# New Puppy Intro... and First Behavior / Training Questions!



## Bronson (Jun 25, 2013)

Just wanted to introduce myself... My girlfriend and I just brought home our first 8 week old Vizsla last week, Bronson! He's already quite the little devil dog and it's a constant battle to find enough things to keep him engaged and occupied. Both my girlfriend and I have had dogs all our lives, but we're quickly learning that training a Vizsla companion is unlike no other breed. 

So far, we've made good progress on potty training... We keep him in a small laundry room off the kitchen where he has a bed, but no crate. It's almost den like, and we've had relatively good success with the setup so far. He rarely has any accidents in the house and we're only up 2 times a night to let him out for a bathroom respite. We do have incidents of barking spells around 4-4:30am (normal wakeup time is 5:30 in our house). *Question #1*: Sit these out until it's time to wake up, or go into the room and give him the "quiet" command and muzzle grabs until he settles down? I don't want to reinforce that he can bark and get attention, but I also want to sleep a couple hours a night! 

*Question #2:* Bronson and I like to rough house and that obviously leads to some biting behavior. Am I going to pay for these play sessions when he gets stronger with more serious nicks and cuts? Should we enforce a strict no biting policy from the get go?

*Question #3:* Positive reinforcement training is a fairly new concept for me and I don't know how far towards the "negative" spectrum we go with him. There are the No commands and a small bottom slap very infrequently to get his attention if extreme stubbornness is exhibited. But I certainly don't carry around a pocket full of treats everywhere we go. He has the sit command down pretty solid after 1 week, but that's about it. Down seems to be a foreign concept, and we're just starting to work on stay / come. Keep doing what I'm doing, or adjust my technique?

I look forward to tapping into the great resources and advice provided by the "experts" here. My girlfriend and I know we're in for quite a ride with Bronson, but hopefully we can shape that Vizsla exuberance into a great family dog first, and outdoor companion second. 

Here are some pictures for your help!


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

Right Question 1:
Just ignore! Also never grab his muzzle....ever. Not with a V. This type of correction will not work with a V. Physical correction of any sort should be stopped. The best punishment for a V is to exclude them when they act up. In other words ignore them and if that doesn't work then lead them *calmly* to a different room and shut the door for 1 minute per month old. Up to 7 minutes. 

Question 2: He should learn over time the difference between play and fighting but the V has lots of energy and if you set him up to be a rough player just note that he may have issues with other dogs that don't like to play rough. You will also need to teach him over time that he can't be as rough with others as he is for you. If he gets too rough at just stop playing straight away. Don't try to tell him not to play rough and keep playing. You should just say too rough and stop straight away. 

Question 3:
It is fine if you don't want to go full on positive with the training but don't go physical. Slapping a V on the back side will not work. It will just lower the trust level the dog has towards you. Instead as stated before redirect with treats and once you get the desired action praise him. Also use the ignore method often. ignore bad behavior and praise good behavior.
I know it might sound strange but training a V is a long journey but do not ruin this journey by using physical force ever. Just patience and guidance. They are like no other dog. Please enjoy them but don't use harsh methods.


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## Watson (Sep 17, 2012)

Bronson is adorable!! 

All great advice from born36. Just want to add, at this age, you should be walking around with a pocket full of treats! Use cheerios inside when there isn't much distraction, and something of higher value - cheese etc, outside where there are more distractions. You don't always have to give him bits of food, but introduce "good boy" or some other form of praise when he's doing what you want him to. I found feedback very important with my pup, he loves knowing he's doing something right! 

Re: play fighting. We never did it when he was small because we wanted to curb it from a young age. He was constantly kicked out of puppy play time for being too rough with the other dogs and I didn't want to encourage rough play as he got older. Instead we taught him "gentle", the complete opposite of roughing him up. At 11mo, he's quite calm and well mannered with other dogs. We do play wrestle with him now that he knows the rules, but no one gets hurt and it's mostly rubbing his belly and him mouthing our hands while he's on his back kicking frantically


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## Bronson (Jun 25, 2013)

Born36, thanks for the response and I appreciate the patience with a V newb... I'll certainly adjust my training to remove the physical responses to bad behavior. 

It seems like walking a fine line between rewarding bad behavior with a treat to try to dissuade though... Hypothetical (ok not so hypothetical) scenario: Bronson has decided he wants to use a chair leg as a chew toy instead of whatever toy we were playing with a second ago. As he's gnawing away, clueless owner grabs treat and calls him over to distract from chair destruction. Do I tell him "No" while he's chewing, and then pull his attention to the treat? 

Treat is then given, praise is applied. Hopefully behavior is corrected... but repeat if behavior presents again?

This is just as much training of behavior for the owners as it is for the puppy


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## Watson (Sep 17, 2012)

With the chewing you have to re-direct. Show him what he can chew - toys. When he's chewing on the toy "GOOD BOY BRONSON!" You might have to redirect a few times (repetition).

Your problem solving skills are going to be put to the test with a V. I like to think of every new problem that arises as a challenge to train/fix a behaviour. 

You really need to throw out all negative reinforcement at such a young age, including physical responses as well as harsh tones. Your puppy should be loving life right now and building a solid bond with you.


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## Bronson (Jun 25, 2013)

Watson, great idea with the cheerios! I can certainly try that... He always gets "Good boy" when he does what he's supposed to do, so we try to stay heavy on the positive reinforcement whenever it's applicable. 

I don't mind if Bronson is a little rough with other dogs... And usually if I get a nice bite when we're rough housing, I deserve it. I just don't want him doing that with my girlfriend is she's not in the mood or guest, etc. I guess I'll have to deliberate some more on this one, because he certainly goes into crazy dog mode sometimes and will take a nice chunk out of you with those sharp puppy teeth!


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## Watson (Sep 17, 2012)

Don't worry, Bronson will definitely play rough with other dogs  The key is he should learn how to adjust his level of play according to different dogs, and not assume that every dog big or small plays the way he does. 

At this stage, you should be teaching him bite inhibition. You don't 'deserve' to be bit, especially if he's drawing blood or it hurts (which over the next few months - it will!) Be clear with what you teach him, it's NOT ok to bite. Vizsla's are very mouthy in general, you want to soften that mouth so he knows that his teeth hurt, and biting you, your gf, your clothes, your hair, it's all unacceptable. When he bites, play time ends and you walk away from him/ignore him for a minute, then resume play. You will have to do this over and over again before it sinks in. 

Keep posting pictures of him, although most members are glad to be past the puppy stages, we love puppy pictures


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## TAIsMom (Mar 7, 2013)

Bronson said:


> Hypothetical (ok not so hypothetical) scenario: Bronson has decided he wants to use a chair leg as a chew toy instead of whatever toy we were playing with a second ago. As he's gnawing away, clueless owner grabs treat and calls him over to distract from chair destruction. Do I tell him "No" while he's chewing, and then pull his attention to the treat?


Good Morning!! Bronson is adorable! 

As for the chewing on furniture legs issue ... what I did was make sure that I had his toys handy at all times. When he started getting interested in the wood of the furniture (he usually started with a lick before any actual damage) then I would tell him that it wasn't a toy and go get his toy and give it to him, then praise praise praise. At that age he was just happy to have anything to chew. I can happily say that with Tai at 6 months of age going on 7 mo, all my Ethan Allen furniture is still in the same condition as when I got him. BTW, my boy loved Nylabones, dipped in water and frozen. I kept several in there. I think it might have been soothing to his gums, like a cold teething ring is to a baby. 

Please keep up with posting the pictures.  As of last night mine STILL sleeps with me that way! LOL!


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## Bronson (Jun 25, 2013)

I think we leave too many of his toys laying around at all times... do most of you only selectively drop toys to keep interest levels up? He's a big fan of pig ears and we can usually get him to stop chewing by throwing one of those in front of him. But he's a stubborn boy sometimes and needs more "persuasion" from time to time. He hasn't done any damage yet, but we're trying to nip it in the bud. Now that a little bottom tap is out of the question, I guess a treat, redirect to chew toy, and praise is next approach. 

Prospecting for oil in the back yard...


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Welcome to the forums! Bronson is just adorable!! Love the "prospecting" photo"... Brings back a few memories. LOL!! ;D ;D ;D

(Willie was a real digger when I first got him!)


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## Jrod (Dec 12, 2012)

Hi Bronson,
The positive reinforcement training is definitely a huge and hard change to make. I grew up with dogs in our house and they were trained in the traditional manner. Patience, patience and more patience, if you dont have much you will develope a lot!

We found a great obidience school that specializes in positive reinforcement training. Working on a bond with you pup is the most important thing you can do for now. Hand feeding your pup will help to develope a strong bond of trust and it will show him that you control his resouces too!

Treats are the best way to train and redirect behavior. We spend a good portion of Miles fund money on his treats. He has different levels of treats ranging from the basic atta boy treat up to you really need to focus on me treat. As training progresses and he gets older you can start to remove treats and implement good boys, petting in that special area...(there has to be a better way to say that ) or the over the top affectionate good boy! 

Pro tip: Mix his kible with some of his really good treats and his kibble will smell like the really good treat, perfect atta boy training treat.

Always make being next to you the best expirence for them, this will really help with your recall! If being next to you for them is really awesome they are gonna to want to come when you call, but if being next to you means I'm gonna be yelled at or get spanked, then if they are called they will say "nah, what I'm doing is more fun" and ignore you.

Pro tip: Every time they come to you when you call them treat and praise. This will developes into "ooo, if I go I get treats or lots of love from my human!"

One of the best thing we were taught was to lower our expectations. It may seem like he is doing great learning new commands which of course leads you to raise your expectations. However there will be ups and downs with training and frustrations will come, just always remember to ask yourself what would you expect of a human baby at the same age (anwer is: not a lot)!

Pro tip: Always have a cold beer or glass of wine ready before and after training!

Those are some good starting points we have learned on our journey so far, our Miles is 16 weeks old and we took him to the dog park for the first time yesterday. His recall was 100% and his manners where better then the older dogs there. I can honestly say that my boy makes me proud everytime we take him out into public.


Jrod


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## Bronson (Jun 25, 2013)

Jrod, 

Thanks for all the tips and encouragement... Poor puppies are always haunted by unrealistic expectations! He's a fantastic dog and we already love him to pieces. Patience and praise will have to be the new mantra


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## lonestar (Jun 2, 2013)

Yeah, let me add a couple points: First, relax and enjoy him! The most important thing in training is the bond...a Vizsla will do absolutely anything for an owner it feels a strong bond to. To get that, love him to pieces, offer lots of encouragement, speak in that silly high toned voice, and be consistent and FAIR. Dogs have innate sense of fairness, they can tell when we're being good, nurturing pack leaders or when we're being arbitrary control freaks. Remember, he's a baby and knows nothing..so that chair leg is just another stick or toy. Don't take his behavior personally. Redirect gently, use treats, toys, etc...he doesn't see it as reinforcing bad behavior b/c to him, it;s not "Bad"..just yet, anyways. And use the same words slowly and distinctly when talking with him. They are incredibly intelligent and he will learn what you want and the words used for that very soon. If you get frustrated or he's out of control, put him in his crate for a nap before you get too exasperated.


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## chrispycrunch (May 11, 2012)

lonestar said:


> ......... * If you get frustrated or he's out of control, put him in his crate for a nap before you get too exasperated.*.....



^^^THIS!!!!!!! It's very easy to get caught up in their actions, when they don't listen, or if they catch you off guard with something. I am NOT the most patient person in the world, but I have certainly come a long way since I was younger......and even still I find myself having to check myself and put Wiley in his crate so that IIII can have a time out. Be mindful of your state of mind and your behaviour.


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## lonestar (Jun 2, 2013)

chrispycrunch said:


> lonestar said:
> 
> 
> > ......... * If you get frustrated or he's out of control, put him in his crate for a nap before you get too exasperated.*.....
> ...


Thanks for the acknowledgement, Chris. I've found that Vizsla training is the easy part..it's training ourselves that's harder. The best way to teach control is to be in good control yourself, and be very clear when you believe they are out of control... Working with their instincts..in this case, their intelligence and need to please, makes the actual technique of learning a lot more about patience and clarity rather than being pedantic.


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## Laika (Mar 3, 2013)

I don't have anything to add, as all the advice has been spot on. 

I do have to share something though: Laika is almost 11 months and we still struggle with some things, but I know in time it will come. Last night though brought about a new one for us. She has never counter surfed, and is pretty good about staying out of the kitchen ... well, last night I set one of here tug toys on the counter and evidently she was not done with it--from standing still she sprung up and almost landed squarely on the counter! This counter is about 2.5 times higher than her shoulders!  ??? She did roll off immediately since there was no place for her back paws to grip, and thankfully she didn't hurt herself when she thudded back to the ground. 

I have to admit that despite not being thrilled with this new behavior, I was pretty impressed with her never before displayed skills ;D

Looks like training will be a lifelong journey for us both 

Mike


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Now you must be on your guard. It's my understanding that Vizslas are pretty famous for their countersurfing skills. LOL!!


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

Bronson is a real beauty ..The dreaded counter surfing, something I've not managed to cure Ruby from :, last summer I took two dozen sausages out of the freezer to thaw for a bbq, greedy lass ate the lot the moment my back was turned


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## MCD (May 4, 2013)

Well...... If the cats can do it in my house why can't Dharma? Dijon eats butter and will take raw fish, chicken or hamburger meat. I don't approve of the cats being on the counter and definitely not my dog who will be bigger than those 2. It is bad enough that Dijon and Schnoozer get to drink out of the taps and Schnoozer knows how the water dispenser works on the fridge!


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## Bronson (Jun 25, 2013)

Growing fast! Can't wait until he finishes his shots because we need to introduce dog parks and nature trails asap... His three favorite things:

1) Digging









2) Biting









3) Resting so I can do more digging and biting


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

I love that #1 (digging) picture... That's hilarious!! ;D ;D ;D


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