How to Train a Dog?

[Sly]

My mom recently got a 5 week old Bichon Shih tzu.... any tips on training and general info would be appreciated. Thanks.

[moncton golden flames]

be clear and consistent with; rules, boundaries and limitations.

provide your dog with; exercise, discipline and affection, in that order.

[REDVAN]

5 weeks is pretty darn young. Take it easy on tyhe dog and socialize it ONLY until it is 5-6 months old. Then you will have a good bond and it'll be a good age for training.

If you meant it is 5 months old, then go to classes. They teach you how to teach the dog, and it is very easy once your dog associates treats with doing what you want it to do.

[Nage Waza]

Go to puppy class as soon as he hits I think three months. VITAL!!!! The dog needs less training than your mom; if you are asking in a forum how to train a dog, then clearly you should go to puppy class. They will teach you everything and get you started right. We have done that with every dog we have had, and everyone comments on how good our dogs are.
We went to Petsmart, one or two hours once a week for something like six weeks. The dog loved it as well.
Aside from that, honestly your puppy can get sick at this young age; in fact, it should not be away from it's mom yet. Make sure if people play with the dog they wash their hands first.
Grab a treat the dog likes and bring it up to your face. As soon as the dog looks in your eyes say 'Watch me' and give the dog the treat. Once you master the eye contact, they are easy to train. You will learn the rest in puppy class.
Chocolate is bad (everyone knows that), but grapes and raisins are worse. Some dogs drop dead from eating one, some eat them no problem.
Keep an eye out for hazards (stairs, objects etc)...treat the house like there is an infant.
Feed the dog and put the dog in a super small crate right away, when he cries, take him out and put him on a training sheet. If the dog pees, give him some love (if he does not pee, put him immediately back in the crate). Do that for every meal. Crate him over night as well, teach him it is safe to be there. Don't use the crate for punishment. The dog will only pee in the crate (usually) if it is too big. Once the dog masters the pee sheets, move the sheets outside. Once the outside sheets are mastered, you are likely good to go for house training.
I got lots more tips, but like I said formal training is the best advice I can give.
Walk the dog lots as well! A tired dog is a happy dog.

[burnin_vernon]

Crate training is very effective.

[jar_e]

A 5 week old pup should still be on its mother's milk no?

[ResAlien]

Beat it with a tire iron. It'll learn.

[Ice]

I have a Shih Tzu/Bichon Frise, she's four years old. She is a great dog but needed discipline because they are active and impulsive. They are smart dogs so they learn pretty quickly. My dog is well trained but will still chase after squirrels and small animals if she's off leash. Once she's in that mode she will not respond to me calling her name or telling her to stop. I wanted a dog that could chill out in the front yard with me while I'm washing my car or working in the flower beds, but she is not that dog. Other than running off, she's a great dog, very affectionate, loves people, and will do what I tell her to do. She doesn't shed either, which is fabulous. She was a crazy jumper and would get overexcited when we had visitors but her whole demeanor got much, much calmer when she was around two. She's just a perfect dog now.

I'm a big fan of crate training, she will sleep anytime she's in her crate. If she's anxious, like on New Years Eve or July 4th or during a brush fire, we just put her in her crate and she calms right down and goes to sleep. I think its really good for her to have her peaceful place. When she was little, I didn't allow my kids to interact with her when she was in the crate, so it was just a quiet place for her instead of a punishment.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by Sly

My mom recently got a 5 week old Bichon Shih tzu.... any tips on training and general info would be appreciated. Thanks.

Rent her a few episodes of the Dog Whisperer. That will clear up a lot of initial confusion. Things will go smoothly from there.

Cowperson

[mikey_the_redneck]

Dog Whisperer.....

[FlamesGirl]

5 weeks is very young to be away from it's mother and siblings - important skills in dog language and socializing occur from 4 - 8 weeks of age. Some breeders are now keeping the pups with their mom and litter until 12 weeks to ensure proper behaviours are learned.

For 5 weeks of age, don't worry too much about training/socialization until the pup has its second set of shots. Work on house-training, crate-training, teaching pup its name but I wouldn't worry about too much else at this point. The attention span is pretty much non-existent and you don't want to bring your pup or expose him/her to other dogs until shots are up to date in case of disease.

Make sure toys are appropriate for size of dog/puppy teething. I'd recommend you get a puppy kong (check the sizing guideline on the back of the product). This is a great toy for keeping dogs out of trouble and is especially good stuffed with banana/peanut butter and frozen for a few days - it will really help when puppy is teething later.

Make sure pup is on a good dog food - Acana, Orijen, Fromms, Blue Buffalo, Eagle Pack, etc are good dog foods and aren't available at the walmart or grocery store. Ol'Roy, Alpo, Iams, etc is the equivalent of a human eating mcdonalds every meal every day. Pup should be on 3 smaller meals a day - when pup is 6 - 8 months you can make the jump from puppy food to adult food and cut meals down to twice a day.

Don't worry about exercise too much at this point, either. Yes, puppy will need to be entertained and played with but forced exercise should be at a minimum for the sake of the joints/muscles. Especially with how young the dog is - I wouldn't do much more than a walk around the block (probably with a well-fitting harness rather than a collar) in a dog-free area. Unlimited play time for sure to tire out the puppy but too much forced exercise won't be good for him/her.

Also, try not to pick up the dog too much - most small dogs have issues because the owner treats them less like a dog and more like a child. So many times you see a person with a small dog on the ground, then a big dog comes over and owner freaks and swoops up little dog. Little dog then thinks he's better than big dog (being held over the head and higher up than big dog) and never learns to properly socialize with other dogs.

That's all the advice I have for a little puppy. Different advice for when they get older. Look into puppy classes - ask your vet for recommendations or if you see a well-behaved dog walking down the street, ask the owner where they took their dog. Cesar Milan is great, but most people benefit from hands-on training instead of what they see on tv.

[Hipcheck]

Originally Posted by mikey_the_redneck

Dog Whisperer.....

I was about to say, watch a couple seasons of this show and your good

[Ice]

Originally Posted by Hipcheck

I was about to say, watch a couple seasons of this show and your good

I forgot about this show. When we got our puppy my sister-in-law told me to Tivo it and I resisted, but did it anyway because she's usually right about these things. I'm really glad I did, the pack leader thing is right on. Its very simple to have a great dog. I now take my dog to teach rescue dogs how to walk, its amazing how much faster dogs learn from other dogs.

[Russic]

One thing I've found about the dog whisperer is that while I tend to agree with everything he says, he also possesses a certain energy that is refined through many years of experience and confidence. It's not that his methods don't work, it's just that what Cesar does can take a lot of practice. About once a week I pass a dog owner who's giving his or her dog the "tshh! tshh!" sounds with no result. While Cesar makes it look easy, remaining calm in a tense situation is far harder than it appears.

Some of Cesar's methods have worked for me, many have not (certainly my fault, not my dogs). Not sure what it is I do wrong, but my dog seems special. I had a dog trainer of 35 years tell me that my dog is "among the most unique cases" he'd ever seen.

That all being said I certainly recommend Cesar Milan's books (I read the first two ... I preferred the first one). They were very informative and easy to follow.