Puppy Training

GreenSpottedPuffer · #1 12-19-2009, 07:28 PM

My fiancee and I are trying to figure out how to continue/start training our puppy. He is becoming a big pain and quite dominant. Actually he was dominant from day one but he now seems to disregard most commands and only listens maybe 50% of the time.

Just thought I would see if any of the dog people on here have any advice or know a really good trainer IN Vancouver (not in Burnaby or somewhere). At this point, I don't mind paying a lot to have him (us) trained.

He is a Boston Terrier, Miniature Pinscher with a little Jack Russell. If we had known about the Jack when we bought him, we would have never bought him. Both of us really dislike Jack Russells.

We expected hyper, but he absolutely ridiculous. More energetic than any dog I or my fiancee have ever had...by far. He seems to have a problem still with meeting people and other dogs. He just cannot calm down. He literally starts shaking and whining, jumping, nipping. He knows he is suppose to sit before anyone can approach him and he used to but now he is starting to just go nuts if he is restrained or made to sit when he wants to see someone. He cries so loud that it sounds like he is dying lol. Its very embarrassing.

The other problem is his lack of obedience in the house. He was progressing very well for months but the past little while seems to be going backwards. By about 8 weeks, he was starting to nip hands a lot and chase the cat around the condo. He was terrible on walks but this was all to be expected. Over the next few months he got better on walks and actually stopped the nipping of hands quite a bit. Now he is starting to do it all over again. We have obviously lost his respect.

He does listen but often it takes a long time to get his attention and he ends up listening more on his own terms than ours. He has also started to bark back at us when we give him a command. He has also started to bark at the cat a lot which he never used to

Any ideas? He is just about 7 months old now and was neutered yesterday.

I guess I should give him some credit for the good things...he was "paper" trained very well and quickly, only going to the bathroom outside on the balcony (on paper) or waiting to go for his walk. He has also never chewed anything he is not suppose to after being told to stop other than paper if he finds it. He has no problem sleeping in his crate at night.

So we seem to have been lucky with a few things

GreenSpottedPuffer · #2 12-19-2009, 07:37 PM

Here are a bunch of pictures of the little bugger (Diesel) ....

When we first got him:

Few weeks later:

Few weeks ago:

GreenSpottedPuffer · #3 12-19-2009, 07:39 PM

And just cause I love this one!

365seasons · #4 12-19-2009, 08:01 PM

Adorable puppy! I really like his coloring.

I'm not an expert on dogs or anything, but I figured I'd share my experience, and you can take or leave what you choose from it.
My parents actually have a 7 month old boxer puppy right now, and have been going through a lot of the same thing right now, so a lot of this is fresh on my brain.

First off, neutering should help him be a little less dominant, so lets hope for the best there. Hopefully he will calm down a little. As far as the biting, and barking at you goes, you are right. He is pretty much in his teenage years and telling his parents "NO!". My parents and I have found that with Zephyr (their boxer), when the dog starts biting, to calmly say no, and go to another room, or up on a high chair or somewhere where the dog cannot bite. Usually they are doing this for attention, and regardless if you are trying to break the bad habit with techniques, it is still bad attention. So by leaving them, you are telling them that you do not appreciate that and will not tolerate it.
As well, when he barks at you when you ask him to do something, I would suggest putting him on a time out. This should not be a bad thing, where there is yelling or pulling, just a calm time out so he can calm down and realize that you are, indeed, the alpha & boss, and that that behavior is unacceptable.

Something I'm sure you've been doing already, but will mention anyways, is the reward system. Whether your dog is praise oriented or responds to food, you need to let him know exactly what behavior you like and praise him generously for it each time he does it, whether you commanded it or not (at least for now). By doing this, the dog will be trying to please you constantly because he will associate that with praise.

Other than that, he is in his teen years as far as age goes, and as long as you keep on doing what you'd been doing in the start that worked, I wouldn't get too discouraged. He should just be going through a phase and by staying constant, he will come out of it well trained. As he is an energetic dog, try working with his commands and his temper after he has had a long walk or exercise. This may just help your sanity as he will be worn out and more compliant.

Hopefully I could be of some help, and I really hope that you and your fiancee can figure out a solution for the problems you are having. He is an adorable puppy and I'm sure he will grow into a great dog. =)

The Grizz · #5 12-19-2009, 08:02 PM

How much exercise is he getting? He needs to be totally played out before you do any training. If you wear out his energy he will be easier to train. One idea is a hulla hoop, with treats oin one hand and the hoop n the other get him to jump threw the hoop over and over untill he doesn't want to any more. If he seems like he want to stop get him focused on the treats on the other side of the hoop. Keep your tone of voice calm & monotone when training commands. If you get excited so will he to. Play play and more play is your key to success.

Navigator · #6 12-19-2009, 09:11 PM

I have a Labrador that I adopted from the SPCA when he was about a year old and he was very dominant. It took a long time before he stopped embarrassing me in public, but I took him to Petsmart Obedience, and lucked out that the trainer was very knowledgable. Jack Russells are what they are, but they are smart little suckers and probably would respond well to some formal training since it gives their brains something to do. My Lab loves learning new stuff (comes with food!) but I find it does help calm him down too.

The books by Ceasar Milan are pretty good, and they do advocate a lot of walking, and restrained walking - not one of those zip line leashes, keeping them close to establish dominance. I find long walks with a little training session after really worked for my dog and he's pretty good now, very few slips. The one thing that I really liked from training was teaching them to walk on a loose leash - I guarantee if you have a puller - you will look ridiculous for awhile but it works. Take them out on a 6 ft leash and the second he pulls - stop. Have him come back to you and sit. Then carry on - every time he pulls you stop. I must have taken 25 minutes to walk half a block the first night but I now have a 80 lb Lab that walks like an angel on a leash with no gimmicky collars or rig-ups.

workn2hard2day · #7 12-19-2009, 09:25 PM

I know that the treadmill saved us. Our Golden never really got tired on outside walks. (2 - 1/2 hr during day and a 1 hour at before dinner) He walks on the treadmill at 4mph for about 10-15 mins.
It is cute to catch him standing on it looking at the control panel wondering why it isnt moving. Started him on it when he was under a year, but the older lab wont even go near it.
I got the idea from Cesear Millan.

busypencil · #8 01-16-2010, 07:38 PM

You must realize that the decends from a pack mentality. You and your wife-girlfriend are the pack to the dog. No in a pack someone has to be boss. To be boss they have to be respected. Sometimes people get their emotions involved when they have a tendancy to think of the dog as a little person in their house hold and he is not. There are a few simple things you can do to get the idea across as to who is boss.
Food is usually the easiest. Do not leave his food on the floor for him to self feed. Then in his mind the floor is the provider and who are you that I have to respect.
When feeding the dog put food in a dish call the dog. At this time you have to have an idea in your mind of what type of behaviour you want as an end result. If the dog jumps up on you at feeding time this is disrespect, and the best way to treat this is to pivit to your right no talk no touch no eye contact. After all you are boss and he is nothing but a lower pack member. The dog will do what works and if jumping up gives him what he wants in his mind he will continue to do it. IF you responce to jumping is different such as turning away he will enitially try harder. Keep you responce constant. When he realizes it is not working he will stop. If he is hungry he will finally sit and stare at you. Bingo. Now he is willing to take direction from you. If he is trained to sit with one command ask no tell him to sit with conviction in your voice it does not have to be loud but not a plea. Once and once only. If he is not trained to sit mearly use the food to shape the behaviour first before introducing commands. By placing the food just over his head in such a way that he does not jump but is incline to sit to reach the food 2 inches out of reach. It is important at this time to praise as this is the indication reward is comming from this marked behaviour. Then lower his dish and allow the dog to eat. If he will not respond in the desired manner such as continue to jump or walks away he is not hungry enough so put food away for the day and try again next schedual. He will not starve so do not treat him. A time will come when he will understand you are leader and supply the food of life at which time you time your feeding after a sit when the dog is watching your eyes. Praise and reward (feed) You are now much more important in the pack and on your way for respect in other areas. I.E. Do not him lead you on the walk the dog in front is the leader. That is your place. reverse directions you may not go far in the first few walks but he will get the idea. You are first. Even through doorways he waits while you go through even if you have to go through backwards to ensure you go through first. Be consistant. I am sure the paper or kennels in your area can put you in touch with clicker training or other positive methods of training in your area.

GreenSpottedPuffer · #9 01-18-2010, 03:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by busypencil

You must realize that the decends from a pack mentality. You and your wife-girlfriend are the pack to the dog. No in a pack someone has to be boss. To be boss they have to be respected. Sometimes people get their emotions involved when they have a tendancy to think of the dog as a little person in their house hold and he is not. There are a few simple things you can do to get the idea across as to who is boss.
Food is usually the easiest. Do not leave his food on the floor for him to self feed. Then in his mind the floor is the provider and who are you that I have to respect.
When feeding the dog put food in a dish call the dog. At this time you have to have an idea in your mind of what type of behaviour you want as an end result. If the dog jumps up on you at feeding time this is disrespect, and the best way to treat this is to pivit to your right no talk no touch no eye contact. After all you are boss and he is nothing but a lower pack member. The dog will do what works and if jumping up gives him what he wants in his mind he will continue to do it. IF you responce to jumping is different such as turning away he will enitially try harder. Keep you responce constant. When he realizes it is not working he will stop. If he is hungry he will finally sit and stare at you. Bingo. Now he is willing to take direction from you. If he is trained to sit with one command ask no tell him to sit with conviction in your voice it does not have to be loud but not a plea. Once and once only. If he is not trained to sit mearly use the food to shape the behaviour first before introducing commands. By placing the food just over his head in such a way that he does not jump but is incline to sit to reach the food 2 inches out of reach. It is important at this time to praise as this is the indication reward is comming from this marked behaviour. Then lower his dish and allow the dog to eat. If he will not respond in the desired manner such as continue to jump or walks away he is not hungry enough so put food away for the day and try again next schedual. He will not starve so do not treat him. A time will come when he will understand you are leader and supply the food of life at which time you time your feeding after a sit when the dog is watching your eyes. Praise and reward (feed) You are now much more important in the pack and on your way for respect in other areas. I.E. Do not him lead you on the walk the dog in front is the leader. That is your place. reverse directions you may not go far in the first few walks but he will get the idea. You are first. Even through doorways he waits while you go through even if you have to go through backwards to ensure you go through first. Be consistant. I am sure the paper or kennels in your area can put you in touch with clicker training or other positive methods of training in your area.

Thanks.

Yeah he actually has to work for his food. He does not eat out of a dish when he eats dry food. He has to listen to commands and his reward is small portions of his food from my hand each time. So feeding takes about 20 minutes or so but its worth it I think. He gets wet food a few times a week as well but I do put that in a dish

For wet food though, he has to sit about 3 feet away, wait for me to put it in the dish and then sit still until the timer on the stove goes off. I set it to about 1 minute right now. Took a long time for him to learn this but now when I feed him wet food, he will just sit a few feet from the full dish until the timer goes off.

I can teach him new commands in a matter of hours. He is very smart and obedient now. Very easy to train and knows for sure that we are boss. He is very respectful of our space and I couldn't be happier with him at home when its just the two of us.

Now its a whole different story when other people come over

or on walks. All this goes out the window. Hes very slowly getting better on walks but still can't handle seeing other dogs.

I am still kind of lost on how to fix this. He obviously needs more socialization but so far the one daycare near us doesn't seem to want him there because when I went in to inquire he was pretty hyper and I could tell they weren't too impressed. They told me right away that they don't like to take small, energetic dogs. I had called a week ago to ask and they had room but then suddenly when I went in that day, they were booked "for a long time". Yeah right.

We don't really have all that many people over and honestly less now because of him. It's just not fair to the people that come over. I know people need to so he gets used to it but its a lot to ask people to put up with. I lease him in the house when people come over but then its all howling, whining and barking...ugh!