Trouble with my new puppy.

[MilwMark]

It is interesting how polarized this gets. Our vet is a big proponent of positive based training. Heck, he doesn't have exam tables in the standard rooms. He just gets right down on the floor with the dog and reserves tables for procedures where they are needed. But even he says you need both positive and negative reinforcement, especially with some dogs. The form of the negative reinforcement is key ("no", or a yip/pretend pain and stopping the fun activity or ignoring them, etc.). False dichotomies are, well, you know.

 

[getbent]

My point is simply that achieving the effect you want does not make the method used to achieve it "good".

yes, the price to achieve the effect is ridiculously high.

 

[Toadtele]

I have gotten a lot of good advice from this thread. Some of which we have already implemented and the early results are favorable.
I appreciate all the input. Even though there has been some disagreements, it’s obvious everyone who contributed cares about the well being of man’s best friend.
We love this little hellion, and will do whatever it takes for the three of us to be a happy damn family.

Thanks guys!

 

[Pointmonger]

Haven't gone through the entire thread yet, but I have a ton of experience with dogs. My dogs are bullet proof and I end up taking a lot of dogs in for stretches that have behavioral issues or weird personality quirks. After a few days, most show a lot of improvement.

One thing they hate is being ignored. A lot of behavior issues can be fixed by just ending the situation and putting them in "time out". They want your affection and will quickly learn what gets them that and what doesn't. Immediately discourage unwanted behavior that way.

You just need to be firm about it.

I would also find some older dogs you trust to socialize the pup with. They learn more about appropriate behavior from them than you can imagine. I have always had an older dog at home before getting a puppy. A adult dog will set them straight very quickly.

 

[oregomike]

my wife and I got a six week old French bulldog on Christmas Eve. We have been without dogs for five years and we’re very excited.
About the second week that we had her she started to get very aggressive with us. She hasn’t been destructive with her toys or anything else but she tries to bite us constantly. It is getting so bad that we cannot even cuddle with her. It seems to be just playtime for her. She doesn’t seem agitated or angry.
She has gotten my wife pretty bad a couple times. Drawing blood. Last night my wife broke down and started bawling. This morning was just horrible. As soon as we fed this little girl she just started attacking my wife.
I am so upset about this. I know she is very young and this may just be a phase.
My wife wanted a puppy for so long and she was so happy when we got her. This morning she said she’s not sure if she wants to keep her. I am just devastated.

Get a trainer ASAP, the pup might be too young, but at least they can consult you how to address this behavior with your pup. Don't wait.

 

[sax4blues]

Five pages in and you never mentioned that ear? That’s the first thing I’d fix, he can chew on my leg all he wants.

 

[Cosmic Cowboy]

You have a Bulldog. I have an English bulldog. It is just a matter of having a playful puppy with a stubborn bulldog temperament. Given the age it was separated from mamma, you will have a stage 5 clinger until about 3yrs old.

Smile, you have a great companion.

 

[haggardfan1]

We had a rough couple of months with this guy. I was out of the house 12 hours a day so my wife was taking the brunt of it. There were lots of tears.

We got a trainer for several months and that, plus general maturing, made a world of a difference. Part of it was simply understanding that the behavior he was exhibiting was in the normal range and would improve.

The only thing we were unable to break was food motivation. There’s no leaving food unattended on the countertops in our household.

Best of luck.

View attachment 939357

If this is a Lab, I feel your pain.
Mine nipped and mouthed us while teething, although it was more a nuisance than a hazard. Time and correction fixed that, but he is definitely food obsessed. He'll let me eat with him present, but I don't leave anything out unattended.

He and our female pit mix once pulled an entire cast iron skillet full of hot spaghetti sauce off the stove; its a wonder they weren't hurt.

 

[DesmoDog]

I haven't had a boatload of dogs, but have had enough to know what works with one might not work with another. Some of the stuff Sophia responded to at first didn't work a little later.

Yep, puppies bite. Nope, you don't know what to do about it, so find a professional. The pro will tell you puppies bite and here's what to do. NOT going to a pro means reading comments in an internet forum and choosing the method that's the easiest to believe.

As someone mentioned, the trainer isn't really for the dog... I had Sophia in an agility training class. I was trying to get her to do some combination jump and she just wasn't getting it. So I had her lined up to try again when the instructor walked up next to me to show me what to do. We had out backs to Sophia. Instructor showed me the movement/command. Right after that, Sophia raced by us doing what we wanted. I said "Yeah... you're not training the dogs here, are you?" She just laughed.

We have a border collie/Australian shepard mix now that is absolutely terrified of rain/wind/thunder/fireworks/etc. Out of his mind bat schmidt crazy terror. Every single person that tells me all I need to do is buy a Thundershirt is risking a punch to the throat, but so far my reply has been "Thanks, but you have never had a dog with massive storm anxiety"

Which is usually met with something like "Oh no, our golden was really bad, she would whine and cower something fierce, but with a Thundershirt she slept right through it!"

To which I repeat "No, you have never had a dog with massive storm anxiety..."

Whine and cower? How about after failing to get through a window, switching to trying to tear through a wall to get out of a room he trapped himself in when the storm came. The thing is, that window he was trying to get through is three stories up. Ollie don't care. I completely believe he would have made the leap and tried to figure out the landing once he was in the air.

Or how about shaking so bad I'm afraid his teeth are going to break? He's already missing one. Someone before us thought he would be ok in a crate. Nope. He doesn't lay there wishing he could get out, he doesn't lay there wishing you would let him out, he just goes postal getting the fook out of there. Is that blood? Whatever! Ollie ain't got time to bleed, he's got places to be! Anywhere other than where he is, and NOW!

I give him prescription meds, and they have to be administered well BEFORE the storm hits. They will not touch him once he's set off.

Oh yeah, and then there are the people that suggest the "music for dogs" stuff. Miracles they say. Dogs fall asleep in minutes. You know what I found? It only kind of works if it's loud enough to drown out the noises, but he can still feel the pressures. You know what works better? Classic Rock. Seriously. Led Zeppelin seems to be one of his favorites. Cashmere, played really loud seems to get his attention. Who knew???

 

[stantheman]

Newspaper across the head is their wakeup call. They bite You? Newspaper. They growl at You? Tribune.
Something in The Sound puts the fear of Almighty Dog in them. The Crunch maybe.
They get it... quickly ...down under.

Americans have said on countless occasions The French are very Rude.
Be thankful it's not a French Mastiff or a Blood Hound.

I was owned by the most vicious Lab in Warner New Hampshire. He loved his Cats and had ZERO TOLERANCE for other dogs. Musta been one of them Amur Labrador Retrievers.
SOB would think nothing of going through a window to get at either a Dog or a Stranger. Thank Dog the mail box was across the street...the only first floor windows he didn't go through were above the sink. A True Red Dog. Bred to hunt and everything was on the menu. He left This World on May 23, 2011 - I'm certain there was a collective sigh of relief in Warner. I kept his Ashes they're nearby.

6 weeks...let him Initiate The Love. Does he sleep by himself? Might need a ticking clock for security. Six weeks is almost too young to be away from Mummy.

 

[Cpb2020]

If this is a Lab, I feel your pain.
Mine nipped and mouthed us while teething, although it was more a nuisance than a hazard. Time and correction fixed that, but he is definitely food obsessed. He'll let me eat with him present, but I don't leave anything out unattended.

He and our female pit mix once pulled an entire cast iron skillet full of hot spaghetti sauce off the stove; its a wonder they weren't hurt.

It is indeed a lab. And he’s “big and tall” (115 lbs, but not overweight) which allows ease of access to countertops. A true counter / table surfer.

 

[GeneB]

This thread has trained me. Not to ask for advice on dog training in a guitar forum

 

[Toadtele]

This thread has trained me. Not to ask for advice on dog training in a guitar forum

Ha! Common sense would argue against it. But I’ve gotten some great advice from the good folks here. Gardening, jeep repair, you name it, somebody here knows all about it and is willing to help. Great site!

 

[Toadtele]

Haven't gone through the entire thread yet, but I have a ton of experience with dogs. My dogs are bullet proof and I end up taking a lot of dogs in for stretches that have behavioral issues or weird personality quirks. After a few days, most show a lot of improvement.

One thing they hate is being ignored. A lot of behavior issues can be fixed by just ending the situation and putting them in "time out". They want your affection and will quickly learn what gets them that and what doesn't. Immediately discourage unwanted behavior that way.

You just need to be firm about it.

I would also find some older dogs you trust to socialize the pup with. They learn more about appropriate behavior from them than you can imagine. I have always had an older dog at home before getting a puppy. A adult dog will set them straight very quickly.

That’s a great point I hadn’t thought of. I’ve always had an older dog at home when I brought home a pup. This is the first time in almost 30 years that I’ve only had just a puppy.
Thank you for your input. Time to schedule a play date with my wife’s friends pugs.

 

[Duck Herder]

you mean punitive, right?

Probably
Let's say corporal punishment.

Notwithstanding, my dog is the local kennel agility champion and there was no ear biting or water spraying in the curriculum.
When you learn how to harness a dogs prey drive is when you can really get training done.
Of course Control Off Leash come before Agility, Puppy High School before that, Puppy Jr High before that, with Puppy Kindergarten as the first.
There are many other classes too. Scent Training and Herding are also excellent classes that build up your dog by harnessing it's prey drive.

 

[Chud]

This thread has trained me. Not to ask for advice on dog training in a guitar forum

Yeah, you'd think this was a thread on relics or PRS by some of the emoting going on here.

 

[Joe M]

Yet another thread that has gone way off the rails......