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Hi all, 

I sometimes hear mention made of the “rough adjustment period” for 
pups learning to go on their stakeouts. That takes me to a topic I’ve been
meaning to write about for a while. That is TRAINING pups or dogs to
stakeouts so that it is NOT traumatic.

Starting when the pups are about 10-11 weeks of age I attach drop 
chains to their kennel wall, just far enough apart that they can’t tangle or 
reach each other. (Usually, in the weeks before this, the pups have become 
used to their puppy collars and to walking on a Flexi-lead….getting used to a 
gentle pressure on their necks while still having the freedom to move around.) 
With their food bowls nearby but inaccessible, I clip each pup quickly but 
calmly to a drop chain, giving each one a piece of a dog biscuit as I attach 
their collar to the chain. Some may start bouncing and fussing while others, 
being used to the Flexi, may not. As soon as each pup is chained, I go back 
down the row giving them their bowl of food. Most will immediately divert 
their attention to eating and forget about the chain; occasionally I will 
have one who leans back against their chain and refuses to eat. In this case, I 
use a dog biscuit in front of their nose to draw them forward which releases 
the pressure from the chain. This may be enough to relax them and start 
them eating; if it’s not, I don’t fuss them about it. They will eat with the 
next feeding. As soon as every pup is done eating (being sure to have 
removed the bowl of any who didn’t), I calmly move each one to a “slack chain” with
another biscuit and let them off the drop chain. I do NOT let them off 
until there is no food accessible. Once they are released, I pick up their 
food bowls and their “training” is done for that session. At this point, I’m
feeding twice a day so we will get in two trainings daily. By the third
feeding, it is rare to have a pup that is afraid of being on his/her 
chain; now, if they are bouncing, it is with anticipation. Always, they get a 
dog treat for going on their chain; you can give them a command to 
associate when you give the cookie, if desired. I say their name as I give them 
their cookie; it really solidifies the name response that I like to have!

As the pups become accustomed to being on their chains to eat, I begin 
to stretch out the amount of time I leave them on AFTER they eat; at 
first, it’s just enough time to pick up their bowls, then I will progress to
sitting back from them a bit and just admiring them, scooping their 
part of the kennel, changing their water or going down the row petting each 
one. The next step is to leave them on their chains (AFTER they eat) while I 
feed the adult dogs.  Once they master waiting patiently through these 
timeframes (whether quiet is a criteria or not varies from person to person), I 
change to putting them on their drop chains and feed the ADULTS first, making 
the pups wait. The point is to introduce their chains in a way that focuses 
most of their attention on something more important than the chain. 

When the pups are about 4 months old, I let them up into the main 
kennel each evening once the adults have had their playtime and are back on 
their chains. I let the pups rampage around visiting the adults for a few 
minutes, then I put each one on a regular chain/house station, again using the
cookie/command they have learned to associate with chaining/eating. The
first few times I put the pups on the longer chains, I lead them to the 
end of it so they will know where the limit is; I don’t want them running 
full bore and hit the end of a five foot length of chain. As in obedience, 
when you introduce a new training factor, you lower your expectations; 
therefore, on their first few times on “the real chain” the pups get fed first 
again.
They get let back off as soon as ALL dogs are done eating but before 
bowls have been picked up. As they become used to this, I start delaying 
letting them off until the bowls are picked up, new poop is scooped, water 
topped off, dogs are petted, etc; again, at this point, the time stretching is
AFTER they eat. Progress to having them wait a few minutes on the chain
before getting fed. Continue extending their time on the chain as you 
see them waiting patiently for YOU to decide they are ready to get off, 
working up to a couple of hours; be sure this is after a good play session and
hopefully with a full tummy.

By the time I put pups on their tethers for the day or for the night
(between 7-9 months old), they are not worried about being on a chain; 
they have been TRAINED to this behavior for several months. Therefore, we do 
not have a stressful experience for either of us. The variable factor is 
whether a pup is mature enough to wait quietly until I decide it’s time to get 
up rather than announcing to the world that I must have overslept! If they 
are not, I put them in the play yard at night before they are making noise 
to avoid the problem and know that they will do fine later when they have 
more maturity.

Using your vision of what you want your dogs’ adult behaviors to be 
makes it possible to create a training plan for them as puppies. Each level of
training then leads naturally to the next one.