puppy training

[BrownieNJoyce]

Hi all. I can't seem to find much on training a puppy. I just recommended NDT to a friend of mine who has a 2 y.o. golden and just got a lab/golden puppy. I expect Neil will end up answering this but if anyone has used NDT for their dog as a puppy I would appreciate some posts about your experience.

[donnieo]

Lee's main website has an article about why its besnot to train your puppy right away (LEE CHARLES KELLEY). To sum it up, your puppy's brain needs to develop on its own through play, chewing and exploring the world without the added emotional stimulation of "obedience training". A puppy that is trained too early forgets how to play, and this can lead to depression, aggression and other behavioural problems.

From what I've read on the various NDT sites, even a walk aroung the block may be too much because the pressure of a collar and all the unfamiliar sights and sounds in the world may cause too much fear and stress that the puppy is not emotionally ready to handle. Recently, I've been seeing a woman walking a Bernese Mountain Dog puppy around the neighbourhood. This puppy was maybe 8 weeks old the first time I saw it, and every time I've seen it since it seems more and more fearful.

If your friend has a yard, their puppy should get all it's exercise in the yard until it's around 6 months old and then the pushing exercise as well as tug and fetch-tug can begin. Once the dog is 10 months, actual obedience training can start.

Check out Trisha Selbach's blog "Raising Hero". It's about raising her puppy through NDT and a great read.

[neilsattin]

Right - the danger in training a puppy is most definitely in trying to do too much. Over-stimulating the dog through too much socialization, or dampening play responses through heading straight for obedience training ("manners") - those are the things to be avoided.

With puppies, your best bet is to think of the larger picture. Can you develop a structure for the pup's life? Indoors - quiet. Outdoors - play. Can you start teaching a pup to give YOU their energy through hand-feeding (leading to pushing - though ever so gradually)? Can you play gentle games of tug? Can you get your pup to chase you?

Can you spend time exploring the outdoors? And when you do, can you be on the lookout for moments that your pup is experiencing too much energy for the system (and protect your pup in those moments)? Think "horde of rushing children coming to see the cute puppy.

Can you explore paths in the woods together, and can you start noticing what "out there" is attracting your pup's attention?

The world sees a cute puppy and wants to eat it up. Can you keep things balanced for your pup, so that their little emotional nervous system doesn't get too charged up, or so they have an outlet for stress when they do get charged up?

There's lots of ebb and flow to working with a pup as their circle of awareness increases. I don't think that this is something to fight within the dog - but it's worth becoming sensitive to. So you don't freak out if your pup takes "two steps back" - and you stay focused on the arc of the process, instead of where you happen to be in the moment.

Now, will that help your friend with the puppy? Hopefully! Almost all of the information above is available on naturaldogblog. If your friend approaches the raising of her pup like an infant, with needs for gradual exposure to the world and quiet time to recuperate, then they'll be in good shape.