[tara]

hello my name is jason me and my girlfriend recently picked up our ab she is 8 weeks old her name is Madison.
we are in a diff of opinion when it comes to disciplining maddy
I am fairly aggressive with her i never hit her or anything but tara seems to think that i am out of line ""sometimes""
Madison does diff things that i think require diff levels of discipline. for instance i will give her a stern "no " for biting while playing then if she doesn't get it i will grab her by the scruff and become deeper and more AGGRESIVE in my tone
i found her eating a bag of poop that by my own fault left in the back yard i let her out to go potty
and when i came back maybe 5 min later she had ripped in to it this freaked me out
but still i was only stern maybe a little louder than for the biting while playing
i also use a submissive hold in conjunction with these things i have described before
sorry for rambling but i just want her to be a good dog !
a well trained dog i think bad dogs are made by bad people decisions
so i want to know if a i am making the correct one in this case
please fell free to criticize i need more training than Madison does I'm sure
by the way this my first dog i love her very much this is why i am aggressive with the ob??
thank you all for your time and help
Jason

 

[Beetle]

All puppies need discipline, and need to be taught what the rules are. Sometimes it's difficult to show restraint when they frustrate the heck out of you. But you also don't want them to end up fearing you. A fearful dog is a dangerous dog. There are many different views on the proper amount of force and dominance needed to train a dog, but I strongly believe that positive reinforcement is the best way to train a puppy. I wouldn't grab the scruff of the neck, but I would give a stern "NO" and end the play session right there when he starts biting. They learn quickly that their plaything (you) goes away when they bite. With my dog Yote, who was the worst nipper alive, I would gently push his snout down and give a stern "NO" when he'd nip. If he continuted, I'd do it again and walk away. They understand what pushing the snout down means, because an adult dog would do just that, except they'd use their mouth to do it. Another thing that has worked for many is using a squirt bottle to curb bad behavior. When he nips, give him a quick squirt in the face. This didn't work for my dog because he started liking being squirted in the face, but it works for lots of others. It's harmless and usually effective. Some think this method is too soft, but I've got two exceptionally well behaved dogs, both barely over 1 year old.

Again, I think it's very important that your dog understands that you are the leader, without fearing you. Fearful dogs are unstable and unpredictable. And it's very possible to instill fear in a puppy if you're too aggressive with them.

Oh, and I would strongly suggest puppy kindergarten and obedience training classes if you aren't thinking of that already (at the proper age of course). This enforces your role as the leader, strengthens your bond, socializes your puppy, and is mentally and physically stimulating for them.

 

[gazar]

The only thing that I want to say is to not expect a puppy to remember and
behave as an adult dog would. Puppies are learning and they learn
through example and training. Good luck.

 

[LegendsMami]

At 8 weeks old she is trying to learn what is acceptable and what is not acceptable by you and your girlfriend. a firm "No" and gently closing her mouth if she is biting should do the trick. If she continues get up and end playing for 10-15 minutes. Repeat this if she starts up again. She will soon realize that her biting in not acceptable by you and she will stop. Once she fully understands when you say No and refuses then you may need to bump it up at notch to let her know you are in charge and what you say goes. As far as her eating the bag of poop never leave her alone even for 5 minutes in a not puppy proofed area. Pups get into everything and will eat just about anything. I used the alpha roll on my pup when he was younger and got out of hand and now don't ever really have to do it. For example- Madison is now say 4 months and is now starting to nip at hands and when playing jumps and trys to nip your face. This is a major No No and by now she knows biting is not allowed. A scruff grab and maybe even combined with an alpha roll maybe needed(depending on her personality) to get your point across.....At 8 weeks pups are still learning so be firm but not aggressive and be consistent in her discipline.

 

[Redbull]

The only thing that I want to say is to not expect a puppy to remember and
behave as an adult dog would. Puppies are learning and they learn
through example and training. Good luck.

I agree with this, and also remember that puppies should be allowed to be puppies. Crate train them when they are young and then start obedience when they are old enough.

 

[Lisa]

I agree that puppies will be puppies.

If their shenanigans annoy you that much then crate them. Thats what i do. Better than having to constantly correct them for normal puppy behaviour that they will usually outgrow on their own anyways.

Take them out to potty, play, and do ob (yes you can do ob now). I started ob immediately upon recieving my female but it was always fun and positive. I actually hand fed her for about the first 4 months I had her before she even saw a bowl. If you put a good ob foundation on a young pup, when they get a bit older and do something to annoy you, you can easily get them under control ( a solid down command will do wonders). The key is to keep it a postiive experience for the puppy, physical corrections are seomthing to bring in later when they are older and understand the commands you are giving them. Also, if you hand feed a pup all the time (or at least most of the time) where do you think they are going to go when you let them out of the crate? They are going to run right to you instead of looking for trouble because they know you are the key to their meals :lol: . Get that puppy foucssed on you so it doesn't get bored and want to go and tear stuff apart. Don't leave toys laying around (you decide when the toys come out) and teach your pup that all the good things in life come from you. The pups world is as only big as you make it. That is a huge advantage to have in terms of getting a well trained dog.

 

[tara]

thank you

thanks for the tips
just a few more questions
i think i may have the wrong idea about crate training from what i know and how we use it :
it is for bed time which she actually does really well with
do i only let her out for potty ,play and food
i was told not to use it in a negative way
IE when we are at home relaxing i want to spend time with her
she is usually just hanging out sleeping in the living room or playing with her toys now she will sometime during play do the biting thing i will correct her with a stern "no " she usually continues it seems as though she means no harm just being playful but i don't want her to think its OK so i will after reading your posts
a. put her in the crate {i don't want to use it negatively}??
b. tell her no again and give her a toy to chew instead
c. the vet suggested curling her lip under to poke it with her own tooth and say no ??
d. give a stern no and stop play by ignoring her which sometimes she will continue to come back again and again
really don't want her afraid of water so the squirt bottle thing kind of scares me a bit but im willing to do what is best for her
from your comments i will remember she is only a pup and is still learning so i will be more patient with her
i just did not want to let asmall problem become a big one

hopefully you guys dont get tired of my questions i just want to be sure what method to use so i can be confident and consistant in its use
i do want to do kindergarden training as soon as she can wich is after all of her shot's correct???

 

[Lisa]

Why do you feel that if you crate the puppy during the day that this is negativity?

If the pup is being annoying or destructive, put it in the crate. Much easier that having to constantly correct a puppy for just being a puppy anyways. If you enjoy all the antics of your puppy then so be it but there is a very simple solution to the problems you are having. The type of issues you are describing (biting and getting into things) is just normal puppy behaviour that will go away on its own once the dog is out of puppyhood. To each their own but I find it way less stressful to keep young puppies crated when I can't pay 100% attention to them.

 

[tara]

thanks again

thanks for replying
i just wanted to make sure i was using the crate properly
seemed like a negative thing or for lack of a better word punishment to crate her when she is to crazy wich she is really well mannered actually
i was told the crate should be a positive thing
so that s why i was asking
i am so new at all of this i must sound really ignorant but the truth is i am
and just want to make sure I'm doing the correct things for her
i really really appreciate all of the help on this board
thanks to all!!!

 

[Lisa]

Glad to help.

If you are worried about the crate being a negative experience to your dog, keep a bag of biscuits on top of the crate (buy the small ones so your dog doesnt gain too much wieght) and everytime you put the puppy in the crate throw a biscuit in first. Before long the puppy will anticiapte this and go running into the crate before you can even open the bag. You could also buy Kong toys or other doggie toys that you can stuff with treats and give that to them to enjoy while resting in their crate.

 

[Beetle]

Glad to help.

If you are worried about the crate being a negative experience to your dog, keep a bag of biscuits on top of the crate (buy the small ones so your dog doesnt gain too much wieght) and everytime you put the puppy in the crate throw a biscuit in first. Before long the puppy will anticiapte this and go running into the crate before you can even open the bag. You could also buy Kong toys or other doggie toys that you can stuff with treats and give that to them to enjoy while resting in their crate.

That works like a charm. Tala loves her crate and does run in there when I tell her "crate".

 

[Dylan]

Ive found with my oeb that it is much easier to train them to do something you want them to do then it is to to train them to not do something. So when I correct him I try to imediatly show him what I would rather have him do. Example-I always have a toy of some sort with me-If he playfully bites I Give a abrupt NO!-when he looks at me I instanly give him the toy. I then have to find a different toy right away for the next time. We got our puppy when he was 10 weeks-it took about 2 weeks of this consistantly before he got the hang of it and became more polite.

I wouldn't recommend physicle disipline-for the most part your puppy will just think you are randomly psycotic anl could possibly grow up to fear you. You can still be the dominant one without being physicle-think of it as the relationship you have with your boss he doesn't have to hit you to get you to obey, but he is the socially dominant one. I would recomend reading any book by Patricia Mconnell http://www.dogsbestfriendtraining.com

Hope I didn't talk your ear off