I wish I’d trained my dog to…..

[PaddingtonsHat]

Tell me what things you wish you had trained your dog to do. Puppy coming after Xmas and besides the obvious sit, lie, stand etc, I’m keen to consider the practically useful.
Im thinking doorbell ringing as a signal for going to their bed, for example.
We will be doing puppy classes but obviously quite restricted until pup can go out.
Thanks

Yes to the doorbell.

• Settle, esp. in public places.
• That s/he doesn’t have to say hello to every other dog.

Environmentalisation is equally important to socialisation, basically. Our DDog is 2YO now and she has training twice a week, it’s fixable but starting from scratch is preferable to fixing bad habits.

Be dog neutral. People are so worried about socialisation but I wish I'd started earlier with distract and walk past other dogs. Obviously I'm happy for him to play sometimes but I'd prefer it wasn't the default.

We taught our dog to 'ask' before jumping on any furniture a human was on (just by sitting quietly our eyelines). It's brilliant. I find it so hard now when people have dogs which jump all over me without hesitating. There's the 'touch' command which is brilliant too - just getting them to come and give their attention, works in so many situations.

Not to eat discarded sandwiches and other random crap (literally!) that she finds on walks.

Drop.
Go to bed and be quiet when door goes.
Not to bark at the window when anyone or anything goes by.

The most important things you can teach are:

• proofed recall in distractions
• to ignore other dogs + people
• walk to heel on lead without pulling
• settle at home

Normal local 6 week puppy classes dont teach any of these things and are actually counterproductive in many cases.

As a dog walker the thing I most wish people would teach their dog is how to walk nicely on a lead.

"settle" and make sure you have the dog's own rug, so that they can settle anywhere.
Socialisation is about being able to cope with any situation, "say hello" and "say goodbye" are better than default "I wanna play"

I wish I had trained my dog to be good around horses with riders on them, she loves horses in fields and will nap by their fence. Put a rider on and she barks because apparently horses need liberating from this oppression.

I wish we'd worked more on getting him to settle alone and to be dog neutral.

To walk to heel on and off the lead
To not beg for or eat human food even if it is accessible.
To stop barking on command.

Not an owner at the moment but from being involved with friends’ dogs, it’s important to be the boss of the dog, and, what is cute behaviour when they are a puppy can be a PITA when they are fully grown.

Mine is pretty good, he does go to his bed on command, he walks to heel on and off lead, he doesn't really bark (well the window cleaner gets his wrath but no barking at things on the street or when he's in the garden. Teach not to jump up from day one too, I did this and makes it easier out/visitors. And expose to noise and new things straight away, you have a short window to do this as things they experience later often aren't accepted/scare them so do go to coffee shops/pubs/ stay away overnight at a friends etc.

wish we could stop him barking at people coming to the door, demanding attention before he'll calm down. And wish he'd walk to heel even when he needs the toilet.

Oh and acclimatise to farm animals, mine is scared of horses and donkeys, go figure

“Drop it!”

We’ve tried to teach that one about a billion times but he just doesn’t get it. He’ll ‘swap’ what he’s got for something he wants even more, but he will never just drop what he’s got. Not the end of the world because there is always something he’ll be willing to trade for, but still annoying! See also not jumping up at me to grab his ball because he’s too excited to wait until I throw it.

Best thing we ever taught him besides the usual recall, sit, wait, down, speak, etc. was the emergency stop. We test it out on walks most days just to keep it fresh in his mind and he skids to a halt each and every time, even mid-gallop!

Some things I have found very useful:

• I trained a 'lie flat' while I look at your belly. This is really useful for all sorts of grooming and health check activies.
• I trained 'ears' and 'eyes' for ear and eye check ups. Also very useful.
• I muzzle trained. This is actually not very day-to-day useful BUT it is a good skill for your dog to have, should it ever be required without much notice.

But, actually, if I really had to prioritise the 3 things I think are most useful to encourage in a puppy. In order...

1. Optimism
2. A strong relationship with me
3. Finding other people and dogs a bit boring (the neutral mentioend above)

If you get nothing else but those 3 in the first few months, you will have had a great start.

I wish I had...
not allowed her to sit near the table when we are eating as she was given tidbits from people and now is a nightmare when we are eating, especially my dh. She goes to her bed when I tell her to and is quiet

not bark non stop when someone comes to the door/into the house. The latter she is much better about (only took 11 years🙄) as long as visitors don't make eye contact

To lie quietly on a mat which we could take places ie pub or restaurant etc so she feels comfortable when out and about and we feel comfortable sit and eat or drink

Things I am glad we taught her...
Touch. She doesn't always get a treat when I recall her but she does touch her nose to our hand

Mine. She will drop her toy in an instant when I say it. Not so much on food out and about

To be gentle, so when mouthing during play she has never broken skin or bitten anyone, though sometimes she forgets her manners when getting a treat on a walk and will be a bit keen and get my finger slightly. She soon stops when she feels them though.

Not to paw at me when he wants attention!

To shut the door when she comes back inside.

I completely agree with PPs about being dog-neutral (and also not so fecking interested in people), stopping barking on command, and not hanging around the table during meals.

Loose-lead walking is a very important skill, IMO. GrouchyDog doesn't often go to doggy day care/boarder, but we always get compliments on how well she walks to lead when she does.

Oh and YY to muzzle training! I muzzle mine for all vet trips even though he has always been very pleased to see the vet because I’d never want to risk him being startled and biting, especially if he’s there for jabs or because he’s hurt himself.

The muzzle comes off at the end of the appointment for the vet to have a look at his teeth and make a quick fuss of him, but I’d never want to put the vet at any risk of a completely avoidable bite so the muzzle goes on before he goes in.

Thanks all this is brilliant

Pee and poo in the same spot in the garden.

Make a 1x1 or whatever space you can spare area with thick spread of bark chippings. Hose down/turn with a spade as required. Saves your lawn!! And one place to pick up from.

A thing that is worth training, beyond the basics, is to stand still when the lead is dropped. Makes them so easy to handle and young DC can hold the lead.

Waiting at roads, zero jumping up, zero pulling. All done gently.

Keeping them very attentive to you.

Not bark at the telly/the wind/just because he feels like it.

Mine are pretty good, but I wish I'd trained a 'go to your bed' when the doorbell rings/ knocked on and a 'emergency stop' for a lie down at a distance.

I am most glad I trained settle (anywhere he is told), nice walking by my side with a loose lead, to ignore other dogs/children/traffic and focus on me, leave it, and ignoring food until invited.

With puppies (lots of foster pups) I focus on recall, sit, walking nicely on a lead, and ringing the bells to be let out first and foremost.

Our puppy is doing so well. One thing I have noticed, though, is that she's learned the sound of her kibble being weighed out and she starts scrabbling at her pen and whining. I need to think of a way of stopping that. Today I have pre-weighed her meals so she isn't alerted to the noise, while I think of a strategy.