Socialization, Training, etc.

[mojo-rizin]

I have a 16 week old standard poodle as well as a 3 year old toy poodle and a 3 year old mini. The puppy is terrific! He likes his crate, has had ZERO accidents in the house, and has learned to sit, down and shake in the two weeks we've had him.

However, he is much more attuned to the other two dogs, who don't really want much to do with his "puppytude". If we try to separate them to play with him solo, he spends the entire time staring at wherever the other two went. He is very distracted, and doesn't want to pay any attention to us. When we let him out of his crate, he greets them first, and then he MIGHT come up and give us a few kisses before he goes back to chasing the other two around.

We are trying to establish a pack order to help keep the little ones safe around him. The smallest one (7 lbs) is our dominant guy. We feed him first, let him out first and give him attention first. However, the new guy will sit and bark at the other two if they start eating or drinking until they move and he can muscle his way in to the food bowl. He hasn't figured out that we are boss, and that he can't do that.

He also is very unsocialized. We are doing the best we can to get him used to all sorts of situations. In the house he is fine, but when we take them on walks, he balks if he hears a dog bark, a car go by, a person talking, etc. Or if we are out in the yard and a person walks by with a stroller, he completely forgets that he is out to potty, and won't go until the person is completey gone. Even then, he might start to go, and hear the wind whoosh through the trees, and the cycle starts again. It's like that one little inconsistancy completely throws him for a loop.

We want him to be a comfortable, well-adjusted dog, and we love him to pieces, I just need some advice. Sorry about the long-winded post!!

 

[mojo-rizin]

Anyone??

 

[Herschel]

I have a 16 week old standard poodle as well as a 3 year old toy poodle and a 3 year old mini. The puppy is terrific! He likes his crate, has had ZERO accidents in the house, and has learned to sit, down and shake in the two weeks we've had him.

However, he is much more attuned to the other two dogs, who don't really want much to do with his "puppytude". If we try to separate them to play with him solo, he spends the entire time staring at wherever the other two went. He is very distracted, and doesn't want to pay any attention to us. When we let him out of his crate, he greets them first, and then he MIGHT come up and give us a few kisses before he goes back to chasing the other two around.

We are trying to establish a pack order to help keep the little ones safe around him. The smallest one (7 lbs) is our dominant guy. We feed him first, let him out first and give him attention first. However, the new guy will sit and bark at the other two if they start eating or drinking until they move and he can muscle his way in to the food bowl. He hasn't figured out that we are boss, and that he can't do that.

He also is very unsocialized. We are doing the best we can to get him used to all sorts of situations. In the house he is fine, but when we take them on walks, he balks if he hears a dog bark, a car go by, a person talking, etc. Or if we are out in the yard and a person walks by with a stroller, he completely forgets that he is out to potty, and won't go until the person is completey gone. Even then, he might start to go, and hear the wind whoosh through the trees, and the cycle starts again. It's like that one little inconsistancy completely throws him for a loop.

We want him to be a comfortable, well-adjusted dog, and we love him to pieces, I just need some advice. Sorry about the long-winded post!!

I'm not sure if you're actually asking for advice or just commenting on puppyhood in general. There are some great books that will help you, and I like to recommend Patricia McConnell's "Beginning Family Dog Training."

You should keep your dogs crated separately, and try to prevent the puppy from bonding to the other dogs more than he bonds to you. You could take him for walks without the other dogs, play games with him, and most importantly--work on training!

Don't try to force your own pack order. They will work it out. If you want the other dogs to eat first, crate the puppy with a stuffed kong or something fun to keep him occupied. Then, when the others are finished you can let him out and have him eat. That alone isn't going to establish any sort of pack order, though.

Keep working on the socialization. Almost everything he hears is new to him, so of course he gets scared when he hears cars, people, dogs bark, etc. You have to be confident and let him know that these things are OK. Just keep walking and praising him when he gets scared. Don't respond to his fear too strongly, but comfort him if he is cowering.

By the way, make sure you let him be a puppy. Puppies love to play, especially with other dogs. If he pays too much attention to the other two, that's good! Let him play, and if he bothers them too much they will let him know.

Good luck.

 

[summit]

I often hear people talking about which of their dogs is the "dominant" dog. Whenever they ask me this question, I answer back that neither of my dogs are in any sort of a dominant position. That role belongs to me as their master, therefore the dogs look to me for guidance and direction, rather than to one another. That's why I don't have fights or dogs correcting one another, food issues, etc....

The puppy is probably identifying one of your other dogs as occupying the dominant role in your household...either that or he's wanting to become the dominant one. Regardless, ending that and putting yourself in charge should yield a stable group of dogs who are all very affectionate to their master.

 

[Herschel]

The puppy is probably identifying one of your other dogs as occupying the dominant role in your household...either that or he's wanting to become the dominant one. Regardless, ending that and putting yourself in charge should yield a stable group of dogs who are all very affectionate to their master.

What about the original post indicates that the puppy is challenging dominance? (Keep in mind that this is a 4 month old baby)

I agree that stable, confident owners make better dog handlers. However, what does being "in charge" have to do with dominance? I don't think dogs see people as their equals, so the dominance hierarchy wouldn't really apply to us.

 

[DanL]

Daisy challenged Gunnar for a while. I think it's a normal puppy thing- see what they can get away with and once the boundry is set, things settle down.

My dogs also look to me as the "main man", but they also have to sort out things themselves. I can't step in every time someone is complaining. Daisy will want to play and she'll push and push Gunnar. He'll play and rough house, but when he's done, he's done and he lets her know it. That's up to them to decide, not me. I only step in if it starts sounding a little too serous, or if little man Bruzer is involved, since he could get hurt. I think thats what being in charge means, you oversee what's going on and don't let things escalate too far. Even though Daisy is much larger than Gunnar now, it'd be easy for him to really hurt her if he felt the need, and even though he's never done that, it'd be up to me to stop it if it did happen.

 

[mojo-rizin]

Daisy challenged Gunnar for a while. I think it's a normal puppy thing- see what they can get away with and once the boundry is set, things settle down.

My dogs also look to me as the "main man", but they also have to sort out things themselves. I can't step in every time someone is complaining. Daisy will want to play and she'll push and push Gunnar. He'll play and rough house, but when he's done, he's done and he lets her know it. That's up to them to decide, not me. I only step in if it starts sounding a little too serous, or if little man Bruzer is involved, since he could get hurt. I think thats what being in charge means, you oversee what's going on and don't let things escalate too far. Even though Daisy is much larger than Gunnar now, it'd be easy for him to really hurt her if he felt the need, and even though he's never done that, it'd be up to me to stop it if it did happen.

That is what worries me. Tres outweighs Daltrey by 24 lbs, and he's only 16 weeks. By the time he's done growing, it will be a weight difference of 60 lbs or more. He plays rough now, but I usually don't stop the play. If Daltrey tries to snap at him to tell him "that's enough", Tres lunges right back. It worries me that he isn't "getting" that Daltrey is serious. I know he's a puppy, and we let him be a puppy as much as we can.

We try to separate them for playtime, but like I said, he wants nothing to do with us. He is forever running to wherever he last saw the other two, or looking for them, too busy to interact with us. He is crated separately, and we try to give him as much individual attention as possible.

Keep in mind, its been quite a while since we've had a puppy, and never one of this size. Our other two were always very social and fearless, so it is strange to start from scratch with this little guy. I read numerous books and scoured the web prior to bringing him home, and felt pretty prepared. Of course, now I know that you can never be prepared for how your pup will be when you get him home

He is by far the best pup I have ever had, I just worry about how well I am doing because he is just SO BIG! Thank you guys for your responses!

 

[Dekka]

Have you read any of Ian Dunbar's stuff? If not he is a great resource. I went to one of his seminars (it was on agression) It was incredible! The book Hershel recommended is good too.