The simple truth is that the puppy is always being trained — for better or worse. Once trained, the behavior is a habit and it is really the human who is responsible for the development of all habits in a puppy.

House training is something we have discussed. It should be clear (I hope! :) that house training is simply helping the puppy develop the habit of using the outdoor potty. When teaching bite inhibition, we are teaching the puppy to be in the habit of using his/her teach gently. I suspect we all know that in order for a habit to form, we must be consistent, patience, and reward success.

The puppies spend their days in the living room and outside on the puppy patio, complete with private yard. I discovered that the puppies were quite good at heading from the living room to the yard if Abra went first. Soon Abra was not necessary — I open the gate and a herd of puppies races for the back door and into the yard. However, their progress from the yard to the living room was less direct. The puppies would come in but then head off in different directions to explore the kitchen, or perhaps take an adventure down the hall. The first thing I did to help solve this "problem" was to shut the hall door, but that caused them all to mingle in the kitchen. Then I started spreading a handful of kibble on the floor in the living room. The first couple of times I let them hear and see me do this, but now I just spread the kibble, open the back door, and stand clear. The puppies race for the living room, I shut the gate — mission accomplished!

I don't believe we typically think of the daily things we do with puppies as training, but they certainly are just that. Therefore, we need to be mindful of what we are teaching the puppy all the time. If the puppy jumps on you and you think that is just so adorable and pick him up, you have just started teaching the puppy that jumping up is a desired behavior. This is much less cute when the 75 pound adolescent puppy jumps on your elderly neighbor and sends her flying. A puppy charging out of his crate is pretty benign, but a large dog launching himself at your knee as he erupts like a coiled spring from his crate is not at all fun. Therefore, it is important to always consider whether the behavior which is so cute as a puppy will also be cute when the dog weighs over 80 pounds.

It is probably clear by now that I train by rewarding success and attempting to avoid allowing the puppy to do something other than the desired behavior. In addition to having very good success with this philosophy of training, it also "fits" my personal sense of ethics. I do not believe that it is necessary or desired to be unkind to an animal, and my training methods reflects this. Further, I refuse to train with people who employ cruel training techniques because I believe that is a subtle acceptance of those methods, even if I do not utilize them. It is absolutely possible to have a well trained dog without punishment or the use of techniques designed to hurt a dog.

I will be sending you a video of how I have been teaching sit, stand and down to the puppies. I expect that all puppies will likely take some type of obedience classes, but it is good to get a head start on training basic commands. In a class setting you will find that the puppy is more difficult to train because of the distractions, and if he already knows commands, you will have an easier time.

In addition to sit, down, and stand I have been working with the puppies on the word "here". I do not use the word "come" with a puppy except in formal training situations when I know the puppy will come. The reason for this is to instill the habit that come is not optional. If the puppy is in your yard and you yell, "Puppy, come" and he continues to smell the daisies, you have just informed the puppy that come is optional. Since the command to "come" might literally save a dog's life (dog heading for road, you yell come and because of the ingrained habit of ALWAYS coming, he snaps around and avoids the cars) I do not allow any mistakes with it, and I always reward a puppy for coming. The word "here" is more relaxed. It is like "come" but I do not stress if the puppies stops to read the pee-mail on the tree. "Here" roughly translates to "mosey on over and get a cookie." It is useful in a variety of situations, including when teaching leash manners.

Another common puppy issue is jumping up. This is a normal puppy behavior and is not something to punish. If you happen upon a trainer who suggests that you step on a puppy's toes, or bump him with your knees for jumping up, please head in the opposite direction. There is a very simple training technique that addresses jumping up — a puppy cannot do a "bad" behavior if he is doing a "good" behavior. Instead of jumping up when meeting people, teach your puppy to sit nicely in front of new people. This is easy. Start at home by having the puppy sit when you greet him. Gradually add this behavior to the meeting of other people. Give treats to the "strangers" and ask them to ignore the puppy until he is sitting, and then give the puppy the treat and pet him. If you are meeting people who are likely to allow or even encourage the jumping, I would suggest that you just pick the puppy up rather than give confusing messages about desired behavior.

Training a puppy requires great patience and consistency. You will be dealing with a baby, and your expectations and behaviors should reflect this. On the other hand, you are also instilling habits so make certain that what you are asking is something the puppy can do, and then expect it to be done. If you want the puppy to sit, work at it until it happens. Be very careful about giving the message that what you want is optional, and avoid confusing a puppy by giving him mixed messages. Be kind and gentle with the puppy, but always remember that you are not just training a cute puppy but also a very large and strong dog.

Training requires treats and toys for playing. Sometimes people object to that and want the puppy to work just for praise, or "because I said so." I suspect most people do not work without a paycheck or other rewards, and we should expect no less of a dog so think of the treats as paychecks. In the beginning of training, paychecks happen after all desired behaviors but gradually we reduce treats although they are never eliminated. At this time and for the next few months, plan on using lots of treats and playing with fun toys to reward desired behavior and also to make the puppy think training sessions are the best part of the day. Make sure to consider that the treats are part of the puppy's calories and check the ribs frequently to avoid making the puppy plump!

My older dogs LOVE to train — it really is the best part of a day for them. We have a working breed, and they deserve and need the opportunity to work through training and other activities. Training puppies not only fulfills this need to work, but it teaches them how to learn and this makes life with an older dog much easier. Finally, the bond that develops when your dog is your working partner is unlike the bond we have with "just pets." When a dog is your partner in activities that you both enjoy, the relationship is something very special and I wish that for all of you, and for these sweet and wonderful puppies.

I will always be happy to answer any/all training questions. I love the intellectual challenge of training, and know that it is not easy or natural for most of us. Therefore, please do not ever be shy about asking questions.

Back to Part 6

Part 8