Books, parvo, clicker training, etc.

["Joan Koptis" <jckoptis@hotmail.com>]

Hi Peggy,

Thanks so much for the clicker information and book list.  I want to jump in 
on the conversation about this and early puppy classes, parvo, etc.

Dollar is going to be 11 weeks old on Thursday.  I started out with easy 
clicker stuff when we brought her home at 7 weeks like tossing treats into 
her crate.  When she'd go inside for the treat I'd "click" give her a treat, 
and say "crate", "good girl!" in a happy voice like Mickey or Minnie Mouse 
or something.  This works BEAUTIFULLY with puppies.  Then I went on to sit.  
"Sit" "click" "treat" -- "sit!" "good girl!".  Then I started making her sit 
before her meals which she eats in her crate.  She sits, I click, say "good 
girl!" and put her bowl into the crate.  When she goes into the crate to 
eat, I "click" say "crate good girl!" and she gets to eat.

Now, I'm working on "come" in the house and also outside in the yard.  With 
Goldens it's relatively easy to teach them "come" - much easier than it EVER 
has been teaching my Cairn Terrier, Roscoe!  ;-)  I start out at a closer 
distance letting her see the treat (I use small puppy treats), I say "Dollar 
come", when she comes to me I immediately "click" and treat.  I say "come" 
"good girl!".  In moving commands where they should move forward you precede 
the command with their name, hence "Dollar come".  When it's a command where 
they need to stay put or be stationery, it's simply the command: "stay", 
"sit", "down", etc.  At least this is the way I learned years ago from a 
professional trainer with my German Shepherds and I find it works well.

Clickers and treats are also a very good way to get your dog to look at you 
when you say her/his name.  This is important for attention span in 
training.  When I say "Dollar" and she looks at me I "click" say "good 
girl".  If she happens to come over to me when I say "Dollar!" then of 
course she gets a "click" and a treat.

Regarding parvo, early puppy classes, etc.  I have two entirely different 
vets because one travels more than the other.  Both agree that it is best to 
keep your puppy away from "strange" (meaning unknown) dogs, dog parks, or 
any place other dogs routinely gather until they have their full set of 
shots.  This also includes puppy kindergarten classes.  My vets say it's 
best to forego the classes until the pup is a little older and has all of 
her/his shots.  My personal experience with puppies has been that I can 
pretty much train my pup for the earliest stages of obedience on my own.  I 
also really enjoy it!  However, I do try to get them to meet and socialize 
with other dogs that I KNOW are safe, like my in-laws dog or friends that I 
know have their dogs routinely vaccinated and I know there's no cause for 
alarm or worry.  Also, I have Roscoe to help get her used to other dogs.

Other vets and people have different opinions, and I these are just my own 
personal preferences on the puppy training, parvo, etc.  Also, these are the 
training techniques that I find work well for me in all of the dogs I've 
owned, with the exception of Roscoe P. Coltraine!  He needs other methods 
like hot dogs! Whether they are right or wrong, I don't know - but they work 
for me.  Down the road as Dollar ages I will start cutting back on the 
treats, and eventually it will be just a "click" and "good girl!".  But, 
that's way down the road.  :-)

Regards to all,

Joan


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