[Gene]

There are a few, type in fading rewards a couple of videos will come up. For now you want to lure and shape for about 6 months, then you can add the command in at 6-9 months. He is already doing this but what he does for you in the house is different from what he will do in the backyard and different from what he will do in the backyard as opposed to a park. With luring and shaping you are teaching the pup how to learn. He gets muscle memory, whenever he gets into the desired position he gets a treat. It is good down, good sit etc but I am not asking for it. I am not correcting him at 9 weeks just rewarding for the position. From 6-9 months I will add the command, you are still using rewards. You want to “hardwire” the pup now to think that you always have treats. At 9 o 12 months I will give the command and expect to be obeyed but he will still be rewarded with praise, toy, treat after he has performed what I asked.

I might be a little off on my explanation, but for now you are way ahead of schedule. RELAX. Two other vids Robert with the Dwayno Meter when he is about 9/10 weeks. In the lesson section Frequently Asked Questions About Training, I think.

[Riggan]

Takoda gave an excellent explanation. The only thing I do differently is introduction of the command. Once I am confident that the puppy will respond to the lure correctly about 80% of the time, I start saying the command as I lure the behavior. After a will, I say the command and then lure. Once the pup is really solid with that, I say the command and wait a second or two before luring. If the puppy responds correctly before I start the lure, then it is party time! Otherwise, I continue with the lure as usual. If the pup does not respond to the command twice in a row, I go back to doing command then lure for a while. For some behaviors, I might be starting the command at 8-10 weeks while it might not be until 6 months for other behaviors. It all depends on how the dog responds.

Just as a side note, one of the big service dog programs in the country starts training their puppies beginning at just a couple of weeks old. By the time the puppies are 8 weeks, they are relatively fluent in numerous commands. It is quite amazing to see!

Good luck! Training is about finding what works for you and your dog. There is many different ways you can do it that are all equally “right.”

[Joshua]

Great explanations I appreciate it. Both make a lot of sense. I know he is doing good, we have our good sessions and our not so good (lol). He is an awesome pup but I just like to keep in the back of my head how to transition. I know we are no where close.

Thanks again!

[Gene]

Wow! I was just wondering for my own info if these puppies are bred from other service dogs so they know they have the temperament and smarts to succeed and how does that work? Do they work with them for a short time and return to mother or they bring the whole crew out for awhile? Why do they start so early?

[Riggan]

Yes, these are purpose bred puppies, but I don’t see any reason the concept wouldn’t work with any puppy. Bonnie Bergin pioneered this at her Assistance Dog Institute (now Bergin University). It’s been many years since I saw their presentation at an Assistance Dog International conference, so I might have some details wrong, but you’ll get the idea. During the first few weeks of life, the puppies take part in Early Neurological Stimulation exercises. Then, around 3 weeks, they begin training with food reward. Of course at this age everything is positive only. They start luring and shaping most of the commands that an assistance dog will need to learn before placement, so it is not just sit / down / come. By the time the pup is 9 weeks on, they have rudimentary skills such as turning light switches on / off, opening and closing doors, heeling, fetch, etc. Bonnie started this out of frustration about how long it could take to undo poor training techniques from puppy raisers. She thought if she could imprint the basic commands in the puppy’s formative weeks, that it would be easier to “untrain” the puppies when they returned for advanced training around 18-24 months. It worked far better than she had hoped since puppies quickly revert to “default” behaviors they learn while still with their mom and littermates. She is just making sure that these “defaults” are the behaviors she wants! As a result, their “career change” rate (ie, dogs placed as pets or in jobs other than service dogs) dropped significantly and the advanced training time frame was shortened.

I did find a short video on YouTube showing pups in training at 3-4 weeks and then again at 7-9 weeks. Pretty impressive!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0EO-6drKW8

[Gene]

Thanks, I never would have “thunk” it.