Training Harrington

[dogcatmom02]

Hi! I am currently taking Harrington to puppy class. He has completed 3 classes and will not do down for me at all. He is a skiddish puppy. He does good w/sit, walking on the leash etc. He also is scared of the car because he gets motion sickness. The vet wants to see if he will out grow the motion sickness. I take him out in the neighborhood and he won't go up to new people right away but after a few minutes he will let them pet him. I feel so bad for him, he is such a sweet boy and it breaks my heart that he is so scared. Any advice? Do you think that I took him to class too soon? He is almost 5 mons old? He is very small (9.6 lbs) and I could not take him to class until he got all of his shots. There is no pass or fail in Puppy 1 class but there is in Puppy 2, We have 3 more classes left and I am reluctant to sign him up for the 2nd class until we can work through his phobias.

 

[trini]

First of all don't feel sad for him...he will pick up on those vibes and it will only assure him that something is indeed wrong and that will support/reinforce his fears.

For the car: try feeding him his meals in the car with it standing still in your driveway or garage (always stay in the car with him while he eats). He may be hesitant to eat at first, just quietly wait him out. Play little games with him in the car like teaching him to give you his paw and treat all successes. You can even take a book out to the car, put his bed on the car seat next to you and let him chill out while you read for a while. Message being that the car is no different from other parts of his home...it is just a room on wheels that is perfectly safe.

Once he actually looks forward to going out to the car, go through the same routines with the motor running but the car not yet moving...and once that is accepted with no sign of anxiety try very short drives (maybe just up and down the driveway at first) and each day extend the distance a little bit. If there is a nice park nearby that is not crowded you could drive there and get out of the car, have a small really yummie treat (don't feed too much or it may just be handed back to you on the drive home!). Many pups do outgrow being car sick as they mature...but helping him to see the car as a happy, safe place where good things happen will go a long way towards getting to that goal.

He is doing well with new people...shelties on the whole are a reserved breed with people they don't know (obviously there are some exceptions) and the fact that after a few minutes he allows new people to pet him is really excellent.

On the whole he sounds like he is doing just fine for a 5 month old pup.

Trini

 

[Cara Sandler]

For the car: try feeding him his meals in the car with it standing still in your driveway or garage (always stay in the car with him while he eats). He may be hesitant to eat at first, just quietly wait him out. Play little games with him in the car like teaching him to give you his paw and treat all successes. You can even take a book out to the car, put his bed on the car seat next to you and let him chill out while you read for a while. Message being that the car is no different from other parts of his home...it is just a room on wheels that is perfectly safe.
Trini

It probably goes without saying, but I wouldn't put him in the car in the summer without the engine running. It gets too hot for them to be in a car without air conditioning for even 5 minutes.

 

[Caro]

3 classes is nothing to learn a down, small dogs find it particularly hard. Not only does it put them in a vulnerable position (small dogs prefer to stay away from people's feet), but they also can't see your face. Have a look at your positioning. Get on the ground with her rather than tower over her, don't hold the treat up, put it all the way on the ground. Also talk to your instructor about other methods for teaching down. One method I use with small dogs is to have them go under the handler's legs (you can sit on the ground or sit in a chair, depending on how small your dog is). Your legs should only be high enough for the pup to crawl under. Use a treat to coax them under your legs. Also reward in steps rather then just rewarding when belly is on the floor. Talk to your instructor, these are things s/he should show you.

Trini's hit the nail on managing car sickness. Often puppies grow out of this stage. And like Trini said - he's reacting to people like a perfectly normal sheepdog puppy. Shelties aren't like Golden Retrievers who'll bound up to anything, as a sheepdog their brains are wired to evaluate the situation first.