New puppy training

[Bmcghan22]

So Yesterday I picked up my WPG Wally . He’s what I expected as far and a little hyper and likes to nibble. He’s learning his name pretty quick and already comes when I call him he doesn’t leave my side much. And rain doesn’t bother him which is nice he has no problem going out in the rain to relieve himself. I have 4 and 3 year old kids at home and they play with him and tend to run when he tries to play back I been telling him no when he starts jumping or nipping and he’s catching on fast.

So my question is, is there anything I need to know as far as training him and having young kids. I plan to do all training one on one so he’s not distracted by the kids but Is there anything to worry about like bad habits or anything he may pick up from the kids or will I be fine letting him and the kids play and bond like normal.

Wally and I will be bird hunting a lot together and I don’t have a whole lot of experience training bird dogs with kids. I would just like to know where things can go wrong with training so I can avoid those mistakes.

[Bruce Schwartz]

Both dogs and kids are tough... but the dog may swallow kid's toys so make sure of toy sizes and materials for both dogs and kids are appropriate. Dogs' toenails are really sharp and can cause injury to kid's ... eye injuries can be bad.

So.... "leave it", "down" and "no" are taught early.

And we need photos of both.

[Bmcghan22]

Thanks. Yeah leave it down and no is about the only three things I say anymore lol. And the first thing I did was go get a nail clipper and trim him up.

[Urban_Redneck]

One tip (I got way too late) is to teach the dog to sit when you or a kid cross your arms like a kid does when they are frightened.

[Bruce Schwartz]

great shots! Thanks

[Sooty42]

It can be hard with kids and puppies. My son who was 4 when we got our Griff pup, would get the puppy wound up and then run from him. Of course the puppy would bite him as he ran away and he would get mad at the puppy for biting him. It’s sometimes hard to convince a 4 yr old boy that he is part of the problem and it’s not all the puppies fault.

But if you can get the whole family, wife and kids included, on board with teaching the pup manners and giving the same consistent discipline then things can go a lot smoother. If everyone teaches the puppy his place in the household from the beginning it can help a lot in the future.

Do not let the kids (or anyone) play tug of war with the puppy. This could cause retrieving issues in the future. He needs to learn that he shares things with people not try to take them away.

Cute pup!

[orhunter]

Training the family not to undermine your training efforts will be an uphill battle. Getting them to recognize boundaries and respect your efforts isn't going to be easy.

[Densa44]

As Bruce said, a puppy and little kids is a challenge, but they will love one another forever. To teach down, squeezing his front paws work better than anything else I have ever tried. In addition to the nail clipper, I bought one of those dremel hand held small "routers" battery operated. I grind her nails on a picnic table where we walk. I have cut too much a few times and I don't want to hurt the dog, so now I trim, and then grind and it seems to work for us.

A puppy will chew anything that it can get its jaws around, and it can't be stopped, so give him lots of stuff to chew.

Good luck and keep us in the loop.

BTW I used to let my son help train, and not just throw dummies, when he was little. I let him run the dog. Fast forward 35 years and he now has 2 excellent PPs and this Friday we are welcoming twins, one each, so the beat goes on.

[Bmcghan22]

Thanks for all the input. Wallys definitely learning his place he’s been good with the kids. We got him a ton of chew toys and he likes to test me and try chewing on everything but his toys. Im a bit ocd when it comes to getting what I want out of the pup so I have a detailed list of commands and how to’s on the fridge for the family to use while I’m at work. He’s actually listening a lot better then I expected to this point. He’s holding for me when I throw his toys and he’s doing ggood ay waiting to release for a 9 week old pup. The only kid that had a problem with him was our year old girl he tries to take food from her. But it’s slowed down since establishing that’s a no no and our daughter is starting to hold her own. All in all wally only gets wound up and nippy in the mornings, the kids wake up and take care of him when I leave for work and I think wally just gets excited to see them after a long night.

[Densa44]

You and Wally are doing great. Making a list is a good idea. Maybe some of the pros will chip in soon but here’s what I do. I make a plan, step by step and write it down of what the dog needs to learn. Post that on the fridge.
The list is for you.
My advice is don’t skip any steps. A dog test is not a game of chance.

[Bruce Schwartz]

You sound inexperienced and if you're like most inexperienced (and even most experienced) folks you will make a lot of mistakes. I would recommend you figure out a plan based on your readings (rather than your wishes) or training videos. I would consider how I would go about the steps in the plan because lot of things involve learning one thing before the next - chaining . Also, I would highly recommend you roll the dog over and routinely examine his mouth and in between his toes so he gets really used to being handled and checked out from stem to stern- this will pay off when he gets porcupine quills or cheat grass or whatever later. (lots of dogs don't like their toes examined when adults if they've not been trained to do so as pups).

Next, I would recommend looking into Positive Reward training (PR) principles - maybe get a video from Leerburg (especially Michael Ellis' puppy video) to learn how to interact with your pup and to bring it along in a way that makes the dog want to learn eagerly rather than from the more traditional aversive type trainings. Experienced trainers have their ways but following them by inexperienced folks can lead to issues. It is money well spent - these recommendations are for all breeds, not just versatile dogs. Most of what a versatile breed needs to know are the usual obedience tasks common to all dogs (sit, stay, down, whoa, retrieve, etc.) and the hunting stuff ( pointing, steadiness, etc.) comes later.

Your dog is a baby and you will not find compliance with any of your commands for many months. Be patient. We're here to help.