# 3 month old training



## equi11frnd (Dec 21, 2014)

First off I have to thank this forum for having the information on the litter box training-it is the best. I have three boxes and this has been the easiest most worry free house breaking process ever. He goes in the boxes and he goes outside no more rug accidents. He is 3 months old now and he has the commands for sit, come, and down. He receives tiny boiled chicken treats and very very brief sessions. My question-our first havanese, Darlin was and is such a different training experience than my dobermans-they would do anything out of desire to please. Darlin on the other hand does things on her own terms which means must have treat or may or may not consider doing requested command. Once there is a treat involved she has been the smartest, easiest, most fun, and amazing dog to train. Is this just Darlin as an individual does this seem to characterize the breed? Should I alternate use of treats to instill a little more desire to please motivation? Any particular youtube trainers to watch or books to get? I am tentatively thinking about the obedience trials or agility and from watching Karen-I don't see treats constantly being given. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

equi11frnd said:


> First off I have to thank this forum for having the information on the litter box training-it is the best. I have three boxes and this has been the easiest most worry free house breaking process ever. He goes in the boxes and he goes outside no more rug accidents. He is 3 months old now and he has the commands for sit, come, and down. He receives tiny boiled chicken treats and very very brief sessions. My question-our first havanese, Darlin was and is such a different training experience than my dobermans-they would do anything out of desire to please. Darlin on the other hand does things on her own terms which means must have treat or may or may not consider doing requested command. Once there is a treat involved she has been the smartest, easiest, most fun, and amazing dog to train. Is this just Darlin as an individual does this seem to characterize the breed? Should I alternate use of treats to instill a little more desire to please motivation? Any particular youtube trainers to watch or books to get? I am tentatively thinking about the obedience trials or agility and from watching Karen-I don't see treats constantly being given. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you


I don't think it's a "breed thing"&#8230; many Havanese are surprisingly picky about food. I think that a food motivated puppy makes them MUCH easier to train!!! Also, at 12 weeks, she is still the equivalent of an infant. She needs lots and LOTS of rewards.

Right now, I know you THINK she's got the cue "come" down pat, but I'd be very, VERY surprised if this doesn't start to fade in a few weeks. Puppies instinctively follow and go to their "peep" when they are very young. Once they develop a bit more "mind of their own", it typically takes AT LEAST a year to get a good, solid, 90% or better recall on a dog, and even then, it is often situation-dependent. So don't count on that one for now!!!  Kodi is 5 1/2, and he DOES have a REALLY solid recall (I'd say it is close to 99%), BUT&#8230; I STILL reinforce it over and over and OVER, by calling him, grabbing his collar, giving his a treat and a "GOOD boy!!!" and releasing him again. I will continue to do that through his entire life, because a rock solid recall is VERY important to me.

For other cues, how long you should reinforce (NOT lure&#8230; I do not believe in luring, except in VERY brief instances when you just can't get a dog to understand a new behavior any other way) with food depends on a lot of different things. Is the behavior completely and fluently learned? Has the dog demonstrated that he can do the behavior under the circumstances currently in place? (an example of this is that a young dog may be completely fluent in "sit" and "down" in the house, but be unable to concentrate on your cues when you ask for the same behaviors in Home Depot or a parking lot)

How important is precision in what you are asking? Do you care if your dog sits anywhere, or do you want him to "set up" at heel, in a very SPECIFIC spot in relation to your leg, without twisting his body one way or the other? When I tell Kodi "Sit! Wait!" when I go out the door to put something in the trash and I don't want him to follow, it is a very casual cue, and I don't care where or how he sits or, frankly, whether he stands up once I'm out the door. The goal is for him to NOT follow me. He knows this VERY well, and it is in the low excitement context of our home. When we are practicing for Sit Stays in competition, the criteria is much more specific. He must sit immediately at my side when I ask him, then stay sitting as he waits for the "Stay" cue. Then he must stay, without moving any foot or making any noise for the full length of the stay (1 minute for Novice, 3 minutes for the out-of-sight Open stay). He is NOT fluid or confident in these stays with other dogs yet. So I still do LOTS of food rewards in training situations. If another dog in the line moves I go and give him a reward for holding his stay. If another handler moves back in to their dog, Kodi gets rewarded for holding his stay. My only "correction" if he moves (typically, he won't leave his position, but he might either stand or lay down) is to move into him and put a little frontal spatial pressure on him, without saying anything. When he returns to his sitting position, I say "Good Boy!" but he doesn't get a treat.

The biggest mistakes I see people make with food is trying to fade the rewards to quickly or to use food as a lure. Dogs don't learn quickly when they are thinking about that food, rather than their behavior! I also do a LOT of clicker training with new behaviors or those that need to be "tightened up" (like getting fronts or finishes tight, correctly positioned and snappy) and EVERY "click" MUST be followed by a reward. That's what the "click" means&#8230; "reward coming". Clicker training is a GREAT way to teach a baby dog, because it gets them to really THINK, and to make their own "correct" choices. It becomes a HUGE game for them.

Later in training, intermittent reinforcement becomes a VERY strong motivator for a dog to try hard. But they have to already be FLUENT in the behavior in the current setting before you want to move food from a "reward" to a "motivator".

If you don't have good POSITIVE, FORCE FREE, competition training center near you, Fenzi Dog Sport Academy:

http://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/

has wonderful instructors and wonderful courses for not too much money.

I also belong to a couple of +R competition pages on FB, where there are a lot of people who are quite experienced and helpful:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/279809795381697/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/145641625625654/

Hope that helps!


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## equi11frnd (Dec 21, 2014)

I should have said he is beginning to learn-sit, come and down. I will not worry about giving too many food rewards or creating a treat feind. I have done clicker training with my horses with great results, it does seem to even cause them to "think". I may experiment a bit with my dogs as well. Thank you for all of your helpful information.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

equi11frnd said:


> I should have said he is beginning to learn-sit, come and down. I will not worry about giving too many food rewards or creating a treat feind. I have done clicker training with my horses with great results, it does seem to even cause them to "think". I may experiment a bit with my dogs as well. Thank you for all of your helpful information.


you'll enjoy clicker training with your pup. It's fun to watch the little wheels turning in their brains, even if they don't always get it right. I LOVE dogs who THINK rather than just "follow orders".


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