Hi, Gwen! We just got a very young puppy a few days ago and found your website right away. I love your gentle but firm approach - it reminds me of the way we raised our human babies! So, Roy, who is just 8 weeks old is part Chihuahua and part Pomeranian (we call him a Pomawawa). He has a delightful disposition and acts just as a puppy should, mouthing everything, playing, etc. One thing that I didn't see addressed on your website and that I'm surprised to see him do is "humping" (I would love to know a more decorous term for that). He seems a little young for this behavior, and only seems to do it to me. I happen to be menstruating at the moment. Would that matter?
 

Hi Whitney,
Small breed dogs do develop and mature much more quickly than larger breeds, but i think Roy takes the cake!! There are certain things i certainly would do to make sure this isn't going to develop into a problem. It may be some passing instinctive behavior that will just go away on it's own, but don't count on that. It could be related to your scent during this time, and you'll know for sure if his behavior goes away and then returns on schedule next month. If so that that could indicate that he needs to be neutered fairly early and i would talk to your vet about this. It is becoming quite commonplace that vets will neuter pups even at 8 weeks of age. This is not only a sexual behavior but it is more commonly a dominant behavior so Roy may be showing early signs of having an extremely dominant personality. And he could just be playing. So here's what i would do: First provide him an outlet for his humping. I gave Ricci (my female golden retriever) a huge yellow stuffed animal and she loved to hump that toy and wrestle with it. So i would give Roy a stuffed toy that is about his same size and whenever he starts humping you, just pick him up and put him on this toy. That's one great thing about small dogs, you can just pick them up and move them around!! Anyway, now he'll have an outlet for his humping if for some reason he just has an urge for it. At the same time, if he continues to try to hump you, firmly say NO and then pick him up and hold him down on his side until he calms down. If he starts struggling, don't let him up or have his way. If you feel you need to use a little force to hold him down, do so. But make sure you're not physically hurting him. If you have any doubt, then hold him (sort of like pinning him down) on top of a soft pillow. If you don't have the Manners for the Modern Dog book, you can order it from amazon.com. There is a chapter in there that deals with a dominant personality and exercises you can do to get in control of it. If Roy turns out to be a real handful, then you might need even more instruction and i would suggest the book "Help! My Dog has an Attitude." also available at amazon. gwen
 

i have a question. I am the new owner of a 3 month old German Sheperd.I have only begun to walk her on her leash,and it can go quite smoothly until she wants to go and venture out into one of the neighbors yards.Of course,i do not allow this, and i just stand there and let her tug on the leash until she stops,or wait to see IF she will stop. Most of the time she will become frustrated and either keep on tugging and jumping around on the leash,or sit there and whine when i tell her to come. Today i had to carry her back into my home because she was being so stubborn. I am not sure what to do about this problem and i dont think i am doing the right things to end the problem. id greatly appreciate it iff you could respond back to this as soon as possible,,thank you for your time and thank you for your website.
 

You're doing great! But i wouldn't pick her up and carry her home anymore. I'm also a yoga instructor and i can't see how this would be good for your back!! (smile) So, keep doing what you're doing, but also take along some really yummy treats or an especially enticing toy (like a squeaky) so that when she's impossibly distracted, you can use your "secret weapon" to get her attention and have her follow you in the opposite direction away from the distraction. Also on my website, read the section on "pulling on leash."
 

Dear Gwen,My dog Max won't calm down when someone or another dog passes.She jumps and barks.How can I stop her from doing that?
nicole
 

Nicole,
sounds like Max is a pretty normal dog, but he needs some training. It's difficult to get his attention when another a person or dog is passing so you need to teach him how to sit-stay when he can pay attention and concentrate. Once he's mastered the basics without any distractions, then take him to an area where he will be distracted. It will almost feel like your starting all over again, but practice and work with him there. It will help alot of you work with him when he's very hungry and you have some really super good treats to offer him. With one of my dogs i skipped his breakfast, i didn't feed him dinner. I bbq'd some steaks that night then took him to the park with leftover steak treats. And i have to say i definitely had his attention!!
Also a dog training class is a good place to take him and practice because there will obviously be other people and their unruly untrained dogs there as well. At first you won't be able to get his attention, but if you just keep exposing him to the same stimulus over and over again, eventually he will get bored or tired of it. I know with some dogs it will feel like they will never settle down so you just have to decide who will win and who will persevere. You must have more will power and control than Max. I know it's difficult. I've been there, but eventually it pays off, if you just have the time and patience to wait it out. If you don't have my book Manners for the Modern Dog, you can get it from amazon.com and it will go into more detail about how to control his barking and getting him to listen to you. But you can also learn the same stuff by going to a class. I had a dog named Max. He was a handful!!! One day he escaped from my yard and got arrested by the sheriff for supposedly killing 30 head of sheep. My Max would never have been able to do something like that, but you try to explain that to the sheriff of a small town....... :(
i bailed him out of jail but it cost a pretty penny. g
 

Hi Gwen,
We have a 5 month old lab/boxer and am having a terrible time with him at night. He sleeps in his kennel at night, we walk him every day, but every night about 7:30 he barks and growls at us. We feed him about 7 and I give him a quick walk around the block, so we can't figue out what the problem is. Hes supposed to go to training at Petsmart tomorrow, but I wonder if it will help. I'm ready to put an ad in the paper for him, we don't know what to do.
 

Almost every puppy I know has a "stir crazy" period where they just go ballistic for a brief time. With all my pups, i've just given them their time and let them have at it with no interference and no instruction. However i did stay out of the way and made sure no harm would be done to the house, yard, myself, others, etc. They usually grow out of this and over time, each "session" lasts just a little bit shorter. Discuss this with yor trainer at Petsmart and hopefully he or she will be aware of this phenomena and ease your concern. I've seen it thousands and thousands of times over and there's nothing to be alarmed about unless there is more to it than i suspect. But since it seems to be on a predictable schedule, then there's a high likelihood that this is what is happening with him. Labs and boxers both are very high energy dogs so it makes sense to me that this is what is happening.
 

Hi Gwen! I recently adopted a deaf white boxer and she is my everything! She has already learned many commands in sign language, and is house-trained. She extremely smart, and a wonderful dog, but she HATES her crate. I adopted her from a rescue agency that said she was already crate trained, but she's screamed and whined since day one in her crate at my house. I've done everything I've read about to help acclimate her to the crate, and she isn't scared enough that she won't go get a treat out of the back, but she absolutely hates being locked up in it. I'm DESPERATE for help!!! Any suggestions?
 

One of my dogs had this problem and this is what i did: I fed her every meal in her crate. All treats were dispensed from the crate. She would have to go all the way to the back to get her treat and then i wouldn't let her back out, she had to turn around to exit. As soon as she turned around i gave her several more treats. She quickly caught onto this and she'd run into her crate, eat the first treat there and then turn around and get one hand delivered from me. Then i started leaving out the treat in back, so she'd turn around and get only the one i hand fed her. Then I started making her "lie down" (she's still pretty much mostly in the crate) to get the treat. Then she'd have to down-stay in the crate for the treat. Then i'd shut the door of 0.5 seconds, then open it and give her the treat. We increased the time from half a second to several minutes. Before long she'd just go lie in her crate hoping i'd reward her and i did. Then i kept the door closed for longer and longer periods. I'd say it took probably about a week to acclimate her to her crate and then she absolutely loved it.
 

Thank you so much for the crate tips Gwen! I'm going to start tonight. You've been a great help- I'll let you know how it goes!
 

Dear Gwen,

I have a 3-month-old miniature Puggle whom I love to death. He is very smart and quite affectionate, with the exception of deliberate biting, which has me nuts. Most if the time he just wants to be held like an infant... in my arms on his back... he even wants me to either hold his chew bone for him till he falls asleep or get this... suck on my finger like a pacifier. I know that it sounds ridiculous but I love it. All my kids are grown so I guess I'm just practicing to be a grandmother.

Anyway, here's the deal... He is going to be very small... 10 lbs at best, so I am training him with a litter box. He knows to go in there and also knows that when he does he gets a treat (if he doesn't he sits there and barks till he does). However, when given the opportunity he will run out of the kitchen and do his business in other places, usually the same areas. My question is, why if he loves his treats and knows where to go does he constantly do it elsewhere? He knows it's wrong and when I yell at him he runs and pouts in his create.

My next question is the biting. Usually when we play I use a toy that he can either tug on or chew. He is happy doing that for a little while then he goes after my fingers (his teeth are like razors). He knows it's wrong but still backs up, snarls and attacks. I have tried to spray himwith water... he stands there and tries to drink it, I tried to make a loud noise by putting coins in a canister and shaking it... he thinks it's a toy and wants to play! Sometimes, I get so angry that I flip him over on his back and play Alpha dog... this makes him almost evil...he looks almost possessed. I hold him down (not real hard at 6 lbs) until he completely stops moving, but the little bugger has stamina and can fight for a good five minutes.

Ok... so now what? I do not mind ordering your book, but does it address any of my issues to the point that it can help me. I ordered the Monks of New Skeet that I found online, but that CD was really only good for people who are raising puppies almost from the whelping stage, it was expensive and I don't want to throw any more good money after bad.

Thanks for any advise.
 

Hi there,
It sounds like you have a wonderfully special relationship developing with your new puggle.
The behavior you report sounds like his attitude is more pug than poodle. I'll get more into that shortly.
He sounds pretty normal and like all is on schedule as far as his housetraining and the other issues you mention. You're doing the right thing and rather well as far as you describe his potty training. Dogs feel the need to keep their own den clean and at this age he doesn't yet understand that your entire house is part of his den. So it's natural for him to leave his territory (the kitchen) and do his business in other places. To him, that's like being "outside" because it is outside his usual area. To help him associate the rest of your home as his den, give him limited and supervised access to these areas but only when you know he is empty. I usually use a leash for this part of the training. Then i play with my pup, feed and train and nap with her in all areas of the house outside her "den." Eventually, but never earlier than 6 months of age do i trust that the pup is getting the idea. When he makes a "mistake" he doesn't know that what he is doing is wrong, he only knows that you are upset. I think based on that comment of yours alone, you would do well to read both of my books.
When his biting starts to get out of control, rather than doing the alpha roll over which i strongly recommend against, especially with pugs, i would verbally scold him and then abruptly stop the play session and leave him alone - or tell him to go to his crate and "pout." He shows signs that he wants to please you and responds well to your verbal reprimand based on what you say about how he acts when you think you're scolding him for his housetraining mistakes. He doesn't understand that when he's happy and having fun and then gets a little too boisterous, suddenly you become a "bully" holding him down on his back. This of course makes him angry if not frightened especially since he thinks he was only playing. He doesn't understand what and why you're acting that way. Pugs are very strong and tenacious and as he gets bigger, it will be more and more difficult to get him to give into the alpha roll, especially since he doesn't understand your sudden change of disposition. I believe one of the Monk's books that i read advocate the alpha roll, but i do not. I'm sure it must work wonderfully for them in their lifestyle with their breed of dog, but i've rarely if ever seen it work on the everyday household pet dog.
It would be much better to socially isolate him just before he gets out of hand. When you start rattling cans and doing all this other stuff he thinks you're escalating the interaction, so he will too. By the way, pugs love water and i've never known one to respond to it as a reprimand. And i've also never seen one back away from a shake can either.
It sounds like much of his behavior is a reaction of confusion to your behavior which he doesn't understand. Every pug i've known is easily trained thru reward and treats as you've seen already with his litterbox training. You're doing a great job with his training, i think there's just a little clarity you can establish as far as what you don't want. It's easy to reward his good behavior, but he's not getting a clear message from you when he's "misbehaving."
so i guess in a nutshell: don't reprimand or get mad at his mistakes outside the kitchen. they are not truly mistakes, this behavior is developmentally normal and it's your responsibility to expand his den rather than have him automatically know it's wrong to "go" out there. Your scolding only confuses him. Second, interupt his aggressive play behavior before it escalates to the point your describe and use social isolation rather than physical means such as the can, water or roll over.
I hope this was helpful and understandable.
I love the bit about how the two of you have so wonderfully bonded. This is exactly how i bond with my puppies - i hold them in my arms like an infant - just like you describe. It makes my heart smile and i too love it. I'm glad you both enjoy that emotional specialness. It hard to describe, but anyone who has experienced it can understand the joy it brings.

and please read the posts on the blog under the heading of biting and aggressive behavior as there may be some more tips there that will be helpful to you.
gwen
 

Your approach is exactly what i plan on doing with my new puppy. The crying should subside soon especially since there is no one there to accidentally reward or reinforce the crying. If you are worried about how long the crying lasts, then leave as usual but stand outside within earshot and just listen. You may be pleased to know that the crying only lasts a few minutes. If not, you can monitor how long it's taking and perhaps in another few days to a week, the crying will stop altogether. I also leave a radio or the tv on as i think the sounds and voices will be reassuring as if someone were there.
I think the only thing different i plan to do at night is to leave the crate right by my bed side so i can eventually just dangle my arm over the side of the bed and be able to poke my fingers thru the crate. You're so fortunate that he is able to hold himself all night long. All my puppies have required at least one sojourn outside in the middle of the night. If he gets really restless and doesn't fall right back to sleep after your usual routine of comforting him, then do take him out to his toilet area. If he doesn't produce right away, then take him back to his crate, but my philosophy is better safe than sorry. I don't want the puppy suffering trying to hold it longer than she can, and i also don't want to clean a messy crate and dirty puppy in the morning!
Sometimes when my puppy was really restless and it was not a bathroom thing, then i'd hold her in my lap and sooth her til she fell asleep, then i'd place her back in her crate and stay with her with my finger thru the door until she fell back asleep.
 

Hi Gwen-
I have a 4 year old Cocker Spaniel who at around the age of 2 1/2 started sleeping on the bed with me. I've tried, although not religiously, to get her to sleep on the floor on her own bed. She ends up whining & staring at me, which is rather disturbing! Any suggestions on how to get her to sleep on the floor?
 

You just have to decide and do it and not give into her emotional blackmail. You might have to get on the floor awhile and hold her and pet her and sooth her into going to sleep, then get back into your own bed. Make sure her bed is right next to yours so you can just dangle your arm over the edge of the bed to pet her if she wakes up. If you continue to "give in" then she will continue to try her best to get her way. "Why sleep on the floor if i can sleep in bed??"
Why can't she sleep in bed with you? Unless you're having some real issues and problems with her, i don't see why she has to sleep on the floor. Some people don't believe that dogs should be in bed, but since you've already allowed her to, then i'm guessing you're not one of them. All my dogs have slept in my bed and my next puppy will too.... unless she doesn't.
 

Hi Gwen,
I found your website extremely helpful. Our puppy, Rosie is 6 months old and is a border colllie/boxer mix. She just finished puppy training and is completely crate/potty trained. I have recently went back to work where she is in a 16' pen in the garage during the day to where she is taken out to potty immediately upon our arrival home. The problem she has been having accidents upstairs although she is taken out and "was" potty trained. Today she actaully peed on my foot! So, please tell me what this behavior is and how I go about stopping it. PLEASE!!!!
 

Could be a few different things. First of all dogs in general like to "pee" on new territory or on territory that they don't consider their own den. She may be thinking that the upstairs area is not her den. So if this is the case, then spend time with her there right after she has emptied, so the chances of her having to go are minimal. Then play with her upstairs and train her there, and give her treats there. Help her to understand that this territory is also her den. Second possibility: at about 6 months of age, they are fairly potty trained and we start taking the training for granted so we let our guard down. Their accident is actually our fault because altho "trained" they are still not perfect and practiced. So her accident is actually our accident. More vigilence and not assuming she "was" trained will help. Third, her peeing on your foot could either be excitement or submissive peeing, which is not uncommon in pups around this age. They are still not confident with themselves and she may be a little insecure if you are scolding her for her accidents. Please read the articles i've written on both subjects at: www.perfectpaws.com/subr.html and www.perfectpaws.com/excur.html
 

Hi Gwen - we got a new puppy 3 days ago and I just found your site which is great! We have an adult dog already but we got her as a housetrained adult and have never been through the puppy thing. So far everything is wonderful (although hard work!) and the two dogs (both girls) have got on fantastically together. My question is, however, is it feasible to housetrain a puppy who is 11 weeks old? We are with her nearly all the time and spent most of the day taking her outside to relief herself, but she still seems to pee at random all over the place (luckily we have a tiled floor!). We get no warning at all - suddenly her rear end will drop and she has done a pee before we can do anything about it. She does seem to make it through the night however, which makes me think she must have some bladder control. She drinks a huge amount - should we limit her access to water? Or is this normal?
 

You can start training her via the method i describe on my website, and also the methods that other bloggers have written about on their posts. You'll find them under the Housetraining section. I'm replying here because this is where you posted and i assume this is where you'll look for my reply.... i hope. anyway, yep, that's what they do at this age. It's plop, squat and pee anywhere, everywhere and at random. I don't look for cues or clues when housetraining. I just take my pup to her toilet area every 30 minutes. If she empties, then she can run around and play and explore, but if she doesn't then she's confined either in my arms, on a short leash or in a crate. Then i take her out again in another 15 minutes or so. If she doesn't pee then, it's back to confinement. She only gets free time when i know she's empty. Gradually the 30 minutes becomes 40 and 50 and so on. When i can't be there for the housetraining process, then i leave her confined to an area she can't damage, like the tile floor kitchen - just as you're already doing. If you haven't read the article on housetraining your puppy it's at www.perfectpaws.com/htrp.html Even tho you can start her housetraining process now, most dogs are not housetrained reliably until they are 6 months old, so the training is a process that takes time.
Ask your vet about the water she drinks. Many puppies drink for the fun of it and soon it becomes a habit. But you want to be sure she isn't drinking abnormally. You can limit the water, but check to see how much your particular breed or mix should be drinking at this age.
 

Hi Gwen! I'm the owner with the white deaf boxer who despised her crate. I've been doing the exercised that you shared with me, plus I moved her crate to a more central area in the house and added her own special doggy bed. She is sooo much better!!! She doesn't cry when I put her in, and I stay outside the door after I leave and she still isn't crying. She's also stopped chewing at the bars and making escapes from the crate while I'm gone. Thank you so much for all your help! I'm going to keep reinforcing your training exercises, they've worked miracles!
 

Thank you for your feedback. I spend hours and hours reading and replying to posts and i often wonder if i'm actually helping anyone. It makes it all worthwhile to get some positive feedback. thank you.
 

Hi Gwen,
We have a wonderful 13 week old lab, Bear. He has been with us one week and is a love. I have some concerns though.
He is super mellow, he sleeps alot, but the concern is that he seems a bit indiffernt to play, at times. He like to play with other dogs and to be petted and occassionally retrieve, but does not want to roll around or interact with his human parents too much. He doesn't really respond to us (we are very loving, but maybe too doting). He also is a bit blaise about food. He eats his meals, but treats are not too interesting for him it seems.
These could be all normal things, but I wanted to doublecheck. Thank you so much for your help!!
Bear's Mom
 

I bet there is someone reading your post wishing to trade pups with you! Every pup has it's own personality. They do sleep a lot at this age and some pups are just not as rambunctious as others. My last retriever was like this. Although she did respond more to stuffed, squeeky toys, she too did not like to roll around and wrestle. If he isn't interested in treats, try using something like chicken, liver, steak or bacon and see if he has the same response. It's difficult to tell if he's being normal or if something is really wrong just from your post, so i would advise checking his health out with his vet. Sometimes if a pup acts too disinterested, it could be a sign that he isn't feeling well. He may not be full fledged sick, but it may be the first sign that something is wrong. My guess tho is that he's perfectly healthy and is just a bit on the mellow side. If he hasn't been around humans alot, he also probably hasn't bonded with them. He may just feel more comfortable with dogs. But continue to hold him and touch him and interact with him, and he will bond to you in time.
And as he gets older, his energy level will increase and he will have more awake time. When this happens, you'll see much more of his personality develop and he should become more interactive.
 

Hi Gwen, I have a 4 month old Golden Retriever puppy. Is he old enough to go for walks on a leash? If yes, how far should we go? Is there a age/distance guideline I should use? Eventually he will be my running buddy. Thanks Kelly :)
 

It is generally recommended that you allow a dog to self-exercise until the growth plates fuse which is between 12 and 18 months for large breeds. It's best to avoid or strictly limit hard training such as jogging and walks over a mile to avoid overuse injuries of the joints and growth plates.
It's not a good idea to add extra muscle (or fat for that matter) on legs when the bones are not done growing. Don't allow your puppy to become "dog tired."
 

i have a 16 week old ciarn terrier she is really hard to train and she always actes agressive how can itrain and stop here from being aggresive?
radar
 

Radar:
Terriers are known to be a little on the stubborn side so it's not unusual that you're having trouble with your cairn. Altho my experience with them has been that they are intelligent, easily trained and have an incredibly sweet side to them. I'm sure you've seen that in your puppy too. You sound like a perfect candidate for a puppy training class and your pup is at the perfect age to start. I also think my Help! book will be useful for addressing her aggressive attitude.
 

I have one amstaff terrier-Athena-she is 14 months and until yesterday was the ruler of the roost. We brought home her new little brother"capone",now athena is a raving terror. When we decided to get another dog we went and introduce athena to the puppy we planed on getting, at the last minute plans changed and we ended up with a different pup from that same litter. the new puppy-capone-was brought into the house without ever getting athenas aproval. realizing the problem, how do i fix it? Before athena eats him.
topher
 

topher-
So i'm wondering what has happened or what you're doing between when you brought the new pup home and now as you read this post. Anything i say now may just be irrelevant and hopefully they're getting along. I always try to introduce a new dog or pup to the pack on neutral territory before bringing him/her home. But it may be too late for that. Unless Athena has a fighting interest she'll probably just bully him so he knows she's the top dog in the house. Once he shows signs of submission, she should back off. Sometimes their bullying sounds like WW3 is breaking out. I had an amstaff mix and she terrorized each new dog that came in, but she never hurt them or even tried to bite them, however she was able to scare the dickens out of them with just her growling which sounded like she was going to eat them. But i knew her well enough to know she would never bite, and she never did.
 

Hi Gwen, I've been reading your responses, and they've seemed very helpful, so I thought I'd ask you for some advice. My husband and I just got a Chihuahua 4 days ago. He's only 5 wks, and I think thats the issue. We're having a rough time at night with him up crying and whining. For the most part, we'll ignore him, unless he settles, then we took him outside to eliminate. We've tried the radio, the ticking clock, the water bottle, and I thought it was going well when he only got up once the other night, and when back to sleep on his own. However, then last night, he was up a lot, and on one occasion, cried non stop for over half an hour. My husband took him out for a bathroom break, but he didn't need to go I guess. I'm guess I'm just asking if you have any othe suggestions, or if we just have to suffer through it. And, how long does this generally go on? Last night was his 4th night with us, and was probably the worst. Please help if you can. Thanks!
L. Chew
 

L. Chew,
Since I wasn't able to get back to you right away, perhaps this issue has already resolved itself. The first week is always the most difficult adjustment period so it doesn't surprise me that him is still whining on night#4, especially since he is younger than pups should be when they leave their mother to go to a new home. If you're still having a problem and you've found that he eventually settles down, then just continue that. But if he still whines all night, then i would hold him in my lap until he fell asleep and then put him back in his own bed. It's a tedious process, but it's important that he feel safe and secure in his new home.
 

Hello Gwen,

Thanks for this outlet of asking questions. It is very helpful to be able to ask questions as they arise, versus waiting until I am in the presence of a proffesional and ask many questions at once.

I have a new Sheltie, Lucas, that is 12 weks old today. We have had him a week and a half. Most issues we are working out through training and repeatition. He is on the shy side and is very leary of new stimuli. I just chalk that up to his personality for he is growing out of it as he gains confidence. Our problem is braking to the leash. When we try and walk him, he freezes up, sits, and mostly refues to walk. I am letting him run around the house with his leash, trying to get him used to it. He does fine with that. When I use the umblibical (sp) method, he just lies down, or wants in my lap if I am sitting. I have a puppy class scheduled in about 4 weeks, but I am wanting him to be able to go outside on the leash without freezing. Not for long walks yet, but so he can gradually get acustomed to walking on leash. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Lucas's Dad
 

Hello Lucas's Dad,

Shelties seem to be shy like that, i know dozens who are. Anyway, this is what i would try. Make sure he is ravenously hungry then use a special treat that he is not accustomed to getting - like steak, cheese, bacon, chicken. Use very tiny pieces about the size of a small pea or kernal of corn or smaller. While indoor with his leash on and just dragging, line the treats up so that the first 3 or 4 are only several inches apart and they gradually get further and further apart. When he's into the game and focused on the treats, pick up the end of the leash and walk with him from treat to treat so that he is walking on leash, but he doesn't even know it because he's concentrating on the goodies. Gradually place the treats further and further apart until you can walk him on leash clear across the room. If he balks or freezes, toss a treat down on the floor in front of him to refocus his attention on the game. Eventually he should be able to walk from room to room for a treat and you can convert tossing a treat on the floor to handing it to him from your hand. When you go outside, you'll probably have to revert back to putting the treats several inches away from each other again and build the distance back up. You can also try using his favorite toys are a lure and a way to get his attention on something more exciting rather than the fear of being on leash. Let us know how it goes.gwen
 

Hello Gwen,
I came upon your site while searching for solutions for my dogs barking habit...what a great resource! I have a question for anyone out there who may have experienced the same thing. I have a 2 year old pug, and he loves to bark! We are working on controlling his barking through commands when we are in the room with him. The problem is we have taught him (inadvertently) to bark for our attention in the morning. We keep him in the kitchen at night. Its "his space" and he goes there when he is tired...so its not like a prison for him. SInce he was a puppy i get up in the morning, let him out, and feed him before I shower. now he is screeching and waking us up hours earlier! The barking/screeching definitely gets my attention because I cant sleep! I tell him to "Be Quiet" but he just gets more excited, because he hears me. Now, a simple solution would be to let him sleep with us, but we refuse to allow our dog to take over our bedroom. He has definitely learned to bark to wake me up. We make sue we let him out before bed (he goes 8 hrs during the day without going potty) and we dont let him drink water after 9pm. So, we have eliminated all of his reasons for him needing to go outside so early. We have even tried ignoring him, but he is a persistent creature! Short of letting him sleep in our room with us, do you have Any suggestions? On a side note, he just recently developed this habit...even when he was a puppy he would wait for me to get up.
 

Since this is a new problem and there doesn't seem to be any reason for trying to get you up earlier aside from that the days are getting lighter earlier as spring is approaching, it shouldn't take too long to discourage the behavior. If any attention at all only gets him more excited, then you're just going to have to be determined to be more stubborn than he. And i know how stubborn pugs can be!! I think in order to be able to sleep in the morning or not be disturbed, depending on just how early he is getting up, either i would shut my bedroom door to minimize his noisy barking, or i would use earplugs. Hopefully after a week or so of you not responding or reinforcing his barking, he will stop. But if you even just once get up and give him attention, he'll keep trying. It will be a battle of wills.
 

Duke,
i guess we're left to a little speculation and investigation and maybe someone reading this out there will have some idea or suggestions as well. I have some thoughts about it. First of all I've seen several cases where a "normal" dog suddenly started acting unusual with similar fearful behaviors. It turned out that each of them had a medical condition that happened suddenly and the dog was completely confused and frightened. Once they adjusted to their condition, they returned to their usual selves. Theses cases all involved either blindness or reduced vision in one or both eyes or deafness in one or both ears. So the first thing i would do is have your dog checked out medically. There was another case but it involved a much older dog and a much more serious medical condition, but we won't go there because your dog is so young and if there is a problem, your vet should catch it. In most of these cases, the dog also acted unusually affectionate and craved reassurance which is what could be happening as you describe her behavior on your bed.

Another thought i have is that dogs don't necessarily have "flashbacks from PTSD" as we humans experience, but often certain stimuli can trigger a fearful memory or association causing fearful, aggressive or unusual behavior. The triggers are often extremely subtle and we don't notice them. This is where you have to do your Sherlock Holmes thing and try to figure out if there is anything new or different that you started when her phobic behavior started. It could be something as simple as a scent cue, so any change of scented products you use from bath or laundry soap, deodorant, hair products, shaving creams, etc. It could also be a visual cue such as a different haircut or color, hat, change in shoes/boots, clothing. And sometimes it's a sound. And if there is something that triggers this phobia in her, it also appears to be connected to your standing posture. When you're lying down you present yourself as the least threatening so she isn't fearful of you. When she starts acting fearful, try sitting down on the floor to see how see how she reacts. You should be able to desensitize her to the stimulus and your movement/posture, etc. Also see how she responds to your eye contact. When you're standing and looking right at her, it may appear threatening to her. So see if changing your demeanor will change hers. But do have her checked by your vet just in case, better safe than sorry. Keep us posted.
 

Hi, Gwen. I have an eleven week old Golden/Lab. He is very social and loves people and other dogs. I have taken him to doggy daycare once and he had a great time playing with the other dogs. The owner of the daycare is very good at supervising and handling the dogs, and tests each do for aggresion. My question is, after reading your remarks about large breed puppies and to much excercise, is eleven weeks too young for my dog, who will definetely be over 50lbs, to play all day with other dogs. Thanks. I just started your book and love it.
 

Thank you for your nice comment on my book. This is an excellent question you ask. I'm thinking that playtime all day long would be too much for such a young puppy depending on the age of the other pups and dogs in the group. I wouldn't be concerned about too much exercise (unless the playroom is really giant and they can do a lot of running) as most of the time the pups play by wrestling and tumbling and biting/mouthing each other. I'm more concerned about the psychological/emotional/mental part of this much stimulation. Puppies at this age require a lot of sleep and if he's sleep deprived because he's constantly being prodded into playing by older pups or dogs who have more stamina, it would not be good. I would express this concern to the daycare owner. I'm sure he/she must have taken this into consideration and perhaps has special nap-time places for pups to be able to sleep undisturbed; or has some other way of accomodating this. Perhaps he/she has observed that when your puppy is tired and falls asleep, all the rest of the pups and dogs leave him alone. Afterall, why try to play with a pup who won't engage when there are plenty others around who will. So it may not be a problem. I've seen some pups and dogs become "psychotic" because they never got enough sleep, but they were constantly kept awake by humans, primarily children, not by other dogs.
 

Hi there,
Please go the the topic called biting and aggressive behavior because many people have described exactly the same things that your puppy is doing. After reading their comments and my suggestions, if you still don't know what to do, write again, but please post it under the biting topic. I do address biting clothes and at the leash during walks and lunging at children and the jumping. This is extremely common in a 12 week old puppy so he is not acting unusual, however, you do need to address these issues or they'll just get worse.
 

Hi Gwen. I wanted to ask you a question about some information you have listed under "Crate Training". You say that puppy should only be left in a crate when the owner is home except at night, give the puppy an opportunity to relieve herself every hour. Are you saying that during the night (sleeping hours and into the a.m.) that I have to wake up and take the puppy out? Or do you mean at night early evening until bed time? Because I am thinking getting up all night into the morning every hour can't be good for me or the pup? Also, just so I am clear. If I know that I have to be out of the house for more a few hours at a time, it's best to keep the dog confined to my mudroom with his "stuff" instead of the crate? I have read so many different opinions on this topic that my head spins! I have a black lab puppy just about 8 weeks old. He also does not like his crate, gives me a real hard time (barking, whining etc..). The only time he seems better with it is at night when he is in the crate in my bedroom, does this sound normal? Thank you for taking the time to read this and answer me. This is my first puppy and I am trying to do the right thing with him, it's exhausting! Krsta.
 

Hi Krsta, thank you for your question as i realize i probably need to rewrite that article so that it's a little clearer. I agree that there are so many different opinions on crate training, and it's confusing until you've actually done it many times. I'm sure all the different methods work for different people and different dogs depending on the situation. This is just what i do, but it's not the only way to crate train. Review your choices from everything you've read and pick a method that you feel will work for you and your pup, then stick with it. That's the important thing. If you keep trying different methods, not only will you be confused, but so will the puppy.
I crate my puppy at night but i wake up sometime during the nite or early morning to take her out to pee. I try to make sure she doesn't have to try to "hold it" for over about 4 hours at this early age of 8 weeks. I go to bed late, so if I put her in her crate at 8 or 9pm, then i will take her out before i go to bed around midnite or so. Then i set an alarm for around 4am. I'm a very light sleeper when it comes to my dogs and one little peep or restlessness from them wakes me up. So if i hear her up before 4am, I will immediately take her out to pee, then return her to her crate for another 4 hours.
It will soon be obvious when the puppy can hold it longer than 4 hours and then you can extend her crate time to 5 hours. (this is only at night, not during the day - more on that shortly) I also make sure that the puppy has no water for at least an hour or two before bedtime. Now some puppies can hold it for 5 to 6 hours even at 8 weeks old, but i don't want to push my luck and i'd rather be safe than sorry. I hate waking up to a dirty crate and a puppy that needs a bath. I'd rather set an alarm and get up in the middle of the night. It's also imperative that the puppy not be forced to soil herself or her crate as it erodes their instinct to keep themselves clean and when that happens, it's often impossible to housetrain the dog. During the day, i try to never crate my pups. I prefer to leave them and all their stuff in a confined area like the laundry room or even a bathroom that's been puppy-proofed. I have on rare occasion left my puppy in her crate when i ran an errand but never for over 2 hours. I know that some pups do well in a crate for longer periods of time during the day, but i prefer not to do that. Sometimes it may be necessary, but it's important that the pup love it's crate beforehand. I hope this answers your questions, but if not, please feel free to ask more. I hope you're reading up on how to make your puppy love his crate and how to teach him not to bark, whine, etc. I think i've answered several posts on these issues and you can also read about them on my website as well as other sites out there. and congratulations on your new puppy!!! gwen
 

Hi Gwen,

Just found your blog, very helpful. We have a 4 1/2 month old mixed breed (1/2 Jack Russell and Rott and Doberman) When taking him out for his walks he likes to play with his leash, he doesn't do it the entire time mostly in the begining and the end. We walk for about 30 to 40 mintues.
 

There's no hard and fast rules that say a dog cannot or should not play with his leash while on a walk. Just be sure he doesn't bite thru it, weakening it so that it might snap and suddenly he's running loose. However, if it is a problem, you can try a product like bitter apple which you spray on the leash making it taste bad so that he doesn't want it in his mouth. You have to really soak the leash with it tho, not just spray mist it. And you have to soak it every time you go for a walk until the habit is broken. This of course is only if he is repelled by the taste. If he likes it we don't want him to think you've now added a condiment to his leash for his dining pleasure!! gwen
 

Hi, Gwen....glad I found your site! My family and I recently got a german shepherd mix female...Zoe...6 weeks old. We also have a 5 year old male german shepherd...Angus...and he seems to hate the new pup! I am so upset....he is such a wonderful, well behaved and gentle dog. He almost acts scared of the tiny puppy. We have had the pup for a week and a half now and they are socializing in the yard fairly well, but the house is a different story. She wants to play and he growls or runs away. We have been very careful as to keep all things as same as before and even give him extra attention so he knows he isn't being replaced. Just keep at it and hope he eventually accepts her or is it a lost cause? This has totally disrupted our home, but we love our dogs and want them to be happy. Also, the new puppy is biting ALOT. She grabs hold of us and just starts jerking her head side to side. What is good to disway her biting? I know she is just a baby, but she is brutal! I have gotten her several chew toys and am trying the approach of "yelping" when she does this. Sometimes she stops and sometimes it seems to make it worse. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Anna
 

Hi Anna,
Angus's behavior is not uncommon and it's happened many many times when i've brought a new puppy home. At least one of my older dogs was not happy about it. Most of the time they would growl at her and like Angus, would run away to avoid the little creature. But within a couple of months they always bonded and became buddies. So it's just a matter of patience. Once the two of them are playing, the biting should subside because Zoe will have Angus to bite on instead of you and Angus will teach her about her sharp teeth. In the mean time, go to the heading 'biting and aggressive behavior' and read there because many people have the same issues. Then if you have a specific question not anwered already there, please don't hesitate to write again and ask. thanks. gwen
 

HELP!! I have a 13 week old male Shih-Tzu named Max. I've been crate training him for 2 1/2 weeks and he is doing a good job of eliminating in a designated area outside in my yard, but he will still eliminate in his crate. He has probably done it 6 times in a week. I made sure that the crate is small enough so he only has room to sleep. And, I take him out every couple hours. There are times when he is left in the crate for only 1 hour and he'll poop in there even though he has just eliminated outside. I don't leave him in the create for extended periods of time and I make sure he gets play time after hye eliminates. Any help you can provide would be great.
 

If this were my pup, i would immediately abandon the crate training and go for confinement instead. I would paper the entire confinement area and place one of those 'wee wee' pads down as well and see what happens. It is not good for a dog to soil his crate and since it's happening so often it will in the long run make it extremely difficult if not impossible to housetrain him. If you are unsure of the difference between crate training and confinement, then please read the articles on housetraining on my website.
 

Dear Gwen,
I am looking for some advice and answers. I read all the postings and information on the website yet a little confused. About 10 days ago I picked up two Yorkies from a breeder. They are currently 4 months old, brother and sister. They are extremely affectionate constantly want to be around me just laying in my lap which I love. Now my only problem is the house training. I live in an apartment right now and I am having the most difficult time training them both. The previous owner told me that they were already trained to newspapers and only placed in a crate at night. So I layed down newspapers in a corner in the apartment and constantly showed them where it was. A few times they actually eliminated on the papers but for the most part they are not really getting the idea and are going all over the apartment. When I place them in the crates they whine for long periods. I even bought all the items for litter training but they just ended up chewing on the pellets. It has become extremely difficult with both of them because as soon as I clean up one mess the other one has done something. I want to be able to get this out of the way asap. Any suggestions?
Michelle
 

Michelle,
Puppies can be more or less housetrained in one environment or home and then need to be trained all over again in a new home. Puppies are generally never reliably housetrained until they are 6 months old, so you still have to go thru the training process for another 2 months. There are directions on exactly how to do this at my website. If these were my pups i would use the "passive" method when you're home or not. Instead of giving them free run of the house to pee and poop at whim, you have to strictly limit their choices until they know without forgetting. Sometimes it appears they are trained but then there's a setback. I don't consider my puppy housetrained until she's 100% accurate, not 98%. I don't want to have to clean up the other 2%. When i can't watch my puppy because i'm busy cleaning or cooking or on the computer, then i'll use a leash or place her in a pen closeby - but not a crate. And i would not recommend the crate for pups either. the article i mention is at www.perfectpaws.com/htrp.html
 

Gwen:

I forgot to add this question to my recent posting about my Shih-tzu who I have changed to confinement versus crate training.

I typically take him out every 2 hours in a designated area that is made of sand and rocks and he will pee/poop out there.

When he is in his confined area and I am not home to take hiim out or during the night, I mentioned that he is not using the wee wee pad. So, for those times, do you think it would make sense for me to bring in a little bit of the urine covered sand/rocks and put it on the wee wee pad so that he can get used to using that when he is inside or do you think that would be confusing?

Just trying to brainstorm. I really do want to keep this little guy, but if this is ultimately hopeless, I don't want to get even more attached to him.

thanks again,
irene
 

Irene,
i think you made an important point. Apparently he prefers to go on the rocks/sand instead of on something soft like the wee wee pads which also does not contain his own scent. So yes, the idea is to try to replicate inside what he prefers outside. I would even try to make the indoor toilet as similar to the rocky/sandy area he is used to. The pad is so entirely different. I don't think it's hopeless yet. Keep me posted and hopefully we can work this out. I'm sure you adore him and don't want to start over with another puppy. gwen
 

HI Gwen:
Thanks so much for your advice. I wanted to know-- is it possible that he may NEVER get it? Also-- how long do you think it should take him to start going on the sand/rocks?

I put the sand/rocks in the bathroom last night and he went potty in his bed/crate instead. (I had the crate in there without the door as his bed). So, I am going to remove the crate altogether and put in a soft bed instead and see how it does with that.

thanks again. I really appreciate that you take the time to do this. It helps immensely to have someone to tak to.
 

Irene,
Your little pup sure is resistant! I hope my new pup doesn't give me this much trouble! He should use his indoor potty pretty much immediately. I hate to give up so soon, but he may be one of those dogs who has just had the instinct to keep himself cleaned bred out of him. He is one of the breeds that this tends to be a problem with. Aside from going potty in his crate, how does he take to it? Maybe he's just too stressed out in there. The classic signs of stress are increased bladder and bowel functiin which could explain his going to the bathroom in there. Did the breeder give you a time limit on when you could return him? (i can't recall exactly but i think you said the breeder offered an exchange. if i have you confused with someone else, i'm so sorry!!) Either way,ask the breeder if the owners of any of the littermates have reported any housetraining problems. That might give you a clue. And also ask the breeder for her/his suggestions because maybe she started his training while he was still with her and that might provide a clue as to what may work or what we're missing. Let me know. thanks. gwen
 

We are the owners of a y/o German Shepard, male and a 13 week old Border Collie, female. We got Taz about four months ago, already house trained. Our question is how do we train Princess? We've thought about crate training but we do not use one for Taz (he's a little claustrophobic). We feel that it would be unfair to crate Princess and not Taz. How do we accomplish this and be fair to both?
 

Because of the dog's social structure, fairness is not an issue to them. It's so important to us that we often feel that it must be important to them as well. But in the dog world, the more fairly they are treated, the more problems arise because that is not their "natural" state. I've always crated my new puppy while all the big dogs got to run free. It was a privilege the pup had to earn - not that she was aware she was having to work for anything or prove herself, i just didn't want her peeing and pooping in the house or running amok, destroying stuff and forming bad habits. Once she was trained, she had free run of the entire house and yard just as all the other dogs did.
 

Hi gwen:

Thanks again for your reply. The first night he might have been stressed only because it was his first time confined, but the rest of the nights he was fine. Today, I had him on a kitchen chair and he peed on it and sat down on the pee. It seems to me that he just doesn't care. In fact just now, my husband took him into another bathroom and placed him on the bathroom counter and pooped on the counter!!! I talked w/ the breeder on Friday and she told me "nothing is wrong with the dog," and told me to change his food (which I did) and get his stool tested (which I did and it's free of parasites). She told me to call her back in a week and we could "talk about options", so I don't really know what she meant by that. So, I'm leaning toward bringing him back at this point because it just doesn't seem he is getting it. Would you agree?
 

Based on everything you've said and especially what he did yesterday and considering everything you've tried, i agree with you. I hope this does not become an unpleasant event for you and the breeder. Reputable breeders will take their pups back in a heartbeat when it isn't working out in the new home. In fact when i was interviewing breeders to decide where i wanted to get my next pup from, the good ones had in their purchase contracts that if for any reason i decided i did not want the dog or could not keep her, i would be obligated to return the dog to them, even if it's years later. To me that's a reflection of their dedication to their breeding program and to their dogs.
 

Hi, Gwen--Happy to have found this site. We just adopted a 7 month Lab/Boxer female from the pound--she's fitting in with our old Golden and Peke males quite well, after a week of them asserting their dominance. Only one of her behaviors has me baffled: at 6 pm in the evening, she goes crazy--running, leaping, attacking the furniture, barking non-stop at the Peke, and, while she doesn't actually bite us, she snaps her jaws at us as if saying, "Oh, if I could, I would!" I've responded thus far by putting her on her leash and doing some clicker-training to try and make her take a breath, or else I take her outside to refocus. But she reverts back to that behavior until it's time for bed and she's crated. Then, she just falls asleep. Anything else I can do?
 

There are times usually once a day sometimes twice and usually after a meal, that puppies go stark raving bonkers. They will race around your house wildly in circles biting and tackling anything in their path. Usually this only lasts a short time and then as they mature, the episodes are less frequent and have less intensity. It's very similar to what young children do when they become overly tired, usually indicating their need for a nap, but they are also completely resistant to it and if they could speak would angrily say,' I am not tired!!" But mama knows best. All my pups have done this. And when it happens i just stand back and get out of the way and it's over pretty quickly, then the pup plops down and sleeps. It's almost impossible to get their attention or any point across during this mad-time. However, if you're able to vent her energy thru clicker training or any kind of distraction, that's wonderful; i would keep that up. But she has to do something very active to vent this burst of energy or she'll be restless either until she does or until she falls asleep. Can you take her in your yard to play fetch or chase or anything like that?
While you allow her to go stir-crazy, it's also critical that she not get away with unacceptable behavior, but if she's not causing any harm, then just let it happen. In the past when i could see that one of my dogs was about to go into that mode, being a Trekkie, i would stop everything and announce, " Shields Up, Brace for impact!" What else does one do when they enter a subspace anomaly or a tachion field warp drive disruption??
 

Hi Gwen and boxer lab owner!

My dog Zelda does the SAME EXACT THING! Stark raving bonkers is the perfect way to describe it! You can almost see the energy building up inside of her... then all of the sudden...NUTSO! Because we think she's half parson russell, I did some reading and found there's something called the "jack russell turbo" where they just run around in circles top speed. Zelda does the same thing, even creating little obstacle courses by jumping in and out of chair legs. At first she would stop and chew on the wrong thing, but now as soon as I say "no!" and walk towards her, she moves on. They learn what they can and can't chew on quicker than I thought! Now I just stand back, watch, and laugh until she tires out. Its so entertaining!
 

Steph,
i'm glad you too find it entertaining. It's one of the things i love watching my puppies do. They can be pretty funny once you know what's happening and that's it's normal. But i can understand why someone seeing it for the first time might be alarmed.
 

Hi Gwen...this is Teri, Sammie's mom again. While housetraining is going REALLY WELL (no accidents in over 2 weeks) and Sammie is sleeping all night (usually from 9 or 9:30 pm until 6:30 am)Sammie is very resistant to the leash. I think I told you that my vet gave me a harness for Sammie at his visit last week---know what? Sammie chewed it off of him!!! Stubborn, huh? So I've gone back to the collar with the leash. I let Sammie out without the leash to pee or poop, and am using treats to get him to come to me should he get too far away...actually, what I give him is a little of his dog food since they are so small. Don't want to overfeed him! My question today is concerning free time. Sammie's pattern is to go back to sleep (I put him in his kennel when he goes to sleep) after about an hour in the morning. Then he sleeps about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, then we go outside for a pee or poop, a little free time outisde and back inside for about an hour, then back to sleep and so forth. I let him have access to the bedroom in which he sleeps 'cause he seems to like being in front of the french doors (sunshine). I, of course, check on him periodically. He has had no accidents in there, either. He seems to be fighting sleep sometimes, but he eventually does go back to sleep. Sammie will be 15 weeks old this Thursday. My question is at what age do you think it would be safe to leave him in the house (not entire house--just areas he's used to) while I'm gone. Usually, I put him in his crate and leave when I know he's sleepy. Usually I'm not gone more than 2 to 3 hours at a time and he's fine when I get back...he has never peed or pooped in his kennel, but I'm afraid to leave him loose in the house. I think he's still too young but my husband disagrees. What do you think? Does my routine seem okay to you? And at what age do their sleep patterns change? Thanks in advance for replying! Sammie sends you a kiss!
 

Hi Teri and Sammie,
oooohhhhh. that is so sweet. Please give Sammie a smooch from me too! I think your routine sounds very ideal. But i think it's too soon to give him so much freedom. I don't allow my pups free run until a minimun of 6 months. I'd rather be safe than sorry. Also just to let you know, most pups go thru a "terrible twos" at around 9 months of age. So i'm always a little more careful during that time frame.
Sleep patterns vary so i don't know what to tell you there, except that their pattern generally changes with the season as we go on and off daylight savings time. gwen
 

I have a 11 week old lab who still gets up in the middle of the night. I think this is a habit for her. SHe does great with the potty during the day. I take her out at 10:30 and take up her water at 7:30. What age will she stop this getting up? I need sleep. KimB
 

Unfortunately i can't tell you when it will stop because every pup is different. Some will sleep all night long at this age, others will get up 2 or 3 times. I would note the time she is getting up and gradually make her wait a little longer each time, perhaps about 30 minutes. If she goes "potty" before you get up, then get up earlier. All this getting up is to facilitate and speed up housetraining. Just like moms of all newborns, we get little sleep, but it's all worthwhile. I don't know of any pup who couldn't hold it all night long by the time they are 16 weeks, unless they are confined too long (like the owner sleeps 9 hours!) or if the pup has water too close to bedtime or if the pup is sick. My last puppy got up about every 3 hours until she was 12 weeks old, then it increased to 5 hours pretty quickly.
 

Hi, Gwen. My sister brought home a 2 mo old German Shepard / Lab mix pup. My sister picked this puppy up in a Walmart parking lot and left her with me since she works on the road. We named her Sadie, she is a cutie. But she has been very insecure from day one. I've been working with her for the past couple weeks, and she is doing great adjusting to things and not being so scared. However, she has a HUGE problem with whining. I work during the week, so she is alone which I'm sure doesn't help her insecurity. But I make sure I spend as much time with her as possible in the evenings and on the weekends. The problem is, she whines for no reason it seems. She will be playing with her toys and I will tell her "good girl" and she stops playing and starts whining! I ignore her, and give her positive attention when she stops. This is the 4th pup I have raised, and I have never had one who whined so much for seemingly no reason at times! She does this thing where she'll start whining and then she starts biting at herself while whining. She has no fleas and the vet gave me flea/tick/mite medicine, so I am thinking maybe she bites at herself out of anxiety. Ever heard of this? I am wondering if it would be best for me to give Sadie up since I cannot give her more attention during the day. She is a quick learner and doing fairly well with crate training. She only whines in her crate at night for like 5 to 10 min before falling asleep. Can you tell me how to help her be less insecure and how I should respond to her whining. How can I help her be more independent and less anxious? Thank you! I love reading your responses.
 

Dogs are social animals and i personally don't think it's a good thing to get a puppy and then expect her to stay home alone all day by herself. But many pups have adjusted wonderfully so Sadie certainly deserves a chance. Most older dogs do fine because they sleep most of the day and their peak activity time is morning and evening when family members are home. I've seen the whining for no apparent reason quite often in shepherds. And with some dogs, it's just their personality. If the vet gives her a clean bill of health, then i don't suppose she's in any discomfort or pain. It may be anxiety and it may be a nervous habit like humans chew fingernails or smoke cigarettes. Biting and scratching can also be a displacement behavior from nervousness especially when there is no reason for the biting - like you said, no fleas and no skin condition. You might try changing her food just in case it's some kind of food allergy. A contact allergy will usually show a rash of some kind. You might try some Bach Flower remedies for calming. I've used them very successfully with many clients. She may just be a very vocal pup and it has nothing to do with insecurity. I had a dog like that and i taught him the "stop whining" command just as i describe the "no barking" command on my website. You might try that. Also give her kongs and stuff-a-balls filled with goodies. She should prefer to chew on those instead of herself. And chewing on those should also relieve some nervous tension. If you give her a good hearty play session just before you leave for the day and leave her with toys to chew on and play with, she might do just fine alone all day. I hope this is helpful, i feel like i'm kinda rambling here.
 

Thanks for your prompt and calming (!) reply to my question about my new, hyper Lab/Boxer pound-hound. I've been using gentle calming techniques on myself and her, and we've really bonded over the last couple of days. I guess the "bedtime hypers" surprised me because I haven't owned a large-breed puppy in over a decade--she's just alot more dog than my Peke and Jap Chin. Thanks also, to the other dogowner who chimed in and shared her dog's similar behavior. One word of advice to small dog owners who introduce a large dog: careful of the little guys getting pounced on. It's all in fun, but they can be vulnerable. I am finding that my big girl is becoming much more careful in how she plays with the Peke now, because if she's rough, the game ends!
 

Hi,
Love your website. I just purchased a mini aussie female, "Lily" who we love and is now 8 weeks old. She is very mouthy as are all little pups. How do we socialize her with other pups before she gets all three of her vacination series? The vets tell us to wait and the trainers tell us to socialize asap but the earliest we can get all the shots in will be 12 weeks of age. So in the meanwhile, other than socializng her with our adult dog, what can we do? Thanks, Nanci
 

Hi Nanci,
I understand the dilemna, and that's why it's important that the pup stay with her mom and littermates til at least 8 weeks of age.
When i bring my new pup home i'll do as i've always done with my pups before they have their 12 week set of shots. I'll take her to friends homes with dogs, puppies, cats, children. I know them so i know their pets are friendly, healthy and vaccinated and that their homes and yards are not contaminated. If you don't know anyone, then i guess the best you can do is let her play with your older dog.
 

Gwen,
I wanted to thank you for your quick response with my question about Sadie on 2/28. I have been very consistent with her schedule this past week and spent quality time with her before and after work. The past couple days she has been whining WAY less! When I put her to bed, she only whines maybe a minute, then sleeps through the night about 7 hours before she starts whining and wants out. That's great! Also, just this weekend she started going in her crate during the day just to lay down with the door open. I am so happy she likes it! I love your idea about getting her the stuff-a-balls. I just saw my friend use one of those for his dog the other day. The dog loved it and it kept her busy. I am sure Sadie will love it, and hopefully like you said, it'll relieve some of her anxiety. Thank you so much for the help!
 

Hi Gwen, we have a 5 month old Scottish Terrier and we are crate training her. We have had her 2 months. She seems to like her crate - doesn't go in just to go in - but doesn't cry when we place her in there when we leave for the day or at night. I have two questions, it seems she has been urinating in the crate during the last week or so (maybe longer) - she is walked often - and this seems to happen even if we are out for as little as 2 hours. I just don't know how to discourage this - I am hoping it will just stop on its own. (The crate is sized right for her - she has toys and bedding in there - I keep washing the bedding or towels - I am thinking I will take all 'soft' stuff out for a while??).

Next question: we have someone coming in during the day to play with her and walk her mid day on the days we are gone all day. At what age is it reasonable to think she can hold on for 8 - 10 hours?

Thank you your help.
 

At 5 months old, she should be able to easily hold herself for 2-4 hours. If she's urinating in her crate after just 2 hours, and this is just an occasional occurrence rather than a regular or habitual occurrence, then it's probably just that she's going into her crate with a semi full bladder. Be sure she's completely emptied out before you confine her and don't let her take a big gulp of water before going into the crate. If this continues to be a problem, then i would abandon crate training and opt for confinement training (see my webstite on housetraining a puppy if you're not certain of the difference: www.perfectpaws.com/htrp.html
It's imperative that you bend over backwards to prevent her from soiling her crate and herself as this will erode her instincts to stay clean and will make long term housetraining almost impossible. I hope you've read some prior posts from people with crate soiling problems.
I'm happy to read that you have someone come in half way during the day to take her out and spend some time with her. Altho all my dogs have been able to hold themselves for 8 to 10 hours or longer by the time they were a year old, i would never make them do that unless there was absolutely no choice. I always make sure someone can let them out sooner.
 

Hi Gwen...This is Teri (and Sammie the weiner dog!)...He's in my lap as I type because he loves looking at the screen while I'm on the computer. Just wanted to let you know that Sammie's doing great! My husband insisted that we try leaving him in the bedroom where he sleeps (not in his crate) while we went to our godson's baseball game. We did that, left a pee pad in the bathroom and made sure he saw it. We were only gone about 2 1/2 hours...and I was prepared to find pee pee....but guess what? Nothing! Of course, Sammie had emptied before we left, but still, I was surprised (delightfully so). Anyway, I've told my hubby that I'm not going to make a habit of leaving him this way, and since I'm the one with him most of time, that's how it will be. Sammie really is good, though. Always lets me know when he needs to go out (unexpectedly). I am following pattern of taking him out when he awakes...sometimes he goes out and other times he seems not to want to go out. I don't force the issue, but eventually he goes to the door when he has to pee. Does this make sense to you? Sammy says to tell you that whichever pup is Kaylee...he's in love...just laid a big kiss on the screen (well, a big wet tongue, anyway!)
 

Hi Teri (and Sammie)
i hope things go as well for me and Kaylee as they are going for you and Sammie. I wish there was a way the 2 of them could meet; they would be adorable together. Smooches to Sammie. gwen
 

Hi Gwen,
I have a 3 mo old German Shepherd pup, and she's doing very well with potty training. However, one problem I have no idea how to fix is her piddle problem. When I get home, I open her crate and walk straight to the door, open it and out she goes. I tell her go potty, and she does. Then I greet her. We come back inside, and anytime I pet her she gets excited and piddles. I try not to talk in too high a voice since I don't want her to get too excited. But if she sits when I pet her she piddles! Or if she greets company she piddles. There has to be pee spots all over the house from this! I don't know what to do. I have looked up information on the internet, but one trainer says one thing and another trainer says the opposite! Is this a muscle control problem, anxiety, or what? What would YOU suggest? Thank you for any information you provide!
 

I'm not quite sure if this is excitement peeing or submissive peeing or a combo of both, but it's quite common in young pups. Sometimes they just grow out of it as they gain more bladder control and confidence. However, there are some things you can do to speed the process up or at least not make it worse or perpetuate it. You can read my articles at www.perfectpaws.com/subr.html and www.perfectpaws.com/excur.html
One recommendation is asking the dog to sit because they usually can't sit and pee at the same time, but since your pup can, then obviously don't do this! It also indicates to me more a lack of bladder control as most dogs would not voluntarily pee and sit in it.
With pups that i know who do this, one thing i make sure is that all greetings occur outside or on newspaper to minimize clean up and stains.
 

Gwen, thank you for the tips. I wrote in on 3/8 about the Shephard pup who piddles everywhere. I read your article on submissive urination, and that makes sense. Thank you for your response and good guidelines!
 

I have a new puppy he is 19 weeks old and he is a Golden Regal that is Golden Retriver and Beagle he is so sweet most of the time and then so rambunkous the other times. I read alot of your stuff and found it very helpful.I'm using the treats and they are helping alot. He bit my nose last nite and it made me freak out. There was so much blood and I was mad. I know he didnt mean it.He is crate trained and good about going out to poddy. Only a few accidents here and there but usually my fault. What do you know about those 2 breeds together. He is not baying but likes to speak up and is very head strong. It has been going better with the Kitty that I have 2. Kitty has stopped hiding and I think all will be good. I don't know much about the beagle what can you tell me. He is soooo cute.Can I send picture? He is soo sweet and sometimes really wild. Is the wild side the Beagle in him? He seems so fearless. MB
 

Dear MB, Congratulations on your puppy!! What a fun and interesting combo! Please keep us all posted on him. That fearlessness and wild side is most likely the beagle coming out and you'll be happy if he doesn't have the barking tendency some beagles have. Goldens are generally not barkers. Even my golden would occasionally bay, usually in her sleep. Maybe she was dreaming she was a beagle........ LOL!!! It's a very primal canine trait, so you should probably still get some baying at particular sounds. (sirens, other dogs baying, etc)
Goldens are usually very eager to please. Beagles tend to be a little stubborn, unlike the golden who loves to do stuff just to do it. Goldens are rewarded for doing a task by getting to do the task. Beagles need a darn good reason to do it. (and you can provide that reason as a treat or reward or toy as you are already doing) So it should be interesting to see what personality traits you get. And of course, with any breed, each dog is an individual and has their own little idiosyncracies. I'm sure your pup will be loads of fun. Let us know if the retrieving instinct is still there and if his hound "nose" to the ground instinct is still there.
I would love to see what he looks like now and as he gets older. Unfortunately there is no way to post pix as comments, but you can start your own blog site with his pictures and stories. It's easy to do, just follow the instructions on the blogsite. Then you can post your link and address at this site so we all know how to find you.
 

Hello Gwen

I am a first timer on your blog. I live in Beirut lebanon.

On January 5 I rescued a two month old abandoned puppy (German Shepherd with god knows what) and have had her at home in Beirut ever since. I have read your advice on paper training and am relived to know that we are doing the right thing and that she has another two months before she is fully toilet trained. I had been worried because there appeared to be no schedule to her eliminations especially the urinations which are wildly random.

Do you have any tips for weaning them off the paper and getting them used to going outdoors at set times once they reach six months?

Frayed but hanging on in there.

Michael
 

Hi Michael,
You can start the training now and not wait until they are 6 months old. You probably already know that, but just wanted to clarify.
With my pups i always try to get them used to going outside as soon as possible so i take them out as soon as they wake up. And i set an alarm so that i wake up before them so i make sure i can get them out before they've already peed. And they go out just before bedtime, theirs and mine if the 2 times are different. Then I take them out every hour and make a note as to how much they peed or pooped or if they didn't. After a couple of days or even weeks i start noticing a trend and then i can begin to adjust when i take them out until it eventually is only 3 to 4 times a day. Regardless of the time, i always take them out after they eat or drink or after a play or training session. (and of course first thing in the morning and last thing at night.) Another thing i do is give them lots of praise and even a treat when they go outside so that they learn this is a good thing to do. They can pee on the papers and nothing happens except they get the relief, but if they pee outside, it's like winning the jackpot! Also: give them the treats outside when they pee, not when they come back inside, otherwise you'll be rewarding them for coming in the house and not for peeing. Some dogs learn very quickly to go out and turn around and come back in just for the treat and they never pee. And if you're not watching, then you don't know their bladders are still full and now they'll pee in the house.
One more thing: Be sure to feed them on schedule as eventually the output will take on a corresponding schedule. ONce they are fully trained, it's ok and a good idea to vary their feeding time, but not while in the toilet training phase.
 

Hi Gwen: I have 2 Min Schnauzer(7 years the female and 61/2 months the male).Both sleep with us in our bed. The older sleep all night until we decided to wake up, but know the puppy sleep all night but he wake up at 5:30 to 6:00AM no matter what.Sometimes I want to sleep more on the weekends. This is my 3rd Schnauzer. The first one stayed in bed like the second one ever since they were puppies.
Do you think he is going to sleep more eventually?
Males are more active than females?
Do you think is because there is another dog in bed and he wants to play? The other grew up alone, would that matter? Thank you for your time.
 

Most puppies are pretty active especially in the morning and even more so when they have a playmate or some motive to want to get up and play so early. But usually with time, they mellow and like to sleep in. I hope this is the case for you and your new one. Some dogs, just like people are naturally early risers. And things are going to get worse shortly if you're in an area where we change the clocks next weekend. Just a forewarning.
 

Hi Gwen,
We have two mini-doxies 8weeks old. Puppy training started out really well. They were going on the piddle pads, especially the little girl, Dot. Dewey started out ok but now is going anywhere he wants. I have been taking them outside even in the middle of the night. Ok, I get up at three and take them out. So far no mistakes.
But today both of them started going everywhere and not using the piddle pads. I think one of our mistakes is that we have let them run. So we are going to return to confining in a small area and covering the area with the pads. Did we confuse them? At this point I confess frustration. What do you suggest?
 

Yes, please return to your original plan of confining and using the pads. At this age, they should be piddling everywhere and anywhere if they have too much space. They are way too young to have free run. I don't give my pups free run until 6 months, that means 4 months of training. It seems like a long time, but then i get a lifetime of completely reliably housetrained dogs that never have an accident. Of course this 4 months of training also includes teaching them not to chew furniture, dig holes in the yard, bark nuisancely or jump on company, etc. The most intensive part of housetraining is the first month, then it gradually gets easier, but none the less, no free run. One accident means 2 things: i have a mess to clean and the puppy has the experience of "going" somewhere other than her designated toilet. "Accidents" if frequent enough become habit so i bend over backwards to make sure not even one accident occurs. Please review my article on my website at www.perfectpaws.com/htrp.html for instructions on potty training.
Btw, what adorable names for mini doxies!!! I bet they are incredibly cute!!!
 

Hi Gwen...It's Teri, Sammie the mini-doxie. Haven't written in quite a while, but wanted to update you on Sammie's progress. I think he's truly house-trained now (he's 4 months old.) I've left him in the bedroom a couple of times for 1 1/2 to 2 hours (of course, knowing that's he's been to potty first) and he still hasn't had an accident. Better yet, we were over at my parents' house over the weekend and Sammie even went to their front door and went outside to doodie. Isn't that great!

My only problem with him now is leash training. He absolutely hates being on a leash--at home. If I take him to a park or an unfamiliar place, he's fine. We've also gotten a tie out for him. He was quite amusing at first because he didn't realize that he was tied up. He's got about 15 feet on the rope. I've read your book and tried to use your guidance, but I just can't get him to enjoy the leash when we're out in the yard. He doesn't always come when I call but have been trying to use a treat as a reward. Should I be too concerned about using the leash in our yard? When do you get to take Kaylee home? They all look adorable!
 

Hi Teri and Sammie,
Glad to hear the housetraining is going so well. I hope Kaylee does that well..... I'll have her in 3 weeks. I can't wait!!!!!! California passed a law that just went into affect this year. Breeders cannot let the puppies go until they are 8 weeks old. I was hoping to bring her home at 7 weeks, but can't do that in california anymore.
Are you going to put up a blog for Sammie so we can all see him? yes? yes? yes?
Ok, as far as the leash training: I don't think you need to be so concerned about what he does in your own yard, but if you want to work with him then you could try the following.
I would actively start training him to walk on leash in your yard. When he's really hungry, have a very special treat and make sure it's very LARGE. I will usually use an entire hotdog or slice of lunch meat or one of those large BahBahQues. Have you seen them? they make great treats and they are huge. So wave that in front of him so he's totally focused on it and then just start walking. Take a few steps, then break off a very tiny piece of the treat and give it to him. If he knows how to sit, ask him to "sit" first. Do this every day and during each session gradually extend how long he has to walk before he gets a treat. Once he has the hang of it, then you can fine tune how you want him to walk. It can be anything from him simply not pulling on his leash to a formal "heel" command.
As far as teaching him to come when called i have a pretty extensive article with instructions on my website if you haven't seen it: www.perfectpaws.com/recall.html
 

It does sound like separation anxiety as well as some normal housetraining problems. It seems he should be able to hold it for at least 3 hours if he's immediately "emptied" before you leave and you don't allow him a large drink of water which will fill his tiny bladder very quickly. You might check with the vet to make sure there are no health issues. His continued barking indicates he's stressed and when stressed, dogs will often pee or poop outside their normal or regular schedule. You can read my article on separation anxiety, but also do a search on the topic and read other articles as well. There's lots of good tips and advice on the web. For starters, I think i would try confinement to a larger area instead of using the crate and see if that helps at all. You can read about this at the following sites: www.perfectpaws.com/htrp.html and www.perfectpaws.com/sa.html
 

HI Gwen..This is Teri and Sammie. Thanks for your advice. I would love to send you a picture of my little man, but I don't know how to start a blog! Sorry!

I've been trying to do as you said...can't find the Bahbahque (did I spell that right?), but will be using hot dogs or something. He usually runs when he sees me with the leash, but he's getting better. My biggest problem with him right now is that he loves to go across the field to my neighbor's house because he knows that's where the kids are. My neighbors have a 6 yr old son and a 12 year old daughter who come over to play with Sammie. I'm trying to teach him to come using treats. Mind you, he doesn't run over there unless he hears the kids outside, but he always looks to see if they are there. It wouldn't be a problem (they don't mind if he comes over), but I can't just have him going over without my permission, right? We will keep working on this. If we had a fenced in yard, that would help, I know, but right now we don't. My husband and I are trying to decide whether we want to fence in a portion of the back yard or put in a kennel. Will let you know later. Again, thanks for your advice. Kisses from Sammie!
 

Hello Teri and Sammie,
thank you for the smooches Sammie!! Teri, yes it's not a good idea for him to just run to the neighbors uninvited. It's easy to set up an ex-pen enclosure, especially since he is so little. That's what i'm going to do with Kaylee until i have a fence and grass installed. I thought i had plenty of time, but it's been raining so much i doubt i'll have it done before she arrives. I plan to use about 3 -expens. But remember Kaylee is a much bigger dog. The panels are 6 feet long so if i join together a bunch of them, i almost have a fenced in yard, but it's just temporary (and portable). You might find that a less expensive and more convenient way to go. Just google x-pens and you'll find tons of choices if you want to order online. And it's really nice he has some playmates in the form of neighboring children.
 

I'm just a little confused as to the problem. It sounds like he has no trouble walking TO the park, just coming home FROM the park? Or on the way to the park he likes to stop and sniff but on the way home he digs his heels in and refuses to go home? Or does he refuse to walk in both directions?

Could it be that he's just so excited to be outside and needs to sniff everything he encounters? If so, then eventually the route will become more habit and all those smells will become more routine and boring. That's just part of the socialization and acclimation process. If he's refusing to go home, then he probably wants to stay and play at the park and that sounds like he needs more time and activity to vent his energy. so you might need to arrange your schedule so you can stay there a little longer. If he likes to fetch or chase that's a great way to wear him out. My pit mix loved to fetch more than my retriever did. but my hound mix wouldn't chase a thing. Hopefully yours loves to retrieve as it's so much easier to tire them out.
If he's energetic to get to the park and just reluctant to go home, then you could try altering your path so he's curious about what's ahead rather than dreading having to go home. Also the extended walk home should tire him a bit more.
If you are really pressed for time, you could go to the park just a bit earlier and really try to tire him out there, then have someone pick you up and drive you home so you're not late for work. Then on evenings and weekends when you have more time to work with him, you can try taking the alternate paths, etc. I'm assuming you feed him after you get back from his walk. At least that way he's hungry and food will be a bigger motivator to get his attention so use can use it as a lure for walking. And hopefully he'll be eager to get home to eat breakfast.
 

Hi Gwen - just discovered your blog and had a quick question. We have a 3 year old golden retriever who we adopted 1 1/2 years ago. We REALLY want her to be able to go off leash around our house and at my in-laws summer home, however everytime she realizes she is off leash, she bolts to the neighbors yard or across the street w/out any regard for any danger. I'd love for her to go on trail runs w/ me as well, but I just don't trust her. Is there any type of training I can do with her? She is super smart and I know if I had the right tools she would do great. She is just fighting her inner "retriever-ness". Thank you!
 

Monica,
Goldens are very intelligent so i'm sure you can find a trainer or a class to help with this. However, when it comes to safety (like bolting across a street) even the best trained dogs are not 100% perfect everytime. So i never take chances. Even tho all my dogs have been trained not to wander, i don't leave them open to temptations they may not be able to resist. Afterall, how many guys (human type) do you know who will not steal one freshly baked chocolate chip when you tell them not to touch because they're for the woman's bake sale or whatever.
Sometime you just can't rely on the best of behavior, so when risk is a factor, i just don't take it.
One of my best trained dogs was out with me hiking in the wilderness. She was so good at sticking around and never before left me or wandered off and if she tried to, i could stop her on a dime with a single verbal command....... or so i thought and so she did until this one day. She decided to ignore me, took off after a deer and was gone for over an hour. I was worried sick that she was lost. She returned exhausted with the pads of her paws almost worn off. That was a very stressful reality check for me. And i dread to think of how i would have felt if she never did come back. I also know of many people who also were just a little too confident and their dogs were killed by cars. It only takes a second for an accident to happen, so i take every reasonable precaution i can.
 

Monica,
How did you get the picture on your comment?? i've been trying to figure out how to do that from the start and so has everyone else who wanted to post a picture of their puppy. So.... tell us, please, please, please!!!!
thank you.
gwen
 

Thanks for the info - I figured as such. I feel the same way - I would be SICK if something happened to her so a long leash is better than no leash!

As for posting my picture - it is b/c I am a member of blogspot too and have a blog of my own. Actually, it's more like a personal diary - nothing informative at all! That's the reason my name is in blue too - just click on my name and it gives you other details, etc.. Cool, huh?

Thanks again for your advice - have a great week!
 

Very cool!!! thanks for the info!!
 

Jade said:
Hi Gwen. I have been viewing our website, and I have found it very helpful. I have a 1 year old male terrier/cockerspaniel mix. He looks and acts just like a terrier. He is stubborn also. Gor the most-part he is a good dog, but he doesn't like to be left alone. I cannot even go outside on the deck without him. When i leave, he cries and whines very loudly. It doesn't matter who leaves. If there are people visiting and they leave, he cries. If my mom goes outside and i am in the house still, he will cry at the door. Why is he doing this and How can I get this to stop. Also we started socializing him right away, taking him to public events outside, where he could interact with other dogs and people. We slacked off during the winter thought because it was cold, and he hated the snow. Yesturday my family and I went to an easter egg hunt for children at a park. There were many kids parents and dogs there enjoying hte warm day. as soon as Hemi( my dog) noticed the other dogs, he was barking and trying ot gt at them. When we walked him by people, and tried to jump on them. It was kind of embarassing and no matter what i said or did he would not stop. he used to be so good before. How can i stop these tow behaviours? Thankyou.
 

Hi Jade,
it sounds like you need to develop a system of effectively communicating with him and letting him know he can trust and respect you. One of the best ways to do this is thru obedience training. So i would suggest you enroll him in a class and then you'll be right there with other people and their dogs and when he "acts up" the instructor will be there to see it and assist you in correcting the problem. I wish i could help you with that, but you are there and i am here. This is best done with a "hands on" approach and i think a training class would be very beneficial for you both. Once he is more secure, the whining should also decrease or stop. I'm assuming you've read my articles on obedience training, whining, separation anxiety, socializing, etc. So it sounds like you need more than just more verbal or wirtten advice. Check your community center,humane society or ask your vet for a referral for a good training class.
 

Hi Diana,
I had that problem with every one of my pups. Kaylee comes home next week and I'll probably face it again. i'll be writing alot about what shes does and what i do with her. As they get older they usually will sleep in later. You might try keeping him awake a bit longer when you wake him during the night or before his bedtime. But his internal clock is set and it will take some time to reset it. Having a new puppy can often be like having a newborn baby. We lose lots of sleep during the early stages. So either you're up at 5am or you're up in the middle of the night. If anyone else out there has any tips on what they did to get their puppy to sleep in later in the morning, please write!!
 

I have a well trained Miniature Dachshund, that is until I recently moved back to California. I have a roommate and we have friends over to the house quite a bit. This has prompted her to become an excessive barker, especially when I am around. Then a few days ago she has stopped using her dogie door when I am in the house and usually deposits 'gifts' or waste products in whatever room I am in. What is going on? I give her lots of attention and we retain close to the same schedule as we did when she and I lived in Arizona. How can I help rectify this recent string of bad behavior?
 

The behaviors you describe sound like typical stress reactions. It may take her more time to settle in and adjust to her new life, even tho you are doing the best you can to maintain her old schedule. I would try a product called D.A.P. It's a non-sedative calming pheromone that works very well in helping dogs adjust and feel more secure in their circumstances. You should be able to purchase it at a well stocked pet supply store or find it online. Just type in D.A.P. on your google search engine. In the mean time, go back to treating her as if she were a new puppy just coming home, especially with the housetraining. After a week or so on the pheromone diffuser, she should be back to her sweet well-trained self again.
 

Hi Diana,
You and I both!!!!! This past 24 hours has felt like a week. We'll see who drives us crazy first, Hank or Kaylee. I'll be posting our first 24 hour events as soon as she gives me time to sit at the computer for any length of time! Or if i can manage to stay awake myself. LOL!!!
 

Hello, Gwen! My name's Kelly, and my dad came home with a stray puppy about a week ago. We're having a little trouble with him, I'm afraid. My dad got him from a friend who said that he found him on the road when his mother was runover. He couldn't be any older than maybe five or six weeks old. We named him Shadow, and I absolutely love him! The thing is...he's a puppy and my family doesn't know how to handle a puppy. We have another dog, but we got him from the pound--comepletely grown, trained, and well behaved. We're having trouble with his teething foremost. When ever he wakes from a nap and is taken outside, he has the sudden violent urge to bite. Now, at first it wasn't so bad since he only had his canines, but he's growing more. I know he's teething, and he needs to bite something but even when he chews on his toys he prefers biting one of us. It's starting to hurt now... I believe I read somewhere (whether it was on this blog or elsewhere--I can't remember) that to truly make a dog stop biting and such would require other puppys to play with. Well, I don't know of any puppies and I doubt my local animal shelter has any. I tried to get my first dog, Rufus, to play with him but I get the impression Rufus doesn't like Shadow. In addition, Rufus is incredibly docile and sweet. He hardly growls or barks (only if you're being extremely annoying), and NEVER bites. Which makes sense because he's mostly beagle. We love him for his quiet nature and we praise him for it. So, when Shadow comes up and chews on Rufus' ears and Rufus stares at you with his big eyes with the question of "Why...?". I can't resist helping Rufus. I mean, why should I torture Rufus when he didn't do a thing? Rufus would never fight back--he's just not that kind of dog. Is there any alternative?

Shadow has trouble sleeping through the night. I realise that he probably just needs to go out, but I would really rather not get out and take him out. I'm only in high school and sleep is VERY important to me. I don't know what I'm going to do when Spring Break's over. I'm basically responsible for Shadow and I don't know what to do. Is there something you suggest? Thanks for your time. I look forward to hearing your feedback. Bye!
 

Hi Kelly,
I understand that biting thing. If you were ever to see a litter of puppies at this age all they do when they are awake is eat, pee, poop and bite each other. They usually teach each other bite inhibition and vent all their play energy and at the same time learn doggy social skills during this time. Unfortunately for you and Shadow he isn't going to be able to benefit from the social interaction. Therefore you must be extra diligent to be patient with the biting. Even tho he prefers your hands and fingers and clothing, you must constantly replace your body parts with appropriate toys and things he can bite, pounce on and chew. At this age they often mimic kittens in the way they play. Under normal conditions they would be playing with another puppy who is alive, animated and interactive - like our hands are. So we need to use the toys as if they were other puppies. Wiggle them around, toss them to be chased, have them "attack" playfully back and such. It quite a chore especially if there are no other playful puppies or dogs around to engage him.
Since you can't get up in the middle of the night to let him out to pee, then i would do the "passive" method of housetraining where he is confine to a room with a "toilet" available. That may consist of papers on the entire floor of the penned area or maybe just a few "puppy wee wee pads." Give him a bed or crate to sleep in and leave the door of it off so he can come and go as he needs to. Remember it takes many months to completely housetrain a puppy, so don't get discouraged. Reread the housetraining a puppy section on my website and just stick with the routine. Eventually he will train. The biting tho will probably be a more difficult issue. Give him lots of play and attention and toys he can chew on and play with that you can stuff treats inside of. They will be more interesting than a non flavored toy.
 

Diana wrote:
hi Gwen;
Hows it going with Kaylee? I know how a day feels like a week with a new puppy, believe me. Hank is 3 months old now and sometimes i feel like Ive had him forever! He's doing pretty well in most areas, except were still having sleep issues, mainly, I;m not getting much! I tried feeding and staying up with him a bit when he wakes about @ 5 a.m. every morning. When he started to laze around about 5:45, I put him back in his crate, and he went right back to sleep. It took me about 30 minutes to fall back asleep after being up. Next thing i know, you guessed it, hanks up at 7 a.m. so all i got for that was 30 minutes sleep. Being that I'm home days now, I've learned to do what any new mom does, rest when the puppy does! Hes 3 months old now, so all you puppy owners, how close are we to at least sleeping in till 7a.m?
 

Hi Gwen!
We have a 15 month Leonberger..he is a doll! A little out of control. First, he goes absolutley crazy anytime someone comes thru the front door, jumping, licking, whining. We cannot get him to stop. We have been entering quietly, or even ignoring him, it just doesn't work , with a dog this size (120 lbs) and growing (150lbs) we can't afford to have anyone get hurt..he is just really friendly. Also, he has just started a new thing...I have never heard nor seen this before. We have a doggie park near by and lately while we are there, Xion has a tendency to Pee on people..anyone!! what in the world is going on???? No matter, young, old, male, female...he just lifts and pee's!
And regards to an earlier comment, he will not leave me alone during my time of the month..it is a "love thing" kissing, nudging, humping...whatever...crawl into bed with me if I were to let him.
Thanks!
 

Your big teddy bear of a puppy sounds so loveable and friendly, but like you said, his friendliness can be dangerous. I would enroll him in a training class and teach him to Sit-Stay, then practice it over and over again until it becomes ridiculously simple for him. This requires time, repetition and patience. Instead of practicing once when your company arrives, have them come and go repeatedly for 5 minutes or so while you practice with him. Perhaps "pay" them off for helping you train your puppy by offering to cook dinner for them.
His other behavior appears to be a function of his male hormones kicking in. If you don't plan to show or breed him, then it's time to get him neutered!
 

Katelyn Griffin said:

Hi, Gwen! I have a 6 and a half month old half jack russell half chihuahua female. She's a great dog however, when I come home or when friends come over she gets so excited that she squats and urinates. It doesn't matter where she's at the sofa, the ground, on my bed, etc...she's not doing anything wrong so I just don't know how to break her of this. Also when I'm gone she chews on my sofa flap and the edges of my carpet. She has like 5 different toys. Should I just start crating her all day? Help!
 

Hi Katelyn,
You're right that she doesn't know she's doing wrong and i'm happy to know you realize this. Sometimes they just grow out of it as they gain more bladder control. In the mean time you can follow the suggestions in my articles on submissive and excitement urination at www.perfectpaws.com/subr.html and www.perfectpaws.com/excur.html
I'm using a taste deterrant called Bitter Apple to keep my puppy from chewing furniture and it's working great. She has probably 500 toys..... well, ok i'm exaggerating, but close to it, but the point being she was way more than 5 different toys. I wouldn't crate her all day, but would definitely provide some kind of larger confinement area. you can also read about that at www.perfectpaws.com/chew.html.
Sorry to keep referring you to articles on my website, but it's much easier for you to go there and read them than for me to rewrite them here.
 

AllisonZ said:

Hi Gwen, What a wonderfull site! At the moment I am living in Mexico and a week ago found a puppy in a little park area. I have had her checked by a vet and the vet says she is about 4 months and healthy except for being very emaciated. So far she is eating and drinking regularly and is very very loving and playfull. For the first few days she was quite but she seems to have adjusted to her new suroundings very well. From reading your site she seems to be acting just like a puppy should biting viciously and ripping everything to shreads in the house. So my question is is there anything special i should be doing to train a puppy like this. So far she has been surviving on her own and I fear may be more difficult to train because of this.Mexico is not a country known for their love of dogs so obedience classes are not an option however I would like to be able to bring her back to Canada with me in a few months. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
 

Hi AllisonZ
My pup is only 9 weeks old today and she too is viciously ripping everything to shreds that she can get her teeth into. I'm using Bitter Apple which is really working well. You might not be able to find it there, but you can either order it online from any pet product site or maybe a friend can send it to you from Canada or USA. In addition to that i have tons of little bones and toys and things she can chew that i constantly shove under her nose and into her mouth. Other than that when she's really going wild, i put her in her crate or confine her to a penned off area where she can't damage anything. Obedience training is not really an issue here, this is more a teething, exploratory and developmental thing that all puppies go thru. They usually all grow out of this stage. They go thru another teething stage at about 9 months.... just when you think they are trained, they give us another surprise.
 

Hi Gwen,
We just got our 8 week old Siberian Husky puppy yesterday and have made our first attempts at crate training and housebreaking her. What I am confused about is that to properly housebreak her we need to take her outside as soon as we see her start to have an 'accident'. However, we are also trying to get her used to being confined in the crate when we are not there. We are following advice that we put her in, stay in the room for a little while, then let her out when she settles. However, when she gets upset and cries (also howls as only Huskies can!!), she pees in the crate, even if she has just been out. Do we follow the housebreaking rules and take her outside immediately, or do we leave her until she is quiet?
As new dog owners, we would appreciate any advice you can give me.
 

Congratulations on your husky. I had one when i lived in Missouri. Huskies are very special dogs, but i don't think i'll ever get another. Goldens are so much easier to train and as i get older, i'm getting lazier!!! LOL!! Just kidding, you'll have tons of fun with her as i did with Nikki. So your pup is one week younger than Kaylee, and i'm sure you're going to have many of the same issues i'm having so keep reading my blog for comparison. Even Kaylee howls like a banshee when she's upset.
I set a timer and take her out every 45 minutes. She is too fast for me to see her just about to go. If i could predict it, then yes, i would just watch her and take her out before the accident. Actually as i recall, it was much easier for me to detect when my husky was about the pee. In fact all of my pups were easier to catch before they went. Hmmmm. maybe it's not Kaylee, maybe now that i'm older, i need glasses!!! LOL! So i'm up to an hour between outings, but if we're playing or she's eaten or taken a drink, then it might only be 30 minutes before she has to pee again. And sometimes it's only 20 minutes. That's the nature of puppies at this age. If we didn't put diapers on our babies, they too would be going everywhere and anywhere. This whole toilet training thing is a time related process.
When you're not home and can't take her out so regularly, then you want to prevent her from peeing in her crate as much as possible. Kaylee would pee in her crate 5 minutes after she peed outside. This is not unusual; frustrating, but it will get better soon. When you're not home, take the door off the crate so she can come and go into it as she pleases, but put the crate in somekind of pen that is both puppy proof and escape proof.
If she's already peed in there, or anywhere for that matter, there's no sense in taking her out as her bladder is pretty much empty.
If she's extremely stressed about being in her crate, then sit on the floor next to the crate and hold her in your lap until she falls asleep. then place her in the crate and continue to sit outside of it until you know she's sound asleep. I also set a timer so i can be there when she wakes up so she isn't freaked out. It only took a few days of this to get her mostly used to the crate. She still howls from time to time, but then settles in and goes to sleep. It's amazing how much progress she made in just 1 week.
Hope this answers your questions. Please read the other posts under the topics of housetraining and training, plus my reports on Kaylee and if nothing else you'll know you're not alone.
If i had only one piece of advice to give, my personal philosophy is to never get mad or scold her for "accidents." But i'm sure you read that on my post and website. I've never used anything but praise. Every one of my pups have been trained without ever using punishment, scolding, etc.