Some puppy problems

[Pulga]

Some days ago my wife and i get a 2 months old pinscher puppy(Lucho), and this is the problems we had so far.
- We have a dog called Princess that is 10 years old and every time lucho try to play with her she tries to bite him, and my wife is kind of worried that she kill him.
- Every time we feed Lucho and take him outside to make his job we can wait all night and he does nothing but sniffing, but as soon as we get him inside the house he make his trick and is cleanning time for us.
- How we can teach him not to bite our shoes and our hands and feets, because everytime we catch him doing it we say "NO" and give him a toy to bite, but he just smell it and leave it and look for another shoes to bite.

Can anybody give me some ideas.

Thanks

[Dixieland Dancer]

Pulga,
I am sorry no one has posted for you yet. I do have some ideas but don't have the time to post them now. I will later. In the mean time if any one else has any ideas can we help this new Pet Talk member?

[pepper636]

I'm not a trainer either. Is it possible for you to find someone in your area who could help you or are you committed to follow this through on your own? Most trainers I have talked to will walk you through it but it might be to everyone's advantage to have someone there with you to show you. I am sure this is just being a puppy and can be corrected with proper training. Let's hope some Pet Talkers can give you some advice.

[ November 08, 2001: Message edited by: pepper ]

[Pulga]

Thank for the replies, i was starting to worry about being ignored :D
I been looking for some obedience trainig here in my country(Colombia) but the trainers say we have to wait for 2 or 3 months before we can take Lucho to classes, so for now is up to us to teach him the basic.
Any Ideas??

[yorkster]

I had a hard time teaching my dog to go potty outside- it just takes time and effort. It is probably more difficult with a puppy. What worked for me was to take her outside in the morning (because I knew for sure she HAD to go then). I stayed out there for several minutes and told her "go potty" If she went, then praised her and gave her a treat. If she did not go, I took her back in the house and either back in her crate or had her lay down where I could watch her closely. I would then take her back out to try again after about 15 minutes or so. Sometimes it took a few times of going back and forth, but eventually she got it. I never played ball with her or gave her a treat until she went. It is important that your dog associate good behavior with positive reinforcement! ALWAYS praise and give a treat or something when they do good. Don't do anything when they dis-obey. Punishing does not seem to work.
As for your other problems, I don't know, because I am a new dog owner myself. I have just learned a lot about housebreaking in the last few months with my dog.
Good luck, and let us all know how it goes. I am sorry if it seems like we were ignoring you- we weren't, it just takes time sometimes when people are new. It took a few times for me when I was new.
Welcome to Pet Talk!

PS- Do you have a dog crate? They help alot with training issues and it is much easier to teach a dog when they are a puppy to enjoy a crate (or not mind it anyway)

[Albea]

Welcome to Pet Talk Pulga!
While some other members of this board, who have experience in training pups, find the time to give you advice, you could check the American Dog Trainers Network at: http://www.canine.org/
Good luck.

[Pulga]

Thanks for the replies, the potty thing sometimes he does it outside, and sometimes he waits untill he puts a foot in the house, when he does it outside i praise him, when he dont i just ignore him for some time.
About the crate, he dont have a crate, but an empty room with a glass door to our room where we play with them(Lucho and Princess) and they sleep.
One think ive noticed about lucho trying to play with Princess and barking at her and pulling her by the collar is that he only do this when we are around so i dont know if it only a call for atention or an alpha/omega thing?.
Any Ideas??
bye

[Dixieland Dancer]

Hi Pulga, you have several issues so let's try to take them one at a time. Realize that you have a puppy and training can never start to young. I believe in the Nothing is free in life attitude so I make my dogs learn from a early age that I am Alpha and the giver of all great things. This being said let's look at your issues.

1. Growling and wife thinking the older dog will kill the pup. Conflicts arise between household dogs when there is instability in the hierarchy, that is, when the ranking or social position of each dog is not clear or is in contention. The older dog is trying to tell the pup through snarls, growls or snaps that it is boss and leave me alone. This is normal canine behavior and usually works itself out without injury. Problems can occur however if you interfer with this process. You can do this if:

You attempt to treat both dogs equally, rather than supporting the dominant dog’s position. In this case the older dog.

You interrupt or interfere with the dominant dog's ability to control the preferred items (food, toys, beds, attention) in his environment by giving preferential treatment to the subordinate dog.

You prevent the dogs from expressing the signals and ritualized behaviors that establish dominance. Never punish the older dog for the growling or console the younger dog because he was put in his place. You need to reward the older dog or show it you understand what it is doing.

You cannot choose which dog you want to be dominant. The dogs will establish this among themselves, and any attempt to interfere may result in increased conflict. Where each dog ranks in the dominance hierarchy is determined by the outcomes of interactions between the dogs themselves.


How YOU handle this situation will determine if it intensifies or not. When a new animal is introduced into the house it is common for the heirarchy to be established which is what your older dog is trying to do. Support the dominance hierarchy. You need to support whatever dominance hierarchy or "pecking order" your dogs establish for themselves. Don't undermine their hierarchy by attempting to treat them equally or by preventing the dominant dog from asserting his position. Dominant dogs can, and should, be allowed to take toys away from subordinate dogs, to push in to receive attention and petting from the owner, to control favorite sleeping places, toys and other valuable resources (from the dogs’ point of view). Support the dominant dog's status by allowing this to occur.

2. Puppy chewing. Puppies explore their world by putting things in their mouths. In addition, puppies are teething until they’re about six months old, which usually creates some discomfort. Chewing not only facilitates teething, but also makes sore gums feel better. Although it's perfectly normal for a puppy to chew on furniture, shoes, and such, realize a puppy won’t magically "outgrow" these behaviors as he matures. Instead, you must shape your puppy's behaviors and teach him which ones are acceptable and which aren’t.

Minimize chewing problems by puppy-proofing your house. Put the trash out of reach, inside a cabinet or outside on a porch, or buy containers with locking lids. Encourage children to pick up their toys and don’t leave socks, shoes, eyeglasses, briefcases or TV remote controls lying around within your puppy’s reach.

If, and only if, you catch your puppy chewing on something he shouldn't, interrupt the behavior with a loud noise, then offer him an acceptable chew toy instead and praise him lavishly when he takes the toy in his mouth.

Make unacceptable chew items unpleasant to your puppy. Furniture and other items can be coated with "Bitter Apple" to make them unappealing.

Don't give your puppy objects to play with such as old socks, old shoes or old children's toys that closely resemble items that are off-limits. Puppies can't tell the difference!

Closely supervise your puppy. Don’t give him the chance to go off by himself and get into trouble. Use baby gates, close doors or tether him to you with a six-foot leash so you can keep an eye on him. When you must be gone from the house, confine your puppy to a small, safe area such as a crate. You may also begin to crate train your puppy. Puppies under five months of age shouldn’t be crated for longer than four hours at a time, as they may not be able to control their bladder and bowels longer than that.

Make sure your puppy is getting adequate physical activity. Puppies left alone in a yard don’t play by themselves. Take your puppy for walks and/or play a game of fetch with him as often as possible. Give your puppy plenty of "people time." He can only learn the rules of your house when he’s with you.

Never discipline or punish your puppy after the fact. If you discover a chewed item even minutes after he’s chewed it, you’re too late to administer a correction. Animals associate punishment with what they’re doing at the time they’re being punished. A puppy can’t reason that, "I tore up those shoes an hour ago and that's why I'm being scolded now." Punishment after-the-fact will not only fail to eliminate the undesirable behavior, but could provoke other undesirable behaviors, as well.

Provide your puppy with lots of appropriate toys.

Experiment with different kinds of toys. When you introduce a new toy to your puppy, watch him to make sure he won’t tear it up and ingest the pieces. Consider the various types of toys that can be stuffed with food. Putting tidbits of food inside chew toys focuses your puppy’s chewing activities on those toys instead of on unacceptable objects. If your puppy is teething, try giving him ice cubes to chew or freezing a washcloth and letting him chew on that. I prefer the ice cubes and my dogs love them.

2b. Nipping or mouthing. When puppies play with each other, they use their mouths. Therefore, puppies usually want to bite or "mouth" hands during play or when being petted. With puppies, this is rarely aggressive behavior in which the intent is to do harm.

You must teach your puppy that nipping results in unpleasant consequences for him. Teach your puppy that nipping "turns off" any attention and social interaction with you. After a nip, look your puppy right in the eye, and yell "OUCH" as though you’ve been mortally wounded, then ignore her. Leave the room if you must, but ignore him until he’s calm, then try giving the puppy a chew bone or petting him again. It may take many repetitions for him to understand what’s expected.

3. Housetraining. I suggest you use a crate to limit his access to the house until he learns all the house rules – like what he can and can’t chew on and where he can and can’t eliminate. If you properly train your pup to use the crate, he’ll think of it as his safe place and will be happy to spend time there when needed.

When you’re unable to watch your puppy at all times, he should be crated. The crate should be just big enough for him to comfortably stand, lie down and turn around in. If your crate is bigger for expected growth of the puppy then partition the crate with boxes or whatever is available to make the size you need.

Puppies do best on a regular schedule. Take your puppy outside frequently, at least every two hours, and immediately after he wakes up from a nap, after playing and after eating. Praise your puppy lavishly every time he eliminates outdoors. You can even give him a treat. You must praise him and give him a treat immediately after he’s finished eliminating, not after he comes back inside the house. This step is vital, because rewarding your dog for eliminating outdoors is the only way he’ll know that’s what you want him to do.

Choose a location not too far from the door to be the bathroom spot. Always take your puppy, on a leash, directly to the bathroom spot. Take him for a walk or play with him only after he has eliminated. If you clean up an accident in the house, take the soiled rags or paper towels and leave them in the bathroom spot. The smell will help your puppy recognize the area as the place he is supposed to eliminate. While your puppy is eliminating, use a word or phrase, like "go potty," that you can eventually use before he eliminates to remind him of what he’s supposed to be doing.

If possible, put your puppy on a regular feeding schedule. Depending on their age, puppies usually need to be fed three or four times a day. Feeding your puppy at the same times each day will make it more likely that he’ll eliminate at consistent times as well. This makes housetraining easier for both of you. Supervise the pup in the house at all times when he is not crated. Once he is housebroken then you can reduce his crate time to prevent other unwanted behaviors such as chewing when he can not be supervised. Eventually (usually around 1 year old) the pup should be able to live without the crate.

I apologize for the length of this post but there was a lot of information to cover. I hope some of it helps you with your new pup!

[Pulga]

Thanks Dixieland Dancer for the answer, the chewing problem is getting better now that he has choosen a toy to chew (i added some flavor he likes) so my shoes are safe in a closet.
The nipping is getting better too because i started to teach him the "No bite" command as you told me (ive read it somewhere else this morning), but about the domminant dog how can i tell which one is dominant if this happen:
- when the older dog is drinking water the younger dog come to drink at the same bowl and the older dog just go away and wait for her turn??
- If the younger dog is sleeping in the older dog's bed the older dog just sleep in the floor.
- but for the toys and affection the older dog dont let the younger one go first.
And the older dog keeps nipping and growling to the younger

Thank.

[Dixieland Dancer]

Originally posted by Pulga:
<STRONG> but about the domminant dog how can i tell which one is dominant if this happen:
- when the older dog is drinking water the younger dog come to drink at the same bowl and the older dog just go away and wait for her turn??
- If the younger dog is sleeping in the older dog's bed the older dog just sleep in the floor.
- but for the toys and affection the older dog dont let the younger one go first.
And the older dog keeps nipping and growling to the younger

Thank.</STRONG>

Pulga, The older dog is telling you what is important to her in the dominant arena. She doesn't care if the young dog drinks from her water bowl or sleeps in her bed but she does care if you give the younger dog attention first or if the younger dog has her toys.

Make sure you give the older dog the attention first. Always acknowledge her first, feed her first, play with her first. She is teling you that she wants to be first in your eyes over the younger dog. When it is just them she is willing to give the pup some slack. This is a good sign. The older dog is the dominant dog. Acknowledge her as such and the growling should stop.

Good Luck!

[Pulga]

Thanks again DixieLand, things are getting better now, we started to give one to one atention to each dog and begining for the older one and Lucho is starting to understand his position in the pack.
So the only problem now is that lucho is a playfull puppy and princess is not a big player but that is not a big deal.

Thank again to everyone.

Bye :D

[Barbiro]

When my flat-coated retriever, Lady, was around 6 weeks old she started mouthing and it would really hurt since she had razor-type little teeth. I read an article on the web that said when teeth touch skin to scream "ouch", pick her up and put her in the crate for 2 minutes and walk away. It took 6x for her to stop, but she really got the picture. I use that approach when she misbehaves and since Lady wants to please me, when she does something wrong, she catches on pretty quickly.