Adrienne Farricelli

So sorry your dog's jumping behavior has made a comeback after your newer dog has been welcomed to your home. Social learning among dogs is very strong, so much so that even dogs who were trained fluently can be easily influenced when exposed to other dogs.Hence why many owners of service dogs don't allow much mingling with other dogs. If the jumping appears during feeding time, make sure that you do not reward it in any way by continuing meal preparation. Make it crystal clear that jumping on you makes you stop the meal prepation process and if it persists, it makes you even leave the room. Ha! Now prepare your meal yourself impatient doggy! Sometimes during play, when things get out of hand, dogs seem to get a bit confused (or just super hyper) and jump on people. Keep acting super boring and don't reward the dog with any play. Redirecting him to his play mate is fine, but be careful for behavior chains. In other words, the dog learns to jump on you more and more because the behavior gets reinforced with play with his favorite buddy. To prevent rehearsal, perhaps see whether there is a pattern when this happens and when you see your dog coming towards you try to redirect him before he has a chance to jump on you. You can try to put playing on cue by pointing to his buddy and saying "go play!" Yes, you are correct that training them separately can make things much easier. They otherwise risk influencing each other and this can interfere with concentrating on your directions. Hope this helps, Best wishes! Adrienne

The behavior of your dog is not unusual. Certain dogs don't take to one person initially, and unfortunately for men, it's usually them. Many dogs are intimidated by men and it often manifests when men are wearing hats or carrying tools or making lots of noise. Any thing that increases the shape of a person causing some unusual silhouette (backpacks, sunglasses, umbrellas, bags) can trigger the barking. Several dogs may also get nervous when people crouch down at their level. Although this may seem like a friendly way to approach, lowering down puts us at their level and direct eye contact is often made. Any behavior that follows crouching down (such as looking at the dog, calling the dog or reaching towards the dog) makes dogs nervous because they do not look forward to the interaction as they feel intimidated when their space is invaded. Most of these dogs were already suspicious and nervous around men to start with and the hat or carried tools just sent them over threshold causing some overt behaviors to manifest (in this case, the barking). Although there are cases of dogs not trusting men because of some negative event in the past, in a good majority of cases these dogs simply weren't socialized enough or are prone to simply being very nervous when exposed to changes and under stress (such as in new surroundings) and therefore are prone to seeing threats almost everywhere. There are therefore several cases of newly rescued dogs who do very well with women in the home but are intimidated by men. There may be several further explanations for this. Men are often taller respect to women, they may have much deeper voices and have facial hair, and what many of may of us may not realize is, that men also often tend to move in a more assertive fashion. Applied animal behaviorist Patricia McConnell mentions that studies were done where men were found to be seen as ''coming closer at higher rates or stronger intensity'' respect to women. Men are also more likely to come in and out of doors with heavy steps and carrying tools and noisy machinery which just adds to the already scary stimulus package. In any case, there are two very powerful behavior modification methods used both in humans and animals to help them conquer their fears. These methods are desensitization and counterconditioning. In desensitization, the source of fear is presented in a gradual, systematic, less threatening manner. For example: in the case of people scared of flying, they are exposed to a simulator so they can get used to the airplanes noises, learn relaxation techniques and better ways to cope with their fear. Here is a read on desensitization: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/ In counterconditioning, positive associations are formed with the trigger so that the underlying emotions, can be changed. For example: People scared of flying are often encouraged to bring along their favorite snacks on board, a great book or to start a pleasant conversation with the person seated next to them. Here is a read on counterconditioning:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/ When desensitization and counterconditioning are used in synergy, powerful results can be attained. Through desensitization, dogs get a good boost of confidence as they conquer their fears little steps at a time. At the same time, since the threat appears less threatening, dogs are better able to cognitively function so they're more receptive to learning coping skills and relaxation techniques. Now another thing to become aware of are threshold levels. This is important because a dog over threshold cannot be desensitized nor counterconditioned. Full exposure to trigger (flooding) causes setbacks and potentially unsafe situations. The dog is in fight or flight mode and cannot cognitively function. If a dog feels intimidated by a certain person, he cannot relax and learn positive associations because the adrenaline is flowing and the brain is just focused on responding to instincts which are to hide or fight back. Here is a read on dog threshold levels: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ So let's see now how these methods can be applied to your circumstance. You already mentioned that wearing a hat and carrying tools are triggers. It also seems that hubby bending down and looking at the dog and talking to the dog are some other trigges.The objective is therefore to make hubby appear less threatening and always work under threshold. This means letting your dog see hubby from a distance, letting hubby talk in a low tone of voice, having him perhaps move more slowly and so forth. A good place to start is to make great things happen everytime hubby appears in the room you and your dog are together. What are some great things for dogs? Most likely, food (under the form of high value treats) and praise (when paired with food). All these good things must happen in context. That means, they should appear when hubby is present, and when he leaves, all the good things must stop so it's crystal clear in the dog's mind that it's hubby's presence that brings good things. Practicing with hubby coming in and out of home/room (initially without wearing a hat or carrying tools) can be a good opportunity to create positive associations, here is a guide: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dog-barking-someone-enters-room/ As things progress, you can then move on to having him appear while wearing a hat, carrying tools etc, always keeping in mind distance at first. Baby steps. Then further progess (increase criteria) would entail having hubby crouch down gradually while you feed treats, then crouch down more (as you feed treats) then have him talk to the dog (while you feed treats) and then talk and look at the dog (while you feed treats). These are jut a few examples. *Note: if a dog ever reacts during behavior modification, it's a sure sign that you're going too fast in the process. Take a step back and do some problem solving to figure out what you can do to prevent these set backs. Increasing distance is often a good way to keep the dog better under threshold. Many dogs are reactive towards movement calmer when people are sitting on the couch and are not moving much (in other words, static). When it comes to hubby offering treats, rather than hand-feeding, it's better for him to toss the food past the dog, so the dog can retreat when he gets it. This step is very important as it gives the dog relief, but at the same time the opportunity for positive associations to be made. Don't let your dog fall into the approach avoidance trap which is a dog who approaches for food but then is in conflict and backs away barking. Here is more about approach/avoidance:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/approach-avoidance/ To increase trust, it may be beneficial having your husband do all of the feeding from now. It is best to not force close interactions until your dog appears more comfortable. Being that you have recently opened your home to this dog, consider that It can take up 3 months or more for a new dog to get settled. So lots of patience and baby steps is vital. Disclaimer: behavior modification for dogs comes with risks. To keep everybody safe, please consult with a force-free behavior consultant to help in person for guidance and correct implementation.

Hello Diane, Welcome to the forum. I am working on some tips and will get back to you shortly. I will address the issues you are facing in two different posts. We are in the middle of monsoon season here in Arizona with t-storms rolling in so my connection may come and go. I apologize in advance if my replies may come in a bit late.

Hello Mike Prater, Welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your new puppy! If we think carefully about it, puppies are constantly learning, and that includes both good behaviors and bad. Puppies are learning with every interaction so they are always virtually in "training." Play is training. Resting is training. Walking is training and even learning to be away from us is training. If we keep our mind focused on this very important fact, we will be more likely to provide guidance so that our puppies will be more likely to make good choices. By encouraging good behaviors from the get-go, we can avoid the hassle of fixing bad habits that streghten over time and become more and more challenging to overcome. Having said that, to answer your question about how often a puppy should be trained, there are no general rules set in stone on how long and how often a puppy should be trained. It tends to vary on an individual basis. For instance, how is your pup's attention span? Is she easily bored? You can generally train your pup as many times as you like as long as you pup is enjoying it and isn't getting bored. Nothing is worse for a puppy than a tedious training session that is boring or too difficult. With a puppy of 8 weeks, the attention span should not be very long, puppies are a bit in la-la land and it would therefore be more important doing brief and easy sessions rather than worrying too much about frequency. As a rough estimate, a young puppy may do well with 5 to 6 brief sessions a day lasting about 2-3 mins each session. The aim should be doing about 10-15 minutes of training every day in brief sessions spread throughout the day. Of course, a disclaimer is warranted here: this is just a rough estimate. If the puppy shows signs of struggling or feeling bored, by all means it's fine to shorten those sessions and reduce their quantity accordingly. And as always, it's best making sure to end the session on a positive note and always when the pup is still interested. This builds a strong desire to learn. Making the sessions fun will make them less likely to feel "intense" for both owner and puppy. As the puppy matures and the attention span sharpens, it is then possible to do longer and longer sessions. While there is really not right or wrong way to train behaviors (the important factor is that the puppy keeps learning and is eager to do so), with young pups it would be optimal to mix up several different behaviors. Puppies can get bored easily and they have short attention spans so mixing up different behaviors can help them stay focused. Puppy owners can also take advantage of their pup's energy levels and plan what to train accordingly. For instance, most puppies wake up with lots of energy or they may get the "zoomies" after finishing a meal. These are good times to take advantage of this energy bursts and train some fun recalls. Then, as the puppy gets a bit tired, why not focus more on some stationary exercises such as sit, down and stay? Once they are relaxed more, then you can resume with some more kinetic energy exercises such as polite leash walking. These mixed exercises feature shifts in energy that are more in tune with the pups' activity levels and therefore can help maintain interest. On top of training different behaviors, it's important to also train them with different people and locations. All family members should be involved and take turns asking for behaviors. While training should start in a quiet room, it should progress to involve various rooms of the house and the yard and then ouside the home. Although basic obedience is important, with young pups under the age of 16 weeks, it's important to also focus on safe socialization. Puppy parties are an excellent way to introduce people of different ages to young pups who haven't finished their vaccination schedule. Basic handling exercises are important too to teach the puppy to accept being touched for future grooming and vet visits. Use treats to create positive associations with being brushed, touched and having those little paws handled. There are several ways to cut out the number of treats given. Here are a few ideas. You can cut down considerably on the amount of treats by splitting them into very small pieces. A regular soft treat can be broken down into 3 pieces and used each to reward one behavior. Each bit can be at most the size of a small pea. These small bites are often enough to reinforce desired behaviors. You can also mix in some kibble (if your pup loves it) and give it as rewards every now and then when training in low distraction areas. Tossing the kibble at a distance after your puppy performs a desired behavior provides your puppy with a fun game and a little exercise workout. For dogs who love to play, play can too be used to reinforce desired behaviors. For example, why not ask the puppy to sit before tossing a ball? Why not call the puppy when you have a brand new toy? Hide it behind your back and when your puppy reaches you, say 'good boy!' and reward him by giving him the new toy. There are also life rewards that can be used to your advantage. Life rewards are anything your puppy loves to do naturally and that can be used to reinforce desired behaviors. Does your puppy love to go out in the yard? Ask him to sitbefore you open the door and once the door is open release him to the yard. Off he goes to explore! Does your puppy love to go on walks? Ask him to sit when you put the leash on and go outside. So many opportunities! Hope this helps, happy training! Adrienne

Hello Debra L, Welcome to the forum.You need to intervene before she has an opportunity to latch on. The good news is that this is a young puppy and this is the prime time to start training a puppy. Saying "no" unfortunately doesn't teach the pup what to do instead, and some dogs may get more aroused either playfully or defensively. You will need to train a replacement behavior and make it extra rewarding so that your puppy chooses that behavior over the biting your arms, legs and feet as you are walking. At the same time, you want to make the nipping at your feet,arms legs extra boring. When you are walking and you see your puppy approach, stop in your tracks and become boring like a tree. Movement triggers more biting and the more we resist by moving the more a puppy will latch on and treat us as tug toys. Now, ask 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. 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 walk around. I like to use targeting as a replacement behavior for nipping. You first sit down and train your puppy to target a target stick stick in a low distraction area (you can use any long object like a ruler) and make it an extra rewarding activity by clicking (or saying yes) when your puppy targets it with her nose. You can toss the treats rather than handfeed them so to make the activity extra fun and burn excess energy. You can then start asking your puppy to target the target stick as you are standing and then as you are walking (remember to stop in your tracks as your pup approaches) and can end the session by tossing several kibble/treats on the floor in various areas (fun treasure hunt!) as you walk away. Here a guide on targeting: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ Alternatively, you can use 'sit." You need to train sit prior in a low distraction setting and then progress to asking it when you are walking (remember to stop in your tracks as your pup approaches). As your puppy approaches, say "sit" and then reward by tossing the kibble/treat the opposite way as you walk away. If your puppy eats quickly and then catches on with you as you're walking away, stop walking and rinse and repeat the exercise of asking the sit. This works great because you are adding obedience training, giving your puppy a workout and preventing her from rehearsing the troublesome behavior. Win-win! Here's a guide on sit: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/sit/ This thread has several suggestions for a case similar to yours: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?17-Puppy-biting-feet-for-attention Here are some great exercises to do to teach better bite inhibition: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/ What to do in the meanwhile, prior to your dog learning the replacement behavior well? As you work on training a replacement behavior, you may wish to redirect her when she approaches and you stop walking to some toy such as a tug toy or a flirt pole to prevent rehearsal. You can also try tossing a ball the opposite direction. Not responding to your leave it can occur if you are saying it too late (once your puppy has already latched on) or it hasn't been trained for long enough or the pup isn't understanding its meaning. It good to start with inanimate objects, and then progress to food and then to animals crossing etc. and other stuff we don't want the pup to get close to and interact with. I am not too fond though for using it for telling the pup to "leave the owner" because it's a bit of an odd concept considering that we want the pup to interact with us instead and things can gets confusing. In the posts above, when I suggested training "leave it" it was mostly to prevent the dog from accessing certain toys that the dog was destroying. Hope this helps! Adrienne

Yes, a click should always be followed by a treat so you shouldn't do clicks without treats. However, as mentioned in the other post about increasing distance, at this point once your dog performs the behavior on cue, you may want to start fading the use of the clicker if your dog is at the point of fluency and you are starting moving to a variable reward schedule and adding some challenges. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/clicker-training/ However, worth precising, it's OK to revert to use of the clicker when you move to working around certain distractions (like training a dog to sit in the yard or further ahead despite a cat is crossing the road) and you want to reaffirm that your dog is still doing a good job despite the distraction. There are also some other exceptions where using the clicker for longer may help (eg. complex behaviors such as chained behaviors). Don't forget that although you aren't rewarding every single sit, it helps letting the dog know he is still doing a good job.

Great question! If you are using a clicker, you would delay the click and then click/reward. In this case, you are simply increasing duration and therefore you wait a few seconds and then click and reward. However, if your dog is at the point of doing a down proficiently and on cue (dog knows very well what down means and responds 80 percent of the time), you can progress and proceed in a different manner. You may start no longer using the clicker for this exercise. You can read this on the clicker training section under the increase the challenge section: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/clicker-training/ And this article: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/always-use-clicker/ In this case, simply ask your dog to lie down, wait a few seconds, click and treat and then next repeat the exercise, but this time without the clicker. Instead of the clicking noise, you can let your dog know that he has done a good job followed by a treat by using choice of praise ("good boy!") or a verbal marker (yes!) or a release cue such as "done." Every trainer may use something different and it's often a matter of choice versus a standard operation procedure. If the dog is hesitant to get up upon hearing the praise, verbal marker or release cue, owners can prompt the dog to get up by waving the arms or enticing the dog to follow them.

Saying the name first, although not necessarily a requirement to get a dog to perform a behavior (many dogs will sit regardless), can help get your dog's attention. You'll likely get an orienting response as if your dog is saying "what do you want me to do?" However, if you want all three dogs to sit simultaneously, you'll likey get a group sit without having to prononce all their names one by one. Saying the name first may also turn handy in a household with multiple dogs when doing recalls. For example, I like to practice name discrimination training by having all dogs sit/stay and then calling them one by one.

To answer your question about his relationship with you, you can relax: Ozzie is not trying to be alpha over you. Here's a read on this: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dominance/ Now it is true that there are some dogs who are one-person dogs, but they can form strong attachments with other family members. It may take awhile for a strong bond to form, but you'll get there. You can play a more integral part in his life by feeding him, playing with him, training him and also joining your boyfriend in his hunting outings (I see you are already doing this, kudos to you) and actively participating. When it comes to training and getting him to become responsive to you, consistency, clear comunication is very important to help him make good choices. Here's a guide on troubleshooting various reasons dogs may seem to ignore us: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/ignoring-commands/ It 's important that he learns to attend to your requests. For example, the fact you are trying to call him away from other dogs and are unable to, only teaches him that he can ignore you. Your voice soon becomes irrelevant like the birds chirping in the trees. This can play a role in the perceived "attitude" towards you in ignoring some of your requests. With a long line he has no choice, but you want to also help him make good choices. You want to train positively yes, but you also need to make sure that he has boundaries and rules to follow. Instilling self-discipline and control is fundamental. This is a serious hunting dog breed, generally they do not do too well with stranger dogs, especially those of the same sex. As you can attest, German shorthairs also have a distractable mind of their own, and you have quite some challenges because they are not the easiest dogs to train. It takes some experience and loads of patience, so please don't feel overwhelmed if you don't get results overnight. Things can get challenging when you have a dog who was trained for thousands of years to follow a hot trail and give in to strong instincts and then to suddenly have expect the dog to have a superior level of control over those instincts. But you can help him differentiate when he's working on controlling those hunting instincts from when he's not, by letting him wear that long line just as service dogs learn when it's time to work upon wearing their harnesses. Your boyfriend may also want to use a cue (such as "free!") that informs your dog it's hunting time when you take off that long line. Hope this helps, let me know if you need further assistance! Best, Adrienne

Hello Nicole, Welcome to the forum! What a handsome dog you have, I always loved this breed! I generally restrict off leash freedom on hikes or trails to a limited amount of dogs and those dogs are the ones that have proven to be highly-trained dogs under excellent voice control with non-agressive tendendies. Being off leash is a priviledge and it should be warranted only when the dog has proven himself to not get into trouble when there are people or other dogs around. Ideally, a dog walked off leash should be not interested in meeting other dogs and rather stick to the owner's side. It takes lots of practice to reach this level of training. For dogs who haven't reached that level of control, but whose owners wish to have them have a bit more freedom on walks to sniff around and explore, I suggest for safety to have the dog walk on a long line, (never texting or talking on the phone!) while always carefully scanning for approaching people and dogs. A long line should not be confused for a retractable leash, which is something I don't recommend using. A long-line is a long, light rope or cord that may range anywhere between 10 and 50 feet long. You can often find these in horse and tack stores as the one for horses may also work well for dogs, but nowadays more and more companies are crafting long lines specifically for canines especially for tracking purposes. Unlike a restractable leash, a long line encourages engagement with your dog and provides you with a "life line" for emergency situations. It also prevents putting your dog in sticky situations where things can get ugly quickly (for example an off leash dog who doesn't appreciate your dog's way of interacting). A long-line as well can help in modifying Ozzie's behavior because it prevents him from rehearsing troublesome behaviors that may lead to a bite one day. Yes, he might still growl at a distance but at least him and the other dogs walking by are safer. Now, if you are walking in an area where other off leash dogs approach him, I would avoid those as these encounters would deeply interfere with your training. I can't emphasize this enough: I don't know how many dogs's training are ruined each year by such encounters. I can tell you that we had a nicely trained service dog who now is fearful of other dogs because of an encounter gone wrong with an off-leash dog. Now, there are certain general guidelines when using a long line. Generally, I start with the shorter ones and increase length as the dog proves himself worthy of more impulse control. When using a long line, you will always need to be scanning for triggers ahead so that you can quickly reel your dog in closer to you for better control. I like to wear gloves to protect my skin from rope burn, but it's nice to see that lately some companies are making some in leather which are much more gentle on the hands. However, the rope ones offer the advantage that you can tie knots every few feet that you can use to gain traction and hold on to have a better grip in case your dog takes off running. You will also have to keep a close eye that the line doesn't get wrapped betwen your legs or your dog's legs. Ideally, the line should stay to your dog’s side so to not interfere with movement. I always prefer to have dog owners train a cue that tells the dog to come closer rather than reeling the dog in. You can read on how to train a strong recall using a long line here:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/recall/ This because equipment should not be a substitute for training. Equipment is more like a "crutch". We also want to have good voice control (or why not use a silent whistle which can come handy as well when out hunting?) to help Ozzie make good choices should that day come where he may have proven himself to be ready to being off leash on hikes. The long line again can be used to your advantage in obtaining a "feel" on his level of training. Since you mention Ozzie seems to be in another world when you ask him to come to you and that he doesn't take treats on your hike, it sounds like he's overstimulated and over threshold. Here's a read on threshold levels: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ Being the good hunting dog he is, he's likely overly aroused by all the scents and his adrenaline is running. To train a dog like this, you wil have to invest some time in training him in lower distraction scenarios first. A good place to start is in the home, then in yard, then in front of the home and then on walks nearby the house and then on trails. Use high-value treats in areas where he is calmer. You can use the places he takes treats as a gauge for him not being overthreshold and take advantage of starting in those areas. Move to more distracting areas only once you have obtained a fluent response in the less distracting ones. If ever needed, if you call your dog and he appears distracted, you can reel your dog slightly putting pressure on the line to get his attention and the moment he gives in and moves towards you, provide loads of feedback and encouragement until he comes to you culminating in several high-value treats delivered in a row. One of my favorite distraction proofing exercises for hunting dogs is having a helper toss rocks in a tall grass area and work on getting the dog to come to me (making my smacking sound or using a silent whistle). You also want to train attention heeling and make this behavior very fluent starting first in low distractions areas. (This can also help your dog eventually learn an alternate behavior to carry out that will help take his mind off growling at dogs on hikes). All these tips on reducing chasing can be found here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/chasing-things/ More to come....

Thanks for the update. You canine crew sounds like fun! Make sure to post some pictures of your cutie doing the shame on you trick when you have a chance!

Hello Richie, Thanks for providing these additional details as they are very helpful for getting a closer insight into the situation. However, there may be several possibilities for the peeing behavior and it would take a bit of detective work to pinpoint the exact cause. The accidents you mention occurring in your apartment a while back seem to point to potential separation anxiety, albeit this is not an easy diagnosis as it depends on several factors. However, one common factor in dogs with separation anxiety is that the peeing is mainly evoked by the owner's departure. So the big question to help clarify is: Are you finding accidents mostly upon your return? Or are these accidents taking place also when you are at home? Dogs with separation anxiety follow particular patterns of behavior. Typically, the owner comes back from work and is greeted by an overly excited dog. Next thing, as the owner walks inside, he finds a small puddle often by the door or other area nearby the doorway (although some dogs will also pee in other areas such as on the owner's bed). The peeing in this case took place possibly hours prior to the owner's return. Separation anxiety in dogs causes them profound distress. Owners may witness their dogs starting to pace as they get ready to leave the house. Pre-departure cues such as taking a shower, having breakfast, then putting on clothing and shoes often evoke the dog's pacing and whining. These signs then progress and culminate when the owner closes the door and starts the car engine to leave the house. Does this sound familiar? Many owners of dogs with separation anxiety are not aware of what happens when they leave the house. They only see the pacing and whining prior to their departure and the puddle of urine upon coming back. If you suspect your dog may be displaying separation anxiety, it might be a good idea to set up a camera (safely out of reach from the dog) or some form of remote monitoring so that you can see what is truly happening. I actually recommend doing this as well with dogs who do not seem to fit the picture as sometimes the recording can be quite insightful. Is the dog pacing, whining, salivating, scratching the door, having accidents in the house and acting in distress for several minutes or hours at a time in your abscence? In this case, the peeing may be an expression of the deep anxiety the dog is feeling when being left alone. There may be chances that the fact your dog pees on the rug may be because it's located in an area closer to the door. There might be though some substrate preference at play too. Pups develop this substrate preference at a young age and absorbable surfaces such as carpet and rugs are often a favorite. This kind of anxiety peeing in dogs requires behavior modification which often entails gradually desensitizing the dog to pre-departure cues and creating positive associations with them. Severe cases may require medications along with behavior modification. On the other hand, dogs can have accidents when owners are not home also for other reasons. Some dogs may see other dogs walk by and this may evoke marking behaviors and some dogs who have a history for being punished for peeing in the home in the past may get sneaky and do the deed when the owners are away or not looking (in this case though one would find accidents as well when just leaving the room). If the accidents take place when home as well, then there may be other factors at play and I can provide more info pertaining this based on your answer. You may be dealing with a more generalized form of anxiety or perhaps more concomitant forms of anxiety.

Richie, just wanted to keep you posted. I am working on a detailed answer. Will get in touch shortly.

MrJorge, I see no harm in doing that as a back-up in case you forget the clicker. Due to the possibility that the clicking noise may be more salient than the verbal cue though, providing these two forms of marking simultaneously may possibly lead to one shadowing the other. It might be more effective teaching your pup using the clicking sound first and then in separate sessions using the verbal marker alone. Then, you can switch between them. Don't forget to "charge" your verbal marker just as you do with the clicker: Yes!-treat-Yes!-treat-Yes!-treat and to always use the same tone considering that us humans (equipped with emotions) may unintentionally have several different ways of expressing the same word.

Cynthia, At 6 months, we really need to curb this behavior. In an ideal situation we aim to have reduced puppy nipping to a good extent by the age of six months and your dog is already at this milestone. You are at beginning of doggy adolescence, a time when dogs may be get more stubborn and things a tad bit more challenging to overcome. Here's a read about doggy adolescence and what to expect: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ I may need a bit more info on your specific situation. Can you please describe the context in which this behavior occurs? Does there seem to be a particular pattern? For example, does the biting typically start when you are watching TV, when on the phone or when you sit down to read? Do you ever play "wrestling games" with your dog? Does it happen on walks? Or does it just seem to happen randomly during the day when you move around? I wouldn't be too concerned about the destruction of the toys other than the fact it may be upsetting to see them destroyed and it may cost money to replace them. This is overall normal behavior. Some dogs simply have stronger jaws and destroy toys more easily. If the toys contain squeakers or stuffing, it's natural behavior to want to destroy them to remove the "innards. " On a side note: be careful with squeakers as too many dogs swallow them and risk a blockage (expensive surgery). You should keep easily destructed toys out of reach and if he happens to approach or get one, make sure he's fluent on the "leave it" and "drop it" cue and trading it with some tasty treats or another toy stuffed with goodies that is stronger (yup, the black Kong Jorge mentioned works great!). Another favorite of mine is the Kong Wobbler. We have one that is 10 years old and it is gone through both my Rotties' teething stage up to now (and it was used by loads of other dogs). It's full of teeth scratches, but still holding up well. Goughnuts also provide quite some sturdy toys, and if I recall well, they come with a guarantee. Here are some reads on leave it and drop it and trading. Leave it and drop it: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/drop-it/ Teaching a dog to trade (scroll to the bottom of the article) https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/overprotective-of-toys/

Hunter Christian, that's a great question! My answer may surprise you a bit because we know how important it is to maintain the potency of the clicker, but in reality the effects have barely an impact. Back when I attended my very first clicker training course, there were 8 of us training dogs side-by-side and we charged the clicker taking turns and the dogs just did fine. We then continued clicking left and right for an entire two weeks and the dogs didn't appear frustrated or confused. Why is that? I have a theory. I think dogs are smart enough to understand that rewarded clicks happen only in presence of the owner, with the owner making eye contact and holding a clicker in the hand. Now, there are no actual studies conducted on this to provide you a more formal answer, but my personal initial anedoctal evidence continued then in the several clicker training classes I held and classes held by my collegues. Although, I must admit that, at times, there might be a brief period where you can see a dog is figuring things out before understanding the context in which rewarded clicks occur (close proximity to you, etc). I would suggest though to keep each dog in separated rooms/crates mostly because they may get in the way of one another (especially with yummy treats around) and act as distractions when you want the focus entirely on you. Happy training!

For the issue of peeing on the area rug, if that's the only area that your dog is peeing on, I have good news: localized peeing is much easier to tackle than dogs who pee in several areas of the home. It may be your dog is urine marking if he hikes his leg and just pees a small amount versus emptying the whole bladder. This is an article about marking: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/urine-marking/ Here is what I suggest doing: 1) Management. Even in this case, management goes a long way. When you are not actively supervising or must leave the house, prevent access to the rug. Keep your dog in a crate or outside in the yard with you or behind a baby gate in a room where he is unlikely to pee (make sure his bladder is empty before) This prevents rehearsal of the problem behavior. Many dogs will urinate when owners are not in sight since urinating in the presence of the owner often leads to scolding or some other display of emotional upset. 2) Actively supervise your dog when you are home. This means paying close attention to your dog. It helps if you don't have visual barriers (tables, stools) that block view. 3) Learn your dog's pre-potty signs. Before going potty, most dogs will perform some behavior sequence like sniff the area, circle or start lifting a leg. When you are actively supervising your dog, you need to watch for pre-potty signs so that you can interrupt him before he gets a chances to pee. Below is a way to interrupt him. In some cases, you may need to clap your hands to interrupt and then redirect as explained below. 4) Train a "going to the door cue" and make this behavior extra fluent. Use this cue when you notice your dog is giving pre-potty signs. Train your dog to follow you to the door and outside and make this very rewarding. You can use a verbal cue like "let's go!" Rehearse this several times to make the behavior very fluent. Simply say "let's go" in an exciting tone of voice as you rush towards the door. Give a food reward (which I am sure your dog will love!) Then progress to saying "let's go" rushing to the door and giving the food reward right when you are out, and then progress to saying "let's go" rushing to the door and giving the food reward after your dog goes potty outside. 5) Train to go potty on cue outside and make the activity extra rewarding. With a good reward history, your dog should choose going outside more and more over using the carpet. Here's how to train a dog to go potty on cue: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/potty-on-command/ 6) Use the right products. With beagle blood running through the veins, your dog likley has a very powerful sniffer. If he smells previosuly soiled areas, most likely he will want to mark on them over and over. An enzymatic urine cleaner can help remove the scent, but you will need to be very careful and actively supervise to prevent him from soiling the area again which leads to more urine marking. Make sure the cleaner is color-safe for carpets. 7) Last but not least, consider other aspects of your dog's life. If your dog is stressed or anxious, this can sometimes trigger urine marking. It can often be seen when there are changes such as recent moves, a new baby, construction workers etc. With management, active supervision, learning your dog's pre-potty signs and interrupting them as needed, training a "let's go" cue, rewarding outdoor elimination and using the right products, you should see a decrease in the peeing- on- the- rug behavior.

Excellent advise there from Mr. Jorge! I would not give up on food yet and posted some suggestions here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?54-Reward-issues

Hello Richie, Welcome to the forum! With an 8-year old dog, you are likely dealing with a strong history of rehearsal of these problem behaviors and therefore I can understand how frustrating it may feel dealing with them. By implementing several changes and applying them diligently and persistently, you may see a reduction in these behaviors. My favorite saying for these cases is "when there is a will, there is a way." I will start tackling the food stealing behavior first. With a beagle and lab mix you have the "best of both worlds." On one hand, you have a "nose on four legs, which is the beagle," on the other hand, you have the "stomach without a bottom" which is the Lab. It's not surprising therefore with such a mix, that your dog is so food oriented and eager to eat anything that is left around. For dogs getting into foods, there is usually not a one-solution that fixes it all, but rather it often takes a multi-facted approach. Here are some tips: 1) Most dogs will gain acces to food items when the owners are out of out of sight. Management is therefore top priority to prevent rehearsal of the problem behavior. The more a dog rehearses the problem behavior, the more it becomes ingrained. Fact is, gaining access to food brings a strong reinforcement history. So every time your dog gets a hang of something tasty when you are out of sight, the reward history has already occurred. The dog got to eat the goodies and this behavior will reinforce and repeat. 2) Just to point this out, when you catch your dog eating some food left unattended, it often won't matter much what happens next (unless you catch your dog right in the act!) as the dog already gained his momentum of reinforcement. So if your dog already has the item in his mouth and you reprimand him for that, he'll likely not make the association between gaining access to the item and your frustration. You'll just end up just looking like a big party pooper who interferes with all the fun. Another good reason to eat things (and quickly!) when you are not around! 3) Now, it would help to take a look at the term "stealing" from a dog's persepective, as we often take it "personally" when dogs gain access to things they shouldn't have. Dogs do not have a sense of stealing in the same way we do. Among dogs, if you watch them interact, you will see that when a dog is eating and then gets up leaving some crumbs behind, to the other dog this is an official "signal" meaning that the dog has lost interest in those leftovers and is surrendering them. So an unattended brger left on the table from a dog's perspective is a relinquished item left to anyone who wishes to claim it. A dog who we therefore think is "stealing food" we have left on the counter, in reality is acting quite politely, waiting for the person to leave it behind and show no more interest in it. Therefore, in other words, dogs do not the cognitive abilities to recognize that an item that is left behind and not in our direct possession still belongs to us and should not be touched. Dogs act out of instinct and are opportunists and after all without this trait they likely wouldn't have made it so far as a species (imagine a starving dog in the wild not eating food readily available to them). 4) I know this sounds repetitive but this cannot be emphasized enough. "Manage Your Dog's Environment." By managing your dog's environment, you are preventing access to things your dog can potentially eat when you are not actively watching. This often entails "thinking like a dog." In other words, look at your home and remove foods anything your dog may gain access to. This is similar to toddler-proofing a home only that dogs are capable of pulling and jumping up and stealing items from counters, unattended handbags and tables. This means never leaving around candy wrappers, crumbs, handbags containing candy or gums, and unattended foods on tables. Trash cans should be stored away or the ones with dog-proof lids should be used. These dog-proofing measures are important as many times dogs who eat unattended foods are may be prone to costly surgeries to remove intestinal blockages (from bones) or hospitalizations associated with dogs eating things they shouldn't (think baker's chocolate left unattended on the table). To make life easier, it's best to restrict a dog's access to a small area that is easy to dog proof. For many dogs who tend to get in a trouble, installing baby gates or using a secure crate when dog owners are not around may be the best option. 5) Practice the Leave it Cue. Find it here:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/m...take-leave-it/ Training your dog to "leave it" is important so that your dog understands that some items should be left alone. Make sure to practice with low value items at first and praise/reward your dog lavishly when he listens to your cue and then progress to foods. 6) Practice The Drop it Cue. Find it here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/m...e-101/drop-it/ Training your dog to "drop it" adds a back-up plan should you be to late to say "leave it" as your dog has the item already in his mouth. It can make the difference between life and death should the dog get a hang of something potentially dangerous such as a packet of sugarless gum containing xylitol. 7) Active Supervision. When you have free time, make it a habit of performing active supervision. This means that you will be closely supervising your dog and providing him guidance and feedback about what he can and cannot touch. Tell your dog "leave it" the second you notice intent of getting something you don't want him to have. Note: You shouldn't have to say "drop it" if you are actively supervising and trained "leave it" fluently. 8) Never run after your dog should he end up carrying around food he shouldn't have. This can prompt the keep-away game and even prompt to resource guarding in dogs predisposed to this. Instead, train your dog to respond to drop it and trade. You can find info about the basics of trading for toys (or any other items) here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/m...ctive-of-toys/ 9) Out of Sight, but not Out of Mind. Finally, as a last resport for some challenging cases of dogs who tend to steal food over and over, it may help to teach the dog a valuable lesson: that although you are not in sight, you are still there. This sould entail leaving the dog with a food item that he is often likely to steal and watching the dog from a window at a distance or a remote camera from behind the door. The moment the dog attempts to the get the item, the dog owners should announce "leave it"to remind the dog that although he's not in sight, the dog is still being watched. These sessions require a dog who repsonds fluently to "leave it" and can be rehearsed several times, although there are no guarantees the dog won't steal the item if left alone for a long time. Also, such practice rehearsals should never be used with items that are potentially harmful to the dog. 10) Make sure your dog has access to plenty of legitimate interactive toys that stimulate your "dog's reward zone" of the brain. Kong Wobblers, Buster Cubes etc. help provide an outlet to those innate scavenging instincts many dogs have. So to recap, by preventing rehearsals of problem behaviors, managing your dog environment, limiting access to interactive toys that encourage scavenging, training leave it and drop it fluently and providing structured guidance, with time, you should hopefully see a decrease in stealing food items, at least when it happens in your presence. Of course, this is on top of providing exercise, training and mental stimulation through all of the fun brain games. Hope this helps! Will be posting soon about the other issue you are facing.

Personally, I have nothing against raw food, as long as it's done correctly. Veterinary nutritionists have found that many homemade and raw diets are nutritionally incomplete. This can be deleterious, especially in a puppy. A European study found that in 95 homemade raw meat diets being fed to dogs, 60 percent had major nutritional imbalances. I would suggest consulting with a veterinary nutritionist for some balanced recipes or looking whether there are some foods that at least meet AAFCO standards that are suitable for puppies. Sometimes, giving these companies a call is important to ensure the food is OK to give to puppies. As for treats for training dogs on a raw diet, there are some companies that now have started making freeze-dried treats for training. Other options are dehydrated beef heart and live, dried lamb or beef lung and small pieces of dried fish. Boiled chicken is a favorite of mine, albeit a bit messy to put in a treat bag. For that, I line my treat bag with some foil or plastic to prevent major messes.

Unless dogs are sick and not eating, most dogs are motivated by food. I would suggest from now on, having your dog work for her kibble rather than giving it out for "free" in her bowl. This will give you more or less 100 opportunuties to reward good behavior each day if you use all her daily portion. If you are using canned food, smear some on a finger to reward, just to get started. We often give dog food for granted and put it to waste when it can be put to great use intead. Many dogs get more and more interested in food when they start "working for it." When my clients tell me their dogs aren't motivated by food, most likely they haven't experimented enough. I suggest going to a pet store and asking the clerk for the aisle where high-value training treats are located. Also, experimenting with people food may be worth a try as well. Whether dog food or treats or people food, I am sure you will find something that will work well for her.

Jillianwahto, I am so sorry you are going through this. Unfortunately, your situation is not unusual and having two puppies so close in age and of the same sex may lead to what is known as sibling rivalry. Generally, male and female combinations of sibling puppies have a better chance of getting along. Although this combo may still turn out quite problematic for various reasons, it appears that things are a bit more manageable due to male dogs being a bit more lenient in getting the females "get away with things." With male-male combos things get more difficult. It may start with a few squabbles here and then, but then as the pups mature and approach adolescence things start escalating and becoming more and more difficult to control. I am not necessarily saying you are dealing with sibling rivarly (only a professional coming to your home and observing their interactions may do that), but when getting two pups of the same age and same sex, this is unfortunately not an uncommon scenario which is why many reputable breeders and rescues refuse to give two pups away at the same time. You may need a veterinary behaviorist (DACVB) or Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB) come in person to evaluate their interactions for an accurate assessment and behavior modification plan. There are many dynamics that may be going on and seeing them in person is important. While these spats may seem like they happen out of the blue for no rhyme or reason, often there are subtle dynamics taking place and it's important to have these recognized so to know how to correctly proceed. The growling during the day seems concerning and may warrant investigation from a vet to rule out medical conditions before attempting behavior modification. Unfortunately, several of these cases have a tendency to get worse rather than better if not addressed and at times may result in one puppy being rehomed if the situation reaches a point of not being manageable. Although there may not be injuries, things can progress with time to that point, and it's also important to keep in mind the emotional aspect if one dog is being bullied around by the other. Of course, there are cases of dog owners raising two male littermates successfully, but this requires constant supervision, meticulous management and separation when not closely supervised. There are risks though with this and things can get ugly quickly not matter what as the dogs mature. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Sounds like she's on the mend! Actually, it's nice to hear how you are turning a mishap into a great opportunity to train some impulse control which may have been more challenging to train otherwise. Hopefully, it'll stick once she's back to being fully mobile. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Pheew... glad to hear surgery is not needed. These pups surely keep us worried, don't they? In many dogs, their outputs are often altered when they sustain some type of injury that causes pain, especially when it affects their mobility. To help her eliminating, I don't think there's really much you can do other than wait for when nature calls and hope that the need would have grown impellent enough that the sense of urgency would be enough to evoke her going closer to the house. If worse comes to worse, and she is hopping on 3 legs, you can always use the popular method of using a towel as a sling placing it under her front legs or back legs to help her walk to her designated favorite tree. A disclaimer is warranted here; if at any time your dog appears in discomfort or is showing pain due to the obstipation, give your vet a call. Sometimes vets may prescribe a laxative (or some home remedy) that can help for obstinate cases. As scary as it sounds, when I worked for the vet we got phone calls of some dogs who weren't going for 4-5 days after surgery (especially when opiods were prescribed for pain control!). You can still play some of her favorite brain games, but you may have to find a way to limit movement. For example, if your dog uses mainly her nose when playing the muffin game, you can have her laying down with the muffin tin in front of her while you are nearby to make sure she stays nicely put. Hand targeting can be fun to play as well with her laying down next to you while you are sitting on the couch and treats are delivered directly to her mouth. You can also push a ball in her direction (while laying down) and have her catch it with her mouth and ask for her to drop it in exchange for a tasty treat. Free shaping can be fun too. Or if you want to have a particular goal in mind, you can train her to do some cute tricks. I don't know what legs are affected and at what point her training is, but if her front paws are not affected and she's laying down, you can try training shame on you, shake or if you feel particularly inspired to play the piano using the nose. I have a client of mine who when her dog was recovering from a surgery trained her dog to cross her paws. Of course, all these games/tricks need to be played in a very controlled setting, best if your dog knows a good down stay so that she's discouraged from getting up and acting rowdy in the midst of all the fun. Stuffing a Kong is also a great option although you might have to offer it inside a crate. As a side note, for very active pooches who are still bouncing off the walls no matter what and where exercise restriction is key to recovery, sometimes vets will prescribe some sedatives (Benadrly comes to mind). I hope this helps, of course, use your own judgment. You know your dog best so avoid some of the suggested games if your dog is prone to getting too excited or feels compelled to using her injured paw. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Amazing work you are doing there with your pup! Sounds like your pup has good potential and you are very dedicated in training. Folks like you who find the process of training instrinsically rewarding are armed with a natural inclination for perseverance and patience which leads to success. Great job.