Just got a new puppy from a rescue. She's 2.5 months old, german/collie mix. Just wondering your thoughts.

At the moment, we're putting her in our master bath during the day while we work. We're walking/playing with her about an hour in the morning. I come home at lunch and play with her for an hour, then she is getting all our attention in the evening.

Supposedly, she was being crate trained at the foster before we got her. We just now got a crate today, the past three nights she has slept with us in the bed. I'm forecasting a long night of whining tonight and I guess several nights to come? Anyone see anything wrong with bathroom during the day and crate at night?

Second. Today, I let her have the little stick she found in the yard. In past days I was basically taking everything out of her mouth that she was finding (she wants to eat everything). When I let her have it, I guess this empowered her. She ran to a corner of the yard and snacked on it for a few minutes. A doggy treat didn't really coax her away from her spot. When I did get her to come and stole her stick, she grabbed a new one, went back to the spot. When I came after her this time, she took off and went under our deck briefly. I snatched her up (no scolding or anything) and carried her to the door to bring her in. Anything to do differently regarding this?

She seems to be responding and learning to our "no" when we're inside and she wants to nip at everything (hands, clothes, furniture) but I'm not sure exactly how much I should be substituting and then treat-rewarding her when she takes the bone and not my pants leg. Rather, If she has dropped her toy to nip, I am almost always telling her no and giving her the toy back to eat. Should I also give her a treat right after she takes the toy, to reinforce this?

7/23/2008 2:43:50 PM

crate while you're at work, let her roam at night

that's what i do

7/23/2008 2:47:05 PM

Is that going well? I suppose roaming free at night versus 2 4hr blocks in the crate during the day might be better than what I was thinking. Though, I assume she'd just sleep through the night and would rather be able to move around during the day. We've taken her out twice in the three nights and one night she slept all the way through for the most part.

7/23/2008 2:50:10 PM

yeah, I crate trained both of the dogs have had. it really is the best option to keep your shit from getting torn up. plus, after a pretty short period, they look at the crate as a safe haven. both of my dogs would even sleep in their crates when I was home. i would just leave the door open and they would go in there to sleep.

just remember to NEVER use the crate as punishment.

7/23/2008 2:50:25 PM

SO how about my dog run straight for her crate when she has something and I'm trying to take it from her, or if she gets in trouble.

What's up with that?

7/23/2008 2:52:27 PM

i kept my dog in a crate pretty much for the first 3 years I had him. Then back in March when I moved into this new house, I just never set up the crate again. Now I am just trying to break him from getting up on the couches when I'm not home.

7/23/2008 2:53:57 PM

Yea mine was crate trained when I got her, but that makes me wonder if they punished her with the crate as well.

She just automatically takes off for her crate when she's about to get in trouble.

7/23/2008 2:55:24 PM

that's probably a good thing, means she associates her crate with a safe place, not a scary place.

7/23/2008 2:56:32 PM

Quote :

"slept with us in the bed"

hello UTI

7/23/2008 2:57:07 PM

we used the crate at night as well, you may often wake up in the morning to a nice steaming pile of shit near the back door. the puppy will also whine when she wants or needs to go outside.

why are you stealing sticks from her? that's pretty normal and gives her something to chew on. even if she eats it, she'll learn not to the hard way she is a dog after all. take away or punish when she takes stuff she shouldn't, like shoes, and then give her something she is allowed.

also make sure that you train her to know not to fuck with you, say, when you take food out of her bowl when she's eating, or taking a bone away when she's enjoying it. makes a lot of difference later in her life.

Quote :

"If she has dropped her toy to nip, I am almost always telling her no and giving her the toy back to eat. Should I also give her a treat right after she takes the toy, to reinforce this?"

If she doesn't want the toy, then she's bored with it. Don't force the dog to carry around toys. Besides, its counter productive to give her a toy to carry in her mouth and then give her a treat that requires dropping the toy. You're just teaching how to pick up a toy, not chew on it.

7/23/2008 3:00:46 PM

hello, i'm a nasty trole. i talk shit all day around here, but i expect you to read my blog about my cutsy wootsy wittle puppy dog, and give me advice to assist me in domesticating my animal cause i jumped in feet first with a puppy without knowing what it would take to properly care for it. give it back to wherever you got it - it will be better off i'm sure.

Quote :

"i kept my dog in a crate pretty much for the first 3 years I had him. Then back in March when I moved into this new house, I just never set up the crate again. Now I am just trying to break him from getting up on the couches when I'm not home."

break out the crate

7/23/2008 3:00:52 PM

Quote :

"just remember to NEVER use the crate as punishment."

Yeah, I got the basics down. Just not the nuances. I guess ultimately, I'm trying the weigh the pro/con of letting her roam in the bathroom part of the time or not. Is letting her roam during the day delaying the solidification of the crate as a safe place?

Also, other tricks you've used to let your puppy know who the master is? My coworker said when he would feed his dog, he'd set the bowl down then not let his dog eat until she had calmed and understood he was master.

7/23/2008 3:01:42 PM

yeah, when i feed our dogs, i make them sit in front of their food, and they have to wait until i give the ok to actually eat.

it took a while to get them to learn this, but the key is repetition and consistency. eventually they'll get it.

similarly, i taught our dogs to pee only in the mulch at our last house (the new house has no grass in the backyard yet, so i'll have to train 'em all over again once it does grow in) by walking them on a leash to the mulch and praising them when they peed in the mulch and scolding them if they peed on the grass.

7/23/2008 3:07:27 PM

There really isn't any way to tell a puppy that you're the master, it just kind of comes with the training that you are putting the dog through. Remaining the pack leader/master comes more into focus when the dog matures and has more confidence, and hence you see the Cesar Milan style walks where you control the dog's pace and position on walks.

Is the dog old enough to take on walks? I never really knew at what age that started...

Not peeing in the grass? That's a bit extreme in my opinion...have you seen that anywhere else?

[Edited on July 23, 2008 at 3:08 PM. Reason : odd]

7/23/2008 3:07:53 PM

my puppy is trained to sit at the top of the stairs until i call her down to eat. once she is at her bowl, she is trained to sit and wait until ive poured her food.

yep

7/23/2008 3:08:09 PM

You need to do 1 or the other. either crate or bathroom. flip flopping back and forth will just be confusing and the dog will just end up rebelling against both.

the key to training a dog is repetition of the same things over and over again. if you want the dog to be crate trained, then you need to put the dog in he crate every time you leave the house. also, try to use the same phrase every time you put the dog in there. I always said "get in your cage". And every time i put him in the crate I gave him a treat of some type. it will get to the point that he will get in the crate just to get the treat, then eventually he will get in the crate because he knows that is what he is supposed to do

7/23/2008 3:08:20 PM

Quote :

"Also, other tricks you've used to let your puppy know who the master is? My coworker said when he would feed his dog, he'd set the bowl down then not let his dog eat until she had calmed and understood he was master."

definitely don't let him sleep in your bed

7/23/2008 3:10:43 PM

Trixie knows her crate as her "house". She takes off as soon as I say "Trixie house!!". It's kinda cute to watch her skid around trying to get there.

^I need to break my dog of sleeping with me. As sad as I will be to not have a cuddle buddy anymore, I know she shouldn't do it.

[Edited on July 23, 2008 at 3:12 PM. Reason : ]

7/23/2008 3:11:30 PM

my old dog used to jump in the bathtub when I said "get in the tub". it used to trip my friends out. we would be chilling in the basement an I'd say "go get in the tub". he'd jump up, and you could hear him go up the 2 flights of stairs and hop into the bathtub. He loved baths. my current dog can't stand them.

7/23/2008 3:12:42 PM

lol my dog jumps in the shower with me a lot of mornings.. pretty hilarious

..although it's starting to get annoying

7/23/2008 3:13:27 PM

Quote :

"I am almost always telling her no and giving her the toy back to eat"

that's kinda defeating the purpose isn't it?
you're telling her no and then giving her a reward, you're sending mixed signals

7/23/2008 3:14:34 PM

DON'T LET IT POOP WHERE EVER IT WANTS TO.

That was a big mistake.

7/23/2008 3:15:49 PM

mine is getting bad about if you punish her for doing something she knows is wrong she'll go piss on the bed right when you walk in the room

..English bulldogs are f'in stubborn

7/23/2008 3:16:47 PM

Quote :

"that's kinda defeating the purpose isn't it? you're telling her no and then giving her a reward, you're sending mixed signals"

No. I'm telling her no to nipping at hands/clothes. As she stops, I offer her a toy in return. When she takes this, I praise her and occasionally offer her a treat. If she doesn't take the toy, or if I don't ever offer it to her, she doesn't get a treat.

Quote :

"You need to do 1 or the other. either crate or bathroom. flip flopping back and forth will just be confusing and the dog will just end up rebelling against both."

Yeah, this is what I am thinking could happen.

7/23/2008 3:19:20 PM

Quote :

"definitely don't let him sleep in your bed"

there shouldn't be any problem with a dog sleeping in your bed, my dogs would. just be sure they know their place else where.

Quote :

"No. I'm telling her no to nipping at hands/clothes. As she stops, I offer her a toy in return. When she takes this, I praise her and occasionally offer her a treat. If she doesn't take the toy, or if I don't ever offer it to her, she doesn't get a treat."

That is DEFINITELY mixed signals. Look at what the dog sees. She's nipping, you say NO. Then she gets a treat. Just say NO and leave it at that, and give her treats for doing good stuff.

[Edited on July 23, 2008 at 3:23 PM. Reason : lk]

7/23/2008 3:21:15 PM

teach your pooch hand signals with verbal commands. so if it looses it's hearing with age, you can still communicate

7/23/2008 3:22:36 PM

supprise buttsecks

7/23/2008 3:23:38 PM

foo1 taught his dog to rape on command

7/23/2008 3:26:24 PM

7/23/2008 3:27:54 PM

Quote :

"teach your pooch hand signals with verbal commands. so if it looses it's hearing with age, you can still communicate"

this is really good advice. mine knows both. he will do all of his tricks for both verbal commands and hand signals. yet another way to impress your friends. "my dog knows sign language"

7/23/2008 3:28:49 PM

don't eff with lou dog.... she'll man handle you like only a bitch knows how

7/23/2008 3:29:30 PM

Quote :

"mine is getting bad about if you punish her for doing something she knows is wrong she'll go piss on the bed right when you walk in the room ..English bulldogs are f'in stubborn"

I have an American Bulldog and she will jump up and piss on my bed every now and again after I get angry with her!!! Silly bulldogs.

7/23/2008 3:33:08 PM

a dog is like a girlfriend: sometimes you just have to slap a bitch

7/23/2008 3:34:03 PM

SILLY!?!?

If lou dog did that i'd make her next week of life a living hell...

7/23/2008 3:34:22 PM

Yeah I've started smearing her head in it and all that good stuff.. seems to be helping. Very rare that she does it but still annoying as hell

7/23/2008 3:35:30 PM

ahaha, that sucks

if that happened to me.....as soon as one drop of pizzle touched my bed....I'd be all 'OH NO THE FUCK YOU DIDN'T'

7/23/2008 3:36:08 PM

be sure the dog isn't sick though, they'll act out if something is wrong

7/23/2008 3:36:59 PM

yeah being a hound dog and having the sent of her own urine on her nose is 1 thing she hates.. luckily she has separation anxiety so leaving her alone on a linoleum floor is about the ultimate punishment for her

Quote :

"be sure the dog isn't sick though, they'll act out if something is wrong"

fuck that... lou dog even knows to puke on hard floors.. i don't care how sick a dog is acting out is not tolerated in my household.

[Edited on July 23, 2008 at 3:38 PM. Reason : .]

7/23/2008 3:37:07 PM

this reminds me of a great story

my dog has never pissed on the bed or couch or anything like that, only on the floor a few times. well, the night I caught my ex cheating on me, of course we got into a VERY heated argument. anyway, long story short. he went back and jumped up on her bed, and puked and pissed all over it. comforter and mattress completely ruined.

7/23/2008 3:38:05 PM

HAHA

7/23/2008 3:39:32 PM

it's like he just kinda knew what needed to be done. he was never even ALLOWED on that bed.

7/23/2008 3:40:23 PM

hahaha

7/23/2008 3:40:34 PM

awesome!!! good booy

7/23/2008 3:41:06 PM

haha, dogs are pretty damn smart sometimes

7/23/2008 3:41:29 PM

so how'd you catch her cheating?

7/23/2008 3:41:49 PM

looking back i really should have taken a picture of it, but I wasn't really in my right mind at that point

^ that's besides the point

[Edited on July 23, 2008 at 3:42 PM. Reason : a]

7/23/2008 3:42:10 PM

Yea Trixie only does it on occassion. She got me Monday night, but hasn't done it for about 3 weeks prior.

She's good about throwing up. She will go to her crate, random I know, and puke if she's sick. It's the strangest thing. She did it one time in the middle of the night! She just hopped down off the bed, went in her crate and puked, looked at me all sad, and jumped back on the bed and passed out

7/23/2008 3:42:42 PM

k

just thought the story might have been funny to go along with the dog puke

7/23/2008 3:42:48 PM

my new puppy is having a hard time learning 'no.' Are there any tricks to getting it to react to no without violence attached? I don't want to smack it on its butt or anything. I've read some places that holding the muzzle while saying 'no' sternly works, but he just seems like he wants to bite/play more when I do that.

7/23/2008 3:46:08 PM

Quote :

"I don't want to smack it on its butt or anything"

balls

you need them

7/23/2008 3:46:43 PM