AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy Class Rules Do not feed your puppy a dinner meal before class because we will only use Positive Motivation and Reinforcement with treats and praise in this class. No open-toed or open-backed shoes. Potty Area to the South of Building, please bring bags and clean up after your dog. Take your puppy to potty anytime during class as needed and rejoin the class as soon as possible. Be sure your puppy has gone potty before you bring them into class. The same person must be the puppy's handler for the entire course. While at Sportsmen's do not let your puppy visit with dogs outside of the ring before or after class. Not all dogs will be friendly to your puppy. Please park only in Sportsmen's parking lot or the lot to the East of our building. Please do not park at Bob Evans or the hotel lots. Please use only a 4-6 foot leather or cotton/nylon leash while training your dog. Puppies must be worked on a flat buckle or clip collar unless the instructor recommends otherwise. You may come to class 15 minutes early each time to allow your puppy to participate in the "puppy agility course". You must attend 6 classes to earn the AKC Puppy STAR award.
AKC STAR Puppy Class Homework Week 1 Practice sessions for puppies should be no longer than 5 minutes long. It is best to have a few different practice sessions each day. You can practice different skills with each practice session. Try to end the session with something your puppy does well. End with something positive. Keep treats in your pockets or in different easy to reach containers throughout your house to reward good behavior when it happens. Exercises to practice Step On Leash: When you need to keep your puppy beside you, and your hands free, step on the leash. Name Attention: Click and treat when your puppy looks at you. When your puppy is doing this consistently, start using your puppy's name to get his attention. Settle For Examination: In the evening, when your puppy is tired, take her into your arms and cuddle her, while slowly stroking her ears and belly. Make sure you breathe slowly and speak softly and calmly. Play With Your Puppy Sit And Stand: Lure your puppy into the sit position and pop a treat into his mouth as soon as his butt hits the floor. After your puppy is sitting quickly and consistently, name the behavior (i.e., say "sit"). Bring a tug rope or squeaky toy to each puppy class.
LESSONS FOR A PUPPY S PEOPLE AKC S.T.A.R. PUPPY Socialization Training Activity Responsibility HOUSETRAINING YOUR PUPPY Housetraining will be one of the most important skills your puppy will learn. There are some very simple tips that will help with this process. 1.Crate training. By nature, dogs are very clean and they don t like to eliminate where they sleep or eat. The first step to housetraining your puppy is to crate train the puppy (see crate training lesson). If you choose to not use a crate, you ll want to have a way to confine the puppy to an area such as a small room or a section of a room. Baby gates across the doorway can be a good tool. 2. Timing. Remember, timing is everything when it comes to housetraining. The key to predicting when your puppy will need to eliminate is having very consistent feeding times. You should feed a consistent diet because changes in food can affect your puppy s bowel habits. If you feed the same food at the same time each day, you can predict approximately when your puppy will have a bowel movement. 3. Scheduling. Trips outside should be frequent and the schedule for outside trips should be consistent. It is commonly recommended that young puppies be taken outside to relieve themselves at least once an hour. If you have a work schedule that won t facilitate you taking your puppy out this often, understand that young puppies don t yet have control of their bladders and bowels and they may have accidents. They can t help this. Be patient when accidents happen. Quietly clean up the accident with cleaning products that will remove the smell. 4. Reinforcing desired behaviors. Rewards are important. When you take your puppy outside, be sure to reward the puppy for eliminating (urinating or defecating) outdoors. A treat and lavish praise will increase the likelihood the puppy will continue to eliminate outside. 5. Providing exercise. Activity plays a critical role in housetraining. Activity (such as running, playing, or walking on a leash) will increase your puppy s motility, meaning that exercise stimulates the bowels to move. A good walk in the morning or starting the day by playing with you in the yard will get your puppy off to a good start in the morning. What Not To Do Never punish your puppy for a housetraining accident. Rubbing a puppy s nose in urine or feces is abusive and will not help the training process. If you are having housetraining problems, your S.T.A.R. Puppy instructor can give you some advice. Your veterinarian can assist you with selecting the proper food and feeding schedule for your puppy.
LESSONS FOR A PUPPY S PEOPLE AKC S.T.A.R. PUPPY Socialization Training Activity Responsibility INDOOR HOUSETRAINING Housetraining is one of the most important skills your puppy will learn. Most information on house-training is related to teaching a dog to go outside when nature calls. But there are some situations, particularly with city dogs, in which you ll want to teach a puppy to use papers or an indoor puppy potty. With many puppies, the indoor set-up will serve as a safety net until the puppy can be transitioned to the outdoors. Remember that even when puppies are using papers, they still need plenty of socialization and opportunities for outdoor exercise. 1. Choose an area with a floor surface that is easy to clean (such as a tile doorway, kitchen or bathroom). Cover the floor with plastic. You can use a piece of an old shower curtain. Put the newspapers on top of the plastic. 2. Alternatives to newspapers If you don t want to use newspapers, pet stores sell puppy pads that are specifically designed for housetraining. In addition to puppy pads, a number of companies have a product called a dog potty. To decide if you d rather use a commercial dog potty instead of papers, go to www.google.com Type dog potty in the search box and you ll be able to look at a number of commercial products. 3. Keep the area clean When your puppy uses the papers, replace the dirty papers (or clean the potty) as soon as possible. If you catch your puppy using the papers, be sure to praise the puppy. White vinegar or special cleaning products from your local pet store can be used to remove odors. 4. Accidents happen If you catch your puppy eliminating somewhere other than the paper, quickly pick the puppy up and rush to the paper. Don t yell at or scold the puppy. Praise the puppy for going on the paper. 5. Transitioning to the Outdoors As they grow older, puppies will be able to control their bladders and bowels for longer periods of time. This will make it possible for you to get down the hall of a city high-rise, onto the elevator, and outside in plenty of time. Praise your puppy and give a treat for eliminating outside. If it is your goal to have a dog who does not use papers indoors, begin the housetraining process with frequent trips outside. For more information on S.T.A.R. Puppy, see www.akc.org Type STAR Puppy in the search box.
Fifteen Rules for Getting Started with the Clicker by Karen Pryor 1. Push and release the springy end of the clicker, making a two-toned click. Then treat. Keep the treats small. Use a delicious treat at first: little cubes of roast chicken, say--not a lump of kibble. 2. Click DURING the desired behavior, not after it is completed. The timing of the click is crucial. Don't be dismayed if your pet stops the behavior when it hears the click. The click ends the behavior. Give the treat after that; the timing of the treat is not important. 3. Click when the dog does something you like. Choose something easy at first, that the dog is likely to do on its own. (Ideas: sit; come toward you; touch your hand with its nose; raise a paw; go through a door; walk next to you.) 4. Click once (in-out.) If you want to express special enthusiasm, increase the number of treats, not the number of clicks. 5. Keep practice sessions short. Much more is learned in three sessions of five minutes each than in an hour of boring repetition. You can get noticeable results, and teach your dog many new things, by fitting a few clicks a day here and there in your normal routine. 6. Fix bad behavior by clicking good behavior. Click the puppy for relieving itself in the proper spot. Click for paws on the ground, not on the visitors. Instead of scolding for barking, click for silence. Cure leash pulling by clicking and treating those moments when the leash happens to go slack. 7. Click for voluntary (or accidental) movements toward your goal. You may coax or lure the dog into a movement or position, but don't push, pull, or hold it. Work without a leash. If you need a leash for safety's sake, loop the leash over your arm or through your belt; don't use it as a tool. 8. Don't wait for the "whole picture" or the perfect behavior. Click and treat for small movements in the right direction. You want the dog to sit, and it starts to crouch in back: click. You want it to come when called, and it takes a few steps your way: click. 9. Keep raising your goal. As soon as you have a good response when the dog is voluntarily lying down, coming toward you, or sitting repeatedly start asking for more. Wait a few beats, until the dog stays down a little longer, comes a little further, sits a little faster. Then click. This is called "shaping" a behavior. 10. When the dog has learned to do something for clicks, it will begin showing you the behavior spontaneously, trying to get you to click. Now is the time to begin offering a cue, such as a word or a hand signal. Start clicking for that behavior if it happens during or after the cue. Start ignoring that behavior when the cue wasn't given. 11. Don't order the dog around; clicker training is not command-based. If your dog does not respond to a cue, it is not "disobeying;" it just hasn't learned the cue completely. Find more ways to cue it and click it for the desired behavior, in easier circumstances. 12. Carry a clicker and "catch" cute behaviors like cocking the head, chasing the tail, or holding up one paw. You can click for many different behaviors, whenever you happen to notice them, without confusing your dog. If you have more than one dog, separate them for training, and let them take turns. 13. If you get mad, put the clicker away. Don't mix scolding, leash-jerking, and correction training with clicker training; you will lose the dog's confidence in the clicker and perhaps in you. 14. If you are not making progress with a particular behavior, you are probably clicking too late. Accurate timing is important. Get someone else to watch you, and perhaps to click for you, a few times. 15. Above all, have fun. Clicker-training is a wonderful way to enrich your relationship with your dog. Karen Pryor (copyright 1996 by Karen Pryor)
Crate training your dog may take some time and effort, but can be useful in a variety of situations. If you have a new dog or puppy, you can use the crate to limit his access to the house until he learns all the house rules, such as what he can and can t chew and where he can and can t eliminate. A crate is also the safest way of transporting your dog in the car, as well as a way of taking him places where he may not be welcome to run freely. If you properly train your dog to use the crate, he will think of it as his safe place and will be happy to spend time there when needed. A crated dog cannot destroy your home. He cannot chew on unacceptable or dangerous items. A crate is a great assistance in housebreaking a puppy. A dog s natural instinct is to keep his den clean and not soil it. Step 1: Introducing Your Dog To The Crate Put the crate in an area of your house where the family spends a lot of time, such as the family room. Put a soft blanket or towel in the crate. Bring your dog over to the crate and talk to him in a happy tone of voice. To encourage your dog to enter the crate, drop small food treats near it, then just inside the door, and finally, all the way inside the crate. If he refuses to go all the way in at first, that s okay, don t force him to enter. Continue tossing treats into the crate until your dog will walk calmly all the way into the crate to get the food. Make a game of it! Step 2: Feeding Meals In The Crate After introducing your dog to the crate, begin feeding him his regular meals near the crate. This will create a pleasant association with the crate. If your dog is readily entering the crate when you begin Step 2, put the food dish all the way at the back of the crate. If your dog is still reluctant to enter the crate, put the dish only as far inside as he will readily go without becoming fearful or anxious. Each time you feed him, place the dish a little further back in the crate. Sportsmen s Dog Training Club of Detroit, Inc. Once your dog is standing comfortably in the crate to eat his meal, you can close the door while he s eating. At first, open the door as soon as he finishes his meal. With each successive feeding, leave the door closed a few minutes longer, until he s staying in the crate for 10 minutes or so after eating. If he begins to whine to be let out, you may have increased the length of time too quickly. Next time, try leaving him in the crate for a shorter time period. If he does whine or cry in the crate, it s imperative that you not let him out until he stops. Otherwise, he ll learn that the way to get out of the crate is to whine and he ll keep doing it. Step 3: Conditioning For Longer Time Periods After your dog is eating his regular meals in the crate with no sign of fear or anxiety, you can confine him there for short time periods while you re home. Call him over to the crate and give him a treat. Give him a command to enter, such as, kennel up. Encourage him by pointing to the inside of the crate with a treat in your hand. After your dog enters the crate, praise him, give him the treat and close the door. Sit quietly near the crate for five to 10 minutes and then go into another room for a few minutes. Return, sit quietly again for a short time, then let him out of the crate. Once your dog will stay quietly in the crate for about 30 minutes with you out of sight the majority of the time, you can begin leaving him crated when you re gone for short time periods. Sleeping in the Crate From the very beginning, puppies can sleep in their crates at night next to your bed. It s much better than confining them to the kitchen where they feel insecure and may end up howling all night, keeping you awake as well. Most young puppies are able to sleep through the night in a crate provided you have taken them out to eliminate right before bed and as soon as you arise.
FIT OR FAT? Your dog s diet and feeding Obesity in dogs is a serious medical problem and there are more overweight dogs than ever before. Fat dogs are more prone to injury, and have more stress on heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and joints. Excess weight can worsen osteoarthritis, can cause respiratory problems in hot weather and during exercise, lead to diabetes, and generally lessen the quality of life for a family pet. As many as half of all dogs in the US are overweight, but the majority of their owners are in denial. IS MY DOG FIT? When you run your fingers over your dog s ribs, you should feel a thin layer of fat sliding over the ribs and spine. If the ribs are hidden under a layer of fat, your dog is overweight. Look at the dog s tuck up where the rear legs meet the stomach area. Your dog should have a waist both from the side view and from above. Because we re so used to seeing overweight dogs, many folks think a dog at his proper weight is too skinny. HOW MUCH? First, don t judge the amount to feed from the label on the dog food bag. The dog food companies want to sell more food, not monitor your dog s weight. Some people like to fill a bowl with food and let the dog eat whatever they want. Very few dogs eat what their body needs and stop at that. The majority will substantially overeat and get fat. Let your dog s figure tell you how much to feed. The amount of food should be measured with an actual measuring cup. Knowing how much and how often your dog eats is essential for weight control, housebreaking a puppy and maintaining the general health of your dog. You should know exactly how much food your dog eats so you can adjust amount up or down if needed. HOW OFTEN? Puppies from 5-12 weeks will need to be fed three times per day. After that time they may be fed twice a day. Puppy formulated food is fine up to about age 6 months but after that a young dog should be put on adult food. Too much rich food for an older puppy can cause obesity and an overly rapid growth. We all tend to spoil our dogs with table scraps. In moderation there s usually no harm, however you need to include those in their daily ration and adjust to keep the calories in check. WHAT TO FEED? For most dogs, a good quality kibble is best, moistened with a little warm water to make it easier to digest. Semi-moist foods are high in sugar; canned foods are very high in water content, gelatin and lack needed fiber. If you need to give your dog a treat between meals, give a very small treat. Break that biscuit in half! 2012 Sportsmen s DTC CW/CB Illustrations, M Caldwell