
21-01-2009, 10:47 AM
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Pet Forums VIP Member
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: 15mins from the Yorkshire Dales.
Posts: 3,156
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Re: Help I'm desperate!!
Clinginess, anxiety, lack of house training and not treating the dog as a dog, may I suggest being more of a pack leader and disagreeing with the behaviour.
Your dog shows no respect for what should be simple rules i.e. do not pee on my bed. If your children were using your lounge or your bed as a toilet I am sure you would be quick to explain what the alternative is, why it is wrong and then praise or reward them for using the correct area. If your dog has been used to going where it wants for the 14months you have had it then expecting it to go outside straight away is putting too much pressure on the dog and yourself. This will result in more tension between you, your partner and the dog because it has not learned to respect you as the one who sets the rules.
Suggestion:
Restrict the dog to a room or two rooms that you can give leniency to any accidents in. One room would be best for this and a bonus is a solid floor. Cover the whole floor area in newspaper. When the dog does it's business then praise and reward. This must be immediate so supervision is necessary. Clean up the mess and then lay more newspaper down. Gradually through doing this you will be able to decrease the area of floor cover in newspaper. If there is less newspaper down and the dog misses then no praise is given, the mess is cleared up and a sheet of newspaper is laid down over the area. If the dog goes on an area of newspaper really make a fuss of the dog. Overtime you should aim for just a few sheets over a small area, praising when the paper is used and disciplined when not (a stern "no" and then moved to the paper will be sufficient). Once a small area of paper is used on a consistent basis then this can be moved slowly overtime towards the door that you would use to let the dog out to use the garden. If the praise and reward has been constant then the dog will actively seek out the newspaper to use it and it won't prove an issue. Keep the paper by the door for longer than you did when moving it's position. When it becomes second nature for the dog take the leap of faith and move the paper outside.
When the paper has been moved outside then you need to start taking the dog out more often as stated before - after a sleep, eating, playing and just as something to do. When the dog uses the paper massive praise, a treat and a bit of a play in the garden. When you have got this level and it is consistent, wait until the dog urinates on the paper outside and take the paper to an area of the garden you would like the dog to use. Next time you take the dog out walk it to this area and it should use the newspaper in this area. If it does big up the dog as usual but tip the contents of the newspaper onto this area of the lawn and throw away the paper.
Now you need to start taking the dog to this area of the garden on leash and praising for using this area. Eventually you will just need to escort the dog there and then the dog will just go to that area under it's own knowledge of the rules. Job done.
How long this will take to train will depend on how consistent you are, how committed you and your family are (it's a job for everyone to enforce the rules as the dog has a need to fit in with everyone and will therefore learn quicker), if the treat is adequate to your dogs preference (this could be food or a favourite toy depending on which motivates your dog the most) and if you start showing your dog the respect it deserves by treating as a dog and thinking about it's requirements and needs (that's not meant to be harsh but taking an active interest in your dog's needs will only create a closer bond - they are not human and never asked to be treated equally).
So that should hopefully solve your toilet issue.
To get your dog to stop whining, barking or carrying on when you are not there is a bigger matter but it all interlinks with everything. The key to it is to make a list of rules for the dog. This needs to be a list that is agreed by the family. It may include things such as not allowing the dog upstairs, not allowing it to beg for food but it needs to be agreed and clear so that everyone can enforce them.
Take the time to train the dog and if it is already sitting on command or coming on command then you have the basis. As I have stated in other threads the "down" command is the most important, in my opinion anyway, and from this you can teach "stay" a lot better as it takes the dog longer to get up move towards you giving you more time to correct the unwanted creeping up and towards behaviour and gives a clear distinction to the dog.
Start by getting the dog into a down position (laying down) and treat. Down and then "Stay", a few seconds delay and then treat. Down, "Stay" and then a step back - treat. Down, "Stay", a step back, wait a few seconds wait and then treat. Down, "Stay", two steps back, turn away for a second and then turn back - treat.
Each time you have consistent behaviour of ten times on each stage then increase the distance or the time you face away. Do this until you can leave the room, walk around each bedroom or go outside and then return without the dog moving. What this allows you to do is stop the dog shadowing you by a simple "Stay" and then doing what you want to do. It counter-conditions the dog by teaching a behaviour that it can do to replace the behaviour that is unwanted which ultimately takes pressure off of the dog and teaches it to respect your wishes. If it is following you everywhere but picking up from you that it is not wanted it gets stressed and escalates it's anxiety because it doesn't know what else to do so it thinks by increasing it's level of behaviour it will satisfy you and itself so it all snowballs.
During this time try the old leaving the dog alone for a short time and returning with a treat is no barking or whining is experienced but you just need to walk out of the room. Don’t think about being mean or trying to reassure the dog by saying "It's ok sweetie, I'll be back soon" as the dog doesn't understand the words but the tone of voice suggests that something is wrong and will increase the dog's anxiety. Ignore the dog and walk out the room closing the door behind you. Wait a few seconds and then return. Praise if no anxiety shown. Do the same again a few minutes later but try to increase the time you are out of the room.
If at anytime you leave it too long with any of the training stuff and the dog either gets up after a "Stay" or starts whining when you are out of the room do not discipline the dog because it is you that has moved too fast for the dog and you need to go back a stage and get that consistency.
I hope this helps.
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