posted 02-22-2004 06:36 PM         

quote:

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HOWEVER, when i'm home, if i go into another room without him, or put him in his crate for more than a few minutes, he goes NUTS!

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I would decrease the time you are leaving him alone and gradually work your way up to an extended period of time. You can start by only leaving him alone for a minute (or a short enough period before he starts whining) and then reappear. Gradually increase the time you are gone (doing this over a period of a few days)....2 minutes, 5 minutes ect. This should help decrease his anxiety about being alone. It may be very time consuming and tedious but it should definately help. Best of luck.

posted 02-23-2004 12:06 AM         

basics...

DON'T spend too much time saying "NO"!! Puppies don't know ANYTHING about being human! REDIRECT AND PRAISE for appropriate behavior.

The most impressionable time for a puppy is between the 7th and 16th week. This is the time you need to expose your puppy to as much as possible: noises, people (men, women, children, even different races, men with beards or hats, etc.), other animals and dogs, cars and car rides (and NOT just to the vet!!). This is also the BEST time to get a puppy into a puppy class.

A cheap leash attached to your puppy's collar enables you to catch your puppy when she is running through the house. This must only be attached when you can watch your puppy 100% of the time; she can easily become tangled!

If you aren't able to closely supervise your puppy, then she must be in a crate!

The safest way to travel with your puppy is in a crate. This keeps her from getting underfoot or getting into stuff while you can't reach her. It will also contain vomit or poops and pees if she gets carsick (I like the plastic enclosed carriers for this).

Baby gates are invaluable for keeping puppy in a smaller area (where you are), so you can keep your eyes on her!

potty time...

If your puppy cries or whines in the crate, assume she has to go potty! If you take care of that and she still whines, then quiet her or ignore her.

Stop water intake about 7PM - this will help the puppy sleep through the night without waking you up to go outside.

ALL ACTIVITIES MUST START WITH A PEE OR POO - OR BOTH!

ANYTIME OUTSIDE (even if you have a fenced-in yard) TO GO POTTY, YOUR PUPPY MUST BE ON A LEASH! (yeah, I know it's cold out - or rainy - or windy - I don't care! The most reliable housebreaking happens when you can praise EVERY TIME - WHEN IT IS HAPPENING!)

ALL inside free time activities must start with a pee and/or poo outside FIRST!

ALL changes in activities must be accompanied by a pee/poo!

Teach your puppy WORDS for elimination. It makes it so much faster (can you tell I'm housebreaking a puppy in the winter?!) "Go potty", "Go poop" (or "hurry up", "do your business", etc.).

playtime...

An exercised puppy is a tired puppy - and a well-behaved puppy!

Give your puppy new toys to try - different textures to mouth and play with. Try different chews (provided rawhide, or any type of chew that can be eaten up is ALWAYS supervised and never left to lay around), assorted squeakies, etc.

Play games like retrieve, rather than tug or hand games that encourage your puppy to mouth.

Too much unsupervised time, either outside or inside, encourages your puppy to invent new and wonderful things to do - and I guarantee you WON'T like them.

training...

Training can start the minute you get the puppy. Start with a new collar, then add a leash. "SIT" is easy - my puppy learned she has to sit before the leash goes on and before she goes outside! (more about the importance of "SIT")

EVERY day should contain a short (10 minutes maximum) training session. This should be fun and easy for a young puppy. The time and difficulty increase as the puppy gets older.

Take your puppy to different places to train. Many owners complain that their puppies are "fine at home" but not anywhere else!

summing it up...

Puppies, until they are well over a year old, are VERY labor intensive and require CLOSE supervision.
Sorry, but that's the way it is.

posted 02-23-2004 12:32 AM         

Barking!

A dog’s natural instinct is to protect his home & property. A dog that is unsupervised or out of reach cannot be corrected for barking (or digging, or chewing…). In order to work with barking, therefore, the dog must be supervised and easily reached during times of (possible) barking.

To facilitate teaching not to bark, you do NOT have to wait for the situations of barking to happen. Enlist help, and set up the situation! Practice several times in a row to teach. The easiest way to work with barking (as with anything) is to have the dog on a leash (or umbilical leash – a little safer). That way, it is easier to catch and correct (and praise!) the dog.

Methods to teach a dog not to bark:

First, pick a word or phrase that will be your command to stop barking. Suggestions can be: “Quiet!”, “Enough!”, “No Bark!”, “Hush!”, “That’ll Do!”.
I never use “Shut Up!”, and I prefer not to use “No”.
Set up for barking, and have a leash on the dog. When the barking happens, take the leash (step on the leash if you have to “catch” the dog or just have the leash in your hand to start!), give a firm tug horizontally to the floor and firmly use your word.
When the dog is quiet, calmly & quietly praise (“GOOD quiet”). Sometimes a tiny soft-moist treat can reinforce your praise (brought down to the dog’s level).
If the pop on the leash doesn’t help, you can incorporate a squirt bottle into the equation. Give a sharp series of squirts right in the face, firm command to quiet, and, for extra measure, have the dog SIT. Your correction should only be as firm as it needs to be. You can also use a small “shaker container”. Do not use these tools to threaten.
I like to teach a command for “guard barking” – my command is “Who’s there?” My dogs will run to the door and bark. I tell them “Good who’s there!” and then I will use my quiet command to tell them that is enough. I use this to get my dogs to respond to the doorbell or knock.
If I have an excessive barker, or to make my point of QUIET clearer, I will enforce a firm DOWN. This is a leadership gesture on my part (I am the leader, and you comply with my wishes) and also a dog in a down generally does not bark. You can make sure the dog remains in a down by stepping on the leash.
Although you have no way to correct barking when you are not home, you may want to leave a tape recorder or video camera on to see when barking happens, what causes the barking and the duration of the barking. Guard barking, for example, is handled a little differently than lonely or random barking.
Barking is a normal dog behavior. In excess, it can be irritating. If controlled, barking can be useful!