Adrienne

Hi Wendy, I am glad to hear you are finding the guides helpful! It's so nice that you are willing to help the dogs in your neighborhood. To answer your question, unfortunately many dog owners cannot afford formal training and this leads to many dogs leading frustrating lives or even worse, being relinquished to shelters, so we tried to make this course as affordable as possible for everyone. Happy training! Adrienne

Hi there, Welcome to the forums! Ideally, we want the crate in the bedroom, so that the pups can be reassured. In the past, the most common school of of thought was that young puppies should be encouraged to be on their own for extended periods of time from the get-go, with proponents suggesting that the puppy sleep in a separated room from day one. Although well-meaning, this approach is no longer advised. According to veterinary behaviorist Nicholas Dodman, weak and disrupted attachments with a new owner may actually lead to the onset of separation anxiety, which is ultimately miserable for the puppy to endure and difficult for the owner to treat. He claims: "The right approach is to rear dog babies with something of the same psychology as you would human babies. The more attention a puppy gets and the more his needs are met early on, the more independent he'll be later." The thing is, the first night in a new home can be particularly stressful for new pups. Being exposed to new sights, smells and sounds and being separating from their mom is not easy. Sure, they'll play and explore during the day, and that will keep them distracted from realizing their mom and other siblings are no longer around, but at night everything gets quiet. If your puppies feels lonely or abandoned, they'll be likely to distress whine for many minutes at a time in hopes of being reunited and reassured that they're not on their own. This is understandable. At 7.5 to 8 weeks, puppies are at a vulnerable age. If they were left alone in the wild, they may not be able to survive with all the predators around. Those distress call are therefore for a reason. To ease the transition in a new home, it therefore helps to keep the pups nearby, so that they can be reassured by our presence knowing that they are not alone in the scary big world. Ideally, the pup should be crated close-by your bed, so that you can talk to them and eventually lower down your hand to sniff and ensure they're not alone. Even better, prior to nigh-night, let them get acquainted with the bedroom and let them know it's a safe place by offering them some treats and play. This sleeping arrangement may be necessary for the first few nights, and afterward, depending on how your pups do, you can start moving the crates farther away (if you want them out of your bedroom), ideally starting the first week or so. Hopefully, you have a crate that is of the correct size to facilitate potty training. That is, not too snug that your puppies cannot stand up, turn and move around, but not that large that they can comfortably wake up, pee or poop in one corner and sleep comfortable in the opposite side. If you haven't purchased the crates yet, ask the pet store staff for specific size recommendations based on the size of your puppy. Keep the crate next to your bed filled up a blanket (it would be nice if the breeder can provide you with one that smells like their previous home) and make it a routine to offer some edible chew after entering the enclosure. Make sure though that prior to placing your pups in the crate/box they have had a chance to pee/poop before. Going to bed empty will help you all sleep a bit more, knowing that you won't need to go on an outdoor potty trip very soon. Your pups will need to be taken out to potty at this young age at least one to two times per night.. Pay attention to any noises your pup makes: if they're turning around the crate or waking up whining, it's a good idea to take them out to potty. If you sleep deep, set you alarm clock to go off at specific intervals so that you can get up and take them out. Typically, the first night is the worse, with things getting better by the third -fourth night. Since they are siblings, it may also be important to get them gradually sleep on their own (on top of training them, feeding them and socializing them separated). The last sibling pups I raised struggled a bit with this as they were very attached and used to sleeping together in the shelter, but a Snuggle Pup behavioral aid helped them out a lot initially (this toy emits warmth and mimics mother dog's heart beat.) Don't forget to stop by the puppy section in the archive: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/ Also, although sibling rivalry doesn't happen with all pairs of pups, it's something worthy getting acquainted with it just in case we notice the early signs, I hope this helps, Congrats on the new pups! Busy days ahead, but so rewarding! Make sure to give yourself some breaks every now and then (hopefully you have some help to take turns watching them) and don't forget to take lots of pictures, pups grow so fast! Best, Adrienne

You are very welcome. Keep me posted on how things go, and I am here if you have any questions, Best, Adrienne

Hi there, Welcome to the forums! German shepherd pups (along with Australian cattle dogs and several other herders) can be quite nippy as puppies. This is very normal. The behavior won't stop overnight, but you can ameliorate things by engaging your puppy in games that he'll find more rewarding to engage in rather than just nipping our ankles and hands. Here is a guide with several games: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/ In particular, I like to encourage hand targeting to encourage positive interactions with hands. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ Once you have a solid response to targeting with your family at home, I would suggest having your guests sit down and have them ask for hand targets and then toss a kibble to reward him. After a successful session though, I would suggest keeping him behind a baby gate with something safe to chew (stuffed Kong, Licki-mat, chew toys) as with time, if the visit is long, pups may get bored/tired and this can trigger them to go in nippy mode just to get more attention/interaction. Other tips for nipping that come to mind: -If he comes back after you give him a toy, I suggest evaluating what toys are being used. Trying to redirect using a regular toy that likely your puppy has always access to can be rather boring compared to moving ankles and clothes he can play tug with. So right when you expect him to come towards you to nip, as soon as he is close to you, freeze (become motionless) and offer him a stuffed Kong (Kong toy stuffed with smelly goodies like peanut butter mixed with some kibble and dog cookies stacked to make it hard for her to get the kibble out), rather than just a regular toy. Keep it handy in your pocket or treat bag. This should occupy him for long enough for you to walk away and keep him busy focusing on something else. A Kong Wobbler/ Buster Cube filled with a portion of his daily allowance of kibble can also come handy once he learns how to get the kibble out. - You can also try to engage him with toys that add movement into the game such as a tennis ball tossed in the opposite direction (make it extra fun!) or a flirt pole (stick with a stuffed animal attached one end). The goal is to find a way to make these toys much more interesting, rewarding and fun to interact with than your body. Dogs who love to herd may enjoy chasing large balls used for the sport of Treibball. -Redirect to an interactive game with you. I like to keep kibble always in my treat bag/pocket ready for this. As soon as he approaches you, ask him for a sit and reward by tossing one piece of kibble/treat. He'll likely eat it and come for more if he perceives them as valuable enough. Repeat several times, catching him always before he even has the chance to think of biting. This makes your dog tired, provides an outlet for chasing instincts while you incorporate some fun obedience. Here is how to train sit, which is an incompatible behavior compared with biting (a dog in general cannot sit and bite legs at the same time). Initially, as your dog is learning to sit, you can just toss the treat without asking for a sit as soon as he approaches you. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/sit/ -Alternatively you can redirect to an empty water bottle with no lid filled up. Most dogs cannot resist the crinkling sounds produced by chewing on these. They make an economical. temporary chew toy. Always monitor your dog when chewing if your dog tends to ingest things and consider that excess chewing can make some parts sharp. To make the bottle even more interesting, fill it up with a portion of your puppy's daily ratio of kibble so your puppy will keep busy trying to roll the kibble out. You can read more about this fun game here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/the-bottle-game/ -Make sure you provide outlets for pent-up energy. Games, training, exercise and opportunities for socialization should wear him out and provide outlets for her basic needs. With brain games that allowing him to chase things and get rewards out of them (like kibble out of a bottle or a Kong Wobbler) he should seek these games more and more which can turn ankles pretty boring after a while because he gets more out of these activities when he's bored/frustrated/overstimulated. -Don't forget to train your pup some bite inhibition. This is a very important skill. A good exercise to train this using treats is here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/train-dog-take-treats-gently/ The main goal in getting a dog to stop biting ankles/hands is to teach that it's boring playing with them because there are far better forms of play out there that don't involve human body parts. So move less and make your toys move more. Wriggle them, toss them, provide toys that release food. With their strong urge to bite and play satiated with other forms of play, soon, puppies should outgrow the habit of chasing legs just as they outgrow the habit of chasing their tails. You may have to try several of the above options and see what works best. Redirection to a rewarding treat-dispensing toy or game that uses treats should be moderately easy at this age if these activities are made rewarding. Teaching an alternate behavior is also important because dogs cannot misbehave if they are busy targeting our hands or sitting! It may take a bit of time though to teach these alternate behaviors fluently but it is sure worth the time and effort. By providing outlets for his energy and needs for mental stimulation and reinforcing appropriate behaviors, you should eventually start seeing a decrease in the biting behavior. Keep track of it so to measure whether things are getting better with time. Finally, consider that puppies tend to get worse at nipping when they are cranky and in dire need for a nap. If you notice a time where your pup is super nippy, consider enclosing him behind a baby gate or crate with something valuable to chew. Chances are, if you provide a quiet area, he will chew and then happen to fall asleep for a well-needed nap. I hope this helps, let me know if you have any more other questions. Best, Adrienne

Thanks for the extra details, they are very helpful! In general with older dogs correcting puppies we need to balance out things so that our puppy doesn't pester the older dog too much and that the older dog isn't too harsh in his corrections so that he doesn't leave the pup frightened or even traumatized. This therefore requires a delicate balance. The good news is that some good adult dogs will give young puppies some leeway when they misbehave, granting them what is known as a "puppy license." However, enough is enough, and sometimes older dogs' patience will run low and they'll feel the need to give out some "lectures." Mother dog may have already imparted some of these lessons herself, but puppies may just "try" with older dogs. So after the older dogs try to walk away unsuccessfully from a boisterous pup, their teachings may go up to the next level involving growling and showing the teeth. In most of these cases, the aggressive display is mostly ritualized. Ritualized aggression takes place because dogs tend to be natural conflict-solvers. To prevent conflicts, dogs therefore should instinctively rely on their body language, which is ultimately a way to prevent true fights from occurring. Now, many pups may get the lesson and may therefore understand when an older dog is not in the mood for play and is asking for space or to be left alone. Puppies at this point may get the message and stop pestering, walk away with their body low or may even deliver an apology, by rolling over their back, and possibly, urinating submissively to prove their innocence. However, some pups can be quite persistent and may not get the message clearly. When this happens, this may lead to the older dog further escalating into something along the lines of: "What part of my signals, do you not understand?" I said back off!" This may lead to the older dog snapping or even delivering a (hopefully!) soft, inhibited bite to make the point. Sometimes, puppies at this point may yelp or whimper, but in most cases, fortunately these pups are not hurt, they are just startled and telling the adult dog to please not hurt them. It's important though to keep an eye and make sure the young pups don't appear emotionally traumatized. Now, some adult dogs make great teachers dogs, they call them "Nana dogs" while others may not be too cut for the role and get truly stressed and defensive. It sounds like overall your dog is engaging most of all in ritualized displays and that he is doing a good job using his words. Your puppy, on the other hand, seems quite resilient in handling his lectures, although we may want to prevent putting them into situations that may escalate.. So we need to keep an eye on situations where things seem to escalate and intervene as necessary. For example, if he's not too eager to be greeted by her in the morning, it may help draining a bit of her excess morning energy first and perhaps keeping her on leash the very few minutes she sees him and unleashing her once she seems calmer. If she greets him calmer (which should make him less grumpy), make sure to praise both for the smoother introduction. Now, ear issues can surely make dogs quite grumpy and may lower a dog's threshold for reacting, so you may need to manage your pup these days until his issue resolves. In regards to the behavior around the door, if you have seen that having him sit and then calling him out has helped, you can keep doing that. If it's not broken, why fix it? Make sure though to praise him/reward him for being nice and willing to wait so he doesn't develop hard feelings about her getting out first with you. However, I would also want to aim in teaching the pup to be less excited too which can act as a trigger in future instances. You can teach this separately from him initially, so that, with time, you can have her act calmer (and hold a sit too) when you take both out the door so that there's no longer reason to leash her. Here's a general guide for training more impulse control at doors: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/college/open-sesame/ Happy training! Best, Adrienne

Hello Sian, thanks so much for the update! I am glad to hear that Brenin is improving so quickly and that your kids are so dedicated and involved in training him. Brenin is very lucky! Sheepdogs like to follow directions and they thrive when we provide them with things to do. Yes, I agree that tackling his reaction to your daughters' laughing and the hugging would be important so to reduce his anxiety about these things. We can therefore work on these issues by presenting them in less intense forms (desensitization) and creating positive associations (counterconditioning0, while always ensuring he is under threshold as much as possible. To answer your questions about the lead pulling, it sounds like there's some behavior chain going on. Behavior chains are simply behaviors composed of several units of discrete operant behaviors. Here's the thing: dogs are masters of associations, in other words, they tend to put two and two together. This tendency is not our fault, it's just that dogs in general are very predisposed to associative learning, and this associative learning ultimately has an adaptive function in a dog's evolutionary past when a dog's ancestors were predators and potential prey. For example, if a dog encountered a life-threatening predator emerging from the water (like an alligator) he would come to associate that area of water with the predator, and therefore, he would come to avoid such area as much as possible, or at least, would become very wary around it. On the other hand, if the dog encountered small prey animals under a bush making for an easy meal, there are good chances he would seek bushy areas more and more in hopes of finding more prey. It is also courtesy a dog's associative learning and predisposition for forming behavior chains that we can train dogs to move in direction of a toy, pick it up, then walk towards a basket and place it in it or go through a series of obstacles as it happens in the sport of canine agility. Of course, just as a behavior chain may be composed by desirable behaviors, they may also be composed by undesirable behaviors, or even a combo of undesirable and desirable behaviors which can sneak up despite our best intent. Some dogs may be more likely to form chains than others. So back to your dog heeling and pulling in a yo-yo-fashion, once you mark/praise reward, your dog either believes that the exercise is over so he's back to attending to all the tempting stimuli he finds on walks (which is also reinforcing), or he has actually learned that if he forges ahead, you'll soon ask him to heel again, so he has learned that pulling is part of the exercise and it's what he has to do to once again gain reinforcement. In either case, we certainly want to remedy this situation as yo-yo walking is annoying. So we have various options to progress, but firstly I would like to point out that attention heeling is meant for brief instances as it requires a lot of concentration for the dog. So we should use it only for brief stretches of walking such as when we need to direct our dog's attention away from a trigger (for example when passing other dogs or some other distraction). It goes without saying that we should move on to this level of training only once our dogs have been trained well to do the regular heel (that's why the attention heeling is under the increase the challenge level in the obedience 101 section). In any cases, yo-yo walking can occur in both heeling and attention heeling, so let's take a look on some ways to correct this as the approach would be similar: Firstly, congrats, you have correctly answered yourself on how to remedy this, but I will add some extra details and extra tips that come to mind. Preventing the Chain When your dog is walking nicely next to you, try your best to add duration by feeding your dog more treats (always in the reward zone!) to keep him more consistently by your side. In other words, try to don't give him a chance to forge ahead. You may need to give more treats initially, but then you can start spacing them out more and more to the point that you’ll be able to walk your dog on a loose leash for an occasional reward (variable schedule of reinforcement).The good thing is that your treats don't need to be big for this task, you can break a treat in several smaller pieces for the exercise so can considerably cut down on the amount you feed at every session. So a session may go like this: if your dog heels next to you for 10 seconds and then forges ahead, you can praise/treat for different time variants like every 1, 3, 2, 7, seconds etc. to build duration. You may need to therefore initially immediately praise/reward before your dog is able to walk ahead and leave. Rinse and repeat until your dog is wanting to stay next to you longer because he's expecting more reinforcement and then gradually increase duration. Providing Feedback to Break the Chain While these forms of feedback are effective in discouraging dogs, to pull, it's more of a trial and error affair, so I prefer doing as much as possible to setting dogs to success by reinforcing desirable behaviors and making dogs want to perform them, but I understand that's not always possible and we don't want our dogs to rehearse troublesome behaviors (like pulling) too much as that's how they put more roots. So if you still catch your dog pulling on occasions, you can provide some feedback. For instance, the moment your dog pulls ahead, you can use a slowing down option to put in the middle of the two behaviors. In other words, right after your dog has eaten the treat after several steps of heeling, start slowing down and then stop in your tracks the moment he reaches the end of the leash. Imagine being a tree, where as your dog starts pulling you start getting heavier, slowing down and then you stop in your tracks, put roots and "become a tree." You want to anticipate your dog in this. If you do this enough times, your dog will come to learn that "When I start to pull, my owner slows down, when I reach the end of the leash my owner stops, when I don't pull my owner keeps walking and I even get tasty treats! Pulling or trying to pull is not good if I want to keep walking!" You can even issue a warning that you are about to slow down by saying a split second prior to slowing down something like "slow down" and then "oops, tree spell!" (or anything else) once you put roots and stop walking. This pre- warning will help your dog succeed as he will learn to adjust his pace to yours upon hearing you pronounce that, while the "tree spell" works to get your dog's attention and understand what is happening. Or if you want, you can skip the slow down option and go straight to stopping walking. This is an even more undesirable outcome for when your dog is walking ahead and about to pull. So to apply this method, you would stop in your tracks the moment your dog is about to walk ahead and if your dog ignores that and manages to pull, you can even make an about face and walk in the opposite direction. This penalty is annoying to pulling dogs because it puts them at a further distance from the objective they were pulling towards. So once your dog understands, that, when he forges ahead and pulls you slow down and stop, you'll notice more occasions of him walking next to you which you can promptly reward so he learns it's great to stick nearby. Setting for Success As mentioned, providing feedback can be effective in discouraging dogs, to pull, but it's more of a trial and error affair, so I prefer doing as much as possible to setting dogs for success by reinforcing desirable behaviors and controlling the environment. So here are some additional tips that come to mind: -Drain excess energy prior to walks. For young, energetic dogs, it helps to drain excess energy so that they're less frisky. Plan to play with your dog, train him, offer mental stimulation (brain games!) so that he'll be less over the top. -Start in Low Distraction Areas If your dog is pulling to go meet dogs or people, sniff bushes and chase cats, you may find it helpful to start training heeling in a lower distraction areas so to set up your dog for success. Use initially a very high reinforcement rate, and aim to gradually increase the number of steps until you reward. Once the dog gets it, gradually introduce distractions. Once your dog's heeling behavior is more fluent, you can then start working in areas with a little more distractions, always working gradually. The goal is to keep the dog under threshold and compete with the distractions making walking next to you more desirable. -Increase the Value of Treats. When we walk our dogs and expect them to walk nicely on the leash, we are dealing with strongly ingrained instincts and competing distractions. First of all, dogs are naturally predisposed to walk faster than us. If they haven't exercised much prior, they are frisky and full of energy, especially at the beginning of the walk. On top of this, there are countless stimuli on walks that draw dogs like magnets. Dogs are naturally impulsive beings, if they see something they like they'll go for it. Walks offer a multisensorial experience and dogs are eager to explore their whereabouts and sniff. Other dogs purposely leave their business cards, (that is, pee-mail) and dogs are instinctively drawn to read the newspaper and learn more about what's happening in their neighborhood. And then you have all the lovely birds, squirrels and cats that your dog may want to instinctively chase. So to compete with all these distractions, on top of starting in low distraction areas and/or walking at a distance from them, we can increase the value of treats so we can better compete with them. We're talking things like roasted chicken, low-sodium hot dogs, baked liver, pieces of steak etc. (Check with your vet first if your dog has allergies or sensitive tummy). -Consider Front-Attaching Harnesses There are several makes and models, but recently vets are suggesting dog owner used the "Y" types. You can see a recent discussion on this here: -Consider Behavior Modification for Emotional Pulling Some dogs pull a lot or lunge because they are too anxious or fearful, therefore these dogs may require calming aids and/or behavior modification prior to starting formal training. -Add a Go Sniff Cue When the opportunity arises, don't forget to to train a "go sniff" cue so that your dog know when he is allowed to go sniff an area and isn't required to formally heel for this period of time. I hope this helps, Happy Training Best, Adrienne

Hi Mary, Welcome to the forums, I understand your concerns in regards to the interactions between your puppy and older Lab. Has you Lab by any chances seen the vey recently? Does he have any medical conditions that you know of? Just checking because many older dogs may struggle with pups and an aggravating factor is often osteoarthritis (achy joints) which can make them a little more intolerant than they normally would be. What happens by the door area? Does he correct her for wanting to go out first? Also, how does your puppy react when she gets corrected by him? Does she seem to care less? Apologetic? Fearful body language? Does she ever roll over in fear and pee? Thanks for the additional details.

Hi Sydney, Welcome back! I really feel for you, but it's not your fault. Heartworm positive cases are not fun. When I worked for a vet, we often got these phone calls from frantic owners not knowing what to do with their hyper heartworm positive dogs' energy. In some cases, when the dogs were heavily infected, I remember our vets prescribed sedatives. I don't know how bad your case is, but something to consider if your dog's burden was high and he has to be on strict rest. I know these dogs shouldn't be running around or engaging in activities that could elevate their heart rate or increase blood pressure and this can be a big challenge, especially for young, adolescent dogs! I would stop trying to grab pieces of clothing from him. That's what he' s hoping for. He wants to play a game of keep-away, where dogs grab things and want us to chase them around. It's all a game. Here is a guide on how to deal with dogs who steal stuff:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/stealing-things/ Now, it seems like he doesn't listen to leave it when he gets a hold of something, most likely he's over threshold due his restricted activity and having too much fun. I would keep away clothing as much as possible and if he manages to grab something still, I would try to exchange it for something more valuable than kibble such as a Kong stuffed with something tasty or some treats. I would ditch the food bowl and use his kibble for training and mental stimulation, but for quiet activities. I don't know though how high his heartworm burden is, so not sure how much his activity must be restricted. I know some dogs are ordered strict crate rest while others can stay out and just do quiet things. Please run by your vet the list of activities you are planning to do to ensure they are safe for him to engage in before trying any. Quieter brain games that come to mind are the following, but please avoid any kibble tossing since he needs to stay quiet, hand-feed it instead. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ This game may work well in replacing his desire to bite. Simply present your hand for him to target with a nose bump and reinforce that. Rinse and repeat several times, again, avoid any kibble tossing since he needs to stay quiet, hand feed it instead. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-muffin-game/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/college/the-shell-game/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/college/the-magic-carpet/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/hot-and-cold/ I would start clicker training him: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/clicker-training/ Clicker training can be quite a mentally draining activity initially so go slow at first. Once he understands the concept, you can then train him a variety of tricks and behavior such as: Turn on a tap light: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-your-dog-to-turn-on-a-light/ Cover eyes or shame on you: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-cover-eyes-shame/ Go to a mat: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-go-to-mat/ I would also invest in Lickimats and Snuffle Mats and feed portions of meals mixed with some goodies in frozen Kongs. Jennifer, one of our loyal members here has provided some recipes a while back: Sniffing can also be quite a tiring activity. Have you tried to hide kibble in small boxes to get him interested in opening them? I hope time goes fast for him, I cant imagine how frustrating it must feel for both of you!

Hello and welcome to the forums! I have encountered similar issues in the past with rescued dogs who were fearful of coughs and sneezes. Most didn't go as far as acting aggressively, considering that most would for the most part exhibit a very strong startle response, but one of them would always approach me when I did cough/sneeze and I often wondered what her real intent was, perhaps she was just trying to make me stop or check if I was OK! I think this may stem from a lack of socialization, mistrust towards strangers or maybe dogs feeling a bit threatened by the sound either because it startles them or maybe they think it's some sort of bark or growl. In any case, I am glad to hear that your dog doesn't attack coughing people in a physical way as that would be quite problematic, however, behavior can always change and we don't want to put him into the position of one day thinking about doing that. Even if he may have no mean bones in his body, we must consider that moving towards people coughing in that way barking is perceived by your dog as reinforcing. In other words, he likely feels that by doing that, the other person stops coughing and therefore is successful. This may explain why he keeps on doing that. So what can be done in such a case? I have worked on this issue with the rescued dogs by using behavior modification. Here is what I did: I would present fake coughing in less intimidating forms. In other words, I would present coughing in a less intense form and then gradually increase its intensity working at the dog's pace. The technical term for this is desensitization. You can read more about this here:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/?s=desensitization I would therefore cough quieter in a way that doesn't overwhelm the dog, or I would look online for coughing sound effects on Youtube and start playing it at a low volume. However, I didn't just aim to do this, I would also combine the coughing with good things as explained below. I would create positive associations. While I would present fake coughing in less intense forms, I would simultaneously make great things happen. The technical term for this counterconditioning. You can read more about this here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/?s=counterconditioning In other words, I would present the fake cough in a less intense form and at the same time I would feed something the dog is crazy for such as a special treat or maybe some strips of roasted chicken (with no fat/bones or spices). After a few sessions, I would then start presenting the fake cough first, followed by the treat, so that the cough would become a cue that the treat is coming. I would also ensure the dog is under threshold. While I would present the coughing in less intimidating forms, create positive associations and gradually increase its intensity, I would pay a lot of attention on the dog's body language. In other words, I would ensure the dog doesn't go over threshold. You can read more about threshold here:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ If the dog would ever shows signs of stress or fear, I would take that as a sign that I would have to take a few steps back in the process and work more at a less intense form until the dog was perfectly comfortable with that before increasing its intensity. With Labs being particularly eager to eat, I think behavior modification may work quite well. Since it sounds like he's reactive more towards others people coughing rather than you coughing, you may need to practice with a few helpers. A good place to start may therefore be having helpers sitting at a table, the dog on a leash with you from a distance (more distance also helps make the coughing less intense) and having the helpers practice low intensity forms of coughing (very low volume or maybe starting with just clearing the throat lightly). Every time a person coughs, you would feed your dog a high-value treat initially simultaneously, then right after the cough. Cough, treat, cough treat, cough treat rinse and repeat several times. At some point, right after the person coughs, make a smacking sound with your mouth, right before delivering the treat. You would have to do these sessions often enough until you see what's known as a conditioned emotional response (CER). In other words, upon hearing the coughing followed by your smacking sound, your dog looks at you for his treat. Gradually, the level of coughing may be increased, but you need to carefully watch your dog's body language. If your dog ever barks or seems stressed or uncomfortable, know that that's a sign of him being over threshold. Once we get a reliable response, and a lovely CER to a higher level of coughing, we can then further progress and try to practice off leash. Every time the coughing occurs, you can make a smacking sound with your mouth, and as soon as your dog turns around or comes your way, you can give/toss a treat. When these practice fake sessions cannot be done, it would be best to keep your dog away from your guests as we don't want him to rehearse the barking/rushing towards the coughing person behavior. That could lead to setbacks and losing all the progress made. After some time, we can then progress to start giving treats only when people really cough, keeping them always handy in a pocket or treat bag, finally progressing where we give treats only every now and then just to maintain the positive associations. For those times we don't give treats, we can still though use our smacking sound and have our dog come to us for some happy praise and pats. Now, something important to consider is that, if your dog is truly moving towards them in an aggressive fashion, for safety and correct behavior modification implementation, it would be highly recommended enlisting the help of a dog behavior professional for an in-person assessment and in-person guidance. The other option rather than behavior modification, would be management, which would entail keeping him in a separate room to prevent rehearsal of the problem behavior and its possible aggravation, but Labs being the family dogs they are, may want to feel included, so another option may be erecting a baby gate so he can still see and feel part of the family, but being unable to move towards the guests. He can be given a stuffed Kong or Lickimat to keep busy while back there. I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions. Best, Adrienne Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your dog is acting aggressively, please seek out the in person-guidance of a dog behavior professional for safety and correct implementation.

Happy to hear you found the info helpful, happy training! Best, Adrienne

Hi again! Puppies have a strong need for play and they come up to us to meet this need. Not surprising, considering that just weeks prior, when they were playing almost non-stop with their littermates. They are therefore often baffled when we tell them no, because they don't know exactly what we mean when we say that, and they just can't help it but want to play. Yipping may also excite more some pups, sometimes making them bite more just for the fun of watching a reaction from us. For her mouthy behavior, please take a look at this guide with games for training her bite inhibition: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/ I particularly like to ask nippy and jumpy pups to target hands, this gives them an alternate behavior to engage in: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ . If you do a random search of the forums, you'll also find lots of threads on nippy puppies with many more tips. Here are just a couple: This can happen sometimes with quick pups who are eager to anticipate us. To remedy the down/sit situation, I would stop mixing and matching them for a while (at least until she has mastered them to the point of stimulus control) to prevent further confusion. I would therefore focus on several days doing only the sits and praising and reinforcing them. Important would be to make sure that you mark that sit (with your clicker or verbal marker) very quickly before she has an opportunity slouch down in the down position. If you wait too long, she may believe that she got it wrong and may crouch down in hopes for your feedback. So make sure you mark/reward that sit the moment the rump touches the floor. If she manages to still anticipate and slouch into the down, ignore and walk away, and then try again, making sure to set her up for success on the next trial by marking that sit more promptly. Afterward, you can do a few days practice with only the down. Important would be that she doesn't anticipate you by slouching down into the down before you ask for it. If she does, ignore it and walk away. Then seconds later try again, this time though make sure that you are quick enough to cue her into the down so that she doesn't anticipate you. When the elbows touch the floor, mark/reward. If you are able to though, you can also try getting her to lie down without asking for the sit first. She might comply if she got enough muscle memory from her previous down practice and if she's very swift. Just do your downward hand motion while she is standing and see if she complies, If she does, give a jackpot and rinse and repeat several several times.

Thanks for the update! It is great that she now can sleep through the night without whining and crying. It is also great that she is starting to explore your back yard. That's a great improvement! For the crating during the day issue, it requires some troubleshooting. If she appears extremely upset, this will only increase her anxiety and will further create negative connotations with the crate. So we need to find out what is making her upset. Here's the thing, for puppies, being crated during the day may feel quite different from in the night. Puppies therefore tend to perceive being in the crate differently based on whether the crate is being used as a place for a nap, a place to spend some quiet time to settle down, or a place of confinement for when you are away. In your case, it sounds more like you are trying to get her to nap or spend some quiet time while in it, but she's struggling with that. This can sometimes happen with puppies who are overstimulated. During the day, puppies are eager to play and learn about the world around them. Indeed, watch a young puppy wake up in the morning, and you'll notice how happy they are to embrace a new day. With eyes and ears ready to capture every slight movement and sound, it may be difficult for vivacious pups to wind down and get ready for nap. Many puppies may play to the point of exhaustion, only collapsing suddenly once their batteries are totally drained. Others may be cranky and tired, but when placed in the crate, they may struggle to fall asleep because their body and mind is still too overstimulated to allow them to relax. It almost seems like they can't help it: their ears must twitch in direction of the slightest sounds and their eyes are ready to orient towards the slighted movement. Not to mention, their sniffer is also active trying to capture background smells. For these pups to help them wind down, it helps providing them with something long-lasting to chew on/keep busy (stuffed Kong, Lickimat). This can keep them occupied until they get tired enough to fall asleep on their own. Also, placing a blanket on the crate and playing some calming music for dogs can turn helpful too. It's also important to ensure all puppies' needs are met. Puppies have various needs that must be met in order for the puppy to relax enough to sleep. Basic needs of course include being hydrated, having a full belly, going potty, staying at a comfortable temperature, having companionship and several opportunities for exercising, playing and mental stimulation (brain games!) It therefore goes without saying that, to help set the pup for success, they should have had their needs for going potty, playing, socializing, exercising and exploring met prior to closing them in a crate. So playing and training the pup, along with providing mental stimulation about 30 to 45 minutes (followed by the opportunity to potty) prior to crating may help. This is especially true if we are trying to have the puppy nap in the morning when they are super charged and ready to celebrate a new day. It also helps to create a predictable routine. Dogs in general are reassured by routines, so if you notice your puppy tends to feel more sleepy at a certain time of the day, make that her official nap time. There may also be chances that she's still not much comfortable being crated. One thing is in the night, after a day of playing and exploring with the puppy needing time in the crate to wind down, one thing is crating a puppy during the day when the puppy looks forward to celebrating and playing. Therefore, to compensate for this, it's important to ensure the crate becomes a happy place to be. Here is a guide of training a dog to love the crate: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/ As seen this is done gradually through lots of positive associations. Make sure to spend time to feed treats and provide toys inside the open crate during the day before closing your puppy in it for longer during the day. Make sure the crate is super inviting with a warm blanket or even a shirt the smells like you. Some needy young pups may only relax if they sleep with a Snuggle Puppy Behavioral Aid. This is a stuffed toy that emits warmth and even has the sound of a heartbeat. If there is too much anxiety and nothing works, pups benefit from a temporary different setting, while going back to basics and training them to love the crate. One popular one is placing a crate with the door open within a play pen and some pee pads on the opposite side (just in case ), and many pups end up crating themselves automatically during the day. The play pen area can have some toys in it so that the pup can play freely and then decide when to nap. The main drawback of this setting is that some pups may have setbacks in their potty training if they just started to signal a need to potty when closed in the crate by whining or moving around. However, if we are very attentive, we may avoid a good part of them by watching them and taking them outside at a moment's notice after they are done playing or when, after napping, they move around the crate or exit it. As seen, there are several dynamics that may be going on. You may need to try several options and see what works the best. Measure the effectiveness of each option by monitoring how quickly it takes for her to settle and see what works the best for her and then try to stick to that. I hope this helps, Best, Adrienne

Hi Hannah, Thanks for the update. It is great that you have it down to one outing in the night. Makes for a better nights' sleep for both you and your puppy! It is rather normal for some accidents to happen along the road before things are perfected, but it's a good idea to keep track of them. For instance, you can write down the times they occur and take a mental note to take her out the next day about 15 minutes earlier. It would also be worthy paying attention what is happening when the accident occurs. This to rule out any submissive or excitement urination. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/submissive-urination/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/urinating-when-excited/ If you notice any of the above patterns, you may need to follow the guidelines outlined in the guides above. It also helps to put the action of going potty on cue. It may take some time for her to associate the action of going potty with the cue, but it has a good return on investment in the long run. Here's the training guide for that. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/potty-on-command/

2) *Fear of being in the car* I took her and put her on the car, in the crate as the day before. It was a 3 minutes driving to the shop, and 3 mins back. She drooled so much she made the whole blankets in the crate and the whole self wet from it. She repeated this behaviour for the whole week while I was in Italy at my moms. Friday night I gave her a pill the Vet prescribed, to avoid car-sickness and she slept and was calm, not drooling the whole 8 hours driving back to Germany. I have already brought her in the car for just few minutes at the time, bringing the kids to school. Everything looks fine now, she has understood I am not leaving her. But I am doing it without the crate. She sits on a mat on the rear seat, with the safety belt and the harness. I would like to teach her to be calm and feel safe also when I bring her with me to work. I can get out of the production plant often enough to let her out. It is a solution I may need in case no one can go home to look after her. But I don't like to leave her on the seat, I will use the crate. Often fear of being in the car and motion sickness go hand in hand, leading to a chicken-or-the-egg dilemma (dogs can even have a combination of both!), but often behind a case of car phobia is a case of car sickness acting as the leading culprit. Dogs are naturally prone to car sickness because their sense of balance in their brain is much better than ours so they become particularly susceptible to the motion of cars. Puppies are particularly predisposed to car sickness, and many luckily outgrow it with help, but not all dogs outgrow it as they mature. Also, dogs who have never been in cars or very little may be more prone to car sickness. Dogs prone to car sickness tend to salivate excessively, lip their lips, yawn and drool. They may also pace, pant, shake, and swallow often, and some even manage to vomit. What makes things particularly challenging though is the fact that dogs who are primarily anxious, also tend to drool, pant, shake, whine and pace when stressed, so often it is not possible to entirely distinguish one case from the other. If she was calm in the car after being given the car-sickness pill though, it could very likely be that her anxious behavior was due to feeling sick. If you are planning on keeping her crated when at work, you will need to acclimatize her to being in the crate. You can first start the process at home. Placing a blanket on the crate can help some dogs calm down. It also helps exercising the dog, playing and doing brain games before so she's tired enough and relaxed to nap in the crate. Here's a guide on getting a dog used to a crate: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/ 3) *jumping up, scratching and biting* She got very long nails. I must trim them, but because they are black and she is so small, I don't want to risk anything and I am waiting for the first visit at the vet. Still she comes to me at times and jumps up. I try to ignore her, but it is pretty impossible to do that when she is hurting you. The same goes with the desire of attentions as soon as I talk to someone at the phone. She starts biting me, bites everywhere, the sweatshirt or the hand, the pants, the feet...her milk teeth are pretty sharp, she didn't change them all yet. How do I get her to not use her paws to catch my attention? I need something in addition to the "ignoring". With dogs who jump to bite and scratch it helps to redirect this behavior into productive training through play. Here are some helpful games: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/ I particularly like to ask nippy and jumpy pups to target my hand https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ . or perform sits: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/behavior-training/jumping/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/case-studies/02-maggie-assessing-jumping-behavior-desensitization/ Also make sure to train her to learn to inhibit her biting with this guide: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/train-dog-take-treats-gently/ Here are more tips: -Try offering interactive toys. If your dog is coming towards you with the intention to bite, stop her in her tracks by tossing the opposite way a ball the bounces so that she'll go after that or grab a flirt pole toy that he can chase and grab to keep entertained. You may find it helpful to keep several balls in your pocket ready to launch at a moments' notice or carry a flirt pole around your waist like a belt. - Ask her to sit when you see her approaching you and reward by tossing a treat/kibble away. Do this as often as needed. You should see an increase in the sitting behavior and a decrease in the clothing nipping behavior overtime. -Remember that learning (of good and bad behaviors) always takes place in all your interactions with your puppy. You may find it helpful to carry a treat bag filled with some kibble on you at all times so to provide opportunities to make good choices. This for the most part initially until you puppy learns to seek alternate forms of entertainment. -Make sure you provide outlets for pent-up energy. Games, training, exercise and opportunities for socialization should wear her out and provide outlets for her basic needs. With brain games that allow her to chase things and get rewards out of them (like the Muffin Game or Bottle game) she should seek them more and more which can turn your clothes pretty boring after a while because she gets more out of these activities when he's bored. -Finally, consider tiredness and overstimulation. Young puppies need to play, be socialized and trained, but they also need to sleep and they can get cranky and bitey when they are tired, but unable to fall asleep. If all your puppy's needs are met, give your puppy a safe chew to gnaw on her crate in a quiet area. Your puppy should find her off switch and should soon fall soundly asleep. In regards to being on the phone.... I like it when dogs perform certain unwanted behavior at certain times or in response to certain situations or triggers. Why? Because knowing when a behavior is about to happen gives us the power to plan on working on it versus behaviors that happen unpredictably. So if her attention-seeking behavior happens contingent upon you using the phone, you can find her some alternate activities to engage in when the phone rings or when you pick up the phone. For instance you can try any of the following: 1) Put the phone on speaker and sit on a chair where you have set on the table a dish with some kibble. While you are on the phone, you can ask her for several hand targets in a row and reward her by tossing a kibble to reward her. This way she gets to work on training, engages in an alternate behavior and gets to also discharge some energy chasing kibble for a fun workout. 2) You can give a long-lasting interactive toy (stuffed Kong, Kong wobbler) to enjoy on a mat when the phone rings so she can keep occupied. 3) Organize the bottle game or muffin tin game keeping it ready on a shelf and offer it to her right when the phone rings. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-muffin-game/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/the-bottle-game/ I hope you find what works best for you and your lovely pup. Keep me posted on how things go and I am always here for questions and updates! Best, Adrienne PS. neuromovement practitioner sounds like an awesome job!

Hello, and welcome to the forums! Bell is a cutie and I am so glad to hear such a happy ending to such a sad start in life! She is very lucky to have found you and you are right, she has a very sweet expression of her face. I am also glad she is calm, which is a big plus for a 5 month puppy. I will try my best to tackle the issues you have presented so far starting from the order you have outlined. I may have to do several posts for this, so you may see the rest popping up later on the day. Please note that your questions are in bold and my answers are not. So here are my thoughts. 1) *Whining and Barking when I am not there.* I went to work on monday 5:30 a.m. knowing that a friend of mine was coming to take Bell outside at about 11.00 a.m. Everything went just fine. Then I was home sick for 3 days. On Friday I had to go back to work, the same way. At 11:00 my friend took her out. The neighbour though, was awake at 6:30 because of the constant whining and barking of Bell. You can imagine her disappointment, telling me "that was very irresponsible of you!" ...but to me the effect of her words was "just wanting to point the finger at you and give you the guilt of my own frustration". after all, she doesn't have pets, her kids are grown up and independant and she jumped up right away to the conclusion that was more convenient for her, including calling everyone around and telling about how much she was bothered by my irresponsabiity. My question is, is a whining of 2 hours long after 3 weeks of living together (where the dog was already alone at least 2 hours) really so bad? It was the first and single time it happened. My kids were more difficult to deal with at 1 y.old when I wanted to go somewhere by myself!!, but you know, they do not bark so loud, a dog can be "brought back to a shelter" but a kid cannot. The fact that you were home sick for 3 days may have caused Bell to get used to you being around. She likely has bonded more with you and felt reassured by your presence around the clock during those 3 days. Then, after those 3 days of you being home all the time, the abrupt return to work on Friday may have had an impact on her with your absence suddenly becoming more salient. Dogs are rather routine oriented beings, so they tend to struggle with changes. It could be that in the next few days she may adjust again, but a complaining neighbor certainly puts on us more pressure. I find that dogs struggle more with being left alone in the mornings. I think this is due to the fact that, after a night of sleeping, they wake up eager to embrace the day and for a dog nothing beats being around the owners they trust. On top of this, after waking up and breakfast, young dogs are very energetic, so they may have a harder time coping with being left alone and at the same time having surges of energy and not knowing what to do with it, which often leads to undesirable behaviors such as whining, barking, scratching doors or chewing. Two hours of whining reported by the neighbor needs to be evaluated carefully. Was the whining continuous? Or just on and off? Was it really for a full two hours? To a neighbor with a low tolerance for noises, just half hour may feel like two hours. Perhaps the neighbor was more annoyed by the time of the whining if she likes to sleep in rather than the duration. Perhaps she made it up that it lasted that long just to make a big deal about it (she doesn't sound at all like a nice neighbor.) You'll be surprised how many people in the US call animal control to report dogs who bark a lot, but when they come to asses the situation, the barking isn't enough for them to need to intervene. I am not sure about what your nuisance barking regulations are in Germany, but usually what can get dog owners in trouble is for how long the dog barks and the time of the barking. If it was truly two hours straight that is considered quite a lot. It may be worthy recording as well on your side to verify if this is truly happening for your records, and also to gain an insight into what Bell is doing during your absence. If she is pacing back and forth and panicking, this can be a sign of the onset or separation anxiety. There are a variety of recording devices nowadays so that you can see what your dog is doing live or you can watch it later on when you come back. Some recording devices are purposely built for dog owners allowing you to see and even talk to your dog. One nifty invention is the Furbo camera which allows you to not only be able to see and talk to your dog but also allow the recorder to launch treats to keep dogs entertained during absences. There are several things though that we can do to try to minimize the whining so that this doesn't become a habit. Here are some ideas: -Waking up earlier, feeding your dog and then going on a nice invigorating walk. This can help drain energy and hopefully calm her down a bit. -Providing food puzzles to keep your dog occupied while you are away. Stuffed Kongs, Kong Wobblers, hiding her kibble in the room she's enclosed in treasure hunt style: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/case-studies/01-sadie-treasure-hunt/ -Keep her in an area where she cannot see things to whine/ bark at -Play some calming music while you are away. -Calming aids such as pheromone plug-ins come to mind -And just doing what you did, in other words, having somebody stop midday so that she's not left for too long until she learns to be more independent. Some dogs may need to be taken to daycare if coping with being alone is too much. Learning to be more independent will take some time if that's what she's struggling with. She has come from a shelter and many of these dogs with a rough start in life come to form an overly dependent relationship to their new caregivers. Some of these dogs may require behavior modification to learn to cope with absences. Since you will be home for some time, it may help working on that these following days. Behavior modification for cases of such involves starting with short absences and increasing them gradually over time (mixing in some briefer times), preventing your dog as much as possible from getting stressed. We do this mainly through behavior modification using desensitization and counterconditioning. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/?s=counterconditioning These terms just mean that we take baby steps to desensitize them (make less sensitive) and carefully gauge for signs of going over threshold (panting, whining, pacing, drooling) suggesting we have pushed them too far. If we go too fast and expose dogs to situations they're not ready for, we risk sensitizing them (make more sensitive) because we are just convincing them that they are right to be anxious as we are exposing them to the absences they so deeply fear. The whole process obviously takes time and setbacks can occur, especially in those cases when we have no way to prevent them from being left alone for longer than what they are comfortable with (which is why it's best leaving them with a family member or other care taker initially for longer absences). On top of baby steps, we want to also insert counterconditioning which aims to change the dog's emotional response. From being overly concerned and anxious we want the dog to learn to relax, or at least better cope/tolerate when we are away. There are certain emotions and things dogs do that are on the oppositive spectrum of feeling anxious. For instance, dogs are unlikely to eat/play/sleep when they are nervous. So if we can expose them to very small absences and get them to eat or play with a toy that dispenses food, that's a little step in the right direction to help change over time their emotional responses. In a dog in the beginning stages of training (a dog who hasn't learned yet a great sit/stay and "leave it") I would prepare a muffin tin filling the holes with some smelly treats or some other irresistible foods and let the dog watch me prepare it. I would then place it on a tall table, extending a bit towards the edge. The dog would normally stick around the table and perhaps start whining or even try to stand up to look at it or catch a whiff with his nose. That's fine: I'll take a dog who is a little impatient over suffering from the stress of full blown separation anxiety any day (we can always work on better impulse control and a good "leave it" later, which is much easier to work on). Once enough anticipation has built up, I would lower the muffin tin and let the dog enjoy the goodies within as I step quickly away out of the door. If the dog starts eating, fine, but if she starts eating but then tries to follow me as soon as he notices me leaving, I will remove the muffin tin and try again (and I may try to increase the value of the treats further or make them easier to access, maybe smear something to lick on the tin such as a bit of cream cheese (if the dog tolerates it) or peanut butter (careful with the sugarless types which contain xylitol, very toxic to dogs!). After another trial or two, most dogs will start eating as they'll learn that access to the goodies happens only when I leave. If the dog struggles with this, off course, we have to re-evaluate what can be done next, such as split these exercises into smaller steps, increase the value of the food, and sometimes consider whether a calming aid (or prescription meds from a vet) may be needed for lowering that anxiety just enough for the dogs cognitive functions to open up and learning to be able to sink in. Moral of the story? These cases may require lots of baby steps and making great things happen contingent on our departures. As absences progress gradually (always mixing in briefer ones) there may come a point where the use of technology may come handy. Remote monitoring with a nanny cam or a Furbo camera can help monitor the dog to gauge comfort levels and make adjustments to the plan as needed.

Greetings, Welcome to the forums. You'll find the potty training section for puppies in the main archive (link below). Look for potty training section under the puppy category, and there is also an inappropriate elimination section for general issues. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/ Of course, feel free to ask here is you have any specific question. Best, Adrienne

You are very welcome! Keep me posted on how things go and I am always here is you have any questions along the way. Best, Adrienne

Hi Laura, As Joan pointed out, the alpha theory has been disproved by several studies and research on the topic. The basis of the alpha theory was very popular in the past due the fact that it was presumed that, since dogs are descended from wolves, their behaviors must have reflected wolf behaviors. Therefore in order to attain authority, it was important for dog owners to obtain the alpha status since wolves in captivity were found to have an alpha in charge. This belief led to decades of harsh training techniques including alpha rolls, scruff shakes and the adherence to several "pack rules" such as always eating before the dog, not allowing the dog on the bed, not letting dogs out of doorways first and not letting the dog walk in front of the owner. Today, we fortunately have researchers who have brought to us a better understanding of wolf and dog behavior compared to 30 years ago. More on this can be found here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dominance/ but here is a summary. 1) Dogs are Not Wolves Firstly, we know that dogs are not wolves, indeed, there are many differences between dogs and wolves. Courtesy of domestication, many changes have occurred in dogs both from a morphological and behavioral perspective. So while it's true that nowadays most scientists agree that our domesticated dog (Canis familiaris) descended from the wolf (Canis lupus), comparing our dogs to wolves nowadays is similar to comparing modern humans (Homo sapiens) to great apes. 2) Wolves Live as Families Secondly, research by David Mech's studies has revealed that behaviors of wolves held in captivity were quite different than the behavior of free roaming wolves previously studied by Robert Shenkel in 1947. Shenkel's initial studies conducted on wolves in captivity demonstrated that groups of wolves living together were held in check by a strict pecking order enforced by the violent interactions between the alpha wolves and subordinates. Mech's studies on free roaming wolves, on the other hand, revealed that the social structure of wolves living together were fundamentally family units with adult parents guiding their offspring. This latter study has therefore revolutionized how we interact with our dogs and train them. 3) Humans are Not Dogs Thirdly, dogs know for a fact that we are humans and not dogs and relate to us accordingly. Their powerful noses know that we don't smell like dogs. Research has shown that dogs respond to our pointing gestures, gaze into our eyes and interact with us humans in the same way toddlers do with their parents. Even when given the opportunity to pick their kind, dogs prefer to rely on us humans for both affection and protection. Yet, it goes without saying that puppies and dogs need guidance to learn to control their impulses and that is done through training and behavior modification. It also helps providing exercise, mental simulation (brain games) and outlets for natural behaviors (safe items to chew, an area for digging, balls to chase etc). The fact that your 3 month old puppy is biting you more than your husband may be because your puppy gets more engagement from you (are you moving a lot, pushing her? making noises when she bites?) I know it's hard not to with those sharp puppy teeth, but I think your puppy is having fun and seeking you out more to play/engagement. Rather than being firm though using a deep tone of voice or punishment, which may elicit defensive behavior in the long run (puppy no longer biting for play but because finds us threatening), I would aim to provide outlets for the biting behavior and training alternate behaviors that are more productive and rewarding. Note: It is always best to catch her before she starts this behavior than once she has already jumped on us and latched on. So if this happens for example in the evening when you sit to watch TV and want to relax a bit, you can prevent it by providing her with some entertaining toys to work on such as a stuffed Kong, Kong Wobbler or Lickity mat with a portion of her meal that will keep her occupied for long. Ensure your pup gets sleep throughout the day as often these fits are seen when pups get cranky. So it's not a bad idea to give them a break from being overstimulated by inviting them to a pen or crate with some chew toy and quiet time. If these jumping/biting episodes happens at random times during the day, you can aim on taking advantage of her energy levels for some productive training through play. Here are some helpful games: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/ Also make sure to train her to learn to inhibit her biting with this guide: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/train-dog-take-treats-gently/ If you do a random search of the forums, you'll find lots of threads on nippy puppies with many more tips. Here are just a couple: Your puppy is very young so nipping and jumping is very normal at this age. However, we can work on these behaviors early through redirection and training so to start them on the right paw. Best, Adrienne

Hi Jessica, Welcome to the forums, When dealing with dogs who chew and ingest things, a multi-faceted approach is needed. Firstly, management, which is often something that is overlooked. That is, dog-proofing the home and yard making any objects and things around that dogs may get into inaccessibile. Think of it like toddler-proofing the homes keeping things up high and our of reach and locking cabinets/closing rooms where there are knick-knacks the toddler may get into. We can make our life easier by creating dog-proofed areas and fencing them off if out the yard, or baby-gated areas if in the home. This can make the project of dog-proofing large areas much easier and manageable. At the same time though, we want to have a back-up plan that allows us to tell dogs to leave things that we may have accidentally forgotten to remove or that may have appeared despite our best intent (think a dead bird in the yard) or maybe something tempting on a walk. In this case it's training two specific cues: that is, the leave it and drop it command. You can find how to train these cues here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/drop-it/ With multiple dogs living the home, yes, I find it is best starting to train each dog individually. It would be quite difficult practicing when the other dogs may get in the way and try to steal things left and right. Then, once each dog has mastered the cues at a fluent response level, you can then practice adding the distraction of another dog working up to the level of being able to then practice group leave its (and drops as necessary) as long as all dogs have proven to be responsive and not prone to resource guarding. Of course, make sure to also provide your dogs with suitable and safe items to chew so that they can fulfill this need and don't forget about exercise and mental stimulation as many dogs who chew and ingest things are often bored and are looking for ways to entertain themselves and fulfill their natural scavenging/foraging instincts. Happy training!

Hi Katherine. Welcome to the forums, Great question! The reason for this is very simple and it relates to a dog's associative learning. If we start saying "down" when we are at the initial luring phase, the behavior is not yet established, there is no or very little muscle memory and things are rather sloppy. If we say it early then, there are risks the dog associates it with something that hasn't been perfected yet and things can get confusing. We therefore play it safe and introduce the verbal cue "down" only once the behavior is more fluent so the dog can associate that precise action with the behavior. So we therefore "name it when we get it."

Forgot to add: on top of taking a step-by-step approach, if your 7-year-old German Shepherd is very collaborative, have Gibson watch her having her nails trimmed and you praising her for being calm. Chances are, he may come to learn there's nothing to fear, and maybe when it's his turn he may feel a little more eager (or at least reassured) to have it done. Pups can learn quite a lot from watching other dogs. However, if you know what triggers her moaning avoid exposing him to that (clip her nails while he is out in the yard or on a walk with another family member) or he may pick up her negative emotions about that and that can have a lasting negative impact on him. Just a thought.

I am assuming that, if your Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist/ Veterinary Behaviorist suggested it, he/she expects it to work based on your situation and on what is being planned. Most likely, he or she finds it suitable for the set-ups being organized which should keep him nicely under threshold if done in a systematic manner. If you have any doubts on the equipment used, it's always a good idea to ask him/her so that you are both on the same page. There are other tools, but they can take longer for the dog to adjust to (like haltis) and not all find them appropriate. I find that, with dogs who pull on the leash due to reactivity, we often deal with two problems: the dog who is reactive, but also us humans, who, on the other end of the leash, start worrying about our dog's lunging and pulling behavior. This anticipatory stress of us not being able to control the situation, may travel all the way down the leash and can end up "alerting the dog" even if he was maybe in a calmer, non-reactive state. I am also quite petite, so I can understand the concerns about equipment holding up our dogs in unexpected situations. I therefore find that the systematic setups are also helpful to help boost owners' confidence in walking dogs, knowing that it is possible to handle better the situation combining training the dog to become more responsive, while us humans are learning to relax more. The good thing about behavior modification is that it aims at not exposing the dog to situations he's not ready dealing with yet. It goes at the dog's pace. By working at our dog's pace and training responsiveness in our dogs, we therefore have the opportunity to learn to relax too and start breathing, since many of us tense up and often hold our breath when we see another dog pop out of nowhere. The use of more suitable equipment, training and behavior modification, along with a back-up plan such as an emergency u-turn or treasure hunt game can help us feel calmer and potentially succeed in unexpected situations. Make sure though to stay on top of your behaviorists' recommendations, he or she may suggest to initially not go on walks where triggers may pop out of nowhere (other than the systematic set-ups) your dog is ready for that. If it helps you feel better, the Julius K9 does a rather poor job in holding a dog who is lunging. The leash clipped on the back used on its own makes it more difficult to control the dog. With a front-attachment harness you have the mechanical advantage of the dog rotating in our direction rather than us directly opposing a forward force. In other words, with the clip only on the back (with no front attachment) we're looking at dogs being given the opportunity to use their body weight more to pull more effectively. Therefore such configuration makes dogs more comfortable to pull into compared to other configurations. Good luck on your upcoming session, keep me posted on how it goes! Best, Adrienne

Hi Kylie, Welcome to the forums! Gibson is a adorable and so lucky that he's in a home where he is cared for and provided loads of gentle guidance. I am also glad to hear that he has been learning so much and is turning into a brilliant companion. In regards to your first question: "Do you have any recommendations as to how I could socialize him more? Or do you think he simply fears the Vet because he was hurt by them during his second visit? Is there anything I can do on my end to make Vet visits less scary for him? Is there anything I can ask them to do to make Vet visits less scary for him?," here are my thoughts. It honestly bothered me to read that your vet has accused you of not socializing your puppy properly when you have worked so diligently on that despite all the COV19 social distancing hardships. From your description you have done a great job and it's not correct for them to point fingers just because they may have struggled on visiting him or what not. While it's true that as part of socializing pups we should include teaching them to accept and look forward to manipulation of all body parts, with our current situation this is harder said than done, as that would involve inviting friends or volunteers over to perform "mock vet visits. " Sure, we can work on this at home, but it's impossible to recreate at home what happens at a vet's office, unless the vet office collaborates with our efforts by working on making the visits more pleasant. On top of this, we don't know what may have happened behind closed doors. I had a similar issue once when Einstein was just 8-weeks old. Basically, the same evening we got him from the breeder, he developed explosive diarrhea on the car ride home (his sister did too). It was not what I would describe as the best day for us when we had other projects that day (like getting the pups used to their crates and letting them get used to their new place) rather than cleaning messes. We chalked it up to them eating something unusual when still in the breeder's home, but the diarrhea continued until next morning, and then the puking started. Of course, that morning we worried sick and it had to be a Sunday and all the vets offices in our town were closed. So we made the almost two hour drive to the next big city where there was an emergency animal hospital with our two new pups. Einstein was hospitalized that same day as he started to look dehydrate, while his sister who was feeling better came back home with me. When Einstein got better, we got a call to pick him up. I was super eager to bring him home when the receptionist greeting me remarks: "Boy, your pup is wild. We had a hard time restraining him and we needed to get extra help." I remember saying something along the lines of "What?" He's just a 9-week old puppy!" but he kept telling me he was acting like a wild horse giving everybody a hard time. I therefore chalked it up to two things: they either confused him with another non-collaborative older puppy or they were just not too experienced in handling pets who were just scared of going to the vet. The moral of the story is that, I think some veterinarian offices lack the proper training needed to understand how scary a vet visit can be for dogs and some may appear biased on certain breeds (I even had a vet that refused to microchip my Rotties because he was afraid, even though they were wagging their tails and happy!). We changed vet the same day and got them microchipped with no issue from a more experienced veterinary clinic. Here's the thing: I think it's super important to build a good relationship with vets and their staff. It's best to start from an early age so that the pup learns to get familiar with the staff and vet so that a long lasting relationship starts on the right paw. I am super picky on vets and often I had to visit several until finding the right one who proved trustworthy to both me and my dogs. The search is not always an easy one. Lately, I have been telling owners to seek veterinary offices that adhere to the "fear free" principles. https://fearfreepets.com/ If you have one nearby, it may be worth of a try (I can't of course say they are all great, but at least they have undergone specialized training to tackle a dog's emotional wellbeing during visits) and mention the reason you chose them in the first place so to emphasize the importance you place on the emotional aspect of veterinary visits and establishing a long-lasting relationship. It is difficult to know exactly what may have happened during that visit that may have turned your pup's experience going to the vet an aversive one, since he was taken inside without you. It could be he was restrained for the procedure, it could be he didn't like the needle prick and now associates going to the vet with pain, it could be he just felt insecure being around strangers without you. If you took him in to have his paws and nails checked if could be he didn't like them handling his feet and didn't collaborate as they would want. Not to mention, some dogs during vet visits release alarm pheromones if they are frightened and your pup could have detected them and started labeling the place as scary. So several variables there. If you don't have a fear-free clinic near you, sometimes, veterinarians who own large dogs may also be more understanding. My last vet owned a Cane Corso and she admitted that she wasn't able to clip his claws and brought him in to have her veterinary technicians do it for her! Here's something that may be perceived as shocking: I have known some of the most obedience and socialized dogs (dogs who competed in sports and dogs who were service dogs) who dreaded having their nails clipped. All it takes sometimes for certain dogs is just clipping too close to the quick and the dog's trust may be gone. Here's the thing: dog feet play such an important role for a dog's survival (they are used for locomotion after all), and dogs seem to be aware of this at an instinctive, adaptive level. In the wild, an animal with an injured foot would become very vulnerable. Add to that the fact that dog paw pads are loaded with nerve endings and the top paws are also loaded with them (to the point of those nerve endings firing off upon sensing pressure and sending a warning to the brain). So pressing on those paws to trim the nails is already unpleasant on its own. However, this doesn't mean that we can't override somewhat a dog's instinct to withdraw his paw when touched and not feeling comfortable in us handling them. We can (and should) work on paw handling exercises, especially in puppies, so that we will be able to remove a thorn, inspect the paws for cuts and clip them as needed. From your description, I think it's more of a matter of taking baby steps since you describe being actually able to trim one or two nails without objecting much. This gives you a good starting point to work on. Actually, I must admit to never really doing a whole full four paws nail trim to my Rotties so to keep things short and sweet rather than doing the whole paws at once. I could have done that if I wanted to, but always thought it was best to not push things as I never take a dog's collaboration for granted (a day may come that for some reason or another they may be more paw sensitive one day). I know there are people who restrain their dogs no problem and forcefully subject their dogs to tolerate things, but I think as one becomes more attentive to a dog's subtle signs of discomfort and listen to their silent conversations (a quick tongue flick, a yawn), we get more attuned to how they are truly feeling. I wouldn't worry about his feet getting cold in the winter, unless it's unusually cold and you're planning to walk him on ice and places where ice salt is spread. Those cases may warrant doggy boots. I think there are more dangers with walking on hot concrete than walking a dog on a cold day. If where you live gets super cold and it snows a lot, tell your vet your concerns. Rottweilers luckily don't have much fur between their paws so little snowballs forming in between toes is pretty rare. Walks can certainly help trim those nails down. Now that I think back, I rarely trimmed my Rottweiler's nails when younger unless they got some injury requiring weeks of rest or when they grew older and started walking, digging and playing less. Vets mostly said their nails looked good, until they started aging. That's when I started to see more of that little curve needing a trim so I needed to step in and trim nails, but initially only the front paws, then later on, even the rear. Of course, not all dogs are made equally and therefore some dogs may need more frequent trims due to individual nail shape (some claws wear down easier). In general, long nails start creating problems affecting gait when they are overgrown. You sound like a too diligent owner though to allow that to happen. I would check with you vet about the necessity/ frequency of nail trims for your pup to play it safe. Every dog is different and therefore may require more or less trims. So I think you are on the right path on creating positive associations with having his paws handled and may just need to tweak things up a bit. I therefore think you may just need to just make little adjustments and break down criteria into smaller components, such as aiming to do just one or two nails a day and checking your pup for signs of getting impatient/stressed and gradually working your way up. I think in many young pups, they struggle more with staying still more with a lifted paw than the the fact they don't like having their feet handled. So the biggest struggle is often duration. When working on nail trims, it therefore helps to break up the action into small steps (make it short and sweet) and look for what's known as a conditioned emotional response. In other words, the pup acting happy and eager to have his paws touched because it means good things. It often helps to have a helper hold some long lasting goodies while you clip. For example, you can hold the paw and clip/Dremel while a helper lets him lick some remnant of meat-based baby food (with no onions or garlic in it) from a jar. Then once done clipping the nail off that paw, all good things end, no more access to the baby food, until you hold the next paw for the next trim. Then once done, you can give a jackpot of several tasty treats. As always, go slow, this is a skill you want to preserve for the rest of his life. Here is an example of the process of using a Dremel for dog nails. Note the baby steps, however consider that your pup may need further steps or a personalized approach based on individual factors. So keep things short and sweet, make sure to end things before he starts growing impatient. End the trim always on a positive note (feed high-value treats), so he no longer has a desire to run out of the room but rather looks up at you for reinforcement. The ultimate goal is having him almost begging you to have his paws touched and/or trimmed because it leads to all these wonderful things. I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions, Best, Adrienne

Thank you for the additional details. At 7 months, Humphrey is at the doggy adolescent stage so it's not unusual to see the onset of certain behaviors around this time, you can read more about the adolescent stage in dogs here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ The behavior of jumping and leash biting in dogs of this age can stem from play, as a way to seek attention, out of frustration or simply overstimulation. Following are several ways to tackle this issue. Exercise: Make sure your dog receives a sufficient amount of exercise and mental stimulation during the day. Mental Stimulation: Draining your dog's energy before going on walks may help take the edge off. Look for activities that provide a physical workout, such as a game of fetch or some play with a flirt pole. Mental stimulation (brain games!) may work wonders, too. Let your dog use his brain in a clicker training session or try using food puzzles. Putting your dog's nose to work may be quite tiring, too, so a fun game of nose work can come in handy. Divert With Treats: When you are on walks, you can divert your dog's attention by playing alternate games. The moment you notice your dog is about to bite the leash, divert his attention, and start tossing some treats on the ground; tell him to "find them!" This can be quite a fun game to play and rewarding if you use hard treats that he can chase around. Alternatively, you can redirect by offering a tug-toy (rabbit fur covered ones are very attractive) or flirt pole. Avoid Pulling: Avoid pulling the leash out of your dog's mouth as this will only create enjoyable resistance. You can try the "Two Leash Method". When your dog grabs one leash, release it, and use the other (allowing the former to drag); this prevents the creation of tension which lures dogs to bite Remember: Your dog bites the leash because it's a fun activity for him. In order to succeed in reducing this behavior, you will have to explore ways to make engaging games and activities extra rewarding so that he chooses these activities over playing tug with the leash. Teach Alternate Behaviors: For example, teach your dog attention heeling (dog looking up at you) for several steps at a time. Make sure you generously reward your dog with high-value treats for making good choices. If you persist in rewarding the alternate behaviors with high-value treats, you should see a gradual and steady increase in the desired behaviors. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ Prevent Frustration: Some dogs who bite leashes on walks do so when they are prevented from meeting other dogs on walks, It may be helpful to stop him from meeting and greeting dogs on walks altogether. If your dog learns that he can meet and greet other dogs on walks, he will always expect it, which leads to overly enthusiastic displays of pulling and whining. Even if you let your dog meet and greet every now and then, you may be looking for trouble. The law of variability dictates that occasional indulgence will reinforce persistence—just as you will feel tempted to play the lottery more and more even if you win once in a blue moon. Know Their Threshold: If you make it a rule that your dog no longer gets to meet dogs on walks, you will have cut down on a lot of undesired behaviors, but you can't just do this cold turkey or your dog will get more and more frustrated. To help your dog cope, keep him at a distance from the other dogs where his behavior is less likely to exacerbate. Most dogs have a distance where their desire to meet starts getting out of control. Find that distance so that you can keep your dog behind that imaginary line. In other words, learn how to keep your dog under threshold. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ Practice Impulse Control: Dogs who have a hard time coping may also benefit from impulse control exercises to increase their frustration tolerance. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/ Choose a Calm Setting: You may need to walk your dog in a quiet setting before setting out on a regular walk. This may mean walking at a distance from certain triggers such as people, other dogs, and animals. When walked in a less stimulating environment or at a less stimulating time of the day, dogs may be easier to manage. Sometimes, you may need some extra help to allow your dog to make good choices. You may need to find ways to make biting the leash extra boring or perhaps no longer pleasant. The tools listed below are not quick fixes, and you will still have to train your dog appropriate behaviors. More Tools for Biting Prevention: PVC Pipe: Slip a long piece of PVC pipe over the leash. Dogs do not like to bite hard textures Chain Attachment: Attach a lightweight piece of chain to the leash. Dogs do not like to bite the texture of the chain Harness: Attach the leash via harness (on the back). Dogs cannot readily reach a leash clipped to the back via harness Two Leash Method Use two leashes simultaneously. When your dog grabs one leash, release it, and use the other (allowing the former to drag); this prevents the creation of tension which lures dogs to bite Objects for Carrying Let your dog carry objects (tennis ball, toy) while walking. Retrievers may be particularly eager to carry things and this keeps the mouth occupied. Tug-of-War. Use a toy exclusively for tug-of-war play and put it away when done. Offers your dog a controlled outlet. Basket Muzzle* Allows your dog to breath and controls the mouthing/ Temporary method of management and prevention of the behavior *For use in worst-case scenarios. Hope this helps, Best, Adrienne

I like your behaviorist's plan of working in a controlled setting using calm stimulus dogs for the purpose of behavior modification. I am too a fan of the emergency u-turn. I have a guide on training this here, https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/emergency-u-turn/ but stick to your behaviorist's preferred way of turning as each may have their own preference. I had once a client who had a dog who would also keep turning around when we would have a dog behind us that he would not trust. This dog though wouldn't stop much, just keep turning around and sometimes lagging behind. I used this behavior indeed as part of his behavior modification plan. If interested, you can see his case study here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/case-studies/03-homer-homers-reactivity/ Of course, stick to your behaviorist's plan though as every dog is an individual, and as such, often require a customized plan based on the behaviorist's observations. After looking at the Matzer model, I would tend to gravitate as well towards the Perfect Fit as it sounds like what you really need at the moment is simply a management tool to assist you during training/behavior modification. I don't know what age your dog is exactly, but a recent study has come out showing that restrictive harnesses (those with horizontal straps across the chest) prevent dogs from extending their shoulders and elbows out as they do naturally. I know some veterinarians who now frown on them being used in young developing dogs. The study really seems to refer more to performance dogs more than the average dog just wearing a harness for a walk, but vets abide by the "do no harm" principle and it makes sense to use the least intrusive training tools as much as feasible. It sounds like your behaviorist has given you two models of harnesses to choose from, so unless he or she has valid reasons for you to pick one over the other, I would stick with the less intrusive one (Perfect Fit). I would be happy to provide information about the two-attachment points for harnesses, I am though a bit confused by this statement:" I have indeed found that the ability to attach the rings on the front and on the back give more control." which makes it sound like you are referring to a particular harness you are already using. If so, please provide me what brand that is as not all of these harnesses are created equally. For example, in some models, there's a martingale loop by the back hook which is meant to tighten when the dog pulls and the leash is attached to it. If you were instead referring to the Perfect Fit model I can tell you that when leash pressure is applied to the front hook, it slows the dog down and gently steers the dog in your direction which provides you with the opportunity to give your dog attention and reinforce him for checking in with you. The rear hook instead helps stop forward momentum (of course, you must also stop moving for this to happen) and therefore works in synergy with the front hook (and training) when the leash is applied to both. With time, you should get a trained response to the leashes' effect. Also worthy of pointing out is that, unlike some other harnesses, the Perfect Fit has no martingale loops that tighten on the dog's chest or forelimbs. Therefore there is no aversive or corrective (squeezing) when the dog manages to pull.