| RE: Training 8-week-old
I mean no disrespect here, but you are about 8 weeks late in starting your training!
By now you should have handled this little guy in every way imaginable. He should be used to being held in the air under the arms and held upside down without much fretting, he should be used to having the pads of his feet tickled, and every inch of his body stoked and massaged, and he should be staring to get accustomed to having you open his mouth and handle his toe nails--if he has not already had them clipped without any fuss. He should have been taught by now not to nip or bite with a "NO Bite" command.
To compare: I have a female Rottie that just turned 3 months. So I am now one month ahead of you. I kept careful records of her growth and training. (I use Clicker Training.) Between 8-10 weeks, I had her trained to respond to a verbal cue to do a solid and reliable Come, Sit, and a short Stay. She had perfected an Attention exercise: (When I am near and call her name, she looks into my eyes immediately, even if food or toys are dangled nearby.) She had already been trained to touch a target with her nose, and would follow a target stick around the room. She was accustomed to sleeping in a crate, ate all her meals in it, chose to nap in it about 80% of the time, slept throught the night (7 1/2 hours), and had been taught to Settle. She would submissively roll on her back and let me hold her that way without fussing. And she was just starting to pick up the commands OFF and UP, referring to getting off of or jumping onto a chair, step, or person.
The only thing I failed at was paper training. You see, I have other dogs and I built a very elaborate doggy door that they use. I figured the pup was too small to make the long trip to the door, go up a set of three steps, get through two hanging flaps, and find her way outside, let alone stay out there in our New York winter's 30 degree temperature long enough to go potty. I had planned to paper train her temporarily, and then in a few months, when she was much bigger and could negotiate the steps and all, I would show her the doggy door. Well, after racing around for weeks plopping her on the paper every time she started to squat, one day at about 9 weeks, she found the door herself with no prompting or help, and went outside. Since then, she uses the door routinely to go outside to go potty. I could almost hear her thinking, "Why didn't this idiot show me where the door was before?"
So, first, please don't take any of the above as bragging. It's not that I am a master trainer. Simba said it in the last message: They pick up things incredibly fast when they are young. Although some systems are clearly not matured, such as bladder control, their minds are like sponges. As well as I was doing, I underestimated this pup's abilities to use the doggy door, and missed in my estimate by about two months!
I have been Clicker Training three other adult dogs for about a year, and I was so impressed by the results I thought Clicker Training was the Holy Grail! But after a week or two with this pup (started clicking at 6 weeks), I could not believe how much I was underestimating her potential. I would plan on training a behavior with a goal of perfecting in a month, and she had it down pat in a three days!
After a couple weeks, I realized I was the only slow learner around here! So I accellerated the training, and at 3 months, she can do practically everything my three adult dogs can.
I am not a fan of conventional leash training, but if that's your thing, go for it and get started. I would recommend though that you look into Clicker Training if you've never heard of it. Just search the web. There are tons of sites. Within a week, you can mail order some clickers and start. Cheap, fun, and let me tell you, effective. The animals love it! I love it!
Realize that the first three months or so are the most vital in determining the dog's social behavior. So another aspect of "training" should involve taking your pup out to meet every pedestrian, dog, mutt, bag lady, policeman, and mailman in your town. She should be so used to people and other animals coming and going and passing by that she doesn't even blink. This social training is vital in a large breed. If you don't get her round and about, or invite plenty of people with dogs and cats into your house every week, by the time she is a year old she'll be defending you from every stranger that approaches!
Sorry if I've used a rather alarmist and urgent tone, but asking when you should START training an 8 week old Rottie is like sitting in a ditch with your fender wrapped around a tree, asking when you should step on the brake.
Since I am only about a month ahead of you with my 3 month pup, I'd be glad to exchange private messages and answer any questions or tell you a little about Clicker Training, if you are interested. I promise I won't holler and berate you! In any event, get working with that little guy. He's hungry for your guidance!
Barry  |