Puppy training school. Week 1

During the week we attended puppy training school with our 9 week old Shih Tzu puppies, Deefa and Oscar. There was a couple with a puppy called Ted and a teenage girl and her parents with a puppy called Oscar (herein called Oscar 2) so there were two Oscars in the class. One puppy didn't turn up and a young Labrador puppy will start next week.

To begin the lesson, the puppies were given some free time to meet and mix. Deefa hid under the chair for most of the time while Oscar explored gingerly. Oscar 2 became obsessed with Ted, chasing him around the room and jumping on top of him whenever possible. Ted got a bit defensive and barred his teeth a few times between trying to get safely into his owner's lap.

After the free time, we all had to either nurse our puppies or have them restrained at our feet and the trainer spoke to us about taking care of puppies in regards to nutrition and toilet training.

Naturally, in regards to nutrition, they recommended feeding them the vet lines of food because they are lower in salt and fat than the supermarket varieties. They seemed to prefer the hard food, and explained that the puppy formula has extra nutrients that young puppies need. They also had varieties of wet food if that is what is preferred.

In regards to toilet training, the main message is that puppies do not have full control of their bladders until about 14 weeks of age, so in the meantime, positive reward is required when they do the "right" thing. For people who are training their dogs to go outside, they said it is crucial to get up during the night to take them out. They suggested throwing a ball for the puppy so that it is distracted and more likely to "go" if distracted by a game.

When you notice that a puppy is going to the toilet in the wrong place, it is recommended to make a loud noise such as clapping your hands to distract him, then move him to where he should go and reward him when he finishes going.

Next it was time to train the puppies. The first week involved come and sit. Each puppy was given a turn, and Oscar went first. The trainer distracted him by clapping her hands, then called him. Once he started to come towards her, she said "come". That was the important part because he was already doing it and the word reinforces the action. He then got a liver treat. Oscar and Deefa already were good at coming. The other two puppies had a bit more trouble, but got it in the end.

When teaching to sit, the trainer had a treat that she put by their noses and moved backwards, while saying "sit". It is important that they are rewarded as soon as their bum hits the ground, because it might not stay there very long. Again, Oscar and Deefa could already do this, and the other puppies took a while.

Then it was our turn. One at a time, we practiced until our puppy could come and sit.

The important part about training is to use a high pitched voice to achieve the behavior that you want, and low pitched voice for reprimands.

Before the lesson ended, we were all given a little pack of take-home goodies. The pack included a free sample of dog fritz, some liver treats for training and a pig ear for chewing.

My puppies love the fritz, and I mix it with boiled rice. My husband breaks a vitamin B capsule into the water when I'm boiling the rice because he wants them to have a good supply of B while they are young. I also add some lentils to the rice.

My puppies also like the liver treats but they are quite hard and they find it a bit difficult to take in their mouths and chew, but they really do love it!

However, the pigs ears are the favourite. I cut one in half so they could each have a smaller piece, and they chewed them for the whole of the next day.

Overall, it was fun to go to the lessons so that they will learn how to respond to other dogs, and it was good to hear about good nutrition and toilet training methods.

I am looking forward to the next 3 weeks and hope you will follow my story.