Puppy Training First Steps – Small Breed Puppy Training – Professional Dog Training Tips
– In this video, we’re
gonna be talking about
some puppy training first steps,
and joining us is this adorable
Sheltie puppy named Fizz.
Now, whether you’re trying to be
as prepared as you can
to bring your puppy home,
or maybe you’re already
feeling a little bit
overwhelmed with your puppy training,
this video will give you lots of tips,
and hopefully some answers to
all of your puppy training questions.
I’m Ken Steepe, and welcome
back to McCann Dogs.
(dog barks)
Here at McCann Dogs, we’ve helped
more than 90,000 dog owners
to overcome their dog training challenges,
so if this is your first
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make sure you hit that subscribe button
so that I can help you to have a
well-behaved four-legged family member.
Now Lorie, I want to
introduce everyone to Fizz.
This is your new puppy,
and let’s talk a little bit about Fizz
and sort of, the other
breeds that you’ve had,
other breeds of dog,
because I asked you if you
wanted to do a video all about
small breed puppy training
and you mentioned that Fizz
is actually your largest small breed dog.
– He’s huge. Yes.
– Yes.
My other dog is a Papillon,
and he’s actually a small Papillon,
so he, as an adult, weighs five pounds.
So, yeah, this is my big small dog.
– Yeah.
Now, you also do teach
our new puppy seminars,
and I thought it would be great to
chat with our audience today about
some of their puppy training first steps,
and maybe some of the
things that you talk about
in those new puppy seminars
so that those small breed dog owners
can really get their puppies
started off on the right foot.
– There’s definitely some things
that are more specific to smaller breeds,
and when I was thinking about this,
expectations, I think, is
one thing that comes to mind.
Some people look at a
small dog and they go,
“Oh, well, it’s not really a bother.
I won’t put the same
effort into training it,
because if it puts its feet
up on me, it’s not a big deal,
or if it bites me, it doesn’t hurt.”
So, sometimes people don’t
train to the same standards
that they might with a larger dog.
Um, and I’ve had smaller dogs,
and I’ve also had, like, St. Bernards,
and, you know, you want to make sure
your St. Bernard doesn’t
put their feet up on you,
but I also like to make sure that I train
my very small dogs to
those same standards.
So I don’t want a little tiny dog
putting their feet on me because
I still think their feet
should be on the floor.
– Sure. Great for leadership.
– Yes, absolutely.
And just well-mannered,
and I think it’s important,
or I often feel, with a small dog,
you need to be a really good ambassador
for those small dogs, because, you know,
sometimes people look at my small dog,
not my big small dog,
but my real small dog-
– Yes.
– … and go, “Oh, well, I’m surprised.
I thought small dogs
were yappy and they bit.”
And it’s like-
– Right.
– … well, my gosh, no.
– Yeah.
– No, not, not as a rule.
– Yeah.
– So you really want to make
sure that you get out there
and have your small
dog really well behaved
so that people can not view them that way.
– Yeah, and I think, a
really important takeaway
for any dog owner is to have expectations.
You know, it’s so funny,
as we have students
in our classes here, and they just
don’t really know what they
can expect of their dog.
But to have the same
expectations of your small dog,
small breed dog, as you
do any large breed dog,
is really, really, important.
Even though they’re,
they may, you may feel
like you’re more comfortable
letting them get away with things,
some of those nonconfrontational
leadership things,
like, you know, not allowing
them to jump up on you
or not allowing them to
jump up on the furniture,
can really, you know,
speed up your training
if you’re clear with them,
and if you’re consistent with them,
the same way you would be
with your Great Dane puppy.
– Absolutely, and consistency,
that’s really the magic word there,
consistency.
That is really one of the
cornerstones of dog training.
And I think one of the
most important things
that people should keep in mind when they
come home with these
eight-week-old puppies,
seven-week-old puppies,
whatever the age is,
they hit the ground running.
They’re ready, they’re learning.
So, you want to make sure that you’re not
rehearsing behavior that
you don’t want long term,
and that you start
training them right away.
– Yeah.
– So when I brought Fizz in,
like, literally into my living room,
there was a couple of
dog toys on the floor,
and a pair of fluffy slippers.
And, you know, your initial impulse
is to move those fluffy slippers
because the dog’s attracted to them.
– Yup.
– And I didn’t, and I don’t.
It’s, at, she was just shy of eight weeks,
and I had him on a line,
so I had good control over him
and right away, I’m right there,
and it’s like, “Leave that.”
– Yup.
– “That’s not for puppies.”
And I direct him to a toy.
– Great.
– And he figured that out right away-
– Yeah.
– They are extraordinarily bright.
– Yup.
– And he knows, like, fluffy
slippers, not for dog.
Dog toy, for dog.
– You talked a little bit
about using a house line.
Now, we have a video on the channel,
but tell us a little bit about
the importance of using a
house line with your puppy,
whether they’re a small breed dog
or the largest of large breed dogs,
the benefits of using
something like a house line,
and maybe even what a house line is.
– Yeah, a house line basically is a leash
that you would attach to your dog.
Often, it doesn’t have a handle on it,
so it doesn’t snag on furniture.
But it’s really another magic trick
with dog training,
and what it enables you to do
is have control over your dog
without being sort of
invasive or overpowering.
So when you want that dog,
you just step on that line.
If you want to stop them from
heading over to the fluffy slipper,
you can stop it before it happens,
and you have better control.
And we always try and make sure that you
have a good relationship with
your dog and their collar.
So, you know, if you want to stop your dog
and you’re forever reaching
in and grabbing their collar,
they learn to become,
to get out of the way-
– Yup.
– … or collar shy,
whatever you want to call it.
– Yup.
– They look like a severely
abused dog when you do that-
– Yeah.
– … but typically, they’re just
trying to get out of the way.
– Right.
So it avoids all of that,
and it gives you good
leadership qualities,
because trying to run after a puppy
doesn’t make you look like a leader.
It’s amusing to everybody
else in your household-
– Right.
– … because typically
you don’t win anyway.
– Right, yes.
The puppy’s too quick.
_ This gives you really,
really good control
and you can stop behaviors
before they happen.
– Yeah, if we could quickly talk about
how you might build some
value for your puppy
allowing you to take their collar.
You know, what you would do to sort of
teach the puppy that it’s a great thing
when I take your collar.
– Well, one way is food, a food reward.
If you take their collar
and you give them food,
but food and small dogs,
actually, are a bit of an issue,
if you want to touch on that right now.
– Sure, yeah.
– With it, but you know,
if you have an, you know,
a 15-pound Lab puppy, you know,
you can get a lot of treats in there
and it doesn’t really
affect them all that much.
But one of the challenges
with small dogs is,
you give them even, like,
a little small treat,
and when I’m talking about
giving a dog a treat,
I’m talking about something-
– [Ken] Tiny, yeah.
– … this big.
But even a handful of those
on three or four pounds,
you’re going to fill that dog up,
and sometimes you can
actually make it quite ill.
So you have to be, work
with treats more sparingly
than you would with a larger dog.
– Sure.
– So you really need
to turn on your charm,
and sometimes just taking the collar,
you take it from underneath their chin,
not over their head, so
it’s not threatening.
You can take that collar and
give them a good scratch in the chest.
That’s a really nice reward,
that just feels really good.
And you can talk to them,
and smile at them, and go,
“Oh, that, oh, you are
just something else!”
And that-
– I think Fizz enjoys this part of the-
– He does!
– Yeah.
– But it’s like, life is that simple.
– Yeah.
– It’s, it gives a good rapport and
it starts to build already
on the bonding process.
You’re in there nice and close,
you’re doing something that feels good.
It’s an alternative to food,
and they go, “You know what?
This is, this is good.”
– Now, when we talk about the
big picture of puppy training,
when we’re talking about
puppy training first steps,
tell me a little bit about your mindset
when you’re choosing things
to do with your puppy.
– What do I want that dog to look like?
How do I want it to
behave as an adult dog?
And then, I want to, I
want that to be specific,
I want it to have super-high expectations,
and then, I’m going to
train to that level,
and that’s all on me, okay?
I’m not going to expect the
dog to guess what I want,
I’m going to teach all of it.
And I want to make sure
it’s fair to the dog,
and by doing that, I want to know
those, that list of
expectations ahead of time
so I can start training it right away.
We talked about, they learn right away,
and a great example of that is,
if I don’t want an adult
dog jumping up on me,
then I’m not going to let
a puppy jump up on me,
because that’s actually
not fair to your dog.
If you let them put their
feet up at this stage,
when they’re little,
it’s cute, they’re small, you know.
And some people even go
so far as to bend down
and touch the dog and
reward them for that.
So you’re teaching a dog, for
weeks, jump on me, it’s good.
And then, all of a
sudden, the tables turn,
and you’re like, “Get off!”
– Right.
– “Get off.”
Like, the dog has no
idea how that changed.
– Yeah.
And it did change, for
them, and that’s not fair.
So, I want to go ahead of time,
I don’t want a dog
putting their feet on me.
Well, I’m going to start right away by,
if my puppy steps up,
I’m going to gently put him on the ground.
And then I’m going to reward
for the feet on the ground.
It takes a nanosecond for
them to figure that out,
if you are consistent.
– Yeah.
They’re like, “Nothing good comes of the
feet up on their legs,
really good stuff happens
with my feet on the floor.”
And then, I don’t turn the
table on them at any time.
– Now, Lorie, when it
comes to actual training
for your puppy training first steps,
what are some of the things that you are
working on with Fizz right now?
– Well, we work on quite a few things
because training is happening anyway.
You’re either controlling it,
or they’re introducing it themselves,
and their ideas are often
quite different than yours.
– Right.
– So I start immediately,
like I said, when I first brought him home
and I had some toys on
the living room floor
and he went to see the fluffy slipper
and it was, “Leave that, not for dog.
Here’s a toy.”
So that’s training.
– Yeah.
– Managing him, you know,
he has short little teeth.
He’ll roll from playing with his toy,
roll over and go to sink
them into the couch.
There’s no way for him to understand
one’s acceptable and one isn’t.
– Right.
– So, I’m right there to move him,
“Not for dog, this is
for, this is for the toy.”
So that’s part of training.
I try and optimize any type
of behavior he might offer.
So, if he’s, you know, a
few feet out in front of me
and turns and walks towards me,
I’m going to say to
him, “Here, here, here.”
And, when he comes in
nice and close to me,
I can give him a little food reward,
because I usually have
something in my pocket,
or I can scratch his chest
and tell him he’s wonderful.
– Yeah.
– And, that’s, that’s training.
– Natural training opportunities.
And dog trainers really understand
taking advantage of natural
training opportunities,
and I think that’s a
really, really great one.
Especially when you mention,
so small dogs might be a little hand-shy.
You know, we’re really hovering over them
when we bend over to pet and
play and do these things,
so really, rewarding every moment where
they move in closer to us,
where we can more easily
take control of them,
are such, you know, of great value,
in the big picture of dog
training for these small dogs.
– Yeah, absolutely.
And as we mentioned, I have another dog,
I have a Papillon who’s,
he’s a workaholic.
He works all the time and
really likes training,
so I set Fizz up right beside him.
I have the same expectations.
Obviously he’s learning, but
it’s very easy to lure him
into a sit and a down and a stand.
We have shake a paw, roll over.
He learned all those
things in the first week.
– [Ken] Yeah.
– [Lorie] And it’s not
Because he’s brilliant.
Um, well.
– I mean-
– He is brilliant.
– We can’t say he isn’t.
(laughs)
– He is, he’s gifted.
– Yes.
– He’s quite eager.
But, right away, you’re
really capitalizing on
the value of training, and it’s fun.
Training’s fun, dogs like it.
They want to hang out with
you and engage with you.
So, yeah, you can get
that going right away
and it lets you include your other dogs
and when you’ve got them
both going like that,
you’re really establishing
yourself, you’re the leader.
It’s, they’re into,
they’re both interacting
with you versus each other,
so you’re covering a lot of ground
with a couple of pieces
of freeze-dried liver.
– Yes, absolutely, which is
of high value, as we know.
– That’s right.
– You mentioned briefly about
an introduction to your other dogs.
Now, I’m sure that’s maybe
not something you did
the first few days home, but
in your case, maybe it was.
Now, we talk a little bit in our,
introducing your puppy
to your other dogs video,
which I’ll link above, about, you know,
when you make that first introduction,
you need to really understand the energy
and the socialization that the
older dog has had, as well,
because the last thing you want
to do is put your new puppy
beside a wild and crazy dog
who loves to play with other dogs,
because it’s going to be
overwhelming for that puppy.
Conversely, if you have
a wild and crazy puppy
and you have a dog who, an older dog
who’s just not too sure,
you know, about other dogs,
you don’t want to overwhelm
that older dog, either.
So there’s a balance there.
Talk a little bit about how
you introduced Fizz to your other dog.
– Well, I introduced them right away,
just because of the way that I live.
So, I introduced them outside.
I had both dogs on a line.
Now, my little Papillon, Dash,
he’s really sort of indifferent.
He’s not wild about
playing with other dogs.
He’s wild about playing.
– Yes.
– So, he’s very invested in me,
and it was a little bit unfortunate
that I brought that puppy home,
but he could work around it.
– Right, right.
– And then, when we went inside,
Dash found some toys
that were on the floor
and he stockpiled them,
and then stood in front of
them and said, you know,
to, the idea was for the puppy,
“Okay, you’re in here,
but this is all my stuff.”
And, so I, you know, had to remind Dash,
“Actually, it’s all my stuff.”
– Right, right.
– “And we’re going to share them.”
_ Yeah.
– “You have yours.
He, he’s not going to be allowed to come
and take anything you’re using,
but he is going to be
allowed to use things
that you’re not using.
Sharesies.”
– Yes, right.
– And I have a lot of control over that.
– Yeah.
– I have everybody on a line.
I’m quite clear that
all the toys are mine.
I mean, if you saw them,
you would understand.
They’re great toys.
– They sound like really nice toys, yeah.
– I know, you want some now, okay?
– (laughs)
– So right away, they
all sort of understand,
again, I’m the leader.
Everybody’s safe.
Everybody has some space,
And I’m going to manage
things really closely.
I don’t want Dash overwhelming the puppy,
and explaining it on
his terms, how it works,
and I don’t want the puppy going,
“Oh, look, they’ve
already supplied something
that’s sort of small and fluffy.”
– Right, that’s, yeah. Yeah.
– Because yeah, that looks
very tempting to a puppy,
when you have, like, a Papillon tail.
You ever seen those?
– Yes, I have, yes. Yeah.
– Puts this thing to shame,
it’s way more exciting.
– It’s not nearly as exciting, absolutely.
– That’s right.
– And this doesn’t run down the hallway.
– That’s, that’s exactly it.
– That’s a real differentiator.
– So, lots of management and
lots of very gentle reminders
that, “I’ve got this, everybody, and
it’s actually going to go my way.”
– Yeah, and I think, an
important element of that
is we talked right at the top
of the video about management.
So when you aren’t able to be there
and supervise the experience,
Fizz can go into his crate
and have a nap, you know,
and relax a little bit, because
you’ve got things to do.
You have, you know, a life to live.
– So many things to do.
– Yes.
– Absolutely.
– Yeah.
– I put my dog in a crate a lot of times.
And sometimes for five minutes,
sometimes for a half hour.
Sometimes I walk outside and
pretend I didn’t get a puppy.
– (laughs)
– It’s very refreshing.
– Yeah, the puppy-
– (gobbles excitedly)
– The puppy training challenge
can feel a little bit
overwhelming sometimes, you know.
It can seem like a lot,
and that’s really one of the
benefits of having a crate,
because your puppy needs a rest.
Your puppy needs to go in
and just have some time
on their own, as well, but so do you.
Because you want to be engaged,
you want to be enjoying the process,
and you want that puppy
to think that, you know,
sun shines out of your ears, so to speak.
– A much better place
for it to shine, yes.
– Now when we talk about some
puppy training first steps,
how does our new puppy owner
get prepared, or be prepared,
for when they bring that new puppy home?
– I think having a crate.
Now, I go crate overboard.
– Okay.
– I have a crate that I put for nighttime
right beside my bed, so
if I have a new puppy,
that can be a little stressful for them.
They miss their litter mates
and they’re somewhere new.
And then I like to have
a crate, I borrow them.
There’s usually tons
around, if you put word out,
you’ve got a puppy and you need crates.
I have one in my kitchen so that,
if I’m doing something, I can
pop the puppy in the kitchen.
if I eat dinner, I put
the puppy in a crate
so I can enjoy my food.
It also gets him used to
the idea that dinnertime’s
not really your business,
you can go lie down.
Basically, I put them anywhere I hang out
so that I can put the
puppy in there right away,
and manage the puppy very closely.
Like, I’m a micro-puppy manager.
– Yes.
– They’re on a line, they’re in a crate.
They’re on a line, they’re in a crate.
I do my very best to make
sure they don’t rehearse
any behavior I don’t want.
– Yeah, and I think
that’s really important
because it sets them up to be successful.
The last thing you want to be doing is,
“No, get out of there.
Oh, no, you can’t do that.”
You want them to be having
a really great experience with you,
so by managing your puppy really well,
and I know you mentioned that you have
a couple of crates around your home.
That’s so important,
and a lot of people that
have struggled with maybe
barking in a crate overnight,
or just generally, you know,
barking, their puppy or
dog barking in their crate
when they go to work,
part of it could be because that puppy
has only ever experienced the crate
when they leave for work or overnight.
You know, taking these
moments during the day
when your puppy, you
know, puppies love to nap.
When your puppy does need a rest,
using the crate for that.
See, puppy’s having a nap right now.
Using the crate to your advantage.
In those-
– We should pick it up a bit, eh?
– Yeah, I know!
In those instances, can
be really, really helpful
and speed up your puppy learning process
that the crate is a really great thing.
– Yeah, absolutely.
And you can, you know,
be ahead of yourself
a little bit too and give
them something something
that is safe for them to
chew on in that crate.
– Yeah.
– So they are automatically
distracted and rewarded
at the same time, so it
makes it a little more
pleasant for everybody.
– Now, I’ve put a playlist
together with more
puppy training videos,
and if you’d like to check that out,
click that card right there.
I’d like to thank Instructor Lorie
and her adorable puppy named Fizz
for joining us today and talking all about
your puppy training first steps.
On that note, I’m Ken and this is Lorie.
Happy Training!
