Adrienne Farricelli

Hi Sarahfryberg, That does sound scary! Although rough dog play in puppies and dogs can often look scary, especially when they're playing tug with our pants with a wild look on their faces. Can you provide more details on when this exactly happens? Like is it when you're still holding the ball, after you have tossed the ball or like when she picked up the ball and then gets tired of playing? Are you standing, walking or bending down when this happens?

Hello, and welcome to the forums, It sounds like your puppy is barking either to entice you to go back to playing with her or perhaps out of frustration of having lost her playmate. I can see this behavior occurring if your "oww" is followed by withdrawal from play and she's particularly upset about it. Now, this may also be an extinction burst (if this barking didn't happen before and you are seeing it now) if you have been saying "oww" and withdrawing from play for some time and your dog is starting to get the idea that when biting hard she is losing her playmate. In other words it's as if she's saying "I want to play with you and since my biting doesn't get you to interact with me, I will now try by barking." You see this behavior in puppy play when another puppy decides to do something else and one puppy instead wants to continue playing. In such cases, you can try to stick to your plan, keep on saying "oww" and withdrawing from play, and when she barks in protest, walk away. This will point out to her that her barking won't get you to interact with her in any way, and actually makes things worse, with you leaving. But if she is very persistent (like while you are leaving she latches on your legs) or your "oww" seems to stimulate her even more, you can skip the "oww" method and go straight to working on training alternate behaviors to the biting when she is in play mode (which all puppies should learn in any case). These alternate behaviors revolve around teaching her how to interact productively with you but also teaching her to play solo with interactive toys when you cannot actively train. In the midst of all this, just like with kids, the puppy should also have quiet time (many puppies misbehave when they are cranky and tired but still overstimulated) and should therefore be provided with a quiet/dark place (like a crate covered with a blanket) to settle down after chewing a puppy-safe chew toy. Here's how to make the crate a great place: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/ Now, upon your puppy approaching you with the intent to play, start asking for a replacement behavior (that you have trained prior, to the point of a certain level of fluency). You have several options as to what replacement behaviors to use. They all offer the puppy an opportunity to perform a behaviors that is incompatible with biting. Teaching these replacement behaviors requires you to carry a treat bag on you during the day so that you are a ready to redirect at a moment's notice when you notice her approaching you with the intent of playing. Kibble rather than treats can be used if concerned about extra calories or digestive upset. With your pup's daily ration (one kibble tossed across the room to reinforce a wanted behavior) you should have lots of opportunities to reinforce desired behaviors while your pup gets a workout and you incorporate some obedience training presented in a fun way. I like to use hand targeting as a replacement behavior for nipping. With hand targeting, your puppy learns that it's more rewarding touching your hand with her nose rather than biting. Here' how to teach targeting: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ Alternatively, you can use 'sit." Here's how to train sit https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/sit/As your puppy approaches, say "sit" and then reward by tossing the kibble/treat the opposite way. This again works great because you are adding obedience training, giving your puppy a workout and preventing her from rehearsing the troublesome behavior. Win-win! What to do in the meanwhile, prior to your pup learning the replacement behavior/behaviors well? As you work on training a replacement behavior, you may wish to redirect her when she approaches to some interactive toy with treats inside or you can toss a puppy-safe ball the opposite direction. Here are several fun games to train bite inhibition: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/ Although you aim to stop a puppy from biting hands, you don't want a puppy to stop all forms of mouthing altogether. Puppies need to learn how to inhibit their bite (put less pressure) before their jaws develop and they are able to inflict quite some serious damage. As tempting as it may feel to start rough-housing or wrestling with the puppy to teach this valuable lesson, it is best to refrain from doing so as this only teaches the pup to play rough. Instead, try using a tug-toy in lieu of your hands. Should your puppy ever miss and bite your hands, drop the toy and stop playing. Investing in intermediary tools to use in lieu of arms and hands can help pups learn that hands are not for play. Redirect your puppy's or dog's intent to bite body parts to biting tug toys, ropes and towels. Praise him when he makes choices. Puppies need to learn that human skin is extra sensitive. An option to train this is to keep a treat in your closed hand and release only when the pup is gentle with his mouth. Here's a guide on training "gentleness pays."https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/train-dog-take-treats-gently/ Puppy classes (run by dog trainers and with a great emphasis put in hygiene and prevention of infectious diseases) can turn helpful as it provides puppies the opportunity to play with other pups and further refine their social skils/bite inhibition and opportunities for socialization with humans, which is f primary importance as the window closes at 16 weeks. Last but not least, provide more training, mental stimulation and brain games (pick brain games that allow her to chase things and get rewards out of them like kibble out of a bottle (supervised) or a Kong Wobbler) so that she should seek them more and more, which can turn your hands pretty boring after a while because she gets more out of these activities when she's bored. Most puppies fortunately at some point outgrow nipping just as they outgrow biting and chasing their tails because they find more reinforcement from other activities in their environment. Failure to provide these other activities may lead though to problematic behaviors persisting because the puppy has nothing better to do and there are no outlets for pent-up energy and lack of mental stimulation. Hope this helps, Best, Adrienne

You are very welcome, keep up the great work! You have a smart pup and you are very dedicated, these combos do very well in training as a team. Kudos to both of you! Best, Adrienne

Great to hear you are seeing already some changes, keep up the great work!

As seen, things can be quite complex at times when it comes to deciphering behavior!Here are some ideas that come to mind, but these are just general ways of tackling behaviors we are not too sure about what may be triggering them. 1) Since it sounds like the female dog on walks sets off the alarm (barking) and your male dog is very responsive to it, it would be ideal walking both dogs separately at least until they have better impulse control and their emotions are better under check. I know this is a pain but it really helps set the foundation that is needed. 2) During walks, it would be important training each dog to not react to other dogs approaching. This can be easier said than done though if you live in an area where there are off leash dogs. This is my big pet peeve. Off leash dogs are know for ruining some good training and even undoing years of training in service dogs. A good starting point is therefore finding an area where dogs are mostly walked on leash (where leash laws are in place) or dogs are behind property fences and to practice initially in these areas. 3) When practicing in these areas it's important that each dog is under threshold on their initial individual walks. When is a dog over threshold? It's that point where your dog is no longer capable of obeying your commands and appears to no longer have a brain. When your dog reaches this point of no return, you can try to pull, yank, shout and even dangle a juicy piece of steak as much as you can, but it does not seem to make its way to your dog's brain. It almost looks like all the circuits are off and the brain is unplugged. Working your dog over the threshold, will not help your dog learn anything other than rehearsing the undesired behaviors. Dogs learn best when they are put into a situation where they can cognitively function. In order to resume some reasoning, therefore you need to work UNDER the threshold. This often means keeping initially distance from other dogs. Just taking a step back can help regain some control. Here is a general guide on dog threshold levels: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ 4) Train focus commands that offer an alternate behavior to the barking for your female. Exercises such as Look at That or Open bar/closed bar which aim to change the emotional response at the sight of other dogs are likely a good starting point for your female. Attention heeling may benefit your male if he doesn't show signs of being reactive to other dogs when being walked alone. Your female may too be trained in attention heeling once she is has shown the ability to associate the presence of other dogs with good things (high-value treats) https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/open-bar-closed-bar/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ Practice these a lot at home, then in the yard. You need to make the behavior extra fluent before going on walks. 5) Make sure you use high value treats. On walks, they have to be very, very high-value treats. Consider that what works at home and in the yard, won't likely work in overly stimulating environments. You may also find it helpful coordinating the sessions when your dog's stomach is empty so to increase saliency of the treats. A full tummy is not very motivating. 6) Gauge progress and setbacks. If your dogs shows signs of progress from a certain distance for some time, then it's likely time to reduce distance. You must very gradually, work your way up to more distracting environments with dogs at a closer distance where your dog still doesn't react. If your dog loses focus on you, consider that he/she might not be ready for that certain level of distraction or he may be tired if you have practiced too long. Take a few steps back and resume from there or end the training on a positive note and resume the training another day. 7) Daily walks. While distance can help keep a dog better under threshold so does frequency of walks and practicing often. Daily walks are important. Seeing dogs only every now and then increases their saliency. There is a phenomenon known as "suburban dog syndrome" which takes place in dogs who live in suburban areas and are reactive to seeing dogs because they are not frequent sights. If you walk your dog only on weekends or every now and then, things get more difficult. A daily walk or two, even if short (10-15 minutes) and just seeing one dog at a distance and your dog showing a bit of progress can suffix and you can call it a day. 8) If dogs are off leash and coming close, you may want to train the emergency u- turn to avoid your dog from going over threshold. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/emergency-u-turn/ 9)Once there is progress, practice with a friend with a mellow dog (or even better, a dog trainer who has a bomb-proof dog). Only do this if your dogs have proven themselves doing well seeing other dogs on walks. Have him/her hold her/his dog on leash at a distance your dog is under threshold and practice the alternate behavior exercises. If all goes well, over several sessions, you can gradually decrease distance and perhaps do parallel-walking exercises with you on one sidewalk and your friend on the opposite sidewalk. 10) Once both your dogs are doing well on their solo walks and then with the help of a friend/dog trainer with a mellow dog, then it may be possible to add the distraction of each other dog (always one dog per handler!) and practice again walking with a friend with a mellow dog with the dogs initially having distance and then gradually closing the gap paying attention to body language and preventing setbacks. All dogs should be well under control. A front-attachment harness like the Easy Walk harness may help. 11) It might be best avoiding non-organized group play as in dogs parks as it appears that these induce fighting. Many dogs like to play the "fun police" role and this takes place when a dog sees conflict among two dogs and comes rushing and getting in between to stop the two fighting parties. Often though this may lead to more trouble with the end result of three fighting dogs. GSD like Rottweilers often tends to become more "serious" as they mature and may no longer do too well mingling with a bunch of stranger dogs or rowdy dogs. Some dogs do best with a few playmates who have proven to get along and share similar play styles, but it might be best to avoid play sessions with both your female and male dog present together if these have a history of leading to squabbles. Consider as well that many neutered dogs dislike intact male dogs and intact male dogs are often attacked. Now, I must emphasize that behavior modification for reactivity towards other dogs is quite a complex process. There are risks for setbacks if we don't have a very controlled setting and if dogs may fight, there are always risks for a redirected bite to the owners/handlers when attempting to separate them. For this reason, the safest and best option is to hire a behavior professional using humane, force-free behavior modification. This may also be the best option since we do not know with certainty if your male GSD dog is truly acting protective of the female dog or whether there are other dynamics going on. A behavior consultant (generally not a dog trainer, unless it's one very well versed in behavior and behavior modification) is the best person to assess/evaluate the behavior and propose a behavior modification protocol based on his/her in-person observations. I hope this helps! Best, Adrienne Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your dog is showing signs of aggression, please consult with a behavior professional for safety and correct behavior modification implementation based on an in-person assessment/observation.

Thank you for the additional details, they are very helpful. It sounds like from your description that your male dog may be exhibiting distance-increasing behaviors (behaviors meant to increase distance and send other dogs away) and that this behavior is contingent upon other dogs approaching during walks. Based on the fact that both dogs are walked together, it may be a bit challenging without seeing the behavior to pinpoint whether this behavior is contingent upon dogs approaching the female GSD in particular, or just the mere fact of them simply approaching. There are two contributing factors that may cause this behavior: 1) the isolation required for preventing infectious diseases can cause dogs to miss out the important window of socialization (that closes around 12 to 16 weeks) which should include (among many other things) play with other puppies/exposure to dogs in a potentially "safe" environment (e.g. puppy socialization classes where great emphasis is put in disinfecting floors and surfaces and requiring proof of initial vaccinations) 2) The effect of hormones: With your male being 1.6 and your female now 1 year, there are many things going on at a hormonal level. Your female most likely went into heat (or is about to for those few late cases) and these hormonal fluctuations may play a role into the behavior you may be seeing. If your dog is truly protective of your female, the protective behavior may exacerbate in those three weeks when the female dog is in heat. I know of some breeders who cannot walk their dams and studs together for the simple fact that the males act protective and this happens as well when the female dog is in anestrus. Setting hormones aside, it can sometimes still happen that a male dog may instinctively feel the need to act protective of a female dog if she is perceived as a resource that is worthy of protecting. The male dog may have a strong emotional attachment to the female dog (he plays with her, has strongly bonded with her), but there may also be still some elements connected to instinctive competitiveness over the mere fact that she is a female. When such dogs are neutered, competitiveness towards other males may reduce, but there are always learned components when it comes to behavior that may persist. And then we must consider that sometimes dog behavior can be deceiving. It may happen that what looks like protectiveness is actually simply a matter of the dog not being comfortable with other dogs being around. For instance, if you walk your male and female dogs together and your male acts defensive every time another dog comes close, there may be chances that he's not really acting protective of the female dog, but just doesn't appreciate the proximity of other dogs. A way to test this theory is to see how the male dog behaves when walked alone with the female dog no longer around. Of course, this trial can't provide 100 percent reliability considering that strongly rehearsed dog behaviors may repeat and generalize to the point of occurring even in absence of the inciting original trigger, however, it's surely something interesting to test out. Another differential to consider, especially if the behavior happens mostly on leash, is barrier frustration. These dogs may seem like they are acting protective or aggressive, but they are just frustrated about the fact that they can't be free to go meet and play with other dogs. They will therefore bark and lunge and even bite if they are aroused enough. These dogs are normally very friendly with other dogs when off leash, and have a great history of playing well with them with no incidents. Now, your male sounds like he has an history of a attacking during play, but we are not sure if this would have happened if your female dog was not there.

Hi Luminagtp, Welcome the the forums! I would like some more information. These questions are simply to gather more information about your dogs' behavior history (in other words, if you don't know what happens in the below scenarios, don't try to expose your dogs to these situations just to see how it goes.) How is your male on and off leash with other dogs alone (without the female dog around)? How are your male and female off leash with other dogs when they are together? When you state he has some doggy friends are these encountered on leash or off leash? at a dog park? and is your female around and he doesn't seem to mind? When you say he attacks other dogs what are you seeing (growling, lunging, biting?) And if biting any history of injuries? Are they both intact or are they spayed and neutered? Does you male seem to attack more intact males? or does he do so with any dog regardless of gender and reproductive status? Are they walked both together by one person? or one dog per person? How does your male dog react to other dogs approaching when your female is not around? Thanks!

Hello, Welcome back! You have the right tool, all your puppy needs at this point is training and better impulse control. She's a very young puppy so this is something that will come with guidance, training and maturity. No worries, she's not planning on being your boss and taking over. Dogs who pull don't do so because they are secretly plotting to be in control (you can read more about this here:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dominance/), but just simply because pulling is reinforcing (it gets them closer to what they would like to explore-sort of like excited children in a toy store rushing up to toys here and there). Dogs who pull just haven't been taught that they should walk closely besides you. On top of that, dogs have a reflex known as the opposition reflex which makes them pull forward stronger when they are pulled back. Hence, the importance of training loose-leash walking. If she pulls to the point of choking, you can switch to a no-pull harness (Easy Walk harness, Sensible harness, Walk Your Dog with Love harness etc) for puppies. A no-pull harness should have a front clip in the middle of the chest that allows you to attach the leash to it. If you visit a pet store, ask the clerks to help you out and find the right fit. The harness along with training, should help tackle this issue. Start training good walking manners also by asking your puppy to sit when you attach the leash and sit politely at the door before opening. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/college/open-sesame/ Please note: although open sesame is in the college section of brain games it's there because it can be particularly difficult to train with dogs who have a history of dashing out the door, and if on leash, pulling owners outside. Puppies offer more of a blank slate and therefore the ideal groundwork for starting off well. I have successfully taught this to young puppies, although it can take a bit of time to get them to hold a perfect stay with the door open, but it's a good starting point on teaching better impulse control. Hope this helps! Best, Adrienne

Hello Sarahfryberg, Welcome to the forums! Congrats in getting a new puppy. There are two different ways to tackle an issue as such. One of them is to place the sticky note on the floor (when your pup is in another room or held on the leash by a helper or distracted with a treat tossed the opposite way as you attach it) and be extremely fast to click/treat before your pup has a chance to grab the sticky note. Click/treat for looking at it, then walking towards it, then just lowering the head, then either targeting with nose or paws. Rep after rep, your pup should learn that it's far more rewarding to just interact with the sticky note rather than attack it. Does your puppy actually ingest the sticky note? or just grabs it and shreds it to pieces? If she actually eats it all or parts of it, you may want to use a different target. An alternate option is a target stick or a ruler or a wooden spoon. Considering your puppy's tendency to eat things laying on the floor, it would be important to train leave it and drop it as outlined in the obedience section of course. Avoid practicing with items though that she may ingest for now. Best, Adrienne

Hi Jennifer, This is a very common problem. It often happens that in households some family members are more invested in the training than others or there is one who is more skilled or motivated etc. I wouldn't be worried about poisoning the cue (to do that one would have to call a dog and make something negative happen like giving a bath or nail trim to a dog who hates baths or nail trims). With cases as such, the risk is learned irrelevance, a phenomenon where the cue loses it meaning/potency. However fortunately dogs are quite forgiving and they can learn the difference between a real recall and nicknames and other ways/tonalities of being called. For this reason it's a good idea to have a way of calling dogs (an emergency recall) that is unique sounding. For my dogs it was their name followed by the word come!, said in a certain tone. My other family members/acquaintances always used nicknames or used a different way/tone to call so there was never risk to wreck my recall! I got my hubby onboard for serious recall training (using my same words/tone) by doing recalls on walks. He would be on side of the road and me on the other and we would take turns calling and reinforcing. My dad used to do something very similar to what you are describing. He would tell my dogs "that's enough!"while still petting my dogs. I had to explain to him that that was conflicting information. If he wanted to say "that's enough" his body language had to be consistent with his words. It took me reminding him several times, but then he got it. When results are seen in dog training, that's positive reinforcement to the owner too so with my dogs leaving, he soon did more and more "that's enough" correctly!

Hi Linda Wig, Welcome to the forum! You are likely describing a case of post-prandial zoomies. Technically known as "Frenetic Random Activity Periods" (FRAP), or more informally, "puppy crazies," dog zoomies are simply periods of high activity. These moments of hyper behaviors are simply evoked by the presence of excess of energy occurring in certain contexts. Cases of zoomies are particularly popular among puppies and young dogs; however, you can briefly see them happen even in the oldsters every now and then. Typically, dogs with a serious case of zoomies will develop a crazy, play-face look as they perform a play bow with the tail wagging wildly side-by-side. Next, they take off zipping up and down hallways with a hunched-up posture, dashing around tables and bouncing off couches. New puppy owners sometimes describe them as episodes where their puppies appear to be "possessed by the devil." No joke! Zoomies are particularly popular in certain contexts. There are cases of dogs getting the zoomies after a bath or dogs getting the zoomies after pooping. Zoomies though can also be seen after meals, in particular after dinner. When you own multiple dogs, often dogs with the zoomies play with other dogs with the zoomies (zoomies are contagious) and they drain excess energy this way, but it sounds like your dog is trying to entice you to play and be her playmate. Her nipping and barking at you is likely her way of saying "hey, you, get off the couch and come play with me." Many dogs experience this peak of energy in the evenings. Jennifer has offered some great ideas on how to provide a mental workout in that busy teenager (or close to be teenager) brain. Here's a read about doggy adolescence. Many dog owners wonder what happened to their pups as they approach this testing phase. Here's some info about it: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ Here are links to some of the games mentioned: Treasure hunt game: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/ The shell game: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/college/the-shell-game/ Other helpful games: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/jazz-up-and-settle-down/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-muffin-game/ -Also, nosework is known for tiring dogs. You can place some food in one or two small boxes placed among several other empty boxes and let her "search." I let Einstein destroy the boxes because we accumulate many when getting things shipped and when he breaks them it's easier to place them in the trash bin. He knows he can break boxes only when told to so (we put the behavior on cue) so he normally leaves other boxes around the home alone. However, you can skip the box destruction option (best if you ever decide to formally compete in nosework) and just have her signal to you and you open the box, or you can just keep the food in an open box surrounded by other open boxes without food. Whichever activity you decide to try, make sure you offer it before she starts the barking/nipping behavior/ zoomies or when she is calm. If you decide to do any of the activities when she is already barking or nipping at you, she may come to believe that her barking/nipping has evoked the activity, so next day, she'll start barking and nipping until you offer the activity. Other ideas that come to mind: -Invite your dog to burn off some steam in the yard. -Walk your dog in the evening right after meals if feasible. -Consider crankiness. Sometimes puppies get cranky and start acting out when they are very tired. If your puppy receives enough exercise and mental stimulation, it could be your pup just needs to learn how to settle down and nap. After a few minutes of brain games or play time, you can try providing a quiet spot and a quiet activity (such as gnawing on a safe chew toy that you provide only at this time of the day) until your pup falls soundly asleep.

You are very welcome! Happy training and keep us posted on her progress. Best, Adrienne

Hello Nim00053, Welcome to the forums! You are on the right track with your 8 month "pup" and it's great to hear that you are getting better control with walking. It sounds like though you are struggling with distractions and your dog is over threshold when there are humans or dogs around. There are several things you can do to ameliorate the situation but it will need lots of practice and working at a distance at first and then gradually decreasing distance. Here are some tips: - Invest in a no-pull harness. If your dog is large and difficult to control on walks, try to invest in a front-attachment harness (harness where the leash attaches to a clip in the middle of the dog's chest). Examples of these are Premier's Easy Walk Harness, the Walk Your Dog with Love Harness and the Sensation harness. Hopping on the back legs when hitting the end of the leash is often a strategy dogs use to gain more leverage/momentum to gain an extra inch or two closer to what they would like to reach. While a no-pull harness can help reduce pulling, it's important to note that it's just one part of the resolution of the problem. It won't magically stop your dog from pulling and trying to run up to people or other dogs. In order to set your dog for success, you will also have to implement some training under threshold. - Work under the threshold. What is the threshold? It's that fine line where your dog is no longer capable of obeying your commands and appears to no longer have a brain. When your dog reaches this point of no return, you can try to pull, yank, shout and even dangle a juicy piece of steak as much as you can, but it does not seem to make its way to your dog's brain. It almost looks like all the circuits are off and the brain is unplugged. In order to resume some reasoning, therefore you need to work UNDER the threshold. Here is a general guide on dog threshold levels: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ If your dog is too revved up to take treats or listen to your commands, you are therefore exposing him too close to the other dogs/people. You really need to step back a bit to regain some control. Keeping him too close to other dogs/people creates these precise problems: - By walking your dog very closely to other dogs/people your dog feels more compelled to fulfill his desire. This means your likeliness of being pulled and dragged is much higher and the other dogs are more likely to come closer. The more your dog gets to pull or the more other dogs come closer, the more your dog will be rewarded. Rewards tend to reinforce behavior, and therefore, the behavior will put roots and become hard to extinguish over time. Your dog's mind will reason this way ''pulling makes me get closer and possibly meet and mingle with other dogs/people, and therefore, I will continue to behave this way''. This creates a vicious cycle which is hard to extinguish. - Working your dog over the threshold, will not help your dog learn anything other than rehearsing the undesired behaviors. Dogs learn best when they are put into a situation where they can cognitively function. Therefore, it would help greatly if you can work on finding a distance from where your dog is better under control and not too aroused. It will not matter if the distance is 5 feet, 15 feet, 50 feet, or even 80 feet. Once found the distance where your dog is calmer and capable of taking treats, you will work from there and try asking some focus commands. -Train focus commands that offer an alternate behavior to the pulling. These alternate behaviors to the pulling can be sit, look into my eyes, heeling or attention heeling- which is my favorite, that is, a dog walking next to you while glaring in your eyes, you can find how to train this here:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ ) Practice any of these a lot at home, then in the yard. You need to make the behavior extra fluent before going on walks. Practice a lot in the yard and with familiar people. You can try several different exercises and see which ones your dog responds better to. Young puppies, hyper dogs or dogs nervous around people or other dogs, may find stationary exercises such as "sit" a bit difficult and may do better with heeling exercises. Once better under control, they can then practice with sits. -Make sure you have high value treats. On walks,they have to be very, very high-value treats. Consult with your vet if your dog has a medical condition or your dog has a sensitive tummy. Find what really piques your dog's interest and makes him drool. Consider that what works at home and in the yard, won't likely work in overly stimulating environments. You may also find it helpful coordinating the sessions when your dog's stomach is empty so to increase saliency of the treats. A full tummy is not very motivating. -Gauge progress and setbacks. If your dog shows signs of progress from a certain distance for some time, then it's likely time to reduce distance. You must very gradually, work your way up to more distracting environments with people /dogs at a closer distance where your dog still doesn't react. If your dog loses focus on you, consider that he might not be ready for that certain level of distraction or he may be tired if you have practiced too long. Take a few steps back and resume from there or end the training on a positive note and resume the training another day. -Daily walks. While distance can help keep a dog better under threshold so does frequency of walks and practicing often. Daily walks are important. Seeing dogs and only people only every now and then increases their saliency. There is a phenomenon known as "suburban dog syndrome" which takes place in dogs who live in suburban areas and are reactive to seeing dogs and people because they are not frequent sights. If you walk your dog only on weekends or every now and then, things get more difficult. A daily walk or two, even if short (10-15 minutes) and just seeing one dog at a distance and him showing a bit of progress can suffix and you can call it a day. -Enlist the help of some volunteers. Ask them to walk past your dog and totally ignore him while you work on practicing sits, the look at me game and attention heeling. Again, be careful to gauge his reaction to you and the person. If he can't seem to focus, work from a farther distance and build up some progress gradually from there. -Practice with a friend. If you have a friend with a very mellow dog you can practice with, have her hold her dog on leash at a distance your dog is under threshold and practice the alternate behavior exercises. If all goes well, over several sessions, you can decrease distance and perhaps do parallel-walking exercises with you on one sidewalk and your friend on the opposite sidewalk. You can then progress over more sessions, to you and your friend walking next to each other with the dogs at opposite sides to maintain distance between the dogs. -Even better, enroll in dog training classes. Group classes offer the ideal controlled setting to help your dog learn to behave calmly despite the presence of other dogs. Alternatively, have a trainer follow you around for private classes and in-person coaching. The trainer can help ensure your dog is under threshold, observe your dog's body language and coach you on when you are ready to progress to the next levels and troubleshoot problems. -Go to the city. This is one my favorite tips for reducing the saliency of people/other dogs. It must only be done only once the dog has shown calmer behaviors though. Have you ever noticed how generally well-behaved dogs in the city are? This is because they see people on a daily basis and lots of them too! It might help if every now and then you can schedule a trip to the city or other crowded places to keep your dog up-to-date on his training. After seeing many people, all the enthusiasm fades away in excited greeters as the presence of people is no longer as salient as it previously was. Your dog's senses will eventually tire after seeing many people; this allows him to practice and rehearse calm behaviors. -And don't forget about exercise. If your dog is a ball of energy before walks, he will be harder to control and over threshold. Drain a good part of his energy by playing games in the yard that have him running and panting. Let him drink and then go on the walk. -Patience and realistic expectations. Realize that changing dog behavior takes time. Embrace progress and its exhilarating feeling but don't get too excited that you progress too fast. Slow and steady wins the race. And don't forget to pat yourself on the back for a job well done! Hope this helps, Best, Adrienne

If you need to walk around with your baby (by the way, how has been doing with the novelty of the baby?) and you are concerned about tripping over him because he's always underfoot, by all means keep him temporarily confined but perhaps offer an interactive toy (food puzzles like Kong, Kong Wobbler etc.) so that he can discharge some energy and not feel frustrated by not getting the attention he may crave. In regards to him bringing toys on the couch, yes, you may have to remove them before he is allowed in the room but that may leave him with little to do other than chewing up slippers or other inappropriate items and general misbehaving. We want him to make good choices and play/chew his toys is a good choice if he may otherwise get into mischief in other ways. Perhaps you can find a middle ground such as providing toys that grab your dog's immediate attention and that require a more interactive level of interaction rather than passively chewing toys on the couch. A food dispensing toy such as a Kong Wobbler may keep your dog occupied, and since it's quite heavy and difficult to transport especially the larger ones), it will likely be destined to remain on the floor. However, please use caution with giving high-value toys/foods (if that means being around the baby) as you may never know. Another option is to provide your dog with his own comfy place to call his "den." For example, you can invest in a comfy memory foam dog bed or use a playpen and make it extra appealing. Praise and reward your dog for using these areas. If your dog happens to show his intent to go on the couch, you can always redirect by training your dog to "go to his mat." As a temporary measure, when you cannot actively supervise if you're too busy, sometimes the best option is putting obstacles in the way (like large boxes) to prevent him from jumping up on the couch. Poop eating isn't really harmful per se (unless the dog has parasites) but it can be an annoying habit and it puts roots the more it is rehearsed. It can sometimes stem from dogs being punished for going potty in the house (they ingest the evidence in fear of punishment), stress, attention-seeking behavior (if it grabs the owner's attention) and sometimes nutritional deficiencies or digestive issues. You can read more about coprophagia (poop eating) here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/eating-poop/ You are right to be concerned about him eating his pee pads. The main concern with pee pads is that they are designed to be absorbent, so they can absorb fluids from the gastrointestinal tract and grow in size, making them a risk for getting stuck in the dog's intestines. So we want to curb this behavior. There are several options to try. A good starting point is to make the activity of chewing up the pee pads a more difficult task. An option may be investing in a special pee pad holder (shaped sort of like tray) to help keep the pad in place and make it difficult to move. 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 that dogs manage to shred them and chew on them. Alternatively, you can try to invest in washable, reusable housebreaking pads. These are made of fabric and many like their ease of use since they help save money in the long run. However, not sure if he may chew these up too. For very stubborn cases, I have seen some success using those "doggy litter boxes" but it may just take an adjustment period to transfer dogs to their use and I am not sure if there may be parts your dog may chew apart and swallow. Ensure as always that your puppy has access to plenty of toys (rotate them every now and then as you have been already doing to keep his interest alive and invest in interactive food-dispensing toys that provide a mental workout) so he can make good choices. We want to make the pee pads look boring in comparison with these awesome toys. Something to consider is whether the pee-pad eating is associated with the poop eating. If your dog has developed a liking for eating his feces, traces left on the pee pad automatically make the pee pad attractive to eat too. So managing the poop eating may help solve the pee pad eating by default. This would to a good extent entail removing the pee pad as soon as he poops on it. Also, make sure there isn't much stress going on Oreo's life. I know, easier said than done, but with a new baby, things can get very stressful to dogs and this can lead to anxiety chewing and the onset of other undesirable behaviors. I hope this helps, Send pats to Oreo for me, and congrats on the new baby!

Hi LauSai, Oh my, where did time go, Oreo is already a teenager getting closer and closer to adulthood! By the way, if you haven't read the article on doggy adolescence yet, you can find it here. In smaller dog breeds it can last anywhere between the ages of 18 and 24 months. This read may explain some of the behaviors you are seeing. Here is the link: (you need to be logged in the course as a member to access this)https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ It sounds like you have been doing a good job juggling between a new baby and catering to your pup's needs (they're always eternal puppies to us, aren't they?). I can't imagine how overwhelming and challenging it may feel dealing with so much going on. From what I can deduce based on what you describe, Oreo has been walked 1 to 2 times a day, but hasn't had free-run of the rest of the house since the baby's arrival-up until now, but now you are facing some issues. I must admit, I am not too surprised, Why is that? For the simple fact that now that he has again full reign of the house, it must feel like a trip to Disneyland. Not only must he be super excited and happy to be again around his family, but he also has access to stuff that he may have not been allowed to have when he was in his confinement area. If this is all new behavior (he didn't do this before or if he did, it was not to this extent) I would attribute these behaviors to all the novelty going on. It may just be that you may need to re-train him to respect your property (leave it/drop it command as outlined in the obedience 101 section of the course) or if you are too busy keeping all eyes on him for now, yes, you can simply manage and remove these items before he has access to them. Fair enough, it sounds like you are already planning to do this, which is great! If he wasn't this way before, I assume that with time, he'll adjust to all this novelty going on and the extra room to stretch his legs and celebrate being around all of you and all the other great perks such as going on the couch. Yippee! However, there may be chances that some of his behaviors you are seeing may be triggered by the need for attention. Just like a child dealing with the arrival of a new baby, dogs may start misbehaving just for the sake of getting attention, even if it's of the negative type. So grabbing those slippers, chewing on furniture may all be attempts to get your attention if most of your day is focused on the baby. For dogs like this, it helps to dedicate some time where they are given one-on-one attention and lots of praise for performing desirable behaviors (such as performing some obedience commands, tricks, fetching things, etc.). Cavalier King Charles spaniels are dogs who are highly dependent on human companionship and thrive when given things to do and attention. They hate being left alone. They tend to have a natural predisposition to please as long as the training is positive, fun and upbeat. Many dog owners perceive them as lap dogs, but many are surprised by their athletic and outdoorsy instincts. If you have a yard, allow Oreo to play around and stretch his legs there when you take him first out of his confinement but make sure he is with you or another family member rather than alone. I think as he stays less and less behind the gate/fence and the more he resumes being around his family, the less he should have these zoomies and the more likely he'll resume the normalcy he was used to pre-baby. I think these big shifts in energy reflect the difference between staying in a static environment (behind the fence) and then being exposed to sensorial overload (Oh, I am with my family, yay! Oh wow, the couch! Oh, this feels so nice, hello slippers, hello furniture! Hello everyone, can you just pay attention to me!" More on some of the other issues you are seeing, coming next in another post.

Now, if dog owners have the time, will and financial means for hiring a professional, by all means I always recommend that because it is the ideal option. Sure many committed dog owners can and will succeed without the assistance of a professional if they implement everything correctly and have good knowledge of body language (to readily recognize signs of a dog going over threshold) and the time and motivation to practice all on their own. However, there are several pros with working with a professional. Enlisting the help of a professional is important for safety and for correct training or behavior modification implementation. The expert can help in several ways such as: -Identifying what evokes the behavior (fear? frustration?) and what consequences drive the behavior (increase distance, decrease distance?) through a functional assessment. -Helping find strong reinforcers to create strong associations and/or to motivate and maintain behavior -Suggesting effective training tools that may help in training and gain better control of dogs (clickers, no-pull harnesses, head collars) -Ensuring the dog is not over threshold -Helping gauge signs of progress and instructing on how and when to increase criteria (progress to the next step) -Helping gauge signs of setbacks and instructing on how and when to lower criteria (go back a few steps) -Ensuring dog owners don't progress too fast but keep going at the dog's pace -Taking preventive measures and precautions to ensure safety of dog owners (puppies and dogs who bark due to frustration can get so worked up that this can lead to redirected bites -targeted towards the leash or even the handler at some point) and those around them. -Coaching through the process and providing clear instructions based on observations. -Answering any questions and troubleshooting problems that may arise. Now, in regards to the type of trainer to use my answer is that it depends. If this is truly frustration barking, then a dog trainer using positive, humane training methods is the ideal option. If there is a component of fear, then that would ideally require a behavior professional. It is in the dog's and owner's best interest to find a behavior professional who is highly experienced and who uses humane behavior modification (no harsh methods and no use of aversive tools). Training focuses on conditioning dogs to perform operant behaviors such as sitting, heeling, coming when called etc. Behavior modification focuses on modifying a dog’s emotional response to a specific situation, and along with that, by default, modifying the dog's behavioral responses. In the case of a fearful dog, the latter would be needed. I hope this helps! Let me know if you need any further assistance. Disclaimer: dog training/behavior modification comes with risks. If your dog is acting aggressively or is exhibiting behavior problems, please consult with a professional for an in-person assessment and for safety and correct implementation of behavior modification.

Hi Claire, I am not sure if you read the article on barrier frustration yet, but in case you haven't, the link is here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/barrier-frustration/ You may need to log in as a member in order to access that. I will be glad to go over more information based on what you are describing. Sometimes, telling whether a dog is barking and pulling due to barrier frustration or fear/aggression may be challenging. In general, I expect it to be a fear-based behavior when some of the following criteria are met: -The puppy's body language denotes fear (puppy backs up when barking, has ears folded back, tail tucked) -The puppy has a history of acting fearful around other dogs -The puppy has a history of acting fearful around humans -The puppy hasn't been socialized with people or other dogs during the prime window of socialization which closes around 16 weeks. -The puppy's barking is contingent upon seeing/hearing stimuli that frighten him. Barking on leash may be seen more because of more encounters with stimuli (compared to being at home) and because with leashes there is not much opportunity to retreat -The puppy has a tendency to readily bark when something novel is encountered and is hesitant/very leery to investigate -The puppy has been rehearsing barking behaviors for some time in other circumstances with the result that other dogs and people move away and the dog gives signs of feeling relieved by that. In the case of a frustrated barker, in general, I expect it to be a frustration-based behavior when the following criteria are met: -The puppy's body languages doesn't appear fearful (however it may often resemble aggression) -The puppy has a good play history with other dogs -The puppy has been well socialized with people and other dogs -The puppy's barking behavior is contingent upon being leashed/behind a barrier (does well when off leash or no barriers) -The puppy loves people and hasn't show any signs of being overly cautious in approaching people -The puppy has been allowed to pull and greet people in the past or people have approached when the puppy pulled -The puppy has a tendency to bark when frustrated and struggles with waiting or not having immediate access to things Now, things aren't always cut-and-dried when it comes to dog behavior. There may be instances where puppies may feel both excited and somewhat fearful about the approach of people and other dogs. These ambivalent emotions are not uncommon. Many puppies engage in approach/avoidance behaviors and barking may be due to the conflict. These puppies may require a combo of behavior modification and training. If this would be truly a case of pure frustration barking (it does sound like that may be your case, but then as mentioned, sometimes we can see mixed emotions in some dogs), then yes, I would fully support training an alternate behavior such as heeling/attention heeling. A dog barking due to frustration is often a dog who simply needs to better learn impulse control and frustration tolerance . Puppies are in many ways like children: they can become quite persistent when they want something, and when they don't have it, they may get "temper tantrums." Now, these temper tantrums are not a sign a puppy is spoiled or trying to be bossy and have it his way, it's just that the puppy wasn't given a chance to learn how to cope with his emotions in a productive, socially acceptable way. Now, something to consider is that often barrier frustration is simply the manifestation of an extinction burst. If you have allowed in the past your puppy to go meet and greet people and other dogs on walks every time your puppy showed an interest in them or was actively pulling, by now your puppy has come to expect that. But what happens should you suddenly one day decide not to longer allow this? Very likely, frustration will set in. This leads to pulling with more force and barking when the pulling no longer yields the desired encounters. If the puppy is allowed to greet other people or dogs sometimes yes and sometimes, no, this can make the behavior more difficult to eradicate. Regardless of whether your puppy has a history of being allowed to meet people and dogs while on leash or not, the way to tackle barking due to barrier frustration is different than tackling barking due to fear. There are no negative emotions to work on. The dog already has a positive emotional response to other dogs and people only that it is magnified excessively and needs some level of "buffering." Training per se' entails for a great extent implementing impulse control. Young puppies love to move about and explore everything, and when you are training puppies stationary exercises (like sit/down/stay) you are teaching them to control their impulses. Puppies will therefore need salient incentives initially to accomplish this, and then, as time goes on, with proofing and the puppies maturing, they will become more and more capable of dealing with their impulses. Tackling puppies barking at other dogs and people therefore entails initially keeping the puppy under threshold (gradual exposure and walking at a distance from people and dogs which evoke the pup's "bark,bark, bark, I so badly want to go greet" behavior) and training alternative responses to the barking and heavily reinforcing them. My favorite alternate response to barking are heeling exercises because many puppies struggle to sit or lie down for long especially when excited. These exercises can be made super fun and are dynamic offering the pup the opportunity to release some frustration under the form of movement (in lieu of barking or performing displacement behaviors). There are however several other options of alternate behaviors such as training the puppy to perform an emergency u-turn or doing several reps of hand targeting or fun recalls as you walk backwards to just name a few. Whichever behavior you choose, make sure to start training it in a quiet area at first (at home) until you obtain a fluent response and reward it generously. Then, practice in the yard, then on walks with no triggers and then at a distance from triggers gradually reducing distance. Setbacks are always possible, and in those cases, they are a signs that you have gone too fast in the process or your dog wasn't ready for encounters with stimuli of a certain intensity. In those cases, a few steps back in the process are needed.

Thanks so much for the update and sharing what has been working for you. Sounds like you are doing a wonderful job, kudos to you! Best, Adrienne

You are very welcome! Glad to hear your are seeing some results already. Keep us posted on how things go. Best, Adrienne

You are blessed with a very deep understanding of dogs and this is a big plus for the work you are doing with your canine crew! Your reaction to the potato-chip event, is hilarious and yes, it's so close to what dogs must feel in similar events. I hear you about boarding. I have always dreaded it, especially when my dogs started turning senior. It sounds like though you have found a really nice place. If you haven't already, make sure they have somebody experienced in dog body language if you are using their daycare and that they evaluate dogs prior to accepting them in groups. Check their ratios of attendants to number of dogs. I have never felt 100 percent confident with daycare situations because I feel so many things can go wrong. I always requested play time/free time among my dogs rather than with other unknown dogs, but of course, there are exceptions and some places do a really good job in assessing/monitoring.

Great to hear he looks much more relaxed! It's so true that it's something to practice forever. I still practice things with my dogs (well, dog, now) mostly out of habit. With Einstein and Petra as puppies, we took several preventive steps (food bowl exercises, trading games, leave it/drop its etc) to prevent resource guarding and one entailed randomly approaching while eating and tossing some goodies in their food bowls that were always superior to the kibble. After several reps, you could clearly see that conditioned emotional response as they lifted their heads and looked forward to us approaching and giving that goodie. At some point, there were even tail wags. Well, even once adults we just kept doing this out of habit (OK, OK, also because we enjoyed surprising them!). We still happen to do this today when we think about it. Einstein can be particularly excited about new toys, he actually used to always guard them from Petra, and when I need to remove them (in most cases because he might start chewing in a way I don't like) I still trade them with a bully stick or other long-lasting goodie. With dogs I had over who resource guarded though I always had to take a more careful approach. I had to literally show the bully stick or other very high-value goodie (always kept handy with these guys), get the dog eager to have it, toss it across the room at a safe enough distance (with a door, baby gate between us if I was particularly concerned the dog may have done a comeback- never happened but you never know) and grab the dropped toy. Phewww, all good, the dog always thought it was a fair trade so no hard feelings. Oh, too bad that she's moving, and so far! So nice though that she offered to see you until then. She sounds like a very nice person. Best, Adrienne

Awww dogs are so cute when they lie down "froggy style," aren't they! You're very welcome. Yes, keep us posted on how it goes! Best, Adrienne

Hello turnbull, Welcome to the forums. Sounds like you are doing a great job with your boy so far! With rumps in the air, we have several options to give a try. I will list several: -You can keep on trying by luring but trying to pull the treat away very sloowly. -You can keep on trying but providing clear feedback. Mark the rump up with an "oops!", withdraw the treat and restart from the get-go with asking your dog to sit again. Rinse and repeat until that rump goes down. When it does, mark with your click/verbal marker and reward with a jackpot of treats. -Trying at a time your dog is more tired can help at times. -You can try in an area where your dog has history of lying down, such as on a specific mat or a favorite sleeping place. -You can try to train sitting down on the floor with one leg bent as to form a "bridge." Use your food lure to guide him under. With your legs in the way, he may be more likely to keep his rump down. Then gradually, practice farther from your legs. -You can try to train it under a low table as if getting him to crawl under. -You can try to train it by capturing. Simply sit down and wait for your dog to tire and lie down. Click and treat when he lies down, then start adding the cue. -You can try through shaping. Click and reward progressive elbow bends until your dog flops on the ground. Also, it may be worthy troubleshooting some reasons why your dog might be reluctant to lie down. Is the floor too cold? Can it be his hips are hurting? Is he reluctant to lie down on certain surfaces? etc. Hope this helps, happy training! Adrienne

Hello Rmedeiro565, and welcome to the forums, I hope this was just a noisy "argument" and nobody got hurt! Jennifer provided you with some excellent advice. When there are cases of aggression, the intervention of a behaviorist is important both for safety and correct behavior modification implementation. When there are fights between dogs, there are always risks for a redirected bite (a bite to owners), escalation of the fighting behaviors (the more they are rehearsed, the more the behavior puts roots) and behavior modification requires an in-person assessment and guidance considering the implications associated with carefully observing body language, monitoring closely threshold levels and repeatedly assessing progress/setbacks so to adjust the program accordingly. It is great that you are considering a recommendation by your vet. Please make sure the chosen professional uses force-free behavior modification to prevent further stress. You do not want a regular trainer for help with this (unless he or she has extensive experience/background in behavior modification), but a behavior professional. Ideally, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist or certified applied animal behaviorist. In regards to your situation, you did nothing wrong. You are just dealing with behavior problems and things can get complicated sometimes. From your initial post, it sounds like you dogs are in conflict over your attention. In your second post though it seems clear that this conflict over your attention is further compounded as well with resource guarding of food, so there are two issues at play. In general, with these situations, we want to keep those arousal levels as low as possible. So calling both dogs for a recall and then one dog jumping up for the treat, sounds like a scenario with high arousal levels. High arousal levels often contribute to paving the path to conflict. With behavior modification, it's important to work at low arousal levels and then work up to higher levels very, very gradually, but only once both dogs have shown the ability to act calmer and have been conditioned to hold solid sits and stays. Often such training starts individually until the response is very fluid, and then with the distraction of each other (one handler per dog and each dog leashed) with the dogs at a distance and then at gradually closer distances until both dogs have shown the ability to hold their sits/stays very fluently. The dog initiating conflict (if a repeated pattern is noticed) will likely need to learn the virtue of "patience pays." She would likely have to learn to hold a sit/stay while the other dog sits and gets a treat first, and then, after waiting patiently, it's her turn to get her treat. With several repetitions and correct implementation she should develop what's known as a conditioned emotional response. In a nutshell, something along these lines: "Every time the other dog gets a treat, and I am sitting nicely, it means my treat is coming right next. I like when the other dog gets a treat!" *Care is needed though after such reps as sometimes, I have seen cases where conflict may occur right afterwards, when the exercise is over and dogs are released from their stays. The behavior consultant should have a plan in place to prevent this from happening in the first place or remedy it promptly should it happen at the first signs. Of course, this is just a general example of a behavior modification protocol and not meant to be used without the in-person guidance of a behavior professional. Only your behavior professional can guide you through a specific behavior modification program that is custom-tailored to your dogs' situation based on his/her history taking, a functional assessment and close observations to cover all basis. Every behavior professional has their own approach/preferred methods. Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your dogs are fighting or showing aggressive displays, please consult with a behavior professional for in-person guidance and safety.

I hear you, about the paint drying. No boos, it happens sometimes and can happen to anyone, even to professionals in the field. Keep us posted. Best wishes for a productive session!