The new family pet

[Maxattax3]

Re: The new family pet

just take it to a dog park to socialize. Dogs there are usually well-behaved.

It looks like it may be part Border Collie. That would explain it's intelligence and some of its markings.

[bgeno]

Re: The new family pet

I've been trying to use the "yelp" technique to train him not to bite. Basically, to simulate the interaction he'd get with his mother or other pups, when he bites me or my shirt or anything (it's just a play bite, I know), I let out a high-pitched yelp and walk away from a few minutes.

I did this earlier when we were playing a light game of tug. He came and followed me, then, when he saw I wasn't paying attention, he left. I came out a few minutes later and started playing again a little after that. I had the toy in my right hand and for some reason he went to my left hand (it must have distracted him or something). He only got my thumb in his mouth and it didn't hurt at all, but I let out the yelp and went away. He didn't follow this time, but I came back a few minutes later and he came over and started licking my toes, for which I gave him positive feedback (petting, "good dog," and such). It was like he was sorry for hurting me or something... lol

He's a cool dog. I'm enjoying this. Sometimes I get myself stressed out because I want the family to raise a good dog, though. I just have to remember that he's still a puppy and it'll take some time to train him. It's just tough with four different people (my mom, my step-dad, my 8-year-old nephew and myself) reacting with the dog to get consistency.

[Stumbleweed]

Re: The new family pet

Wait, someone sprays their dog in the face with lemon or lime juice? That's a little much... water will do fine. Think about the way a spray of acid in your eyes feels and reconsider that one, I'd say... that's borderline in my eyes.

[bgeno]

Re: The new family pet

It looks like it may be part Border Collie. That would explain it's intelligence and some of its markings.

I was looking at some pictures of border collie-lab mixes and the resemblance as pups is almost uncanny. And if his intelligence isn't just my imagination, it seems to make sense that he'd be part border collie.

He even heeded to a stop/stay call earlier today that I really hadn't tried before. I was going to take him out to pee, but I wanted to make sure I was out the door first so he knew I was in charge (alpha-dog). I was just trying for the hell of it to get him to stay at the door, so I said "stop" or "stay" and kept him from going out the open door by tugging up on his leash. To my surprise he actually sat down, let me get out the door, and stayed anxiously until I said "come on."

[slimm44]

Re: The new family pet

Wait, someone sprays their dog in the face with lemon or lime juice? That's a little much... water will do fine. Think about the way a spray of acid in your eyes feels and reconsider that one, I'd say... that's borderline in my eyes.

Unless I was reading it wrong, they are putting lemon/lime juice on what the dog is chewing on to deter it from doing it anymore. I don't think they're squirting it in the eyes with the stuff. The thought of that is funny like seeing someone getting hit in the groin with a football, though. Funny to think about, not a good idea to do.

[roadman]

Re: The new family pet

Unless I was reading it wrong, they are putting lemon/lime juice on what the dog is chewing on to deter it from doing it anymore. I don't think they're squirting it in the eyes with the stuff. The thought of that is funny like seeing someone getting hit in the groin with a football, though. Funny to think about, not a good idea to do.

Yes, sorry for the confusion, I didn't write that very well.

Lemon/lime juice on what she was chewing, end tables, furniture, chairs, etc...

Spray water was for the mouth area.

My bad, continue on.

[elgreazy1]

Re: The new family pet

Awwwwwuh, gotta love the pups. Congrats on the new addition.

Just be patient and like others stated, start training them early and doing things to socialize them - even walks around the neighborhood. Be consistent as well with dogs; you can't let up an inch or else you send them mixed signals. So, for example, you don't want him on the couch, never let them on; you can't go back and forth with letting them on or off because they simply aren't smart enough to understand when it's appropriate.

[TIm]

Re: The new family pet

Congrats,
You are in for one hell of a ride Sounds like you got a great dog.. And you said you weren't a pet person.. Well be prepared to be one.. A dog is truly your best friend.. We had a wonderful black lab that we had to put down and now have a Spaniel/beagle mix from the pound.. Got lucky again... A little advice, I know people will think I'm crazy but look up some dog whisperer episodes... When training your dog, Use his techniques... It's really amazing... My dog was wild when we first got her and we took her to the pet smart dog training course.. Did Nothing.. Started watching DW and training our dog.. It has been great.. My dog now walks by my side when I ask her to.. She stops at streets before she crosses, I tell her to wait, She waits.. I can throw a tennis ball and tell her to wait.. The ball flies but she stays..> then I tell her "GO" and she runs to get it.. Just use her dry dogfood as treats. They are small and good trainers..

[mjb2124]

Re: The new family pet

This dog seems really smart or was really well-trained in the few weeks that his previous owner had him. He was in the house for less than a day and was already standing by the door when he needed to go pee... he did it twice. We're still taking him out often (every hour or so) to avoid accidents and to get him used to going outside to go pee.

Don't be surprised if he has some setbacks. My wife and I have a 16 week old Golden Retriever - also a smart breed. He was going to the door within the first few days as well and was very well behaved in the house the first few weeks. I think once he got comfortable in the house, he started having some accidents and has tried chewing on things in the house (ie: baseboards, end tables, subwoofer, chairs, railings etc... mostly things made out of wood). What sucks is it's a brand new house we built and moved into 7 months ago so pee on brand new carpeting and or some chew marks on things doesn't make me very happy!

So basically, dogs will have setbacks, but stay the course and things will be fine. My wife even trained our dog to sit, stay, give paw, high 5 and lay down in approximately 1 hour. We're working on roll-over, but haven't had much success since he wants to nip our hands while we roll him over.

Speaking of biting/nipping at hands... We haven't found much that works. My hands and arms are a bit scratched up from his baby teeth (those things are like daggers!). We did find that when he starts to bite hard, if we push down on his tongue with our thumb, he stops biting. He'll start biting again once we release our thumb so it might take a bit of patience.


EDIT - BTW, this is one reason why dogs are so wonderful. I came down with the flu Thursday night. Took a sick day from work on Friday. My dog would not leave my side the entire day. He only wanted to lay beside me on the bed/couch. Same thing for Saturday. I'm feeling much better today, but he's currently laying at my feet. Dogs are so loyal...they know when we're sick/upset and try to make us feel better.

[bgeno]

Re: The new family pet

Just be patient and like others stated, start training them early and doing things to socialize them - even walks around the neighborhood. Be consistent as well with dogs; you can't let up an inch or else you send them mixed signals. So, for example, you don't want him on the couch, never let them on; you can't go back and forth with letting them on or off because they simply aren't smart enough to understand when it's appropriate.

Yeah, I've started training him on "sit" and an auto-sit based on some instructional videos I saw on YouTube. I plan on working more on him learning his name as well. Once I can get a reliable "sit," I'll start working on "stay" and "come."

Don't be surprised if he has some setbacks.

Yeah. He's been pooping in the house a bit. He found a spot he likes behind the lazy boy chair in the basement. He's hit it three times without anyone seeing.

I was training him the other day using part of his lunch meal as the rewards, and I still had a few pieces of food left when he seemed to get distracted and wanted to go somewhere else. I was a little puzzled because it seemed odd for him to turn down food. He stood at the top of the steps to the basement for a few seconds, then came back, then walked around, then came back, and finally he went in the living room and just started squatting... lol. I was able to say "NO!" before too much damage was done, but he did squirt out one turd. He scurried under the couch after that and I nabbed him up and took him outside to finish. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring a treat to reward him for doing the deed outside.



We just got a new leash from Petsmart today. It's one of those harnesses that goes underneath his front legs and such. We were a little worried about his neck because he likes to pull so much on the leash when he's outside.

Speaking of pulling on the leash, does anyone have any tips on how to stop this? I realize he's just an excited puppy and that it's going to take some time, but I'd like to start effectively correcting this ASAP. I've read that when he pulls, you should just stand still and let him pull so that he realizes pulling on the leash will get him nowhere, but I can't seem to move anywhere around the yard without me giving a quick pull on the leash and then him getting ahead of me and trying to pull me somewhere. I'm almost positive I've got it in his mind that I've got higher rank than him in his "pack," but he still wants to lead the way on the leash.

[trobinson97]

Re: The new family pet

Congrats man. Get him neutered, control the pet population.

I have been wanting to get a new puppy for the fam as well. I'd really like an American Bulldog but the wife isn't having it, maybe when we get more space. She wants a little lap dog but I'm not having it.

[roadman]

Re: The new family pet

Yeah, I've started training him on "sit" and an auto-sit based on some instructional videos I saw on YouTube. I plan on working more on him learning his name as well. Once I can get a reliable "sit," I'll start working on "stay" and "come."



Yeah. He's been pooping in the house a bit. He found a spot he likes behind the lazy boy chair in the basement. He's hit it three times without anyone seeing.

I was training him the other day using part of his lunch meal as the rewards, and I still had a few pieces of food left when he seemed to get distracted and wanted to go somewhere else. I was a little puzzled because it seemed odd for him to turn down food. He stood at the top of the steps to the basement for a few seconds, then came back, then walked around, then came back, and finally he went in the living room and just started squatting... lol. I was able to say "NO!" before too much damage was done, but he did squirt out one turd. He scurried under the couch after that and I nabbed him up and took him outside to finish. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring a treat to reward him for doing the deed outside.



We just got a new leash from Petsmart today. It's one of those harnesses that goes underneath his front legs and such. We were a little worried about his neck because he likes to pull so much on the leash when he's outside.

Speaking of pulling on the leash, does anyone have any tips on how to stop this? I realize he's just an excited puppy and that it's going to take some time, but I'd like to start effectively correcting this ASAP. I've read that when he pulls, you should just stand still and let him pull so that he realizes pulling on the leash will get him nowhere, but I can't seem to move anywhere around the yard without me giving a quick pull on the leash and then him getting ahead of me and trying to pull me somewhere. I'm almost positive I've got it in his mind that I've got higher rank than him in his "pack," but he still wants to lead the way on the leash.

We have a English Springer Spaniel and she is a hunting breed. I took her for training after puppy training, and she was leading me all around. I had two trainers come up to me and ask, "Do you want a pinch collar.? I hemmed and hawed and said, I'll talk it over with my wife. I had a hard time convincing my wife, but we finally gave in because my wife felt that was part of the reason she was having a strained shoulder by taking her out for walks.

It was the best $9.00 we spent. We only use for walks, and she doesn't lead anymore. Every bird, squirrel she saw, she wanted to take off after it. I even let her go off leash now for a few blocks and she stays by my side.

I tried to give her small treats on walks if she stayed with me, and I also tried what you are doing for a long time.

I've heard they do make pinch collars with rubber on them.

[BurghFan]

Re: The new family pet

I was training him the other day using part of his lunch meal as the rewards, and I still had a few pieces of food left when he seemed to get distracted and wanted to go somewhere else. I was a little puzzled because it seemed odd for him to turn down food. He stood at the top of the steps to the basement for a few seconds, then came back, then walked around, then came back, and finally he went in the living room and just started squatting... lol. I was able to say "NO!" before too much damage was done, but he did squirt out one turd. He scurried under the couch after that and I nabbed him up and took him outside to finish. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring a treat to reward him for doing the deed outside.

Housetraining can be one of the more frustrating aspects of puppy training, but can alos lend itself to humor at times. A few instances that come to mind.

Back in early '93 when my Newf, Thor, was just a few months old my dad and I were sitting on the floor in the living room watching TV and talking when Thor walks in and stands right in front of us just looking at us. I said something like "Thor, what are you doing?" then suddenly my dad jumps up and starts yelling at him and picks him up to take him into the back room off the kitchen where we had newspaper for him to go potty. It was only then that I realized he had started to take a dump. It really was scary when my dad yelled because even though he didn't put the gate up so Thor could've come back in the living room whenever he wanted, he didn't leave the back room the rest of the night. Another time Thor was apparently walking toward the back room to take a leak but couldn't hold it long enough because he was peeing as he walked through the kitchen (which was carpeted at the time) and left a nice trail to clean up.

In the summer of 2001 when my chocolate lab, Mocha, was just a puppy I was on the phone making an appointment while watching her. She walked into the doorway between the kitchen (now with linoleum) and living room (carpeted), looked at me, squatted, and started peeing on the carpet. I momentarily forgot I was on the phone and, without lowering it, yelled "NO!!!" really loud right into the phone. I then had to apologise to the person on the other end and explain that the puppy had just peed on the carpet then finish the phone call, take Mocha outside, and clean up the pee.