Very happy with our new Vizsla Kinzie. She is very sweet, but like every other puppy has razor sharp teeth. The other day she was chewing on the kids pretty good and they were getting upset and crying. My kids are too young to really command NO with any firmness in their voices and swat her butt when she does it and I can't always get to her in time to make a correction right when it needs to be done. So i went to the garage and got my old collar on her and turned it all the way down. I slowly bumped it up power levels from 1/2, to 1, to 2 and she finally felt it on 2. Not much, but enough to pick her head up and stop when I also said "NO".

Now... Let me state for the record that I am not some kind of "fry chef" trying to cook a dog or make her jump in the air. Only enough to make her stop what shes into along with a firm voice. It also seems to help quite a bit when she is getting into the plants or electronics too.

So here is my question for the experts... Am I going to mess her up with these low dose pulses, or is it okay as long as its turned down real low? Do others use them with puppies to help get the point across and how has it effected the dog in the long term?

Thx!

The E-collar should only be used to reinforce commands that they have been taught without the E-collar IMO. I have never used an E-collar on any dog less than 6 months old. But I am far from being a pro dog trainer.

They use them at a young age on the electronic fences.

This is why collar conditioning occurs after the pup has matured and understands the command. You may have no issues using it now, or you may dig yourself a pretty good hole depending on your plans/goals for the dog.

The dog should be crated/kenneled if you can't immediately supervise. Keep'em from getting themselves in trouble.

So if she runs under the TV and starts chewing on the wires and I yell "Kinzie NO" and jump up to get her and she runs from me so she doesn't get a swat, does this not mean that she knows she's not supposed to do it? It's almost like she is saying nah nah Nannie Boo boo to me. I am very sure she knows I don't want it and that is why she runs from me when I hollar at her. At this point am I not "reinforcing a command she already knows"?

I watch her and my older dog nip and roll on the floor and play...after a while the older dog has enough and her nips start to get stronger on the pup so she will stop biting her. The older dog is just turning up the volume enough for pup to understand right? Same thing I'm trying to get across as I am the alpha in the house...well most of the time ;-)

How about the "Sirius Method of Puppy Training" It teaches a command that any 2 year old can perform successfully.

Save the collar for later...

Angie

Vizslas are soft on training. If your swatting her, yelling at her and nicking her with a shock collar, YOU are ruining a 8 week old puppy.
Any of the above is bad, all three together is just asking to screw up that puppy.
Call the breeder and ask for help.

Hoe about de-snaking?????

They don't desnake puppies at that age.

Well thank you guys for the input... That's why I asked the question in the first place. Believe me the last thing I want to do is mess this up. I have had a great hunting dog before but got her when she was two and out of the puppy stage.

Kindall, please understand when I say a swat on the butt I'm not hurting her...it is very mild I assure you. Just doing enough so that she stops what she is not supposed to be doing and starts to get the point she needs to stop that. As for yelling NO from across the room to a puppy that is chewing on something... I don't buy that that is hurting her in any way shape or form. She has to be taught she can't do those things from an early age and every puppy book I've read has said to use a firm voice when you correct them.

This is my new friend and buddy we are talking about here. This is the best time for us to build a bond with each other and i know that. I am not about to hurt this puppy. Guess its hard for me to get that point across on here.

Thanks for the suggestions guys... I will look into them.

Yes, if your across the room and yelling, you are not supervising and it needs to be put up till you can.

Are you friggin kidding me? Give me a break dude. Cause thats all i do is scream and yell at her. gheezzzz. Maybe I'm crAzy for not putting her in the kennel all the time, but I want her to be part of the family and eventually learn to sit on the couch we me.She has to learn what she can and can't do around here right? How old is she supposed to be before I teach her? I kinda like letting her go off and explore around the house a little bit.. I'm never too far behind and like spying on her and seeing what she does.

I don't think there is one of us on the forum that has never made a mistake with a dog. I'm big enough to admit I have before.
I love my vizslas but they can be a handful at first. They are like little red sharks and you can exercise 3 different lab puppies in the same amount of time it takes to tire one vizsla puppy. They are very smart and will use it against you given the opportunity.
I am in the same room with mine when they are puppies, but not always at arms length. So far its worked out fine.
I don't change my voice when I give a command because I don't want them to wait for that firm tone before they think they have to follow it. I think we would all be better off giving out a little more advice, and a little less bashing. Me included.

Cracker was the worst I'd ever seen as a puppy. I started her in her kennel the first night she got home. I couldn't pick her up without the biting. I had to hold her head still and squeeze her to my chest. She'd finally calm and relax. She'll bump me with her mouth to this day. Here she was after I'd settle her down, but I never cured her. I made her a little hand shy.

Our V was a bad nipper! To the point my wife almost wanted to give him back. I spoke to a breader for some ideas. As stated previously, Vizslas are a soft dog so no harsh methods. I tried lots of ideas but what I think worked best was to put him in his kennel as a "time out" each time. More than anything Vs want our attention. This can be a trying method because you have to do it over and over. But if done diligently and calmly it will work. Mine just turned 4 and I'm still learning to be a good "dad".

Take her to a puppy class at any of the local training facility's. They all are wonderful. They will help you with your problem...

Angie

crank that e collar up full blast.im a coonhunter and start mine at 5mths old on ecollar they dont listen im buring the hair of there neck.

I am a dog trainer, I primarily work with dogs that have aggression issues but I can tell you that electronic collars should only be used in certain circumstances nor should you ever hit a dog. That will eventually make them fear you and that makes any training hundred times more difficult. Puppies will bite and chew anything they can,being they don't have hands they use their mouths to explore. Keep plenty of chew toys on hand. It may take you buying several different toys to find the one they like but it works. As far as the biting the kids hands and things like that, to a puppy, "no" doesn't mean anything. What I have found that worked with my dogs as well as several others is a high pitched "ouch!" Also a dogs attention span is about 10 seconds long.When dogs are playing and one gets a little too rough and hurts the other they yelp or let out a high pitched scream to let the other dog know that what they did hurt, as that what they understand, sounds not words. They will figure out what word means what command after you get them in some classes or take them to a trainer for some private classes. Anyway, I have rambled on enough... Here is a link to probably the most helpful book for basic training. If its read and followed it will work.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/good-owners-great-dogs-brian-kilcommons/1101967632

I'm no expert, but your dog sounds a lot like mine (german shorthair mismanaged by a previous owner) and i'd stay away from the collar. All it needs is a solid 30 minutes a day of focused training to learn its position and role. Even if its just telling it to sit/stay over and over, it will reinforce the fact that your the boss and it's job is to follow your commands (and in turn respect your "pack" by not chewing on them )

If you have to take your dog to dog training classes which is a waste of money your a very incompetent owner and handler.IF you cant get your dogs to do the basics you shouldn't own a dog. And if that dog has aggression issues send him on down the road (im putting that in nice terms).

That's ridiculous.

I am an ex houndsman. You can't compare a bluetick and a vizsla for training. Hounds are hard. Vizslas are soft. Greg, put away the collar for now. Find some resourses, books, trainers to talk to, classes, dvds, other vizsla owners, etc. Come up with a plan for your dog. Train the dog rather than punish it for being a puppy. Push to hard on a v dog and it could start shutting down, become agressive, become timid, or become neurotic.

Or, just hang in there until that little sucker loses it's puppy teeth.

So here's an update... Things are getting MUCH better.... Weren't that bad in the first place. Just a pup being a pup I guess and I was looking for a way to speed up the process cause I could tell she knew better and it was like she was doing it to spite me. She would nip at things as she would run by and then take off and run from you.That being said, she is starting to fit in very well and is learning not to bite on us, but her toys instead.

I will say she is pretty full of fire. If she does need a collar later in life then we can look at it then, but I think some more exercise has helped the "issues" the most. Needs more than other dogs I have had in the past for sure.

Cool thing is I found a great wooded area real close to my house and she loves it! A huge creek, Trails, and fields too. We've been going out every day and she does great.

For as young as she is, she's really good with the bumpers too. Already brings it back almost every time like she has been doing it for years. Im giving her about 6 retrieves each outing to keep her wanting more and so far so good. Cool to watch how birdy she is and how she "hunts" with her nose. You can see her using it like crazy when I throw the bumpers into the taller stuff. I tossed one right into a thick brush and limb pile and she looked like she had springs on her feet as she dove right in. I will try and take some video soon and post it up.

I agree with the retrieving. Mine is the same. Brings it back every time. I was surprised!