Puppy Training

Question: Need some advice about puppy training?

(Posted by: on 2010-08-13 01:21:00)

I got my puppy from an accidental litter she is crossed with a German Shepard and bullmastive , i got her when she was 13 wks old and she is nearly 6 months old now. when i 1st got her she was going toilet out in the garden when she got used to it i even gave her treats and praised her for it and made a fuss. but now she is trying to dominate me when i take her out in the garden she mucks about running around and wont go toilet she will have a wee then i tell her go poo so she tries to squeeze another wee out, and every thing to her is a game, she refuses to come in from the garden if she does nothing out there she gets no treats, so she decides to do it in her room which im getting very frustrated with it and all the cleaning every 5 mins. i do smack her on the tip of her nose for being naughty.when she is being good i allow her to come in the front room on her blanket and she is as good as gold but then she will try playing me buy wanting to go out but when she does she does nothing. she has had her 1st jab and still got a couple of wks for the 2nd then i have to wait another week b4 i can take her out for walks the vet says im doing everything right. but she is trying to be the boss i have even got books out of the library about how to train them. i got her cause i wanted a friend as well as a companion she does stress me out a lot but i don't no what im doing wrong as far as i have been told im doing everything right... any suggestions would be grateful thanks in advance f/ 25

Posted by: Richard on 2010-08-13, 01:33:24

Instead of smacking her on the nose get a bottle filled with water, if she does something bad spray her. Question is she spade? Maybe if she's not that's another reason she's acting more dominate, but hey if you have the money it's 90$ for an 8 week class at Petsmart :) training class. Well worth it.

Posted by: Baloo on 2010-08-13, 01:55:25

You have to show her that you are the boss. Because of her size ( & she's gonna be big because of the type of dog she is, she's pushing her luck). The water is a great idea, although use 95% water/ 5% vinegar. She's boistrous because she has a lot of energy which she needs to burn off. You need to exercise her, lots & lots so that she is too tired to try pushing you around. I know she's stressing you out, but try to stay calm, she'll pick up on the stress & it will make her worse. She also needs training. Training classes will be a very good idea, it will help you & her, but will also socialise her with other dogs. Once she's had her 2nd jab & can go out, try using a bike or roller skates to exercise her. As she's not trained you clearly can't let her off the lead to run, so this would be a simple way to give her the exercise she really, really needs. If your gonna use a bike, get quite a long lead, start slowly, more or less pushing yourself along with your feet. She'll try running in front of the bike to start off with, which is why you must go slowly, but she'll soon get the hang of it. Once she knows what you expect of her start peddling. I ony had to take my staff/ boxer round the block a few times with her running flat out to completely tire her out. She did all the work as well, so i just had to use the brakes to control our speed & when i wanted to slow her down, i told her to wait. Once you start using her energy up, you'll have a different dog. The exercise will also stimulate her to go to the loo, so as soon as you get back from her run, take her into the garden. Treat etc. are an excellent idea. Use these to get her to sit, etc. But you can also use toys, when you are playing with her, feeding time etc. to reinforce all these things. So before the toy gets thrown she has to sit & wait. Same with her food, before it's put down she has to sit & wait until you tell her she can eat. Good luck, once you have her the way you want her you will have your friend/ companion for life. Keep at it. You'll both get there & have a lot of fun along the way.

Posted by: E. H. Amos on 2010-08-13, 02:55:52

I think you should try crate-training to help with house breaking. Get a Dane-size crate. REAL exercise (gets stuff/ poo GOING) rather than just going into the garden & waiting for her to "feel an urge ". Feed the dog (also gets gut going) then take it for a 30 min walk. Praise & continue to use a word command for the pottying efforts. I have never given treats for bathrooming & neither does any mother dog. Show people will sometimes insert a wooden match stick up the butt, to help a dog empty, rather than have an accident in the show ring. You could try this on occassion, if necessary. Yankee Candle sells nice boxes of "smooth " wooden matches. DO NOT INSERT the chemical 'lighter " end, just the wooden part.

Posted by: Cookie on 2010-08-13, 03:32:12

Number one training rule;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;NO HITTING, YELLING, SQUIRTING WITH WATER, etc. Aggression with a cross such as yours will get you aggression right back. First of all, go back to square one with the housebreaking. Evidently you didn't make it clear exactly what you wanted. Dogs DO NOT deliberately do wrong when they know and understand the rules of the house. Recent research on dog behavior and brain patterns has established dogs do not think the way we thought they did years ago. They live in the present, learn by repetition and consistency and what is in it for them, in other words, what they like best, whether its play, praise or treats or a combination thereof. Hitting, yelling, squirting with water will either cause aggressive responses or the dog will simply tune you out and not listen. Pain training never did anything but turn the trainer into a bully. Here's a good housebreaking site, and I'll follow it with wonderful training sites that should answer all your questions; dogbreedinfo.com/ housebreaking.htm (I do not recommend any other training from this site) dogtrainingbasics.com companionsforlife.com (there is problem solving area on this site) dog-obedience-training-review.com

Posted by: Natalie on 2010-08-13, 04:00:43

Why is she having her injections at 6 months old? During this time, has she never been outside of your home? She doesn't sound to me like she is trying to dominate you, she sounds like she is acting out due to pent up energy and is massively under-exercised. If she is only allowed in your home and garden for the next 3 weeks, I suggest you play lots of active games with her, e.g. fetch. What she really needs is for you to drain her mental energy. The best way to do this is by walking her next to or behind you on a lead for at least 45 minutes. You don't say how large your garden is but if it is a decent size, try putting the lead on her and walking her around your garden. When you let her into the garden, play a game with her before you tell her to go to the toilet. This way, she might end up going of her own accord. When she goes, say your cue word, e.g. wee and give her lots of praise and a treat as you have been doing. If she doesn't go, continue playing with her until she does. The first few times you do it, it might take a long time but persevere and be consistent. Don't go back inside the house (or let her back inside the house) until she has been to the toilet. It goes without saying that you should never smack your dog. She won't associate you smacking her with not going to the toilet, she will just learn to be fearful of you. Fear is the main reason for aggression. Punishing her by putting her in her own room will only teach her that her room is a bad place and she will not want to go in there. She is a puppy so obviously everything is a game to her, what you have to do is make the object of the game what you want. Invest in some toys, e.g. Kong where the dog has to work out how to get the treats from inside it.