Training
If you have never had a dog or trained a puppy its the new owner that requires training !
you need to learn how the dogs mind works
Dogs are pack animals that live in a group,there is peace and harmony in the pack because there is a pack leader
Dogs need to know who is the boss or if in doubt they will think it must be them!
To avoid your dog being mistaken there are some very easy rules to set in place
(we will list them further down the page)
The first thing you need to teach your pup is, it is safe when you are out of sight
You need to understand the reason your pup becomes destressed when it thinks you have deserted it!
From birth it has been with it's mum and litter mates,dogs live in a pack as they feel safe in a group
safety in numbers! so when you leave the pup alone is feels very vunerable it may scream or cry , not because it is a naughty pup ,but because it fears for its life and calls for it mum!
We over come this very quickly within the first few days even in the worst affected pup by the following method
We recomend using a puppy crate cover with news papper and put your pups bed in it
For the first few nights we have the crate in our bed room ,night time is when a pup is most destressed if alone
If the pup cries we just say its ok ,just by the sound of your voice the pup may settle down and go back to sleep
The pup is never removed from the crate until it is quiet, they are very fast to learn ,even if a pup raises the roof we just wait until it has stopped even if its only been a few seconds
We use the crate during the day ,when the pup has been fed and has had a good play and starts to fall a sleep we pop it in the crate,within a few days the pup will find the crate when it wants to sleep.A pup should never be put in the crate just because it has done wrong it is not to be confused with a form of punishment
A crate gives you a safe place to leave the pup in for a short time ,it can come to no harm
Children must be trained never to touch a pup while it sleeps,good food, fresh water and lots of sleep is what a young pup needs
Toilet training
We start out side toilet training from day 1
After the pup has been sleeping the first thing we do is pick it up and take it to are selected area in the garden we use a puppy pen
We have found by using a pen the pup learns quicker, as soon as the pup has used the pen a few times this area smells and remind the pup to use it
Lots of praise is given each time the pup performs in the chosen place,the pup is taken back indoors straight away, its much more fun for puppy inside than in the toilet area so a puppy will soon waists no time in using it !
If our pup has been sleeping and does not pee when put in the outside pen, just wait until the pup has been because if You praise it and take it straight back indoors it soon gets the message
How ofen will a pup need to be put out side?
We normally get a puppy at 7/8 weeks old, at this young age the pup is put in the pen after sleeping, after each meal & about every 20 mimutes during its playing periods!
At this age the pup will be on 4 meals a day a pup will probley need a poo after each meal? It can be very easily spotted if the pup needs to do a poo you get plenty of warning ,look for a change in speed the pups runs around franticly and circles,if you are watching your pup you cant miss it! just quickly pick up the pup and put in the toilet area
If the pup has a acident indoors, make no fuss, clean it up very throughly or the pup will go back to the smell !
You would not smack a baby for peeing while you change its nappy! never rub a pups nose in the mistake
with the use of the indoor crate for resting and the garden pen for a toilet area within a couple of weeks even a young pup is all most house trainned, we do not wait or expect a young pup to tell us when it needs to go out side, this will come in time!
If all this sound like hard work yes it is! but so is moping up afer a pup that is not given the chance to get it right,trying to remove stains from my carpets is not our preffered option.
We dont put news papper down indoors or use puppy training pads, you can but our methods leave no doubt in a pups mind as to where we expect it to do its business!
So our pup has settled in to its new home and accepts that it sleeps in the puppy crate at night and if we go out for a short trip to the shops, & knows where is exceptable to releive it's self.
A young pup will bite or nip it has done so to its litter mates as a way of play and comunication, this is not a problem this will soon pass!
Once the pup is confident in it's new enviroment (after about two weeks) it is time for some basic training , we like to teach the pup we are the pack leader!
Simple ways to teach our pups that we are the pack leader
A very simple & effective way is at feeding time, the food is put down the pup is told LEAVE IT in a firm voice,we may at first need to hold the pup back, once we have done this once it becomes a rountine at every meal time, some learn faster than others , most pups even at around 9 weeks old will often understand this new routine,all our dogs wait at every meal time for us to give them the OK!
Next we like to teach the pup Back, this is done by putting a collar and lead on each time we take the pup to the garden for a wee,the pup must walk behind us at all times,but as we go through a door we make a point of going through first using a firm BACK in a deep voice if the pup should lunge forward,as we visit the toilet area very frequently and it only take a miniute or two its ideal as you do this as a rountine and there is no need to set a special part of the day aside for training
Training needs to be fun, all our pups are given lots of toys they need to chew and play, we next, in the middle of play, offer the pup a toy and say LEAVE IT this is a familiar term as it is used at each meal time! never under estimate the intellegence of a puppy they are very smart!
One very important term is NO this means never to my dogs!
We place a object on the floor in the middle of a game that the pup must not touch! the pup will think its a toy, but as it goes near it a very firm NO, should the pup take the object we very gently take the pup by the neck and give a slight shake to this area
The pup will very quickly understand this it may shake and look at you in disbelief!
Just do this once or twice a day.
What we do as the pup gets older, should it do something we are very displeaded with is, we have tried LEAVE IT or NO and the pup is just not listening is the following!
The pup is gently taken by the neck and with your hand the head is held to the floor and the compand it has been ignored is said again firmly !
The pup understands this as its mother would do the same in a pack situation
We have never smacked our dogs or screamed at them they simply do not understand such behaviour!
We do growl at them! from time to time!
We have often been asked by bemused pet owners why a dog does just what the man of the house asks but will not obey the woman!
Its simple to us men have deeper voices, women have naturally a higher tone to their voice the dogs just understand and respond to a deep rough sounding comand!
Traing classes are good for socialising a pup,but dont be fooled into thinking one hour at a puppy class will give you a well behaved dog, follow the above points along side a puppy class!
We owe it to our pups to learn their language
From 12 weeks old when fully vaccinated, our pups need to get used to the big wide world
Its not the excersise that a young pup needs but it does need to feel confident around traffic people & other dogs
Short car jounrneys.
And to walk nicely on lead.
We use an extending lead on a young pup and practice recal
Until we are confident we have control the pup is not let off, we find the safest place possible away from traffic
We take the puppy to the shopping precient to get it used to crouds
The aim is is get the puppy to walk nicely and ignore the people
Why are people so insenstive to what you are trying to do? so many people come over to talk to our pup, this makes them very excited and people encourge them to jump all over them, this is not desirable when a dog is an adult so why do so many peple, make this task so hard?
The only way is to be stand offish if people keep coming to pet a puppy, we try to get the pup to sit or at least keep all four feet on the ground
We may well get a tea shirt printed that reads
please respect us we are trying to train our pup
just ignore us as you will when the dog is adult!
If we thought it would make any difference we would, but we are sure dogs are more intellegent than most people!
Staffords are terriers and terriers love to chase anything that moves
People often say staffords hate cats, If a young pup is brought up in a house with cat they can be good friends
However this doesn't stop the urge to chase a neighbours cat when it runs away !
you need good control over your dog, so the adult dog can be called off or you could end up with a large vet bill,often it's not the cat that needs treatment but the dog
Never encourage your stafford to chase a cat it Just might catch it!
Next we like to teach the pup Back, this is done by putting a collar and lead on each time we take the pup to the garden for a wee,the pup must walk behind us at all times,but as we go through a door we make a point of going through first using a firm BACK in a deep voice if the pup should lunge forward,as we visit the toilet area very frequently and it only take a miniute or two its ideal as you do this as a rountine and there is no need to set a special part of the day aside for training
Training needs to be fun, all our pups are given lots of toys they need to chew and play, we next, in the middle of play, offer the pup a toy and say LEAVE IT this is a familiar term as it is used at each meal time! never under estimate the intellegence of a puppy they are very smart!
One very important term is NO this means never to my dogs!
We place a object on the floor in the middle of a game that the pup must not touch! the pup will think its a toy, but as it goes near it a very firm NO, should the pup take the object we very gently take the pup by the neck and give a slight shake to this area
The pup will very quickly understand this it may shake and look at you in disbelief!
Just do this once or twice a day.
What we do as the pup gets older, should it do something we are very displeaded with is, we have tried LEAVE IT or NO and the pup is just not listening is the following!
The pup is gently taken by the neck and with your hand the head is held to the floor and the compand it has been ignored is said again firmly !
The pup understands this as its mother would do the same in a pack situation
We have never smacked our dogs or screamed at them they simply do not understand such behaviour!
We do growl at them! from time to time!
We have often been asked by bemused pet owners why a dog does just what the man of the house asks but will not obey the woman!
Its simple to us men have deeper voices, women have naturally a higher tone to their voice the dogs just understand and respond to a deep rough sounding comand!
Traing classes are good for socialising a pup,but dont be fooled into thinking one hour at a puppy class will give you a well behaved dog, follow the above points along side a puppy class! We owe it to our pups to learn their language
From 12 weeks old when fully vaccinated, our pups need to get used to the big wide world
Its not the excersise that a young pup needs but it does need to feel confident around traffic people & other dogs
Short car jounrneys.
And to walk nicely on lead.
We use an extending lead on a young pup and practice recal
Until we are confident we have control the pup is not let off, we find the safest place possible away from traffic
We take the puppy to the shopping precient to get it used to crouds
The aim is is get the puppy to walk nicely and ignore the people
Why are people so insenstive to what you are trying to do? so many people come over to talk to our pup, this makes them very excited and people encourge them to jump all over them, this is not desirable when a dog is an adult so why do so many peple, make this task so hard?
The only way is to be stand offish if people keep coming to pet a puppy, we try to get the pup to sit or at least keep all four feet on the ground
We may well get a tea shirt printed that reads please respect us we are trying to train our pup just ignore us as you will when the dog is adult! If we thought it would make any difference we would, but we are sure dogs are more intellegent than most people!
Staffords are terriers and terriers love to chase anything that moves
People often say staffords hate cats, If a young pup is brought up in a house with cat they can be good friends
However this doesn't stop the urge to chase a neighbours cat when it runs away ! you need good control over your dog, so the adult dog can be called off or you could end up with a large vet bill,often it's not the cat that needs treatment but the dog
Never encourage your stafford to chase a cat it Just might catch it!
Stafford's can get along with farm animals,but need to be socialised with them from a pup
Stafford's can live and play together happily,all of our dogs get on really well
However we only bring in a new member as a 8 week old puppy,special care is required when are bitches are in season as you will see a temprement change due to hormonal changes
we recommend that any body thinking of living with a pack of staffords has the time to train and supervise
Remember Stafford's are powerful dogs, you need to have control of your dogs
House rules
Everybody has there own house rules
If you would not wish a full grown dog to sit in the sofa start as you mean to go on
One of the hardest thing when training a stafford is to teach it not to rush up to all your visitors jump all over them and lick them to death!
If you could train your guests to totally ignore the pup until they had been there a while, the pup would soon learn the routine but your if guests show the pup more attention than you as they arrive which most people do! Your adult dog will assume the guests are really there to visit the dog and have great fun covering them in mud and slobbering all over them!
It is important to us that our dog will take comands from all family members including children this just reinforces in the dogs mind that they are bottom of the pack!
This keeps peace and harmony in the household.
We had a rule im sure it was NO DOGS ON THE SOFA!!
