Collect Questions

Bodhi is now 13 weeks old.

She is not 'enrolled' in puppy class yet as it doesn't open again till after Xmas, and I am also considering moving back to Yorkshire.

She is the first dog I have really trained, and my first ever puppy and 'dog of my own'! I have been an enthusiast forever though, and like to think I have a basic grasp of what is needed (by NO means even nearly an expert AT ALL!!!!). I am proud of my achievement with her really, and would like to continue to learn new things with her!

So far we have learnt...

Sit

Lie down

Paw (always important!!)

Come (indoors - and very well outdoors also)

Stay (we are working on it..!)


I think that is all (not including informal commands - Get off! and NO! and LEAVE THE CAT ALONE!! )!!


What can I teach her next?? Any ideas for tricks/commands that can be easily taught?




You are doing well

An important thing to teach a puppy is to 'watch' you.

Also, you can teach her where 'heel' position is; to stand for grooming & to stand from a sit; to sit from a drop; get her used to having her ears, eyes, toes & teeth examined; to wait briefly in both sit and drop positions; to sit in front of you when you call her; to 'fetch'.

Easy tricks: shake hands; roll over; turn in circles right & left; weave through your legs.




Also try some games What about teaching her 'find it'... make it really obvious at first and hide something really smelly like cheese so she can find it easily and then you can make it harder




Ahh, some inspiration! Thanks!!

I will get cracking on some of them. I think the watch command is a good idea - help distract her from the distractions...!!




Hey, I just thought of something.... another thing you can teach her is something we did at Archie's training class when we had done all the sit/down/stay stuff.... this is for coordination and concentration:

put a ladder on the floor face down if you know what I mean, and get her to walk over it. The point of it is to get her to concentrate on where she is putting her feet, because she has to put them between the rungs

Also, try one of those tunnels for kids, the ones they use in agility, and try to coax her through. This is more fun and games than training but it's a good laugh


Loads of biscuits and praise




Cool, cheers

When we had our family dog when I was a kid, I did my own amateur agility with her (set jumps up around the garden etc...), so I'd love to try something similar with Bodhi (when she is alot older of course!)..

I'm open to any suggestions!




You can set up a wide plank of wood with one end raised slightly and teach her to walk up and down it. This will give her confidence in her footing. Make sure the plank is secure and stay close beside her to prevent mis-steps and the possibility of falling off.

Set up weave poles (or witches hats/buckets) a get her weaving slowly through them.

If you have an old tyre you can get her used to stepping through it. Also walking through an oil drum. Make sure both are secure and cannot fall/roll and frighten her.

The idea of 'baby' agility is not only to get her used to the obstacles but to teach her the commands which you will use when she does 'proper' agility. You can't use jumps as she is too young, but you can get her accustomed to the 'over' command by using pieces of wood etc. laid flat on the ground for her to step over.

Also, when you are practsing make sure that you do so with her sometimes on your left and sometimes on your right




Ta V much!!!