Nothing for Free!!

Introduction to Training Your New Bernedoodl

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"Nothing in life is free":

Before we get into this statement and puppy training guide, we would highly recommend getting a good dog trainer involved as soon as you bring your new puppy home. Try to find a balanced trainer that does not only use positive reinforcement and that finds value in correction (positive punishment) in extinguishing unwanted behaviors. Get referrals. Look at their website and videos and critically look at their content and feel free to get us involved as a set of outside eyes on selecting a trainer. One of the co-authors, Bryson Carmichael, is becoming a certified dog trainer and has done an amazing job with our adult dogs and puppies and is offering some training programs for those within a 60 minute drive from the Spartanburg South Carolina area. Please email us at premierdoodles@gmail.com for more information.

The above statement is a good generalization of how to raise and train your puppy. No puppy or dog should control what they get without giving something first. This is to include such things as petting, walks, going outside, eating, playing or anything that your pet wants or gets on a day-to-day basis.

Teaching your pet commands such as sit, down and stay are important in order for you to use this method.

Once your dog knows a few commands, you can begin to practice "nothing in life is free”. Before you give your dog anything (food, treats, toys, walks, petting) they must first perform one of the commands they have learned.

The Benefits of this technique include the following:

Most dogs assume a neutral or submissive role toward people, but some dogs will challenge their owners for dominance. Requiring a dog to work for everything it wants is a safe and non-confrontational way to establish control.
Dogs,who may never display aggressive behavior such as growling, snarling, or snapping, may still manage to manipulate you. These dogs may display affectionate, though "pushy", behavior, such as nudging your hand to be petted or "worming'' their way on to the furniture in order to be close to you. This technique gently reminds the "pushy" dog that it must abide by your rules.
Obeying commands help build a fearful dog's confidence; having a strong leader and knowing its place in the hierarchy helps to make the submissive dog feel more secure. We can't stress the importance of establishing boundaries for your new bernedoodle puppy. Yes love them appropriately (after obeying) but establish firm and consistent boundaries.

Humans live their lives learning that "nothing in life is free". We are taught throughout our lives that if we want something, we work for it. We work to have a roof over our heads, own a car, purchase necessities and luxuries etc. Our behavior and attitudes predict how we are treated and received by others. If we are respectful and kind or pushy and rude, we are usually treated in kind.

When our K-9 companions are given everything for free the end result is usually a very spoiled, rude or aggressive dog.

VERBAL CUES

One of the most difficult concepts to convey has to do with using verbal cues. Most people are convinced that the cue (command) causes the behavior to occur. They don't really understand that it is the reinforcement that determines whether a behavior will be repeated. Even when presented with clear evidence that the cue doesn’t work (sit, sit, sit, SIT! SIT!), or that it only works a small portion of the time, they continue to use it. Right from the first week, we begin using some simple obedience commands on our bernedoodle puppies that are paired with non-verbal hand commands to help them to be a vibrant and important member of our home as we work to transition them to your home.

The rule we use for a command is that you may only use the verbal cue ONCE and only when you are luring the dog into position. The verbal and hand signal commands comes just before the lure.

You must perfect a behavior first, then name it. Naming a behavior tends to "freeze"it. Once it has a name, your dog is likely to do it the same way in the future. If the behavior is not what you want yet, then you shouldn’t name it until it is. If you ask people what their dogs actually do when they say "heel", most will tell you that the dog pulls, lags, sniffs, etc. This is what their dogs think "heel" means because this behavior is what they taught the dog to associate with the word.

Rather than using a word to attempt to compel behavior, we can find other ways to get the behavior to occur (such as luring) then reinforce the behavior. The cue (word) will only be added when the behavior occurs regularly.

Beginning stages of training:

For stationary positions - lure using food, repeat until the dog does this with ease, then give the "verbal" command one time just before the"lure".You do not want to name it until the dog understands it.

Please check out our free online Puppy Training Guide at: https://www.premierdoodles.com/puppy-training-guide