Adding a new puppy five months old to my family with inconsistent commands and expectations equals a little chaos in our training process. For example: Puppy likes to snap at heels and tug at clothing while walking with anyone....I can say NO and he will stop. Problem comes in with my son who enjoys "the game" and allows puppy to continue "playing" in this manner. (NO does not work for him) Here's another: I thought puppy was "teething" but he still "play bites" with hands and feet....I can say NO and he will stop. Problem comes in with my husband who enjoys the "rough play with pup". (NO does not work for him, either) And lastly, puppy cannot stand to be away from my side and when I kennel him while we go to church or grocery shop, etc., he cries like his paw is crushed in the door the whole time. Separation Anxiety with Drama!!! This problem started with me... who "enjoys" him sleeping at the foot of my bed and I did not start him off with a kennel. I've watched a couple of shows, talked with my family, read internet guides but... I need a 4042er to whisper some advice!!! Is it too late???
We are not dog/puppy trainers, but are experienced in working with many foster dogs over the years. These are some techniques that have worked for us. First thought is 5 months is a unique age for a dog. It's the beginning of a very transitional period for dogs. Though breeds vary in temperament, it's usually too early to expect perfection, but certainly not too late to train good behaviors. In fact, I think it's an ideal time! If you want harmony in the house, everyone needs to participate. It's important for the dog to learn that all people are his masters, not just you. All he is learning now is you mean business, and everyone else means FUN TIME! I suggest each member of the family work with the basic commands Sit and Stay. This will go a very long way in controlling and correcting other bad behaviors. Once you teach sit and stay, you can use the commands whenever the dog is doing a behavior you don't like. After all, it's difficult for a dog to misbehave while sitting and staying. Mix playing with commands. Get the dog used to listening to you, and being rewarded for it. Once he's good with the basics, it would be VERY beneficial to introduce visitors and have them give the commands and reward the good behavior. Don't let them allow the dog to just jump all over them. Tell visitors that you are training him and have them make the dog sit when the come in. Then have the visitors reward the dog in whatever manner you use (treat, clicker, praise, etc.) As for the biting, he needs communication that the bite hurts and is unacceptable...in doggie language. Yelling "NO NO NO!" sounds like "BARK BARK BARK" to a dog (especially a puppy), and that means, "Hey, We're Playing!!" Whenever the dog bites flesh, make a yelping sound as if you're a puppy and it HURTS! He'll understand this. If he continues, stand up, turn your back, fold your arms and command the dog to sit. Remain in this posture until the dog obeys. Then, repeat as necessary. Again, everyone in contact with the dog needs to participate or it won't work. Eventually, he won't bite anyone. A few things regarding separation anxiety... First, I'll assume it's mostly connected with you. This is probably because you're the only one training him. Once others begin working with him, it will help a lot. Second, he needs conditioning on being separated. He needs to learn that when you leave, you will return and all will be just fine. You can do this by leaving him, then returning seconds later. Remain perfectly calm as you leave, and as you return. Only acknowledge the dog in a casual manner, almost ignoring him completely. Repeat this several times until there is no reaction when you leave, or return. Then turn seconds into minutes. Minutes can eventually turn into hours. It's important during this exercise that you set him up for success. Don't leave anything out that he could get into out of nervousness (human food, shoes, pillows, etc.). Also, provide him with a comfort spot that is just his (either a special dog bed, or even a crate depending on size). Reward the dog for using it, and NEVER use it as a punishment zone! Ideally, the dog retreats to this spot when you leave and feels more comfortable awaiting your return. Finally, do some socialization. Go to dog parks and allow your dog to meet other people and dogs. When we're open, you can bring him into Lucky Paws for some daycare playing! I hope some of that makes sense! And hope it helps! PM me if you want the name of a trainer we know. Take care! Lucky Paws
You need to talk to Zookeeper! She specializes in obedience training and correcting problem behaviors, in addition to her petsitting services. Drop her a PM, I'm sure she can help you and your pup!
Thanks Lucky P*WS and Jean...I am so appreciative of your responses and now feel like I may be dealing with a stage of "the terrible twos" instead of a lifetime of "the terrible dog". (And I rest assured, knowing I've made it through those "twos" with my kids...this should be a cake walk with your advice! :lol. For Lucky P*Ws, best wishes for your new business and keep us posted. Also, I think your logo without the "A" in paws really stands for... "4042's newest Puppy Whisperer" !!!! For Jean, thanks for the referral!!! I love to keep it "local"!!!
Lucky Paws, that was great advice! Our younger shelter rescue had issues with separation anxiety. Both dogs were crate trained, so I gave one of my old night shirts to Mr. Timid to have in his crate while we were gone. I'm not sure how much that helped, but I've read that sometimes it helps anxious dogs to have something of their owner's to smell. The other thing we did was spend an entire weekend "leaving" ... i.e., we'd crate the dogs, get our keys and walk out the door. And then we'd walk right back in. By Sunday afternoon we were getting in the car and taking a short trip around the neighborhood. We did that for about two weeks, pretty intensively, and he got over it. Now we can leave them both and they're fine. Just don't make a big deal over leaving or coming back. Five months is a tough age. Their attention spans are still pretty darn short and they can go from happy to frantic in no time. As he gets older he will most likely develop more confidence and self-control. Good luck! And ditto on getting everyone in the house to follow the program. DH and I had to have some chats about that initially ... he hadn't had an indoor dog before and just wanted to play with ours. That did not do much for good doggie behavior, lol. Now that everyone's on the same page and life is more consistent for the dogs, things are SO much better.
Zookeeper is great, PM her (besides I prefer when she devotes her efforts to animal care over Politics)! :mrgreen:
