In a multiple dog household work with one dog at a time.
After each dog learns that he/she does get a turn, the training
will become more like a game, and they will understand that they
can play with you and that each one gets a special time where they
show off and show you their previously learned behaviors. As you continue to train, they will realize "whose turn it is".
For the show/obedience/hunter in test trials...always teach stand before sit (so much easier!)
and when the dog has learned sit, start mixing the commands up so they don't do one more than the other.
I teach stand, drop, and sit all from one position to little puppies as a fun aerobics thing for them to do for treats.
It starts the process of combining commands early and teaches a nice folding drop as well as sets you up for the drop on recall in obedience and the stationary hand commands in utility.
You might want to try keeping his leash on and letting him drag it around for a while. If he goes to mouth your arm, make a sound and let him know that that hurts! Praise when he closes his mouth. You want to practice walking around with him near you and give him positive reinforcement when he is not mouthing you. You can use a ton of treats to start off with and then you want to extend the time between his treats that he is not mouthing.
Best to use the "wrong" remark (AHHHH,) before you are in his mouth. That way you have more success. All that affects a pup starts with the mouth. He is growing and needs to experiment but he also needs to learn what is acceptable and what is absolutely not acceptable. Off leash, you don't have as much of a chance as when you keep him near hou. Have lots of toys available, too, and put those in his mouth before he puts your arm in his mouth. You can also teach him to carry objects if he feels he must have something in his mouth.
Can't you create one with the other if you think about it?
Yes, it is possible.
Having trained a food-motivated dog, and now training a toy-motivated dog,
I would choose a toy-motivated one. While some behaviors are harder to
train with a toy than with food, most things I'm interested in are very
active behaviors (agility), and I find toy-training much more effective,
especially for behaviors where I want the dog running, especially running
away from me (throw the toy). Also they fill up on food faster than on
play, and food training can add pounds, while toy/play training can take
them off. On the other hand, the food-motivated dog is better at learning
(and doing) static behaviors that take place near me, for example, tricks,
and will always return to me for his reward (so it's harder to get him to
go away, but easier to get him to come back). So, I think it depends to an
extent what kind of a dog you want overall, and what you want to train it to do.
For the average pet owner, food training is much easier than toy training. As for creating one from the other, yes you can do that too, but you
won't always get the same intensity with the "trained" motivator as with a
natural one. I've trained the food-motivated dog to play with toys but in
times of stress he turns off to toys, and I've trained the toy-motivated
dog to work for food, but in times of high excitement she spits out the food.
Each situation can be very individual and subjective.
I start training my pup as soon as he has his eyes open to listen to my voice. By the time he is 4wks old, he's ready to start coming to me. Whenever he makes the attempt, I click and treat. Now, at 3mos, he is doing fine but he wanting to venture out. What do I do??? I reinforce the "come" and I do expect him to "come." Otherwise, I'm being trained instead and that's not the idea I want!
My wild 3yo Katie, never has done well on the "come" but I ventured to let her go when at a training session and she did run off. But, she came back and checked in and when she came back, she was rewarded. She enjoyed that day and so did I!
True confessions from others:
I start my puppies off leash at eight weeks of age,
first in my backyard, and then in the woods that lead
away from my house in a large preserve, on a *daily
basis*. My current puppy Sorrel, now 3 1/2 mo old,
has now had about 1000 recalls from off lead, on our
daily 10 minute walks in the woods.
I call, click and praise while he is coming, giggle at
his happy wiggles, treat when he gets to me, then send
him off to play again! Today he recalled off of
chasing my cat (an indoor cat who escaped outside when
visitors came), whom he loves! The cat was leading
him off into the woods, but when he heard "Sorrel
come!" in my happy sing-song voice, he turned on a
dime and came running for his treat! Whew! I was so
happy he came!
Sorrel is the first puppy who is not from my breeding
that I have raised in many years, so he came here at 8
weeks old. My homebred pups start recalls about the
same time they start going outside, around 4 weeks
old! (Puppy, puppy, puppies!!!) I use mostly string
cheese as treats for the little guys.
I would forget the long line, at least for now, and
immediately, while he's little and still clinging to
you, start taking him to the wild places, and do your
recalls from 2', 3', 4' etc, slowly building distance,
but with lots of fun and repetition. At the same time,
build eye contact and name recognition. You know all
this! The trick is *don't wait* to go to more
distracting places, train him there right from the
beginning!
It keeps them a little clingy, which I like, and
teaches them to check in with you often. Praise and
treat for checking in, too!
Yours, Wendy
Here's a great site for those dogs which are scared of storms, etc! Check it out!