Adrienne Farricelli

Hello, and welcome to the forums! Biting and jumping in puppies can be very frustrating especially when those teeth are sharp and end up hurting. Here's the good news: although the nipping and biting phase may feel like it lasts forever, most puppies outgrow the problem as they mature (just as they stop being interested in chasing their tails!) and find more productive things to spend their time on. Here's' the thing: when puppies are in the litter up to 8 weeks, most of their time is spent wrestling with other pups and this can be quite rough. So once they are in their new homes, pups just continue doing what they used to and see us humans as their new fun playmates. Now, here's the bad news: solving puppy biting won't resolve overnight. It requires lots of repetition and reinforcing alternate behaviors to make these the pup's preferred method of interacting. The problem with redirecting with chew toys is that many dogs after a while find them boring after a while of seeing them around and they prefer us because we move and provide resistance (nothing is more fun to play tug with then with shoes and pant legs that become fun tug toys). It may work better to redirect by providing interactive toys that provide some further incentives such as toys that move (like tossing a ball the opposite way or using a flirt pole) or are filled with food (treats/kibble). Training games that focus on rewarding alternate behaviors can help. Here you will find some bite inhibition games; https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/ I like using hand targeting as a replacement behavior for nipping. You can toss the treats rather than hand feed them so to make the activity extra fun and burn excess energy. Here's a guide on targeting: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ These threads offer lots of tips on biting puppies: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?57-Biting-dog https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?17-Puppy-biting-feet-for-attention https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?106-Excessive-puppy-biting&highlight=yelping For the issue of jumping on kitchen cabinets, fridge etc. below is a thread on a similar issue. It may be best to limit access to rooms where she tends to get in trouble and keep her instead in an area where she is less likely to create havoc. You may need to manage her environment to prevent access to rewarding things found on counters, dressers, (which to a pup may look like toys) as access to these reinforce the behavior. Sort of like dealing with a toddler opening cabinets etc. Providing more brain games and mental stimulation with interactive toys may come handing. Rotating toys instead of your pup seeing the same toys all the time around can help renew interest. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?43-Thieving-Pooch&highlight=table

You're very welcome. It's difficult to say what your border collie is trying to do without seeing the behavior in action. If this happens when your child is calm (meaning no sudden movements, squealing voices that may overstimulate), it may just be attention-seeking or play behavior (the barking in play behavior tends to typically be high-pitched) and you would notice lowered body, tail wagging and the popular "play bow." Many dogs engage in this behavior when things are getting "a bit boring" and they want to "activate things" and possibly start a game or get attention. This type of behavior is often seen when owners come home from a long day at work and sit on the couch. So if your dog does it when your child is mostly stationary, it could be a way of seeking engagement. This can be rather innocent, but if the dog is overly aroused or not trained to respond in a moment's notice, it may risk getting rough. If no engagement is received, some dogs may go further and escalate in some more rude behaviors such as pawing, nudging and barking more in hopes of getting want they want. Generally with herding behaviors, there is a certain body language taking place and the behavior is often evoked by movements although some may do so also without the classical triggers. Dog behavior can be highly variable and there are no rues set in stone. Typically when herding border collies will "give eye" (stare intently) stalk, and crouch down, carrying their head low, hindquarters high, and tail down. It can't be denied that we can sometimes see a combo of behaviors and dogs may intermix herding behaviors with play or other components. In any case, if this behavior concerns you, it always best to avoid rehearsal of it and practice ways to prevent it from happening. This can be done "holistically" by providing outlets for pent-up energy and lots of mental stimulation (better spread throughout the day rather than all lumped in one hour) and then by training your dog to become responsive to certain cues that can redirect the behavior. It's important to initially train these cues away from distracting stimuli and aim to attaining solid responses before applying them to the situation in which they are needed. Ideally, these cues are applied before the behavior appears to be taking place. So for instance, if your border collie has arrived to the point of barking and attempting to jump, you would redirect quickly before that happens right when you notice he is staring or approaching. This takes careful attention to body language, good timing and a dog's solid response to the cue used to distract. To interrupt the onset of the undesirable behaviors it is possible to use the "positive interrupter," or redirect to an activity such as targeting your hand or coming to you in response to a verbal cue. A positive interrupter involves training dogs to respond to a noise or command that tells them to immediately stop whatever they are doing and come towards you. I like to use a smacking sound as seen in Look into My Eyes from the Brain Training for Dogs course. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/look-into-my-eyes/ A positive interrupter may be used to replace a time-out or as a way to interrupt play before getting too rough or an unwanted behavior before escalating. Since border collies are very movement oriented and attentive to body language, you can train hand targeting to use as way of distracting. Make sure to make the hand movement quite noticeable and you can add a verbal cue as well to get attention. Here's how to train targeting: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ Another option to use a valuable interactive toy (stuffed with food) to interrupt the behavior and redirect. You can attach a verbal cue to add distracting value. For example, you can say "timeout" and provide a stuffed Kong to redirect. You want your dog to associate the word "timeout" with giving the Kong so that he quickly responds. Initially this requires a conditioning period to create the association, but dogs catch on quickly. For example, you would hold a Kong stuffed with a few goodies behind your back and say "timeout" and then offer the Kong. You would repeat this several times and start adding distance, like saying "timeout' from across the room and then giving the Kong once the dog reaches you. Then, once you have a solid response, you can place the Kong on a nearby shelf or counter and say "timeout" ad then both you and your dog rush to the shelf together and you give the Kong (teaching this comes handy to cover those instances when you don't have a Kong ready but you need a response). The word "timeout' sort of bridges the coming to you with the going together to get the Kong. "Distracting" accomplishes several things: 1) it prevents rehearsal of the problem behavior (the more dogs behave in certain ways, the more they put roots) 2) it provides the dog with an outlet for instincts and mental stimulation 3) it reinforces alternate behaviors which take over and put roots, ideally replacing the unwanted ones 4) it can potentially promote extinction (in other words, once the alternate behavior puts roots and then undesirable behavior weakens, there are chances the undesirable behavior stops occurring from the get-go especially when the dog is provided with outlets for instinctive behaviors and mental stimulation) Of course, when it comes to dogs and children interacting caution is always needed. Having a behavior professional invested in force-free techniques guide you through behavior modification is important for safety and correct implementation. Hope this helps! Best, Adrienne

4) General fit with our family. If you do not have a positive trainer, I urge to find one to continue working with him as the last thing a fearful dogs needs is negative associations. It is difficult to say how things will turn out. There are too many variables such as the time, the dog's temperament and energy levels (some BC are more high strung than others), how the dog responds to training/behavior modification, how he reacts around the children etc. An aggravating factor is that he is in full peak doggy adolescent stage: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ Last but not least, if he turns out not being a good match, please don't feel guilty. It would be unfair if you must struggle to meet his needs and it would be unfair for him not having his needs met. Hope this helps, Let me know if I can be of any further assistance. Adrienne

3) General socialization. Ned was not lead trained and I’m starting to make progress with the help of your program! Should I work on the fear of visitors before thinking of the world outside the house? He can be fearful in the back yard, if he hears voices or the 2 GSD pups next door, do it can be hard even doing outside as he obviously feels more worried when he is restrained on the leash. I think walks are important. How is he outside away from the yard and the barking GSD? Would it be possible to drive with him to a quiet area where he can walk without being exposed to too many stimuli? Some fearful dogs do better on a longer leash so they feel less trapped. Training an emergency u-turn if you see a trigger coming his way may be helpful until he is more confident in facing triggers. Make sure to have lots of high-value treats to create positive associations and reinforce desirable behaviors. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/emergency-u-turn/ The "hear that" method may come handy in getting him used to the GSD pups: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-noises/

Hello there, and welcome to the forums! I will try my best to address the issues one by one. I will be posting several posts. Issue 1: Barking at visitors. I have posted in the archive a "case study" of how I address this type of issue. It can be applied to anybody including guests. It may be worthy of working on this with the help of your trainer to ensure the behavior modification process goes smoothly. Very important to keep an eye on threshold levels and avoid situations that flood him (as it happened with your mother in law). For unexpected visits, it may help to put a sign to call prior to ringing the doorbell/knocking or entering announced. Here is the article (you will need to be logged in to the member's area to access these links): https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dog-barking-someone-enters-room/ It's great that you report he is coming around well, although fearful, here you will find some tips for fearful dogs: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/helping-fearful-rescue-dog/ 2) Herding With border collies this can be issue and it is often seen to a greater extent when these dogs aren't provided with sufficient outlets for their instinctive behaviors and mental stimulation. If you are concerned, place a baby gate to keep your border collie separated from your child to prevent your border collie from potentially rehearsing troublesome behaviors at least until he is trained and more responsive to you. Discuss your concerns with your trainer. Border collies are highly energetic dogs equipped with a strong urge to work and an instinctive predisposition to want to control everything that moves if their instincts are not channeled. Despite the fact that border collies are no longer used for herding as much as they were in the past, these traits and natural instincts will still be present to some extent. When these strong instincts are not properly channelled, border collies may want to chase and herd other dogs, people (in particular rowdy children playing), cars and cats. These dogs are very intelligent, but that doesn't necessarily make them the easiest to train because they tend to think ahead and try to anticipate. I love Nicholas Dodman quote on this breed, he says 'Border collies have been said to be the smartest dogs. But that makes having one like living with a genius on too many cups of coffee." Here are some tips that may help: -Engage your border collie's mind with 'find it' games, interactive toys, puzzles and the many brain games seen in the course. -Invest time in training your border collie. Border collies thrive when they are given directions. Ask your border collie to perform desirable behaviors such as eye contact, sit, stay, heel, lie down, come or even tricks using valuable rewards to reinforce those behaviors. Mix and match these commands so not to bore your dog. The obedience 101 course has guides on how to train these. -Use your training to redirect your border collie's chasing instincts. Ask your border to make eye contact with you and heel when there are distractions. Ask your border collie to sit when there are cars passing by. Ask your border collie to lie down and stay when a cat is crossing the road. Reinforce with valuable rewards (treats, toys a game of tug). -If your border collie has a hard time focusing, it means that he hasn't been trained yet for that level of distractions and is over threshold. Increase distance from the stimulus and find that sweet spot where your border collie is better under control. Practice at this level of difficulty before moving to more challenging levels. -As soon as the vet gives you the OK (growth plates have closed) enroll your border collie in some fun canine sports. In particular, herding trials are great as border collies get to do what they were bred for, but if there are no sheep in your area, the sport of Treibball (where dogs get to herd large balls) can be equally satisfying. Other fun sports include Flyball, disc dog, dock diving and canine musical freestyle.

Interesting! If she is wanting to play, you would see more playful body language rather than frightened. If playful, your dog may do play bows (lowered body with rump n the air and tail wagging) and then move away as soon as she sees you move in her direction waiting for you to chase her. Dogs like to play "keep away" but in general this game is not encouraged due to the fact that it can get out of hand and a time may come when we really need dogs to come and they think we are playing with them and they'll play hard to get. Certainly extra training and more quality time helps a whole lot. Other things that come to mind is teaching her to play hide and seek (you'll find this game in the brain training section) so that she comes looking for you rather than you trying to get her, training a strong recall (come when called) and rewarding these heavily. Also, making great things happen upon coming inside (access to a stuffed Kong, a game of fetch, a brain game) can help if she is reluctant to coming inside.

Unfortunately then there is no way to stop exposure. Limiting that exposure though to avoiding common areas where dogs aggregate and go potty is key to minimizing vulnerability to bacteria and viruses. Hopefully, your pup has had the bordetella (kennel cough vaccine) on top of the other core vaccinations. The only things that come to mind are to limit to a leash to potty, limit sniffing in areas where there are other dog feces and try to stay away as much as possible from the more commonly used areas. Wiping your puppy's paws before climbing back in would definitely be a good idea as a precaution, however consider that shoes may also carry bacteria and viruses. Parvo is a main concern with young puppies especially considering that it can be life threatening. In order to get infected, the puppy must be exposed to the viral particles found in dog feces, infected soil and anything that can carry the virus around (fomites) such as shoes, car tires, the dog's paws, etc. The virus is transmitted through the fecal-oral route. This doesn't mean that a puppy necessarily has to eat the feces of an infected dog to get the disease, a puppy can get parvo by simply licking his paws after walking on contaminated soil (grass, gravel any surface virtually) or the sole of the owners' shoes. It is also possible for puppies to get it from eating food off the ground. Please ask your vet for specific tips/advice for this trip to play it safe. In regards to maintaining your pup's progress in the potty training department, it's always best to stick to the same exact feeding and going potty schedule that was used at home. However, this might not be feasible on a trip. It's good that you have a plan in place for using the pee pads. Setbacks in potty training are not uncommon when pups are travelling and moving to new places, this happens as well to adult dogs. I hope this help, Have a safe trip, Adrienne

Hello, and welcome to the forums! Any chance to postpone the trip at least until those last vaccination series are done? In general, puppy vaccination boosters are given starting at 6-8 weeks and then are given every 3-4 weeks up to when the puppy is 16 weeks. After the last vaccine at 16 weeks, generally an extra 7-10 days give or take may be needed (ask your vet for specific timeframe recommendations as to when your puppy should be completely immune). This could help considering that you may have to stop frequently to let the puppy go potty and some areas may not be safe with an unvaccinated puppy. Last time we traveled with our dogs across the country, we stopped at several "rest areas" on the highway that weren't as clean as we hoped as they were frequented by many dogs needing potty breaks. Even grassy areas near gasoline stations were unfortunately quite unsanitary.

Thank you for the details. Is this fear at an odd time a new behavior? or has it been happening since the past 7 months? With rescues with an unknown history, it can at times be challenging identifying what may be triggering some of their behaviors. It sounds like she has some sort of conflict going on. A few possible ideas that come to mind are the following: -Can she be scared of the door? I have seen some rescues who were scared of the door closing behind them. I have seen this mostly with storm doors that close erratically at times. Doors that make sounds when being closed may too act as a trigger. -Does her body language appear fearful? Perhaps she wants you to join her outside? Many dogs have conflicts between wanting to be outside and wanting to be with their owners. If she is sent out on her own only in the evening, she may look forward to her evening outings, but then may feel lonely and be in conflict between wanting to stay out and enjoying your company. -If she dislikes having her paws wiped, although you may do it just a few times, it could be that she wants to come in but doesn't know if she's ll get her paws wiped or not, so she's anxious about coming inside. In such a case, it would be important gradually conditioning her to allow her paws to be touched by creating positive associations with lots of praise and high-value treats. -This applies mostly to old dogs: some older dogs may have vision problems or cognitive decline which can cause sometimes some odd nighttime behaviors. However, sometimes young dogs may eye issues too, so this behavior may be worthy of discussing with the vet in a future visit if it happens only in the evening just to rule this possibility out.

Dogs are so interesting beings, we never stop discovering new things about them! As of lately, there's a strong interest in studying them and so much new info comes out from research which is a big plus. Not to mention all the great books coming out as of lately. So much interesting stuff!

I hear you, pee pad training can be quite a challenge and many pups struggle with it. It's often much easier taking them directly out to eliminate if that's a feasible option. Here' a few more ideas that come to mind. -At your pup's age consider that she hasn't yet attained much bladder and bowel control. By the time she realizes it's time to potty, she may have already soiled the area. Better bladder and bowel control come with age. - It helps to cover a large area with pads to up the chances for success, but since your pup likes to shred the pads, this may mean placing several pad holders and pads placed side-by-side to provide a larger surface area, but this can turn costly. -To help set your pup for success, rather than placing the pee pad in the farthest corner of the house, it helps to make it easy-peasy to find. To a small puppy, an average room is quite large and by the time she realizes she has to go potty, she may pee/poop on herself. The smaller her confinement area, the more salient the pee pad will be and the easier it will be to reach. -When you know it's time for your puppy to potty, you can try to keep her contained in an enclosed pen with the pad strategically located at the opposite side from her bed, water bowl and toys. Pups should instinctively avoid soiling where they sleep, eat and play. -Always keep the pee pads' location the same. If you really must change location, make sure to do so gradually inch-by-inch over the course of several days. -Make sure the location of the pee pad is quiet and with not many distractions going on. -Avoid scolding your puppy for missing the pad. Scolding potentially associates your presence with punishment causing the puppy to want to potty secretly out of sight perhaps behind a chair or under a bed. Always praise and reward your puppy for using the pee pads as she should. -Clean up your puppy's accidents with an enzyme-based cleaner which removes traces of residual odors. Consider that to a dog, any residual odors from previous accidents potentially triggers them to soil on them once again. -If your puppy won't potty on the pad, sometimes placing a little drop of urine on it from a previous mess can help your puppy identify the pee pads as the place to potty. -Once your puppy learns to reliably used the pads in his enclosure, you can gradually increase his confinement area (keeping the pads always in the same place) until he graduates to being left loose in the house and remembering where to go. Toys can work great for distracting, especially if they are toys that you can stuff with food or are toys she hasn't seen for a while and you can increase their attractiveness my wiggling them around. Hopefully, she'll learn to find interactive toys more appealing than ripping those pads apart especially now that they are in a pad holder and more difficult to grab!

As I wait for your reply, I will try to address the fear of your cough. This can be enough for a timid dog to be reluctant to come inside the home. One dog I once worked with was afraid of my sneezes, and being that she was with me during allergy season, my powerful "achoos" were not very avoidable! In any case, what helped was for me was to make fake sneezes that were much lower in volume and tossing very high value treats as I made the sneeze. Fake sneeze after fake sneeze, this dog started looking forward to them because the fake sneezes became a cue that treats were coming. I then gradually made fake sneezes that were louder in volume until she got used to those and looked forward to them too. So then when the real sneezes happened (and of course they did), she cared less or looked for treats. This may help your dog and also create positive associations with you and being indoors. The most important thing is to make sure to: 1) make the initial fake coughs as low as possible initially to prevent your dog from being over threshold (over reactive to the point of being scared and even not taking treats) 2) make it crystal clear that the yummy treats happen contingent (and exclusive) to the fake coughs 3) go gradual in presenting louder coughs. If she gets startled at any time, you have raised criteria too quickly, go back to making lower coughing sounds until she habituates to those.

Yup, it comes handy to train both and there may be specific circumstances for that and Jennifer pointed a very good one. Things to ask yourself are: are you planning on enrolling your dog in formal obedience training and possibly getting titles? Are you planning on showing your dog in the conformation ring? Are you ever planning to get a new dog and walk dogs together? In the world of dog competition there are specific words used to depict the side in which the dog is walking with the handler. The formal term for the dog staying on the left is "heel position" while the formal term for the dog staying on the left is just "side." In both cases, what counts is that the dog's head and/or shoulder area are aligned with the handler's leg with both handler and dog obviously facing the same direction. In many dog competitions (obedience, conformation), dogs are required to be trained to walk on the left (heel), however, if you do not plan on competing in any dogs sports in particular, you may choose whatever side you like...BUT...one thing worth mentioning is that many dog owners get their puppy from a young age and never imagine themselves enrolling their dogs in getting formal obedience titles. However, when doggy adolescence is around the corner, some dog owners may reconsider since dogs at this stage end up having a lot of energy and dog owners are always seeking productive ways to channel it and dog competition events are great for that. However, as Jennifer pointed out, there are advantages of having dogs learn to walk both left and right. For instance, let's say that you are walking past a dog who is reactive, in that case, you may want to give as much distance as possible by moving your dog to your left or right so that you are in between both dogs. Or perhaps, your dog is scared of something. In such case, you can ask your dog to pass to the opposite side so that he feels less threatened. So yes, it comes helpful to train dogs how to switch sides just in case so to maneuver around obstacles. With my Rotties Petra and Einstein, I mostly walked Petra and knew with Petra that I wanted to enroll her in some canine events, so we did mostly heel training. Hubby who walked Einstein most of the time trained him "side" instead. This came handy on those days when hubby worked and I had to walk both dogs myself since I had Petra on the left and Kaiser on the right and they never zig-zagged. This was fine until I took Petra to the city and there was a great need at times for her to walk on the right either due to reactive dogs, some forgotten poop in the way or other obstacles. Training her took a bit of time (I almost ended tripping on her in the meanwhile when I asked her to side and she went back to heel) but it was well worth it in the long run. The general use of keeping dogs on the left stems down from the old days when guns were carried by hunters or the military in the right hand. Nowadays, this has remained mostly a tradition, just as mounting horses from the left is still widely used, although it stems from the past so that swords wouldn't harm their horses' backs upon mounting. In any case, regardless of which side you choose (or if you decide to train both), one thing remains the most important: that you train your dog to walk politely on leash without dragging you down the street.

Hi aidanmferguson, Welcome to the forum! How old is Charlie and what breed? Does she spend all day outside and then in the evening spends time indoors? How long have you had her? Where does she eat? What do you mean when you say "we don't want to trick her with the doorbell? These details will be helpful, Thanks!

Hello, and welcome to the forums, Congrats on your new puppy! Shredding pee pads can happen due to boredom, under stimulation (shredding is a way to vent their pent-up needs for play and mental stimulation) and anxiety can cause that too (for example dogs who are boarded and away from their families are known for shredding their beds when they never do it at home.) Some puppies may even decide to start shredding their wee wee pads if they notice that this is the only way they can get their owner's attention. Even if they end up being scolded, these pups may feel that negative attention is better than no attention at all! However, there may be a fun component too and often that's the most likely cause. Because the mere texture of the pee pads is pleasant in the mouth, combined with the fact that the pee pads can be easily ripped apart (which mimics what dogs did naturally in the wild to prey), certainly leads to an entertaining, highly reinforcing experience. It's not surprising, therefore, that when it comes to shredding pee pads to pieces, this behavior can quickly and potentially become habit-forming (as the behavior tends to strengthen and repeat). I am pretty sure this is frustrating as those pee pads are expensive (and rugs are even more!), not to mention it's quite a chore picking up all those minute pieces. On top of that, shredded pee pads defeat their main purpose which is to collect and absorb the puppy's' waste. So what can be done about it? Here are a few ideas: -A good starting point is to make the activity of shredding the pee pads a more difficult task. This can be done by taping the pee pads down to the floor or by placing a heavy object on them so that the puppy cannot remove them. However, some puppies enjoy the "resistance" created and will tug on one side and pull the and shred the pee pads even more. -A better option may be investing in a special pee pad holder (shaped sort of like tray) to help keep the pad in place. The pad tray acts as holder, considering that it has latches purposely designed to lock the pad securely in place and ensuring it stays flat. There are mixed reviews on these trays tough with some owners reporting success and others still reporting the shredding, so this is something worthy of considering. -Alternatively, you can try to invest in washable, reusable housebreaking pads. These are made of fabric and they also help save money in the long run. Many puppy owners have had success with these, although a determined puppy who is bored may even try to rip these apart. -For very stubborn cases, the use of those "grass-like doggy litter boxes" may provide a suitable replacement. It may just take a bit of an adjustment period to transfer dogs to their use. As a plus though, these work great if dog owners ever decide to potty train their dog to go potty outside one day on grass. -If you are at home and can supervise the puppy throughout the day, training the puppy the leave it cue can be helpful and even potentially life saving that day the puppy or dog grabs something potentially harmful. You can find how to train "leave it" here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/ -Ensure your puppy has access to plenty of toys (rotate them every now and then to keep her interest alive and invest in interactive food-dispensing toys that provide a mental workout) and ensure that she is provided sufficient play time, training, socialization and mental stimulation so that he has less opportunity to think about ripping things apart. Puppy classes are great at this age! - If you offer your puppy a toy that she has seen too often, she will likely lose interest in it. Try instead, offering toys that you keep handy for the purpose that are rotated, or even better, a toy that has food in it (stuffed Kong, Buster cube, Kong Wobbler-you can use kibble in this latter one etc) that will keep her busy and reward her for making a good choice. -Last but not least, use management. If you are there to actively supervise, you can tell your puppy "leave it" the moment you notice her attempt to bite/scratch the rug, but when you are not there, either keep her away from the rug area or move the rug away to prevent rehearsal of the problem behavior. To answer your question, this is likely a phase-but don't expect her to grow over it on her own. While pups as they grow older lose interest in tearing things apart just as the (hopefully!) lose interest in nipping all the time and chasing their tails, lack of intervention (or the doing the wrong things) may cause some pups to persist in these behaviors carrying them along past puppyhood. Hope this helps, Keep us posted Best, Adrienne

It all depends on how overstimulated she gets. It is difficult from a keyboard miles away providing important feedback as to whether or not she is ready for interacting freely. Since you mentioned she seems to want to chase the kids and nip/jump on you and chase the cat, it may be best to manage and prevent rehearsal of these behaviors for now as we don't want to establish new habits. Generally, if a new dog appears to get too overstimulated or stressed or I am not sure how the dog may respond to given situations, I like to give such dogs an adjustment period where they can observe and absorb passively behind a baby gate or exercise pen without being overly concerned about movements/sounds happening too close to them and potentially triggering them. This can also help with the habituation process and for the purpose of creating positive associations if dogs appear to startle or get overly responsive to new sounds/abrupt movements. If that's the case, I usually keep treats handy and toss them over the gate when certain sounds/movement take place until the dog no longer exhibits a startled response and it's replaced by a conditioned emotional response (dog hearing noise and looking for a treat rather than startling). During this time, I keep an eye on evident and less evident signs of stress and fear in dogs: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/signs-fear-stress-dogs/ Worth precising is that even with a baby gate, crate or x-pen active supervision is though needed as sometimes children may stick their fingers through the gate/pen/crate and some dogs may nip when this happens. Of course, whether this form of management is needed or not and for how long it's needed varies from dog to dog, which is why I think it's important to have a force-free dog behavior professional assess things and provide assistance with this important introductory period. A baby gate or x-pen is a management tool. This means that they come handy for those times when active supervision and high levels of control are not possible and when one is not certain of how dogs may react to certain things. As for sleeping arrangements, it may be best if she can be crated since you mentioned in a previous post she is already crate trained. Hope this helps! Keep us posted on how the assessment goes.

Hi Kathey.walker2, Yes, keep your kids as calm as possible around her. No running, screaming, excitable high-pitched voices, sudden movements especially for now. She needs to stay as stress-free as possible. If she knows sit, have her sit and reward that with tasty treats every time she sees your kids at a distance (best behind a baby gate for now). Distance can then be decreased when she is calmer with the help of a behavior professional. If she doesn't sit or doesn't know it, just standing and rewarding her for calmly looking is good for now to create positive associations. Do not allow her to rehearse chasing behaviors. She needs to learn to be calm around your kids and your kids calm around her. Although, I have just read in your previous post that she was fine with children and the owner's cat, when dogs are introduced in a new home, stress may cause them to behave in uncharacteristic ways. Many dogs also don't generalize liking one cat to liking other cats in different home. Now a disclaimer is warranted here: Supervision is always important when dogs are around kids or pets, however, wanted to point out that ironically, mishaps happen often when parents/dog owners are right there. Statistics show that when mishaps happen, parents (43 percent) and dog owners (62 percent) were actually present during the incident. The reason for this is likely because 1) dog bites happen very quickly 2) dog bites are not always preceded by obvious signs 3) dog owners/parents may fail to recognize behaviors that children carry out which may be perceived as irritating to the dog 4) dog owners/parents may not be actively supervising and 5) dogs may not have been well socialized to children. This is not to alarm you, but just to emphasize of the importance of never letting your guard down even if you will be right there supervising and having a behavior professional evaluate the dog and address any behavior concerns. Encourage her to target your hands rather than jumping up and nipping at them. Keep your hands low. Targeting is very easy to train and dogs of this age should catch on quickly. You can find how to train targeting here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/. If she just sniffs your hand, that's good enough for now and you can reward that. If she is persistent in jumping, you can try teaching this exercise behind a baby gate. Please create an area for your cat where she can get away safely and introduce them gradually over the course of several days using distance. "Look at that" which focuses on creating positive associations may come handy here too. Make a smacking sound every time your dog sees the cat at a distance and offer tasty treats. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/ If she barks or growls or your cat hisses, this is a sign that they are going over threshold. Here's a read on threshold: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ Let us know how the evaluation with the dog behavior professional goes. He or she can best help in these initial introductions and provide an assessment. Please use a behavior professional who uses force-free methods as we do not want to create more stress in an already stressful situation (being introduced into a new home is always stressful to dogs) or create an adversarial relationship.

Providing mental enrichment is the core of the brain training for dogs course. We want to provide our dogs with mental stimulation and this includes plenty of foraging opportunities. You can accomplish this through interactive toys, food puzzles and several of the brain games outlined in the course. It was once thought that a puppy's sensitive period (a time when puppies are more responsive to certain stimuli and more receptive to learn particular skills) was a window of time that permanently "shut close" once the time frame has elapsed, but the truth is, dogs are always in a learning state. Even when they are sleeping, they are absorbing what they learned. And this includes old dogs too. In fact, you can teach an old dog new tricks, it just might take a little longer. A dog's brain never stops changing and adjusting. By providing puzzles, training new skills and creating mental challenges, new neural connections take place (thanks to the neuroplasticity of the brain). Teaching a dog a new trick or a new skill and providing environmental enrichment is very beneficial to our canine companions. It is an essential component of care and has a positive effect on their welfare and well-being. Dog breeders are starting to acknowledge the importance of this and are beginning to challenge their pups when young in their care so to produce more stable-minded and confident pups. There are many toys and puzzles on the market nowadays. Einstein still loves to play the muffin tin game (it's in the brain training course) and he loves his Kong Wobbler. I like the Kong Wobbler because of its durability (it has survived a large number of dogs with only some teeth scratches here and there) and its unpredictable movements. Like Jennifer pointed out, durability to a great extent is based on owner supervision considering that dogs may be prone to destroy these toys if not supervised.

If you will be seeing a veterinary behaviorist, that's extra helpful because these are veterinarians specializing in behavior so they are very adept in screening for medical issues that can trigger changes in behavior. I wouldn't though rely entirely on the assessment of a dog trainer or a behavior consultant for vision issues as there are risks they may miss something. For sake of an example, not too long ago a dog trainer was called to help with a dog who was acting very anxious at night. The dog trainer chalked it up to the dog having some negative experience at night or reacting to some night-time noises. However, turned out, this dog was actually developing the initial signs of PRA, an eye condition causing degenerative changes to the photoreceptor cells known to cause dogs not to see well at night. Keep us posted on how things go with Blue!

How old is your new dog going to be once in your home? If older than 16 weeks, and fully vaccinated, generally then a walk around the local park is perfectly fine. This can help you assess your new dog's level of training and responsiveness towards you and how she behaves in an area with distractions. The first couple of days, it's OK to just let her be and get used to her new place and create positive associations with all the new noises, sights sounds etc. if she shows any signs of hesitancy. However, soon afterwards, you want to start training polite leash manners with the use of high-value treats, starting first in a quiet area, then practicing in the yard (if you have one), then around the neighborhood, and then around more distracting environments. The sooner you start training the better. And if you can establish a routine (or follow the routine of the previous owner if she had one), that can help her feel reassured. As per the order of skills, you may find it helpful to train a little bit of everything so that you have variety and can mix-match during training to prevent those sessions from getting too boring. Most important would be sits (easy to train and a polite sit before meal, before putting the leash on are great to work on impulse control), recalls (for obvious reasons), leave its/drop its (as they are life savers) and polite walking during walks. If she is a puller, it may feel like it takes forever initially to get somewhere but it's worth the time to teach that a loose leash gets you moving and a tense leash stops you in your tracks. Then, when not training, it's a good idea to invest some time in brain games to keep her busy and help her feel more confident. Something to consider with new dogs, is what's known as the "honeymoon period" during which a dog may initially act inhibited and rather suppressed, and then gradually starts opening up more and more. Once dogs feel more comfy and make themselves more at home, this is when some behavior issues may pop up, but the good news is that, if tackled quickly enough, they can be fixed before allowed to put roots. Congrats, on your new addition! Best, Adrienne

Hello ahmee.bronaugh, Welcome to the forums! Let me know if after reading the link, you have any additional questions. Thanks Jennifer for posting that link:)

Hello flo.jorgensen, Welcome to the forums! Interesting behavior. Usually, dogs who are too eager to get the treats don't lie down, they rather stay up and keep on trying to get access to the treat bag or treats and have a hard time focusing on the training at task. Perhaps she is sort of going on strike or giving up? Where do you keep the treats when training her to target?

"I had been taking him to training every fortnight to socialise with other dogs as he is so aggressive towards them. no real apparent reason...no bad experiences that I know of and I've had him since puppy, he first showed signs at three months at puppy school and it worsened from then on. He seemed to progress a bit where I could be around the other dogs (he'd still lunge and bark if I let my guard down a little) but has regressed right back and maybe worse since I stopped classes. He will walk well when it's just him and me. Sorry for long post. I'm really worried for him as there just seems to be no reason for his reactiveness. And the fact that it started when he was a 3month old." It is concerning that the fear appeared in puppy school, but not for the fact that it popped up, but because it sounds like those running the class provided you with little info on what to do about it? Just guessing. That's a shame considering that issues as such can be helped a great lot when tackled from a young age as such and providing continuing socialization. With border collies not liking other dogs much, these are the possible dynamics and causes that come to mind. Herding instincts at play Border collies are herding dogs, and as such, they were used to control the movement of sheep as a living back in the days. As herding dogs, border collies are strongly attracted to movement, at a much greater extent compared to dogs primarily bred for being lap dogs and for providing companionship. Anything that moves can potentially trigger a border collie's interest and instinct to chase and herd. Border collies tend to stare intently at sheep, and the same behavior can be seen upon spotting a dog at a distance. The staring behavior is known as "giving eye." The purpose of this stare it to control the flock of sheep. Apparently, upon staring sheep, the sheep respond to it naturally because it mimics a wolves' tactic of selecting a victim in the herd before chasing. The inability for a border collie to herd can cause frustration which can lead to the border collie "venting" by barking and lunging at moving stimuli, and that often includes other dogs. The behavior to herd and drive away is instinctive and more likely to be seen in border collies who aren't provided sufficient outlets for their high levels of energy and instinctive behaviors. A Matter of Fear A lot of dog barking and lunging at other dogs is triggered by fear. In this case, the barking and lunging is a distance-increasing behavior. In other words, the dog is asking for space because he's not comfortable having other dogs around. This may stem from a lack of socialization, a negative experience, but it can also be genetic. Some dogs may be predisposed to being more fearful compared to others. This can may start even before being born. If mother dog is stressed during pregnancy, the stress hormones circulating in the bloodstream may lead to alterations in the brain structures of the developing puppies leading to behavioral deficits such as excess reactivity and the inability to cope and adapt to challenges and threats. In border collies though, there may be an exacerbating element due to this breed's instincts. While lunging and barking due to fear can be pretty common in any dog, it must be considered that in a border collie the behavior can be highly reinforcing because its often coupled with the strong instinctive herding behaviours described above. A Matter of Barrier Frustration And then you may stumble upon border collies who bark and lunge at other dogs once again because they are frustrated, but this time because they want to meet and greet any dogs they see. These dogs may at a first glance appear aggressive, but then, if you let them off leash, they love playing with other dogs and demonstrate proper social skills. Barrier frustration is therefore seen in dogs who are very excited and can't contain themselves. If they are restrained by a leash or a fence, window or other barrier, they will therefore get frustrated causing the explosion of barking and lunging. Unlike dogs who are undersocialized and fearful and bark and lunge to increase distance, these dogs bark and lunge because they want to decrease distance and wish to engage in affiliative, social behaviors. Often, the dogs acting this way are older puppies and young dogs. These border collies do not hate dogs, although it may look like it. A Few Behavior Quirks Many dog breeds have some quirks and border collies may have their own. Of course, this doesn't apply to all border collies as all dogs are individuals, but this may be worthy of mentioning. Some border collie may have a lower tolerance of rude or overbearing dog behaviors and can be quite quick in telling the rude dog off. Dogs who are very bouncy and all in your face, may get a snarl from a border collie to tell them to back off. This may be perceived as aggression, but it's actually a way to prevent aggression if the other dog understands what it means and backs off. In a sort of way, it's like walking down the street and a complete stranger comes up to you and gives you a big bear hug. Of course, such level of confidence will likely put you are on the defensive: "who in the world are you?" Border collies may therefore dislike it when a big bouncy happy-go-lucky Lab or golden comes up to them and tries to jump or put his face too close to theirs. These to the border collie are all obnoxious, ill-manners that may be worthy of correcting. We are talking about a serious all-business working dog here after all! Some border collies may enjoy playing with other dogs as puppies, but then as they start maturing they get more discriminative over who to befriend. Some just aren't comfortable mingling and wrestling with unknown dogs and do better with a few well-known friends. Some things that come to mind when on leash: Many leashed dogs feels more vulnerable when on leash, and if you are shortening the leash every time you see another dog approach, you may be communicating your feelings of impending danger through the leash, causing your dog to go straight into alarm mode. Instead of tightening the leash, try training your dog to perform an emergency u-turn the moment you see a dog coming your way. Keep your dog under threshold. If your border collies gets nervous when other dogs are nearby, provide him with more distance. Find a distance where he is less likely to react or reacts with less intensity and he is more responsive to you. If your border collie barks and lunges from fear/dislike of other dogs, work on creating positive association by using high-value treats. A great behavior modification exercise for reactive dogs is the "Look at That Dog" game. You can find how to work on this and the emergency u-turn in the archive. Working with a professional in person works best for safety and correct implementation of behavior modification. It sounds like you are enrolled in socialization classes already. The really helpful ones are the ones that focus on working dogs under threshold by exposing them to calm, stimuli dogs using counterconditioning with desensitization. Reactive Rover classes are now offered in many places. I hope this helps, Best, Adrienne

Hi Manida Morell, Sorry to hear you have been facing some issues with your border collie. The barking at inanimate objects often stems from fear much like a startling response of "bark, first, think later" sort of thing. Your dogs is now 14 months, and there is belief that there is a second fear period going on at this time so that may be a possibility. We see fear periods take place in puppies between the ages of 8-10 weeks and then between 6 and 14 months. This fear period is believed to be tied to the dog's growth spurts and in large breeds it may develop later compared to a smaller dog. Often, this stage is also known as the "teenage flakiness" stage. Reactivity levels rise during this stage causing the dog to act defensively. Owners often report the fear seems to pop out of nowhere. Dogs appear fearful of novel stimuli or stimuli met before but that did not trigger significant reactions. As in the first fear period, it is best to avoid traumatic or overwhelming experiences. During such a stage, it helps to continue socializing as much as possible but without exposing your dog to overwhelming situations Create positive associations through counter-conditioning Build confidence through training and confidence building sports and exercises Avoid traumatic experiences during this delicate phase. The barking in reaction to the chihuahua's barking I have seen it occur when dogs feed off other dog's emotions, but aren't sure exactly what is the culprit. Again, they' ll bark first react later and it sounds like Blue is barking and then trying to orient to the source of all the commotion. You mention possible issues with his vision. I know your trainer excluded this, but really only a vet can test a dog's vision with the use of an ophthalmoscope and possible referral to an ophthalmologist.

Hi Lionelpang2002, Welcome to the forums! The growling may be concerning, but it is also true that puppies often growl in play and they can play very rough at times, especially when they tug on clothing or use our body parts as a game of tug. In a case like yours, it would be important to provide redirection and focus on rewarding alternate behaviors to the biting. Here are some tips/ methods that may help you out: -Avoid encouraging rough play by wrestling or offering a hand or arm to grab onto. -Avoid correcting puppy nipping by smacking puppies on the nose, closing their mouths with hands, pushing them away or alpha rolling them. This may trigger biting, but this time, no longer out of play, but defensively. -Redirect your puppy to an alternate activity any time you see him approaching you with the intent to bite. Carry balls in your pocket or a tug toy to shift his focus. As soon as you see your puppy approach you with the intent to bite, toss the ball in the opposite direction (make it extra fun!) or use a flirt pole (stick with a stuffed animal attached one end). The goal is to find a way to make these toys much more interesting, rewarding and fun to interact with than your body. Once your puppy gets a hang of it, introduce even some obedience training by asking for a sit before tossing the ball. -One great thing to teach mouthy puppies is targeting. By training hand targeting and rewarding this behavior, you teach puppies another way to interact more kindly with hands. You can find how to train this helpful behavior here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ - You can train him to sit when you see him approaching you and reward him by tossing a treat/piece of kibble away. Do this as often as needed. You should see an increase in the sitting behavior and a decrease in the nipping behavior overtime as sitting and catching tossed treats are more fun! -You can teach him to do some attention heeling inside the home (no leash needed), if he can stay so focused on biting your hands or legs, he can eventually be taught to stay focused on your eyes if you make the activity rewarding. Every time he makes eye contact with you, toss a treat across the room so that he gets a workout too. Now, with the short attention span of puppies, don't expect to get long attention, but just a quick glance works for now. After several reps, he should approach you to make eye contact in exchange for a tossed treat, rather than focus on your legs or hands. You can find how to train attention heeling in the behavior 101 section. -You can find some bite inhibition games here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/ -Encourage brain games and fun games such as hide-and-seek as outlined in the brain training for dogs section. -Get your puppy used to handling (having his ears touched, paws touched, coat brushed) by creating positive associations with treats. Every time you touch your puppy, feed him a treat until he seems to tolerate handling better. Practice often. -Help your puppy learn to be delicate with his jaws by training him to take treat gently: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/train-dog-take-treats-gently/ -Puppy classes offer a good opportunity to train your puppy manners and how to properly interact with other dogs and people and help with the important socialization stage which closes around 16 weeks. Play with other puppies can provide an outlet for their desire to bite and they can refine their biting through feedback from other puppies. Look for classes run by experienced trainers and inquire on their policies and procedures for preventing infectious diseases. -When all of your puppy's needs are met and he keeps nipping, consider that he may just be cranky and in need of a nap. Provide him with a dark quiet area to rest with a safe chew toy. Chances are, he'll chew the toy a bit and then fall soundly asleep. -Remember that learning (of good and bad behaviors) always takes place in all your interactions with your puppy. If you allow your puppy to bite and hold on, you are allowing the behavior to put roots and persist. Soon, it becomes the pup's favorite way to interact. Catching your puppy before he has the opportunity to latch on by redirection is important. You may find it helpful to carry a treat bag filled with some kibble on you at all times so to provide opportunities to make good choices. Toss the kibble across the room to prevent him from latching on when you see him approach you. This for the most part initially until you puppy learns to seek alternate forms of entertainment (sitting, hand targeting etc) -If you search puppy biting or puppy nipping in the search bar of this forum you will find many others dealing with similar issues and lots of other tips and ideas. -It generally takes several weeks or even months to reduce puppy biting and the reduction in nipping to a certain extent is part of of the pup maturing and understanding that we are not playmates to play with using their mouths in a rough manner, but that we are a different species with thin skin and that we play and interact with them in different ways. You may have to try several of the above options and see what works best. Redirection to a rewarding treat-dispensing toy or game that uses treats should be quite easy at this age if these activities are made extra rewarding. Teaching an alternate behavior is also important because dogs cannot misbehave if they are busy making eye contact, targeting hands or sitting! It may take a bit of time though to teach these alternate behaviors fluently but it is sure worth the time and effort. In the meanwhile, tossing a ball or pieces of kibble or providing a food dispensing toy can help redirect so that the behavior of latching on and biting is prevented to put further roots. Consider that biting is rewarded by moving away or providing resistance (which is what encourages dogs to latch on more as we become human tug toys to them) By providing outlets for his energy and needs for mental stimulation and reinforcing appropriate behaviors, you should eventually start seeing a decrease in the nipping behavior. Keep track of it so to measure whether things are getting better with time. Also, monitor when the biting seems to occur the most so to make adjustments (if when tired, provide the opportunity to nap, if when you walk around, provide games based on movement like tossing kibble or toys etc ) If you think your puppy is acting aggressively rather than play, it would be important consulting with a dog behavior consultant for an assessment and implementation of behavior modification. I hope this helps, Best, Adrienne