Obedience

We went to our first obedience class last night and I already picked up a couple of hints that are going to help. I had been told to try the spray bottle with water for unacceptable things such as nipping at my hands, chewing, etc, but had not yet tried it. Now, after just 2-3 sprays for different things, he eyes that bottle when I say, "No." We'll get into more specific issues in the coming weeks but I think it's going to be very worthwhile. He interacted well with the other puppies and was, of course, the cutest pup there!

I really should try and find a new obedience class as the last one we went to we had a dragon of a teacher. She would always tell me to yank him in close to me and didn't like him wearing a harness. She recommend a choke chain. Jasper would always sit looking at me and wouldn't sit looking forward. That's when she would say yank him in line. You are the boss. They were only 6 month old at the time. All they ever wanted to do was play. So we stopped taking them and got them to do all the things they were trying to do at home. There was no way I was using a choke chain or yanking him. I did it all with treats. The only thing now is getting them to stay but I'm working ion it. I want to get them to agility as I think they would love it. The spray bottle worked for me and I didn't have to use it, just pick it up. Jasper loved to chew the grass until we had huge holes in it. Good luck with your training.

If you used a spray bottle on a child (at least in the UK) you would probably get taken to court! So why use it on a puppy? You are in effect punishing your (very young) puppy for not yet knowing the difference between what you consider is right and wrong. He eyes the bottle warily and behaves because it is unpleasant and he doesn't want it used on him again - a very old-fashioned method of dog training. At three months, you will find a firm but quiet No and distraction with a treat or toy away from where you don't want him works just as well. In other words, the gentle and fun method that you used to get him to wear his collar. It may be harder work for you than just squirting him, but I'm sure you've already realised that bringing up a puppy is a 24/7 job!

Karlin recommends an excellent book on puppy training that you can download - I can never remember the link, but I'm sure she'll tell you!

Have fun with your puppy - Cavaliers are enchanting babies!

Kate, Oliver and Aled

Agreed...training using fear and unpleasantness isn't necessary. Cavs are oh so food/treat-motivated, so use that as your training tool. Reward them consistently when you give them the signal not to do something (and they comply), and in time they'll do it even without rewards.

Deb mentioned having to stop Jasper chewing the lawn. If your lawn is suffering, a quick temporary solution is simply to fill a large clear plastic Coke (or similar) bottle with water and lay it on its side on the grass. The water moves and shines in the light and dogs will avoid it. So bottles of water do have their uses! But long-term it's better to gently teach your dog No and reward him for coming to you - and if he enjoys digging the grass from boredom, a kong or bone might be a preventive. But let no-one tell you that Cavaliers are stupid - they are very intelligent and puppies have very fertile imaginations, so there'll always be something new to train them not to do!

Kate, Oliver and Aled

Jasper and Holly said:

She recommend a choke chain...... There was no way I was using a choke chain or yanking him.

Click to expand...

:swear: omg! A choke chain - on a Cavalier, and a puppy at that. I'm glad you stopped going.

Kate, thank you for explaining to me the mystery of the water filled coke bottles. That's puzzled me for ages

Thanks Kate,
This was when Jasper was a puppy. It's the type of grass here in Australia it's like twine and he used to get a hold of it and tear it out then him and Holly would have an end each and have a tug o war!! Before you know it they were everywhere. I absolutely LOVE both my dogs and would never do anything to hurt or harm them. I don't think a little bit of water is going to hurt him. It wasn't spayed at his face or eyes just near him. Like I said I didn't even have to use it. He is not feared of water because of it, in fact I have a video of them both while I am hosing the garden Holly is chasing it and Jasper is completely oblivious to it. Like I said I love my dogs they mean the world to me. I am here with them everyday to spoil them.
Thanks for the tip about the bottles I also wondered why they were on people's lawns!

My dog loves to dig in the sand and pull on roots. It's impossible to prevent her from ingesting sand, which is probably really bad for her. It's so challenging to distract her. I rotate lots of toys and the only thing that works is to take walks in a variety of places rather than play in the yard.