Building Endurance

[sunshineone]

So my pup will be 7 months old next week. I am working on the basics at a pretty slow speed. Because she is a high energy dog, I do take her to the tennis court to run off steam by chasing tennis balls (leaves). We play on the playground equipment even sliding down the slide (her idea).
Eventually she will be my mobility dog and the plan is to not start mobility training until the vet says that her bones are finished growing. I had stopped bouncing the balls high and throwing the frisbee because she does the twist and catch thing. I don't want anything to happen to mess up the growth of her bones and muscles.
I also don't want to not be doing something I should be that could help build her endurance. I remember Kirsten you were speaking about building endurance for using packs and hiking. We do use a pack while training but it only has a few items right now. Probably less than a half a pound and she weighs about 50#.
Am I thinking right by just walking and doing the park thing, making sure she gets the right diet? Or should there be an exercise program for her, maybe an agility class?
Training plan:
1st Year
Obedience Training
Housebreaking/ Crate Training
Light Task Training games
Parks and Pet Stores
2nd Year
More complicated tasks
Public Access
3rd Year
Mobility training

Also when typically does she graduate from puppy candidate to SDIT? I would think after she can pass the CGC reliably.

I never went from puppy to adult before so this is new ground for me.

[Roxie]

A SDIT is when you firmly and truely believe you think she will succeed.... usually around 1 yr old +/-. Or maybe not until closer to 2!

[Kirsten]

With a young dog, before the growth plates close and the bone ends in the joints harden, should not be formally conditioned.  A light load, like half a pound on a 50 pound dog is fine.  I let my adolescents pack their own training gear (extra collars and leashes, bandanna, training treats, water bowl--I carry the water).  I have my adolescents pull a 3 pound red brick with a harness.  Just enough they can feel the bump and jerk against the harness, but not enough to stress them physically. 

You also need to be careful about the surface she is working on.  You can also damage joints and bones working a young dog on hard surfaces, such as paved surfaces.  It would be best to minimize that and try to do the bulk of exercise on turf.  I realize that may not be possible for everyone, but it is the ideal and you need to understand the risks associated with working on pavement.  My pups do ordinary walks on sidewalks, but get most of their exercise on turf or jogging trails.  If it won't give a jogger shin splints, then it's good for a puppy too.  Also don't over do any physical activity.  Young dogs tend not to have the good sense to realize they are tired or sore and stop or rest.  Snort, it took Cole 9 years to start voluntarily resting during play without being told to do so.  You have to decide for them.  As with training, short, frequent sessions are better than less frequent, longer sessions.  As with nutrition, a wide variety of safe physical activities is best.  As many terrains as possible, as many different (comfortable) motions, including stepping sideways, backing up, turning, and generally learning where one's backside is at all times.  If you're going to do agility with a pup, make sure you spot him well (stay next to him on raised equipment and steady him if he mis-steps before he can fall).  But with spotting, agility obstacles can be great confidence boosters and practice in dealing with different situations.

[Magesteff]

Re: dog (puppy) knowing where his backside is - If I remember correctly - laying the ladder on the ground and letting the dog walk over it to learn where all his feet are? Sort of like Football players running through tires?

[sunshineone]

Got more questions...

So she is regressing! Jumping up and nipping. For months she had a dry crate, today I go in to check her toys for wear and her blanket is soaked with pee. (I have removed all padding she is back to hard plastic for another month). Kirsten, you are right, this is not defiance but all her puppy brain cells got lost in the much bigger trying to be grown up ones.

I got this coupon for dog training class. Would it be a waste of money to get set up with a six week lesson? I was thinking Adult 1 because she has forgotten all that I have taught her.

Good thing is, she seems to want to learn new stuff still.

Any pointers on teaching her she is a big strong girl now? For some reason she still thinks she is little.

[springingpups]

For months she had a dry crate, today I go in to check her toys for wear and her blanket is soaked with pee. (I have removed all padding she is back to hard plastic for another month).

Don't assume that crate soiling is due to "regressing" - it can often be a sign that the dog has a urinary tract infection.  If she were my dog, I'd run a urine sample in and have a urinalysis done.

[sunshineone]

K is this something for Monday morning?  Or severe enough for an evet?

ETA she is so long I cannot block off part of the crate but she does not have any problems when there is not any padding. Good catch though thanks for reminding me it could be physical.

[springingpups]

UTIs are generally not something that you'd need to go to the emergency vet for - just get an appointment at your regular vet first thing Monday (some signs that you would want to go ahead to the emergency vet are bloody urine, weak urine stream, and pain or tenderness along the dog's back or sides which can indicate that the infection has traveled to the kidneys).

[Kirsten]

Dog's don't regress.  That's a human thing.  They do have learning plateaus which means they forget things and can't process new skills effectively.  Housetraining isn't like that.  You don't tell them to toilet on command, or at least you don't do it in a crate.  And you don't tell them to jump up.  With a learning plateau, you get the "duh" response to commands.

If she was previously solid and is now having toileting problems it isn't due to adolescence.  The most common causes would be a UTI or spay incontinence, so you should take a sample and have your vet take a look at her (and the sample).  That's step one.

The next most common cause is that she wasn't really solid to begin with.  People will often assume a dog "gets it" when they don't have any accidents for a while, not understanding that it isn't just not having accidents, but building a reward history of no accidents.  When I train my pups, we have zero "accidents" because I'm very religious about supervision and potty schedules.  So by the time the bladder is mature enough for full control, that pup is already solid.  Starting with an adult dog, with zero "accidents," I can do it in one month.

Morgan Spector put it well in his book on obedience training when he said something to the effect that once is a coincidence.  Twice is a trend.  Three times is a habit.  Most people don't understand that.  Just three "accidents" (I'm using quotation marks intentionally because they aren't accidents, but lack of supervision and planning, and completely avoidable), and the dog has a reward history of toileting inappropriately that must be overcome before you can get back on track.  Three "accidents" and you can expect to add months extra onto toilet training.  You can also expect your dog not to be as reliable over their lifetime as mine are.  Most people allow considerably more than 3 "accidents" and don't take into account having to undo all that bad training.  It's bad training because the dog is reinforced for the wrong thing.  When you potty yourself, surely you know it feels good to empty that bladder.  The pressure was there and it was uncomfortable.  Now it is relieved by urinating.  That's R-.  It's just as much a reinforcement as giving her a treat for toileting in the house.  That's why you can't let it happen, ever.  Never give the opportunity until the dog's reward history is overwhelmingly in favor of toileting outside and the body is mature enough to comply.

Supposing it isn't a health issue but a training issue.  Then the answer is to go back to square one with toilet training.  Back on the potty schedule.  Back on 100% supervision.  And if she toilets during the night, then back on mid night toilet runs.

How do crates work?  They work because they build on the work already done by the mother dog.  Wild canids will eat the waste materials of their young in order to hide the nest or den from would-be predators.  They want to keep the odor to a minimum.  A good mother dog keeps her puppies immaculately clean and the whelping box as well.  There's not much to do until the little buggers start eating food.  So she has taught them that the place where we sleep is a very clean place.  Crates operate on this principle.  A dog will resist toileting in the place where he sleeps.  But this is not written in stone.  If he reaches a point where he can't hold it and he toilets in the sleeping area, and then winds up having to sleep in it, then he gets used to living in dirty conditions and you're going to have a dog who toilets in his crate off and on for the rest of his life.  Instead, you have to up the potty schedule so that he never reaches the point where he has to relieve himself.  When there is no urgency to toilet, his mother's training will encourage him not to toilet where he sleeps. 

The third option is emotional distress.  Some change in the dog's life causing inappropriate urination, either submissive or nervous.

First thing I'd check is for a medical cause.  UTIs are not uncommon in bitches.  They are painful and require prescription antibiotics.  They cause frequent, painful, inappropriate urination in a previously reliable dog.  The urine sometimes is tinged pink, but not always.  Sis' dog is having repeated UTIs (Urinary Tract Infections) and if that happens you might feed a dietary supplement to change the acidity of the urine and do a culture to identify the specific antibiotic that is most effective against that bacterium.  Spay incontinence is the second leading culprit.  Both require veterinary intervention.

[sunshineone]

I get the terms wrong, thanks.

She has not been spayed yet as I want her to be more physically mature. I will go Monday to the veterinarian to get her checked out for UTI.

I do a good check on her toys in the crate every other day (hands on because she is a chewer).  She has not had any other accidents in months, thats why had I put her blanket it. She has probably had it in for three weeks and no problems. I am thinking I caught one accident and we have reverted back to no water two hours before last pee break and she has to be walked instead of just let out. Also no crate blanket, but somehow last night she wiggled her crate over 5 feet and got the sheet off the couch through the friggin bars.

We did have major storm systems this week (one tornadic). So stress, fear, excitement could fit and it is a one time thing. I want to be proactive though, she is almost 8 months. I know a lot is going on right now but still I cannot let her get away with it if it is not medical.

She did not have the den training with her mom dog, I guess a surrogate only goes so far, even if it was grandma dog.

Provided the vet gives the all clear, do you think I should go ahead with the obedience classes or is it a waste of money while her brain is vacationing?

Thanks again for all the help with this.

[Kirsten]

Training is never wasted.  My dogs go to class every week from 9 weeks of age to two years, barring holidays, and usually longer unless we compete.  We train at home daily, no matter how airheaded they are.  Just train the dog you have, not the dog you had 2 weeks ago.

Training classes are usually more for the human than the dog anyway. 

[sunshineone]

As always Kirsten, thanks for being awesome!