Help with Puppy

Hi L.,
I personally believe that once you get a pet it's a life long committment. I would try an obedience class. Most PetSmarts offer them and I've heard good things about them.
Good luck!
M.

Yes, try obedience school! Give the puppy a chance. Our family just bought a puppy in January (5 1/2 months old now, 30 lbs. and growing). We missed out on the first session of training because classes filled up quickly. My husband had dogs throughout his whole childhood. The last time we had a dog together was 10 years ago. Just because we had dogs doesn't mean we know how to train all kinds. We bought a golden retriever/poodle - big dog. She's so smart. Potty trained in two weeks (in this brutal winter!) and knows 5 tricks. But.....she's now developing bad habits that we don't know how to break. "Nala" gets walked 2 x day. She is crate trained - a bit reluctant in the day but loves it at night. She needs a lot of exercise. On days that she doesn't get the exercise she needs, she's obnoxious. Our puppy class starts on 5/30 and we can't wait because we are going as a family. Our vet said to "go as a family so we all get trained-it won't benefit the dog as much if only one person is training her." She grabs things off the counter, constantly, and makes it a "chase" game! It's driving me crazy - I'm tired of chasing her! Stone City Kennel has a good program in New Lenox. There is also a wonderful dog trainer in Lemont. If you need the name I can always find it. Also, PetSmart has training classes and other pet shops have access to trainer names in area. Sounds like a hard decision for you. Good luck!

Hi L.,

having a new pupy can certainly be stressful. I have a few suggestions. I would first get him a crate. Dogs need their own space, and as long as he isn't spending 10 hours a day in his crate, this is a perfectly acceptable form of controlling him. Not just for your sanity, but for his SAFETY. instead of locking him in a room that he will destroy, put him in his crate.

I would definitely try obedience classes for him. Even if he doesn't 'graduate' you will still take away some beneficial information, and will be able to work with him more effectively.

I agree that owning a dog requires patience, time and understanding. It's like raising kids... you have to teach him right from wrong. I wish there were obedience classes for kids :) ha!

having a dog for your little girl can be SO beneficial... especially since she's an only child.

as far as stealing your daughters toys - provide more constructive things for him to do. rope toys, cow hooves, pig ears, rawhide bones (buy USA made though - they typically don't have formaldehyde in them)... even those Kong toys with a treat shoved inside... that will keep him occupied for a while.

When i lived at home with my parents, we had 8 dogs at one point - each had their own space, in the form of a crate, they were let out each morning to go potty, and put back in their crates until noon, even though we were home. at noon they all went out and ate and spent some time outside, about an hour or two, then came in and (willingly) went back into their crates until about 430 then they were out for the remainder of the evening until about 10 pm when they were all crated for bed.

We had Shelties, which are nuisance barkers - one would bark at a blowing leaf, and the other 7 would freak out. We had them 'de-barked' - not all vets will do this, and it was a last resort for us, but it was effective. I don't believe it's any more cruel than spaying or neurtering... they clip one of the vocal cords and their bark is still present, just quieted. Many people don't think twice about de-clawing their cats, and that is a very painful procedure and recovery... how would you like all of your nails ripped off? poor kitties :(

Anyway, just my thoughts... hope you find a solution and don't have to get rid of your daughters 'brother' :) Good luck to you!

~J.~

Everyone above has give some great advice, but I just wanted to put my two cents in!

Obedience classes are great! If you are able to get downtown, the Anti-Cruelty society has great classes and they are fairly inexpensive. And, there is a 100% guarantee. You can retake the classes as much as you and/or you dog need for Free!

As for home training, a crate is a great idea. Make sure it's big enough and roomy enough. You can entice you dog to go in by using treats or toys as a reward. We just stopped crating our dogs and they are now fine either way if we have to use the crates. We always rewarded them with a treat as well when they came out.

To keep you little guy busy, use a Kong. They sell them at all pet stores and they are a god-send. You can hide treats inside and you can fill them with about a tablespoon of peanut butter. This keeps the pup busy and by the time they get the pb and treats out, they're ready for a nap.

Another good energy reducer is a Nylabone. Also sold at all stores. They are not only good for their teeth, but they help to reduce their energy by keeping them busy. Our border collie has basically learned that when she has too much energy, she gets her Nylabone and goes to town. They last a long time too!

Be careful with rawhides and chew toys that they ingest. Don't buy anything that is not made in he US. Anything that comes from outside of the US is sprayed with pesticides and can be harmful to your pet.

Hope these help!

It sounds like your puppy is in desperate need of play time and that he might be bored. Don't give up on him, try to get him into some sort of training class or maybe even an agility class to keep him busy and focused. You might have to crate him while he is being trained, that way he can not chew things that are inappropriate and won't damage your home, with a little training and some attention, your puppy will do great. Puppies are like kids, you have to give them rules and boundaries, so that they are happier and healthier. Now that the weather is nice, it will be easier to go outside with him and let him burn off some steam. There is a great dog guru in Manhattan, IL, her name is Kathy and her business is Dancing Hearts. I think that she does phone consultations and could probably give you some good tips and if you can schedule an appointment in person, she can do wonders. Her number is ###-###-####. Good Luck.

AWWW you have a puppy. Definately puppy behavior. We got a boxer puppy when my son was 6months and she's now one and still highly energetic, chewing on things and displaying the puppy behavior.
Obedience school teaches the basics of sit stay and proper leash walking. I highly recommend it in order to start real training at home. Dogs have a pack mentality and you need to be the Alpha.
Did you Crate train? our Boxer was not crated, however we have baby gates set up to provide boundaries for her. She is not allowed in our playroom, or the kids rooms. Her area is the kitchen and living room as well as the backyard. Once in a while we are starting to let her down to the family room when we are all down there, but never unattended. I can look at her and say bed if she is misbehaving and she immediately goes to her bed upstairs. When we have locked her in a room the scratching was awful, our older dog once tried to chew apart the door and broke off a few teeth...so we found the baby gates really helpful. Our puppy is 70 lbs and can absolutely jump over them just like our older dog, however she doesn't realize it so she'll just sit there and watch us.
Does your puppy have his own toys and know where they are? our boxer has her own basket of toys which she is allowed to play with, and after chasing her for a few months to replace whatever she had in her mouth with her toys she finally got it. Chasing her was a bad idea because they start to think of it as a game...I finally just stood there and told her to come sternly then sit, drop and then a good girl and ruffle of her ears before replacing the toy. I am however vigiliant about not letting my son leave his toys on the floor in "her space" because she won't know the difference. She also gets a rawhide or pigs ear every day after our morning walk so that she can curb her chewing enery.
How often are you walking your puppy? PUgs have a lot of energy, and one of the best things you can do for them is regular structured exercize. (leash walking). Even with a backyard you still have to teach them structure, control and submission. With you holding the leash,,,you're the boss, and the dog must never walk in front of you, or go through a door first. We walk ours twice a day, once in the morning to shake the stink off of being couped up in our room all night, and once in the afternoon before dinner.
Until we implemented these rules with our puppy we were ready to toss her out too. I started talking to breeders, watching the dog whisperer, and researching puppy obbedience and these were the main points I came up with. I hope it helps and good luck

1) Exercise. Walk, walk walk. OR, if you have a fenced yard, let him play ball. You can even let your 3 y/o throw the ball for him.

2) Obedience Training. Get some and have everyone in the family go to learn how to work with the pup. Our dogs LOVED training.

3) A crate? Do some research. Crates were great for us and gave our dogs a place of their own to sleep/rest in and also gave our house a break from being chewed, etc.

Good luck.

T.
(owner of two German Shepherd dogs 8 and 12)

L.,

It sounds like your puppy doesn't know who the boss is. You can try obedience class for the basics: sit, stay, drop it...but you need to make it clear that there are rules and boundries for your dog. Letting your dog know you are the leader starts with things like, not letting your dog walk in front of you (ever), sitting and waiting patiently for food, treats and affection and giving him clear directions when barking is allowed and when it's not. Keep a leash with a choke collar on him at all times so you can give him a correction when needed. Yelling at the dog doesn't help. If he's doing somthing he shouldn't tug the leash in a sideways motion, stand in front of the dog and project a leadership energy towards him and make him sit. With consitency, the bad behaivior will stop.

It sounds like your dog is making the rules, not you....dogs are just like kids, they need leadership, rules and consistency.

Let me know how it goes!

You need to get a crate just bigg enough for him. Not much room to run around. Just to hold him when you cant be with him. If you could i would block off the room so he cant run off when your with him. If thats not possible, i would keep him tetherd by a leash. He'l get used to it. Good luck.

One more thing to add to your repoir is a dog crate!!!!!
One that's large enough that he can lay and stand, and sit up in. This is his place. Fill it with dog toys and a bed and bones. This can take hours and days and days and hours for him to get used to since he's a year old already. Maybe you used one to potty train? If it's a small dog, you can keep the cage in a common living area so he doesn't feel alone.
Once he's in there, don't ignore the barking, tell him NO or QUIET, firmly and incessantly when ever he starts barking or whining. Give him enough toys so that he has stuff to do to ease his anxiety. Let him out enough to play and go to the bathroom, but having the free run of the house tells him its free game! Especially for a young pup. He needs limitations and know what and where is allowed and not. Try putting him it it and leaving for a couple of hours for the first couple of days. He'll learn to "go to bed" and if you have to put the cage where he can't see you, than at the same time it can be his naughty place too. I've had so many dogs throughout the years and the cage is something that saved us every time. Your pup sounds like my mom's maltepoo and he know loves his crate and goes to it when he doesn't want to be bothered or knows he had an accident in the house. He will calm down, they sometimes take a little while, but like the other poster said, he is the boss right now and you have to make him know you are. Also, the water spraying is not effective, tell him NO and put his butt in the cage.

I second everything poster Kim S. said. Your dog sounds like a ball full of energy. You need to walk him every single day for at least 30 minutes. I'm not talking a stroll around the neighborhood either. It needs to be a good, brisk walk. His constant barking and misbehaving is his way of begging you to help him burn off some of his energy. He needs to learn you are his pack leader. Dog owners should give dogs exercise, discipline and affection...in that order. Have you ever seen The Dog Whisperer, with Cesar Millan? I highly recommend you checking it out. We have implemented all of his techniques and our dog no longer pulls on her leash, lunge at other dogs, bark at people walking past the house, jumping on people when they first come in the house, etc (we had our issues too). My husband and I used to be a bit lazy taking her out for daily walks. We thought letting her out in the backyard was enough. Her being in the backyard was like a fish in a fishbowl. Dogs are born walkers, they need to get out and walk. You will be amazed at how fast your pugs behavior will improve. Just don't let the dog get ahead of you. Have him next to you and even slightly behind you. Don't give up on him, he just needs some good exercise, and to learn you are the one in control. With consistancy in his exercise and discipline, you will have your dream pug! I promise. Good luck.