Training begins the day the dog comes home. Every interaction teaches him something about his family, The Rules, his home, and himself. Teach him how to live in harmony with you from the beginning. He is adaptable, and he will learn to love your rules.
Kitto Katsu the Alaskan Klee Kai is 9 weeks old. He’s scary smart, energetic, and active. Without rules, he could grow to be a miniature lupine terror of bad habits. The whole family is out ahead of him, watching Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution videos on YouTube (HIGHLY recommended!) for positive encouragement and topical help.
Stuff We Think We Are Good At / What Kitto Thinks
- Using treats as lures.
- Eating food I like is my highest aspiration.
- Luring to sit, give kisses (muzzle bump or licks), down, stay, recall, settle, look at me.
- My family has high expectations. I can almost understand them.
- Walking: “Be A Tree” (Indoors around obstacles)
- I live with slow, clumsy giants. If I walk next to them they walk better.
- Leash tethering around the house.
- If you think I am fast now, just give me a few weeks.
- Crate training.
- Home is where my blanket is.
- Hand-feeding.
- My people share their food with me. There is more than I can eat and it is good.
- Games
- Give me ten minutes to nap, and I can go for an hour.
Harder Stuff
- The Potty Box
- I would rather go over here. And I’m not staying in that while you wait, either.
- Biting
- You’re not the boss of me unless I want, but… I could get used to all this attention.
Kitto Taught Us This Week
- I am gentle and soft on the inside too, especially after exercise.
- I trust you. You can move me around, pose me, touch me, poke me, brush my teeth.
- I want to be with you, touching. Naked toes make me crazy, but socks are boring.
- I can eat more than I should in one go. I’ll gorge on Allprovide if you let me.
- I know you’re mixing kibbles. I spit out what I don’t like.
- I NEED to chew. We need more chew toys around the house.
- I love to be in motion, and to chase, and to hunt.
- You are my Family.
Resources
Our main training guide is Training the Best Dog Ever, by Dawn S and Larry K. It’s a five-week curriculum that helps you teach your dog basic obedience. It doesn’t replace a good dog training class (which is for the whole family, and great for socialization and community support), but it’s especially helpful to us until Kitto is done with vaccinations.
Our “whole family” primer is the K.I.S.S. Guide To Raising A Puppy, by Liz Palika. This covers all of the basics in Keep It Simple style, with plenty of pictures that help explain and give context. A great starting point for beginners and for children. Our breeders gave us this book when we picked Kitto up.
