Nina male toy Cavoodle puppy training Jan 2026 (wearing yellow collar)

Описание: January 2026 has been very hot in Gunning - so our outdoor training sessions are usually done early in the morning and later in the afternoon so we avoid the heat. Our training sessions are always short - we're working with young puppies with short attention spans AND we want training to be enjoyable for the puppies not a chore!

Nina's male toy Cavoodle (yellow collar) has a lead attached to his collar but I'm not holding it - he's still getting used to it being attached without having the opportunity to pull against someone holding the other end.

We are working on 'place' training. The mat is the 'place' I'm asking him to sit, and stay, on - and I'm saying 'break' to release him from being on the mat. Without teaching him a release word he'd choose to run on and off the mat at his own will... where as I'm training him that his mat is a great 'place' to be (that's where the treats are) and that he'll get a treat when I release him with saying 'break'.

You'll see that after a few repetitions, the puppy CHOOSES to go onto the mat.... and training is about providing the puppy with incentives and rewards for making great choices.

I use hand actions, and often DON'T say the words (sit, stay etc) Unfortunately I'd only asked the puppy to 'stay' once or twice before I moved away from him expecting him to hold the stay (we've been working on this but I rushed it this morning) and you'll see that he cam towards me. I asked him for a stay, he held it for a few seconds and I rewarded him without moving away because I wanted him to be successful.

I sat on the mat to see what the puppy would do. Inside I often sit beside the puppies while they're in their crate and I know they need a 'down' time... but this was the first time I tried it outside and without the puppy being in a crate. I was looking to reward calm behaviour, sitting, laying beside me etc and hoping that the puppy chose NOT to jump all over me with lots of energy.

The puppy ran away and I called him back - all our puppies are 'pup pup' until they're named by their new families. Calling the puppy back to me (yes he came) introduced 'energy' into our interaction which wasn't really what I wanted but offering treats slowly from my hand helped the puppy to slow down.
The puppy ran around again, returning to me without being called. He then climbed across me, not really jumping, probably because I had run out of treats in my right hand and had some in my left hand.

This little boy is playful, affectionate and very teachable.
At the end of this training session we were just 'hanging out' together.

When I end a training session I hold up my fingers, spread out and say all done. That way the puppy knows the training session is finished, there's no more treats for tricks :) and we can simply enjoy cuddles.

www.waratahpuppies.com.au
Pawsable Training