In about 2-1/2 weeks, I will be adopting a 4-month-old puppy. This is the first time I've had a dog in my adult life (though I did grow up with a dog in the house from age 8-17). So, do any of you have advice or lessons you learned from having / caring for a dog?
Though this thread never took off when I posted it ... I'm bumping it because I got my dog! She was older than 4 months though; the vet estimated her age at between 6-12 months. Technically still a "puppy" at <18 months of age, but at 40 lbs, she seems more like a fully-grown dog. She came to me already house trained (YAY), but not knowing her name or very many commands (other than "sit" and maybe "stay"). So getting some dog training is the next thing on the agenda.
Hello. I would give my input, but I never grew up with a dog. Just wanted to comment and wish you good luck
I have three Malamute hybrids (notoriously stubborn and difficult) and really love dogs so maybe I can help. If you have any specific questions I'd be glad to answer them to the best of my abilities.
wolfgirl98 - Here's a bit more of what's happened with my dog. The dog didn't answer to the name the rescue gave her, so I chose a new name. She now responds to the new name, but mainly indoors and when I have food around. She isn't reliable about answering to her name outdoors on walks (more distractions and no food). She knows a few commands, like "off" to get off furniture, "sit," and "no" to stop doing whatever she is doing. She doesn't come reliably when called. She follows me around (like a puppy ). She is very enthusiastic to meet new people and wants to run up, jump on them, and lick. On walks she can get utterly consumed with sniffing things. She doesn't always respect a gentle pull on the leash to keep moving, but instead digs in her heels to insist on sniffing around. I'm trying to break her of this habit because dogs should follow their human on a walk (I can allow sniffing breaks but need the dog to pay attention to me on walks). Being alone outside can actually energize her - she was in a very jumpy playful mood after being outside alone for about 3 hours yesterday. She can get too jumpy and antsy if I am carrying treats. In trying to jump up and grab them out of my hand I felt a scrape of teeth. Not a full on bite, but I think dogs have to be taught to NEVER nip at human hands. This happens if she is playful and excited; it does not happen when she is in a calmer mood. So I have a dog that has limited training, like a 12-week-old puppy, but is actually more like 9 months old and 40 lbs. ... grown dog size. Any thoughts on how I can start training to address some of these things?
It's all about repeating the training exercises to do certain things or heed certain things, and rewarding the good performance. Our family dog learned quite a few things to do and not to do. Our dog was very reliable most of the time when it came to obedience. What breed is your dog, if I missed that? That affects temperament quite a bit. Be sure to get the vaccination regimen on track and research which food - brand, flavor, etc. - suits her best at different points in her life. And be sure to show your dog a lot of love without spoiling her. I'm envious. Not really ... I'm happy for you!
My dog is like 5 and still has some of those behaviors! I'm not saying it's a good thing haha. If you have the money, I would suggest looking into a dog training course. We took my dog to some of those. We just didn't stick with it very well I suppose (plus he was about a year when we got him so maybe that's why?) It gave us a lot of helpful ways to train and discipline him though. Otherwise, just training him on your own could work, you'll just have to make sure you stick with it. Maybe look up some techniques online? My dog does some quirky things when it comes to not listening. Like if he's outside and won't come in, he'll only come if the person at the door yells into the house to ask someone else to call him (even if no one else is even home! Weirdest thing!) Haha but who knows your dog might respond to weird things like that. Often when my dog won't come it usually works better to ignore him and then he'll come so that could work too.
Knowing what breed/mix your dog is will help in finding a solution in improving her training. For example, if she's any type of hound, hound mix, or a Northern breed (Samoyed, Husky, Malamute, Shar Pei, Chow Chow etc.), it's unlikely she'll ever be reliable off the leash and things like that, but then it is down to the individual dog. My dog is a French mastiff and he's absolutely perfect doing what he's told in the house and can do everything for us when out on a walk except for 'come here', so we let him off in a secure area and let him have a romp about and tell him 'up' (because he knows this means go up to the gate) or tell him to stay, leash him and then walk him up. You may have to make a few compromises in training in order to suit your own personality and your dog's. Also, depending on what dog breed(s) you grew up with as a kid, compared to what you have now (if they're significantly different) will have an effect on how hard the training will personally be for you and whoever else looks after the dog, if anyone. Good luck with the new pup.
My dog is a Brittany mix (don't know what else is mixed in). These dogs are supposed to be friendly and eager to please people. Right now it seems she is ruled by distractions (birds, cars, other people and dogs, any noises). Think the next thing in her training is to help her learn to focus rather than just being all over the place...
Considering her age and breed it shouldn't be too hard to get her to focus on you whilst training. Brittany Spaniels are hunting dogs, specifically bred to hunt birds, I think, so you might always have to snap her out of it when she sees a bird, but you should be able to use her drive to your advantage. Because you've only had her a short time, I wouldn't do any training that's too intensive as she's still settling into her new home and family. What we had to do though, with our dog, to get him to mostly behave outside, was use a bit of cheese (actual cheese, never processed) to get his attention and he was absolutely perfect but he'd never 'come here' for the cheese. This worked for a few weeks and then he decided he didn't want to take treats at all when he was outside which is quite convenient because that means it's safer for him with the people going round & leaving hot dogs with nails in them lying about on the floor and stuff like that. I've never met a Brittany, but I grew up with my Granddad owning a German Shepherd, my part of the family owning Bullmastiffs, and now owning a Dogue de Bordeaux, and the one thing these breeds have in common, is that they want to please their owner, so they can get what they want. :lol: Because she's a rescue dog, it should take her around 8+ months to be fully settled, but from my experience with my dad rescuing a Great Dane at 13 months, as each week goes by, you'll notice she'll be much more receptive to you and you'll be able to do more things with her.
rudysteiner - Anything you know of I could read about a dog's "settling in" process? I've always been told that "dogs live in the moment" but it seems if it takes 8 months to settle in, rescue dogs can have baggage at first. I'm seeing some aspects of settling in. On my dog's first day home, she was very timid and tentative, and wouldn't even eat out of her bowl until I grabbed a few pieces of kibble and hand-fed her. She then realized the food in the bowl was OK, and proceeded to snarf it all down. Now she is a lot more eager to eat, and gets into a bouncy/playful mood a couple of times a day.
