Too Much Obedience For A 6-Month-Old Puppy

[@lailaalanna315]

I thought that I was too late to train my almost 6 month old large breed puppy. My bf said he's stubborn because he obeys commands loosely. But he's getting better and thank God I haven't ruined my baby.

[@andytheturtle]

I really appreciate these videos! Thank you. 1. I think puppy and obedience classes vary in their content and quality a lot! The classes we went to (before 6 months old) didn’t allow any group play, and were teaching us marker training and engagement. To be honest, you could learn just as much and more in terms of theory from Leerburg’s video. But it was still nice to have an in-person trainer watching, and getting the puppy outside. Do your own research and find a good school in your area! 2. Ask Cindy really works! I had my question answered within 24 hours. I’ve since purchased 2 videos and 2 courses from Leerburg. Not sure how big Ed and Cindy’s team is, but I believe him when he said what he said in the end 👍 (Ed: hope you’re in good health! You’ve slimmed down a lot from earlier videos)

[@efrawley55]

Andy - health is good for an old fart of my age. Thanks for the kind words

[@jimkamradt7243]

I had a 8 month old dalmatian years ago. We put her on the landing leading from the kitchen to the basement. When we came home, we found she chewed the corner of the wall. I thought I knew dogs. T wasn't until years later I found out I didn't know much. I'm still learning, and I'm up in years. I now have a 10 month old Goldendoodle. I'm trying to crate train. So, thanks for the tip on feeding in the crate. I had forgotten about that.

[@pam_jackson]

I refuse to live my life without a dog. So when my last one passed I thought oh no I'm 69 and not sure if I'm up for a puppy and all the training that goes with it. Well, I went for it and got of all things an Aussie pup. In order to keep up will him I've had to come out of retirement, literally. He is a wonderful one-year-old now and I credit him for wiping out twenty years on me. I live my life like I'm 49 now just to keep up with him.

[@jacquesetmayer1523]

Stop buying doodles, they r mutts

[@pam_jackson]

Lol, my sweet Bella (how I miss her) was left at six months alone in the house for ONE hour while I ran to the store. When I came home she had pulled the carpet up in one corner and managed to pull it six feet away from the wall. Cost me $300.00 for the carpet repair and a lesson on what not to do with a six-month-old. At a year old she was fine being left alone.

[@griffinreitz7041]

I have never had a puppy that wasn't basic obedience trained by 6 months. The guide dog pups had 42 commands by 18 months. My puppies are also never off lead, in the house, if someone is coming over, or a lot of other times. LOL . They are all crated till 18 months, and some longer, when we are gone. My 4.5 year old finished dog, ( as finished as a lazy old trainer is going to get her) that I have now, is crated when we are gone still. Because she is just to smart for her own good. She knows exactly what she is supposed to do, but there are to many great games you can invent when you are alone and have teeth. LOL For the time they have all their shots they go everywhere with us. They learn to be handled by all kinds of people. I just make it a great game. I have no problem at all training puppies. I think the biggest problem here is they are expecting way to much, way to soon. The training it's self isn't a problem. IMO But you are dealing with a young dog. He's not going to be finished for at least a couple years. The guide dog pups we started at 8 weeks and they were ready for their formal training by 18 months. I miss being young. :)

[@Sarah-mp5vi]

The information in these videos is invaluable. Soooo glad I found this channel a short while ago- just at the right time. The sharing of your wisdom and training approach here is incredibly useful and very much appreciated. Thank You.

[@tamieleer]

Thank you… Amen 🙏

[@leilasesmero5910]

I kind of like train puppy classes in short timing and allow release the dog on command so they learn the release command it works well with akc ‘s puppy classes with strong socialization

[@efrawley55]

Well the AKC is wrong - they have one goal - MAKE MONEY - read my comment to Kathleen below this gtext and you will see the error in your ways. What you did is not good socialization - you just got luc ky.

[@leilasesmero5910]

@@efrawley55 Dear Ed, I have trained many puppies . I first socialization is about off leash playtime so dogs can learn biting inhibition from an early age. All the pawing , chasing , neck grabbing etc. Are actually learning Skills. hunting with the marker then a sit and Also Down command . The releasing the dog from the sit should not be

[@leilasesmero5910]

I cannot seem to be able edit my text here since I am typing from my own cell phone. so I perhaps should change the way I I need to reply to you directly I guess pls disregard this truncated message.

[@efrawley55]

@@leilasesmero5910 Leila - we would have to disagree on how to socialize a puppy. Here is an article on what we consider the right way to look at socialization: leerburg.com/socializepuppies.htm

[@lailaalanna315]

I leave my almost 6 month dog at home and he doesn't destroy anything. I just need to leave a pee pad. If he gets mischievous, he'll tear it up. My main concern is that he doesn't use it, so he holds his pee and poop til I can let him out. That's why I make sure not to leave him for more than a few hours.

[@tamieleer]

Your videos are great..

[@Starfox-zg4tk]

Tell that lady Sir!!

[@Dogman82556]

Mr Frawley, it is so entertaining to hear you read these letters from folks that have never trained a dog.. And to hear you take their letters as facts and trash the trainer is hilarious. Just about every difficult client I’ve ever seen, had a story about how terrible the last trainer was. And it’s always someone else’s fault. But lots of these folks shouldn’t own a dog. I don’t think there is another profession that has the same level of subjective/emotional fuggery as dog training. These videos aren’t helpful JMO. To label the trainer the problem with zero evidence is irresponsible. How many clients have misconstrued solid info from a trainer? You should contact the trainers before reading these letters, ask about their credentials/experience/referrals. You’re right about one thing. Common sense isn’t as common as you think.

[@jeanstout4035]

🤣🤣🤣🤣 not just sheet rock, the corner edge of wood wall. Right though into the cabinet.

[@kathleena4038]

I am surprised to hear your negativity around puppy class….we went to an excellent positive reinforcement group puppy class when my lab puppy was 11 or 12 weeks old. The first 20 minutes of class was devoted to supervised play among the pups with the instructor intervening in the event of too rough, inappropriate play. It was a great way to socialize my pup to different dogs and people. It was less obedience than “behavioral vaccination”, desensitization, and general education for the humans about dog training. Even tho I’ve trained many pet dogs, it was helpful to me as it’s just me and my husband and no other dogs in the home right now. And we did follow it up with another 7 week beginner obedience course, all done before he was 7 months old. It was very positive, no corrections or coercion involved. We did well. Your thoughts?

[@efrawley55]

Bottom line is those folks who push puppy classes are probably all nice folks - but they are as dead wrong as you were. They lack experience. Socialization is not about teaching a puppy to get along with other dogs and/or about getting along with people. Socializing is about teaching our puppy to engage with us around people, places and things.. You were lucky - it only takes one quick incident where a puppy is jumped on and traumatized by a larger or tougher puppy. Most pups will then be afraid of strange dogs for life. What if that instructor had not been paying attention, what if her timing was off , what if there were 2 or 3 other skirmishes going on at the same time and she could not rescue your pup fast enough? Bottom line is puppy classes are a very bad idea. We spend the early months building our relationship with our puppy.

[@kathleena4038]

@@efrawley55 thanks for your reply, Mr. Frawley! I see your point. There were 2 instructor to 7 puppies, I felt it was well supervised….although sometimes it did feel like ALOT. What you hear right now is that you have this narrow window in the life of a young puppy to show them world, so I felt like it was an efficient means of introducing him to other pups. Sigh. So many differences of opinion in dog training…it’s staggering.

[@efrawley55]

@@kathleena4038 You are exactly correct - everyone has an opinion on how to train your dog - ask your family, ask your neigbor, ask your best freind, ask your mailman - all good people but they lack experience to offer good advice. These local obedience foks need to make a living - so they run lasses. You will NEVER see a professional dog trainer worth his or her merit take their puppy ti a puppy cass. We know better. We waant our puppies to see the world, but we want them to engage with use anywhere we take them. If they cant engage in the face of a distraction we need to back away to the point where we can engage with them - then the goal is to slowly shorten that distance. And there may be some dogs and some distractions that cant overcome the distraction. But the more ytou work at this the more your puppt will learn to trust your judgement - we have an excellent course on HOW TO BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITZH YOUR DOG - Michael Ellis is the instructor. I recommend it - it's on Leerburg

[@efrawley55]

@Simon T Thank you - unfortunately there is this myth out there that dogs need to meet and greet other dogs and people to be socialized - that myth ignores distractions in the environment - in addition to being DEAD WRONG.

[@samali4327]

​@@efrawley55 have to agree with ed here