|
| Author |
Messages |
|
Maidment78
Posts:1
 |
| 05/17/2010 12:40 PM |
|
We have a 13 week old GSP bitch and she is an absolute dream puppy.
We have started puppy school and she is responding well and general training is progressing at a reasonable rate so I am not worried there. There are two issues we have and although not major I am just wondering what is the best way to approach them in a constructive way and not make the problem worse by doing something daft.
One issue is at night just befor bed, she has her dinner and then after a little break likes a play, this is normal for about 10 mins then she goes nuts and like to jump up and play bite. We stop the game and ignore her and it stops but this happens every night and I am wondering why she still does it even though she normally gets the hint.
The other issue is when we go out of the room we come back to find a very cheeky looking puppy on the sofa, she does not dare do this while we are in the room but when we are out she is straight up, we tell her the off comand and she gets down, is this just a phase?
Any ideas very welcome.
Regards,
Paul. |
|
|
|
|
Texas Belle
Austin, TX
MH
Posts:7835
|
| 05/17/2010 2:01 PM |
|
| She's just testing you. Stay persistent and she will get the message. The other thing mine have all done is when they get tired they get wild. That is how Halo got her nickname, Crazy Halo. When she was little and overly tired she would get the zoomies and literally bounce off furniture and walls. I would have to catch her and put her in the crate or hold her and once she settle down she would fall sound asleep. Just something to watch for as all of mine where like that when they were little and even when they got older. |
|
Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
   
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
|
|
DaisyGSP
Ontario
Posts:10
|
| 07/05/2011 8:34 AM |
|
| My little Daisy does that too! She should be completely exhausted whenI bring her home from the horse farm, or from the park, and yet she's still going wild running around the house!! As soon as she's in her crate, she falls right asleep. |
|
|
|
|
Rose
MH
Posts:362
|
| 07/09/2011 2:45 PM |
|
| Casey does this too, sometimes around 9 pm, right before bedtime. I describe it as him "acting up." I assume that he is tired and cranky, similar to a child. It varies from playing rough, chewing on his blanket, or sometimes whining and barking. I ignore him and he'll just fall into a deep sleep right away. He's much better behaved upon waking. |
|
|
|
|
DrWiffel
Prior Lake, MN
MH
Posts:175
|
| 08/02/2011 4:22 PM |
|
This is my first post to the GSP Forum (joined a few weeks ago), and I’ve been enjoying the reading the stories and comments.
I have a similar question to what aidment78 posted. I’ve been working with my 12 week old pup Dexter a few times per day with basic training sessions and taking him for walks to wear the puppy energy out and to work on heel. I’m absolutely amazed how quickly they learn, they are very smart dogs, and I absolutely love Dexter and amazed at his loyalty.
Now to the issues I’m having that I’m running out of (my mind sometimes) ideas on. Normally after a walk he just kind of flops down and naps. Sometimes I will give him a short walk after that, and take a break to watch some TV (930 or so at night). He’s normally okay for the first 30min or so then he starts biting on things he’s not supposed to including me in which I either stick my thumb in his mouth with some slight pressure on his tongue until he backs off, or I stick something that he can chew on in his mouth. I’ve been working on the biting thing now sense I got him about 4 weeks ago (at 8 weeks), but he doesn’t seem to be letting up, but most times now he stops after a firm NO. I’ve been told lemon juice works for this also (have any of you tried this?).
Lately he started doing something a little different; I think it might be because he’s tired, but I’m not sure. He’ll be chewing on his bone, stop (I think because he gets bored) turns around tries to bite me or the couch, I tell him no, he stops biting whatever and starts barking at me. Nothing really seems to make him stop unless I pick him up and put him in the bathroom with the door closed. I’ve been told not to put him in the crate because the crate is supposed to be the “Happy place” or whatever and not supposed to be used for negative reinforcement. I’ve tried putting him on his back and holding him until he gives in, but I’m not sure that’s the right way to do it either. Any suggestions would be helpful.
Another small issue I’m having is that Dexter doesn’t want to listen to my girlfriend who’s living with me, and only listens to me. I’m not going to lie, I think it’s kind of funny, but she has to keep an eye on him once in a while and it’s not that funny to her. I think she just needs to work with him a little more and he’ll eventually figure it out. I hope anyways.
Thanks,
Wiffel
|
|
|
|
|
Texas Belle
Austin, TX
MH
Posts:7835
|
| 08/02/2011 4:41 PM |
|
To answer your first quesiton about his behavior at night. I suspect that he is tired and like any small toddler starts misbehaving. When mine get that way I put them in their crate to go to bed. At first they fuss, and I ignore them, but it rarely takes very long for them to settle and be out for the night. If you do this consistently the fussing also stops, and he may even get to where he puts himself to bed. Just be sure he goes out for one last potty trip before you put him to bed. I actually have a name for the behavior. I call it the Crazy Halos after my 6 year old girl who would get wild when she got tired. She would often run crazily through the house and was very hard to stop. Took me a while to figure out she was just tired and need to go to bed, but once I unlocked the code life got much easier. I have since seen the same behavior in many young shorthairs.
As for your girlfriend, have her start doing some training with your boy. She will need to be firm and consistent, but he needs to see her as above him in the pack and I suspect right now he is testing that position. Better to nip it in the bud now than to let in continue. It won't we so funny when he is full grown. |
|
Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
|
|
DrWiffel
Prior Lake, MN
MH
Posts:175
|
| 08/03/2011 9:27 AM |
|
That's what I'm kind of thinking. When I do get him in his crate at night to sleep he rarely makes a sound. I'm thinking that maybe I should just put him to bed a little earlier. You wouldn’t think that it’s do to a lack of exercise would you? I’ve been taking him on at least one 45min walk per day.
Next purchase will be the “Perfect Start”. Seems as though that’s the one to get from all the reviews I’m seeing here.
As for the Girl, I'm going to hand over a large bag of treats and get her to work with him a little more. When Dexter dose listen to her she rarely gives him a treat, but does give him praise. I'm willing to bet that if she started using more treats he'll start to listen a lot more.
Thanks for the advice. I'll get some pics up sometime soon.
|
|
|
|
|
Texas Belle
Austin, TX
MH
Posts:7835
|
| 08/03/2011 12:07 PM |
|
| 45 minutes is a pretty good exercise for a 12 week old. I would also use allot of mental stimulation with him. Sounds like you might already be doing this. Both work wonders to wear out a shorthair. Can't wait to see your pup. |
|
Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
|
|
Splat
Illinois (Northern)
MH
Posts:3130
|
| 08/04/2011 5:44 AM |
|
I was pretty much gonna say what Bev said...sounds like he is tired and I would put him in his crate...I have done time outs in the crate and have not had issues with mine not liking their crates...so maybe going to bed a little earlier for him...
Also want to add it is so important for him to learn to to listen to everyone in the house...so get the girlfriend in on the training...treats might help her some and at this stage would be good but he does need to learn to listen without them too, but that will come with time... |
|
 |
|
|
DrWiffel
Prior Lake, MN
MH
Posts:175
|
| 08/04/2011 10:06 AM |
|
My girlfriend tried to work with him a little last night, but he still doesn’t really want to listen. I’m going to try and push for her to continue to work with him a little more. I’m sure that the more she does the more he’ll become used to her voice commands. When we’re around other people, if another guy there says sit or come, he’ll listen to them, but if a female says a command, it’s like he doesn’t hear them.
As for Dexter being a little off the wall at night, I think I kind of figured him out a little. Last night I spent more time working with him on sit, down, stay, and leave it. For probably about 45min or so, keeping it fun with some toys. I could really tell when he was getting tired when I knew that he knows what I wanted him to do, but started to act like he didn’t and would run though all his tricks at one time to get the treat. At that point I put it to a rest, started watching some tv and he dropped like a ton of bricks. So we had a good night last night.
Tomorrow I’m ordering the Perfect Start…
|
|
|
|
|
DesertRoseKennel
MH
Posts:1033
|
| 08/04/2011 10:47 AM |
|
Tell your girlfriend to lower the register of her voice and be firm in tone when she makes a command. You'll be surprised what a difference it makes in how they respond.
Jean |
|
"Our dogs are bred to be champion hunters who sleep on the bed"
www.desertrosekennel.com |
|
|
Texas Belle
Austin, TX
MH
Posts:7835
|
| 08/04/2011 12:20 PM |
|
| Agree with Jean. Commands should be given with authority and not a question at the end. Many women pose commands as a question or in a higher pitch. She also needs to make sure when she gives a command, she gives it once and if the dog does not respond she makes him respond. So for instance, if she says sit. The dog must sit immediately. If not have her pull up on the leash and gently push down on the behind to make the dog sit. Then she can have a party with the dog. If she is saying sit, sit, sit....well the dog is not going to listen. She has to have the follow through and be consistent. the follow through will teach the dog she means business. The reward will reinforce what she has just done with the dog. |
|
Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
|
|
DrWiffel
Prior Lake, MN
MH
Posts:175
|
| 08/04/2011 12:24 PM |
|
That’s the strange part. She’s tried the talk like a man thing (her mom also), but I guess she just can get low enough. I’m going to try with the treats and the like for a little to see if we can get it to work. It didn’t start to become a problem until Dexter started going into the neighbor’s lawn without answering to “come” when I’m not there, so now she has to always hook him up before letting him out to do his thing as he might not come back. So all I can really do for now is just work at it, and maybe he’ll soon get the idea.
On a side note, I’ve noticed that a lot of you use “here” as opposed to “come”, is there an advantage to one or the other?
|
|
|
|
|
Texas Belle
Austin, TX
MH
Posts:7835
|
| 08/04/2011 12:51 PM |
|
I use both. My come is my formal obedience recall where they come to me and sit straight in front. My here is the get back to me pronto and all you have to do is come back to me. As for what words you choose to use for any command it does not matter as long as you are consistent on the meaning. I like one syllable words that come easy to me, but you could actually use any word.
As for your girlfriend, tone is part of the equation, but the way she says the command may be the other issue. Does she say it as a question? Does she repeat the command? What does she do if he does not mind? The key is say the command, if the dog does not respond immediately, then make the dog respond. Just like the sit example I gave in my previous post. For a recall, I do not let my dogs off leash unless I am 100% sure they will respond. That usually means 100s of recalls in training before they are even close to reliable. I then usually reinforce with the ecollar for the first time off leash. After that, I trust them, but usually still have the ecollar on them. Your pup is only 12 weeks old. Absolutely no way he is ready for a reliable recall. So, if you are going to issue your recall command, be sure you can correct if he does not respond. That is either you have him on a leash or you have to go and get him. Otherwise, you will train your dog that he does not have to pay attention and respond to you. |
|
Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
|
|
pixie bee
MH
Posts:4448
|
| 08/04/2011 1:38 PM |
|
It's important to say it like you mean it. You can't fool dogs so easily.
If we trained dogs as tho their life depended on it we would all have the best trained dogs. |
|
"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle
|
|
|
DrWiffel
Prior Lake, MN
MH
Posts:175
|
| 08/04/2011 3:32 PM |
|
She does use a firm tone, and it’s not the first time that she had a hand in training a dog (toy poodle), but it’s just like he chooses not to listen to her. Commands are sometimes repeated, but we wait a little until repeating the command (kind of like a reset seeing as their attention span is really short).
As for the recall command. He’s been pretty reliable for 12 weeks unless his nose is into something, then I have to make a correction. As far as him playing with kids or trying to chew on the cat, he comes right away when I call him. I keep a leash on me at all times when we’re just sitting around outside in case he decides he doesn’t need to listen, but I want him to explore a little and learn the limits and property a little and I also want him to learn that there’s a benefit and more freedom to following commands.
|
|
|
|
|
pixie bee
MH
Posts:4448
|
| 08/04/2011 3:52 PM |
|
Your pup is only 12 weeks old.
We can not expect any formal training to be started yet. At this time it is still fun,puppy intros to what words mean.
I would not put any pressure to learning commands to the earliest 4months old and some dogs are slow maturing making the age maybe over 6months old.
There can not be any corrections for unknown commands - it's not fair.
|
|
"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle
|
|
|
Texas Belle
Austin, TX
MH
Posts:7835
|
| 08/04/2011 5:04 PM |
|
| I actually start formal obedience training with my dogs at 8 weeks. That does not mean the training is formal. The basic commands of sit, down, stay, come and heel are all started at that time. I use luring allot at this time and toys as rewards. I get it fun and games, but if I ask them to sit and they don't, I show them what I want. If I can do that with a lure I will otherwise I gently help them into the sit. I never ever repeat a command to get them to do the command. They get the command once and them I show them what I want. Once they go into say a sit, I may repeat the sit command as a reinforcment and reminder. I also do allot of focus work at this time too. Also, I never spend much time in training, but I may have many sessions during the course of the day. So I may work sits and downs for 5 minutes in the morning, work on some heeling for a few minutes at lunch, etc. I also always end a session on a success. |
|
Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
|
|
Splat
Illinois (Northern)
MH
Posts:3130
|
| 08/05/2011 5:43 AM |
|
| Since he is so young...if he is outside and not listening to the come command then have your girlfriend get very excited to get his attention (just say something like hey hey and clap her hands) and then start running away from him, he should get interested in what she is doing and run after her....then she can stop and praise him when he gets to her... |
|
|
|
|
singltrak
Las Cruces, NM
MH
Posts:1149
|
| 08/05/2011 12:56 PM |
|
yeah, everything they said...My first obedience/puppy trainer was also the person who sold me my first Shorthair. One thing that she said, and still says, in class, that I committed to memory (must be, that was 23 years ago) is don't repeat commands...he heard you the first time.  Its important tho, as Francine says, to be sure that they know the command first. Just going and saying sit and expecting them to know what to do is not fair. Puppy brains, and specially the boy GSP puppy brains are the equivalent of a gnat! They may act like, oh sure I get it, and the next second be off chasing the nearest butterfly. Keep it short, keep it positive, keep it fun and lots of praise, praise, praise..
IMNSHO 45 minutes is too long for training a 3 month old pup. Certainly you can break it up into 10-15 minute sessions and always end on a positive note, even if it is just, "Fred, Breathe! Good Dog!".
It almost sounds as if your pup does not see your girlfriend as an Alpha, he's blowing her off as part of the pack and not recognizing her as her superior....How about if when you train, you both go along, and you act as another puppy ? She is the one in charge in other words.
You can go on a sit-stay (that she commands while puppy watches) and then she trains the puppy.... doesn't have to be for long, but makes the point....
When you go for walks, get a long clothesline, attach a snap hook to one end and to the puppy's collar. That way you will have control without much weight, so he will forget you are there. He will still have the opportunity to explore and seek new boundaries without you worrying if he is heading for the road.
Good luck!
Phyllis and the Singltrak Furtribe |
|
Look to the Past, Breed for the Future |
|
|
|
| You are not authorized to post a reply. |
|
|
|
ActiveForums 3.7
|
You must be logged in to use this module.
|