Lots of Questions - New puppy owner feeling overwhelmed

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#1
First of all let me just say, I'm new to this forum, but it has been a godsend so far. I've spent hours on here just reading and re-reading some of the posts on here. I've read a TON, but this is the first post I'm actually making. I wanted to be sure I had educated myself a lot on various things before bombarding all of you with questions. This will be a very long post I'm sure, and thank you so much to anyone who reads even just a little part of it and is able to hopefully offer some advice.

I have a female twelve-week old Shepard/Lab mix puppy named Juno. She is not spayed yet and has had her first two rounds of shots. We got her at 8 weeks old from a farm in a rural town near us. She was raised in their barn with her littermates and had access to an outdoor enclosure where she could play. We did not meet either parent (something I regret, but of course, hindsight is 20/20). Our living situation: my husband and I just moved from Southern California to Ontario, Canada. We are looking for an apartment, but will likely not move out until around May. So right now there are 5 of us in the house, as well as an older dog, and a cat. Me, my husband, my mother-in-law, my husband's two 15 year old sisters, a ten year old dog (Cody) and a cat (Limerick).

I have several issues where I am concerned or things that I am not sure are actual problem issues, or just normal puppy behavior. My husband is of the mindset that she will grow out of these things, but I am worried that she will not, and everything that I read on here has said that taking a wait-and-see approach with aggressive behaviors is not good to do, as they grow into bad habits in older dogs.

Issue #1: Biting/Nipping/Growling/Snarling/Barking
She has gotten progressively worse with this. She will play bite, nip to get attention, and sometimes it escalates into a very intimidating snarl where she bares her teeth will bark and growl and then lunges at me. She has drawn blood on several occasions and has at times grabbed onto my hand and refused to let go. I have cuts and scratches all over my hands, and noticed last night that I have bruises up my arms where she will nip and pinch my skin with her small little front teeth.

Giving her a smack on the nose does not work, instead it seems to escalate the reaction and pushes her over from just play biting to the snarling attacking aggressiveness. Yelping does the same thing, it only seems to excite her more and escalates the behavior.

I also have tried redirecting her with another toy. She sometimes ignores the toy and will continue to try to go for my hands. Other times, she will take the toy, and then, if I praise her by petting or even talking to her and saying "good girl" she will focus back on me and try to attack my hand. I have tried just not praising or petting her after giving her the toy and it only half seems to work. Sometimes she will take the toy, sit down with it and start chewing on it, and then, she will stop chewing, watch me for a few seconds, and then pounce and attack my hand.

I am not waving my hand in front of her face or anything like that, and I try not to encourage her. I know that sometimes, when I pull my hand back out of her reach that she feels like I am playing, and I guess I'm just not sure what to do from here. This is by far the #1 issue that I am having with her. If this is the only one I could have solved, it would save me so much anxiety and heartache. I have sat crying over this. It is not just me she bites, she will also bite my husband, and although she does not interact with the other members of our family often enough, she has nipped at them as well. She does not have any food aggression and in general does not have toy aggression. I routinely pet her while she’s eating and talk to her and pick up her food while she’s eating and hold it for a few seconds and then put it back down again. I usually drop a treat in it when I do this, because I want her to learn that I’m going to give it back, and that it’s also beneficial to her to let me take things. I also occasionally take a toy away while she’s playing with it and give her a treat and then give the toy back. If she was bitey, and that’s why I gave her a toy, I don’t take that toy away though until I know she is calmer.

I feel like a large part of this is just her having too much energy in her and not being able to get it out, and I am more than willing to take her on long walks, but that brings us up to my second issue.

Issue #2: Pulling on Leash and Refusal to go on Walks
We are using a harness with her as opposed to attaching the leash to a normal collar. I focused a lot on getting her used to the leash and harness when we first got her and she is comfortable having both the harness on her and the leash attached. She has no fear of either, and I have made it a part of her routine when she is coming out of her crate. She immediately sits and lets me put the harness on her and she doesn’t fight me about it at all. I am home all day and so I keep her tethered to me at all times unless we are in my bedroom, and then I allow her off the leash but I keep a close eye on her.

Her pulling on the leash started I guess when she would be tethered to me during the day, she would pull sometimes and I would correct her by saying no and jerking her back. It didn’t seem to curtail her pulling, and then a friend told me that I needed to establish myself as the alpha so I should just drag her along and force to accept that she has to go where I go and then she would learn that struggling against me wouldn’t get her anywhere. And that got us I guess to where we are now. When I take her into the backyard to go potty I have her on the leash because we do not have a fully fenced in backyard, and she pulls back there. I have tried just stopping when she pulls, and praising her again when the leash goes loose. This doesn’t seem to be helping, but maybe I haven’t been patient enough and need to give it more time.

A big problem is her outright refusal to go on walks. She will lay flat on the ground if I try to get her to go out the front door. I have to hold the leash directly above her and pull her up and pretty much drag her out and she struggles the whole way. When we get outside she will either be way behind as far back as the leash will let her go, and she’ll stay low to the ground with her tail between her legs, or she’ll be RIGHT UNDER my feet causing me to step on her, which only makes her more scared, or she’ll be pulling ahead of me. The stopping and waiting seems to be ineffective on walks as well. If a car passes us she will sit down immediately and watch it while it passes or she’ll lie down on the ground and dig in and refuse to move. I tried this morning to start our walk by going out the back door instead and the moment we got around the side of the house she dug in and refused to move. I KNOW this dog needs exercise. She runs circles in my bedroom jumping from the bed onto the floor and racing between corners of the room. I know she needs exercise but she will not go on walks and I worry that I have somehow done something to make her not want to go on walks.

She is little still right now and I can for the most part control by strength while she’s on the leash, but she’s going to be big, and I have to get a handle on this before it gets to the point where she’s big and I can’t control her. I want to be able to take her jogging with me in the mornings and as spring and summer is coming along, I want to be able to take her hiking with me, and I won’t be able to if she is always pulling.

(continuing in new post because the forum said it was too long :( )
 
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#2
Issue #3: Socialization worries
While we do have another dog in the house, I don’t think she is learning to inhibit her biting and stuff like that from him, simply Cody is older and he has bad arthritis. He rarely lets her near him because he will often growl when she even gets close to him. I don’t want her to learn she can’t go near other dogs at all. My father-in-law has a puppy that is two weeks older than her. That puppy is a cross between Husky/Shepard/Lab cross and is VERY hyper. She is hostile around him and does not seem to like to play with him because he is very rough with her and he is also quite a bit bigger than her. Should I be trying to force her to play with him when she so clearly wants nothing to do with him? Also, she has had exposure to other adults and to teenagers, through my husband’s teenage sisters and their myriad of friends, but she has not had much exposure to children. My mother-in-law’s significant other has children, the younger two being 10 and 11, but they are both very timid and scared around dogs, and are more than content to watch her play with others, but will not allow her to get close to them. Basically, she spends all day with me, and I am worried that she does not socialize with other people and animals enough, but at the same time, I am hesitant really to allow her more time with my husband’s sisters, because they undermine her training by allowing her to jump up on them and chew on their socks and feet.

Am I trying to hold onto too much control? I don’t want Juno around people who will only reinforce bad behaviour, but I also don’t want her to grow up wary of any other people. Puppy socialization classes seem very expensive and while I would be willing to take her to them, my husband is the one who brings in money, and he doesn’t think a socialization class is necessary, so I don’t think that it’s something that is possible right now.

I would be willing to take her up near the elementary school and ask the mothers there if they wouldn’t mind if their children gave her treats and petted her, but before that can even happen I have to handle her biting and her walking/leash issues. I am too scared to let her around small children right now.

Issue #4: Cars and car rides
Like I said above, she seems to have a lot of anxiety about cars in general. She does decent on car rides I guess. She whines here and there, and doesn’t want to look out the windows or anything, but she will for the most part lay quietly on the passenger seat. I can not get her to lay quietly in the back seat of the car. She has fits. How can I get her to enjoy car rides? And how can I help her to not be so anxious about cars in general.

Sorry this was so long. I really appreciate people reading this. I am feeling overwhelmed and frustrated and worried that I am severely messing up my puppy. I want her to be happy and well-rounded and to not have fears and phobias. I feel as though the problems we’re having with her are not her fault, but are mine, and I’m sure that I’m right on this and I am enabling and encouraging these behaviours without meaning to. I feel as though I’m letting my puppy down because she has such a strong desire to please me, and I can see that in the way she behaves a lot of the time. Housebreaking her has gone really well and she rarely has an accident in the house. She is good about letting me know when she needs to go out, and she makes it through the whole night without waking up and needing to go out as well. She is decent with the “sit” command and is pretty consistent with “come” unless there are too many distractions and then she has trouble focusing on me. I’m rambling, I know, I just really want to do right by this dog. She didn’t chose us, we chose her, and I want her to be happy and fulfilled and content.

Thanks again for reading all of this,

~Chrissy
 

Dekka

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#3
Hmmm lots here and I don't have a lot of time to help at the moment. Roughly where are you in Ont, and would you be willing to work with a good trainer/behaviouralist. If so some of us fellow ontarians may be able to help you find someone.

BTW welcome to chaz (and to Ont :D)
 
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Hmmm lots here and I don't have a lot of time to help at the moment. Roughly where are you in Ont, and would you be willing to work with a good trainer/behaviouralist. If so some of us fellow ontarians may be able to help you find someone.

BTW welcome to chaz (and to Ont :D)
Thanks. I'm in the Hamilton area. I would be willing to work with a good trainer/behaviouralist, hopefully not one that was too expensive, as money is a bit tight right now, but I am very willing, yes. Any help finding one would be wonderful.
 
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#7
Thanks! Yeah, she's certainly a cutie. I love her so much already so it's very upsetting to be having these problems with her. I'm glad I joined too. I'm really hoping that I can get some sort of guidance and help on techniques to handle her.
 

jess2416

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I dont have any advice hopefully someone will come around and see this :)

She is a doll :) very very cute
 

Kayla

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#9
but I am worried that she will not, and everything that I read on here has said that taking a wait-and-see approach with aggressive behaviors is not good to do, as they grow into bad habits in older dogs.
Glad to see you have such a sensible look to dog raising, considering more dogs are PTS every year because of behavioural problems then medical reasons the wait to outgrow approach can be a death sentence.

Issue #1: Biting/Nipping/Growling/Snarling/Barking


She has gotten progressively worse with this. She will play bite, nip to get attention, and sometimes it escalates into a very intimidating snarl where she bares her teeth will bark and growl and then lunges at me..
While play biting, and niping are completely normal for puppies, snarling and baring teeth is very concerning.

Under what circumstances does she usually show her teeth, for example are you taking a toy away from her, petting her, trying to move her when she's sleeping etc?


Giving her a smack on the nose does not work, instead it seems to escalate the reaction and pushes her over from just play biting to the snarling attacking aggressiveness. Yelping does the same thing, it only seems to excite her more and escalates the behavior.
This is very common, aggression is usually met with aggression and is inappropriate when dealing with canine aggression directed at people as it serves no purpose.

For a fearful aggressive dog ( this doesnt sound like it applies to your pup) it only increase aggression because it causes more fear, the spiral continues downwards.

For dominance related aggression this only serves to make your dog must meet you with equal and rising force, not only does it not work towards a switch around towards peaceful interactions, lets face it our skin is paper thin and dogs, specifically pups have a mouth full of razor blades, you get the picture.

I also have tried redirecting her with another toy. She sometimes ignores the toy and will continue to try to go for my hands. Other times, she will take the toy, and then, if I praise her by petting or even talking to her and saying "good girl" she will focus back on me and try to attack my hand.
Though re directing in appropriate behaviour is a great tool in a dog owners belt it has to be applied appropriately. Im glad you tried it however as your results have shown this is not the proper tool for the job. My suggestion while we determine if your 12 week old puppy is simply being just that or if there may be a deeper problem everytime he goes after your hand simply stand up and turn your back. If he goes after your ankels, put him in his crate for a cool off period. Five miniutes is more then enough for a young puppy and remember the crate is a safe place NEVER EVER YELL or punish a puppy while he's going into or while in his crate. During his time out leave the room as well.

You want to emphasis to your puppy that when he plays rough he gets a time out and nothing exciting happens ( as you and your partner will leave the room).

Likewise you must reward him for playing nice, which as a young puppy he is still learning. My fav game which I wish I had started with Duke when he was younger is tug of peace. There are a million varieties so get creative if one doesnt work for you. I sit with one of Duke's favourite bones or rope toys and a jar of peanut butter ( the holy of all holy treats for Duke) I make him sit and usually say get it, and we begin pulling the toy back and forth, the second I think he might be winning I say leave it and show him my finger which I dip in the peanut butter jar ( best to buy your dogs a seperate jar as i prefer to not have dog slober on my sandwhiches). This will serve to teach him that not only when he shares his toys with you he gets yummy stuff but also shows him that you both start and finish all games, which will go a long way down the road.

general does not have toy aggression.
Could you expand on this a bit,does generally mean that there has been a time or two when she has nipped you when taking a toy away?

If she was bitey, and that’s why I gave her a toy, I don’t take that toy away though until I know she is calmer.
Very very smart, too many people seem to get carried away with teaching a dog to accept petting around food and toys, I personally believe respect goes both ways.


Issue #2: Pulling on Leash and Refusal to go on Walks

This doesn’t seem to be helping, but maybe I haven’t been patient enough and need to give it more time.
If there is one and only one golden rule of behaviour modification it is: when one thing isn't working, try another. This doesnt mean you should be trying new things every day, as then your just being inconsistant but at the same time if you see not even slight results after a few weeks with one piticular method its time to go back to the drawing board.

A big problem is her outright refusal to go on walks. She will lay flat on the ground if I try to get her to go out the front door. I have to hold the leash directly above her and pull her up and pretty much drag her out and she struggles the whole way. When we get outside she will either be way behind as far back as the leash will let her go, and she’ll stay low to the ground with her tail between her legs, or she’ll be RIGHT UNDER my feet causing me to step on her, which only makes her more scared, or she’ll be pulling ahead of me. The stopping and waiting seems to be ineffective on walks as well. If a car passes us she will sit down immediately and watch it while it passes or she’ll lie down on the ground and dig in and refuse to move. I tried this morning to start our walk by going out the back door instead and the moment we got around the side of the house she dug in and refused to move. I KNOW this dog needs exercise.
You mentiond she was raised on a farm correct? At what age did you get her? From what your describing it sounds as though you may be taking her outdoor exposure too fast for her comfort. Also is the pulling a compulsive thing, does she go from refusing to walk to just bolting and then stopping again or is it more of a constant effort of pulling and when you dont comply she lies down?

Lying low to the ground with tail between legs and/or trying to get right under your feet are all very common for dogs in new enviroments. Especially for either undersocialized dogs or for dogs who simply are not very confident. Since your dog is still young she is still essentially going through the first six months window and therefore this is her socilization process. My first suggestion is no more force. You may be able to pull her around at this age, but I can gaurintee you give her even a three-four more months it will not be so easy. Furthermore it still isnt teaching her to feel safe outside, the whole point of socilization. Your correct of course your puppy needs exercise but there are many ways of delivering this besides just walking.

My suggestion is tackle one problem at a time. Trying to get her confident at walking and not pulling at once, is two very different things, unfortunantly you cant always kill two birds with one stone. I would start bringing toys, like tug ropes, tennis balls whatever shes into and high value treats (something she absolutly goes nuts over and only give it to her on walks). Reward all walking on her part, but be patient lure her to start walking and say yes and break into a play session with either bouncing the tennis ball and letting her chase it on lead or let her play tug of peace. Once shes started walking a bit more keep her moving by using an upbeat voice, dogs feed off our body langauge. Close your eyes right now and visualize how youve been feeling the last two days walking your pup, are you tense, worried and constantly looking for when she will freeze or are you loose and happy to be out with her? If its the former then your pup is most likely picking up on this, and since she looks to you for support shes not getting much, so if this is so, you are going to have to work hard to stay happy and loose on walks.

Once your moving if you see that she looks like shes about to freeze now is that time for redirecting behaviour start skipping, pull out a toy and waggle it around get her SOOOO excited about being outside even if just for a second she looks at the toy instead of dropping, stop immediatly and give her some treats and break out a play session, right in the middle of the sidewalk ( who cares what your nieghbors think).

Remember the second you feel yourself getting fustrated ( lets be honest it happens to the best of us) Stop, take a few breaths and go home. Nothing will be learned from a short fuse on your part. Also remember you are dealing with a young animal with limited attention span so short walks are best for now, and free play in the back yard will have to be your major activity togther ( grab a jacket but be thankful this winter is coming to a close).

Teaching a confident dog to stop pulling is much easier then what is described above and your stop approach for when he pulls is a great method, just remember not every method works with every dog, so head halters, and prongs are all things to consider down the road, but not right now as your focusing on building confidence on walks and making them the best part of you and your dogs day.
 

Kayla

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#10
*Continuing on*

Issue #3: Socialization worries
Should I be trying to force her to play with him when she so clearly wants nothing to do with him?
In my opinion, no. Good socilization procedure involves setting dogs up in SAFE situations where they feel safe, and everyone wins. Contrary to what comes out of most dog owners, many dogs simply lack good dog social skills for a variety of reasons, while teaching your pup how to play nicely with other dogs is important forcing him to play with a hostile pup can and will back fire in your face.

There are tons of ways to safely expose a young dog to other dogs.

Common ways include

Puppy play dates- these involve one or more dogs, usually of the same size and energy level who are all up to date on shots. You can find these groups on facebook, googling dog meetups and by calling around to pet related business's like dog daycares, vet offices and other places geared towards dogs.

Always ensure that size and energy levels are matched as closely as possible and ensure that someone with experince in dog body langauge is around. Puppies having no manners will often bite too hard, pin other puppies and other rude behaviour which is why sometimes finding older dogs, at least ones who have more social skills is better as they will tell puppies off and do most of the teaching for you.

Again it all comes down to finding a well behaved dog, this is why dog parks are poor choices for socialization as though there are exceptions, most can be a disaster waiting to happen, and with very few dog experinces, you dont want it to be one of your dogs.

Remember lastly that as she gets better on lead just by walking by other dogs serves as a positive reinforcement as the dog is contained and you can give her a treat for seeing the other dog.

I am worried that she does not socialize with other people and animals enough, but at the same time, I am hesitant really to allow her more time with my husband’s sisters, because they undermine her training by allowing her to jump up on them and chew on their socks and feet.
I've been counting how many times you've mentioned being worried. Of course this is completely normal after all you now have a new daughter, but just by the content of your post you are displaying all of the perfect qualities of a great dog owner. Bottom line you want your girl to be a model dog citizen. If only there were more owners out their like you, breed bans would be far less rampant. I've found that family member are always the worst for undermining training efforts and I always find putting a bit of effort in getting them to understand goes a long way. Of course there really are some
*cough* special family members out there and it will fall on deaf ears, just remember your dog your rules, its just that simple.

Your puppy is still young and it is not your job to make her instantly used to everything over night, even horribly abused and neglected dogs can make wonderul turn arounds and sometimes they are already on there fourth or sixth birthday, you still have a young puppy, you dont want to overwhelem her at once.

My rule when Duke was a puppy ( and was a little puppy from hell in terms on nipping and ankle latching) no children under 12 could play with him, this is because children around this age can usually control themselfes enough to not run around hysterically which to a dog who is still learning nipping is a no no is like giving a five year old a pound of chocolate and as he starts to unwrap it saying no hunny you cant eat that, its going to happen.

Until she learns bite inhibitation, young children and puppies are a no no. Older family memebers are your safest choice and best way to ensure quick learning so when shes a bit older she can play nice with the younger ones.


Issue #4: Cars and car rides
I can not get her to lay quietly in the back seat of the car. She has fits. How can I get her to enjoy car rides? And how can I help her to not be so anxious about cars in general.
Don't worry as youll be amazed at how much you will have learned within a year from now about dogs and ways to get results with dogs, but while your learning it can seem so fuzzy and impossible. Just hang in their insight comes with experince.

Again as I mentioned with leash walking. Slow and sure wins the race. Before even riding around in the car try feeding her in the car a few times just so that car itself becomes a major reinforcer, do this for a few weeks and then your ready to go on a short ride around the block. Honestly, your puppy is simply to young to be expected to lie down nicely for a long ride, hell even a ten miniute ride is something you need to work up to. It will come with obidence training and age. For now getting her used to being in a crate in the car is the safest way to bring her places, you can opt for a seat belt as well but i find with puppies as young as her a crate is just easier.

Make sure that the car ride is associated with something fun, so getting into the car, treats, in the back seat before putting her in crate/ or seatbelt, tug of peace, as your driving turn up the tunes ( dont get carried away, dogs have sensitive ears) sing to her also after getting out of the car break out into a play session. Now weve made going up to the car, in the car, and leaving the car all fun.

I feel as though the problems we’re having with her are not her fault, but are mine, and I’m sure that I’m right on this and I am enabling and encouraging these behaviours without meaning to. I feel as though I’m letting my puppy down because she has such a strong desire to please me, and I can see that in the way she behaves a lot of the time.
This is something I have only learned recently, as Duke is my first dog as well. Regardless of who is to blame for certain behaviour aspects, the fact that you are proactive set you apart from the sea of ignorant, and negligant owners out their. Consider yourself a new parent, theres anxiety, confusion, self guilt tripping, but ultimately there's you, your husband and your new dog. It's what sets dog owners apart, besides just love, is the search of HOW to help your dog, vs giving up because, its too hard.

If you could answer my various questions it will help me try and get a better idea of everything thats going on. I would recomend Obidence training over puppy socilization classes, as OB classes kill two birds with one stone, puppy socilization classes, besides often being poorely run, dont offer the benefits of OB training. For a first dog OB training is not just an option, it's a nesicity. So when moneys a concern, I would always go with the most practical solution. OB will help teach you to learn how to better communicate with your dog, in turn allowing you to learn how to deal with future problems if they should pop up, it also teaches your dog self control and lastly it teaches your dog to respond to life saving commands in an emergancy.

I wouldnt resort to a behaviouralist yet but all of the things I have mentioned will only work if you and your husband work as a team, there will be slip ups here and there, but as long as your both on board your setting yourself up for success and a long and happy life with your pup.

Cheers
Kayla
 
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#11
Sorry it’s taken me so long to respond. I had a very busy day. Thank you so much for responding, Kayla. I appreciate your advice so much. In answer to your questions:

Under what circumstances does she usually show her teeth, for example are you taking a toy away from her, petting her, trying to move her when she's sleeping etc?
Usually it’s if she tried to nip at me, and I reacted in a way that escalated it, either by yelling at her or smacking her on the nose. A friend had suggested to me that I hold her mouth closed when she snaps at me, and I did that with her prior to trying the tap on the nose, and that was REALLY bad. She snarled and bared her teeth a lot after that and refused to let me touch her near her mouth or under her neck for days. Now she will let me touch her all around her mouth again and will let me rub her neck just fine. The snarling and baring teeth usually seems to follow an over-correction on my part and doesn’t seem to be random aggression.

Sometimes she does it when we pick her up if she was doing something and doesn’t want to be picked up she will growl as well. My husband picked her up while she was laying on the floor today so he could put her in her crate and she growled at him and was twisting her head around to try to bite him.

Could you expand on this a bit,does generally mean that there has been a time or two when she has nipped you when taking a toy away?
There have been a few times where she has tried to nip at me when I take a toy away from her. It has usually been when she was a bit hyper anyway. She tends to get possessive around tennis balls mostly. I will throw one and she will get it and settle down to chew on it, and if I try to take it from her she will try to nip at me. She jumps up into a play bow when she does this, so it seems to me she’s not doing it out of aggression and more just because she would like to play with me. Anyway I can incorporate your “leave it†‘command and the peanut butter reward into that? Also, how to encourage her to actually bring the ball back to me so that we can play with it together rather than her just chasing the ball on her own and hunkering down to chew on it after?

You mentiond she was raised on a farm correct? At what age did you get her? From what your describing it sounds as though you may be taking her outdoor exposure too fast for her comfort. Also is the pulling a compulsive thing, does she go from refusing to walk to just bolting and then stopping again or is it more of a constant effort of pulling and when you dont comply she lies down?
Yes, she was raised on a farm. Well, from what I saw of it, I’m not entirely sure I would call it a farm. The woman who sold her to me referred to her house as a farm, but it was a rather large house with a nice big pool in the backyard. They did have a small barn in the backyard and the barn had an enclosure with a heating lamp in it and that was where the puppies were. It was a small den like area with access to a fenced in runabout area outside. We got her at 8 weeks old so we have had her for about a month now.

The pulling seems to me more like a compulsive thing. She will hang back and refuse to walk and then bolt forward and try to drag me and then hang back and refuse to walk again, repeat.


Last night I googled Bite Inhibition and read up a lot on how puppies learn bite inhibition and today, I'm not sure if this was the right thing to do or not? but I was more tolerant of her mouthing on me, and then if she bit down hard I said "Ouch" really sharply, gave her a toy instead, and then did what you advised and turned away. If she then barked at me or tried to nip, I immediately put her in her crate, but I didn't yell at her or disclipine her further, I just gave her a timeout. You were right, she got the idea pretty quick! I found that she would come up to me and mouth against my hand for a second, then lick my hand, pick up a toy and start chewing on it. She still had several moments today where she nipped at me or bit too hard, but it was significantly better.

I think you're right about my state of mind influencing her. I really tried my hardest to not freak out around her today and to not stiffen up or overreact when she did bite. I had a lot less anxiety about it today and more of a feeling that I *can* get past this with her, and I think it helped so much just in the way she behaved with me.

I also gathered up all of her toys today to make up a toy box like I read in this forum was recommended and realized that I really don't have that many toys for her. I have a lot of bones and chewy food type items and pig ears and things like that, because they don't really cost much, but not a whole lot of chew toys and I think that if she had more to play with she would hopefully be less inclined to be so bitey. So I talked to my husband and I'm going to go on Monday to buy some more chew toys for her.

Any ideas on good toys to get? I'm going to be going to our local Petsmart and I have about 30 to 40 dollars to spend on toys. I wanted to get one of those balls that the puppy can roll around that will dispense food. I think I'm going to give her breakfast to her in the ball to keep her occupied. Any other toys that you think would be good?

I had a lot more I wanted to say about the advice you gave, but I'm so tired that I'm not thinking straight and can't remember everything I wanted to say. :eek:

I'm going to sleep now I think, and hopefully we'll be able to talk tomorrow. Thanks again so much. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out.

~Chrissy

OH, quick question. It might sound silly. Do you think that my puppy's name, Juno, sounds too much like "no"? I try not to use her name when I reprimand her, but I don't want to confuse her if she thinks that no and her name are the same thing. Does that make sense? Just something I was thinking about today... :confused:
 
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#12
Those are really great suggestions you got Tuna :)

One I can tell you about the leash is to feed her with the leash on, so she can asociate with good things.

You have to put the leash just before feeding her.
 

lizzybeth727

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#13
Just FYI - you got some great suggestions, but you'd probably get more responses if you broke up each question into a different thread. THat makes it a lot easier to read and respond to.

About toys - Petsmart is way too overpriced. $30-$40 will only get you 2-3 toys. Seriously. You can find the exact same toys at Wal Mart, K-Mart, etc. for $1 each. Yeah, the selection isn't quite as good, but your puppy's just going to shred them anyway.

And no, I think "Juno" is fine. Most of the time telling your puppy "no" does not do any good. Dogs understand "do this," they don't understand "Don't do that." Whatever you say when your puppy's doing something wrong should be aimed at redirecting their attention - getting their attention on you instead of whatever they're doing that's bad.
 

Kayla

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Usually it’s if she tried to nip at me, and I reacted in a way that escalated it, either by yelling at her or smacking her on the nose.
Just another example of how aggression is usually met with aggression. Regardless out of fear or dominance or prehaps both, hands are for petting and food despensing, and if you continute to use them as you have been will serve you no good in teaching your puppy.

A friend had suggested to me that I hold her mouth closed when she snaps at me, and I did that with her prior to trying the tap on the nose, and that was REALLY bad. She snarled and bared her teeth a lot after that and refused to let me touch her near her mouth or under her neck for days. Now she will let me touch her all around her mouth again and will let me rub her neck just fine.
This could be either fear or dominance related, but the second part makes me think its more of a fear thing. My best suggestion is get all types of ipeople to pet her around that area and give her treats. You can see how children could potentially be a disaster with this down the road if she wasn't worked with as kids tend to be very threatning when they pet dogs.

Sometimes she does it when we pick her up if she was doing something and doesn’t want to be picked up she will growl as well. My husband picked her up while she was laying on the floor today so he could put her in her crate and she growled at him and was twisting her head around to try to bite him.
This is much more concerning from a pup as it pretty much screams she needs a bit of an atitude adjustment and reality check. Handled improperly ( physical corrections, yelling, hitting) it will only escilate, and she will probably be reinforced by biting back to get her way. On the flip side a very simple program developed by behaviouralists will put her on the right path to success. Essentially when she nips you when you pick her up while she is laying down, she is telling you that she believes she has more of a right to be in that spot then you, essentially she does not respect your position in pack. Google "Nothing in Life is Free", this is the simplest way to put you and your husband and the top of the pack, furthermore all children who share their home with you down the road will also follow this to ensure she respects her place in the family structure.



There have been a few times where she has tried to nip at me when I take a toy away from her. It has usually been when she was a bit hyper anyway. She tends to get possessive around tennis balls mostly. I will throw one and she will get it and settle down to chew on it, and if I try to take it from her she will try to nip at me. She jumps up into a play bow when she does this, so it seems to me she’s not doing it out of aggression and more just because she would like to play with me.
This is still the same deal as above, top pack memeber choose when to iniate and end games. This is why teaching the leave it command is so important in human- canine communication, as it puts you back in charge. Even though she is play bowing as she nips, it is still inappropriate and constitutes you ending the game by standing up, showing no emotion and walking away. Down the road this can be combined with time outs.

Anyway I can incorporate your “leave it†‘command and the peanut butter reward into that? Also, how to encourage her to actually bring the ball back to me so that we can play with it together rather than her just chasing the ball on her own and hunkering down to chew on it after?
Teaching fetch is actually a two step trick as when you think about it not only must the dog chase after the ball but she must also bring it back. By reinforcing the leave it command you are teaching her treats are dispensed only when she gives up the ball to you. From here its a simple process of throwing the ball not to far away, holding out the treat and giving it to her when she brings it back. If she runs off with it again simply turn your back and walk away as theres nothing wrong with her playing with her toys by herself. However if she becomes pushy by shoving toys in your face this is when commands like leave it and sit become helpful to regain control of the situation allowing you to start and finish the game.


Now onto the pulling

The pulling seems to me more like a compulsive thing. She will hang back and refuse to walk and then bolt forward and try to drag me and then hang back and refuse to walk again, repeat.
This sounds much more like a fear thing as she is going from one extreme form of fear to another ( lay low as close as possible to the floor then compulsive switch to running for life). This is important as it tells us she is not confident on lead and what I suggested earlier will with patience drastically improve her comfort zone on leash allowing you to socialize her better. Leash manners can be taught at the same time once she stops laying low to the ground but should not start until a fair bit of improvement is seen.

Last night I googled Bite Inhibition and read up a lot on how puppies learn bite inhibition and today, I'm not sure if this was the right thing to do or not? but I was more tolerant of her mouthing on me, and then if she bit down hard I said "Ouch" really sharply, gave her a toy instead, and then did what you advised and turned away. If she then barked at me or tried to nip, I immediately put her in her crate, but I didn't yell at her or disclipine her further, I just gave her a timeout.
THAT'S PERFECT, everything you just described is excellent as your empowering your dog to make the decision, would I rather play with my mom but not nip OR is nipping so much more important to me that I would rather be sent to my crate.

Saying ouch works great for some dogs, for my guy it only excited him and made him bite harder so I switched to time outs so just play it by ear and go with whatever works for you.

I just wanted to end by saying successful dog training isnt about methods, its about the theory behind methods as every person you meet will have their own method, some swear by it, you should be wary of these people, because no one method will work for all dogs. In the end as long as you are giving your dog a choice between a consiquence for bad behaviour and an appropriate behaviour you are already on the right track towards solving it.

Also one little note on time outs, when introducing time outs we always start on a three strikes your out rule. Meaning the first two times it is presented a firm no is given and the third time it is crate time. We do this for one week and then if the behaviour is still presenting itself we switch to a one strike your out rule. Thirty seconds is more then enough for a young pup and shorter ones should be used for minor offenses. It may be disruptive to your life at first but patience will show amazing results in very short time.

Any ideas on good toys to get? I'm going to be going to our local Petsmart and I have about 30 to 40 dollars to spend on toys. I wanted to get one of those balls that the puppy can roll around that will dispense food. I think I'm going to give her breakfast to her in the ball to keep her occupied. Any other toys that you think would be good?
I have the toy you are talking about and as much as it is an amazing toy, right now you may want to hold back so that you can clearly make the association between you putting the food bowl down and her eating. This is all apart of the nothing in life is free approach and this is just me personally but until she is a bit older I would refrain from this toy for meals.

Kongs are great time killers for puppies as you can pour chicken broth, beef broth, or peanut butter in it and freeze it over night. Not only does the frozen kong sooth ichy gums it also is safe to eat while your not around.

Besides that I love frizbees and laser pointers as they are relatively cheap and provided you stay away from poorly constructed ones ( cheap material or cheap rubber) they can last a long time. Teething toys with lots of bumps to massage gums are also recomended.
 

cinnamon

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#15
Thanks. I'm in the Hamilton area. I would be willing to work with a good trainer/behaviouralist, hopefully not one that was too expensive, as money is a bit tight right now, but I am very willing, yes. Any help finding one would be wonderful.
I took my dog to a great training place just outside of Hamilton. And I also have taken her to a behaviourist in GUelph. We are making great progress.
I can give you the names if you like--the cost wasn't bad compared to the training we've gotten. The behaviourist was about $250 for weekly classes and four private sessions. Well worth the price in my opinion :)
 

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