Pet Forums Community

Go Back   Pet Forums Community > Dog Forums > Dog Training and Behaviour

Dog Training and Behaviour Discuss dog training and behaviour problems in this section. Are you having problems with your dogs behaviour? Then submit your problems and get help from other members. Do you have some excellent dog training advice? then submit your details here to help others.

Registered users don't see this ad - Register Now (It's free!)
Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #11 (permalink)  
Old 21-01-2009, 10:47 AM
hutch6's Avatar
Pet Forums VIP Member
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: 15mins from the Yorkshire Dales.
Posts: 3,156
hutch6 has a reputation beyond reputehutch6 has a reputation beyond reputehutch6 has a reputation beyond reputehutch6 has a reputation beyond reputehutch6 has a reputation beyond reputehutch6 has a reputation beyond reputehutch6 has a reputation beyond reputehutch6 has a reputation beyond reputehutch6 has a reputation beyond reputehutch6 has a reputation beyond reputehutch6 has a reputation beyond repute
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.
Reply With Quote
Registered users don't see this ad - Register Now (It's free!)
  #12 (permalink)  
Old 21-01-2009, 11:05 AM
Pet Forums Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Telford, Shropshire
Posts: 42
silver_pigeon is on a distinguished road
Re: Help I'm desperate!!

Go back to square one!

Treat her as if she were a puppy, immediately that she finishes eating...out the door! First thing in the morning, out the door, last thing at night, out the door, and every 25 ish minutes inbetween!

Make her go back and re-train, she must understand that outside is the place for mess, not inside which is her home, we tried crate training but found it not as good as jus teaching our Russell that he must tell us when he needs to go!

Its worked, as I say out first thing in the morning, if we see him drink from the bowl we leave it 5 minutes and straight out! Go out with her also, give her encouragement and have a word for it, we use wee wees and poo poos it sounds dum but it works! Our boys know that when we go out with them and say this, if they want to go for either, then is the time!

I hope that helps a little??
Reply With Quote
  #13 (permalink)  
Old 21-01-2009, 02:35 PM
nlineker
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Re: Help I'm desperate!!

I definitely empathize with you. There is no question that this is one of the most frustrating obstacles to overcome. But I promise you when your pup comes around, it will be worth the time and effort. Firstly, I would recommend crate training. But before you can focus on that, I would get the pup to go outside. I have a 5lb min pin and she doesn't like going outside in our extremely cold canadian winters - but she does!

Watch your dog carefully for any signs that she needs to go outside. If need be, have her attached to a leash to you so that you're all ready to go when she is. I have bell trained my dog, which makes life a heck of a lot easier too - especially since she doesn't bark or make a lot of noise.

Take her to the same spot and tell her to "go wee" - don't say anything else. Eliminating takes a lot of concentration for a dog. Click and reward! If she wees in the house, clean it up. Don't shout at the pup or rub her nose in it.

I also found that "Petzyme" helped rid the odour that only animals can smell after you've cleaned everything up - dogs tend to go in the same place all the time.

Plenty of praise and treats when she does the right thing will communicate to the dog what is expected of her. The reason she is eliminating in the house is because you haven't clarified what is expected of her. Positive reinforcement is key!

I have several resources that may also be of help to you if you're interested. Regarding, house and crate training, bell training, click training. This is my first pup and with enough patience she has become a perfect angel.

Good Luck!
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Sponsored Ads


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



All posts made on this forum are NOT monitored.
All times are GMT. The time now is 08:25 AM.


PetForums is part of the Pet Media group of websites including | Pets4Homes | PetsLocally


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.5
Copyright ©2000 - 2012, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0 RC 2