training questions

[trini]

Using no for nipping is appropriate, but always give her a substitute and praise her when she takes it so she understands the choice she has.

Exercise is so important in an active breed like a sheltie. I know it is hard when you don't have a fenced area and your pup has not yet completed her series of shots. Mental exercise can be used to help, although obviously it is not a total substitute for physical exercise. But to help occupy her mind you can try "seek" games...take really tiny pieces of cheese, meat or even Cheerios and hide them all around the house (under chairs, on window sills if your sills are low enough for her to reach), etc.,...then give her the seek or search command to go find and gobble up. You can also do this with her kibble if you are using kibble and instead of bowl feeding all the time, sometimes do her meal as a seek/search game. Anything that gives her something positive to focus on will help with the negative behaviors.

Eight weeks is an appropriate age for a pup to be taken from Mom and litter mates...so that shouldn't be a contributing factor here. I really think too little exercise and just being a puppy who is still learning what is acceptable and what is not are the probable culprits. I don't feel from what you have posted about her behavior that you are dealing with a nasty or aggressive pup at all. Keep interactions as upbeat as possible to cement a trusting bond with her. Lots of patience...puppy phase will pass!

Trini

 

[Chloepup]

Using no for nipping is appropriate, but always give her a substitute and praise her when she takes it so she understands the choice she has.

Exercise is so important in an active breed like a sheltie. I know it is hard when you don't have a fenced area and your pup has not yet completed her series of shots. Mental exercise can be used to help, although obviously it is not a total substitute for physical exercise. But to help occupy her mind you can try "seek" games...take really tiny pieces of cheese, meat or even Cheerios and hide them all around the house (under chairs, on window sills if your sills are low enough for her to reach), etc.,...then give her the seek or search command to go find and gobble up. You can also do this with her kibble if you are using kibble and instead of bowl feeding all the time, sometimes do her meal as a seek/search game. Anything that gives her something positive to focus on will help with the negative behaviors.

Eight weeks is an appropriate age for a pup to be taken from Mom and litter mates...so that shouldn't be a contributing factor here. I really think too little exercise and just being a puppy who is still learning what is acceptable and what is not are the probable culprits. I don't feel from what you have posted about her behavior that you are dealing with a nasty or aggressive pup at all. Keep interactions as upbeat as possible to cement a trusting bond with her. Lots of patience...puppy phase will pass!

Trini

Thank you! She is doing much better, I think we are making progress. We will try the seek game with her. She is doing a lot of "tricks" and we do use that to keep her busy as well as running her outside. Thanks again for your tips and advice!

 

[trini]

Thank you! She is doing much better, I think we are making progress. We will try the seek game with her. She is doing a lot of "tricks" and we do use that to keep her busy as well as running her outside. Thanks again for your tips and advice!

That's great...sounds like you are on the right track!

Trini

 

[Chloepup]

corncern with aggression

chloe has regressed a little with the nipping. I don't know if it has anything to do with teething (she is 4 months now) or the fact that she seems to be fascinated with pants as we have had a few colder days and have had to put on pants! She just goes crazy chasing and tugging. We can get her to sit and stop but only to resume in a few seconds. the only thing that saves us is putting a toy in her mouth...maybe we should all carry around a toy all day just in case!

My main concern is that yesterday during a potty trip outside horses went by and she ran and pulled really hard on the leash making herself gag even after there was no more tension on the leash. When we got inside I removed the collar and tried to put on her harness so she wouldn't injure her neck any more and she got very aggressive and tried to bite me! I was able to calm her but did not get the harness on until much later. I left her alone and allowed her to calm down for a while. She still was aggressive with me when trying to put it on...growling and snarling. I don't know what to think of this. She doesn't seem hurt in anyway that I can see.

We are also working on taking walks and trying to stop her from lunging at and trying to chase cars! We have sat on a bench and just watched cars go by I am not sure if that helps or not but I read it somewhere. I think I will use more distance from the cars and gradually get closer and treat when she doesn't react to them. Does that sound okay?

 

[Cara Sandler]

I'm not sure how to solve the nipping at this point, but I would recommend switching to a harness over a collar permanently. Maybe try associating putting the harness on with an extra special treat, like a bit of Cheese Whiz, peanut butter, or fresh chicken.

 

[Chloepup]

I'm not sure how to solve the nipping at this point, but I would recommend switching to a harness over a collar permanently. Maybe try associating putting the harness on with an extra special treat, like a bit of Cheese Whiz, peanut butter, or fresh chicken.

Thank you I will try that with the harness, for whatever reason she has become quite aggressive when we take it on and off. I know it's better for her neck than the collar so I would prefer to use it. I bought one that was supposed to be more comfortable too so I don't know what her issue is with it.

 

[Piper's mom]

Just curious about the nipping, does she see you as the pack leader or does she think she's the boss? The one thing that I've found has helped the most with Piper's nipping and barking is to pick him up and hold him like a baby (cradle her), do this when she's exhibiting the bad behaviour. Hold her, talk to her sweetly, and if she squirms just hold her some more. Piper hated being put on his back and he fought it (even though breeder did it all the time), perhaps it was a dominance thing but now he totally relaxes when I do it. Also another exercise that helps is if your watching TV or some this get your pup to lay down on their side in front of you and stroke her belly, their nose etc...however long you do it for is up to you but you decide when you start and when you finish, not the pup. These exercises help to establish you as the leader, we've been going to puppy class for 3 weeks now and Piper is so much better behaved. Besides, it's easier to establish yourself as the leader when she's 4 months old than a year oldI hope these tips help, they certainly helped Piper.

 

[Caro]

Be aware that some dogs just don't like harnesses. I'd suggest putting the harness on for her to wear inside, esp when eating. You want her to associate the harness with something good (but not too good). Why I say not too good is because it sounds like she is overly excited about going for a walk and is acting this out. Before you put on the harness for walking try doing some obedience exercises. Just a short session of sit and drop (we call them puppy push-ups) or shake hands or whatever you are teaching her at the moment. Getting her to think and focus should bring the energy levels down. When you open the door to go outside get her to sit and wait. Only go outside with a calm dog.

Yes the return to nipping could be teething related so just go back to basics with teaching her not to nip. Also get her things to chew (cool face washers are good) she's going to need them if she's teething.

I honestly don't think she is acting aggressive, she sounds like a high energy sheepdog puppy that needs an outlet.

The cars are difficult. If she is high drive then letting her sit and watch the cars will just increase her frustration. But it's hard to tell if it is just normal puppy behaviour (many puppies of all breeds get excited by cars) or high drive. I'd suggest two things, one is to download some sounds of cars from the internet (or record them yourself), and play them over and over so she disassociate the sound of a car with the movement so won't be looking out for cars when she hears them. The other suggestion is take a squeaky toy on your walks. If she loses focus or goes to bark at a car squeak they toy, I'm yet to see a puppy that doesn't love the squeak. When she looks at you have a little play with the toy (a game of tug or something, just so the toy still holds value).

Don't give her a treat because a car is coming - if she is high drive you are increasing the value of cars: treats=cars=even more exciting. Give treats intermittently to get her to focus on you, so also give her treats when there are no cars. And call her name first and when she looks at you give her a treat, rather than showing her the treat to make her look at you. It's a fine line but timing is everything.

With the horses, don't worry, most dogs are frightened by horses. They have to be around them a lot to become desensitised and she is still a puppy.

I don't agree with tipping dogs upside down or the pack leader/ dominance theories. I know some people still use them but they are old fashioned views and can damage relationships. Good leaders don't use force to impose themselves.

 

[Hanne]

cut ----- I don't agree with tipping dogs upside down or the pack leader/ dominance theories. I know some people still use them but they are old fashioned views and can damage relationships. Good leaders don't use force to impose themselves.

I can not agree more - it can never be that way to show leadership.

 

[Piper's mom]

Be aware that some dogs just don't like harnesses. I'd suggest putting the harness on for her to wear inside, esp when eating. You want her to associate the harness with something good (but not too good). Why I say not too good is because it sounds like she is overly excited about going for a walk and is acting this out. Before you put on the harness for walking try doing some obedience exercises. Just a short session of sit and drop (we call them puppy push-ups) or shake hands or whatever you are teaching her at the moment. Getting her to think and focus should bring the energy levels down. When you open the door to go outside get her to sit and wait. Only go outside with a calm dog.

Yes the return to nipping could be teething related so just go back to basics with teaching her not to nip. Also get her things to chew (cool face washers are good) she's going to need them if she's teething.

I honestly don't think she is acting aggressive, she sounds like a high energy sheepdog puppy that needs an outlet.

The cars are difficult. If she is high drive then letting her sit and watch the cars will just increase her frustration. But it's hard to tell if it is just normal puppy behaviour (many puppies of all breeds get excited by cars) or high drive. I'd suggest two things, one is to download some sounds of cars from the internet (or record them yourself), and play them over and over so she disassociate the sound of a car with the movement so won't be looking out for cars when she hears them. The other suggestion is take a squeaky toy on your walks. If she loses focus or goes to bark at a car squeak they toy, I'm yet to see a puppy that doesn't love the squeak. When she looks at you have a little play with the toy (a game of tug or something, just so the toy still holds value).

Don't give her a treat because a car is coming - if she is high drive you are increasing the value of cars: treats=cars=even more exciting. Give treats intermittently to get her to focus on you, so also give her treats when there are no cars. And call her name first and when she looks at you give her a treat, rather than showing her the treat to make her look at you. It's a fine line but timing is everything.

With the horses, don't worry, most dogs are frightened by horses. They have to be around them a lot to become desensitised and she is still a puppy.

I don't agree with tipping dogs upside down or the pack leader/ dominance theories. I know some people still use them but they are old fashioned views and can damage relationships. Good leaders don't use force to impose themselves.

I wasn't advising that she 'tip her puppy upside down'...holding her puppy in her arms like a baby isn't being dominant, and laying the puppy on its side isn't either. You have to get the puppy used to being brushed anyways (if you wait until they're older and need to be brushed it's too late). You can hold the puppy in your arms and talk sweet things to it, your not pinning it to the ground on its back trying to get it to bend it's will to you.
I think the best thing to do for the puppy is to take her to obedience classes, trying to get the opinions of dozens of people on an online forum can be a recipe for disaster. it is costly but you get what you pay for and in the long run you do it because you want to have a happy relationship with your dog.