[Febs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kin0kin /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have no idea where you get that impression, please read the last two lines of my first post.

The first two lines of your post are more revealing. The fact that you would even consider leaving your puppy alone for 11 days is absolutely terrible. Dogs are social creatures. They need companionship. Not only that, but your 10-month dog is still a puppy. Being left alone for such a long period of time was undoubtedly a highly traumatic event.

Quote:

The neighbour said that we were "abusing" the dog....and the dumb building management took the complaint "as it is" without any investigation and they, also, exaggerated the problem saying that there were "MANY" complaints when there were actually 1-2.

Like Jeff E, I am also going to be blunt: this neighbor was right. Leaving a 10-month old puppy alone for 2 days is abusive. I hope that you understand that. If you don't, you should not own a dog.

If you want to make progress with your dog, you should re-read GAD's post (as well as the other excellent posts by hciman777, Edwood, plainsong, and others) and understand what it is that he is trying to say. The problems are not with your dog. The problems are with you. You do not understand your dog, you do not know how to communicate with him, and you do not understand how to teach him what behavior is good and what behavior is unacceptable.

It seems like you want a simple solution in conveniently numbered paragraphs. That will not happen. You need to make an effort--and it will be a substantial effort--to teach yourself how to communicate with your dog, and then to teach your dog how to obey you. You will never be able to achieve the second step without the first. You should hire a competent trainer to work one-on-one with you and your dog. If you aren't willing to do this, then you should find a good home for your dog and find a pet that is more suitable for your lifestyle.

 

[ken36]

Owning a dog puts a great responsibility on you. you are responsible for everything to do with your best friend. So if your dog is really your buddy, you need to be trained how to take charge, or you will lose your friend. Simple as that. All of the aberrant behavior can be traced to your dog's fear. YOUR DOG IS SCARED. You can learn how to calm him. Classes won't do it.

 

[stevenkelby]

Lots of good advice there, and that NILIF site is good, hadn't seen that before, but I have read maybe 20 books on dog training and have trained maybe 15 dogs, not a professional by any means, but I know dogs! Heres my bit of advice.

It's your fault that you have dog trouble. 100% your fault. All dogs are perfect students, they will learn everything you teach them. You are just teaching him the wrong things. It's great that you at least came here looking for help, that's more than most people do.

Let me use an analogy to explain the root of peoples problems with dogs.

You adopt a young child, who only speaks Japanese. You only speak English. To communicate how you want the child to behave, you can either learn Japanese or the child can learn English.

Now, you have a dog, who can never learn to speak English. You must learn to speak dog!

90% of this language, "dog", is non verbal. Consider how dogs behave and interact with each other in the pack. They don't "talk", but they do send very strong signals, and so must you.

Now your problems with your dog are way to big for anyone to solve online, you seriously need a professional dog trainer, now. If you don't get on the phone and get a pro involved, this will end badly for you and worse for the poor dog.

Having said that, heres my view of the whole thing:

To have a happy dog, which I'm sure you want, and for him to behave how you want, firstly, you must bond with him. He must learn that he can trust you and that he needn't fear you. You must give him enormous love, praise and affection, when he is behaving appropriately.

Equally, you must be absolutely hard as a rock with him. Show him that you are the Alpha and that you will not act subordinately to him. Never give in to him, always follow through and be consistent. Every single thing you do must show that you are the Alpha

He will appreciate knowing what to expect. That means don't say "down" and then allow him to run off without laying down 1st. Which means only ever attempting to train a problem dog when he is on leash and you can force a correct response, nicely, by holding a treat up or lifting his legs or pushing his shoulders down or whatever. If you suspect you can't control him, don't try. Especially if he is fearful or aggressive. Just let him be and get professional advice.

From the books I've read, and what has worked successfully for me, I have these rules that I share with friends and family around my or their dogs. These are the things you must do with any and every dog before you even think about training.

1. When you greet the dog, whether you were in the next room, coming home from work, or the first time you ever meet him, you must ignore him! Do not make eye contact, talk to him, bend over, pat him etc. Those behaviors are all submissive, in the dogs eyes. Wait a minute until he calms down, stops barking, stops shaking, comes out from under the couch or whatever. When he is calm and only once he is looking away from you, squat down and call him to come to you, even if he is right there. Then go nuts with the hugs and kisses. In the wild, the submissive pack members are always jumping around, licking the Alphas face, whining etc. The Alpha ignores them until he is ready. Then gives the signal that they are allowed to be a part of his pack. This routine goes for every time you greet him. No exceptions, ever. Send a consistent message!

2. Never, ever let him tell you what to do. Dogs are incredibly cunning and manipulative. 99% of dogs have their owner trained in some way, and we never even realize it! Don't pat him because he comes up to you, feed him because he sits by his bowl, yell at him because he barks, check on him because he is whining etc. Never get into the situation where he is telling you he needs to go out for a pee, you should have taken him out when you decided it was time. Regularly, of course.

3. Feeding time. I feed twice a day as it is 2 opportunities to show you are his Alpha, you provide the food, you decide who eats and when. First you eat, then prepare his food, let him see you pretend to eat from his bowl, then put it down. 10 minutes later, remove the bowl whether he has eating or not until next feeding time. If he is a fussy, spoiled eater, if he still hasn't jumped at the food after the 2nd day without eating, take him to the vet. Most dogs will only go hungry for a day at most before realizing they better take what they are given. Never, ever give him any of the food you are eating, it sends him a confusing signal, consider your dogs mental health, as well as physical.

4. Walking. Never, ever let him pull on the leash. Ever. Even if he has pulling for the last 10 years, you can stop it today. When he pulls, turn around and walk the opposite way, now you are dragging him! If you have to walk around in little circles for an hour a day for the next week, then so be it. Don't let him pull. He is not the Alpha, he should not be leading the hunt, in his eyes. If he drags on his leash and keeps stopping to sniff, keep tight tension on the leash, squat and call him to you until he comes. Praise and move on. If he keeps stopping, give him a leash correction, (a fast, sharp, painless flick to the side, never up. Supossed to surprise and shock, not hurt) and drag him forward.

5. You must always go through doorways first. Especially when leaving the house (den) for a walk. Always. If he is charging through doorways ahead of you, block the doorway so he crashes into you. Make him sit, then say ok, and lead him through. Dogs are physical and use their bodies to communicate authority, so should you. If the doorbell rings, make him sit or hold him on the leash behind you, so you are confronting the "threat", not him.

Thats the basics I find work everytime to show a dog that he doesn't have to worry about trying to take care of you, to lead the pack, to protect the family, to provide the food and make the decisions. He can't do those things, don't let him think he should.

Hope that helps someone, I was blown away when I started doing all those things religiously. The dog truly appreciates it and it just makes everything else easy.

I just realised I said "him" everywhere when referring to dogs, no offense meant, my dogs a boy!

 

[kin0kin]

I dont think I made it clear enough. He was left alone for no more than 1 day before he starts making noises. He was taken away from the 2nd day of the 11 days. He was NOT left alone in the house for 11 days. I did NOT consider removing his voice, I was merely saying that I do NOT see that as an option. Before you start bashing, please learn to read.

The dog was purchased from a breeder when he was 2 months old. He wasnt very happy with being confined in a crate even when he was a pup. So we started letting him sleep with us and I guessed he has definitely developed seperation anxiety problem after I read that link hciman77 posted.

We usually walk him at least 30mins to 1 hours in the morning when he does his thing, and another 30mins to 1 hour during late afternoon.

@stevenkelby
looking at those tips you posted, he seems to do 90% of all those. I'm currently working on it the "right way" now.

What I'm currently doing now is:
1) attempting to ignore him and only play with him when he is bored, lying down, doing nothing.

2) fenced the bedroom but allowing him to see through. We ignore him despite him yelping. I'd throw a toy out and have him play with it occasionally and praise him when he does play with it. When he is quiet down, we'd close the door.

3) repeating the leaving home routine every 2-3 hours just so that he can get used to it.

4) When walking him, we always walk in front of him and pull him towards our direction instead of letting him to lead.

 

[stevenkelby]

Thats great kin0kin, you can certainly turn him into a great companion if you are consistent and do the right things, but it will be a huge amount of commitment and you need more help than I can give online. Please see a pro, or at the very least, buy a few books. From memory I would recommend at least these, in this order:


Not so much training as learning to speak "dog"
http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Listener-C...9241213&sr=8-1

This book's packed with good, sensible, specific advice.
http://www.amazon.com/Good-Owners-Gr...9241188&sr=8-1

An old school book, this ones the dog training bible, but it's no good on it's own, you need know how to communicate with the dog, know what it's thinking and have a bond with it before you try this stuff or it can be dangerous. I mean you could do more harm than good if you don't be careful with discipline etc. You need to instinctively know where to draw the line before you try this book. But if you do, it's great.
http://www.amazon.com/Good-Dog-Bad-N...9241254&sr=8-1




You need a smallish crate to lock him in, an open wire one, about 2 x 3 foot. Very important for many aspects of training and he needs it as a den to feel secure in. Don't ever force him into it for punishment, he has to like being in there and not associate it with negative things.

And some specific things I do for barking and whining:

First understand why he barks. There are different reasons for different barks. If your in the room, he wants attention. Ignore him at all costs. In fact, Never pat the barking dog. Ignore when barking, nipping or jumping up. Pat him a minute after he stops.

If he won't shut up, lock him in his crate, lead him in there with a treat he will be happy to follow into the crate.

If you just left he's frantic, worrying about his "pack", who he feels responsible for because you have inadvertently led him to believe that he is the Alpha. Where are you! Are you ok? Are you coming back? etc. Don't give him any sign you are leaving, never ever, for any dog. No treat, no routine, nothing. If you leave him in the yard when you are gone, put him in the yard every hour or 2 while you are home and shut the door. After a while he won't even know you have left the building.

Practice leaving him alone, as you are. If barking for more than 3 minutes, scare him with a very loud bang to shut him up but never let him know it was you that made the noise. When my pup used to whine or bark in his crate in the laundry, I would sneak up to the laundry door and hit it as hard as I can with an open palm, with my wedding ring hand. That shut him up everytime as it shocked him. Only had to do it 5 or 6 times. He soon learnt what happens when he barks and he didn't want that!


If he is barking in the middle of the day he is probably just bored, as someone else said, give him lots of toys to play with, especially with food in them. Empty plastic coke bottles are great too, half fill it with water on a hot day and leave the top off.


If he is barking inside and won't stop, put his leash on and give something else to do other than barking. Make him sit, down, stay, ok, down, sit, down, here, sit, down, ok, down etc. for 5 minutes. Give very little or no praise. Leave lead on and walk away. That will tire him and while not punishment, will train him that barking gives him something hard to do!

Correct and say “No Barking” if barking while on a held leash. Praise and give a treat when he stops. Make him “Down” and praise more.


Another few tips. It's important to make him "down" a real lot, all the time. This is the most submissive thing you can make a dog do, and your dog needs that. It is also harder for him to bark when down.

Give him regular training sessions, 3 or 4 times a day for you, 10 - 15 minutes each. On lead, with no distractions and very few treats for your dog.

How to give commands: Everyone talks to their dog waaaaay to much. How often do dogs here"Ralph, here boy! Come here! Good boy! Come on, here! Sit boy. Sit down, sit down boy. Yeah, thats a good boy! Arent you a good boy!" etc etc in the wild? Never, thats how often. That stuff just confuses him. Its ok to talk and give praise, but not while you are in a training session.

Before any command where he has to do something, say his name. Always use the exact same command, in the same, level, tone of voice everytime. Only say the command once, then quickly force a response if you don'e get one from him. For example, say "Henry, Sit" If he doesn't sit, gently lift up on the leash so his head goes up, and push down as hard as you have to on his rear to make him sit. At first, say good boy and maybe give a treat every 2 or 3 times at first, then less and less treats as the days go by. You have to judge how much to praise. Most dogs need a lot of love and encouragement. Some see it as submissive. Depends on your dog.

Stop if he growls or is aggressive at all and get pro help, you are making him worse.

When he is allowed to not sit anymore, don't say his name, just "OK" OK will be his release word so he knows he is free for the moment. When he hears his name, he will learn that you want something. And he will either want to do it to please his Alpha or be rewarded with praise or a treat, or he will want to do it because he knows you are going to make him anyway.

You can force a down by standing on his leash near the collar and pushing your foot down.

Only try training when he is on a leash so you have full control. You say he won't sit or down without a treat. How big is this dog! He looks pretty small to me. Once you have given the command, you must enforce it so be prepared with that leash. Make sure you don't hurt or scare him, it's best to have a pro show you how really.

Oh, and you can't tell him to not do something, he has to do SOMETHING! A dog can't just do Nothing. So if you say "Ralph, No Barking" you then have to say, "Ralph, sit" or give him something to do. Not just Not Bark. You can give him a toy to chew, dogs always need chew toys, but be careful he isn't training you to give him a toy by barking at you.

If he chews something he shouldn't , that is 100% your fault for giving him access to something you didn't want chewed. Try to tempt him away from your rug with a better chew toy. Cut a super hot chilli down the centre and rub it all over things you don't him chewing. I found that no dog will go near it. My dog would chew his leash whenever it was on. Ran a chilli over it and he won't go near it.

I know I said I can't really help you from here and you need pro help, and I mean it, but it seems I just can't keep my mouth shut! Hope it helps but please do go and see a professional. Not to train the dog, to train you. Thats what obedience training is for. You, not the dog.

If you do need advice urgently let me know I might be able to help but as I said I'm not a pro or anything.

 

[kin0kin]

despite whatever i was told by the management, i know my dog doesnt bark. he whines...and he whines alot. We (me and gf) went to do laundry earlier and for the love of god, he started whinning right after we left...and not half way through the corridor.

He has a crate that he occasionally goes in to sleep. It is actually a pet carrier which we leave his blankey and some toys in, with the door opened.

His 1st desire is attention, nothing will make him more comfortable than giving him attention. It doesnt matter if you take his fav toy away or give him some new treat, he always put human presence before all other things.

Regarding scarring him with loud noise, I was once told to drop him in his crate to frighten him everytime he makes noises....which worked for the person who gave the advice...didn't quite work for us. But most importantly, I don't know how vigorous I need to do it before being called abusing him.

BUT when he whines, I'd shout QUIET, and he would keep quiet....for a little...then whines again, and I gotta shout again.

He is not big, 16lbs now, about 2.5ft in length and probably 1.5ft tall. He is just being very stubborn..i think i've mentioned it before...he gets very aggitated when he sees people coming through the door...he wouldnt give a damn about me even with the leash on...he'd keep on looking towards the door and stand still. I could press him down and ask him to sit but he'd stand up quickly. Slapping his back didn't make any difference either. Maybe I need to repeat this more often?

If I didn't address every points, sorry about that, I'd be re-reading everything shortly. I'm gonna bring him for a walk again just to train him.

 

[Jahn]

Pumpkin was the most well behaved pooch ever - until 9/11. She was only about a year old, and imagine the whole place seemingly coming down around you and basically cowering under the bed for a day and a half covered in asbestos until your master (me) came to fetch you after finally passing all the checkpoints. Within a minute she seemed to be her old self, fetching a dust-covered bone to play with for me to toss, but a few nights later there was a thunderstorm and every thunder she'd freak out. Now, she still has separation anxiety, and any odd noise from outside will set off a ROWR and some nervous pacing. We finally have it to the point where she doesn't try to claw a hole into the wall whenever she's the only one in the house for more than an hour (which she used to do, argh drywall) but when she goes anywhere but her house, she'll start right away with the anxiety the second we all leave the house. For instance, she's been to Delaware tons of times, but everytime we leave without her she starts in on the wooden molding...my poor folks.

We've done plenty of stuff to finally get her settled at home, and if she does have to be somewhere else overnight in the city our dogwalker puts her up for the night at her own place, which she likes - she's still with a person nearby that she knows. We had to kennel her right after 9/11 (no place to live, we were at a hotel) and she picked up some bad habits there (aggressive to strange dogs) so she hasn't been back to a kennel since.

So as you see, dogs do take a ton of care, especially if there are behavioral problems. But in the end its worth it because none of it is their fault - she's the sweetest thing with people and kids, and is never destructive - except for circumstances that we're well aware of now and can minimize.

 

[Jahn]

kinokin, i wouldn't drop him in his crate. his crate is supposed to be his sanctuary - make that a scary punishment place for him and that's not going to be good.

and it might be worth burning one tape to record your dog the next time you go out - dogs do plenty of things when the owners aren't around, like whine, bark, scratch, take a dump, etc.

 

[kin0kin]

yup, i dont punish him by locking him in his crate...he only goes in there himself. Occasionally i'd lock him in there when we need to clean the house, and he'd sit in there quietly but we haven't had the chance to teach him to "go in" when we give the command.

I just walked 20 flags of stairs with him...he is exhausted. He doesn't like the stairs...and my friend suggested that I walk him at the stairs everytime he whines since he hates it, and he gets exhausted which would keep him quiet.

oh btw, he doesnt destroy things when we are not at home...he used to do that but he had gotten over it. We jsut had to keep the dustbin empty or leave it at places he cant reach. The only thing he does is constantly waiting in front of the main door sniffing and whinning when people walk pass.

 

[stevenkelby]

Yeah I agree with Jahn, never drop him in his crate. Never punish the dog, it's ok to correct him though. It's hard to know the difference. The key is he shouldn't know that it is you doing the correcting. He should just learn that there are undesirable consequences to some actions. Often the best correction is just to ignore him, as that takes away the thing he values most, your attention. Only give him that when he is behaving well, and never go near him when he is behaving badly. If you make a bang to surprise him into quiet, don't let him know it's you, or hear your voice. As soon as he is quiet, go and praise him.

 

[plainsong]

A similar thing happened with my horse (well not just mine) after Hugo. When we got to the stable, her long thick mane was one big huge knot, and she ambled over to me with a face that said "You shoulda seen what happened!" but otherwise was completely normal.

But through the years, in high winds or if a storm was coming, she suddenly became Jumpy McSpooksalot, finding horse-eating monsters everywhere. The quicker I could hop on her back, the quicker I could get her to listen to reason, but it wasn't a relaxing ride. She certainly wasn't the only Hugo Horse I ever rode either.

For the OP, the bad news is, this training through positive reinforcement takes a while, because you're bound to mess up, but the good news is that once your dog gets it, it'll stick much better than other forms of training.

I wonder if two times a day isn't enough activity? Pixie gets three walks a day minimum, and should go out more. On weekends she gets long walks in the forrest, 5 total. How we do it during the weak - Morning: quick spin around the block, evening: longer spin around the block, a good 30 minutes, and before bed: quick spin around the block.

Since the breed are known to be bark-dogs, you have to decide what crosses the line into too much. But he shouldn't be barking for attention. Dachshunds are the most bark dogs of any bark dogs and Pixie knows better than that. It's not because of any fights about it, it just doesn't work. Oh because she is from a bark dog breed, she may once-in-a-while try it, but having it not work puts an end to it. That and I think she understands the threat to put on the collar.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Pumpkin was the most well behaved pooch ever - until 9/11. She was only about a year old, and imagine the whole place seemingly coming down around you and basically cowering under the bed for a day and a half covered in asbestos until your master (me) came to fetch you after finally passing all the checkpoints. Within a minute she seemed to be her old self, fetching a dust-covered bone to play with for me to toss, but a few nights later there was a thunderstorm and every thunder she'd freak out. Now, she still has separation anxiety, and any odd noise from outside will set off a ROWR and some nervous pacing. We finally have it to the point where she doesn't try to claw a hole into the wall whenever she's the only one in the house for more than an hour (which she used to do, argh drywall) but when she goes anywhere but her house, she'll start right away with the anxiety the second we all leave the house. For instance, she's been to Delaware tons of times, but everytime we leave without her she starts in on the wooden molding...my poor folks. We've done plenty of stuff to finally get her settled at home, and if she does have to be somewhere else overnight in the city our dogwalker puts her up for the night at her own place, which she likes - she's still with a person nearby that she knows. We had to kennel her right after 9/11 (no place to live, we were at a hotel) and she picked up some bad habits there (aggressive to strange dogs) so she hasn't been back to a kennel since. So as you see, dogs do take a ton of care, especially if there are behavioral problems. But in the end its worth it because none of it is their fault - she's the sweetest thing with people and kids, and is never destructive - except for circumstances that we're well aware of now and can minimize.