# What is the best way too teach and 8 month old puppy sit, come, down...



## Swaggz (Nov 17, 2009)

and what other basic things am i missing that they can start learning from young?


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## MoosMom (Sep 15, 2009)

Sit, stay, down and come are probably the ones you want to start with. I did one at a time with my dog. Sit and come being the first 2. My dog is highly food motivated and will about anything for a hotdog or banana. 

Once he sat 100% of the time I moved on to "down" I used a clicker for this because he just couldn't get what I was saying. After 2 sessions he will "down" 95% of the time with or without a treat.

As for stay, also have been using a clicker for this. I started with Sit, stay and didn't move away. After about 5 sec I clicked and treated for the stay. I can now get him to Sit/Stay and Down/Stay for near a minute without me by his side.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

At 8 months, he should have already been fixed. I mention that because the surgery causes an interruption in training.

Behaviors:
1. Sit - easy to do using positive methods, connects words to actions.
2. Down - Good second behavior, plus you then discriminate words.
3. Stay - A little harder (not much), because it is non-action and counter to being a puppy.
4. Come - Can't over emphasize the importance of teaching early.
5. Bite inhibition - an Ian Dunbar mandate.
6. Walk on a leash - And loose leash, as well as off-leash in a fenced area.
7. Bathroom - If you say the word bathroom during the process, and give a treat afterwards.... the pup will learn this on cue. Good for telling Bathroom! just before you go on a walk....

Also, teach many of these cues with hand signals.

The one advantage of teaching an 8 month dog over an 8 week puppy is that the attention span is longer. I'd suggest teaching the behaviors in the order listed. If you search through the Forum, you should find advice for how to teach these behaviors.

- Hank Simon


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## NeoBodhi (Sep 23, 2009)

Swaggz said:


> and what other basic things am i missing that they can start learning from young?


When they are that young, as MoosMom said, food rewards are great. My puppy will do just about anything for a piece of hotdog, and not even a big piece, just a little pea sized piece works. 

I was able to teach my puppy quickly by watching dog training videos on YouTube. There is some pretty good stuff there, just do a search for whatever you a looking to teach your dog and you should find lots of videos. 

In case you don't know what a dog training clicker is, here is a video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15vKqCSNhqY


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## Swaggz (Nov 17, 2009)

Oops I made a typo...I meant to say 8 weeks instead of 8 months sorry. With that being said she's so she doesnt have as much of an attention span. So should i make a different approach from what was suggested?


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## NeoBodhi (Sep 23, 2009)

Swaggz said:


> Oops I made a typo...I meant to say 8 weeks instead of 8 months sorry. With that being said she's so she doesnt have as much of an attention span. So should i make a different approach from what was suggested?


Nope, glad to hear she is 8 weeks instead of 8 months, the younger the better to start training imho. At 8 weeks I would keep the training sessions to 15 - 20 minutes or so, but you will be surprised how much training you can do in that short time.


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## Swaggz (Nov 17, 2009)

Ok right now im trying to teach her her name and how to come since these seem to be very important...how long does it usually take on average for them to learn it so I know whether she's getting the hanging of it right away or not?


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## NeoBodhi (Sep 23, 2009)

Swaggz said:


> Ok right now im trying to teach her her name and how to come since these seem to be very important...how long does it usually take on average for them to learn it so I know whether she's getting the hanging of it right away or not?


I don't think there is an average, it all depends on the puppy and the owner. That is a lot of variables. All I can say is don't worry too much if you think she is not getting it, she is very young yet. Just keep at it and stay positive.


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## Swaggz (Nov 17, 2009)

ok thanks for the advice...ive been looking at some of those youtube training videos and have been trying to follow those


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## ChrisS (Aug 19, 2009)

I started my boy within a few days of coming home at 7 weeks. I started with sit and come. He knew both within a few weeks. On things I did was name the command whenever I saw the pup do the action. So if I saw him starting to sit down on his own I would say "Sit" and then praise him big time. After a week or so of this we started giving him the "Sit" command and he knew exactly what we wanted, so we never had to try to lure or force him into the sit position.

We taught come the same way. When ever the pup headed toward me I'd say come and then throw him a party when he got to me. My husband and I also played a bunch of "pup in the middle" with him right from the 1st week. We'd sit of opposite sides of the room and have toys and treats in our hands. We'd get his attention by saying his name, calling "puppy, puppy" in an excited voice, waving the toy (anything to get his attention) once he turned to us and started our way we would then say "come", and when he got to us he'd get a treat, some play with the toy, and lots of praise. Then other person would get his attention, give the "come" command only when he started their way on his own, lots of praise when he got there, and then repeat. He caught on to this game really fast and by the 2nd time we played it he's grab the treat from one of us, immediately turn and dash back to the other person, get another treat, turn and run to the other. So we started mixing it up some and stopped giving the come command as soon as he turned toward us. If he ran to the other person but they didn't give the "come" command he was ignored with no treat. We'd mix it up so I was the one saying "come" several times, then my husband would call him a few times, but keeping it somewhat random so he couldn't anticipate which person to run too. At first he was a bit confused as to why he wasn't getting the treat just for going to the other person but again quickly caught on that it wasn't one than the other but whomever said "Come" that would get him his treat.

When they're little just keep it all fun and games. Don't force them if they aren't interested in playing your game, and keep the sessions really short. Just a few repetitions and quite before they get tired or bored.


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