Help! Complete Dog Novice

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Mabs
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Jul 29, 2017 12:30 am

Help! Complete Dog Novice

Post by Mabs »

Hello, I'm really hoping someone can help me and my new puppy out before we both get upset!

Background - I haven't had a dog since I was a child, needless to say she was trained by my parents. I live alone and have just taken in a puppy who was abandoned in the road, he's about 12 weeks old now so I've had him 6 weeks. We think he's a labrador/pointer mix.

When I agreed to take Jasper in I bought some dog training books, and I've also been following Susan Garrett's "It's your choice" training seminar. But, I just don't know where to begin, or how to! The advise that is given in these books just does not seem to work on him. My main problems are:

Biting and nipping - I understand puppies are teething, and they use their mouth to explore things. He has all kinds of chew toys, bones from the butcher, chewy treats and so on, but his favourite thing to bite, is people. Mainly me. Or my feet. He particularly likes to try and herd me if I'm walking about. First avice I was given/read - inhibit his bite, squeal when he nips and he'll eventually stop doing it so hard. No chance, he loves this game! Second bit of advice - stand still and ignore him. I tried that. Ow :( I've tried distracting him, I've tried putting him in a time out (I don't think he knows why he's there though, he does it again as soon as he gets out). Once or twice now I've gotten really upset and shouted at him, and then i feel even worse. I don't know if by giving him a toy to play with when he does it I'm reinforcing the behaviour in the first place - bite her feet, great! then she'll play with me! So, if anyone has any suggestions what I can do here that's great. I'm trying to make sure he has plenty of walks, play time to tire him out, but if anything it makes him nip more. Is he too tired?!

Chasing the cats - this isn't too bad in itself, as all but one cat stands up for itself. This one, Gie, Jasper loves. He sits and licks him, and when he tries to get away he barges him with his shoulder and tries to nibble him. Or he'll chase him until he can sit on him. It's crazy. Please tell me he's not working up to getting him by the neck and giving him a shake. I'm keeping as much of an eye on him as I can.

The other thing is I don't know if I give him too much freedom and whether I should be more strict. I live in a very hot climate and my villa is pretty much open plan, and the doors are all open to the garden all the time so he can come and go as he likes (the garden is puppy proof!). I work from home all day (apart from breaks to walk him or play) but I dont know if I should keep him inside or whether it's good for him to be able to do his own thing.

And, lastly, I want to teach him to come when he's called, sit, stay, all that kind of thing. I started to do this with treats (well, dog biscuits) but he's not daft, as soon as they come out he is glued to my side sitting nicely. So if I want him to come he's already there! The It's your choice traiing is great and he's picked up really quickly how not to go for things, but I'm not sure how to expnd this, does anyone have any thoughts?

I'm sorry if this reads as really whingy, I almost feel too scared to do something in case I'm doing the wrong thing. Please can someone help! Or recommend any resources?! There are no dog training classes or anything else here either.

Thank you so much!
Mabs, and the lovely lovely Jasper
JudyN
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Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:20 pm
Location: Dorset, UK
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Re: Help! Complete Dog Novice

Post by JudyN »

Well if you will call your dog Jasper it's never going to be easy :lol: (Just joking - my dog's a Jasper too.)

Don't worry - you're doing fine, and 12-week-old puppies are exhausting and many haven't read the books that tell you what's 'normal'. Or the books don't tell you it's normal to have limbs covered in scratches.

Squealing when they nip works for some dogs but not others so if it's not working for you, don't say anything. Be as boring as possible. When he nips I would either put him in timeout, or leave the room yourself and close the door/stairgate. You could put a light house lead (with no loop that might get caught on anything) on him to make it easier to put him in timeout. Wear shoes/boots if it makes it easier to stay calm. But only leave him in timeout for 5-10 seconds, then let him back out again. Yes, he'll go straight for your feet again, so put him back in timeout without saying anything, wait another 5-10 secondss, let him out... You might let him out umpteen times in just a few minutes but eventually, hopefully, you'll see him head for your feet and think twice. He might then not be able to resist temptation, but you've just seen the first glimmer of understanding, and you know you're on the right track.

Prevention is better than cure though - rather than give him a toy when he's gone for your feet, carry a toy with you at all times and stick it in his mouth the moment he gets 'that' look in his eye.
I'm trying to make sure he has plenty of walks, play time to tire him out, but if anything it makes him nip more. Is he too tired?!
Quite possibly. You know what overtired toddlers are like? Absolutely horrible. My dog would also be far worse towards the end of a walk too, so we kept his walks shorter which helped.

How long are you walking him for? The usual guideline, to protect their joints, is 5 minutes per month of age, so at 12 weeks his walks should really only be 15 minutes. This is 'forced' walking though - taking him out on a lead and making him walk (or run) solidly for that amount of time. If you're having plenty of stops, sniffing interesting smells in the verges and investigating leaves, sitting down to watch the world go by, you can stay out a lot longer. Plus, calm activities like that will be much better than high-octane games with balls or other dogs.

For when he does get overtired, it's useful to train a good 'settle' command. I think I trained 'bed' by throwing treats onto J's bed, and 'down' in the normal way, but then sort of shaped 'settle down on your bed' by praising and treating him when he did settle down. But we used to spend a lot of time just rolling balls across the floor in the evening to stop him latching on to us when he had the evening zoomies until he finally crashed.
Or he'll chase him until he can sit on him. It's crazy. Please tell me he's not working up to getting him by the neck and giving him a shake.
Almost certainly not, though it's still something you want to prevent. My cat, M, was 12 when we got J and is now 19. J loves M, but it's not reciprocated and he has been known to try to get M to play by plonking a paw on his back or wrapping his jaws gently round him. Which isn't so good now M is 19! Make sure your cats have somewhere they can escape to (e.g. somewhere high or behind a stairgate) and whenever Jasper sees this cat, call him to you and give him a treat. (Might mean he comes to you and expects something every time the cat wanders past but it's better than him jumping on the cat.) And maybe that house lead I mentioned could help here as you can just pick up the end of it when you see the cat.

The other thing is I don't know if I give him too much freedom and whether I should be more strict. I live in a very hot climate and my villa is pretty much open plan, and the doors are all open to the garden all the time so he can come and go as he likes (the garden is puppy proof!). I work from home all day (apart from breaks to walk him or play) but I dont know if I should keep him inside or whether it's good for him to be able to do his own thing.
Personally I think as long as a dog has some boundaries, it doesn't matter if you're free & easy the rest of the time. But you do have to plan ahead for times he can't go out, such as when you go out, or if he should have a cut foot that needs to stay clean. And of course if things will change in winter! So I would have the doors closed some of the time. You haven't mentioned house training, but you need him to know to ask to go out if he needs to.
And, lastly, I want to teach him to come when he's called, sit, stay, all that kind of thing. I started to do this with treats (well, dog biscuits) but he's not daft, as soon as they come out he is glued to my side sitting nicely.
I tend to carry treats on me the whole time, which removes this problem. Try not to make a distinction between 'training sessions' and normal activities - ask for a sit, stay, etc. at random times throughout the day. You could ask him to sit before you put his food bowl down or before putting his lead on. And remember the reward could be a game, or throw of a ball as well as food. And call him from another room with your recall word so he doesn't know if you have treats or not.

There's loads of resources in the first post here: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=11503 Note particularly It's Yer Choice, exercising your dog's mind, time outs, and the recommended reading. My favourite puppy training book was The Puppy Primer by Patricia McConnell.

Hope that helps - but the most important thing is to relax and enjoy your pup, you're doing great :D
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
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