Building the bond

[tgolike]

Can anyone advise on good games to play with a 10 week old gsd pup that I am hoping to train for a mobility/psychiatric service dog for me?

Also, how much freedom should he have in the house at this age?

Also, should I still have him either tethered to me or in his kennel?

How do I increase our bond?

Thanks for all the help.

[Jason L]

Lots and lots of playing with you. Tugging is a great game to play. Hide and Seek is another good game. Any game that makes him come back to you. Hand feed all his meals. Basically just always remember the motto: "All good things come from you".

At 10 weeks I would watch him very very closely in the house. And crate him when I can't watch him.

[Samba]

Sometimes young puppies will naturally retrieve tossed toys. If he will, this is a great game to play.

[Chicagocanine]

At this age I would be focusing mostly on socialization because you are right in the middle of a critical socialization period. You can read more about this here:
How to socialize
Socialization


With a puppy that young I would definitely not let them loose in the house unless they are being closely supervised, so yes I would use a kennel and/or tether unless you are actively paying attention to the puppy.

[MaggieRoseLee]

I agree that socialization is what I'd work most on focusing on at this point.

As far as bonding, you can mix training and learning with this if you get a clicker and start training with that. Here's info to get your started:

YouTube - Intro & equipment for dog clicker training

YouTube - Intro & equipment for dog clicker training

Clicker Training: Marking Your Dog's Successful Behavior

YouTube - How To Teach Your Dog to Listen (leave it alone)

YouTube - How To Teach Your Dog to Listen (leave it alone)

YouTube - Dog Training Tutorial: Building Eye Contact & Attention!

YouTube - Dog Training Tutorial: Building Eye Contact & Attention!