Adrienne Farricelli

You are very welcome! If this is totally out of character for him, it may also be worthy making sure nothing is going on physically, such as it being painful for him to sit for long.

Hi there! Is this a new behavior? In the past 3 years you have had him, has he behaved this way? How long are you asking him to sit for? Where are you asking him to sit? Are there lots of distractions happening? Is he trained to hold a stay? https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/stay/ Here is a troubleshooting guide to why dogs may ignore commands, do you notice any patterns? https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/ignoring-commands/

Hi, there welcome to the forums! You are describing the poster child of the flight stage overlapping with the adolescent stage, the most challenging phase of all (and sadly the time when most dogs are relinquished to shelters), but this too shall pass! Usually if we start training as soon as we get our pups, by the time they are adolescents, that should help at least curb the major challenges, although not always. Here are some reads about both stages: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/flight-instinct-period-4-8-months/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ About the jumping at treats, it's an easy fix in theory, but you'll need to very persistent and very patient. Basically, treats happen only when the dog is sitting nicely. Any attempt to get the treats in a jumping manner, lead to the consequence of never getting any (make sure you have a tight grip on them). If he persists, this may even lead to you moving away and possibly even leaving the room and trying again later. You may find the airplane game helpful since it's an exercise in impulse control: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/airplane-game-training/ As for the sitting, be patient, keep on trying. Try to sit on the couch or a chair, with him on the floor, so that you're more relaxed and not looming over him. Try to stay calm, I know how frustrating it may feel! If he jumps, verbally and matter-of-fact, mark the mistake with an "eh-eh!" and close your hand with the food lure. Give him a little time to reset and try again. Other things you can try: -Try a treat that is less exciting, like for example, your dog's kibble. The treats may perceived by him as super high in value making him too excited about them and less able to focus. -In your particular case, don't make the food lure protrude too much in a way that he can easily steal morsels off. -Sit on the couch and call him as your hand is already low to the ground at his nose height. This can prevent the jumping when we present the food lure from a height to get them to sit. -Some dogs may need some temporary prop/obstruction that makes it less likely for them to feel like jumping. For example, you can try having him in tight spaces, like between the couch and a coffee table so there's less room for jumping to happen. -Train sits in other contexts using a different method so that he learns to "mand." For example, you can try the method of capturing, where you reward spontaneous behaviors by holding a treat bag on you at all times (or treats in your pocket) as you watch him carefully during the day. The moment you notice him sitting naturally, praise and toss him a treat. After several trials, he may start noticing a pattern "every time I sit, I get a treat tossed my way!" so those sits will happen more and more often and next thing you know you can start expecting those sits before you lower the food bowl at meal times. Once they happen reliably, start adding the cue "sit" right before he is about to sit so that he connects the action with the behavior. About the whining and yelping to get in or out, that's not uncommon. Are you out with him when he's out? Many dogs don't like to be out in the yard alone. Is he neutered? Is he fully potty trained? Pulling on the leash- have you tried a front-attachment harness?

Hi there, welcome to the forums! Let's do some troubleshooting... How old is your puppy/dog? Are you using a crate/play pen? Is your puppy on a potty training schedule? https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/housetraining-schedule/ Are you cleaning up accidents with an enzyme-based cleaner? When does the peeing happen exactly? It would be important to exclude submissive/excitement urination as these are treated differently. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/urinating-when-excited/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/submissive-urination/ Here is a general potty training guide to get you started: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/7-secret-potty-training-strategies/ More helpful reads on potty training can be found in the archive under "puppies" https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/

Hi there, welcome to the forums, This behavior sounds concerning. How long have you had your dog? Has he always acted this way towards your son? Thinking back to these episodes, what was your son doing exactly when your dog runs over to him? Is there any common pattern? Like is your son running around? Playing? Crawling? Has your dog undergone any training? What cues does he know? Sit, down, leave it, go to a mat? What has been done so far to correct the behavior? I would highly suggest making safety top priority and not allowing your dog the opportunity to rehearse this problematic behavior (the more it is practiced, the more of an ingrained habit it becomes). Use management options (baby gate, indoor pet gate) to prevent rehearsal. It may also be important acclimatizing your dog to a bite-proof muzzle as an extra safety precaution. Examples of bite-proof muzzles are wire basket muzzles from Dean and Tyler and some varieties of Jafco muzzles. Consider that children fingers can fit through gaps so you may need muzzles with no gaps (like muzzles with "stool guards"). Always inquire with the manufacturing company to make sure that a muzzle is truly bite-proof before purchasing. Don't just trust what you read online or what people tell you. Here is a basic guide on acclimatizing to a muzzle: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-your-dog-to-wear-a-muzzle/ It's important to note that a muzzle doesn't stop a dog from acting aggressively. Putting a muzzle on an aggressive dog without working on the underlying issue is looking for trouble. Even though your dog can't bite, he will still be emotionally charged and he may get to rehearse reactive/aggressive behaviors such as growling, snarling and lunging. Again, the more dogs get to rehearse these problematic behaviors, the more they put roots and become habit-forming. On top of this, when dogs rehearse reactive/aggressive behaviors stress hormones circulate around the dog's body. Therefore, it's important to avoid any situations that may cause your dog to react negatively. This is known as "management." Management basically entails not putting your dog into situations that evoke reactive behaviors and its associated negative emotions. It helps prevent your dog's behavior from getting worse.

Hi there, Welcome to the forums! So it's working with you and not with your husband. Let's do some troubleshooting: What methods exactly have you implemented so far? Is your husband following the directions exactly? Is he being consistent? What does your husband usually do when your dog jumps on him? How long have you had him (your dog) and for how long has the jumping behavior been a problem? Is it just jumping or even mouthing/mounting? Is your husband away for most of the day, and you are mostly at home? Does your Goldendoodle know how to sit? Do you have a baby gate by any chance? Thanks for the extra details. Talk soon!

Hi Jennifer, your help is always welcomed and appreciated! And I am sure other members feel the same way. 😍

Hi Michael, If you go to a main section of the forums such as behavior and training, and then select "sort by", the drop down menu gives you the option to pick "title" and that should display the topics in alphabetical order, although it starts with displaying numbers. However, if you're looking for something specific, you may may find it easier to use the search button at the top or you can ask here 🙂 Hope this helps, Best, Adrienne

Hi there, Great questions! So with the term "aggression" or "dangerous" there is a problem indeed: it's a label and open to different interpretations. The term is often used to describe a wide range of behaviors from growling to barking and even biting and attacking. However, not always the dog's behavior is really "aggressive" in nature. In general, it can be said that the term "aggressive" signifies a general intent to harm, but in dogs many so-called 'aggressive' displays are actually an intent to do no harm, and actually avoid conflict. A dog who is growling is often saying "please don't harm me, stop doing what you are doing, it's making me very uncomfortable and I don't want to come to the point of having to bite you." So-called "aggressive displays" are often forms of communication, the dog's intent can vary great depending on the situation and it's not always crystal clear what the dog is trying to communicate through his behavior. This lack of precision in the definition of aggression can lead to misinterpretation which may lead to the implementation of inappropriate or ineffective training or management strategies. So in regards to your bite incident, based on the above can that dog be labeled as "aggressive?" We can because there was a clear intent to harm and the harm took place with a level 4 bite. However, labeling a dog as aggressive and dangerous makes us think that a dog is acting aggressively all the time, when in reality most dogs will display so-called "aggressive behaviors'" in particular contexts/situations. In your case, you wearing a helmet or being on wheels are clearly stimuli this dog struggles with. This type of behavior is not uncommon, many dogs struggle with people wearing hats, riding bikes or wearing sunglasses. Anything that changes our shape//physiognomy can cause some dogs to act out of character. Most dog aggressive displays are based on some element of fear and there is some type of reinforcement going such as getting out of an overwhelming situation. This doesn't justify the dog by any means, and from a legal standpoint this dog meets the criteria to make him a danger to the public. Extra caution will therefore be needed moving forward and the owner should seek professional help and until then, most likely the owners would have received some warnings and extra precautions to adhere to (likes always having the dog on a bite-proof muzzle and one of those yellow "nervous dog" harnesses with warnings to keep distance). I cringe thinking what if a child wearing a helmet and skates approached? So to answer your question, the label "dangerous" reflects that if put into a similar situation this dog can and will likely bite and since he did already bite, that will likely stay forever on his record. The specific details of how incidents of dog bites are recorded can vary depending on jurisdiction and the exact circumstances of the bite. Animal control agencies or other local authorities may keep records on dogs so to keep track of the number of incidents and enforce regulations. Insurance companies may do the same. Owning Rottweilers every time we switched home owner's insurance meant reporting that they have never have bitten anybody and sometimes an agent would even come to see them to evaluate their friendliness. Some insurance companies won't even offer coverage if you own a dog breed that is blacklisted. Insurance companies keep records and track history of bites since they consider dogs a high liability risk. On top of this, in some places, if a dog has a record of biting, it could be put on a "dangerous dog" registry or similar list that is publicly accessible. Dogs can therefore be labeled as "dangerous is they have bitten someone regardless of whether their "aggression" is directed towards a specific stimulus or specific context. It can be this dog wasn't socialized much as a pup and wasn't exposed enough to bikes/people on skates or he endured some negative encounter or maybe has been punished for growling and now goes straight to a biting when he's overwhelmed. In any case, yes dogs can be managed and treated through desensitization and counterconditioning and training conducted under the guidance of a professional. These dogs will need to be carefully managed (muzzle, avoidance of full intensity exposures), but in general the outlooks look less brighter in cases where dogs deliver damaging bites compare to lower level bites. On a side note, the Cara Shannon bite hierarchy has received more attention lately due to offering more detailed information and even offering a dog-to-dog bite level hierarchy. In regards to Sebastian's' behavior, it depends on the context. German shepherds are another breed who like to grab people's hands sometimes to lead them outside or as a form of communication. I would say it's important figuring out what is truly going on. Huskies, being energetic and on the 'hyper" side, in general tend to express their excitement or affection in a playful way and this can sometimes lead to mouthing or nipping. If this happens when your husky is excited and playful in the home, you can try to shape an alternative behavior such as targeting your hand or going to grab a toy as you point at it. This is much preferable, especially if there's an older or young child living in the home. Here is the guide for targeting:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ Here is the guide for "take":https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/ If it's communication, you can still shape it to him hand targeting or bumping your hand /body with his nose. Once he does that, you can then get up from sitting and go check out what he's trying to communicate. Some service dogs are trained to do that or approach and bark while backing up, moving towards something (follow me!) when when the phone is ringing or somebody is at door. Watch out if this turns out being a cut-off signal. For example, ensure he's not mouthing because he wants your to stop from performing something he's not comfortable with such as removing burrs from his coat. In these cases, listen to what he is trying to tell you, and work on making the task more pleasant, maybe using some tasty treats in one hand when removing these, see my hand-held Kong trick. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/my-hand-made-kong-trick/ This helps create positive associations with the action and more collaboration which is a win-win. If he's prone to biting hard, use a muzzle for extra safety measure. if he is very spunky on walks, try to let him drain some of that energy prior to the walk with some brain games and play, but pay attention to when the mouthing happens. Is it when it is time to go home? When he sees somebody and can't go to greet? When he sees something exciting? See if you can recognize a pattern, if you do, more power to you! You can then preempt that mouthing by tossing several treats to the ground and having him find them (treasure hunt style) or giving him a toy to carry or tug so he has an alternate behavior to engage in that doesn't involve nipping . Make sure to provide regular training, socialization, and mental stimulation (brain games!) to help him learn appropriate ways to express his excitement. The jazz up and settle down can help, https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/jazz-up-and-settle-down/ and also exposing him gradually to situations that have evoked the mouthing in the past at a very subthreshold level and teaching him alternate ways to to deal with that. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ You may also find impulse control games helpful. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/10-impulse-control-games-for-dogs/ Happy training! Best, Adrienne

Hi Camila Silva, Welcome to the forums! With two puppies of the same age, they are prone to becoming overly dependent on each other and we can also see cases of sibling rivalry/littermate syndrome and potential bullying. Of course, this doesn't happen in all cases, but it's something to consider. Because of these "complications," many breeders and rescues have made a rule to not allow adopters to take home two puppies at once. They believe that the average household doesn't have the time and energy to commit to the training, socializing, exercising and potty training of two puppies considering that this needs to be done on an individual basis (each puppy needs to be trained/socialized separately from each other.) They also should very gradually learn to sleep and spend time away from each other for certain periods of the day. Of course, these are generalizations, and therefore as a littermate mom myself ( I got both my Rotties as littermates) I can attest that, it is doable, but it a whole lot of work, however, my motto is "when there is a will, there is a way." Now, the main challenges with littermates/pups of similar age consist of these: -Excessive bonding between the two puppies (the owners become just a backdrop) -Panic when puppies are separated -One puppy developing to be shy, while there other is more assertive -One puppy bullying the other puppy (stealing the others' toys, blocking from accessing a space, attacking when going through doorways or to greet the owners). -Fighting that becomes more intense around the adolescent/social maturity stage. This may be more pronounced in pups of the same sex, especially in dog breeds prone to same-sex aggression. Now, if one puppy is persistently biting the other, we need to carefully evaluate whether this is just play or whether there is more to it. Puppies play fight quite often and things can sometimes get rough, but that may be just their playstyle. If there is always one puppy consistently biting the other and the other appears to be trying to move away, there are chances there may be some bullying going on. At this age, pups have sharp teeth. If one pup is biting too hard, the other should "yelp" and give a little timeout by stopping play and possibly leaving the area, but not always pups are listening to these requests for gentler play and some bullies, just want to keep going and going against the other pup. One way to assess whether the play is problematic is by removing the apparently "bullied pup" and see if he/she wants to go straight back to playing or whether he/she feels relief upon being removed from the other and wants nothing to do with the other. This can provide us an insight, although it's also true that two pups may bond so much together, that, even when bullied, the other pup wants to go back because has come to depend too much on the other, so this little test isn't always reliable in a littermate circumstance. If there is actual bullying, you may want to train a fluent cue that tells your pups to stop in their tracks and come to you for a treat. For this, since your pups are so young, you can try conditioning a fluent response to a smacking sound https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/ This needs to be trained individually at first, to a fluent level before putting them together. And before expecting this response when they are "playing," they need to reliably respond to it in less distracting contexts, (like when they're outside in the yard) gradually building the distraction level to more and more challenging contexts. It's important individualizing the contexts in which the biting occurs. Often it's when playing, when exiting doors, when picking a resting spot, when going to greet the owner https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dogs-fighting-over-owner/ In regards to timeouts, in order to work well these need to implemented in a timely fashion, but there are risks for "side effects." For example, if we have to repeatedly drag a puppy by the collar to the timeout area, this may lead to a pup who becomes "hard to catch" or may even try to nip our hands (when we want to instead create positive associations with pups having their collars touched https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-to-teach-puppies-to-tolerate-touch/). Not to mention, the pup may come to associate the timeout area (which is often a crate or playpen) with punishment. An alternate to timeouts are 'chill-outs.' In other words, more than using timeouts as punishment, they are used to promote calmness, so you can make your smacking sound, and then you can use your treat to take each pup to their a separate confined area, where they are given the treat and where there is some chew toy/puzzle toy waiting for them. This can help the pups chill and learn how to self-soothe in case they were engaging in too rough play. I hope this helps, Keep us posted on how things go. Happy training, Best, Adrienne

Your two girls actually share more space than what my Rotties shared! As mine matured, they each wanted their own beds. However, when it was chilly they seemed to enjoy more closeness. If it wasn't for the rose ears (or at least that's what thy look like in this picture), Esther looks a lot like a yellow Lab in this picture. She has grown so fast!

Hey, thanks for the update. It's truly amazing to hear that Abbi is still there. I must admit that even with Petra when she had an aggressive terminal cancer (hemophagocytic histiocytic sarcoma) we were almost there making that decision, but I just couldn't do it. Not while she was still enjoying being pet and seemed to enjoy watching the birds and wildlife when sitting outside and just "being there." It didn't help that she dreaded needles and I couldn't come to terms with her yelping and having fear in her eyes for something that that should instead be peaceful (the euthanasia, process that is). Sure, I got her to a point of tolerating needles by counterconditioning her at home pretending to use a pencil as if giving "shots," but when she had her last CT scan and was "sent to the back" without me, it turned out being a traumatic event for her. I was literally sobbing in the waiting room as I heard her yelping from a distant room as they were trying to inject her the sedative. When they got that done, and was returned to us wobbly, but happy to see us, her fur was all wet from peeing on herself, poor girl. I kissed her head and promised her no more shots. The oncologist looked at the CT scan results and then I noticed she was shaking her head as if saying "no" and then gave us the dire news that Petra, not only had cancer, but it was likely also spreading from the spleen to the liver. She told us that, at this point, putting her down right there was reasonable as she had probably less than a month. As she passed us tissue papers, hubby and I agreed that we wanted to keep her home and comfortable and do what we could to help her appetite to buy us some more time. There was no way I would have allowed them to give her another shot that day after all she endured. And not when she was still able to walk and enjoy being around us. She was actually eager to go home and get out of there. So we got some prednisone and some pain meds just in case we needed them, to get us going. At that point, I decided to take two courses on hospice care. One from Spirits in Transition and one from Brighthaven. I thought these courses were just on hospice, but they were on hospice all the way to natural death. Ella Bittel from Spirits in Transition did a wonderful job in explaining to me that, just as with people, it is possible to do hospice care with dogs in our homes, and even natural death, as long as they aren't showing major signs of suffering and with good pain management. Hubby and I therefore agreed to try to do as much as we could, and then, if there was any need, we always had our vet's number on speed dial and she would rush to do an in-home euthanasia as needed. Turned out, we got two extra months. At some point though, the prednisone stopped working. Hubby had to help her walk outside and it was hurting his back because she had a rolled-up blanket under her to help her walk and hubby was supporting most of her weight. That's when we contemplated finally calling our vet, not because she was in pain, but because we were afraid of something unexpected happening. Yet, despite not eating for one day, she was still participating, asking for cuddles, and giving us signs of when she needed out to potty or to be turned over from sleeping in the same position, so we waited it out hoping she would eat maybe the next day. The next morning she still didn't want to eat, but she really wanted us to stay close to her. Nudging our hand when we stopped petting. I remember calling my mom on the phone and sadly telling her that likely it was time to call the vet, but little did I know that Petra was waiting for me to go outside to just tip-toe to the other side. It was very peaceful, with my hubby petting her and talking to her. Brighthaven is an organization that specializes in natural death. Gail Hope helped me overcome the grief and sadness that came with realizing that perhaps I failed to help Petra "cross over" in the the traditional way that I was most familiar with. She reassured me that, despite the subject of death being still taboo, she has helped hundred of cats, horses and dogs pass the natural way and reminded me that that's how they passed for hundreds of years before us humans were there to "help them." She said that they don't fear death the way we do. It's funny that you talk about Bob Ross. When I had time to paint, I watched hours of his show, and it's so true his voice is so calming! Glad to hear that Esther is getting better with controlling her pee. Go girl! And it's so awesome that your husband is now on board with you on the training. Remy-Gertie interactions sound like a case of Remy -shares -and -Gertie- does -not. She likely doesn't want a youngster near a toy with a treat in it. Sounds like no toys around them make for better interactions. With the addition of Juliette, I guess too many issues considering that it appears that she's protective over Remy. It's not unusual going potty in a different home. When I have boarders over, some dogs would hike their leg on our agility tunnel and their owners would be surprised claiming they never did that at home. As you said, a not-so-familiar place, with its different smells/ smells of other dogs are strong triggers. The fire pit looks nice! I wish you and hubby many happy evenings there!

You're very welcome! Keep us posted on how things go! Best, Adrienne

Hi there! Welcome to the forums! Poor pup, but so very lucky to have found you! About his energy, no more food bowl, every kibble needs to be earned through training and the rest is used in food puzzles and brain games that don't involve any running (like I would skip hide and seek for now and, rather than toss treats/kibble, just hand-feed). Several activities are covered here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/adriennes-picks/top-5-dog-feeding-toys/ You can raise criteria in brain games/food puzzles by adding some extra challenges so that they last longer. For example: -Organize more complex treasure hunts by hiding kibble in several rooms of the house -Magic carpet brain game-last hyper dog I had, I got all the beach/bath towels I had in the house and hid kibble in them and rolled them up -If you use a Kong Wobbler, place a cookie in it so that the kibble doesn't come out too freely -Kongs-serve them frozen so that it takes longer for him to extract the contents (have a nice reserve ready like 4-5 frozen at a time) They don't have to add extra calories, can be just wet kibble stuffed in the Kong and frozen, although can be mixed with a little mashed banana for some added enticement. -Do clicker training for training new things that don't involve running (like play the piano). Check with your vet about exactly what things he can and cannot do at this stage just to play it safe. About the sniffing and marking, is he an intact male or is he neutered? What are you using to walk him? Collar, harness? If harness, is it a front clip or back clip? Have you been able to get any attention at all during walks? If so, what are you using to reinforce that attention? I have had intact males do that a lot (sniffing and marking) due to hormonally-induced behaviors, but one common denominator was that they had some underlying anxiety issues. So it would be important tackling this, if present. Last dog I worked with who was doing this, had a generalized anxiety to anything unfamiliar (people wearing hoods, plastic bags flying with the wind, sudden noises). Sniffing and marking was his way of seeking some security and making things smell familiar. You can use his strong desire for sniffing by using that as a reinforcer for walking a few steps nicely on leash. First, start training walking next to you in a hallway without leash, then practice with a leash, then practice in other areas nearby your home. Here is the guide: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ Initially avoid grassy areas and areas where other dogs congregate/pee often to help set him for success- unless you can use access to those areas as a reward for doing a few steps with you without pulling. For example, practice walking by a bush at a distance (so he's less tempted) and see if he can look at you/walk next to you as you walk by that bush. If he does, praise/reward with a tasty treat. Repeat several times. Then get closer, and closer to the bush gradually, and when he's almost next to it, walking nicely, praise and reward by loosening the leash and pointing at the bush and telling him to "go sniff!" In many cases, excess pulling outdoors is due to the distraction levels being too high, and the dog not being trained to walk on leash at a fluent enough level in quieter scenarios. Often, the step between calmer places like home and the distractions of the outdoor world is too steep. Anxiety can add a further hurdle to the process. If he is too hyper, and being calmer is critical to his healing, talk to your vet. He/she may temporarily provide some calming meds to help him recover.

You are very welcome! If you are concerned about the carpet, and you are at a too far distance from the door (being upstairs) you have several options: -Keeping him downstairs and installing a nanny cam so that you can watch/her him from your bedroom at night and take him out as needed (there may be chances though that you may sleep through and miss some some subtle signs) -Keeping him downstairs and setting your alarm at set times to take him out to prevent the accidents -Keeping him upstairs, and taking steps to protect your carpet such as, lining the bottom of the crate with a puppy training pad or placing a shower curtain liner under the crate so to catch any leaks Any accidents on the carpet need to be cleaned up as quickly as possible using an enzyme-based cleaner. About going out for 2 hours a day and whether to use a crate or a room (preferably small area with toys and puppy's bed on one side and opposite side lined up with pee pads), this really depends on how much your puppy is able to hold it. He should be able to hold it for 2 hours at his age, but of course, every puppy is different and with the smaller breeds potty training generally takes longer. So this will be judgement call based on your past experiences with your pup. In other words, if he has shown the capability of being able to hold it for 2 hours straight when he's with you at home during the day, then being crated for that time *shouldn't * be a problem (excluding medical issues like a urinary tract infection, or other forms of peeing like peeing from anxiety, excitement/submissive urination) as long as he potties before being crated. The crate by itself should help prevent accidents because 1) it keeps your puppy restrained and quiet. The more puppies move about and are active, the more they'll drink and pee. 2) it helps inculcate some restraint in going potty because puppies should be naturally predisposed to not want to soil where they sleep. As you mentioned, yes, you need to ensure he is "empty" (watching him eliminate, not sending him out and assuming he goes). It may be worthy doing a little experimenting before going straight for 2 hours, such as starting with one hour, then one hour and a half and based on how it goes, then stretching to two hours. It may help to strategically coordinate your 2-hour absences with when your puppy is likely to 'crash' and take a nap so that he just spends that time napping.

Thanks for the extra details, they are very helpful! So firstly, let's see what we can do to get to the root of the problem and try to reduce the amount of baths needed. Being so young and a maltipoo, your puppy will likely benefit from an extra potty trip or two in the wee hours of the morning. If the last trip is at 11 pm until morning, that can be quite a stretch, so as much as it is painful, it may be worthy of setting the alarm for an early morning potty break to prevent an accident. Maybe aim for one between 300-3:30 AM and then first thing in the morning at 700-7:30 AM. Make sure your puppy fully eliminates during these outings. Don't talk to your puppy or make any fuss during these trips, just be matter-of fact, leash on, potty, leash off and then back in the crate. Don't worry, this isn't a long term ordeal. Most likely, in a week or two you may extend the 300-3:30 AM potty break gradually for later and later until you finally reach 7:00-7:30 AM. If you still see accidents, make sure to mark the time and schedule for an earlier potty trip. Keep the crate near your bed so that you can hear your puppy turning around/whining as that can be a sign of needing to go potty. It's important to not make it a habit of peeing in the crate. This can turn problematic because it feels good to pee and soon becomes habit forming if allowed to happen too often. This is about pooping, but some similar rules apply: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/how-to-stop-a-puppy-from-pooping-in-the-crate/ The problem with bathing a puppy too often is that dog shampoo strips the coat from oils. This causes drying of the coat and a breakdown of the protective skin barrier which may lead to itchiness and scratching, which in turn cause micro-abrasions to the surface of the skin, paving the path for bacteria establishing there and wrecking havoc. An alternative to baths is using puppy wipes (think of baby wipes but a version made specifically for dogs). You can use these on the affected areas in place of a full-blown bath. Your vet can recommend specific types.

Hi Eric, Welcome to the forums! With these rescued dogs, potty training may feel like watching paint dry because they have deeply inculcated habits and we don't know their past histories so things tend to progress slowly. We can though take some steps to expedite the process. Last Pom I worked on for potty training, it took about 3 months to see some success to undo all the learned habits. Poms, being spitz-like dogs, also have an independent streak (not to be confused with being stubborn) and this can put a bit of a dent in the process compared to other more biddable dogs. So here are some observations based on the following information provided: "We have a 4 year old Pomeranian rescue dog who will go in and out of the doggie door when ordered but not when she needs to potty. Also she will pee outside then poop inside soon after. We have tried to give her treats when she poos outside, but we haven't gotten her connected with the idea of doing business outside on her own." While doggy doors offer the advantage of having dogs take their elimination habits into their own hands, taking away the human from the “go out” equation, they have several disadvantages. Luckily, one of them (the fear of going through it) seems to not apply to your Pom, which is a big plus. The disadvantages of using a doggy door when potty training include two main issues: Not always being able to go out with the dog when they potty Not following a potty schedule The dog getting distracted Let's take a closer look into these: 1) With a doggy door, a dog decides to go in and out as she pleases, so we likely aren't always able to go out with them. This puts a dent into potty training, considering that we don't know if the dog is "empty" before coming back inside. I see that you have tried giving her treats when she is outside, but with a doggy door most likely she goes out on her own many times and doesn't receive consistent positive feedback. The feedback needs to be really, really consistent for things to kick in, especially in a breed like a Pom. 2) One of the most effective strategies of potty training is keeping the dog on a feeding and pottying schedule. With adult dogs, two scheduled meals a day (evenly spread apart such as breakfast at 8AM and dinner at 9 AM) help pave the path towards scheduled potty trips. Most adult dogs poop anywhere between 2-4 times a day so we may want to give them several opportunities to poop and keep track of when they go. Writing down these times can help so that we can take our dogs out around that time or even a few minutes earlier. When they successfully pee and poop outside, we can praise them and give a treat, and afterwards being "empty" grants them more freedom around the house, at least until we expect their next potty trip. As we get closer to their next potty trip though, we need to increase our vigilance. A doggy door prevents us from strictly following a potty schedule. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/housetraining-schedule/ 3) When a dog goes outside on their own, it's easy for them to get distracted. There are many things to sniff, enticing sights and sounds and room to romp. It's easy for them to forget about going potty when out and unfortunately, remember only once back inside, which leads to indoor accidents. A doggy door therefore prevents us from taking the dog on leash outside directly to their potty area. Once they go potty, then we can praise/reward with a treat and then further reward by letting them off leash to explore/stretch their legs. So the bottom line is that, you really need to fully potty train a dog before expecting a doggie door to be used reliably. I wouldn't suggest using a doggy door until the dog is 100 percent potty trained with a history of no indoor accidents for at least 6 to 8 weeks straight. Here are some helpful reads: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/7-secret-potty-training-strategies/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/potty-on-command/ Hope this helps, Let me know if you have any questions/concerns, Happy training! Best, Adrienne

Hi there! Welcome to the forums, Glad to hear that he's not possessive over his food and toys, that helps make the issue more manageable, although we need to use great caution, because sometimes, possessive behavior over certain items, left untreated, may generalize to others (for example, it may carry over from a pill to food accidentally dropped from the table or new toys). I hope that in both bite instances, Van's didn't cause any injuries, and that Van has demonstrated some good level of bite inhibition. In cases like this, it's best to avoid any "hands-on approaches" like chasing the dog around, getting upset and manually extracting something from the dog's mouth and instead training these two very important cues, that is the "leave it and drop it." In the meanwhile, extra care will be needed in managing the dog's environment preventing access to anything that can be potentially harmful if ingested (like in the case of pills taking them in a bathroom with the door closed or while the dog is out with another person going potty). "Leave it" is needed when you are actually seeing your dog approach something that he shouldn't have. To start training this, you will need to practice with safe items that are low in value, and that you know don't evoke any possessive, resource guarding behaviors. Then, you gradually add more and more challenges. The fundamental rule is always rewarding with something that is higher in value than the item left so that your dog becomes more and more compliant because "great things always happen when I leave something and look up at mom." Here is the guide on training "leave it": https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/ Here is a video demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwbbAeEZPaU "Drop it" is needed instead when your dog is actually in possession of something and you likely missed telling him "leave it" on time. As with leave it, you will need to train this starting with items that are very low value from your dog's perspective and then gradually practice with things that are more and more valuable (yet safe to practice with). You will also need to use rewards that are higher in value than the item dropped. We can't practice this obviously with items that can pose a danger to our dogs, but we should practice enough to obtain a fluent, almost reflexive response that will carry over to those items because of such a strong and positive rehearsal history. With lots of practice, dogs will become more and mor compliant because 'when I drop something from my mouth, I always get something that is far better!" Here is the guide on training "drop it:" https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/drop-it/ Here is a video demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUnItd7OEmw Now, there is training involved here and time involved, so what to do in the meanwhile? You said "I couldn't remove the supplement. Fortunately it was nothing harmful to dogs but what would we do if it were?" That's a very good question. In such a case, we need to take a multi-tiered approach. Firstly, as mentioned, we would need to take extra care to prevent access to potentially harmful things as much as possible at least until we haven't obtained a fluent, knee-jerk response. The goal is to obtain what's known as a positive conditioned emotional response where the dog enjoys dropping thing because of so many positive experiences. More about this here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/ As a secondary measure, we should always keep something very valuable to the dog always handy. Like some bully sticks (with some kept in a crinkly package) on a tall shelf. With dogs I am training, I keep always something handy on a shelf, but also in my pockets so I can access them immediately just in case. The moment you notice your dog in possession of something, determine what it is and if it poses any imminent danger to your dog. If it's a pine cone, you know you don't have to be super alarmed, you may have a bit of time before he carries it around and decides to lie down and start breaking it apart. At that point, you can calmly walk towards the shelf, and get your dog's attention by opening that crinkly package with the bully stick. Many dogs at this point, upon hearing the crinkly sound will voluntarily drop what they have and rush towards you, in anticipation of the treat. If not, they may look at you and watch what you are doing and will rush towards the bully stick once you have tossed it. For safety, toss it the opposite side of the room so that your dog is away from you and you have time to recuperate the pine cone or whatever object Van has taken. With dogs I don't know well, and who have a history of biting, I will add in an extra measure. I will toss the bully stick *past* a door, so that once the dog is past the door to get it, I can close it and go safely gather whatever the dog had. More about this is covered here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/overprotective-of-toys/ If it's something that is possibly dangerous for a dog to ingest, we can try the above approaches as well, but if it's something really life threatening we need to think quickly and evaluate risks to the dog and our safety. This often takes a judgement call and quick thinking. How dangerous is the item to the dog really? Our vet and websites such as Pet Poison Control/ASPCA poison control center can educate us on some essentials. Knowledge about these can help us in our decision making. How good is the dog's bite inhibition? How is the dog's owner's relationship? Are there trust issues? Does the dog have any health issues? In dogs prone to pancreatitis ingestion of something fatty may cause severe digestive upset. There are many factors to consider. On a personal anecdote (this is not a training/behavior modification tip or recommendation) I once faced a situation where I had to manually extract something from a possessive dog's mouth. Fortunately, we had done some exchange exercises prior, so he wasn't much defensive. But when I tried to open his mouth, he knew exactly what I was trying to do and his jaw was shut tight like an alligator, almost impossible to pry open. I luckily managed to open his mouth, right when I thought I heard a little vibration as the start of a growl, removed the item while simultaneously my other hand I held a stinky liver treat to his nose and placed it on his tongue to replace the extracted item. I felt this latter action sort of "buffered'" the potentially aversive experience of forcibly opening his mouth, and therefore felt little damage was done there. I then proceeded to continue working on strong responses to leave its and drops and then as a backup felt confident enough to work on teaching him a 'softer mouth" by removing low value items from his mouth and replacing them with higher value items. No more alligator mouth after that. However, I don't recommend working on the above exercises without the help of a professional considering the risk for bites. I hope this helps, happy training! Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques (no shock, prongs, or physical corrections) for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos and general info found in the forums or course (or any online source) are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this course and forum, you are waiving any liability claims or other type of claims related to any dogs' behavior against you or others.

Hi there! Welcome to the forums! How old is your puppy? What breed? It's great that he loves having a bath. So many people often struggle with dogs who hate baths. Keep up the great work!

Hi there, Welcome to the forums, Congrats on your new puppy! With a puppy so young, you will need to take baby steps considering their short attention span. You will therefore need to acclimate your puppy to the collar/harness (usually good breeders start this, but when in doubt, it's OK to start from basics) and then the leash in small increments and then teaching your puppy to "give-in" to leash pressure. This acclimatation process is covered here under the section "Habituating Puppies to Training Tools" https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-to-teach-puppies-to-tolerate-touch/ Afterward, you can start doing some heeling exercises, starting in a quiet area of the home and making it fun. You can start in a hallway even without a leash initially and carrying tasty treats to reward your puppy for walking next to you. Once this becomes fluent, you can add the leash so that puppy already knows what to do. Here is the section of teaching heeling: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ With your pup's young age, do a little at a time and stop before there are chances for negative emotions such as boredom or tiring or frustration setting in. Some pups can learn to do one or two steps of attention heeling too as long as it's fun and rewarding. You can keep the attention by talking to your puppy with a treat held up at eye level. However, it's important not to over do it and ask too much. For walks outdoors, please consult with your vet for when you can have the green light, based on your location and your pup's vaccination status due to infectious disease concerns. Happy training!

Hi there, Welcome to the forums! I am not too much a fan of numbering sessions when it comes to length, frequency and number of reps because of so many factors (age, breed, history of training, health etc). When I worked for a big box store, we had modules that used a cookie-cutter approach to train dogs and the head trainer was very adamant in having the dogs do 10 sits in a row, 10 downs in a row etc. Were the dogs learning this way? Yes, their sits were getting quite mechanical as muscle memory sunk in. Did they look interested? Towards the end of the 10 reps I was seeing signs of tiring in some dogs. It didn't help that we had dogs of different ages and breeds all clumped together doing these exercises. So I would suggest putting more emphasis on whether the dog seems to be enjoying the interaction and not getting bored or frustrated. You can certainly try to do some reps as a trial and see how it goes. See what your dog thinks about it. Your dog may like to do some mix and matching of cues to stay interested and this can also help him/her discriminate between those cues. Always aim to end up the sessions on a positive note, before boredom or frustration sets in. Remember as well to add variety and distance, duration and distractions. All these cues once fluent at home, need to be taught as well in the yard, on walks, at the park and at pet stores. You can also integrate them into several impulse control exercises https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/10-impulse-control-games-for-dogs/ Happy training!

Hi Michael! Welcome to the forums! The Pet Professional Guild link to find dog trainers near you is this one. You simply click on this link and enter your zip code. https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/Zip-Code-Search Feel free to post on the forums for any questions! Best, Adrienne

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

Hey, there! Like Jennifer mentioned, it's always best going with shorter sessions making them sweet and fun and then we can always gradually increase based on how he/she does. Keep an eye on how she responds, you want to end the sessions before she gets to the point of starting to feel bored/tired. The Hide and seek game can be found here: and The find it-Treasure hunt game- can be found here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/ If she already knows several cues well, you can mix and match them so that she remains interested and learns to differentiate one from another, and don't forget to polish up, and proof with distance, distractions and duration. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/polishing-up-training

Yes, capturing was going to be my next suggestion! You can keep him on leash next to you as you're sitting on the couch and praise and reward lying down on his own. I would try a bit more the traditional way since he was showing signs of progressing. Some dogs take a little longer than others, but eventually most get it eventually. Try keeping the food lure a bit longer after performing the "L" or do the motion slower, to see if he adjusts himself to obtain that nice "sphinx-like down."