New OES parents! Help!
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What state are you in? Would you be willing to work with a trainer? Your vet may have someone they work with that they can recommend for one-one &/or group sessions. They really helped with my willful "teen"  |
| Welcome guest.... This is the best place to be, to ask questions and get the support from people who have been in your shoes. I am there right now. I have a 6 month old, Willow, who has been with us for about a month now. She, like Huckleberry, was peeing in the house, so I began to tether her to me. She is on leash at all times when she isn't in her crate so I can notice when she has to go. Mostly she lays by me, but, if she begins to get up and pace...out she goes. She is learning to 'pee on command'...'go pee'..then she does...then a treat... she is very smart!!! When the peeing began in the house I took her to my vet to confirm my suspicion that she had a UTI (urinary tract infection). You may want to make sure Huckleberry does not have an medical issues in regards to his peeing in the house. If everything checks out and Huckleberry is free from any infections, the next step would be training. Willow begins her obedience training class on Saturday. If there are any issues that I am having, the trainer will help 'us' resolve them. (Willow is a very soft pup....she notices EVERYTHING and sometimes she get a little scared, but she will face her fears which is good.) I live in St. Louis and it has been icy, snowy and cold so our outings have not been a regular as I would like. I do take her to the pet stores and ask people to treat her and pet her. She seems to enjoy that!~ Willow is into chewing anything she can find, so when I see her even looking at an UNchewable, I tell her NO!!! and give her a bone to chew. It seems to be working..(except for TP, paper towels, kleenex...sheepies love to tear and sometimes eat paper....  )The best person to talk to is your BREEDER!!!!! They know that litter...that puppy the BEST and they can help you the most. I am always talking to my breeder about issues with Willow and my past sheepies. They were always willing to offer support, give me suggestions or just let me talk..  If the aggressive nipping and biting continues, and your breeder cannot help, I would look for a good behaviorist to help you find out what the problem is..he may have some issues from birth that you are not aware of. Please keep us posted...and post a pic of your Huckleberry..we love puppy pics!!!!!!  |
| Your pup is only 12 wks old. He is discovering his world through his mouth. I know because I have a 10 wk one home with me at the moment, he's an aussie, but puppies are puppies. The best to work on the bitting is say no! and ALWAYS have something to give him that he is allowed to bite on. Eventually the biting will get less. I can now make it through a day with out getting bit. My husband says my arms look like I've been thrown in a briar bush. lol Regarding Huckelberry chewing on things he's not supposed too. We all quickly learn to not leave anything on the floor or withing their grasp if they can stand on their back legs. No food ever left out on the counters. Waste baskets off the floors too. Controlers, cell phns ect ALWAYS UP HIGH. Close the door of the bathrooms and you won't have to worry about toilet paper. Everyone just has to be vigilant. Regarding training: You have to work at training everyday. Eventually they will retain what you're teaching them, but you boy is still a baby. My Declan is learning to sit on que. The potty part usually is the failure of the owner....take him out more often. Once again, he's little so when he has to go he has to go and won't wait around for you. Take him out more often and make it the only reason you're there. Tell him to go potty, and when he does give him a treat and than head back in the house. They do get it eventually. They do like to please. Good luck and looking forward to seeing some pics. |
| Regarding the biting... I would always shove a toy in Fred's mouth when she'd get nippy.... just keep shoving toys in his mouth until he gets that hands aren't for biting but toys are.. some days it felt like 24/7 job but it worked for me. Aggressive snapping... I think obedience classes might help you there.. plus they are fun for you and your dog to bond and socialize with others. Peeing in the house: it was explained to me that the dog needs to build the habit to pee outside.. if never given the chance to pee in the house, they won't associate the house with peeing. When Fred was little I would set a timer for 20 minutes and take her out that often whenever she was out of her crate... then I gradually increased it by 10 minute increments until she could make it over an hour.. I took her out every hour until it was obvious she really wasn't having to pee that often.. she only ever had about 5 accidents in the house and 3 I can relate to me wanting to do just one more thing after the beeper went off. Even though your dog is peeing in the house, this still might work to set the habit. good luck! |
| Hello, I am in St. Louis as well and have an eleven month old boy. Even though he is my fourth sheepdog it is always difficult going through the puppy stages. The above are some good suggestions. We always put a toy in the mouth when the biting/chewing starts. Also a firm "No" (not a yell) when they are doing the wrong thing. This should be followed by a calm, but pleasant "Good boy" when they stop the bad behavior. The result for us has been that Harry, our 8 year old, doesn't mind the word "No" and that it is more like playing the hot & cold game in that "No" is just a source of information. "No" is not what I want and "Yes" and "Good boy" are approval of appropriate behavior. I noticed that Bert, our puppy, seems to be getting this too. So it makes subsequent training easier and easier. Regarding the house training we could probably use some more detail. Does Huckleberry pee in his crate? Is he in his crate all day and keeps it dry? Helen was right when she said failure of house training is usually the owners. We were failing it with Bert because we hadn't had such a young puppy in a long time. But once we followed a sheet on potty training that I got from my breeder we saw an improvement. PM you e-mail address and I will try to send it to you. You will see ebbs and flows in behavior. So don't get discouraged. You are very wise to ask for help so that you have the best family member possible for years to come. |
| All very good suggestions above. Housetraining can take a long time until you feel you can trust them. I kept 2 pups from my last litter & oh my, what an ordeal potty training was. It all boils down to being consistent with them in the routine & spending the time WITH them while they are outside. Light, dark, sun, rain, snow......if they go out, you go out. As soon as they do one or the other they get a treat immediately. My boy would always bark to let me know he had to go out....right from the start. My girl....she was the silent type so I had to watch her more closely for signs. As a matter of fact, sometimes my boy would bark to let me know my girl had to go! The main thing is to not get discouraged. They will backslide & then improve. And one day you will think they have it & the next day they have an accident! Eventually the light bulb goes on in their brain. The people who tell you that they had their puppies trained in a week or 2 have very short memories |
| With the nipping - we also used the "toy in the mouth" thing. Any time Benson would get nippy, out came a toy. You might need to keep a toy in every room, or carry one in your pocket for a while, so you always have one nearby. Benson still forgets herself sometimes, and gets nippy when she's excited. (She's 2-1/2.) Most of the time she realizes she's feeling nippy, and runs to grab a toy to hold while she plays with us. If she forgets, we just say "no" at the first nip, and off she runs for the toy. Good luck! |
| I'm so glad to read these posts. I have a 5 month old OES that we have had since 10 weeks of age. She had one very early incident of toy guarding early on but nothing for weeks. This last week she growled and snapped as I walked by her crate after I'd given her a Kong with a treat in the crate. I had made no move to her or even spoken to her and she did this. If we give her anything new....toy, new type of treat she can't eat in one bite, etc.....we see this. Now she has started growling with her food and that is new. At first it was just with me but now with my husband some too. What is going on? Finally today, when she was eating, my husband sat nearby in the floor on her level and she was fine. It seems to be when we are standing over her. Anyone else experience this seemingly sudden change? We start obedience classes in a couple of weeks. I hope this is a good thing. Any hints are appreciated! |
| food guarding, oh boy. You need to train her you are her sole provider of food; to give and to take away. Start with hand feeding, yep the whole meal. Kibble at a time and she must behave for each kibble. Both of you must feed her. If she acts up, no more food. In fact you can make this "work for food" time, she must sit or lie down for each kibble. This further inforces you are "gods of the food" not her. Praise when she does well. NO when she doesn't. Gradually work back to the dish. Put in kibble, a little, stand in front of dish, her in a sit, you give the command to eat. She doesn't behave, up comes the food for a later time. Dogs must learn you are in command! Period. You are not mean, but fair and insist upon their cooperation or they don't receive--praise, food, etc. I had an adult rescue male who about took my thumb off in resource guarding his food. We got to the stage, he waited for the command to eat, but if I wanted him to stop, I had to offer an alternative......he was a sucker for a biscuit. You could "see" his pea brain working, "Kibble or TREAT?" As for the crate, throw a towel over one side, give the guy a little privacy. It's their den, they expect a place of safety. |
| My OES had three incidents as a puppy where she truly growled in an aggressive way at me. She stole the dish towel off the oven handle and did not want to give it back. I did what the vet told me to do which is grab her by her scruff, pin, her and take whatever she has in her mouth away and hold her there until her heart beat is back to normal and not racing with aggression. This does not hurt the dog but a mother OES would do exactly this if she needed to put the puppy back in its place. Pinning the dog asserts your dominance and is reinforced by retrieving whatever is in the dogs mouth. Not releasing the dog until their heart rate is back to normal teaches them the feelings of aggression are bad and wont be tolerated. It took Rigby three pins and she has never been aggressive since except to protect herself when another dog started a fight. Also around 5 months is when Rigby's adult teeth were coming in so she was more puppy nippy again and like to kinda gnaw (not in a mean way) on my arm because the pressure felt good on her mouth. I would replace my arm with a toy. |
| My vet gave the exact same advice. I pinned her twice today and she is much more subdued and not growling at me tonight. They explained just like you did and it is what happens in the wild too. It certainly got my heart rate up!! |
| i have 2 oes... i hung a bell at each door. i take them out frequently and before they go i shake the bell. now when they have to go they hit the bell or nudge it with their nose. they do this to relieve themselves or play. yes they ring the bell a lot but it is a good system. |
| Only Jack figured out the bells and would ring them and then turn and look down the hall, "Are you coming?" However the rest have come and come running when they hear the bells. Kensie would learn faster if her uprights were more reliable in training. |
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