# Training / Schedule / COVID



## moldenhauer (Dec 11, 2019)

Hi. We got a lovely adorable V who is now 4 months. He is a ball of energy but so loving. We are doing "okay" at training him. He "generally" knows come, sit ... stay not so much. But we are balancing now two kids home schooling because of COVID and two parents working from home. It is great that we get this extra special time with him but i would love some suggestions on routine and training. How often should we work on training: 2x 15 min a day, every other day, ... 

He is starting to get bigger and jump on the counter. I am just trying to figure out how much training he needs - so we end up with a well behaved V. Any suggestions would be great. 

Also - i read some forums about e-collars. Some say only after 6 months, others say not at all. ????


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## ehleinbach (Jan 27, 2020)

We are in the same boat!! Sam


moldenhauer said:


> Hi. We got a lovely adorable V who is now 4 months. He is a ball of energy but so loving. We are doing "okay" at training him. He "generally" knows come, sit ... stay not so much. But we are balancing now two kids home schooling because of COVID and two parents working from home. It is great that we get this extra special time with him but i would love some suggestions on routine and training. How often should we work on training: 2x 15 min a day, every other day, ...
> 
> He is starting to get bigger and jump on the counter. I am just trying to figure out how much training he needs - so we end up with a well behaved V. Any suggestions would be great.
> 
> ...



We are in the same boat with our Hildy (18 weeks). She was suppose to go to a obedience class to really tighten our training techniques and her reliability with commands, for 7 weeks, but it got cancelled. I feel like she is now testing the limits and not listening to her commands as well. We do a lot of ad-hoc loose leash walking training 4x per day - walk 5-10 steps treat, walk 5-10 steps treat only if she isn't pulling. But not as much the leave it or drop it which are more important. Come when called is a mixed bag, now that she is obsessed with birds (when off leash). I just worry since we have a lot busy streets so Wait and Coming when called is crucial for safety. 

We want to eventually get an eCollar, but only after she knows her commands better. I'd like to reiterate the question that you posed - *what age appropriate for an eCollar? 6-8 months?? *I was planning on having her just wear it for a month just to get use to the weight of it. I know it is not a replacement for good training. 

Here is her derp face lol.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Every interaction with your pups is a training sessions. You don't need a structured class to meet with tremendous success.
Work on the walk at heel. It only takes an area 30 feet long. Down and back, again and again and again. turn left, turn right, mix it up. 
The kitchen table is a great training aid for walking at heel. Go around left, around right, reverse direction.
Every trip in and out of the house is an opportunity to reinforce, Whoa, Stay, and In.( I don't teach the "sit" command.)
I personally do not allow jumping up on counters. It's a very bad habit. Work on avoidance training. Put someting on the counter the dog wants and every time he jumps up, or those front feet come off the ground, get after them and correct them.
Finn, my 7 month old, has been on an e-collar exclusively for about 2 months now. He was introduced to it at about the 4-1/2 month mark. He was introduced to it with the check cord, and for the first few weeks he only received tones. Same concept as "clicker training" a horse.
Finn's ecollar is part of a Contain and Train system. He was going to be on the electronic boundary fence, once spring got here, so he had to be introduced.
Work the ecollar in with the leash and check cord. Tones only in the beginning. It's not fair to zap a young dog, if they aren't already steady, know, and respond to the command on a check cord, or leash.
No worries about the ecolar being cruel. A person can be just as cruel with a choke chain, or a 1", D-ring safety collar.
For reference, I am using the Sport Dog, Contain and Train system with remote. It's about $450.00. So far, knock on wood, it's been really nice. It has 21 different levels of electronic correction intensity. Finn responds at the lower settings of the middle range.


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