Colby Morita's 6 Common Puppy Training Mistakes

Colby Morita has been a dog trainer for 6 years. I like this particular post in his blog and had some laughs at some of which I have experienced in my dog loving years.

I just wanted to share this. You can check out the entire post in this link

1. Using the word "No" followed by his name.
2. Not starting training since Day 1.
3. Repeating commands or saying it over and over again.
4. Scolding the puppy (or pushing his nose on the mess) after he's done it.
5. Thinking that crate training is cruel
6. Cuddling or reassuring the puppy when he is scared.

In lieu to forum rules, I restated this list.

Anybody familiar with these mistakes?

I've seen many people making the sixth mistake. If only they realised that it just makes the dog more fearful and does nothing to help.

Number four was a popular way of training when I was a child. I remember many people doing this. I didn't realise that people still saw it as a good way to train. There's so much information readily available these days, that it's a mistake that no one should be making.

One mistake that isn't on the list that I see often is people putting puppies in their laps, then wondering later on, why they have a dog that jumps up at people.

I had once a dog that was trained to say please with a paw when it wanted something, but one day the paw caught the leg of an elderly lady, by accident. It wouldn't have harmed most people, but the lady had skin like tissue paper which just fell apart. Her age also meant that it didn't heal well. Now I train my dogs not to do that.

I completely agree with number six. It's so hard not to make a fuss when a dog is scared of something but in the long run it will show them that there is no reason for their fear. The number of people who will pick up a puppy when they see another dog approaching give rise to the anti-social dog who believes that other dogs are something to fear.

Something else that was an issue with our rescue dog is the "down" command. He must have been taught by his previous owner that "down" meant to lay on the ground and yet when he decided to take up almost permanent residence on our settee we automatically told him to get "down". He couldn't understand why we weren't happy when he flopped out on the settee rather than getting on the floor! We soon changed it to "get off" and it's been far less confusing for him ever since. (I have no problem with him being on the furniture but sometimes he takes up too much room and I object to having to sit on the floor myself).

(07-03-2012, 08:30 PM)Dani72 Wrote: I've seen many people making the sixth mistake. If only they realised that it just makes the dog more fearful and does nothing to help.

Number four was a popular way of training when I was a child. I remember many people doing this. I didn't realise that people still saw it as a good way to train. There's so much information readily available these days, that it's a mistake that no one should be making.

One mistake that isn't on the list that I see often is people putting puppies in their laps, then wondering later on, why they have a dog that jumps up at people.

I had once a dog that was trained to say please with a paw when it wanted something, but one day the paw caught the leg of an elderly lady, by accident. It wouldn't have harmed most people, but the lady had skin like tissue paper which just fell apart. Her age also meant that it didn't heal well. Now I train my dogs not to do that.

Oh dear, that's just horrible. I hope the lady is alright.

And I agree, it's definitely important to remember to research about it rather than assume you can train your dog simply with what people tell you when there's no assurance that this is the correct way.

By the way, let me just add a number 7 on this post.

7. Not teaching each and everyone in the family to follow the same set of rules when taking care of the dog.

Haopee, I believe dog training is for the human and not the dog. We have to learn the proper behaviors and unlearn bad ones so we can train our dog to be a good citizen. When I took my Lab to dog training, I was making many of those mistakes in your list because I didn't know better.

When I got Misha, I corrected them all. But, then I missed out on what I think is important, but not on your list: socialization with other dogs. I would have had her around other dogs, but a family medical situation interrupted everything. It is so important for dogs to be with other dogs. They learn so much from each other. I have been working on that in the last year and she has gotten better around dogs.

I agree wholeheartedly with your #7 addition. Consistency is really important. Dogs are like children. If they get different rules from different parents, it's only going to make matters worse. It is difficult to get other family members to follow the same rules, though. People think they are being mean to the dog. But, that is not the case. If you don't want the dog on the furniture, then everyone must apply this rule. If the dog must sit before getting dinner, everyone must do it. Whatever the rule is, it must be applied consistently.

(07-06-2012, 04:41 AM)TreeClimber Wrote: Haopee, I believe dog training is for the human and not the dog. We have to learn the proper behaviors and unlearn bad ones so we can train our dog to be a good citizen. When I took my Lab to dog training, I was making many of those mistakes in your list because I didn't know better.

When I got Misha, I corrected them all. But, then I missed out on what I think is important, but not on your list: socialization with other dogs. I would have had her around other dogs, but a family medical situation interrupted everything. It is so important for dogs to be with other dogs. They learn so much from each other. I have been working on that in the last year and she has gotten better around dogs.

I agree wholeheartedly with your #7 addition. Consistency is really important. Dogs are like children. If they get different rules from different parents, it's only going to make matters worse. It is difficult to get other family members to follow the same rules, though. People think they are being mean to the dog. But, that is not the case. If you don't want the dog on the furniture, then everyone must apply this rule. If the dog must sit before getting dinner, everyone must do it. Whatever the rule is, it must be applied consistently.

I agree with what you said about puppy training. It certainly is for the people rather than the puppies.

And yes, socialization can play a big part in dog etiquette. It's important that they learn how to be a dog at the same time learn how to respect pack hierarchy.

Lastly, consistency is one of the hardest things to train the humans with.

Haopee, when I went to my first dog training classes with my 6 month old Lab I thought "Thank goodness! Now she will learn how to be a good dog." I think it was the third session when it dawned on me that I was the one being trained, not the dog. The things she was learning she would learn over time with practice. I was the one who had the bad habits to break. You don't realize how your behavior affect how your dog will turn out. You don't realize the little things you are doing that are confusing your dog and contributing the problems that you blame on the dog.

Consistency within a household is very difficult. If it is only you, you only need to have yourself on board. But, when there are other household members who are involved it is challenging. Sometimes everyone doesn't agree as to the proper way to do things. Or, one person doesn't think letting something go will make that much difference. I see it with my Jack Russell and how she treats me as opposed to my mom. I get far more respect from the dog than my mom does.

(07-08-2012, 05:19 PM)TreeClimber Wrote: Haopee, when I went to my first dog training classes with my 6 month old Lab I thought "Thank goodness! Now she will learn how to be a good dog." I think it was the third session when it dawned on me that I was the one being trained, not the dog. The things she was learning she would learn over time with practice. I was the one who had the bad habits to break. You don't realize how your behavior affect how your dog will turn out. You don't realize the little things you are doing that are confusing your dog and contributing the problems that you blame on the dog.

Consistency within a household is very difficult. If it is only you, you only need to have yourself on board. But, when there are other household members who are involved it is challenging. Sometimes everyone doesn't agree as to the proper way to do things. Or, one person doesn't think letting something go will make that much difference. I see it with my Jack Russell and how she treats me as opposed to my mom. I get far more respect from the dog than my mom does.

My mom is always mad that the dogs follow her wherever she goes. I have told her not to feed them unless it is feeding time or she puts it in their bowls or if they earned it by doing tricks. She sees Chooey and thinks that because Chooey is so cute with those big round eye, the dog just wants to fed.

Now she starts locking the door to her room. Chooey will bark and call out desperately on her doorstep begging food because she was conditioned that there would be food on the other side.