Havanese Training Tips

Well, as you can see, Miss Abs really did a job on her abs - ROFL. She snow plows through the snow and ends up with all these snow piles all over her tummy. You can easily remove with tepid water or they will melt their way all over your house. Remember to brush after or you may end up with tangles.

We have a really busy weekend. We are going to have a puppy playmate today, classes and our Mom and Dad's third oldest child is coming in from Japan to get married. Wow! Then we may head to a dog show to see the Havanese on Sunday and applaud all their efforts. We promise photos from that!

Classes need practice daily but we must admit, we missed yesterday. There was too much going on. Mommy didn't sleep much - long story but life throws curves at times and you keep doing the best for all those you love. We do!


Here's some tips on making classes work.
1. Build training into your DAILY life. Take 5 to 10 minutes a day - that's all is needed and you will make a HUGE difference.

2. Keep the training sessions SHORT. Best to do several a day vs. one long one. Puppies get frustrated by long sessions unless you change it up frequently and make it interesting.

3. Use your voice properly. If you say 'sit X' and you say it as if you are bored as ever, don't expect your dog to get excited about it. Your emotion and enthusiasm counts so try even when you do not feel like it. It will become a habit and you will both be better off for it.

4. Use commands once - if you say 'sit x' 'sit x' - your dog will hear it twice and start reacting only to when you do it twice. This is a tough one as I fall into this one myself. Try to say the command once.

5. Go slowly - use each command as a building block. This is not a marathon. To make it an imprint, it must be done over and over.

6. Remember each dog learns at different speeds. It's not a mark of intelligence. Some alphas will give you a very hard time in going into a submissive stance such as 'down' but persistence in a positive way works and you are building a bond and your position as alpha - all important in the scheme of things. Patience is really important.

7. Recognize that distractions can make things difficult and you may want to minimize them at first but as you go along start introducing them such as asking your dog to sit on a walk when traffic is whizzing by. Eventually, you want to get your dog used to all sorts of noises and distractions to get him to be a balanced dog.

8. Use your treats before you feed - not after. Your dog can go without lunch if your class is at noon. You want your dog wanting the treats not being picky as he is full.

9. Always mark behaviours to get your dog to understand when he is getting it right. You can mark with your voice and a clicker.

10. Always be aware that if you give free treats - you are giving away the bank for free. Always and I mean always get your dog to do something for a treat. Don't just give it to him. Make him work for it. This may sound harsh but they actually enjoy working for a goal and therefore you have given him a challenge. Keeping your dog's mind stimulated is a good thang!

Most of all - remember to have fun. If you have fun, your dog will have fun and it will all come together.