Kali x Canth pup "Spirit" and friend.
Positive Reinforcement:
It really doesn't take a rocket scientist to train a dog or a puppy. All mammals (people included) thrive on positive reinforcement. For this reason, there is huge success when positive reinforcement is used as a training method. Positive reinforcement training is the best method, since it does not involve humiliation or punishment of the animal. This is a critical distinction between positive reinforcement and many other training methods. Because of the sensitivity of Indian dogs, this is the only training method that I use and recommend. This type of dog is very intuitive and can sense a broad range of human emotions; it can be easily shamed even by a harsh look!
Fear vs. Respect:
DO NOT use physical punishment to discipline or train your dog! If a harsh look can shame your dog, much worse happens when one resorts to physical methods of punishment (as opposed to reinforcing all good behavior). Never strike your pup. Striking your dog or pup will break the bond that they have with you and they will become afraid and shy around you. Its behavioral balance, emotional status, and are critical components in your pup's relationship with you and your family. You want to be the leader in your pup's eyes, and positive reinforcement of good behavior goes a long way to do this. Fear from your pup is NOT your goal: A healthy respect from your pup is your goal.Leader of the Pack:
All canines have “alpha” and “beta” behavior characteristics. The alpha is the “leader of the pack". As a puppy's new family, you are part of its family or pack. As such, you can be the alpha of its pack (i.e. your household), or it assumes control over you and you become the beta. (You donut want this). It is very important to be a human alpha to your or pup. As the alpha, your pup will naturally respect you and look to you for guidance. Dealing with your stubborn alpha is described in more detail below.
Dog Body Language: I strongly recommend that potential owners of any canine become familiar with wolf body language. Wolf body language is a communication common to all canines. Any dog state of being can be read just by how it carries its tail, positions its ears, and by how it moves. This will tell you a lot about how your dog is feeling and about its relationship to you as part of its family. Note the diagram of the different tail positions
It is now our policy to require at all pups sold by Night Eyes Farms attend A puppy class and at least one adolescent/adult obedience class. We will refund 15.00 for one completed class (excluding the required puppy class.) A certificate of completion must be sent along with request for refund. It is our opinion that there would be less than 5% of dogs surrendered to shelters if the dogs had attended at least one professional class. Failure to comply will result in forfeiture of all spay/neuter rebates. Certificate of proof must be submitted. If you can't or won't agree to these terms, please do not send a deposit as we require a signed legal contract agreeing to the above terms, including mandatory spay and neuter!!.
Respect:
Last but not least, treat your puppy with respect. Provide love and nurturing at all times. Train them, but always with respect. If you are in a bad mood and feel that you will be too harsh with your pup, train him/her another time when you are feeling better and can be more patient and fair. If you follow this advice and train your puppy with respect and using positive reinforcement methods, your puppy will be the best friend that you and your children will ever have for the next 15 to 20 years.
BAD DOG
Your puppy is likely to develop behaviors that need to be stopped. The earlier that you put a stop to these behaviors, the happier you and your puppy will be.
Biting, Chewing or cutting their teeth on your hand or other body parts. If you find your pup using your hand as a chew toy I use several methods of correction. Some pups will realize that they shouldn't chew on people with the first method, some learn by the second method. Unfortunately, the hard-headed alpha will only learn with the more stern methods.
1. If pup grabs your hand give a high pitch “OUCH!” and say "NO" sternly offer a chew toy if the pup stops. Praise the pup enthusiastically for chewing on the chew toy.
2. Grab the muzzle, squeeze firmly, and sternly say NO! Offer a chew toy if the pup stops biting. Praise the pup enthusiastically for chewing on the chewy toy. If this idea does not work, go to plan 3.
Grab the lower jaw putting your thumb under the tongue and the remaining fingers under he jaw press down with your thumb firmly and quickly as if to have your thumb meet your fingers under the pups jaw. This will get the pups attention as it does hurt, that is why this method should be used only as a last. This method usually only has to be done once or twice to be effective.
Many puppy owners have claimed success by using a squirt bottle filled with water (like the kind used to sprits plants, etc.). A squirt with a sharp stream directly in the mouth and face (avoid the eyes) immediately after biting does wonders to curb the biting of people, leashes, furniture, etc.
Bite inhibition is something that puppies can teach each other. By allowing you puppy to play with other dogs in your neighborhood in a safe environment (like a fenced dog run), puppies playing together teach each other about biting. One harsh bite, leads to a loud yelp and signals that the biting is too hard. The biter learns to play by gentle mouthing, rather than hard biting. These lessons are absorbed and are effective in curbing biting of people. Learning from other dogs is described in …
Keeping plenty of acceptable things to chew on is very important part of making this training method work and will help to stop this type of behavior. Rewarding of good behavior is also very important.
Potty Training is very important. Before describing potty training, it is important to remember that a pup can't hold his/her bladder or bowel like an adult can. This ability comes within a short time, but should not be expected too soon. Puppies are like human babies, but with out diapers. Crate training is an excellent method to successfully potty training your puppy. I am a firm believer of crate training for several reasons. The benefits of crate training are described below in the Crate Training section.
a.
Two Important DON’Ts of Potty Training:
DON’T punish your puppy or dog for potty accidents on the floor, carpet, or in the car. Punishment shames the animal and it may even result in your puppy beginning to eliminate in the wrong places out of fear.
DON’T rub your dogs nose in the mess. This causes two problems:
a. It is not the right thing to do. It is a punishment and it shames the animal. Would you rub a human babies nose in its mess if it had an accident? Shaming your puppy will just make training more difficult.
b. It grinds the mess into the soiled area. When the dog sniffs the mess that was not properly cleaned out (after you have finished grinding it in before you cleaned it), the smell triggers reflexes to urinate and defecate in the same place all over again. You have just made the problem worse by punishing your dog in this way.
Two important DO’s of Successful Potty Training:
The rule of thumb with potty training is that whenever you give food or drink, wait 10 minutes and then take the pup outside to eliminate, and at least wait until they urinate. If you have fed them, then wait until they do both. If they don't want to go, then play with them outside, and that usually does the trick. When they go, I praise them lavishly with an excited high-pitched voice. They accept this praise and associate it with good potty habits.
I keep all of my animals on a feeding and potty schedule. Keeping a schedule makes potty training easy. I feed my pups 4 times a day and offer both food and water at the same time. I do not free-feed or free-water my dogs until they are adults.
Fostering Good Behavior
There are a few things that puppy owners need to seriously consider in order to foster the kind of good behavior in their puppies that will grow into good behavior when these dogs are older.
Puppy Classes:
I recommend that all puppies should be enrolled in a puppy class. At the very least this helps with socialization around other dogs and other people and provides the groundwork for beginning more advanced obedience training.
All dogs should know the basic commands upon reaching adulthood. These commands include sit, stay, lay down, and should also include training your dog to walk on a leash without pulling. Indian Dogs may be small, but they are strong.
Crate Training:
There are additional benefits to crate training your dog. As mentioned above, crate training is excellent for potty training.
Dogs do not like soiling their living area.
You will know where your pup is at all times.
It may prevent your pup from chewing on things (carpets, furniture), or getting into other trouble (breaking things, escaping through an open door).
Once your puppy gets used to its crate and regards it as a place to rest and relax as opposed to a forced confinement, your puppy will benefit from crate training
b. When you need to take you dog for a ride in the car. The crate offers a safe way for transporting your puppy during travel, not just in the car, but by air, if necessary.
c. Dogs have a natural instinct to den. Its crate will be regarded as its den after a short while. As your pup becomes older it will come to think of its crate as a safe haven. Remember that the crate is your dogs home. It should never be a place of punishment, nor is it your place to enter. It is your dogs private place: A private and safe haven. If it wants your company, it will come and find you!
Try to remember that what puppies do when they are puppies may not be dangerous or troublesome when they are small, but when they are full grown, the same cute puppy behavior could prove dangerous or even lethal to a child or elderly person. So when you evaluate your puppy's behavior, ask yourself what the consequences of the behavior are for you, your children or for elderly persons when your dog is full-grown. Remember, they are small, but exceptionally strong! They could hurt someone unintentionally. The way to prevent that is to teach them that certain behavior is not acceptable from the time that they are young.
No Jumping! No Biting, No Chasing! No Barking…..No No No!
If you don't want your adult dog to jump up on you, nip at you, chase cats, bark excessively, pull on clothing, etc., then don't allow your puppy to do it, thinking that it will stop when they are older. This is not realistic. Retraining your adult dog to stop unacceptable behavior is much more difficult that training a puppy to behave in the first place.
Basic Commands
Some basic commands can and must be taught at the puppy stage. Sit is the easiest. We give treats to all of our dogs in the evening and all will take food from our fingers gently. Teaching your pup is easy when giving treats and pups learn the word "treat" quickly. When teaching the "sit command" Do not push down on your pups rump to get it to sit, you could hurt it. Instead, hold the treat directly over its head just out of its reach, and slowly move the treat backwards towards the back of its head. Usually, they will loose balance when looking straight up and sit down. You can also gently tap on the back near the tail to guide the puppy down. Once seated, praise them in a high, excited tone, and they will associate the praise and treat for sitting.
If you find your pup doing something wrong, clap your hands together loudly, this will stop them doing what ever they are doing wrong including going potty in the house. If your pup is chewing on a plant, clap your hands together and then give them something else to chew on so their attention is channeled in a positive and acceptable direction.
Establishing your authority
To teach my pups that I am alpha (head of the pack) I will gently roll them on their back and rub their tummies. Initially, they will squirm, and resist. I wait until they are settled and lay quietly before I will let them roll back over. If they do not quit squirming and will not submit to your rolling them over, there is a high probability that you have an alpha puppy. These alphas are a little more hard-headed as they too are a natural alpha. The alpha pups some times will require "tough love discipline" which is harsher than the training required with a submissive beta pup. With alpha pups, the third option of bite training is usually used as they may use their alpha personality to try and gain the upper hand. I do not allow any of my dogs to growl at me. I tell them “NO!” in a sharp tone, and if they continue I grab their muzzle and squeeze and will alpha roll them. They generally get the message quickly that growling is not acceptable behavior. I also train so that I can put my hands into their food bowl and even remove food and bones from their mouth, including meat with out letting them growl at me. All of my animals, including a 150 pound wolf dog know that I am alpha and will allow me to remove food from their mouths with out growling.
Benefiting from the influence of an adult dog.
Indian Dog pups can be very active as pups and may continue to display a lot of activity into adulthood, although they are not as active as a Jack Russell Terrier. Indian Dogs love to run, play, and work. But the benefits of these traits are only really captured when your pup has guidance from an older dog. It is very helpful for the pup to have an adult dog to play with. The adult will teach your pup proper doggy manners, which is very important when dealing with other canines. Only dog syndrome is as common in dogs as it is with one child households. I would also recommend Agility Training if you can find a class and have the time. The class is a lot of fun and the dogs really enjoy the activity. It would be nice to start seeing Indian Dogs competing in these classes at some of the dog shows.
Helpful Training Literature
There are a number of truly excellent books and training tapes available for people who are interested in training their puppies and adult dogs. These books are excellent guides that help the dog owners learn more about dogs, their behavior, and how to make them a loved and integral part of your family.
Ian Dunbar. After You Get Your Puppy. James and Kenneth Publishers. Berkeley, California 94704, 2001. ISBN: 1-888047-01-1
The Monks of New Skete. The Art of Raising a Puppy. Little Brown and Company. Boston, New York London, 1991. ISBN: 0-316-57839-8.
The Monks of New Skete. How To Be Your Dogs Best Friend. 2nd Edition. Little Brown and Company. Boston, New York London, 2002. ISBN: 0-316-61000-3.
Additional training advice that I offer is in the form of two positive reinforcement training tapes by Dr. Ian Dunbar. These are Sirus Training and Command Performance. Both of these tapes will give you a good starting foundation until you can register your pup in a puppy class and graduate to basic and advanced obedience training.
Final Thoughts
Please take the time to properly socialize and train your Indian Dog. Indian Dogs love to please and training them will enable them to understand what behavior is expected from them. For your efforts, they will reward you with total unconditional love as well as many years of pleasure and companionship. These dogs truly are "Gods Dogs".
