Daisy is our 11 week old blue heeler. I am brand new to training a dog and would like to know if the following is normal due to her age or should I be careful on when I reward her with a treat for obedience. She has learned to "sit". Now we are working on "down". She seems to get very excited and bark a little when she lays down. I immediately give her the treat and use the clicker to reward her once her body lays down. Is it bad to still give her the treat when she also barks as she lays down? Also, are puppies fully able to learn all of these various commands at this age? Another question....How do I teach her "stay?" For example once she "sits" do I slowly back away from her saying the word "stay" over and over...giving a treat/click when she doesn't move?
First off, I think it is pretty common for pups to be really excited about training, especially once theyve gotten the hang of it, think its fun, and know they'll be praised/get treats at the end Heelers too, I think, really enjoy training (some breeds just enjoy working through things like that more than others) so she's just happy to do it! Later on, if you train her to "speak", this sort of thing should cut down because she'll understand the concept of barking only when asked to. Also, just age often settles these kinds of excited behaviours down
As far as training on "stay", I think your idea sounds great! Its pretty much what I did with my dog, except I didnt use a clicker. But yes, sit, then take a step back saying "stay". If she gets up, step toward her saying "No, sit" and try again. Use your treat/clicker when she does stay. Just keep adding steps until you can walk away, turn your back, leave her, etc
Hope you keep having fun with Daisy! Let us know how she gets on, congrats on the new pup!
Thanks so much for the encouragement! I was so excited because she just figured out that when I give the "down" command I was also nodding my head downward....so now, i can do a silent commanb for "down" with just a head nod....I love this dog sooo much already! I can't believe that I used to think that i wasn't a "dog person" Also, this morning, we did the "stay" command...and I could get four steps away! Yay!!! This is like an adventure each day for me! It almost reminds me of when I had babies (who are now all 6 in school)....but Daisy is really lots of fun! Thanks again!
I love the breed. They are so smart and eager to work for you. As you spend more time with her, she will learn to communicate with you (just like she figured out your nodding means to "sit") and she will start reading your mind without telling what to do next
As for clicker training, I don't use it but it is very effective I heard. You need to click first though, before you give her a treat. Instead of clicker, you can always say "Yes!" or "Good!" to mark her good behavior, then a treat (reward) comes later. Make sure you do it this order, not the other way around.
That is nice that she is now staying for a few seconds even you back up a few steps! I usually train my dogs/foster dogs using hand command before I introduce a verbal command. Dogs can understand hand signal better than verbal commands. Hand signal for stay is to extend your arm showing you open palm to the dog, as if you are saying to "Stop".
Daisy's brain is like a sponge now. It can absorb a lot of things and the most important thing to teach her at this age is to socialize with all kinds of people and all kinds of dogs. Learning to trust people goes a long way, starting yourself to your family, your friends, and strangers. Welcome to the doggy world! Dogs are amazing companions!!
I'm so happy you're having such a good time! I was the same with Jackson, he was my first dog and I was so psyched with how smart he was! It made me so proud! Would love to keep hearing about Daisys progress, have fun!!
