Lead the way

Hey guys

Thanks for the tips.

Sorry, i didnt mean i literally dragged him out, just painting a picture..

I think the problem is that my father used the more heavy-handed approach with our last dog, and so i will have picked up habits from him.

What i have realised is that the heavy handed approach isnt the best way for all dogs (and some would say for any) and so im looking to teach the dog love and respect without shouting or hitting....

can this be done?

Absolutely

Creating a strong bond with your pup means your pup will work harder to please, will want to pay more attention to you and what you are trying to teach it. At least I've convinced myself of that

Positive reinforcement really is what works best

If he poops inside, we sometimes would put him in the bathroom alone for a minute which seemed to be effective.

I remind myself that he is just a baby and literally can't hold it. Now if Wally has an accident in the house I realize that it is my fault for not knowing that he had to go out. You will begin to recognize patterns in their behavior and the routine.

I have found a lot of things in this forum to be very helpful, as a first time OES owner, but I often think some people are too quick to judge other's methods.

I cant afford to have an animal the size he will be, that is out of control, so i think he needs a tap on the nose and a "no" when necessary but not all the time... the vet actually told me that this is acceptable.

I bet you'd say never to smack kids either..

Whatever the right way to train Alfie is, thats what i wanna do, because i want him to be good natured.

However, i dont want him out of control, and he needs to know im the boss.

As far as the biting goes, i will look into it, and i appreciate he's still a baby, but im not gonna have him bite people and so he needs to learn.

i will read more and try different techniques to see which is the most responsive, but so far when he's biting, i tap his nose and say no, and this seems to work.

i dont appreciate the judgemental tone though. i wouldnt tell you what you're doing is wrong, with kids or dogs or whatever, i would say "try this technique, you may find it works better", not "it is unacceptable"

Richy,

People come here to hear the opinions of other people because they need advice. Bosley's Mom is a successful dog trainer and her compassionate training methods do work. Many people don't have the patience to work with their puppy and resort to what they believe is a "quick fix" by smacking them. You will end up with a dog that is fearful rather than obedient. Don't be surprised when you smack the dog in the face that one day you really get nailed on the hand, or worse.

I also know Bosley's Mom isn't a fan of Cesar Millan (the Dog Whisperer), but perhaps you can try some of his techniques. He lets the dog know who is boss but doesn't strike them. IMO, Alfie's chances of being "good natured" are very slim with the heavy handed techniques you describe. Would you smack an infant for crying? I hope not!

Everyone here is trying to help you make yourself a better dog owner and your puppy a better dog. You can take what you want from these posts and filter out what you think is worthless. Please remember that YOU came here and asked US. Most of us have much more experience in this than you so don't discount all the advice people have taken time to give you. Please get Alfie in a formal training class when he's old enough to be out with other dogs. You both will benefit greatly from it.

I wish you and Alfie the best of luck.

I find that Scarlet nips the most when she is super excited. Since she and Alfie are close in age perhaps that is what is happening with Alfie. When Scarlet sees me after an absence she is most nippy. I find that not making a fuss about my coming and going has helped calm her when I do return.
When she is in one of her crazed nippy moods, I simply scoop her up to hold her close and tell her that mommy likes kisses.....so far that has been working with us. She isn't a big nipper like one of my other sheepies. I had tried the yelping too, but with Avalon,yelping always made Avalon more crazy to bite more.
I can't say this will work with Alfie but its worth a try.

If the high-pitched yelp alone isn't working, there is another thing you could try.

We were advised (by our breeder) to yelp, then immediately remove ourselves from the puppy. By "remove yourself" she meant either emotionally or physically.

"Emotionally" remove yourself by going completely still, turning your head away and don't look at the pup, don't talk to the pup, nothing.
"Physically" remove yourself by simply turning and walking away.

A yelp (or an "ouch") or some sort of initial verbal reaction that indicates to the pup "that hurts, my skin is sensitive!" followed by removing yourself from the puppy for a short time (30 seconds or less) is something else you could try.

A book we have actually recommends that with a puppy this young, you can help teach bite inhibition by setting the puppy up for a situation where they will mouth you. So, play with your puppy and get him riled up to the point where he mouths - then ouch, remove yourself, then return to play. The puppy learns that when he bites, it hurts people, and play stops.

I think that the most important thing is not to train a puppy to never put their mouth on a person. I think the most important thing is to train a puppy to be gentle with their mouth. That's what teaching bite inhibition is - teaching how hard they can bite/mouth.

They tend to be a mouthy breed, being herding dogs. So, I know that my dog will put my guests hands in his mouth sometimes - including an 18 month old guest. But, I also know his bite inhibition is very good so his teeth barely even touch skin. Even when he's all riled up when we play, he still knows to be very gentle with his mouth.