Questions from a first time puppy owner :-)
Barkley is almost 14 weeks old, and my first dog. She's great - already sleeps through the night, responds to 'sit' and 'down' and lets us know when she needs to go outside. Being a first-time dog owner, I've read lots of books on sheepdogs and general puppy training - but I can't find anything that says when I should expect certain things (she gets her next set of shots in about two weeks, and will be ready for puppy classes after that). I've been taking her for walks (which she LOVES) and she does well walking on a leash, but I haven't been making her "heel" or walk beside me.. should I bother at this point, or is it OK to let her run ahead a little? She loves everyone, and assumes everyone loves her - so when she sees people or other animals, she wants to run to them.. it's the only time she really pulls. I've been trying to get her to sit, and wait for people to pet her (and she tries, but generally ends up jumping on everyone - I do get her off the sidewalk if someone else is coming though, so they come to us if they want to pet her - so strangers don't get jumped on without prior warning). I'm sure this will come with time - I'm assuming 14 weeks is too young to expect her to stay calm, correct? Should I try to be more strict? My Grandmother recently moved into a retirement community, so Barkley and I are "in training, lol" to walk over and visit her (it's a 2.5km walk each way). I brought her over once so far (driving), and the ladies there absolutely love her, so I'd like to bring her more often once she's a little older but she peed twice when we were there last - when people were petting her. She's never done that before, and has met lots of people. I'm a runner, so ideally I'd love to run there and back with Barkley.. it's a nice route. So far, if I try to run with her, she cuts in front of me - a sheepdog thing, I assume 
Sorry for being so long winded! I'll try to get to the point: - Should I let Barkley run ahead while we go for walks, or teach her to walk beside be right away? - Do most puppies get "bad" when they're tired? She starts nipping, jumping on the couch, etc. when it's close to nap time (I work from home, so am with her all day) - Is nervous peeing normal when she's otherwise very well "potty trained"? - Can anyone suggest anything new to each her at 14 weeks? She seems to like learning, and gets bored easily. When she starts acting up, I'll get out a treat, and tell her to sit, down, etc. to get her attention focused on me - and she stops nipping, jumping, etc.. but now as soon as she sees me with a treat, she'll sit, then lie down before I have a chance to say anything Thanks! |
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| About the walks -
I expect mine not to pull. For a long walk, I would have some periods which you train her - have her heel, sit, whatever else you are working on - and then give your release command and let her wander, sniff, all that good stuff. But - I never let mine pull me. They need to learn where the end of the lead is and behave. Be it a 6 foot ar 20 foot line, they learn where the end is and don't pull. Yes, they need reminders from time to time, especially when they are young. But, it is a good habit to get into from the beginning. The peeing sounds like submissive peeing - there are lots of posts on that - just do a search and you will pull up lots of info. You could work on "watch me" - reward her everytime she looks at you, wether on command or just randomly. Don't use treats all the time - most OES will work for praise and attention from you. Also a good one is "leave it" - this is avoiding anthing you don't want her to sniff, touch or eat. To start you can set a treat on the ground, walk past on lead and tell her leave it. Don't let her get it, then praise like heck. They usually get this one pretty quick and is a wonderful, practical thing to have them know. I highly recommend getting her into classes as soon as you can. They are fun and get you both off to a good start.  |
theshaws wrote: Hello Everyone! Barkley is almost 14 weeks old, and my first dog. She's great - already sleeps through the night, responds to 'sit' and 'down' and lets us know when she needs to go outside. Congratulations!!![/b] She loves everyone, and assumes everyone loves her - so when she sees people or other animals, she wants to run to them.. it's the only time she really pulls. [b]Tucker is 10 1/2 months old and still does this - I think for many it's an ongoing battle. From what I've heard, tons of socialization and puppy classes will help with this, because the novelty of people and other dogs will wear off a little.[/b] I'm a runner, so ideally I'd love to run there and back with Barkley.. it's a nice route. So far, if I try to run with her, she cuts in front of me - a sheepdog thing, I assume [b]I would urge against running with your puppy right now, and would wait until she is full grown (I realize that's a long time to wait). Running like that, especially on concrete, can place stress on the growing joints and bones and can cause injuries.- Should I let Barkley run ahead while we go for walks, or teach her to walk beside be right away? Many people argue that the pack member who walks in front perceives him/herself as the leader of the pack, and therefore it is best for you to walk in front to assert yourself as the pack leader, or "alpha" as some people call it. I don't know much about showing or agility, but perhaps if you are going to be getting into these types of activities it might be worth-while to practice heeling. Many other professional dog trainers, however, are satisfied with loose leash walking, meaning that it doesn't much matter where the dog is in relation to you, as long as she isn't pulling. I suppose it's up to you, really...perhaps some other members will have more thoughts on this.[/b] - Do most puppies get "bad" when they're tired? She starts nipping, jumping on the couch, etc. when it's close to nap time (I work from home, so am with her all day) [b]I find that Tucker is "bad" when he has TOO much energy, but will then slep from expending so much extra energy. Aside from walking, other great forms of exercise for them include simply playing (fetch is great if she can learn it), chewing, and doing a 5-10 minute training session. Do you think extra energy could be th culprit as opposed to over-tiredness?- Is nervous peeing normal when she's otherwise very well "potty trained"? Peeing like this can often be a signal of extreme submissiveness. A submissive animal will pee as a signal to the dominant animal, as if to say, "I'm really no harm, I swear! You be the boss! I'm just little and I don't mean any harm!". Is she otherwise a very submissive dog? If she is, there are some things you can do to build up her confidence... - Can anyone suggest anything new to each her at 14 weeks? She seems to like learning, and gets bored easily. When she starts acting up, I'll get out a treat, and tell her to sit, down, etc. to get her attention focused on me - and she stops nipping, jumping, etc.. but now as soon as she sees me with a treat, she'll sit, then lie down before I have a chance to say anything. I rather enjoyed parts of "Puppies for Dummies", which gave a breakdown of the phases and development as well as what types of things you should be working on in each phase. In addition, if she's doing the sit-lie down right away, you can start working on differentiating between the two. Often times people give Sit then Lie Down right after one another, so the dog learns the progression and therefore cannot completely differentiate between the two commands. If you say "sit" and she does sit-down, then she gets no reward. This may quickly teach her that sit and down are two different things. Also, don't always give the down command after sit, sometimes just do one or the other. Thanks! I hope I was able to give you a few tips and things to think about! Good luck and welcome to the forum. Don't forget to post lots of pictures! |
| Thanks Dawn and Mel!
Quote: The peeing sounds like submissive peeing - there are lots of posts on that - just do a search and you will pull up lots of info. -- She doesn't seem overly submissive.. maybe it was just too much, too soon? The first time she did it, a lady asked me to come into a room with about 20 people to let them see her.. the ladies were all gushing and wanting to pet her. Then she did it a couple of other times that day, but hasn't done it since. When we first got her she seemed determined to be dominate over me - so I'm not too worried about her confidence.. although that reminds me that she occationally gets scared when she hears other dogs bark. Quote: hen she sees people or other animals, she wants to run to them.. it's the only time she really pulls. Tucker is 10 1/2 months old and still does this - I think for many it's an ongoing battle. From what I've heard, tons of socialization and puppy classes will help with this, because the novelty of people and other dogs will wear off a little. -- I will put her in puppy classes as soon as she has all of her shots. I think she'll love it, and it will be good for me and my husband to learn a few things too! Quote: I would urge against running with your puppy right now, -- Yes - my breeder told me that too. I just wanted to do a little test to see what she would do if I started to run while we were walking Quote: Should I let Barkley run ahead while we go for walks, or teach her to walk beside be right away? -- Anyone else want to weigh in on this? Quote: Do you think extra energy could be th culprit as opposed to over-tiredness? I don't think so, but I'm not sure. She plays outside in the back yard a lot during the day - we play fetch with her, and she and my husband like to "skate" on the pond! I always take her for at least one walk during the day.. so I think she's getting enough excercise. My husband is a firefighter, so he's off a lot - and I have an assistent who works here with me, so between the three of us, there's usually someone to play with. Quote: I rather enjoyed parts of "Puppies for Dummies"
Thanks - I haven't read that one yet! I've been breaking down sit, and down so she knows they're different.. I ask her to sit any time we cross a street on our walks, or when we see someone coming. I have LOTS of pics.. will upload some soon She's a big hit on facebook!! |
| P.S.
My name's Julie |
| Julie, lots of good advice........remember, tho, she's not had all her shots. So her walks could be bringing her into the diseases she's not ready to fight off. So be vary careful about taking her places where other dogs congregate.
The puppy class will have rules as to when she can particpate....after all her shots. 2 1/2 miles is a bit far for this pup. Remember she's still growing. Make the walks slow with frequent rests. I remember having to carry home a Siberian husky puppy because she got too tired on a walk. LOL! That didn't last long......sled dogs can run forever. |
| We're Canadian - we're working our way up to just over 2km, hopefully by summer (I think that's about one mile)
So far we're just walking around the neighbourhood, no dog parks or anything. Julie |
| Welcome to the forum Julie! |
Izzie still does the peeing thing, and she is almost 3. I see it more as excitement peeing...it sounds less intimidating that way  We know that if people are coming over we have to take her out just before they get to our place. Otherwise she gets soooo excited and ends up going inside. Same when we go somewhere....she has to stay outside until she pees. |
| Hi Julie! Welcome to the forum! It sounds you're already doing great with Barkley. I would say you start training her as soon as she enters your life, including leash manners.
Quote: Should I let Barkley run ahead while we go for walks, or teach her to walk beside be right away? Don't let her run in front of you. Before you realize you'll have a 60+Lbs "puppy" running ahead of you.  She will also know how far is too far. I realized that the hard way, Boni fell asleep in the middle of our walk.  Poor puppy. I did 2km easy with him when he was around 5 months but I only started to jog a little bit with him recently. I wanted to wait until he turned one.When you run with her, also make sure that she doesn't get overheated. You can check how hot she is by touching the inside of her ears.  What else....oh, yes. When you run with her she will be much better on leash. The reason for this is because you are picking up her pace not the other way round. If you watch her or any dog off leash you can see that they are (for some reason ) unable to walk; they have to run or trot.You can practice "Heel" walking by a wall or you can trot a little and then slow down and just walk. Keep changing your speed so she pays more attention to you - always praise her crazy! Quote: Can anyone suggest anything new to each her at 14 weeks? Anything she is open to learn. By food (or toy) luring her, you can see what she is able to do. I.e. give paws, turn around, "pray" - play bow - , talk - bark - , roll over, etc. You can also do "Capture training", which means you praise her every time you see her doing something, such as lying down, you say "Down, good girl" Quote: I'm assuming 14 weeks is too young to expect her to stay calm, correct? You are correct. At that age, everything is still pretty new and very exciting to her. Try to keep calm and don't make big deal out of things, which shows her a good example. Quote: Should I try to be more strict?
Be as strict as you feel like. Some people say I'm pretty strict with my boys. I have rules, boundaries and consequences as well, they get affection only when they deserve it - walking nice on leash, sitting and waiting for dinner nice, not jumping etc. Make sure to praise her when she is calm, sitting down or relaxing, reinforce good behavior. If you have friends with dogs - puppies and adults - that are well socialized and have their shots you can organize a puppy party so she can learn to be with other dogs before she gets her shots. I can't think of anything else, you are already doing a pretty good job with her. Just keep up the work and if you have any questions let me know! |
| Thanks!
The FedEx lady just came by for a pick up and fell in love with her I can't tell you how many times strangers have described her as a 'teddy bear'! |
| It is very important for your puppy to be confident and happy. Training needs to be gentle and non-violent. I do not use physical force when training. All is with hand signals, luring and rewards.
The best thing you can teach your puppy right now is that the world is a wonderful, fun place to be and people are wonderful. You can be very subtle and enforce rule and boundaries by "suggesting" to your puppy wonderful things happen when he does certain things. I truly believe in manners and rules, and I teach them gently and in a way that the dog enjoys...So much that they don't even know they are being manipulated!  I like to work with their state of mind, and what works with them, rather than forcing unnatural behavior .
I do not believe in anything except loosh-leash walking for puppies. As far as I am concerned the puppy can run and play and wander where he wants, as long as when the leash gets taut he stops. That way you can vary the length of the leash, so very short when you want your puppy to walk close to you, and very long when you don't mind if he goes off on a wonder in a field...on leash..... "HeeL" is a formal walk that is not fun for puppies and does not teach them anything about the outside world. That can be taught later, and never should be used for long periods of time. And welcome to the forum, neighbor! |
| Hey! You practically live next door!
Barkley is a really good girl.. she sits at the door when she wants in or out, sits for me to put her leash on, lies down on the kitchen floor when I'm getting her food ready.. and she tries to sit patiently when she meets new people (but that's a tough one). She even tries really hard to be still when she sees one of our two cats - she can tell they're not ready to play with her yet. The last couple days I've been walking her down to a park by the lake a couple blocks away so we can be where we're not in peoples way and she can practice sitting when she sees someone she wants to play with. Then I warn them that she'll probably jump up if they come close - nobody has been able to resist petting her yet! I'm looking forward to pupply classes in a couple weeks, and we do have some friends with dogs she'll play with soon. One friend lives right around the corner, and has a sheepdog/lab cross who watches us out the window every day when we walk by. |
| As far as the being "bad"right before they go to sleep, we experienced this with Dodger. It's gone now, but there was about a month where after he'd been on a good walk, done a little training, and played he'd get really, well, bad. He'd start barking, nipping and stealing things, then about 10 minutes later crash. I have no way to explain it, and just wanted to let you know that it's gone now. |
| Hi and welcome to the forum from Bolton |
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