Adrienne

Hi Eleanor! Welcome to the forums! It would be important finding out whether there is a specific trigger for the barking so to ensure we tackle it correctly. We may need different strategies based on the underlying cause. I know it may look as if she is barking at nothing, but often there is something going on. Below is a guide on some common triggers, let me know if any of these sounds familiar, if not, please post more details such as What is she doing when she is barking? Where is she looking at exactly? At you? A spot in the wall? Out of the window? Where is she when it happens? When does it happen the most? Many dogs are more reactive at night. How old is she? s this a recent behavior or has she always barked? Thanks! https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/behavior-training/barking/nothing/

Hi Kim Stewart, Welcome to the forums! I am glad that you are in touch with a dog behaviorist. With such cases, for safety and correct implementation, it is best to have a professional in person right there besides you to guide you through and giving you feedback while also watching your dog for signs of possible stress. Now to your question: "I have had a dog behaviourist to out to us and he recommended giving her treats when he sees a child. However I'm finding this really difficult because of course you never know when one will appear and what they might do i.e. laugh, scream, run around. Please could anyone offer any suggestions?" An unpredictable environment can be stressful both to dogs and us working with them considering that we are in super alert mode just as the dog. It's therefore important to take baby steps, always ensuring the dog is under threshold. Please read here about threshold levels in dogs: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ Do you happen to have children walk by your home and your dog can see them through the window? I know school is likely out in your area at this time due to the pandemic, but If you know your neighbor's kids are out playing, I would take advantage of that and have your dog watch them and be fed treats tasty treats. Even better, if you happen to have any family members with children, you can also create setups where your dog watches them safely from the window. The advantage of that, is that you can control the environment by, for example, asking the children to walk by the window from a distance, and then progress gradually to walking closer, then running, playing with a ball etc based on how your dog does. The goal is to obtain a conditioned emotional response (oh children! where's my treat?) and go slow in the process. If your dog ever barks or growls, that's often a sign he wasn't ready for that level of exposure yet. You''ll need to take a few steps back. I would therefore work on training "look at that' from the window. You can find the guide here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/ I would also use the "hear that' method and play recordings of children giggling, screaming, crying yelling and feeding treats when hearing those. Here is how to implement "hear that"https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-noises/ Scroll down at the bottom for it. You can then move on to doing this exercise in the car, with a driver and you behind with your dog, making smacking sound every time a child is around and feeding tasty morsels. Go out on walks (in calm areas at first, where you know you can just leave and not be trapped with children everywhere) only once you gain a solid response on these window exercises (your behaviorist should be able to tell you when), but always practice caution and scan the environment for your dog. You will have to be your dog's eyes and ears and make an about turn if you notice any children coming your way. A muzzle can certainly help you feel better and so can a vest with large "DISTANCE' wording so parents can warn children to not approach. For the muzzle, you may find these conditioning exercises helpful: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-your-dog-to-wear-a-muzzle/ I hope this helps! Best, Adrienne Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your dog shows signs of aggression, please consult with a dog behavior professional for in-person guidance and for safety purposes.

My opinion on adult dogs sleeping outside varies based on several factors such as dog's age, breed, individual personality, how safe the yard is, what type of fence is there etc. To sum it up, I would take a critical look at the dog and determine whether he is the type who wants to be around the family at all times, or the type who doesn't mind sleeping on his own outside. You own a mix of German shepherd and Siberian husky blood, so you have a mix bag of genes, so you may get the German Shepherd's eagerness to be with his family, or the more independent streak of the husky, or even a mix of both. Here's a personal note on how I decided to make my Rottweilers mostly indoor dogs who were only kept in the yard during the day when in company of us. When my hubby decided to get our two Rotties, one main reason was to keep them outside since we lived in a remote, rural area with 5 acres of land. We even fenced off the whole perimeter of an acre just for our dogs' contentment. The idea was for them to enjoy the great outdoors while keeping an eye on the surroundings hopefully alert-barking should anything be amiss. Well, big mistake! When we got them, once they were a little older, all they did when we sent them outside was wanting to come inside unless we were out with them! They didn't want to play together, they didn't want to explore, they had little interest in keeping an eye on our surroundings. All they did was bark and stick to the door asking to be let in, and if some time elapsed, they engaged in destructive behaviors and I think they did this out of boredom and frustration. It finally kicked in that they weren't meant to be the outdoor "guard dogs" hubby wished them to be, although they made perfect watch dogs inside the home, alerting us when some car parked by our gate. Moral of the story? Since then, they were never left unattended outside alone , they slept in the home at night and when they were out, at least one of us was always with them. This turned out to be perfectly fine though. Another story: one of my boarding/training clients has a beautiful German Shepherd dog. As soon as late spring approaches, he starts getting really hot. The owner told me that therefore she decided to finally let him sleep outdoors on the deck outside. When I had to board him when she went on vacation, I wasn't comfortable keeping him outside. Too many what-ifs... what if a rattle snake managed to climb over the fence?, what if a vulture would die and he would eat it and get a blockage?, what if he got bloat at night? what if he choked on something and nobody was there to do CPR? I just couldn't! Well, come night-time and he starts to panting. I kick up the A/C, but he tells me he wants to go outside. He's by the door clearly telling me to open. I open and he does a fence perimeter check and then lies down in front of the house as if ready to sleep. So I went inside and stuffed a Kong and let him enjoy it inside the bedroom in hopes he would fall asleep right after. He enjoys the Kong, but then starts panting again looking uncomfortable. I try to see whether he would like to lie on the cold tiles in the bathroom floor. Nope. I call the owner at this point and she tells me that at times when the weather is bad outside at night (in Arizona we get some powerful night-time monsoon storms) and he is forced to sleep inside, she would grab one of those oscillating fans and set it to point in his direction. So I did just that, and Bingo! he relaxed and started sleeping in no time. So I would say, see how your dog feels about it. If he's the type that doesn't mind being kept outdoors at night, or even enjoys it, and you have a safe area with a sturdy fence (this is paramount with escape artists such as huskies/huskies mixes) I don't see the harm, but if he starts barking a lot, engaging in destructive behaviors and wants to be let in, I would say allow him to stay indoors, of course, if you don't mind.

Good to hear that he is enjoying his crate at night. It is nice when they settle in them without crying. It sounds like though he doesn't seem too fond of the kennel. Perhaps he doesn't feel like it's an "official living area'' so it may be a matter of location. Maybe it gets too warm? if you spend more time with him in the veranda, when he gets tired does he ever consider going there? Like for instance if you read a book there or work on something? Most dogs like to be around their families rather than on their own. Just a few ideas. I know the feeling though... we spend money on things we feel our dogs will appreciate, only to find out it's not as expected! We once got two nice crates for our dogs to spend time in the living room.Doors were always left open. Einstein always loved lounging in it for naps, while Petra never set foot in it. I think she had enough crate time at night and would rather sleep elsewhere. Who knows though, may be one day your dog will "rediscover it."

The biting on walks may or may not be related to the type of biting you describe at home. It would be interesting to know whether you have noticed a pattern as to when it happens during walks as sometimes this behavior is triggered by overstimulation or frustation or anxiety. You can find a recent thread on this subject here: Since you mention "When we are out all l can do is to retrain him until he calms down but this looks terrible" do you mean you walk him with other family members? Does he reserve this biting on walks also to other family members? Or only to you. If he doesn't target any other family members on walks, it may be worthy of trying doing some "parallel walking." In other words, a family member that he doesn't bite can try to walk him and your Malamute walks between this family member and you. At first, you are at a distance that he cannot try to bite you, then gradually closer. This family member praises and rewards for not biting and heeling nicely. If any time he shows any early signs of trying to bite you, the family member swiftly says 'whoops" does an about face and walks the opposite direction, so that he is moved away from you. Then he tries again, getting closer and praising and rewarding for not biting you. Finally, once he has shown better behaviors reliably over time, he can hand you the leash and you start work on praising and treating for behaving. You can then work on attention heeling so that his focus is on your eyes rather than your feet and then do walks solo if thing progress well. Here is the section on attention heeling: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/

Hi Andy, I can feel your frustration, those puppy teeth are sure sharp and we want to tackle this behavior before he gets bigger and with stronger jaws. While demoralizing, consider that there are many folks on this forum who are facing the same problem with their pups and puppy classes are full of desperate dog owners always asking for help on their pup's biting, so don't take it personally. On the plus side, its is good you have that 95 percent of perfect relationship to rely on, which is rather impressive considering that puppies at this age can be really a handful especially with the doggy adolescent stage around the corner! https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ So let's start with the biting feet ankles and legs when you are around the house. We really want to work on this, especially at this age, when the permanent teeth are setting in and the jaws are getting stronger. You mention that treats, leaving the room and toy substitution is not working. I imagine leaving the room is not working because as you are leaving, your pup is already attached to your leg or attaches right when you turn your back to leave. Or perhaps, he doesn't attach, but as soon as you come back he's again into biting mode and the scene repeats over and over. At this point, I would carefully analyze the types of treats and toys being used and see if any changes can make some differences. To tackle this, we need to put ourselves a bit in this pup's mind. It sounds like this puppy is finding biting on feet, ankles and legs far more rewarding than anything else offered. This often occurs because puppies are attracted to movement, and we are their favorite playmates because we are alive and therefore move a lot, and when they bite us with their sharp teeth, we move around even more and "activate" further, making the game even more engaging! " So we have to see what we can do surpass this pup's interest in our body parts by making other things more attractive and salient. So here are some tips and options that can to mind. You can try several and see what works best. First of all, worthy of mentioning, just in case any family members do this, is to avoid encouraging rough games such as wrestling and teasing. When we entertain a puppy in this rough and tumble play, we are just sending him the wrong message: that putting his teeth on people and their clothing is fun and acceptable. Sure, we want to train puppies bite inhibition, but there are better ways that don't overstimulate him so much as these games do which encourage dogs to bite hard (when dogs are too aroused in games, they have less control over the pressure of their bites). Calmer methods lead to softer mouths. Here is a guide on how to teach your dog to take treats gently. -Make sure to redirect your puppy before he has a chance to latch on. This cannot be emphasized enough. If you try to redirect him by the time he's attached to your leg, he will be much more difficult to redirect because he will be too focused on tugging. So as soon as you see him coming your way to bite your legs or whatever, stop walking and be ready to redirect at a moment's notice. There are several options of things or activities to redirect him to that you can try. Most of these require that you carry with you a bag of treats and toys as you go with your life. This is not something you will have to do forever. Just to get your through the more critical time and prevent your puppy from rehearsing the problematic behavior (the more dogs engage in problematic behaviors, the more they put roots). With time, your puppy should grow bored of your legs as these other activities outrank them. So here are some redirection options: -Train your puppy to hand target. Hand targeting is a simple exercise where, every time your puppy nose-touches your hand, he gets a treat. If your puppy doesn't nose-touch your hand, you can encourage this behavior by simply smearing some tasty food on your hands to grab his interest. Once your puppy performs this behavior reliably, you can start saying "target' right before you present your hand for nose-touching. The goal is to make targeting more appealing than biting hands. Here is a guide on training this: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ -Redirect your puppy's biting by offering access to toys that encourage interaction. Actually, these are the keywords we are after: Interaction, engagement and movement. - Forget about static toys that are motionless. As soon as your dog approaches with the intent to bite, try to toss a tennis ball the opposite way. If you can, carry several balls on you in your pockets so to redirect as needed. -Try carrying a flirt pole with you (toy for dogs made as a fishing pole with a squeaky toy attached at the end) and wiggle it as soon as he approaches you. Let him latch on it and create some resistance to encourage him to tug at it and have fun. Praise him for playing with it. Every now and then encourage him to drop it, by saying "drop" and tossing a treat/kibble. Then, you can re-engage him. When you are done, toss several kibble on the floor, (treasure hunt style) and leave the area as he is busy consuming these goodies.. -Invest in engaging toys. Engaging toys are those that offer some type of reward and challenge. Keep a stuffed Kong on you and redirect him to this toy when he comes towards you with the intent to bite. Offer a Kong Wobbler filled up with a portion of his kibble. This will keep him entertained for some time and his interest away from you. -Redirect to an interactive game with you. As soon as he approaches you, ask him for a sit and reward by tossing one piece of kibble across the room. He'll eat it and come for more. Repeat several times. This makes your puppy tired 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). https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/sit/ Try these out and report on how things go. In the next post, will be tackling the issue on walks.

Hi there! Welcome to the forums! Some dogs may insist to sit by default. I have seen dogs do this when they are rather shy and use sitting as a calming signal. They sometimes do this if we loom over them which they may find a bit intimidating due to their softer temperaments. Other dogs just find it rewarding to sit because we may have given them rewards or attention when they sat in the past. And some others may sit if it hurts to stand or it feels tiring for them (perhaps due to some orthopedic problem,) but I am pretty sure we can exclude that if your pup acts happy and healthy. So how do we work on this? Here are a few things you can try: Try sitting on the couch and have your puppy on the floor. With you sitting on the couch, your puppy may feel less intimidated by looming over from a standing position if that's what is triggering this sitting behavior. Try capturing the behavior rather than luring. Capturing is a training method where we reinforce spontaneous behaviors. It should be easy with her since she sits so often! So let's say your puppy is sitting, try to "reset" her by tossing the treat, she'll walk to get it, then she'll likely return, when she does right when she sits say "yes!" and toss a treat. Rinse and repeat several times. At some point, start saying sit, just before she sits and see if that evokes the behavior. If it does, say yes! and give a jackpot of treats (several small pieces of treats). Try to stay relaxed and hide any frustration. If your dog is rather soft, she will sense that and this will trigger more sitting to appease you. Think of it as a game and don't feel pressured. With some pups, slow and steady wins the race, but once they grasp the concept, it tends to stick! Keep me posted on how it goes! Happy training! Best, Adrienne

Hi there! Welcome to the forums! Anytime a dog owner tells me their dogs eat 'barely enough" or "only enough to keep growing, I can't help but feel a sense of concern. Of course, it's true that there are many finicky dogs out there, but I worked as a veterinary assistant a while back and many times dogs who were described as finicky or picky eaters, after in-depth exams, were found to have some underlying medical issues. Not always serious things, many times tummy troubles or oral pain and sometimes emotional issues. Of course, take my words with a grain of salt as this is not always the case, but worthy of pointing out. So if you haven't done this already, please inform your vet about your dog's eating habits, just to play it safe. I feel that young puppies should be hungry, full of life and super enthusiastic about treats or human foods used for training. Once we have any medical concerns set aside, we can then try finding out what other reasons may behind a dog not being too interested in their food and high-value foods/treats. Since you mention she does not accept the cheese on walks, I am suspecting that there may be some fear/stress component at play or perhaps there are just too many distractions and she is too over stimulated. In other words, I think your dog may be too over threshold too eat on walks, especially if she is able to eat the cheese at home. You can read here about threshold levels in dogs and evaluate whether you think this may play a role for the behavior you see on walks: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ For regular heeling by your side (without looking up at you), you can train her to heel simply using the life reward of moving forward. In other words, when she pulls, you stop walking in your tracks or even turn around and walk the opposite direction, when she doesn't pull, you walk forward. In other words, a tense leash is your brakes, and a loose leash is your accelerator. The first walks may feel like they take forever, but with repetition, most dogs grasp the idea, although they tend to revert to leash pulling when around strong distractions, but this is true with any other methods used. It helps to take baby steps and introduce distractions gradually starting first by practicing in the home, then in the yard or front sidewalk, then on walks in quiet areas, and apply these same methods over and over. For attention heeling, if she is responsive to toys, you can use a squeaky toy and keep it at your eye level and praise for looking up at you. After several steps of heeling, you can then reward by giving the squeaky toy (make sure you give it when your dog is not jumping). Being that Lakeland terriers were bred for "going to ground" on the farm in hunt for vermin, she may be naturally attracted to toys small as mice and that squeak. Of course, you can try this exercise with any other toys she likes such as showing the toy tug and then after doing several steps of looking up, you can reward her by letting her tug it/carry it in her mouth. Now, on walks it could happen as well that she may not be interested in toys, so in that case, we need to evaluate what is causing her stress and possibly work on that to get to the bottom of the problem.

Hi AnneL, It looks like your post didn't come through. Can you please post here again if you have any particular questions or start a new thread ? Thanks Adrienne

Hi Anne Welcome to the forums! Go to the archive (link below), scroll down to puppies and you'll find several guides. If you search the forums you'll also find lots of info for particular cases. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/ If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask here. Best, Adrienne

That is great that you are home all day with Odin, that helps a lot and helps exclude some differentials. With working dog breeds boredom is often an issue, they are always on the lookout for things to do, so yes, entertaining them with brain games and training is important. I couldn't find any studies on the high voltage electrical transmission lines specifically conducted on dogs, but there are some studies suggesting that wild animals try to avoid them. It looks like they may hear hissing sounds emitted by power lines, and those capable of seeing UV light, see power lines as glowing flashing bands. Recent studies have revealed dogs can see ultraviolet. I also recall some years back people and dog owners reporting odd sensations/behaviors when passing areas of high electricity. So it could very well be that something may be going on there, great observation! If the behavior happens in the same place on the walks, this offers the advantage of predictability. In other words, we have more control over the behavior in preventing it and finding ways to curb it. So you can be prepared in trying to prevent it as you approach the area, or if it's truly due to electricity, if feasible, try to avoid that area and see how it goes.

However, you want to be careful in not creating an over reliance on the sight of the cookie when being crated. Here is a guide on how to train a dog to love the crate, look under "a word about lures' on how to prevent this problem. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/

Hi there, It looks like he is developing a liking for it if he's sleeping in it! As to letting his sleep there, personally, with a young puppy I would worry about him possible starting chewing things in the middle of the night/early morning . Also using the kennel rather than the crate, may put him a step back in potty training, since it sounds like he was not peeing in the crate. Edited to add: I always like to offer a goodie like a dog cookie and say "crate', when putting a dog in the crate for the night so to create positiva associations with it and to make him more compliant to enter it in the future.

Forgot to mention something. You mentioned asking for a sit on the walks, and it working sometimes yes and sometimes no, I think what may be happening here is that sometimes he is too over threshold to be able to respond. Here is a read about threshold levels: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ In this case, we may need to identify if there is a specific trigger and work on that if possible. If no trigger is found, I would aim to first try as much as possible to reduce the behavior from happening as much as possible in the first place by tossing treats to the ground, and only once he seems calmer, we can introduce a sit cue starting in areas with less distractions, or we can even skip the sit all together for now (considering that sitting is pretty static and a dog may not release energy/frustration much) and try instead to train him to do something more "dynamic' such as several steps of attention heeling followed by a treat toss (practicing first in quieter areas). Here is how to train attention heeling, it may take a bit to master though; https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/

Hi there! Welcome to the forums! Odin is adorable! So sorry to hear his previous owners were chaining him up most of the time. That, along with receiving very little training, can sure have a negative impact on a developing dog, especially at a time when they are young adolescents and need lots of guidance. Have you ever noticed a particular pattern going on when, during the walks, this jumping and biting occurs? Just trying to see whether there is some trigger. In dog behavioral terms, we call the trigger, "antecedent" basically we are after those precise stimuli or situations that evoke the performance of behaviors. In the case of a dog who jumps and bites the owner on walks, it is therefore helpful identifying the exact antecedent that ignites the behavior. Not all dogs jump and bite for the same reasons and not always the exact antecedents are very clear. Once a dog is triggered to start a behavior, there must also be a consequence which maintain the behavior. What is the dog achieving by jumping up and biting? What fuels the behavior, keeping it alive and preventing it from extinguishing (going away)? In general, dogs tend to repeat behaviors that provide some sort of of reinforcement. Identifying what the dog finds reinforcing is therefore important, because, once identified, it can be diminished or removed in hopes that the behavior eventually weakens. I will list several possible "triggers" and next time you walk your dog you can try to see if any of these sound familiar. Play You mentioned it looks like he is playing, so I assume you are noticing some playful body language accompanying the jumping and biting. Usually we see this in dogs with lots of energy and exuberance and who enjoy being entertained this way. Puppies and young dogs are more likely to be predisposed to this behavior. So the antecedent in this case is the status of being full of energy/needing entertainment and the consequence is draining that excess energy and/or having fun. More in detail, these dogs may find jumping and biting reinforcing because, when they engage in these behaviors, they "activate" their owners who otherwise would be rather boring from the dog's perspective. In what ways do the owners activate though? Upon feeling the paws that scratch and the mouth that nips, dog owners are more likely to perhaps yell ouch and move away, providing resistance, which makes the game of tugging on hands, arms and legs or clothes even more fun. Dogs perceive all of this as play and therefore look forward to it on walks. Obtaining play is therefore the consequence that keeps this behavior alive. Attention-Seeking Some dogs, on the other hand, are eager to receive attention and will perform any types of behaviors that will grant that. These are often social dogs who crave being around their owners and interact with them. Nothing makes them feel worse than being ignored, especially after being alone at home for a good portion of the day. If your dog is an attention-seeker, and he is walked right after coming home, most likely he will seek some form of interaction with you. For dogs, jumping is a way for them to say hello, and nipping can take place when dogs are overly excited, and since these behaviors are almost impossible to ignore, they have the perfect recipe for grabbing attention. So the antecedent in this case is the status of desiring attention and the consequence is the dog owner giving it. Because to an attention-seeking dog, even negative attention is better than no attention at all! Anxiety Sometimes, dogs who jump up and bite are overstimulated by stimuli or situations that cause them to feel anxious. In this case, the jumping up and biting may occur in response to exposure to something the dog feels anxious about, but sometimes, exposure to a variety o triggers may have a cumulative effect, causing the jumping and biting behavior to occur in the middle or at the end of the walk. In this case the jumping and biting is a way to release stress and anxiety. Overstimulation In this case, the dog start jumping up and biting when he is overstimulated and perhaps even getting a bit cranky. Many puppies and young dogs start misbehaving (and that means often nipping), when they are tired so this is something to consider especially if the walk is long, boring and the dog hasn't had enough sleep. A Matter of Frustration Sometimes, when dogs are taken on walks, they may get frustrated. Often this is due to an inability to cope with their high levels of arousal. Some dogs may feel particularly frustrated when on leash which they sense as a barrier that prevents them from interacting with the environment. If your Pry was chained for a good part, he may perhaps resent a bit being on the leash because like the chain it prevents him from interacting with the environment as he would like. In these cases, often the antecedent is the sight of a person or a dog. The dog gets so revved up and excited in seeing people and dogs, that he redirects his frustration by jumping and biting the leash or the owner. The consequence of this behavior is that, by jumping and biting, the dog gains and outlet for his frustration. In some other cases, the antecedent may be getting closer to home. The dog may not want to go back home or he may want to walk in a different direction or is he is frustrated because he wanted to go sniff something but the leash prevented him. In this case, the consequence is once again, releasing the frustration. So as seen, there are several possible things that may going on. If you see a particular pattern on walks and are able to recognize a trigger, therefore feel free to report back and we can do some further troubleshooting on what steps can be taken to try to tackle the underlying cause. In the meanwhile, here are few ideas. You may need to try a variety of these and see what works best, and often, a multi-faceted approach is needed, tackling the issue from different angles. Here are some general tips: I fully concur to work on this using positive methods. Punishment-based techniques such as yanking on the leash, grabbing, pushing your dog or grabbing his mouth. These methods may turn play or excitement into defensive aggression. Drain your dog's energy. Your dog is an adolescent and this is a trying time. Many adolescent dogs have lots of energy and get easily bored. This excessive energy may lead to high arousal levels that may trigger dogs to act particularly boisterous on walks. It may help to have dogs run and play in a yard prior to walking them. Here's more on the dog adolscence stage: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ Don't forget brain games! Provide your dog with more mental stimulation when at home. Give him some puzzle toys or a frozen Kong. Invest in snuffles mats, Kong Wobblers, and engage him in a variety of brain games. Also, put his nose to work. When he's outside going potty in the yard, surprise him when he returns inside by preparing a treasure hunt game and telling him to go find them .Here's how to train it: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/ Avoid encouraging wrestling games or roughhousing involving mouth contact with clothing or skin when at home. Implement impulse control exercises. These exercises teach dogs how to cope with their frustration allowing greater tolerance levels. Here is a guide: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/ Learn how to read your dog's body language so that you can readily recognize physical cues suggesting your dog is escalating up his arousal ladder. Perhaps you notice a certain look on your dog's face or he may twitch his ears. Knowledge is power considering that, once you recognize these cues, you may be able to redirect your dog to another activity before he has a chance of rehearsing the troublesome behavior. On walks, therefore, as soon as you notice an antecedent (stimulus or situation that triggers his jumping an biting) or bodily cues that he's about to get wild, try to redirect him before he engages in the problematic behavior. Once he is jumping and biting he may be too busy and overstimulated to listen more readily. One way to redirect is by offering a tug toy you have kept in your pocket. Prior to this though, get your dog to learn to really enjoy playing tug at home. Afterward, practice playing with the tug toy in the yard. Then, try getting your dog to play with it in the yard every time a dog or person passes by. Finally, practice using it on walks upon seeing his triggers at a distance. Playing with the tug toy, in this case, provides your dog a controlled outlet that doesn't involve jumping or biting. If your dog doesn't seem interested in a regular tug toy, try using one made with rabbit fur (Etsy sells a variety). Always put the tug toy away, out of the dog's reach once done using it so to keep your dog's interest for the toy alive. Make sure your dog knows how to drop the tug toy on cue: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/drop-it/ Alternatively, you can try to redirect to a flirt pole that you bring along on walks. A flirt pole is like one of those cat toys with a toy attached to a string. The canine version is a sort of pole with a fluffy toy attached. Start a treasure hunt game on walks. Upon noting an antecedent at a distance, you can also try to say something like "find them!" as you scatter a bunch of treats/kibble on the ground so to let your dog focus on searching on the ground rather than jumping upwards and biting you. This strategy can help de-escalate over aroused dogs quite effectively as sniffing in search of treats requires quite some concentration. Make sure to use super high-value treats so that these can compete with the consequence your dog is seeking by jumping and biting. Wear old thick clothing to protect your skin and new clothes from being destroyed. Vary the walks so that your dog doesn't get bored. Many Pry get easily bored on the same walks. Try hikes. As livestock guardians, Great Pyrenees was used to roaming up hills and rocky areas. Allowing these large dogs to carry a backpack on walks can help give them a mission in life and keep them less focused on jumping/biting. If your dog is overstimulated or anxious on walks, it may help to make walks shorter and in less stimulating areas. If your dog is anxious, fearful of something encountered on walks, it is also important tackling the issue using behavior modification methods employing counterconditioning and desensitization such as the look at that game always making sure your dog is under theshold: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/ I hope this helps, let me know how things go and if you notice a specific pattern!

You are very welcome! Keep us posted on how things go.

Hello, Welcome to the forums! In general we expect urine marking to occur mostly after the age of 6 months, with the majority of dogs urine marking by the time they are one year and a half to 2 years. There are of course, exceptions to the rule, but it feels like he's too young to start marking. This is an interesting behavior, and I am curious to know what happens now that you have removed the bedding. Perhaps, what is happening is that, in the crate at night, he doesn't soil in it because it's snug enough which helps him hold it due to a dog's natural "denning instinct" whereas, in the kennel being more spacious he may be OK with sleeping there and peeing there when he no longer can hold it. If this would be the trigger though, we would expect him to still pee in the kennel now that you have removed the bedding. However, we would expect at his age to be able to hold it and walk out of the kennel to pee rather than inside. If now that you have removed the bedding, the peeing subsides, it could be that when he was in the care of the breeder, he was used to using washable pee pads as a surface to pee on. At around 8 weeks of age, puppies develop a substrate preference, so if that's what the breeder used, then he may feel comfortable peeing on it. Other things that come to mind are evaluating whether he may feel that place as the safest place to pee if there are many noises or other dogs around that area. Also it may be worthy ascertaining whether what you are seeing/feeling is really pee. Have you seen him actually pee on it? If so, did he raise his leg or just squat? Is the amount of pee small (like a few dribbles) or a nice amount? Can it be that while in the kennel he has licked and chewed the bedding making it wet rather than really peeing on it? Just a few ideas. I think as he gets older, he will seek his kennel more and more, especially if you keep placing in there goodies. As a puppy, he may be too stimulated by other things around him to want to rest in there. Also, if you are not around, it could be that he doesn't feel too comfy in there by himself so he's seeking to join his family.

Thanks for the additional details, they are very helpful! OK, so we want to minimize as much as possible to allow Miss Cleo to pee and poop in the crate, but if the breeder was allowing that, that's not a very good start as the pups learn to not care about laying in their waste. Ideally, in young puppies we want to foster their instinct to not eliminate in the areas where they eat, play or sleep. So we want a crate of the right size so it's great that you have a divider. So let's do some troubleshooting on what may be happening with Miss Cleo. Here's one thought: I think many issues with dogs who don't potty right away once let out, but then potty when they are crated again or taken inside the home after being in a yard is because they are too distracted. They are excited to be out and their first thought is to go have fun and explore or greet their owners. Once back in the crate or home, where things get dull and less stimulating again, they then suddenly realize they have to potty and pretty badly... So one thing we can do if possible is create a sort of "bathroom area" by placing the crate/crates against a wall and enclosing them with an extendable pet gate or exercise pen covering the floor with some large pads so that you can let her out and free until she goes (hopefully on the pads). Stick nearby so that you can praise and reward her from going successfully on the pads. With new pups, it's a good idea to help them succeed by using large pads and placing several on the floor so they can hardly miss. Then as they get good in understanding that, when they go on the pad they are praised and rewarded, the number of them and size can be gradually reduced. Once she goes, if she has both peed and pooped, then you can grant her some free time to play with you and interact (with siblings we want to grant each separate play times, training and interactions so to help develop their individuality and prevent litter mate syndrome. If she still manages to go into the crate despite having access to the enclosed area described above, that means she perceives the crate as her bathroom so better closing it when let out until she goes on the pads. Once they have finished their vaccines and the vet gives the green light for taking them out, I would aim to wean the off the pads and start training them to go mostly outdoors.

I think your dog is doing pretty well so far being that you are leaving the house and walking out. It doesn't seem like your dog is panting or acting restless and while looking at the door can be a sign of anxiety, it is a pretty common behavior even in dogs without isolation distress so to sum it up it doesn't sound like you're pushing him too much. It's also good that he remained napping until the 10 minute mark. However, I think we are missing some elements of true departures such as you grabbing the keys, putting a jacket on and other things that get dogs with isolation distress panting and pacing. Has your beagle in the past ever started acting anxious towards any of your pre-departure cues? If so, which ones? Those could be good starting points to work on since dogs tend to chain these elements together culminating then with us leaving with the car. Do you ever go outside to just do brief things such as water the plants or get the mail? Do you ever go into the garage to fix something or grab something? It could very well be he that he knows that these are not real departures due to missing pre-departure elements and perhaps the car leaving is what really triggers his anxiety. I find that talking through the camera works best for cases of dogs who are not really suffering from isolation distress but boredom when left alone (which is often confused with separation anxiety among several other differentials). In these cases, the owner can re-direct them by saying things such as "leave it" and praising them for being good or making good choices. However, in dogs with true isolation distress and separation anxiety talking to them can raise their anxiety rather than reassure them. Sort of the same dynamic why dog boarding facilities do not encourage people to do Skype sessions with their dogs or talk to them over the speaker phone. These dogs may have been coping great in their owner's absence and then they hear their owners' voice and start looking for them and getting frustrated because they hear them but cannot see them or smell them. So while we may want to talk to them to reassure them, we may have the opposite effect because dogs will likely get all excited only to figure out once again that they are home alone. I like the Furbo camera though for the fact that it allows owners to toss treats to their dogs during their absence which can help keep the dog busy and can help with counterconditioning.

Hi there, welcome to the forums! You story sounds very familiar:) When we went to get our Rottweiler pups we were planning to only get one male (Einstein) and then here comes his sister (Petra) adoringly prancing towards us as if saying "pick me! pick me!" So we ended up getting both, yup double the trouble 😉 I hear you about the pee pads, they can be very frustrating to use because some dogs seem to miss the concept entirely while others think they are the most fun thing to play with and shred, and we can't blame them really because they're not the greatest invention out there, but once dogs grasp the concept they can save us from cleaning less messes. A few questions for you: does your home have a yard? Is it convenient to reach? Are you home most of the day? Is Miss Cleo peeing or pooping in the crate or both? Is the crate of the right size (big enough to lie down, stand and turn around, but snug enough to not allow your puppy to pee/poop in one corner and rest comfortable at the opposite side?) And do you happen to know where the breeder was making them go potty? Puppies develop a substrate preference around 8 weeks so it helps to know where they were going potty around that age.

OK, I am back. Please see your questions in bold and my observations under. Is it best to work on getting him used to being closed into a bedroom (the bedroom we sleep in and he sleeps in with us), the whole house like we’ve been doing, or work on getting him used to his kennel again? Being that the crate has assumed negative connotations, apparently not due entirely to the isolation distress (since you mention he generally did well with being crated before), but due to perhaps feeling trapped with no way out when there were strangers in the home, carrying tools and making noise, we may want to leave that out of the equation for now so to not add further insult to injury. In general, as a rule of thumb, we should only leave a dog in the crate when 100 percent sure the dog can handle it. We can always work on re-creating positive associations in the crate later on, considering as well that many dogs with isolation distress/separation anxiety have a hard time coping with crates in the first place. However, I would still use the crate when you are around with the door open and placing inviting things in it and favorite toys. Just for the sake of hopefully un-doing some of the negative associations and in case a day you have to re-use it. Here you can find some exercises to help a dog love the crate, but it's much easier to do when a dog starts "fresh" with the crate not having much significance than with it un-doing negative associations. Doesn't hurt though to these exercises with the crate open for now without putting any pressure on him. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/ Now, as to whether keeping him closed in the bedroom or the whole house, it ultimately boils down to keeping your dog where he feels safest and most comfortable while you are gone. Since you have a camera this offers you the advantage of gauging how things go, possibly trying in different locations. However, with dogs suffering from separation anxiety/isolation distress you need to go very slooowly with the process. This is where desensitization and counterconditioning comes into place. Desensitization means simply taking baby steps, basically exposing dogs to stimuli or situations in a gradual manner so to ensure the dogs are not overwhelmed and over threshold. The slower you go, the better. In a case of separation anxiety, we therefore want to take baby steps in gradually leaving dogs alone first for just a seconds, then minutes and then hours. The goal is to get the dog bored about our leaving-the-home routine. This means opening the door lots of times a day without leaving. Grabbing the car keys and then sitting on the couch. Going out the door and returning in a second. All of this done repeatedly over the course of several days until the doesn't blink an eye anymore. Then we progress in increasing the time of our departures. Counter-conditioning, on the other hand, simply means creating positive associations, in this case we work on creating positive associations with our departures. With some Velcro-like clingy dogs it means leaving them goodies while we work in another room, with others it means leaving goodies as we exit the door for just a few seconds. Here are some reads covering these behavior modification techniques along with how to evaluate a dog's threshold levels: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ Here are some threads covering behavior modification for separation anxiety/isolation distress along with how to desensitize to pre-departure cues: Working on dogs with anxiety when left alone takes time. Many dogs require months of work. Some severe cases require medications for separation anxiety by the vet (Clomicalm, Reconcile) along with behavior modification. The good thing though is that dogs with isolation distress is that they can be taken to day-care or watched by a pet sitter, dog walker or friend to ease their anxiety of being left alone. Howling is what dogs in general do when they are separated from their social group (in this case, us, their family). It's is not pathognomonic of separation anxiety, as it can be seen in dogs without it. Both my dogs always howled for a handful of minutes upon hearing us close the gate and leave with the car, yet afterward, would settle and sleep until our return(according to our recordings). However, howling along with frequent vocalizations, drooling and being unable to relax are signs of distress and so is scratching and pawing at the barriers that separate them from us. If we do the bedroom does it matter if we close the door or get a see through baby gate? I had the thought if we used the see through gate he might get used to being in there while I’m in other parts of the house. We definitely make our arrivals super exciting so we need to work on changing that. Yes, I agree that with a see-through baby gate you can work on coming and going with your dog feeling reassured that he can see and hear you. I think it plays a valuable role in the behavior modification process. I hope this helps, Let me know if you have other questions. Best, Adrienne

Hi Hanna, Welcome to the forums! Just wanted to let you know I just saw your post here and will be working shortly on providing some tips and troubleshooting ideas based on the information you have provided. Please stand by.