A Special Commitment
Written by Pam on November 30, 2014
Because I have a special commitment to our HGT puppies and to those KokoBo families that enjoy our puppies, I will continue blogging all and anything that comes to mind with training your Kokobo. I know first-hand that our HGT puppies are attentive and have learned many commands while with us – so now you need to step up to the plate, and teach them some more commands – this will undoubtedly make you – your neighbors – your friends…proud! Don’t be upset of the pup does not participate in your training immediately – the puppy is new to so many things in your world that it will take time – patience will gain many – many rewards!
One of my friends sent me this quote and I want to share it with all my KokoBo familes: “The puppy might be only a part of your life, but for him you are his everything” The most important person in his whole world – is you! “ Please try to never forget this while training him.
The first command that you should focus on is ‘come’. It is probably the most important command. While the pups are here with me, the come command to them is let’s run around wild and free and see if Pam can catch us, this is why I cannot commit to teaching an 8 week old puppy …come. Why is this command ‘come’ so important – because even the most attentive and behaved lab will get distracted especially for that taunting squirrel that is testing your pup’s endurance or that falling leaf that would attract the youngest of labs – So here we go.
Make sure you have a long lead/leash and a collar on your puppy. (First make sure the puppy is okay with having the collar and the leash already on and secure coupled with the feelings of attentiveness to your voice. Only then will you be ready to train…come. As you will see from the videos below, Jake loves to run around with his collar and leash. We allow this because it should be a fun thing while he is learning – the challenge often starts when someone is at the opposite end of the lead somewhat controlling his whereabouts…)
Always start your puppy on your left side. Start to move – always be moving forward when starting this command. Then do not stop but take a step in the opposite direction and say your pet’s name with “come”. As you are saying the words, gently bring the leash and pull her toward you. Once she is looking at you continue to take a few more steps backward (try not to trip) still telling her “come” This should be in all fun – do not get aggravated if she is not doing what you want – remember we did not learn to walk at the first time out – most of us spent lots of time crawling! Always use a pleasant voice and have lots of tasty treats handy so when the command is done correctly, immediately praise the puppy and then offer a treat.
Below are the pups that I still have with me. Chloe, Epokku, Pablo and Jake – all just started learning the command come – and Jake is starting with holding on to the leash and basically walking himself – he has come a long way and will be learning the command in the next day or so. The videos are a bit dark, but you can see at almost 9 weeks, how the pups figure things out. Enjoy, Pam
Chloe learning come