Hi i really need tips on dog training. My puppy is about 5 months old and we have taught her sit, down, paw and roll over. She is getting the basic commands fine but its the behavior she needs to improve. She sleeps in a crate during the night but when we put her there during the day, she cries for hours. We only put her in there when nobody can keep an eye on her. When she isn't in the crate, she has the run of the family room. She barks at the gate in there too. She just can't stand being alone. We have also tried putting her on a 20 ft run but she cries on that too. Also, she nips and bites a lot. I cant take her near young kids out in public because i fear she will bite one of them. She enjoys biting fingers, hands and faces. We have tried many types of toys and chew things to keep her occupied but nothing seems to work. Those are the major problems. Crying and biting. We are thinking of giving her away because of these. I know it doesn't seem bad but she can cry from 6 am to 11 am until someone finally goes crazy enough to get her. It's very annoying. So other dog lovers, please help shape up my dog! i could love to keep her but her behavior is really bad. We know some families who want a dog and are very loving so if worse comes to worse, they can take the dog. PLEASE HELP AND THANKS!
Recommended Answer:
This is kind of basic stuff. I hope you keep your committment to your perfectly good dog. You need to do something with this puppy. You should be doing a leash walk every morning for 30-45 minutes after her meal and elimination in the yard. Use your learned basic commands during the walk. Afterward, she will be tired and sleep in the crate. She may need some additional play time in the yard if she's a higher energy dog. Play chase and catch (fetch, retrieve), tug games, or whatever she likes. All this takes a good hour or more in the morning but that's what your dog needs -- it's not excessive as dogs go.
Take her out of the crate again at noon time and see how she's doing (does she want to play, lay down near you, run in the yard etc.) Puppies this age sleep a lot so don't be surprised if she just wants to sleep at your feet. Be prepared to give her 30 minutes of your time whether she wants to "be" with you or play in the yard. She'll no doubt need to urinate and drink too.
Let her have "free run" of the living room like you wrote when the most people are in and around there. She doesn't want free run to be alone -- put her in with the people. My dog gets run of the kitchen because that's where all the action is. Your dog is not independent (believe me you'd have it a lot worse if you had an independent dog -- think about that one if you don't get it).
She should have another leash walk in the evening -- 30-45 minutes (more or less depending on how much you did in the morning). Don't over do it with a puppy. My puppy (same age) has a way of telling me that he's had enough -- he flops on the ground. If that's not convincing enough he'll lay over on the side like he's dead. I'll still make him walk but I'll take it easy on him - 10 minutes maybe, just around the block. Do yard play in the evening and it's a good time for training too (before any 2nd meal) so the dog will be motivated for food rewards.
I'm talking about giving your dog an hour on walks, a few minutes training, and some hang time with the family every day. That's kind of minimum and I hope you don't expect your dog to just be like a fixture that you installed in your house like an ornament or something. She's a living creature that needs your personal attention -- I think you got that.
As for nipping and biting, that's pretty basic. You could have trained the puppy not to do that by scruffing her when she was still 8-10 weeks old but at 5 mo's she's going to take a correction for it. You'll get a lot of advice on slow unreliable methods that patient people who are willing to put a lot of time into their dogs are going to use and advocate. I don't think that you can succeed with these methods. If you want to stop the problem right away, get a prong collar and pull tab or drag leash. When the dog nips or bites anyone, use a command (decide on a command you will give as a warning that a correction is coming) like "bad," or "evil," (some people use "No" but it tends to get used for too many different meanings). Then pop the collar with the pull tab or leash. Pop it hard enough that your dog will think twice before doing it again but not so hard that she just wants to run away and hide for the rest of her life so to speak. Different dogs take different levels and you'll have to figure out your own dog. You need it to be hard enough that the dog doesn't just think you're discouraging an unwanted behavior. She needs to know that it's totally inappropriate and to knock it off right away. At the same time, you yourself need to remain calm and in control. Don't yell or get worked up emotionally. Be cool.
Read More...
Small Dog Training - Small Dogs Need to Feel They Are Pleasing You
Recommended Answer:
This is kind of basic stuff. I hope you keep your committment to your perfectly good dog. You need to do something with this puppy. You should be doing a leash walk every morning for 30-45 minutes after her meal and elimination in the yard. Use your learned basic commands during the walk. Afterward, she will be tired and sleep in the crate. She may need some additional play time in the yard if she's a higher energy dog. Play chase and catch (fetch, retrieve), tug games, or whatever she likes. All this takes a good hour or more in the morning but that's what your dog needs -- it's not excessive as dogs go.
Take her out of the crate again at noon time and see how she's doing (does she want to play, lay down near you, run in the yard etc.) Puppies this age sleep a lot so don't be surprised if she just wants to sleep at your feet. Be prepared to give her 30 minutes of your time whether she wants to "be" with you or play in the yard. She'll no doubt need to urinate and drink too.
Let her have "free run" of the living room like you wrote when the most people are in and around there. She doesn't want free run to be alone -- put her in with the people. My dog gets run of the kitchen because that's where all the action is. Your dog is not independent (believe me you'd have it a lot worse if you had an independent dog -- think about that one if you don't get it).
She should have another leash walk in the evening -- 30-45 minutes (more or less depending on how much you did in the morning). Don't over do it with a puppy. My puppy (same age) has a way of telling me that he's had enough -- he flops on the ground. If that's not convincing enough he'll lay over on the side like he's dead. I'll still make him walk but I'll take it easy on him - 10 minutes maybe, just around the block. Do yard play in the evening and it's a good time for training too (before any 2nd meal) so the dog will be motivated for food rewards.
I'm talking about giving your dog an hour on walks, a few minutes training, and some hang time with the family every day. That's kind of minimum and I hope you don't expect your dog to just be like a fixture that you installed in your house like an ornament or something. She's a living creature that needs your personal attention -- I think you got that.
As for nipping and biting, that's pretty basic. You could have trained the puppy not to do that by scruffing her when she was still 8-10 weeks old but at 5 mo's she's going to take a correction for it. You'll get a lot of advice on slow unreliable methods that patient people who are willing to put a lot of time into their dogs are going to use and advocate. I don't think that you can succeed with these methods. If you want to stop the problem right away, get a prong collar and pull tab or drag leash. When the dog nips or bites anyone, use a command (decide on a command you will give as a warning that a correction is coming) like "bad," or "evil," (some people use "No" but it tends to get used for too many different meanings). Then pop the collar with the pull tab or leash. Pop it hard enough that your dog will think twice before doing it again but not so hard that she just wants to run away and hide for the rest of her life so to speak. Different dogs take different levels and you'll have to figure out your own dog. You need it to be hard enough that the dog doesn't just think you're discouraging an unwanted behavior. She needs to know that it's totally inappropriate and to knock it off right away. At the same time, you yourself need to remain calm and in control. Don't yell or get worked up emotionally. Be cool.
5 Tips to Choose Effective Dog Training Courses
- give her lots of attention and give her treats in the day. go to the vet. and if she bits put a toy in her mouth. if the toy is a cinder shape to put some soft food in it and let her chew on it.
- this is what i did, my dog did the exact same thing!! ok for the yelping during the day, well just let her out!!! When noone can watch her? cries for hours? those are a bad mix, if you leave your dog in there for HOURS when your HOME but just dont wanna watch her. If you got the dog u should know that they are a full time job and the dog should only be in the crate at night or when your not home. and if you have to then put her in there for just a few minutes at the most an hour! Put her near people, like beside your bed. Id bite you too if i was stuck in a tiny crate most of the time. When she bites clap REALLY hard and say "NO BAD DOG!" and put her in the crate for 5 minutes and walk away, dont even look at her until 5 minutes is over! then get her out and try again. also put her favorit etoy and blanket in the crate too.
