Tips and tricks for young mischievous pup

[coskigirl]

We have a fairly large fenced in backyard where he runs free.

That’s good but I’d suggest still doing games of fetch etc. He may run free but not exhaust himself if he’s just running around randomly.

 

[Tricia]

So ... due to persistent vomiting, I drove the puppy to the emergency vet at 1am and stayed until 3 when surgery started. I’m told a not insignificant number of Legos have been removed from his stomach and bowels. I’m also told that he has since eaten and pooped and is currently enjoying a nap. So, a few first class plane tickets later ... good Lord. I’d post the pic of all the puke in the backseat of my car, but I don’t want to see it again. @Dave Petersen sometimes stuff just happens ...

Wow, sorry you had to deal with that. Hope your pup is going to be okay.

 

[crgildart]

Random thoughts.

Don‘t use a “choke” collar and don’t use a pinch collar. Period. They may work, but current thought is that when they do, it is for the wrong reason. A Gentle Leader, Halti, or No Pull Harness work better. Combine with positive reinforcement.

+1 to the Gentle Leader. Strongest dog I've ever owned is 100% manageable and happy walking with it. Getting her to hold still and let me put it on is another story... Holding still so I can remove it when we're back home is never a problem though hahahaha.

 

[Tricia]

Random thoughts.

Don‘t use a “choke” collar and don’t use a pinch collar. Period. They may work, but current thought is that when they do, it is for the wrong reason. A Gentle Leader, Halti, or No Pull Harness work better. Combine with positive reinforcement.

I agree 1000%.
We got Gypsy an Easy Walk at the recommendation of her trainer/behavior specialist. Such a good tool

I could entertain for an hour or two with stories about what we have removed from the stomach and intestines of dogs and cats. A little tidbit (not that I would recommend testing it out): Labrador Retrievers can pass almost anything that they can swallow. We once saw a Lab pass a bath towel in his bowel movement.

I can only imagine.


My sister had a dog that ate the orange chocolates that you get at Christmas time, including the foil wrapping.
They had no idea until later when the dog was pooping and yelping as the foil came out.
I'm shocked that she didn't have issues with the chocolate.

ent.

Our perfect dog, Feebee, did about $1500-2000 worth of damage when she first arrived in our home (and really all my fault). She was raised for show and spent the first year of her life in a kennel type of housing with 25 other Goldens (all immaculate, healthy and happy). So when we obtained her, she had never been in a house. Within her 1st 48 hours with us, she urinated on an oriental rug, ripped the pocket off of one of my Gore-Tex jackets, chewed up one of my shoes, chewed up our universal remote, and knocked over and damaged one of my (really good) stereo speakers. After using a crate, getting a behavior consult, and getting her into a training class with clicker training, we guided her towards a rewarding life with us. Food rewards work well for her.

I would never have guessed that of perfect Feebee!
This should give Dave some comfort that he's not alone.


@Dave Petersen This video is quite similar to the training I did with Otis. You may find it useful.

Like bbinder said, a treat based training can work wonders with a dog who's driven by food.
Gypsy is the first dog I've ever had that didn't motivate by treats.

 

[Dave Petersen]

That’s good but I’d suggest still doing games of fetch etc. He may run free but not exhaust himself if he’s just running around randomly.

In the evening he goes crazy running doing figure 8s around the trees.

 

[VickieH]

Sounds like you've been watching Humans.

Nope. (Had to Google it.) I got out of the TV habit a few years ago and have never gotten back into it.

I recall the phrase about recharging from something many years ago about toddlers.

 

[VickieH]

Last year my neighbor's golden-doodle played one of the kids' games. The game is a board that's tacked up on a wall and there are little velcro pieces you stick to it. The dog hid the velcro pieces. One emergency surgery and $5000 later, the vet found all of them.

 

[skiki]

In the evening he goes crazy running doing figure 8s around the trees.

Evening zoomies are good. But what wears him out in the morning to help all of you to get through the day with not only your sanity but also your belongings intact? Does he fetch? If you have a hill nearby where you can let him off leash, that's ideal for fetch. Not only do you have a good chance of your throw rolling farther away, but it will take him more effort to run back uphill to return it to you. Years ago when we lived in Albuquerque with two goldens and a tiny yard, a nearby park with a nice hill was our key to tired dogs. We used a rubber ring for fetch, and often on the way back the boys would end up in a game of tug before the victor presented us with the ring for another go.

 

[oldschoolskier]

One of our vet friends came home and found her German Sheppard choking to death, into the car and back to the clinic......found a finger stuck in its throat. Apparently the dog stopped an intruder in the house, police found blood in the bedroom but no intruder was ever found nor did he show up in emergency.

Guess risk of infection is better than embarrassment of admitting to B&E and getting arrested.

 

[JeffB]

Wow, sorry you had to deal with that. Hope your pup is going to be okay.

I’m told that he ate again, pooped some more, and is back to happily napping now. Goldens are a lot like the decent looking, reasonably smart, teenage boys of the dog world ... everything usually works out just fine in spite of themselves.

 

[coskigirl]

One of our vet friends came home and found her German Sheppard choking to death, into the car and back to the clinic......found a finger stuck in its throat. Apparently the dog stopped an intruder in the house, police found blood in the bedroom but no intruder was ever found nor did he show up in emergency.

Guess risk of infection is better than embarrassment of admitting to B&E and getting arrested.

Years ago friends of my mom had a german shepherd and 2 cocker spaniels. The shepherd was younger and grew up with a cocker spaniel bark that he never lost. One time someone broke into a neighbor's house and for some reason was fleeing out the backyard. They decided that they could handle a couple of small dogs and jumped the fence to find the german. He also had some police training so needless to say he cornered the criminal until police arrived.

 

[Dave Petersen]

Evening zoomies are good. But what wears him out in the morning to help all of you to get through the day with not only your sanity but also your belongings intact? Does he fetch? If you have a hill nearby where you can let him off leash, that's ideal for fetch. Not only do you have a good chance of your throw rolling farther away, but it will take him more effort to run back uphill to return it to you. Years ago when we lived in Albuquerque with two goldens and a tiny yard, a nearby park with a nice hill was our key to tired dogs. We used a rubber ring for fetch, and often on the way back the boys would end up in a game of tug before the victor presented us with the ring for another go.

I gave him a plastic grass seed container a couple months ago he loves playing fetch with.

 

[tch]

Against my better judgement I ventured here.
I'm sorry to say that many of these stories reinforce our decision not to go down the dog route again after our well-loved, well-behaved lab of 16 years passed on.
Props to those who can put up with this kind of chaos in their lives.

 

[coskigirl]

Another thought, what about periodic doggie daycare? My foster mentor is actually suggesting that we might get approval to put Hatch there when I’m in class on Saturday to help with his separation anxiety. I know others that use it regularly to help exhaust and reduce destructive behavior.

 

[oldschoolskier]

@raytseng posted in another thread but extremely applicable here, so here is it is (I’m not taking credit for this one).


Highlights dominance and control.

 

[raytseng]

I think it highlights the value a puppy gets from having enough weeks with the litter and a disciplined real dog mom to hopefully learn about good behavior from mom (although all dogs are individually different). Did everyone else also stop goofing off and straighten once mom started barking/growling?

 

[Tricia]

Another thought, what about periodic doggie daycare? My foster mentor is actually suggesting that we might get approval to put Hatch there when I’m in class on Saturday to help with his separation anxiety. I know others that use it regularly to help exhaust and reduce destructive behavior.

Coincidently I'm typing this as we're in the car driving Gypsy to her doggie day camp.
Its relatively inexpensive and is proving to be invaluable for the separation anxiety.

I think it highlights the value a puppy gets from having enough weeks with the litter and a disciplined real dog mom to hopefully learn about good behavior from mom (although all dogs are individually different). Did everyone else also stop goofing off and straighten once mom started barking/growling?

@Andy Mink had this theory when he got Tule. He figured having the pup while the old girl Pepper was still around to help in training was a good thing. Tule and Pondo are both really good dogs, other than the occasional pillow eating.

 

[crgildart]

Reason 97340734 why we can't have nice things.. PUPPIES!

 

[Tim Hodgson]

That's just a beautiful video of the Maremma* mother doing socialization training with her pups. Thank you for posting.

I barked and growled at our shelter dog Kiva when she was younger to establish dominance in conjunction with correcting her bad behavior. Talk to your pup in the language that he or she understands i.e., dog sounds. Work with him or her to learn your human language later, as the dog matures.

Not much more vocal aggression is needed once dominance is established. Just speaking her "Name" and a stern look at her after that would let Kiva know that she needed to correct her bad behavior.

Some dogs need more. I still laugh at myself chasing my buddy's American Eskimo at a full run around the yard and up and down the veranda growling and barking because he had tried to corner and bite our cat. He was a teenager and really smart and experienced with humans by the time he met me. And he was quite surprised by the chase. He never really looked at me the same way after that. Which was good for our relationship.

Not to correct bad behavior, but to get her attention I would also stand in front of her, have her sit, point at my eyes and say "Kiva, look at my eyes." Which she would, then I would speak the command or admonition. With Kiva the admonition was usually "Gentle. . ." She never bit any person, but when new people would come over she could get too playful at times. We trained her to understand the softly-spoken command "Gentle..."

Once dominance is established it is mostly increasing the frequency of good behavior by use of treats and praise.

It really is no different than any type of instruction.

As a ski instructor I movement analyze a student's weaknesses and strengths.

And then try:

Corrective progression(s)/movement(s)

and

Developmental progression(s)/movement(s).

The better the student gets the more we work on developmental progression/movement(s).

I have never tried treats with my students, but praise in response to demonstrable improvement usually works.

P.S.:
"Things" are overrated.
Life is underrated.
Relationships between living beings are why we are on Earth for now.

* At first I thought it was a Golden Retriever, but when I listened to the video with the volume on, I heard Italian, so I think it is a Maremma Sheepdog. Speaking of which this a GREAT MOVIE (and a true story) about a wayward Maremma:

P.P.S. Credit to LiquidFeet who taught me how to snip.

 

[Dave Petersen]

Wow, neutering day (Tuesday) can’t get here soon enough. I know it is not the magic pill, but it can’t hurt. Yesterday’s long walk worked well to wear him down, so I planned to do the same today. First half hour went pretty well, but then I had a half hour of mounting/jumping/biting. It was pretty miserable. He started shredding my jacket with me in it — both sleeves, both pockets, and on the back. I’m wondering if the breeder sold him to us too soon — 8 weeks.

I step on his leash and try to keep him low to the ground until he calms down, but that didn’t work today. None of his commands work — he just gets in a frenzy. He has to be tired because I’m worn out battling him.

I may not walk him any more until after his surgery.