Adrienne Farricelli

This should be an easy fix with a bit of feedback done through differential reinforcement. In other words, reward only nose touches without teeth. If you feel the teeth, you can say "oops" and withdraw your hand and give no treat. When there are no teeth, mark it and reward. The wonderful thing about training dogs is that what you mark and reward is what you get. I would aim for nose touches only not mouth. Now to answer your question as to why this may have happened there are some possibilities. 1) It might have happened that casually one day, your dog's "teeth touch" rather than just "nose touch" went rewarded. Because by the law of reinforcement, behaviors that are rewarded, repeat and strenghten, this behavior may have started building up and put roots. 2) Now, sometimes, behaviors reinforce too because of other dynamics going on, other than the familiar praise/treats/ pats that we categorize as rewards. So let's say for instance, your puppy made contact with her teeth and you moved your hand and your puppy tried to catch your hand, then the behavior may have reinforced if you have a playful pup who loves to play this way. 3) You may be witnessing an "extinction burst." This is quite an interesting phenomenon. This may happen if too many targets went unrewarded for some time. The puppy may be thinking along the terms of "my nose touch is no longer working, what must I do next to gain a reward? Let me try nipping a little bit." This can be compared to us humans using a vending machine. We are used to having it deliver a chocolate bar every time we put a coin in. Then, that day the chocolate bar isn't delivered, what do we do? We start shaking the vending machine in hopes of it releasing our expected goodie. In such a case, it's important to ignore the extinction burst (the teeth touch) and wait to reward nose touches only. You can further help your pup succeed by quickly rewarding a barely made nose touch, so that the pup doesn't have opportunity to place the teeth on the hand. 4) Make sure you are delivering treats from the other hand rather than the same hand that was used for targeting. Chances are, if you feed treats with the hand used for targeting, it may become a "yummy thing to nibble on" if it smells good :p 5) If it happens when you are raising your hand, it could be that the nipping is an attempt to grab either in play or to gain easier access to it. As your puppy grows taller, you will find that it will become easier for her to target without you needing to bend down. I would stick to lower targets for now, if the higher ones evoke nipping.

Hi Jorge, You have great questions there! I am personally not too much a fan of using a dog's name other than for recall training purposes and emergency situations. For Look into my Eyes I also prefer a sound that gets your dog's attention very quickly. As you can see in the video, Einstein's response is immediate and almost reflexive despite my husband bouncing a ball a few feet away. The sound is used just for that, grabbing the dog's attention promptly, and you can put it further to good use later when training attention heeling and later on in the "Look at That" exercise in the University section. Here's one fact: dogs hear us talking all day long. This sounds like lots of blabblering from the dog's perspective. When we call a dog it takes a bit of more time for the dog to recognize his name out of the meanlingless blabbering we do, and on top of that, we must pronounce all those syllables so that the dog realizes that we are calling "Oliver" and not just remarking something random like "olives are good!" Many dog names are made of 2-3 syllables and sometimes even more. In these precise circumstances instead, we want an immediate, reflexive response. Some days, I am surprised when I notice my dogs (or other dogs for training) orienting towards me and only a second later I realize I just made the briefest smacking sound with my mouth by mistake without even noticing! It's a common rule in dog training, that we do not use a verbal cue until there are signs that the dog has understood the exercise and some muscle memory has started to set in. Giving an exercise a name in the preliminary stages of training may lead to confusion. As you progress, you will see that in the exercises the verbal cue is added a bit later on. For sake of comparison, it's sort of like putting just a few bricks down and calling it a house. That would not be aproppriate at the earliest stages of building. Once we add windows and doors, then it's worthy of calling it a house! Hope this clarifies! Best, Adrienne

Hmmm... If it's happening randomly, then I wonder if they are just "play fighting." Are these your very first puppies? Sometimes puppy play can get quite intense at times and since there is a bit of an age gap here, it could be that one pup is a bit too rough with the other. Generally, if one pup appears to "attack" the other, but they are not hurting each other (I am talking puncture wounds here) and then, the pup who is "attacked" comes back "for more" and then follows more rough play, it might be play fighting--but don't take my word for it. Seeing the behavior and the interactions among the two is the only way to make better assumptions. For rough play, both puppies benefit from guidance under the form of close supervision and training the pups alternate behaviors at the first signs that things are starting to escalate so to prevent rehearsal. In that case, training a positive interrupter (for example, having your pups respond to a verbal cue or sound which prompts them to rush towards you no questions asked is important.) You would first train this when the pups are away from each other, then together in low distraction scenarios, middle distraction ones and then despite higher-level distractions such as play. I wouldn't use the "come" command but another cue specifically crafted for this. It is very important that your pups learn to mind you and not just play all day. Otherwise you may see the deleterious effects of over bonding between the pups. Try your best to train, socialize, walk and play with your pups separately and individually so they have the opportunity to bloom to their potential. If one puppy though is bullying the other excessively, there are frequent squabbles and the other party appears hurt, frightened or emotionally upset, then sadly, sometimes there are cases referred to as "sibling rivalry" where the relationship among the pups leads to perpetual conflict and re-homing one may be neccessary. This is why many breeders are reluctant to give away two pups of the same litter or that are too close in age. This is a very impressionable age and if the pups are not provided with proper guidance, then it just gets worse. The fact they are both males and not one male and one female is unfortunately an aggravating factor here. Same-sex sibling rivarly tends to be worse and this applies to both males and females. You may need a veterinary behaviorist or Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist come in person to evaluate their interactions for an accurate assessment and a treatment plan.

The choice of a collar, versus harness, versus halti is often a matter of personal choice with a puppy, but there can be several pros and cons based on several dog/dog onwer individual situations and factors. Puppies are a clean slate so since you are not dealing yet with established bad habits as it happens with dogs who have been allowed to pull most of their lives, you can train good leash manners from the get-go which is an advantage regardless of the tool used. I always used regular buckle collars with most young pups with dedicated owners committed to teaching good leash manners, but with small dog breeds who are prone to tracheal problems, I prefer getting them used to harnesses. I also prefer harness use with disabled owners or the senior who own large breed dogs. There are harnesses and harnesses. The ones that clip on the back may encourage pulling, whereas the front-attachment ones discourage pulling. Personally, I am a big fan of the no-pull harnesses such as the Easy-walk harness, the Sensation harness, the Walk your Dog with Love harness etc. Some puppy owners start with a regular collar and then as their pups grow and have their "unruly moments" mostly during the critical adolescent stage, they switch to no-pull harness, often just temporarily or on an as-needed basis. Haltis take some time to get used to wearing. I feel their use is a bit too aversive for a young puppy and generally tend to leave them as a tool of last resort for exhuberant dogs with excessive pulling problems or behavior problems. Every dog trainer has their own personal opinions on use of tools certainly, so just sharing mine. Your question about the leash is a great one! When going potty, as you may have noticed, it is best to not interfere too much with the leash. If you keep it short, your puppy will not have enough room and freedom to sniff around and feel comfortable. I like to keep the leash very loose and tell the puppy to "go sniff" when we are near the designated potty area. This way, the leash becomes a cue that the pup should relax and try to sniff and find a potty spot. The best part is that with time, the puppy eventually learns to associate the verbal cue and loose leash with with sniffing and eventually doing business. The cue "go sniff" also emphasizes that you are giving permission to wander a bit. To further prevent confusion, if feasible, you can use a long line just for potty trips and the regular leash for polite leash walk training. I can understand your reluctance to use a clicker for training. Many years ago I was very reluctant to use one too until one day I attended a clicker training event and got hooked because it helped me communicate more effectively. It's a common misconception that a clicker must always be carried. In reality, the clicker is mostly used in the acquisition stage of dog training and then it's use is discontinued. Here is a read explaining the process: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/always-use-clicker/ There have been several studies conducted on the use of clickers. The below study found that dogs who were trained using a clicker to perform a specific target behavior took an average time of 36 minutes to perform the task, whereas dogs who were verbally conditioned took an average of 59 minutes: https://www.clickertraining.com/files/Wood_Lindsay_CLICKER_BRIDGING_STIMULUS_EFFICACY.pdf Regardless, the good news is that all the course covers choice of a clicker or verbal marker. Many dog owners have success regardless, so it's umtimately a matter of personal choice and what works best. Hope this helps! Best, Adrienne

Hello David, Welcome to the forum! Little dogs can sometimes be a little tricky to lie down. The "L" pattern should technically still work for a small dog, the only difference is that the "L" drawn would be slightly shorter, that is both the vertical and horizontal line. You can try to draw an "I" instead if that helps. With some dogs, I have had success having the owners sit on the floor and form a "bridge" with the bent legs under which the dog is lured into a down. You can also try luring under a foot stool. Then, the use of legs or foot stool needs to be faded by first luring next to the stool/legs and then gradually more away from them. Alternatively, you can try using capturing. A guide on how to capture a down can be found here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/clicker-training/ Best, Adrienne

Nadine, Can you please provide more details on what you have tried so far among all the tips provided and which ones didn't work out? That will be extra helpful in troubleshooting the issue. Thanks

Hello Mr Jorge, Welcome to the forum. Kudos to you for preparing in advance, your puppy is very lucky. Awesome suggestions from Jennifer you got there! I have a couple of things to add to the new puppy checklist. You already listed several but thought to make you a little checklist. Crate (A life-stages crate with a divider panel may come handy so that as your puppy grows you won't have to keep buying larger and larger crates) Soft mat/blanket for the crate Baby gate (for stairs and blocking off access to certain rooms) Pee pads (in case you live in an apartment or when you will be out for long) Stainless steel food and water bowls Puppy dental kit with toothpaste/tooth brush and finger toothbrush to get your puppy used to having his teeth brushed. Hypoallergenic puppy shampoo Nail trimmer Grooming brush Age-appropriate chew toys (make sure they are labeled safe for puppies) Kibble-dispensing toys (Jennifer pointed several great ones out) AAFCO approved food for large breed puppies Storage container for food to keep it fresh Enzyme-based spray to clean up accidents on carpets or floors and remove odors (big fan of Nature's Miracle here!) Lots of paper towels to clean messes! Leather leash (softer on the hands and durable) Collar or harness Training treats A clicker 2nd - Puppy training program and priorities! Things to focus on when puppy comes home: priorities (although everything is really important!) are getting your pup used to the crate, potty training and socialization. In the midst of all that, you will find ample of opportunities to train bite inhibition, get your pup used to being handled and basic manners as outlined in obedience 101. There are really no rules set in stone on for how long to train these things, you will just have to go at your pup's pace without overwhelming him. Making the crate a great place to be! Although I have an adult demo dog, this training works great for pups too. See my video series on this: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/ Potty Training: Here are some reads to get you started: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/7-secret-potty-training-strategies/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/housetraining-schedule/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/why-puppies-have-accidents/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/submissive-urination/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/urinating-when-excited/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/puppy-peeing-after-coming-inside/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/puppy-refusing-potty-grass/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/puppy-wont-potty-rain/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/potty-on-command/ Socialization: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/socializing-your-puppy/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/socializing-puppy-children/ Bite inhibition https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/biting-mouthing-nipping/: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/ Handling: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/train-dog-love-nail-trims/ Use the Basic Handling game listed here to get pup to enjoy being touched, you can then progress to using a brush: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/ How to prevent hand shyness: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-of-hands/ Preventing Fear: Investing some time in preventing behavior problems from occurring in the first place is important and a good investment: Puppy fear periods: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-periods-8-10-weeks-6-14-months/ Should your puppy ever show fear, this is a good method to implement: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/using-jolly-routine-fearful-dogs/ To prevent fear of water: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-water-bathing/ Basic Manners: Stop by the obedience 101 section to get started. With puppies, consider that they get easily distracted and we may need to do briefer sessions and take baby steps. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/ You can start on some preschool brain games: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/ Nipping behaviors in the bud: Start reading behavior training for dogs: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/behavior-training/ Jump to the bottom on how to train puppy to trade toys: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/overprotective-of-toys/ Much more can be found in the archive. Happy training and good luck with your pup! Adrienne

Hello Nadinebeddowes, Welcome to the forum! You are so right that it's best to nip things in the bud now that they are young and things are more manageable! There are several ways you can make mealtime more relaxing so to reduce conflict. If you feel that mealtime is starting to get a bit chaotic that your dogs can't comfortable (and safely!) enjoy a meal in the same room, by all means, give them some more distance from one another so that they can enjoy their meals without tension. If tension keeps building up, you'll end up with dogs eating in a hurry (which is not healthy) and mealtimes becoming more and more a time of conflict. Dogs need distance so that they can relax knowing that no dog will get in each others' way. When meal time leads to tension, it's therefore a good practice (if you aren't doing so already) to feed dogs in opposite corners of the kitchen or even in different rooms. Should one dog finish faster, a sit-stay or down-stay as explained in the obedience course (reward by delivering a treat every now and then and then gradually wait a little longer each time before delivering the treat) can help prevent him from accessing the other dog who is still eating. Your younger dog may be too young to hold a longer stay, so you may have to initially use body blocks if he finishes up first or simply keep him with a leash tab on and as soon as he's done keep him with you. If one dog is always faster then the other, slowing him down using a slow-feeder bowl or a puzzle toy may buy you enough time for the other dog to finish first and remove the food bowl so that there is something less to be worried about fighting over. In the meanwhile, keep the other dog busy with you. Training a solid leave it, may also be an effective cue to give if you notice one dog getting close to the other during meals. Voice control can often be very helpful in preventing confilict from erupting. Another option if you have a dog who eats faster and goes trick-or-treating in your other dog's bowl, is to create a habit of having your faster eater meet you in another room (right after he's done eating) where he is given several treats that are superior in value than what's in the other dog's food bowl. This creates a good habit that offers the dog an alternate behavior than bothering the other dog who is still finishing up. If both dogs happen to finish at the same time, you can invite both of them to join you perhaps in another room or yard and ask them to sit and feed them some yummy treats. Feed the calmer dog first and right after the other dog. If you make this a habit, they'll look forward to their structured "after meal party time" each day. While you enjoy their company, a family member may remove the food bowls so when they come right back in, their first thought is not to go check each other's bowls leading to potential sciuffles. Picking up food bowls as soon as each dog is done may help reduce some tension as you remove a potential source of problems. It is therefore important preventing your pups from rehearsing these behaviors so to reduce this conflict during mealtime. If tension instead erupts over high-value long-lasting treats such as bully sticks, bones or stuffed Kongs, then in those cases it's best to keep dogs once again, at a distance from each other or even locked away in a different room or in their own crates until these goodies are consumed. Feeding these goodies in their own crates by the way is an excellent way of creating positive associations with their crates!

Yes, if your puppy is grasping the object on cue (when told so) and is lifting it off the ground even for just a split second, then that qualifies as "take." That's a job well done considering that your puppy is quite young! I wouldn't focus too much on training hold at this point, unless you are planning on advancing to some of the more advanced brain games or considering engaging your pup in bird dog training or in the sport of shutzhund. If you'd like to train longer "holds" though let me know and I can share some tricks of the trade I have learned from some successful gun dog training folks. All we really need at this point in order to train drop it initially is just a second or two of having an item held in the mouth. So for instance, let's say you are playing with your pup, wiggling around a toy and then toss her the toy. You let her interact with it a bit, perhaps wait for her to shake it around, and then you can practice saying "drop it" as you show a treat right in front of her nose and click/reward with the treat the moment the mouth is opened and the toy falls out. Then, you can proceed, gradually progressing to no longer showing th treat following the instructions in the course. Since you have a young pup, you can also practice "drop it" randomly throughout the day with other objects. The good thing about pups is that sooner than later, they'll carry something they shouldn't have in their mouths. It may be a slipper, a magazine or the remote control or some other random object left around. There are often plenty of opportunities for training "drop it" with pups! Of course, never leave your pup purposely with items that may harmful just for the sake of training. It takes just a second for a pup to swallow something harmful such as a battery or coin. To answer your question, if your dog is already eating something you don't want her to, as long as it's something the dog can spit out (peanut butter won't work of course!) then you would use "drop it." If your pup is about to approach something with the intent to eat it/interact with it, you would use "leave it." "Drop it" is therefore for something that is already in the dog's mouth, "leave it" is for something that you don't want your pup to interact with. So for example, let's say you just dropped a large chunk of bread on the floor. If your pup moves towards it in an attempt to go eat it, and you say "leave it," your pup shouldn't get any closer to it if she understands this cue well. If you missed seeing your pup approach the bread and it's already in her mouth, then you would say "drop it" instead and hopefully she'll spit it out once you have practiced with higher-value items.

Great! It is super awesome your puppy has grasped the concept of "take." If your puppy is biting the toy upon hearing you say take and is shaking it for a second, it means she has learned to pick it up on cue and she has added her own personal touch in playing with it too. It sounds like now you are now trying to advance to "hold" which is perceived as a slightly different task to the dog. Hold is more challenging as it involves raising criteria because you are basically adding duration to the pick up. What are your goals for the the hold? Are you trying to get her to pick up a toy and then carry it in her mouth while walking, possibly with the final goal of bringing it to you? Just to clarify: a click signals the end of behavior. If you click, it is therefore normal for the dog to drop the item and expect the reward. By delaying the click/treat though you are adding some duration. For example, if you are using capturing then, the moment you see your puppy approaching a toy to pick it up, just a split second before she picks it up you can say "take" and then once the pup picks the toy up, wait a bit for your puppy to hold it (maybe while walking a few steps) and then click/ reward. End of the session. If your puppy resumes to want to pick it up again, embrace that and take advantage for another opportunity to click/reward other future holds. If your goal is training your pup to bring a toy to you though, I prefer to train it through a method known as backchaining.

Greetings, Sounds like you have been doing a great job with your pup, kudos to you! To tackle the barking issue, it would require a multi-faceted approach with the goal of identifying the exact triggers, preventing rehearsal of the problem behavior, exposing to lower levels of intensity and creating positive associations. If she still manages to bark, this should require closer evaluation to what exactly happened and taking measures to prevent it from happening again next time. When the barking takes place, a bit of drama may be removed by saying something like "oops, let's move a bit away, too close for comfort" as you take a few steps back to give relief. Now, let's take a closer look at why this barking likely takes place and what can be done about it. This type of barking often takes place when a dog is not very comfortable being around people she doesn't know. The barking is often evoked when people engage in the "Ohhh, hi pretty puppy!" greeting style versus folks who ignore. Several pups may bark the moment a person looks at them and starts talking to them. In these instances, most likely the puppy has learned to associate the eye contact and talking with the person coming closer and possibly bending down trying to pet the dog because most people do these things in sequence (first look, then baby talk, then come closer). This type of barking can take place in puppies or dogs who haven't been socialized much during their critical windown of socialization roughly taking place between 4 and 16 weeks of age. In some cases, pups were socialized, but they just weren't exposed much to people with certain types of greeting styles. There are also cases where the pups, as they come into social maturity, generally between 12 and 36 months of age, start getting a bit more aloof and reserved and teenager "flakiness" may take place. Tackling this form of barking requires that the dog's emotional response to strangers is changed. The goal is to change the dog's mindset from dreading people talking to them, to wanting people to talk to them as positive associations are formed. Counterconditioning using classical conditioning may work best. Find the Exact Trigger/Triggers What exactly sets your dog off? Is it people talking to your dog in a certain tone of voice? People who talk and move into your dog's space? Men, women, children talking? Acknowledging what sets your dog off is important as it gives you a level of control since you know exactly what triggers the behavior. Sometimes, it's a whole chain of behaviors people do that causes the dog to get increasingly more and more worried until she explodes into a barking frenzy Manage the Environment Managing the dog's environment is important to so prevent rehearsal of the undesirable behaviors. The more a dog is put in a situation where she feels uneasy, the more the dog practices the barking and soon, it may become a default behavior that will take place more and more in the same or similar circumstance. Practice make perfect. Managing the dog's environment in this case, entails protecting the dog from exposure to scenarios and situations where the barking seems more likely to occur. In other words, you will have to find ways to prevent the triggers from occurring in the first place. Examples of managing the dog's environment may therefore encompass keeping the dog at a certain distance from people, asking people to not approach the dog (owners may say the dog is "in training" and not ready to face certain types of encounters) or asking people to simply ignore the dog. "E.g. "Hello there, can you please ignore my dog as we chit-chat? We are doing some training." Keep the Dog Under Thresold Keeping a dog under threshold means preventing him from reaching the point where things start breaking down and the barking starts. This entails keeping a close eye on the dog's body language for subtle signs indicating that she is getting more and more uncomfortable. Not always these signs are readily recognized as they can be quite subtle. It may be just a quick nervous lip lick, dilation of the pupils or a wrinkling of the forehead as the person makes eye contact, comes closer and shows interest in the dog. Create Positive Associations Now, if we are always protecting the dog from encounters that evoke the barking, how will the dog ever learn not to bark? Great question! The answer is: we do expose the dog to situations where things are better under control and under this setting we work on creating positive associations. The process of counterconditioning entails creating positive associations so to change the dog's emotional response. In this case, with the dog under threshold, it's a good idea to feed high value treats every time the dog encounters people. It is best if the dog owner initially feeds the dog in these cases since the person getting too close to feed a cookie may cause ambivalent approach-avoidance behaviors. These socialization exercises should be done gradually, starting first with people who ignore the dog and then incrementally increasing criteria by exposing the dog (always at a comfrotable and safe distance) to people who will perform certain triggering behaviors but in a slightly less intimidating form. So for instance, if the barking is triggered by somebody who loudly expresses excitement upon seeing the pup saying "ohhhh what a cute pupppyyyyy!" the person should try saying the same in a lower, less excited tone of voice without looking at the dog while the owner feeds treats, then gradually building up in intensity over several sessions. E.g. the person then looks briefly at dog and talks a bit more excited, then progresses to looking directly and talking more excited, then looks directly, talks excited and bends down a bit and so forth. Very important: when the talking stops, the treat delivery stops. Ideally, to help the dog succeed, these sessions would be done first with volunteer friends who the dog is familiar with, then those who the dog is not familair with. Anybody volunteering to help would have to be instructed on what to do so to have a good level of control of the situation. Even better, having a dog trainer help out is a plus so to provide guidance and a safe and correct implementation of the above described methods. What if the Dog Ends Up Barking? An "oops" moment can always happen and is expected to pop up sometimes in the initial stages of changing the emotional response. In that case, when a dog barks when greeted by people, it may help to move a bit farther back to give the dog relief while recognizing what triggered the barking. This acknowledgment helps to gauge better the distance for next time while making a mental note to self to prevent exposure of the same type and intensity in the future at least until better associations are made.Once at a farther distance, it may help to reward the dog several times for not barking so that the session has at least ended on a "positive note." Hope this helps! Best regards, Adrienne Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your dog is aggressive, please consult with a dog behavior professional for safety and correct implementation. By reading this answer, you automatically accept this disclaimer.

Received today the below question from one of our valued members. Below is my reply for others who may share a similar situation with their dogs. This is not an unusual problem with some pups:. "Hello Adrienne, We have rescued a 15 month old German Shepherd for the last 6 weeks. She has settled in with my husband and I really well during this time. We are enjoying your brain training games and she is picking them up really quickly. She is a beautiful dog, she walks well and is really good in the house. She was lurching at dogs and cats but following your advice she hardly pulls at all now when she sees a cat so hopefully in time she will be no problem. The main problem we have with her is when we are out and people want to say hello to her she barks at them. We can stand talking to some one she is fine but as soon as they talk to her she barks at them. We have tried telling people to ignore her and also give her treats when she sees people and doesn’t bark. The main question is what should we do when she does bark at people? We don’t want to make things worse. We hope you can point us in the right direction. Kind regards"

Daniel Reed, You have received excellent advice by Kouvang and Jennifer M. Couldn't have been worded better! Nipping is normal behavior for a puppy, especially for a herding breed as Jennifer pointed out. Anything that moves fast and is exciting, gotta get bitten. Children play using their hands, pups play using their mouths. It is not unusual that your pup is particularly attracted to your child because children move quickly, have high-pitch voices and that dress in perpetual motion has become your pup's favorite tug toy. Athough your child may dress some days in shorts, most likely she still moves a lot when the pup nips and this entices the pup to want to play and engage even more. It would be prudent at this point since it seems like your puppy is not under voice control, preventing the constant nipping through management so to prevent rehearsal of the problem behavior. In other words, when your child is active, the puppy is kept elsewhere. When the puppy is active, your child is elsewhere. This prevents the pup from being overstimulated and put into the position of wanting to constantly nip and tug on clothing. Pups also benefit from some time away from overly stimulating scenarios. It sounds like your pup is with your child for a great amount of time and this promotes inappropriate play the moment boredom sets in. Yes, a bone or a toy may help distract but it's pretty static compared to a child in perpetual motion. An interactive toy stuffed with Kibble ( like a Kong Wobbler) may buy some extra time and keep the pup busy due to the rewards found inside. Using a crate or play pen or simply keeping the pup behind a baby gate with some interactive toy is a good way to provide the pup the opportunity to calm down and possibly take a nap. Many pups are overstimulated when they are cranky. Mornings are also very active times when pups and children may not be a great mix. Training plays an important role in what happens next. Train your puppy to be fluent in responding to a verbal cue or sound (such as the smacking sound from Look into My Eyes) that informs her to come to you for a tasty treat. Use this strategy in case you need her to disengage from an interaction that you feel may become overstimulating. You can find more info on interactions of pups with children here:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/socializing-puppy-children/ Should your puppy catch you off guard and starts acting overstimulated, make sure your child turns "into a "tree" (hands to the side and head facing the floor) when the pup approaches since the more she squeals and runs about the more the pup will want to jump and nip. Trees instead are boring which is why dogs don't interact with them much (other than perhaps to pee on!). Also, you can train your puppy (initially while away from the child) how to target hands, sit and lie down and then, only once the behavior is very fluent, you can ask your child to be calm and with your help ask your pup to perform one behavior in exchange for a tasty treat or a ball tossed at a distance. A disclaimer is warranted here: close surpervision is always a must considering that a 5-month old puppy can case significant injuries to a child's delicate skin. Any sign of overstimulation that may turn into boisterous jumping, nipping and scratching should be promptly redirected. Also, an extra level of protection is offered if you can spend some time training the pup better bite inhibition, here are some tips: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/.

Jennifer, what a lovely crew you have there! Bless your heart for adopting these dogs and providing them with a loving and nurturing home. They are very lucky to have a committed owner like you. I am sure your dogs appreciate the fact you work from home, especially your SA dogs.

1) We often hear the saying a "tired dog is a good dog." Now, I am guilty of saying this as well but this applies mostly to the average dog who has lived with the same owner for some time, a dog with stability in his life, little stress and no major behavior issues. It also applies well to certain laid-back dog breeds. This doesn't seem to apply much with certain dogs especially certain dog breeds or dogs who have been recently rescued. Add on top of that, in your case, a dog in full peak adolescence. Fact is, although a 25 minute walk may seem a lot along with some mental stimulation and some play, this is really not much for a teenager dog with an innate tendency for being in perpatual motion. Certainly, it is not enough to discourage a dog from wanting to gain access to a jar of peanut butter. Many dogs even if exhausted (like after going hunting running for miles and miles) will still embrace such an opportunity just as an athlete who has just run a marathon will still have the energy to reach out for a favorite drink. So what I am trying to say is that just because a dog has been given the opportunity to exercise doesn't mean it will not get himself in mischief (at least mischief to us, as to a dog a jar of peanut butter left unattended is fair game as nobody was there to claim it.) 2) If your dog has a tendency to snatch things, there are several ways to tackle this. There is usually not a one-solution that fixes it all, but rather it often takes a multi-facted approach. Here is an article on stealing things:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/stealing-things/ Your individual case though may require a few add-ons. 3) Since it sounds like your dog appears to steal the most when you are out of sight, as outlined in the article, management is top priority. I know you are already working on keeping things out of reach, but I want to point out the importance of this. The more a dog rehearses the problem behavior, the more it becomes ingrained. Fact is, "stealing" brings a strong reinforcement history. So every time your dog gets a hang of something when you are out of sight, the reward history has already occurred. The dog got to eat, chew and interact with the stolen item. 4) Just to point this out, when you catch your dog stealing, 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 in the next handful of seconds or minutes after your dog has already enjoyed interacting with the stolen item, you reprimand your dog for stealing, he'll likely not make the association between the act of stealing and your frustration and you'll end up just looking like a big party pooper who stops all the fun. Another good reason to steal things when you are not around! 5) Now, I am using the word "stealing" but 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 lying down with an item and then gets up leaving the item behind, to the other dog this is an official "signal" meaning that the dog has lost interest in it. So an unattended jar of peanut butter 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" something 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 far away from us 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). 6) 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 steal when you are not actively watching. This often entails "thinking lik a dog." In other words, look at your home and remove items that your dog is likely to feel like "stealing." This is similar to toddler-proofing a home only that dogs are capable of pulling and ripping things apart, jumping up and stealing items from counters and tables. It seems like you are already doing a great job with this by removing items from your desk. I would expand this to other areas of the home or even better restrict access to only areas that have been "proofed." There may be various tempting things to remove such as pens from a desk, small knick-knacks from a piece of furniture or food leftovers from over a table. These dog-proofing measures are important as many times dogs who steal stuff are also likely to ingest them leading to costly surgeries to remove blockages or hospitalizations associated with dogs eating things they shouldn't (think baker's chocolate left unattended on the table). Again, 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, a secure crate may be the best option, although this might not be feasible yet for your dog. 7) Leave Legit Items Around. Now, that your have removed the items your dog shouldn't have, it's a good idea to leave several ample choices of legit items your dog can have. You may want to invest in sturdy dog toys that do not break apart for safety, although, a disclaimer is warranted here as any toy though could turn into a problem with an aggressive chewer. 8) Increase Saliency. Often the items dogs steal are particularly appealing eaither because they taste good, have a nice texture to chew on or simply have a sense of novelty. It helps to increase the saliency of legit items. Interactive toys work best as they offer a double-whammy. They are fun, attractive toys on their own and offer food rewards inside. A strategically stuffed toy can provide a mental workout and several minutes of entertainment. A Kong Wobbler can have some pieces of large cookies inside which may help prevent the kibble from coming out too freely and too fast. Also, it helps to rotate access to legit toys. Keeping some toys out of reach, and then back out again helps prevent them from getting too boring. This sense of novelty may make them less appealing than other items that may be found laying around the house. 8) Practice the Leave it Cue. Find it here:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/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. 9) Practice The Drop it Cue. Find it here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-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 dangeours. 10) 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 (no distractions!) 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. You shouldn't have to say "drop it" if you are actively supervising. 11) Never run after your dog should he end up having an item 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/members/archive/overprotective-of-toys/ 12) Out of Sight, but not Out of Mind. Finally, as a last resort for some challenging cases of dogs who tend to steal certain items 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 should entail leaving the dog with an 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. It may help to use a nanny camera and remind the dog to "leave it" as needed. The Furbo camera offers the advantage of allowing you to even give treats to reinforce good behaviors. These sessions 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 rehearsals should never be used with items that are potentially harmful to the dog. So to recap, by preventing rehearsals of problem behaviors, managing your dog environment, limiting access to stuff your dog can steal, granting access to legit items, increasing their saliency, training leave it and drop it, providing structured guidance, with time, you should hopefully see an increase in your dog making good choices. Of course, this is on top of providing exercise, training and mental stimulation. Please do not let other dog owners downplay the effort needed in helping a rescued dog. This is a very different situation from owning a dog that you have had since a puppy where you can mold good behaviors from the get-go and work more on preventing issues rather than fixing some badly ingrained habits. Hope this helps! Best regards, Adrienne

Hello Jennifer M, Welcome to the forum! At 9 months, you are dealing with the poster child of doggy adolescence, which can lead to several issues which are not that dissimilar from what parents go through with their growing up teenagers. It's a time of challenges and these dogs needs loads of mental stimulation and guidance. Not coincidentally, sadly this is also the age where most dogs are surrendered to shelters. Not many dog owners have the time and patience to keep up with an adolescent dog's demands and the associated time. Those though determined to help their dogs succeed, will often see the light after the tunnel, although it may take some time to see a return in investment. Here is some info on doggy adolescence from the archive:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ You are on the right track and deserve a big pat on the back. You are not only dealing with a difficult stage, but with behavior problems on top of that. You likely do not know much about this dog's past history and the main reasons why she was given away. Separation anxiety is not a quick fix, it can take weeks, months, if not, in some severe cases, years. If your dog is a new addition, consider as well that if you got her from the shelter, she has stress hormones left and right that may take some time to get out of the system. These are difficult times. I know that because I have fostered many dogs and the first weeks can be very tough. It seems like these dogs have boundless energy and thier lives have likely never had any structure. I can provide you with some tips to help set her for success, however, I must be honest here and point out that it may take some time to see desired behavior changes with these dogs. How much depends on several factors. For a good part for how long these dogs have been rehearsing these problem behaviors and how long those stress hormones linger. The good news is that your dog is young, and there is ample of room to allow a good history of reinforcement to take over and allow desired behaviors to strenghten. So here are some thoughts and general ideas:

"Outside- going outside she is soooo distracted and it seems like I don't even exist anymore. This time we are starting out small now by putting her on a leash and I'm trying the training where everytime she makes eye contact I give her a treat. She barely does it. I also call her name but she doesn't respond much. Any other suggestion?" This again, is pretty normal puppy behavior. Puppies are easily overstimulated by all the sights and sounds of the great outdoors. Don't take it personally: your puppy isn't voluntarily ignoring you, it's just that she hasn't attained yet the necessary impulse control to control her emotional response to all the stimuli. This takes time, some maturity (that comes with age) and patience. It will get easier with time. It helps to practice first in low distractions areas. You can start at home by practicng walking around in areas like the hallway or a large room. Make it a fun game where looking at you while waking is extra rewarding. Then once you start seeing an increase in looking at you, you can try in front of the house or in the yard and then a few steps farther etc. If at any time your puppy appears too distracted, you may have progressed too much. Do this several times during the day so that going out isn't a big deal anymore. Make sure your puppy has been exercised and provided with mental stimulation and brain games beforehand so to drain some excess energy. I wouldn't call her name if she is in a situation where she doesn't respond much. Protect her name and use it for now only in situations where she is more likely to succeed. We don't want to burn her recall by causing it to become irrelevant. At 12 weeks, your puppy is at the prime stage of socialization, so make sure she gets ample of socialization opportunities in safe places as outlined here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/socializing-your-puppy/ "What do you do when you want her to come inside or come back inside the closed gate but she is resistance to you pulling the leash?" For resistance on the leash to coming back inside, pulling her in won't really accomplish much in changing her emotions and may trigger the opposition reflex causing her to put on her breaks and pull back. Instead, try turning coming inside into a fun and rewarding opportunity. Try to do things that will attract your puppy to come inside and that your pup looks forward to do. For instance, you can run inside if your dog loves chasing you and then ask her to sit or target your hand and toss a jackpot of treats. You can leave a flirt pole by the door/gate and entice her to chase it inside. You can have a stuffed Kong ready for her right by the entrance. Keep her entertained for a bit so she'll soon forget about the outdoors. How about feeding her right after walks? She'll have her bowl full with food waiting for her right at the entrance. Day after day, she may fall into the routine of lookng forward to coming home to eat her meal. You'll have to get creative so to find activities that beat the great outdoors. You can try to play with your dog outside for a bit now that it's warm. She'll likely soon feel hot and will be thirsty. Then entice her to follow you indoors where you have the AC running and a nice bowl full of fresh water for her waiting for her. You can also add a few ice cubes or give her some doggy ice pops (you can find some great recipes online) to let her have some more fun. With dog breeds that tend to love the outdoors, I like to put going inside on cue "let's go inside!" and make it a fun, happy event letting a rainfall of treats fall to the ground as I close the door. After a while, such dogs will voluntarily follow me and wait for me to open the door. Finally, it may also help make the outdoors more boring. Like, just stand in front of the gate for some time or sit down in a chair nearby and wait for her to get super bored. Or try walking back and forth near the gate several times. Then try going inside with her. Chances are, your dog may like this change in activity especially if you have created the above positive associations with the indoors being super rewarding.

For gentle treat-taking, yes, there is an article in the archive. Here it is: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/train-dog-take-treats-gently/ I will need to take out the doggies now, will resume with your further questions shortly!

Training puppies to eliminate on pads can be quite a challenge. It is hard enough for a puppy to eliminate outside in the yard, yet imagine how challenging it is to have a puppy go on the middle of a 17x24 inch squarish piece of fast-absorbing material. Good to hear that you have found a solution to the tearing the pads up. Those pads can be so much fun to tear up from a puppy's eyes! Usually, when a pup pees on a surface/area they feel compelled to use the same area again and again because it smells like bathroom. Indeed, one of the biggest issues with potty training puppies is the fact that if a specific area on a carpet is not cleaned well enough it would still retain the smell of urine which will trigger further urination in that same spot. I am not sure exactly why your puppy is peeing elsewhere. I can think of a few assumptions though: -If the pad is wet or a bit humid, perhaps your puppy doesn't like to walk on it to go again. You can try changing the pads as soon as they are soiled and see if it helps. -Your puppy may at times get too distracted playing or exploring and not make it on time to go the pad again. -Your puppy may have access to a too large space that is too far from the pad. -Your puppy is urinating from submission or excitement when it's not happening on the pad. Here are a few tips: If you catch your puppy giving pre-potty cues, gently try to escort your puppy quickly to pee pad if you can, and when she finishes up there, make sure you praise her lavishly and reward (you should always keep a treat in your pocket or treat pouch when potty training for instances like this!). Every time your puppy successfully uses the pee pad, you need to be nearby and fast in praising and giving him a treat. Make sure though that your praise starts when you are sure your puppy is done. Ideally, not a second before not a second later. If you praise too early, your puppy may not finish up and he may do it later in a spot that she's not supposed to. If you are too late, your puppy may think you are praising her for doing other things like sniffing the yard or walking away. Finally, set your puppy for success. Place the pads in an enclosed area so it's easy-peasy for your puppy to make a good choice. It is difficult for a puppy at times to make it on time to the pad when she has to go, especially in a large room. She may also get distracted along the way. If your puppy is having accidents in areas other than the pad, there are chances your puppy will continue eliminate in these same areas more and more if you don't clean up his messes correctly using the right products (enzyme-based cleaners). At 12 weeks, puppies have still not attained sufficient bladder and bowel control. It is therefore quite normal for them to have some accidents at this point.

Hello, Many of the behaviors you are facing are perfectly normal parts of puppyhood, so no need to worry about them! There are several things you can do though to make it through more quickly and easily. I will address first the nipping at the shirt and pants. 1) The chewing on shirts and pants is play. There is nothing more entertaining than things that move for a puppy. If you watch two puppies play, all they want to do is chase each other and nip. They will do this for most of the day and since puppies are in our homes with us, they will seek us as playmates. It seems from your descripton that your puppy is receptive for the most part to your approach of saying "ouch" and then walking away. This method is based on negative punishment. In other words, your are removing yourself from play (negative) so to reduce and extinguish the nipping behavior (punishment). Since you mention it's working most of the time, you are likely seeing a reduction in the behavior. You can read more about this here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/biting-mouthing-nipping/ While negative punishment is effective in informing the puppy that we don't like him to play with us in a certain rough way, it's also true that we must teach pups what we want them to do instead. So it's good to provide opportunities during the day (preferably before your puppy even tries to chew your pants) where you can redirect your pup and she starts playing with something else. This is a good time where you can go get a tug toy or toy on a string (look up flirt poles if you want a fun toy to use to redirect your pup) move it about and tell your puppy to "take" so to entice him to play with the toy rather than your shirt and pants. Another way to redirect is to play a game of targeting (reward with kibble/treats) before the puppy starts wanting to play inappropriately (try to find whether there is a pattern of when this is likely to happen and recognize the pre-nipping behavior) Always praise and reward your puppy for making good choices. With the good choices being rewarded and the less desirable ones being negatively punished, you should see an increase in desirable behaviors. You may also want to teach your pup to engage in activities that do not involve you, but rather encourage independence. Food dispensing interactive games and puzzle games such as the Muffin Game, Bottle Game, Treasure Hnt Game and Bobbing For Treats are some examples. In other words, you want to encourage independent play away from you but also teach her that all interactions with you should involve non-nipping activities that are highly reinforcing. Hands are to target rather than nipping, when she's interested in biting your clothing, stop walking in your tracks, ask her to sit (or maybe perform a cute trick), praise and toss a piece of kibble across the room. You can even try a flirt pole to redirect her and encourage her to play. Basically, you'll be enticing her to play with a toy dangling off a rope instead of with your clothing. Now, you mention having the issue that when you leave the room sometimes your puppy is distracted and goes to play with other stuff. You may therefore be thinking that your withdrawal from play has less impact so to say. Per se' I don't see this as something to be particularly concerned about. I know it's easy to think "well, it looks like my pup can care less about this." However, from the pup's persepctive toys are likely less entertaining because they do not move and they do not have the same history of emotional attachment with them as they do with us. On top of that, the pup is performing a desirable alternate behavior which is playing with his toys (the puppy is not barking or chewing a pair of shoes apart). Sending her to the crate with nothing to do may not work well, because with a pup's short attention span, by the time the pup is sent inside it, he/she may have forgotten what happened prior. Yes, it's is possible to chain the "ouch" with being sent in the crate and create a strong association if the crate is readily nearby, but we don't want a pup to associate the crate with it being a boring place or a place associated with punishment as that can put a dent on the crate training process.

Hello, Welcome back! Some dogs may be a bit hesitant in taking toys. This can be a matter of texture, or just simply the dog is not particularly predisposed to being "mouthy." At 12 weeks, with pups being easily distracted patience goes a long way. This is a foundation skill taught in service dog training and often it's one of the most challenging to train. Puppies are sure mouthy by nature, meaning that they like to lick, nip and explore the world with their mouths, but they may not readily understand the concept of picking up things with their mouth on cue other than food items. Also because they do not "eat" toys (hopefully!). To help with this distinction, it helps to practice sessions with food and sesssions with toys at separate times. And yes, to answer your question, it helps to avoid confusion to train "drop" and take separately. It's a good idea to therefore start with "take." As for other things you can try to encourage your puppy to take, here are a few extra tips: -You can try using a novel toy. Perhaps the novelty of the toy may help encourage your puppy to pick it up. -You can try turning it into a game, get the toy, tie it to a string, and move it about with your pup chasing it. Then, put the toy in reach and readily pointing to it saying "take" or "gett'it!" in an exciting tone of voice. - Try toys with different textures and qualities, perhaps your dog has a preference for picking up toys that are fluffy or bouncy. A service dog foster dog I had in training was reluctant to pick up any type of stuffed toys, but her mind changed when I used a bunny fur tug toy which gained her interest. -Try seeing whether your pup prefers picking up toys from your hand or from the floor. Stick with what is easiest. -Observe your puppy during the day and see whether you pup has a preference for picking up a particular toy. Practice with that toy. -Never get frustrated. It is easy at times to get frustrated when things don't work out as we would like. Pups can feel our frustration and if we say "take" in a tone of voice that denotes frustration, they the pups may perceive it more as "leave it" than take. -Practice in quiet rooms where there are no distractions. The only "distraction " should be the toy being moved around. -Keep treats used for rewarding out of view and use non-smelly treats if this distracts the pup. Some smart pups smell the treats and don't want anything to do with the toy because they want the treats. -Playing with a tug toy may be a natural way to encourage the pup to "take." -Long toys may help encourage the pup to grab one end and then the behavior can be put on cue. -Make training sessions brief and fun, a blank stare can mean the pup is not sure what to do next or it may be too tiring (clicker training can be tiring) and the pup needs a break. -If the blank stare is due to confusion, it's OK if you're using shaping to take a step back or two. Hope it helps! Best, Adrienne

Hi there! Welcome to the forum Sounds like you have two great pups! Lots of potential in those smart brains. Keep up the great work, you are on a roll. Best, Adrienne

Good to hear, kudos to you! Thanks for the update.

Hello, Welcome to the forum! Sounds like your 10-week old puppy is on a roll! Have you already added the verbal cue or are you still at the luring stage? If you are at the luring stage and you want your pup to perfrom a down, you would click (or verbally mark) and reward only for the completed down. Never click and reward for sitting no matter how good it feels that your pup performed a behavior you have previously taught. Same goes with sit, if you are luring a sit and get a down instead, never click and reward for a down. The initial luring motion for the sit and the luring motion for the down are quite different (sit is just an upward gesture of the hand with us standing, down is the imaginary "L" where we bend down.) These initial luring motions are quite distinct and should not be easily confused; however, sometimes dogs are eager to anticipate us just to have quick access to the treat. So if your puppy does a down or a sit even before you make the luring motion, I suggest doing a "reset", in other words, ignore it, move to another spot and resume making sure the puppy waits for instructions next time. To help the pup succeed, make sure those intructions come really quickly so that she's unable to anticipate. If you have already added the verbal cues/final hand gestures and your puppy still seems confused, once again, pay attention if your pup is really confused or simply trying to anticipate you. If you have in mind to give the hand gesture for sit and your puppy is lying down even before you complete the hand gesture, your puppy is likely not confused but anticipating. If you give the hand gesture clearly and your puppy isn't anticipating but your puppy still seems confused then you are correct, the exercises just need some more repetition and time so that your puppy has the chance to better discriminate the two exercises. Here's some tips that may help: - It is not uncommon for some dogs when asked to sit to go quickly from a sit to a down if not rewarded promptly. Be fast in marking and rewarding those sits. What happens here, is that for some dogs, if they are not rewarded in a timely matter, they will lie down. This can happen because the dog thinks that the slight delay in marking/rewarding means he got it wrong and will try a different behavior or it may happen because the dog got perhaps a bit tired of sitting (usually this happens with older dogs) or is on a slippery surface. -You can practice separate brief sessions where you ask only sits and then only downs without mixing them up yet. Make these behaviors extra fluent. Make sure the dog responds promptly and seems to have attained good muscle memory. The goal is to get a really solid understanding of each of the behaviours. -Only once the dog seems to respond readily to both individual reps of sits and downs, it may be a good time to mix them up in the same session, making sure as always that sits are readily marked and rewarded. The timing for being ready for this may take a bit longer for a puppy versus a dog. -Make sure the same types of treats are used for both sits and downs. If we give hot dogs for downs and kibble for sits, the down behavior will have a stronger reward history. This may lead to a higher inclination to go into a down rather than a sit. -Ensure that cues are clear, not given too fast or asked too many in a row. Keep it always fun and upbeat. Also, ensure that behaviors are not asked nearby or too close of distractions which may lead to a dog not paying attention and just "guessing. " Hope this helps! Let me know if you need further assistance. Adrienne

Awww, what a cutie! Sends pats to Oreo from me. Keep me posted! Adrienne