Puppy advice...

[DaddyMac]

Just a training system that I've had good success with in the past. It's a handheld button that you push for a desired activity or do not push for undesired. You condition the dog to associate the clicker with treats. Then you can encourage a host of behaviors (sitting, gentle leash walking, coming when called) and discourage others (jumping on guests, begging).

Ah - I got a different version of one of those. It's called the lid to the treat jar. She knows it well, and can hear it three rooms away with the tv blaring. She also is very aware of precisely where that clicker is kept and EXPECTS to hear it whenever she re-enters the house.

And if the primary clicker isn't being used so much - she's also well in tune to the sound of the alternates - being the refridgerator, kitchen cabinet doors and the microwave door opening.

[MoreCowbell]

Wait, you mean my kids aren't supposed to go in the crate? Well, hell.


(Yes, that is my son. No, I did not put him in there, he did that himself. No, the crate is not locked. Yes, he did put up a fuss when we told him he had to get out of there. And notice the ISU shirt.)

Our dog went in the crate at night from the beginning. We (usually me) got up every couple hours to let her out. We also put the blanket we got when we adopted her in there so she had something familiar.

Our dog is very treat oriented, so training with treats worked out really well. If I could do anything over, it would be to sit down with the hub and decide from the beginning what behavior is acceptable and what is not so we are both consistent in how we interact with her.

[cyrocksmypants]

Solid advice. The key with crate training, as mentioned before, is to make the dog want to go in there. NEVER force the dog in or punish it by putting it in there, it will associate it with punishment and not want to sleep in there. My dogs whined, but I found out that if I put a blanket over the top and sides (left the front/door exposed) that they would quit whining. I think it made them feel more secure and less out in the open.

Also, you want a crate that the dog can fit in as an adult, but you don't want to give it all of that room. I bought crates with "spacers" that you can move or remove as the dog grows. The dog should only have enough room to lay down and move around a bit. You don't want to give it too much room because it will pee in one corner then lay in the other.

Also, NEVER hit a dog or rub it's nose in it's pee if it has an accident. If you don't catch it in the act, it won't know why it's being punished. We used a small squirt bottle and caught my dogs in the face with water if we caught them having an accident. A pop can full of pennies or pebbles to slam on the ground works too.

As mentioned before, you should also have a "code word" for when they go. When they're peeing outside, we used the word "potty" and when they pooed, well, we said "poop". It helps the dog associate what you want. When I ask the dogs if they've got to potty, they know I'm taking them out to pee.

Don't get frustrated if they don't learn immediately. Every dog learns differently and at different speeds. Just because they may not learn right away doesn't make them stupid, some dogs are just more stubborn than others.

Wow. I think I wrote a book, and most of it's not very useful.

Clickers do work great, too.

[egami]

Wait, you mean my kids aren't supposed to go in the crate? Well, hell.


(Yes, that is my son. No, I did not put him in there, he did that himself. No, the crate is not locked. Yes, he did put up a fuss when we told him he had to get out of there. And notice the ISU shirt.)

Our dog went in the crate at night from the beginning. We (usually me) got up every couple hours to let her out. We also put the blanket we got when we adopted her in there so she had something familiar.

Our dog is very treat oriented, so training with treats worked out really well. If I could do anything over, it would be to sit down with the hub and decide from the beginning what behavior is acceptable and what is not so we are both consistent in how we interact with her.

HAHA, cute kid.

[clones_jer]

a lot is going to depend on the dog.

dog A: mutt, she went in the house twice, no crate training, has never had an accident since day 1 , caught on to pawing at the door to get let out in under 24 hrs.

dog B: lab, has had too many accidents to count, crate trained, took a few months but is getting the hang of it.

dog C: chihuahua, is 3 years old and is a complete mess around strangers ... pisses itself on the sound of the doorbell, or a bird singing, or the sound of one hand clapping - crate trained, if you can call it trained.

All of these dogs are in my family, they all were completely different to work with. I own dog A, but I am not a better trainer, in fact probably worse ... I just got lucky.

[DaddyMac]

Solid advice. The key with crate training, as mentioned before, is to make the dog want to go in there. NEVER force the dog in or punish it by putting it in there, it will associate it with punishment and not want to sleep in there. My dogs whined, but I found out that if I put a blanket over the top and sides (left the front/door exposed) that they would quit whining. I think it made them feel more secure and less out in the open.

Also, you want a crate that the dog can fit in as an adult, but you don't want to give it all of that room. I bought crates with "spacers" that you can move or remove as the dog grows. The dog should only have enough room to lay down and move around a bit. You don't want to give it too much room because it will pee in one corner then lay in the other.

Also, NEVER hit a dog or rub it's nose in it's pee if it has an accident. If you don't catch it in the act, it won't know why it's being punished. We used a small squirt bottle and caught my dogs in the face with water if we caught them having an accident. A pop can full of pennies or pebbles to slam on the ground works too.

As mentioned before, you should also have a "code word" for when they go. When they're peeing outside, we used the word "potty" and when they pooed, well, we said "poop". It helps the dog associate what you want. When I ask the dogs if they've got to potty, they know I'm taking them out to pee.

Don't get frustrated if they don't learn immediately. Every dog learns differently and at different speeds. Just because they may not learn right away doesn't make them stupid, some dogs are just more stubborn than others.

Wow. I think I wrote a book, and most of it's not very useful.

Clickers do work great, too.

That's pretty impressive - I never even dared trying to get her to go #2 on command. I was happy as hell she bought into #1. We just use "go outside" and she can do whatever she wants while out there - but we have a yard and don't have a need to walk our dog for such activity.

I guess the other thing is to code word for the crate - we use "kennel up" and she's really good at it. Handy for when guests come over or you just want the dog out of the way for a bit. I think that should get associated right away as you're doing the crate training.

I recommend everyone crate train their dog - even if you don't plan to use it. We don't even have a crate any longer - she has free run of the house and our bedroom has been substitued for "kennel". But when we travel or she stays at my in-laws, she has a home. And even though they leave it open and let her sleep in bed, they tell me she spends most nights in the crate.

One other thing I've found handy - get them used to you handling their paws alot. I think instinctively dogs don't like this. Handy for trimming nails and we have mud issues in our yard - so when she comes inside we have her drop-rolloover and then wipe her paws. She fights it a bit, but not nearly as bad as she used to.

[BKLYNCyclone]

We have 2 dogs. One of them loves their crate and the other one hated it. The beagle gets crated every night or she'll crawl under the covers on the bed (and/or open our kitchen cabinets and get into the garbage). She also is afraid of thunderstorms and loud noises such as fireworks and has a tendency to pee herself during these times. (There are a lot of fireworks events in NYC). In any case, her crate is her place of safety during these events and she'll run straight to it (or jump in the tub in the bathroom).

Anyone have any experience with dogs afraid of loud noises? The other day we were watching a movie and the thunder on my audio system sounded too real and she freaked and pee'd in our bathroom (on her way to cowering inside the tub). The beagle has major issues (possession aggression, moody, territorial, vindictive, howls at animals on tv and is a submissive urinater) but she is probably one of the smartest dogs I've ever had. She is very aware, maybe too much so, and she has a tendency to get herself into trouble. Any thoughts would be helpful. (Is this a thread hijack?) Also, the other dog we have is awesome, with no major issues other than having a ton of energy and needing to be run daily.

[BKLYNCyclone]

As mentioned before, you should also have a "code word" for when they go. When they're peeing outside, we used the word "potty" and when they pooed, well, we said "poop". It helps the dog associate what you want. When I ask the dogs if they've got to potty, they know I'm taking them out to pee.

Be careful what you choose as your "code word." We use go potty and go poopy, and they work like charms. However, I feel like a moron out on the sidewalk telling my dog to go poopy. I wish I would have called it something else, like "read the paper" or something that would be a code that only my dog and I understood.

[clones_jer]

The beagle has major issues (possession aggression, moody, territorial, vindictive, howls at animals on tv and is a submissive urinater) but she is probably one of the smartest dogs I've ever had.

[DaddyMac]

We have 2 dogs. One of them loves their crate and the other one hated it. The beagle gets crated every night or she'll crawl under the covers on the bed (and/or open our kitchen cabinets and get into the garbage). She also is afraid of thunderstorms and loud noises such as fireworks and has a tendency to pee herself during these times. (There are a lot of fireworks events in NYC). In any case, her crate is her place of safety during these events and she'll run straight to it (or jump in the tub in the bathroom).

Anyone have any experience with dogs afraid of loud noises? The other day we were watching a movie and the thunder on my audio system sounded too real and she freaked and pee'd in our bathroom (on her way to cowering inside the tub). The beagle has major issues (possession aggression, moody, territorial, vindictive, howls at animals on tv and is a submissive urinater) but she is probably one of the smartest dogs I've ever had. She is very aware, maybe too much so, and she has a tendency to get herself into trouble. Any thoughts would be helpful. (Is this a thread hijack?) Also, the other dog we have is awesome, with no major issues other than having a ton of energy and needing to be run daily.

You need the Dog Whisperer.

I'm sure there's an amount of "doctoring" that goes on in the editing process, but that guy is amazing in terms of territoriality and aggressiveness.

Our is afraid of the same things you mention. She doesn't pee or anything, but the storms the other night really had her on edge. Fireworks too, which is weird as she's a hunting dog and doesn't even notice the gun shots (and there are plenty of gunshots as I miss ALOT).

I'm not sure what do about it. Not sure there is much other than to perhaps distract them or comfort with treats and such. Try and re-direct it to a postive experience?

[clones_jer]

Be careful what you choose as your "code word." We use go potty and go poopy, and they work like charms. However, I feel like a moron out on the sidewalk telling my dog to go poopy. I wish I would have called it something else, like "read the paper" or something that would be a code that only my dog and I understood.

I hear you ... we use "wait" for our dog to stop and wait for us at an intersection, but now we're trying for "right" and "left" to have her turn one way or the other and she cannot tell the difference between "wait" and "right".

oh yeah, and these are all just work-arounds because we never taught her to "heel".

[BKLYNCyclone]

We got her in Iowa, but way too close to the Missouri border... The other dog was a rescue from Phoenix and she's nothing but awesome.

[DaddyMac]

I hear you ... we use "wait" for our dog to stop and wait for us at an intersection, but now we're trying for "right" and "left" to have her turn one way or the other and she cannot tell the difference between "wait" and "right".

oh yeah, and these are all just work-arounds because we never taught her to "heel".

That's another good idea we picked up at our class - if you walk your dog alot, get it used to sitting and staying at intersections. Idea being that if it gets loose, it may keep it from running out and getting hit. They're pretty smart and generally get the idea of where they're at.

We've been moderately successful in this endeavor.

[clones_jer]

That's another good idea we picked up at our class - if you walk your dog alot, get it used to sitting and staying at intersections. Idea being that if it gets loose, it may keep it from running out and getting hit. They're pretty smart and generally get the idea of where they're at.

We've been moderately successful in this endeavor.

We learned from an agility class, the ones where the dogs go over the jumps and through the tunnels and stuff. Basically most dogs are a lot faster than their human counterparts. "wait" means "wait for a second while I catch my fat *** up to you" ... it works well on walks/runs too though

[BKLYNCyclone]

We learned from an agility class, the ones where the dogs go over the jumps and through the tunnels and stuff. Basically most dogs are a lot faster than their human counterparts. "wait" means "wait for a second while I catch my fat *** up to you" ... it works well on walks/runs too though

Ha! We have to use the same thing with our border collie mix... She responds better to wait than heal on her initial morning walk. Otherwise she'll practically drag us to the park in order to get some extra frisbee time. (It's pretty amazing that we live 3/4 mile away from the park, and that our border collie knows exactly which corners to turn at.) The beagle isn't ever in a hurry, so we've found that she'll drag behind a little. We tie the leashes together and they counterbalance each other pretty well...