what's first in obedience

I can get this from videos and books and I will. BUT, I respect all the "dog" people here, so give me what has worked for you.

Got a new Lab coming home , she will be 11 weeks. While potty training and getting her used to her crate, what should I be doing, training wise. I'm sure way to early, so when do I start with obedience, sit, stay, come, It's been a long time since my last puppy, need help.

Thanks

I would start out teaching her what her name is as well as what no and hush means. You should also be able to teach a dog that age to sit and other things while your playing with her.

The word No and here

You first teach the dog how to learn before you start teaching it commands. No it's not to early to start at all. They're young minds are like a sponge so don't pass this time up. They level of proficiency the pup has and punishment you add will come later when the pup is older. Hes too young to except to sit and stay for ten minutes but not to young to learn to work with you and what the mechanics of the work sit are.

Before you do any obedience you should have fun with pup and cultivate retrieving desire above all else by enticing and tossing a retrieve object (I recommend paint rollers at that age) no more than 2-3 times per session. Love pup up when they charge out there and don't try to steady or put any restrictions on the retrieve.

thanks Tony. when should I try to put a collar(not an e collar) and leash try to go for walks?

My chocolate lab is almost 2 months old and we have a collar on her. you can get a bridle type collar if you're afraid of choking it.

Keep a collar on it whenever you're arround. I'm guilty of not doing this, but take it off when you put it on its crate and leave it unattended to keep from choking incidents. I put leashes on them as soon as possible, but keep it fun until they get used to it. Then eventually try to entice them to go where you go with little tugs and a good attitude. Bring it wherever you can and is safe for the dog to help with socializing.

Like what's been said, keep it fun and exciting. Use treats a lot, don't loose patience, and enjoy it while it's young. Sit, down, here, are easy to teach a dog and can be fun for both pup and trainer in moderation. The word "no" and "leave it" will be valuable countless times in its life, don't be afraid to introduce that. Limit temptations around the house.

Enjoy the ride

I agree with what the others have said. You can have a flat collar on right now. I like to have pups drag a rope around so that I can step on it if I need to. Another trick I like is to tie them out for a little while each day so that they can learn to relent to leash pressure without you even involved. I will do this even before picking up the lead and walking. Don't forget that treats are a viable option at that stage too. Just don't use them forever.

My pup is 14 weeks tomorrow and we've been going nice and slow. Started with getting used to the kennel and then No, seems like the word I say the most these days. Then we did come, started with just saying it as he was walking to me on his own and then moved to the check cord. Walking on a leash was next, just gentle nudges and lots of encouragement until he understood that he wasn't gonna beat the leash. Sit, Stay, and down have been what we are working on now. I am in no way a experienced dog person, but that's been our progressing and I have been thrilled with him. I would add that teaching a pup being by himself is okay, and wish I would've done better with this.

Some people say you should not teach a pointing dog to sit. I never have.

Likely getting off topic here, but gonna ask anyways:

I understand why you don't teach them sit, but what do you tell them when you want them to just calm down and be good for a second, Whoa? What about a pointing dog that is also a house pet? I can't imagine my dogs not knowing sit, so my curiosity is peaked.

I tell them whoa in the field. I tell them place in the house.

I've taught every bird dog I've ever had to sit and never had a problem. The one and only lab I ever trained also knew what whoa meant. I think the more you teach a dog the smarter he will be. Sit is good for them to know when your doctoring them or putting boots on. There are many good reasons to teach a dog commands like sit, lay down, and whatever other tricks you want them to do.

You'll get no argument from me. I never taught Cracker to sit but she still tended to sit on whoa. I had to use the suitcase hitch when I started heel and whoa.



But, she has never sat in the field.

First command I teach any dog I get is "sit". However I give them a few days to settle in to their new home before I try teaching them anything other than no and how to not potty in the house. If they don't feel comfortable in their new home and with their new owner teaching them anything at all is going to be a rough road.

Like Bill, I never taught one of my pointers to sit. I also never taught one of my labs to lay down until after they were handling well.

Teaching a pointer to sit before it's woa broke could cause the dog to sit upon the woa command. Then you have to break that habit.
Teaching a lab to lay down could cause the dog to lay down on a whistle instead of sitting, thus making it hard for you to see the dog and for it to see you when taking the command.

Bottom line is it's easier to teach them the right way once, there will be many bad habits to fix naturally without creating others to fix at a later date.

Robby