Archive for the ‘training’ Category
Some thoughts on submissive urination
Submissive urination…ah yes. You’d be surprised how many puppies do this but if you understand why it makes more sense. Puppies in their first two weeks of life are physically unable to eliminate on their own. The mama dog has to stimulate them to do so as she cleans them. This makes sense when you think about how the mama has to keep the den site clean to avoid predators, it is easiest for her to just ingest the waste. So one theory is that puppies have a “hold over” response from those early days and when they are feeling unsure or want to tell someone they are truly submissive, they will pee a little. This can become a problem for dogs when the owners see it as a reversal of house training and punish the action. Think of it from the puppy’s point of view – they are trying hard to show good manners by telling their big strong owners that they are no threat, they are ok with their submissive position in the pack. And as a result of this they are punished! It must make them SO confused and of course it just intensifies the behavior as the puppy tries even harder to convince the person of their willingness to be submissive.
Advice on problem dog behavior
I got a request for “advice’ recently that I wanted to post. It is important to always remember that this sort of advice can not be as thorough as that given by someone directly involved with the family or the dog. This advice should also not be used in place of veterinary care or professional dog training.
Hi Kristin,
We adopted Jessa three months ago…she was a stray wandering the streets of Aurora. We don’t think she was a stray for very long, as she didn’t really have any physical or emotional scars. She’s incredibly friendly to all people and other dogs. She loves kids. She’s a very happy and lovely dog. The vet says she’s about a year old, give or take a month or two.
10 Tips For Your New Puppy
Willow‘s puppies all went home today with their new forever families. Here are tips for all families that bring home a new puppy:
Limit the number of rooms the puppy/dog has access to for the first week or so.- Limit the amount of “attention” you give the new member of your family for the first few days…let them get acclimated a bit.
- Place the crate in a bedroom for the first few nights or sleep next to the crate. Remember, all the puppies slept lumped together, spending the night alone will really be scary and having you nearby will greatly help.
- Unless you want a dog that whines in her crate, do not let her out when she is crying/whining/pawing or barking. Wait until she quiets and then let her out. To avoid this, set an alarm for every 3 or 4 hours that first night and wake her up to take her potty. Soon you will be able to cut out those middle of the night potty breaks but if you do this for that first few nights (first week?) it will really pay off. The alternative, letting the dog wake you up can lead to reinforcing whining and barking in the crate. We don’t want that!
Take your new family member to the same spot in the yard every time he transitions to a new activity (or every hour or two) and tell him “go potty” or some such command. If nothing happens in a few minutes, come back inside.- Watch for nervous behavior, circling and sniffing the ground, whining – these are cues that your puppy needs to poop.
- You have 3 seconds to reward or correct a behavior! That’s it! So, unless you catch the puppy in the act of peeing, scolding him will only make him afraid of you. If you miss it, let it go and commit to being more attentive in the future.
- Your puppy won’t need a real walk until they are about 4 months of age but do get them used to their leash and collar by putting them on and walking around the yard and house.
- Remember: these guys (Willow included) are like blank slates…they will learn what you teach them or let them do regularly. Be mindful not to condition them to expect behavior that you won’t want a full grown dog to do. A good example, letting them pull you to the door. As anxious as you are to get the out to potty, try to keep good leash manners in front of your mind. Walk to the door with the dog/pup at you side or behind you. Go out the door first, then the pup/dog. Once outside, give a command word as you walk to your potty spot and then let them have full reign of the leash. Otherwise, you are teaching a dog to pull on leash while you are house training it!
Remember to love them up good but don’t “cut them slack” – keep in mind the behavior you want and reinforce it (with cuddles, praise and treats) and ignore or correct (NOT PUNISH – just make a disapproving sound – I like AH!) behavior you don’t want. They will appreciate the clarity.
Cherish your new family member!
Update on Lily
Here is an update note I received on Lily (from Chloe’s litter) from her forever family…
Today we went to the vet and Lily is a whopping 23.5 lbs. That is a 6.5 lb gain in 3 weeks. She got her last distemper and her first rabies and her nails trimmed. They did listen to her lungs and stuck their fingers down her throat trying to figure out the hacking issue in the morning till they eat. I had mentioned that a few other littermates were having the same issue. She said the lungs sound clear and there was nothing blocking in her throat, that she might have a little reflux. Her recommendation to me was to give lily a half of a 10 mg pepcid ac at night before she goes to bed and see if that helps. So we will try that tonight.
Last night William wanted to be brave and let Lily sleep on her pillow all night in our room instead of the crate. We blocked it off so she was only contained to our room and she slept all night no accidents. When he got up at 6 he took her out and let her have roam of the kitchen, family room and our bedroom till I get up at 8:30. We have been letting her roam the 3 rooms in the morning from when William wakes up till I get up for over a week and no accidents. So she is moving up in the world!!!
She is zonked right now, it is nap time, plus the shots and anxiety of the vet knock her out all day.
We have also been taking puppy classes with Kristin and Lily knows sit, leave it and is working on stay. She is also walking very well on the training collar Kristin recommended, walking her is now a breeze and enjoyable instead of being pulled everywhere.So that is my Lily update
Heather
A training tip that bears repeating
Here is something I said recently to my class at my local dog training club and I think bears repeating here:
When you are training your dog, work with your dog where she or he IS not where you think she or he should be. This is the number one rule in dog training: train the dog you have, not the one you wish you had. Also, if your dog shows any behavior that is particularly difficult for you (jumping, aggression, not listening, barking) realize that for the dog it is simply a behavior – for you it is a whole story about how the dog is “bad” or “mean” or “doesn’t like me” or “doesn’t listen”. Treat the behavior as a behavior and it will be easier to manage. Every behavior works under the same set or principles: Behaviors that are rewarded continue, behaviors that are ignored or “corrected’ go away. But sometimes we are rewarding behaviors when we think we are not, and some behaviors (like barking) are self rewarding, so be careful to really look at what is going on…and this is where the help of a trainer comes in handy as they can see things we can’t when we are right up in something. Never hesitate to ask a question or to seek advice. We’ve all been there!
Mama dog gets a bath
Well, today was SO hot that I figured if I bathed Sandy? Daisy? Angie? (still haven’t found a name right for her) outside she wouldn’t mind the cold water and she’d dry off in a snap. Plus I figured she’d like the time outside. Boy was she freaked out by the water! It could be that it was spraying at her from the hose (I tried to be gentle but there isn’t that gentle a way for one to spray another with a hose) or that it was cold, or that she’s never had a bath or a hose bath before – I’m not sure which it is. But once she realized that all I was doing was hosing her down and that she couldn’t get away from me, she submitted. It sort of was humbling to me, how dogs let us submit our will on them rather easily. Now I know what I was doing was for her own good and she ultimately seemed to really enjoy being clean (you know how dogs do that rubbing thing on the carpet once they’re clean? She was rubbing herself along the garage door!!) but it sort of hit me how I could have been doing anything to her and she would eventually give in. How trusting, and how sad that so many people betray that trust. It just really hit me today for some reason.
But anyway, hopefully she will be ok with her next bath and hopefully I didn’t teach her to be deathly afraid of them…I think not as, like I said, she clearly got into it after a bit. And it is nice to have her clean!! Birth is a yucky business and that first week continues to be a bit yucky. Add to that her bout of whipworm and the poop that goes a long with that, and her pups crawling all over her and THEIR loose stool and… well, you get the picture. The dog needed a bath. (more…)
