Is my little OES a monster?
Cricket is biting and taking over my house Is this natural OES behavior? I got her from a rescue at 12 weeks. She is now 16 weeks and I am actually considering putting her in a Dog Academy for 4 weeks because she has become so difficult. The Academy said that all OES are extremly difficult, Is this true? I will do whatever it takes to have a happy healthy puppy. I just want to be sure that the Academy is'nt trying to take advantage of my situation. Will she grow out of the sneaky, naughty, stubborn, aggressive monster that she is turning out to be? I dont recall this behavior with the other puppies I have raised. Where did my sweet puppy go to? Wits End in Colorado |
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all puppies have the potential to be monsters...biting ones 
puppy classes are the way to go...but you should also be there to train with her. the instructors train you more than the puppy! |
| I don't think the difficulty has anything to do with the breed. I have a rescue sheepdog that also has behavioral issues, but the more I train and work with her, the better she gets. I wouldn't recommend sending her somewhere, as it's really the person that gets trained more than the dog (as was already mentioned). Just be patient and do as much research as possible into positive-reinforcement training methods. These are the best methods for all dogs, but especially for dogs with behavioral issues. Look through other threads on here, there are excellent book and video recommendations. Also be sure that all people in the house are involved with the training porocess and are being consistent.
Good luck! |
| Thanks for the reminder of teeth, I just don't remember the actual biting part of motherhood. She will just run at me with full speed and bite me then run off. I'm sure this has something to do with herding. I want to learn to train her, have been feeding her by hand out of her bowl to get the sit and down and stay, but when it comes to the teeth and the barking I am at a stand still, Any Ideas? |
| ALL OES are NOT monsters. I'd look somewhere else other than The Academy or whatever it calls itself for puppy training and advice. Run. Don't look back.
At 16 weeks, your puppy is very much a puppy. In fact, at 16 months, your puppy will still be a puppy, albeit a very large puppy, which is why you want to learn to train her. At 16 weeks you should expect your puppy to be teething big time--ie, her mouth is on everything and everyone. This is normal, and it is also to be discouraged/re-directed. Make sure she has plenty of suitable chew toys: kongs stuffed with frozen kibble are favorites, and direct her towards those sorts of things rather than your fingers or brand new shoes (although expect to lose a few shoes). She's exactly the right age to begin puppy classes for basic training, which will include coming when called, sit, down, Off (valuable to get her to keep her mouth off of anything or anyone you don't want her to have), etc. Mostly, it will help you learn effective training techniques to help your dog become a perfect citizen and to live well with humans. It will also help your pup be socialized. Do you know how your puppy ended up in rescue? |
Quote: The Academy said that all OES are extremly difficult, Is this true? No... they made too broad a statement when they said "all" so I'd wonder what real experience with the breed they've based that statement on. This breed can indeed be stubborn and strong willed often believing they know what you want before it's asked but they are not extremely difficult to train in my opinion. Herding dogs do nip and need to be trained that it's not acceptable. I've got 4 sheepies plus two mix breeds... and a sheepie-mix before that. One of my sheepie's was a handful when she arrived at 10 months of age but even she, in all her exuberance, could be trained though it took much longer. I've found pups are pretty easy to train as long as your consistent and that you have brief training sessions several times a day to start. Are you considering dropping her off for 4 weeks to have someone else train her? I don't think I would be comfortable doing that. Trainers need to train the owners how to handle their own dog. You are right in believing you need to get in control now though... by a year old she may have 30+ additional pounds behind all that energy and she needs to be molded into the dog you want now. Exercise is a great way to burning off some of that extra puppy energy... is there a pup close to her age that she might be able to expend some of the energy with? Quote: Will she grow out of the sneaky, naughty, stubborn, aggressive monster that she is turning out to be?
I feel pretty confident in saying that she will NOT simply grow out of this behavior but she can be trained not to do a lot of it. You mention sneaky and naughty behavior... is she getting into things she shouldn't? If she is, when you're not watching her she should be confined to a puppy-safe room or crate (collar off every time a dog is in a crate to prevent strangulation). Too much freedom for an untrained dog is never a good thing and of course will lead to problems (speaking from experience here with my exuberant sheepie that also had separation anxiety!). They need to be supervised 100% of the time when they're loose in the house so they can LEARN limits. They just don't come naturally. Before settling on The Academy, you might strongly consider a few private sessions with a professional trainer with a humane approach that will teach YOU how to handle her and give you pointers. You might ask your vet if he/she can recommend someone good. You're doing the right thing looking for help early. Good luck to you. |
| I went to Utah to pick her up from the rescue, they said they got her from a (kill) shelter because she was a purebred. They said the OES shelters would not take her because she still had her tail. She was in the rescue with 11 other dogs and supposibly crate trained. That we have not had any luck with either, Her top bark time has been clocked at 2 hrs. My neighbors are all saints.
I have always liked the idea of self training. As I have said, I have trained 2 amazing dogs before. I am a dog girl with alot of time on my hands to do this. I was just told from the "Academy" that they are all problem children. The small amount of time I have spent on this chat room has at least opened my eyes to the reality of a different kind of puppy than the Chows I am used to. (And I thought they were problem children) |
| Just a thought...
You might try dropping a metal cookie sheet on the floor and say "ENOUGH!" the next time she's crated and barking. Or try a penny can. Ask your vet if she's too young to try a citronella Gentle Spray Collar by Premier (again though... the collar CANNOT be worn in the crate). |
| It's a battle of the wills right now. She is finally able to express herself but didn't learn as a puppy the right and wrong way.....such is the problem with puppy mills or unknowledgeable breeders.
You are the pack leader and have to act large and in-charge but also above physical violence. How much exercise is she getting? A lot of the pent up energy comes out in bad behavior. Sounds like she needs her little paws walked off then do the training. When their little brains have run out of "pent up energy" chemical, then they are easier to mold and form into the puppy you want. Persistence before praise. Make sure she does the command before praise.......listen to yourself carefully. You may be giving mixed messages. Husband tried to encourage by saying things like: good dog, good girl, come on baby, etc all in a praise voice before the command has been compleated. It's like serving dessert first, why bother with the nutritious food? Remember, they earn your praise. Once she's got her behavior under control, then you can be a bit lax regarding praise. You as a Mommy want to slather her with love, but she's got to learn you are the pack leader, not another puppy to play with. You are the boss, she is NOT the boss......that's what she's testing you with right now. I've used the penny (or gravel) in a coffee can to startle the dog when they are in the brain-dead mode doing something wrong...often barking. Once stopped, distract them into acceptable behavior . Finally you have resources you can talk to there in Colo Springs re: sheepdogs. Contact Colorado OES rescue...... Bette Green (Colorado Springs) betoes24@cs.com 719-683-4459 OES Rescue of Colorado Joe Olds JOlds1@aol.com 719-632-4788 OES Rescue of Colorado They might be willing to "talk sheepdog" for awhile. Also a very well known sheepdog breeder lives in the springs. Doug and MichaelAnn Johnson. He and his wife own a boarding kennel, do grooming, etc--or they did. I'm not sure but I think their facility is the one on the north side of town where I-25 and......Nevada??.....join back up. The kennel is on the hill above......maybe,  |
| At 16 weeks you are just about the height of the nipping and mouthing stage. My puppy did the same thing. Jump and bite. I had more black and blues and ripped shirts from him! He did begin puppy class and has outgrown all that nipping.
Something that did help was to be srue he always had lots of chew toys. When he would nip at us, we would say OUCH really loud and walk away for a few minutes. Then come back and stick his chew toy in his mouth and tell him what a good boy he was. Replace your arm with the chew toy! Don't give up. he will outgrow this. |
Good Luck you'll get alot of good advice here. Be consistent  |
| I trained Brooklyn not to bark with the penny can method, and she almost NEVER barks. It only took her a few weeks to get it. Stella doesn't really bark excessively, so I haven't done anything with her.
Sampson is a dream puppy. When he is in his crate, he does not bark unless he needs out to go to the bathroom, or if he is extremely thirsty or hungry, and even then he only lets out a quick bark or two, and that's it. The only time I have a problem with him barking is when I have him in his play pen and I open the sliding door to go into the back yard, then he barks like crazy until I come back in the house. I'm going to make a penny can for these times  |
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