Zinnia is going beautifully in our first training sessions. I work with her two or three times a day in three to five minute rounds, I use voice praise and treats and the training needs to be positive and fun and brief. Although nine week old puppies have short attention spans, Zinnia gets very focused on the training.
I use my body and motion to get her to come, so I can praise her, she is really getting “sit,” ( I need for her butt to touch the ground) and I’m introducing the idea of “stay.”
This is a time to recognize she is easily distracted and still has a short attention span, so I won’t push her hard or ask her to do anything that doesn’t come naturally. When she comes naturally, I praise her, by holding the treat up, she sits automatically and I can praise her for it.
I like working with distractions like the donkeys or another dog, it helps to reinforce the dog’s attention span. Zinnia has great name recognition now, and she is bred to work with people.
Lenore Severni, our breeder, did a wonderful job with this dog. I couldn’t ask for more. We are thrilled to have Zinnia and I am committed to do right by her. I love training dogs like this, it’s fun for me as well, and she picks up on that.
I’ll keep sharing and posting videos and texts about our training. Thanks for watching.
I love how she is already so attentive to you. Such a pretty girl
I LOVE the photo where she is sitting on her haunches and just rising to take a better look at something..great capture!
John, are your training sessions always that short or is that because she is so young? She looks like she is really learning.
Training sessions at this age should be very short, puppies have very short attention spans and if you push it, they will just turn off and dislike the training..at first, it should be short and sweet…one thing, maybe two…don’t stress them..
I loved watching the audience that you had during your training today, all appeared to be very curious! Zinnia is doing great!
My puppy has just figured out how to unlatch the door to her crate. Any suggestions? Padlocks?
Zinnia is really doing great! I like the way she looks up at you when you’re talking to her! Thank you for the recommendation of getting Pet Corrector. I got some Saturday and have used it 3 times when my Corina jumped up, she is now keeping 4 feet on the ground when people approach! Great stuff and so much kinder than some things co workers suggested. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and wisdom!