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Triangulum posted:Canine Body Language: A Photographic Guide Interpreting the Native Language of the Domestic Dog is a really useful resource for understanding the way your dog communicates and it has tons and tons of photos and diagrams. Truth. Brenda Aloff is remarkably easy to read, and it's the book I recommend most for people to learn how to become 'dog people' instead of just dog owners. It's also helped me to identify warning behaviors versus intense play.
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Jun 28, 2013 19:47
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So we got our puppy last Sunday (Golden Retriever/Black Lab mix). She's adorable but can also be a little terror at times. She seems to be pretty mellow but will occasionally freak out and start attacking everything. We can calm her down usually by tiring her out. One problem that we are running into though is she will randomly run out of eye sight and immediately start to pee. It's happened a few times to us. So fast that even if we are following her she eliminates before we can pick her up. She generally doesn't have a problem going outside but I'm finding she is getting distracted with smells/twigs and doesn't try to eliminate. We then go back inside and 5 minutes later she runs and pee's. We take her outside on average every 30 minutes when she's up and immediately when she wakes up from a nap. I was going to start treat reinforcing her every time she goes outside (verbal gratitude and scratching doesn't seem to be enough). Thoughts?
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Jul 4, 2013 17:40
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The bad news is that you should have been reinforcing with the tastiest treats right from the beginning to prevent your puppy from getting in the habit of peeing inside. The good news is that MrFurious typed up an amazing housetraining guide and if you read and follow it, you may eventually find yourself with a dog who prefers peeing outdoors. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u53Bw5jWag--ZqjooOa14Fv7XzNyVZ9IpqLGbxQWnxc/edit
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Jul 4, 2013 17:52
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m.hache posted:So we got our puppy last Sunday (Golden Retriever/Black Lab mix). Sounds like puppy zoomies. Sounds like you're dealing with them just fine. Sometimes it means a dog has a lot of pent up energy, and sometimes it means that they're overtired. m.hache posted:One problem that we are running into though is she will randomly run out of eye sight and immediately start to pee. It's happened a few times to us. So fast that even if we are following her she eliminates before we can pick her up. She generally doesn't have a problem going outside but I'm finding she is getting distracted with smells/twigs and doesn't try to eliminate. We then go back inside and 5 minutes later she runs and pee's. The easy solution here is keep her in sight. She's probably picked up on the fact that you're not happy when you find urine indoors, so she's putting it somewhere you might not find it. I would keep her tethered to you or gated in an area where you're certain she won't eliminate so she doesn't have the opportunity to run off to pee. House training is all about creating good habits and not allowing the opportunity for bad ones to form. As far as I'm concerned, you can offer all the praise, treats and fun after proper elimination outdoors, but it won't sink in if you give the dog the opportunity to pee indoors whenever she feels like it. So, step up the management while you're indoors. It may feel tedious for a bit, but it really pays off in the long run. Re: offering treats in lieu of/in conjunction with praise, as I said above I think management is key here. However it's up to your dog to decide what she finds reinforcing. A lot of dogs don't find praise very reinforcing and some can find it downright punishing. Food is normally better received than praise. What you can do is make a list of things your dog enjoys -- everything from saying hi to strangers to praise to kibble to roast beef to balls (this list will change as your dog matures). Rank them, and use them as reinforcement for good behaviour. Be creative. Use the most reinforcing things for the toughest behaviours, and use less reinforcing things for less challenging behaviours. The ranking of difficult behaviours will change as your dog matures too. Right now, peeing outdoors seems like a pretty tough behaviour, so break out the good stuff.
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Jul 4, 2013 17:55
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Ikantski posted:The bad news is that you should have been reinforcing with the tastiest treats right from the beginning to prevent your puppy from getting in the habit of peeing inside. The good news is that MrFurious typed up an amazing housetraining guide and if you read and follow it, you may eventually find yourself with a dog who prefers peeing outdoors. Thanks I'll give that a thorough reading. a life less posted:Sounds like puppy zoomies. Sounds like you're dealing with them just fine. Sometimes it means a dog has a lot of pent up energy, and sometimes it means that they're overtired. She was doing so well at first we didn't think we needed the treats but as she became more accustomed to the house she started exploring without us. We do keep on her as much as we can. We've seen some major improvements already with her crate training. The first night she would not stop barking and whining (upwards of 30 minutes) when we left the room so we took turns sleeping near her so she would calm down. After the third night we can now retreat into our bedroom and at worst she whines for 5 minutes then sleeps. I think this corresponds with how comfortable she feels so now we need motivation for her to go outside (aside from just being close to us). I'll update with progress/questions as they arise.
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Jul 4, 2013 18:25
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Hi PI. We just got 10 week old doberman mix puppy yesterday (Mother is Dobe, nobody knows what the father was) from a local rescue. He's beautiful, but he doesn't seem to want to go ANYWHERE with the 6ft leash. He'll actively pull against it to the point he's cutting off his air. At this point I've been picking him up to take him down to the area to do his business (we live on the second floor of a condo). Is this just something we'll need to have patience with, do the "put leash on but let him run around for 10 mins" thing, and just keep at it? I assume by picking him up I'm reinforcing a bad habit (if I just sit here, he'll pick me up) but at 11PM, 2AM, 5AM, etc it's difficult to spend 30 minutes trying to get him to move. I'm reading this: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u53Bw5jWag--ZqjooOa14Fv7XzNyVZ9IpqLGbxQWnxc/edit However it doesn't seem to cover that issue. Another concern, last night (his first night with us) I let him sleep at the side of the bed. He seemed very happy and would sleep for several hours before waking us up. We don't have a crate as the rescue is against that method but recommends the baby gate and keeping him in the bathroom as a sort of pen. Is it alright to let him sleep in the same room as us on the floor? He didn't have any accidents last night but I obviously want to set a good example and do the right thing for our new family member. Thanks in advance! I have books on the way and am scouring the internet for all the information I can get.
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Jul 8, 2013 20:08
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Here's a decent-ish video for you. I'm at work and don't have the opportunity to dig for one I like better; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8Xwz8g4ki0 Use food and your body movement to get the puppy to follow you. If you pull, it is an innate response for the dog to pull in the opposite direction, so try motivational tactics instead. Crate training will help with housebreaking. I think you're running the risk of the puppy getting up in the middle of the night to relieve himself quietly. You're welcome to try it and see if it works until it doesn't. No one will chastise you for not crate training. The chastising comes when you're complaining of housebreaking issues and not crate training.  It's important for your dog to be okay in a crate, even if he doesn't use one regularly. Vet emergencies, travel, and any sort of sporting event will be best for your dog if he's used to being crated. I would do some crate training, even if you're not planning on using one often. I also think it's important that a dog will get off from a bed or couch when asked, and I also like when a dog will ask permission to jump up to join me. Work on games where you cue the dog up/off/up/off for treats to get him used to it and so as not to have any problems with it going forward.
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Jul 8, 2013 20:30
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strikehold posted:Hi PI. We just got 10 week old doberman mix puppy yesterday (Mother is Dobe, nobody knows what the father was) from a local rescue. He's beautiful, but he doesn't seem to want to go ANYWHERE with the 6ft leash. He'll actively pull against it to the point he's cutting off his air. At this point I've been picking him up to take him down to the area to do his business (we live on the second floor of a condo). The PetSmart near me offers "Loose Leash Lessons" as well as basic puppy obedience, so you might check those out for some groundwork and a good start in clicker training if there is a store near you. I can't speak for the quality of these lessons, as I only own cats, but it might help you out.
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Jul 8, 2013 21:08
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a life less - thanks for the video! I'll watch it shortly. four lean hounds - we're for sure going to look into training to set good routines and behaviors.
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Jul 8, 2013 21:15
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four lean hounds posted:The PetSmart near me offers "Loose Leash Lessons" as well as basic puppy obedience, so you might check those out for some groundwork and a good start in clicker training if there is a store near you. I can't speak for the quality of these lessons, as I only own cats, but it might help you out. There are links in the OP for finding a good trainer. I would not recommend that you start with PetSmart. Some of them are great, some of them are horrifying, and a whole lot in between. The links in the OP are much more likely to deliver you to a trainer with the appropriate skills and ability to deal with common problems in a modern and non-aversive fashion. strikehold Give ALL's advice a try and if you're still having trouble or would like us to vet a trainer for you, please don't hesitate to post again. MrFurious fucked around with this message at 15:12 on Jul 9, 2013 |
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Jul 8, 2013 21:43
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Will do! Thank you all for your help and to the OP. He seems to be doing MUCH better today at being willing to walk on leash and seems to be picking it up via positive reinforcement. He just went up and down 2 flights of stairs, with treat coercing. At first every couple steps, then half way, then at the bottom each time. Still stops every 10ft or so to sit down, looking for treats but patting the ground gets him moving. This is very rewarding for us to see him learning too. Bloodborne fucked around with this message at 23:22 on Jul 8, 2013 |
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Jul 8, 2013 23:18
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So the power is out to the whole city right now because of a rain storm. My dog just hurt his front left leg jumping off the couch and won't put any weight on it at all. It's been like this for a couple hours now. All of the vets and animal hospitals are closed because of the outage. Is there anything I can do to help him while I wait for the power to come back on? Right now he's laying on his side resting. He wasn't whimpering in pain before but was panting. He even tried to jump back up on the couch with his good 3 legs earlier. Whenever he does walk he won't put the leg down. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary when I touch it and he doesn't do anything when I touch the leg. He's a 1 year old Sealyham Terrier if it helps. And he's around 22-25 pounds. I'd appreciate any suggestions to make him more comfortable.
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Jul 9, 2013 01:45
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MarquisDeSade posted:So the power is out to the whole city right now because of a rain storm. My dog just hurt his front left leg jumping off the couch and won't put any weight on it at all. It's been like this for a couple hours now. All of the vets and animal hospitals are closed because of the outage. Is there anything I can do to help him while I wait for the power to come back on? Does he have a crate? If so, confining him to his crate to rest his leg for the remainder of the night could help if he only hurt his leg a bit. For stuff like this, I usually give it 24 hours before scheduling a vet visit unless the symptoms escalate (like limping getting worse or vocalizing pain). Also, posting pictures of him here may help. 
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Jul 9, 2013 03:28
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Thank you very much for the help. Yes he has a crate and he's in it now. I don't hear anything from him except him sometimes drinking water, and his snoring. Since it's now so late I'll wait until at least the morning before deciding to take him to the vet or not based on how he's looking. I'll definitely post some photos when I'm able to post from my PC!
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Jul 9, 2013 04:29
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I have question. We had a dog/puppy just show up the other day. I live out in the country so it isn't anything new. This is the fourth stray that has showed up in the last five years. We were looking for a new dog here lately anyway. We're starting to crate train her, but the issue is that there is a 10 hour period that my wife and I aren't home on the days that we both work. I don't want to keep her in the crate for 10 hours, but the little poo poo has already ruined three pairs of shoes, electronic wires, etc. I have a dog lot that I'm not using right now. Would it be alright to put her in the dog lot outside on those days? I don't know enough about dogs to know if this would gently caress with her head with her being so young. The dog lot is about 250 yards away from the house. Oh yeah, here she is. My wife named her Annie since she showed up on our wedding anniversary. Sorry for the quality but it was taken on my very old cell phone the night she showed up. 
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Jul 10, 2013 22:57
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edit-This issue is being resolved
EllisD fucked around with this message at 01:20 on Jul 11, 2013 |
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Jul 11, 2013 01:04
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Daedra posted:I have question. We had a dog/puppy just show up the other day. I live out in the country so it isn't anything new. This is the fourth stray that has showed up in the last five years. We were looking for a new dog here lately anyway. We're starting to crate train her, but the issue is that there is a 10 hour period that my wife and I aren't home on the days that we both work. I don't want to keep her in the crate for 10 hours, but the little poo poo has already ruined three pairs of shoes, electronic wires, etc. I have a dog lot that I'm not using right now. Would it be alright to put her in the dog lot outside on those days? I don't know enough about dogs to know if this would gently caress with her head with her being so young. The dog lot is about 250 yards away from the house. 10 hours is too long to be in a crate for a single stretch, for any dog. If your ultimate goal is to leave her in the house unsupervised, I'm concerned that it may be difficult to transition to that from a start outside. But maybe not. As long as the dog is safe in the run, she'll probably be fine, but remember that dogs are social creatures, so she's likely to get lonely. Be diligent to spend time with her when you aren't working.
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Jul 11, 2013 14:49
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So I'm looking for an outdoor peg of some sort to leash my dog to. Ideally something I can drill/hammer into the ground so I can attach her to it while I do gardening without her running onto the road. I'm not even sure what to google and I checked my Local Home Depot and nothing really fit the bill. Anyone have any suggestions?
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Jul 11, 2013 15:29
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m.hache posted:So I'm looking for an outdoor peg of some sort to leash my dog to. Ideally something I can drill/hammer into the ground so I can attach her to it while I do gardening without her running onto the road. It's called a dog tieout stake.
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Jul 11, 2013 15:30
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Nyarai posted:It's called a dog tieout stake. Thank you. Sometimes it's just the wording that get's me. Another question: Our little Nyx has been very vocal as of late. I find she will just randomly start barking at us, usually when we are eating. We try to feed her at the same time as us to prevent this type of behavior. Other times she will just start barking at us during play time (She will be content with chewing on a toy then get up and start barking). I'm assuming it's because she wants to play but I would like to know if there is a way to curb this vocalization.
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Jul 11, 2013 15:40
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I'd probably teach a quiet cue, which normally comes shortly after you teach your dog to bark on cue. Capturing a behaviour (like barking) then putting it on stimulus control (creating a speak command) and then rarely cuing it is a good way to extinguish problem behaviour. Once your dog has an understanding of a bark/silence cue, and if your dog opts to continue to demand bark, I would start implementing time outs. Cue silence once, then on the next bark mark it with a "whoops" or something, and immediately move the dog to a time out room (ideally something boring like a bathroom). Wait for 20-30 seconds for silence, and then let the dog out and continue on as normal. You will have to be consistent, and it's possible the behaviour will intensify before it's extinguished, but ultimately it should cut down on demand barking. I also see a lot of dogs figure out a pattern that makes people pay attention to them. Dog barks -> person says "no" -> dog barks -> person turns their back, denying attention -> dog is silent -> person praises and gives treats. I see a lot of dogs figure out this behaviour chain in classes and will manipulate their handler into paying attention to them without the handler understanding they're being manipulated. The dog knows full well if it barks it will eventually get a treat. If you see a chain start, try to preempt it rather than react to it. Instead of catching your dog being bad and reacting to a bark, try to catch your dog being good and reward before the barking starts. Be on the look out for creating unwanted behaviour chains.
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Jul 11, 2013 15:57
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a life less posted:I'd probably teach a quiet cue, which normally comes shortly after you teach your dog to bark on cue. Capturing a behaviour (like barking) then putting it on stimulus control (creating a speak command) and then rarely cuing it is a good way to extinguish problem behaviour. A little digging turns up this article on teaching speak/quiet http://www.myk9kingdom.com/blog/teaching-your-dog-to-speak-on-cue-and-be-quiet-on-cue/ Hopefully I can drill past the full on puppy energy and get this to stick. Thanks
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Jul 11, 2013 16:14
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I've never lived in an area where I've actually wanted to walk the dogs until just recently. What's good dog-walking etiquette? I'm planning on carrying plastic bags for poop, but will my dog peeing in someone's yard anger the neighbors? I'm planning on letting them take a potty break in the yard before we leave the house, but, you know.. poo poo happens.
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Jul 12, 2013 16:44
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TShields posted:I've never lived in an area where I've actually wanted to walk the dogs until just recently. What's good dog-walking etiquette? I'm planning on carrying plastic bags for poop, but will my dog peeing in someone's yard anger the neighbors? I'm planning on letting them take a potty break in the yard before we leave the house, but, you know.. poo poo happens. Depends on the neighbor. Try to avoid it so you don't burn their grass, but I don't think anyone's going to come out and scream at you over it. Not a normal person anyways. Definitely pick up the poop, don't be that guy.
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Jul 12, 2013 17:53
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TShields posted:What's good dog-walking etiquette?
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Jul 12, 2013 19:01
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MrFurious posted:Depends on the neighbor. Try to avoid it so you don't burn their grass, but I don't think anyone's going to come out and scream at you over it. Not a normal person anyways. Definitely pick up the poop, don't be that guy. Yeah, don't worry about that. The one and only time I took my dog to the beach, I let her wander the little pre-designated grass dog walking area for about 10 minutes to make sure she didn't have to go, but she got 5 feet into the sand and dropped a massive pile in a heavy traffic area. I was mortified, but my wife was able to stand guard while I had to poke through a nearby trashcan to find something to throw it away with. That's also when we discovered that our lab hates getting into the water. I knew she hated getting rained on, but labs normally love to swim.. or so I thought. That was a lovely beach trip. The puppy loves to go out in the yard in the rain and get soaked, maybe he'll be the swimmer in the family.
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Jul 12, 2013 20:56
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TShields posted:What's good dog-walking etiquette? I always walk in the road and keep them out of peoples' yards completely (unless they are DYINGGGG to poop and even then only in the first 1-2 feet of the yard). If there is a sidewalk, they are only allowed on the sidewalk or the little grass strip between the sidewalk and road. IMO that is fair game for dog pottying. Then I take note if people are extra sensitive about their yards on my normal route and make sure to keep the dogs off of all grass near their yard.
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Jul 12, 2013 23:15
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TShields posted:What's good dog-walking etiquette? Clean up after your dog craps. Don't let your dog greet any strange person/dog without the other person's say. If the person moves themselves or their dog away, do NOT try to force an introduction. I don't let my dogs toilet in people's gardens, because that's their property. My dogs relieve themselves on the stretches of grass that nobody owns or on the pavement.
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Jul 12, 2013 23:20
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Rixatrix posted:Do not let your dog approach another dog without asking first. If someone goes out of their way to avoid you and your dog, do not approach them at all. Yes. I don't care if you think your dog is friendly as hell, not putting them on a lead or letting them run up while I'm trying to keep mine away is rude at best and dangerous at worst.
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Jul 12, 2013 23:43
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Wabznasm posted:Yes. I don't care if you think your dog is friendly as hell, not putting them on a lead or letting them run up while I'm trying to keep mine away is rude at best and dangerous at worst. This, this, this. I'm working with my reactive dog on better behaviour while walking past other dogs. I live in a densely populated neighbourhood and ask the same people over and over to not approach my dog. They rarely listen. I've gone as far as telling them he is very dog-aggressive (even though he isn't) and sometimes they still don't listen. If you want to let your dog off-leash, please make sure you can still control them without their leash.
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Jul 13, 2013 21:26
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Thanks to my fiance's absentmindedness, Jordan has eaten half a loaf of whole wheat bread. Is there anything in particular I need to do for her, aside from await the coming gastrointestinal horror in stoic silence?
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Jul 15, 2013 18:32
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a life less posted:Crate training will help with housebreaking. I think you're running the risk of the puppy getting up in the middle of the night to relieve himself quietly. You're welcome to try it and see if it works until it doesn't. No one will chastise you for not crate training. The chastising comes when you're complaining of housebreaking issues and not crate training. m.hache posted:She was doing so well at first
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Jul 15, 2013 20:04
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Nyarai posted:Thanks to my fiance's absentmindedness, Jordan has eaten half a loaf of whole wheat bread. Is there anything in particular I need to do for her, aside from await the coming gastrointestinal horror in stoic silence? At yeast she didn't eat the whole thing. I'd think it depends on the dog really. Our 65 lb lab ate 8 whole wheat hamburger buns the other day with no side effects. The worst he ever ate was 10 huge Costco muffins and a pound of butter one evening. Luckily, he threw most of it up that night and his poops were back to normal within 24 hours.
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Jul 15, 2013 20:13
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He's actually come along leaps and bounds inside his gated off bathroom. Barely a peep when we put him in for the night, and last night we sleep the entire night without being woken up. Today's the first day we have both gone to work, leaving him 'crated' with me going home at lunch to find him being very well behaved. The accidents still happen, but it's almost always my fault for not recognizing or taking him out after a nap or dinner etc. I'd say he's getting the hang of things. Doberman/mastiff mix by the way. He's gonna be big I think.
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Jul 15, 2013 20:17
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Is there any way to curb the puppy spaz-attack that happens when you first let them out of a kennel? He spends a full minute squealing with delight and jumping up on me to say hello. Our older dog is usually the same way but a bit calmer about it, but they now seem to amplify each other's "We're free!" freak-outs to the point where they're actively trying to undermine the other dog's fight for attention. The older dog has always been an attention whore. If you're sitting beside her petting a cat, she will try her damnedest insert her face between your hand and the cat's body. She'll do that with the puppy, too- if you're in the next room and she can hear you petting the other dog, she will rush in and try to get between the two of you.
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Jul 15, 2013 20:20
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coyo7e posted:Yeah, don't end up like me and She's already clean crate trained so I'm not sure why I was quoted. As of now we are one week without an accident and she is already walking to the door when she has to pee. She's also been sleeping in a bit more. She's a great pup.
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Jul 15, 2013 20:23
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How old and how long did you train her for? We're on week 2 or 3 and making progress, but still not there.
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Jul 15, 2013 20:27
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strikehold posted:How old and how long did you train her for? We're on week 2 or 3 and making progress, but still not there. She's 11 weeks old and when we got her she was more or less already crate trained. It took probably another week of reinforcement to lock the behavior in. My girlfriend is home with her all day and I home with her all night. There is only a 1 hour period where she is alone so she never got into the habit of soiling in her crate. At night we have an alarm set to wake us up. We wake the pup up and take her out. We're up to 3 hour intervals now and I'll be upping it to 3:30 in a week. I hoping by end of august we can wake up every 4 hours to take her out.
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Jul 15, 2013 20:32
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m.hache posted:We wake the pup up and take her out. We're up to 3 hour intervals now and I'll be upping it to 3:30 in a week.
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Jul 15, 2013 20:46
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Riiseli posted:It's quite common for puppies even w/o a crate to sleep happily for 7 hrs at three months of age. Restricting movement via crate nearly guarantees there will be no accidents (if the puppy is not tiny). Besides most dogs (puppy or not) will raise a ruckus if they need to go and are in an area (be it a crate, room or a house) they consider a place not to be soiled. And the smaller the area the higher the likelihood of this happening and you waking up. I've certainly never had an overnight accident after the dogs have been house trained. We wanted to make sure she didn't get into the habit of barking to get us to come let her out so we took to the alarm method. We will transition over to the all night session soon (Aiming for September)
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Jul 15, 2013 20:48
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