Adrienne Farricelli

As promised, here is an article on introducing dogs and babies: Dogs are often stressed/reactive when hearing babies crying:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/get-dog-used-crying-baby/ When babies start crawling: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/get-dog-used-crawling-baby/ Before bringing a baby home, it may help to socialize a puppy to children: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/socializing-puppy-children/ I will keep posted when we will be adding more.

Hello Kerrie, Welcome to the forum. I am not sure if you already stumbled on several reads that can be helpful in your situation. In case you haven't, I will be posting them here. These may also turn to be helpful to other future forum members who may be facing a similar problem. Here is a behavior modification protocol to reduce barking when somebody enters a room or other areas that trigger the barking: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dog-barking-someone-enters-room/ This is the article on threshold: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ Many dogs just like yours seem to be more accepting when people are sitting on the couch. Indeed, when dealing with dogs reactive towards guests, I often ask dog owners to close their fearful dogs in the farthest room and have the guests quietly enter the home (no knocking or door bells) and sit on the couch. Then, I ask the owner to let the dog out and have the guests ignore the dog for a few minutes (no talking, no eye contact, no movements). When the dog comes near to sniff and investigate the guests, treats are dropped on the floor from the guest's hands or the owner provides them while lavishingly praising. It would be great if when your dog jumps on the couch, your son could give casually drop her some treats. You are correct to be concerned about the erratic schedule interfering with potential progress. Indeed, when dealing with fearful dogs, it's necessary to use the total opposite of erratic which is systematic. With a systematic approach we work on creating a predictable schedule with organized setups so we have control over the trigger and the dogs's environment. This paves the path to relaxation and a history of more safety. Ideally, if one knows that a dog reacts in a specific situation, one would avoid putting a dog in that specific situation for some time until one has the oportunity to gradually desensitize/countercondition and teach alternate behaviors. This may not always be possible though. There are several options you can try for such a situation. 1) Over the course of several days when your son has time and is at home, you can attempt to work in a systematic way by rehearsing some "mock" arrivals. You would therefore split your dog's triggers into smaller sub-triggers and create positive associations with them. For example, if your dog barks when your son opens the door and comes inside, you would start on working on having your son slightly opening the door when you are in another room with your dog leashed and you would give a treat, the son would be opening the door more/treat, opening the door and one step inside/treat, opening the door, entering and closing the door/treat etc. This should be done over the course of several days until you start seeing some progress. At some point, you can try having your son enter the home, walk towards your dog and then drop some treats himself. Make sure to leave a dish of treats by the entrance so that your son can enter and drop your dog some treats everytime he arrives so that your dog associates his arrival with treats. You dog may bark a bit at the entrance when she hears the door but the barking should then at some point subside a bit and hopefully turn into happy anticipation once she sees it's him. 2) Another option is to keep your dog closed in the fartherst room when you are not practicing (or in the yard if feasible) so your dog doesn't rehearse the barking at him behavior. Keeping the TV on or some form of white noise may help make his entrance less intense. Then, when you have time to practice as your son is coming home, it would be best if he could ring you a few minutes prior so that you can be ready ( keep plenty of high-value treats in the treat pouch!) so to practic some arrivals. 3) A more "raw" form of behavior modification (although much less preferable) is to skip practicing the systematic arrivals and just go straight to counterconditioning, having your son come home, and drop your dog treats every time. This though may not work well because again, we're missing the systematic approach and the history of positive associations/safety. So your dog may end up barking and then possibly eating which may lead to a less desirable response. Of course, you can't ask your son to not walk around the house, but it would help if your son was a bit more attentive to what triggers the barking. Example, he can try walking with less heavy foot steps and avoid making lots of noises so to help keep your dog a bit under threshold as your fiance seems pretty good at doing. Making a list of the dog's triggers can help so to reduce their intensity. Creating as many positive associations with your son as possible is important. Maybe have him feed your dog, walk your dog and play with your dog always being careful to move very slowly and calmly. Having your son involved in training your dog can also be a big perk that can help instill more confidence. When she learns to associate treats with your son sitting on the couch, that's a good time for him to say "Sara come!" (in a calm tone for now ) and praise giving treats. Another great thing you can do is you can practice the recall at home with Sara along the hallway, squat down say "Sara Come!" praise and give treats and then swap with yor son practicing as well. Make this very fluent. Perhaps a day may come when your son can call her and drop treats when he enters the door each day. Your son can also practice a safety cue he can say before entering the home or when entering the room. You can start training this as such: When sitting on the couch, your son can try using a short phrase like "hello, it's me!" and drop treats. Repeat several times. Then, he can use this safe cue when he is standing and drop treats, then when moving and drop treats and then to announce his arrival and drop treats. This safe cue though will need to protected. This means that extra care must be taken so not to "poison" it causing negative connotations. In other words, if your son comes inside says "it''s me" and then drops items on the floor that startle your dog, the safe cue may soon lose its potency and turn into something the dog dreads, not something you want as it may trigger the barking. The solution for fearful dogs who react in such situations requires these important steps: 1) finding exactly what triggers the barking, 2) reducing the intensity of such triggers 3) creating positive associations with such triggers 4) preventing rehearsal of barking to triggers as much as possible. When reducing the intensity is not feasible, then focus can still be given to creating positive associations, but this may take longer and the results may be not as desirable. However, if that's all that's possible it is worth a try and see how it goes. Of course, a disclaimer is warranted here: if your dog at any time has shown aggressive tendencies towards your son, your best bet is to have a professional guide you though a behavior modification program for safety and correct implementation. Behavior modification comes with risks so this is ultimately the ideal option. I hope this helps! Keep me posted, Best regards, Adrienne

Hello Laura, Welcome to the forum! I will try to answer all your questions. They are all great questions by the way. Following the obedience and braining training course in order is a good idea, however, if there are more pressing issues going on, it's OK to jump around a bit and go off the beaten path. I would suggest to therefore visit the archive for some solutions to some common doggy problems and move up to some of the more advanced brain games for now, although it's important to implement the rest as it's fundamental to tackle the very root causes of many behavior issues which often stem from a need for more bonding between dog and owner, a need for better impulse control and outlets for unfulfilled mental stimulation. Several of the issues you are listing appear to be due to the influence between one dog and another. Each dog feeds off the other dog's emotions and this can put a big dent into any progress made in training. The fact that Max is unable to focus on you for too long, and looks at your other dog for directions, is highly suggestive that he's more in tune with your other dog than with you. It's very important to change this. Walking two dogs together is not easy. Each dog feeds off each other's stress/excitement/arousal and there is little space left for calm. It is therefore a good idea to take a step back and train each dog individually at first at least until you have reached a level of control and fluency. This would entail training each dog separately and also walking each dog separately at first. If you have another family member invested in training, he/she can help you out and you can each take turns training each individual dog. Then once, they each appear to have attained fluency, you can then move on to add the distraction of them being together and therefore you can practice all the exercises practiced thus far with them together. Now, if your dog gives deaf ears when she sees a squirrel/bird/bunny, your dog is over threshold. He is not at the level of cognitively functioning because his senses are in overdrive and the recall has not reached that level of proficiency yet. Calling him when he doesn't answer like that, risks burning your recall. I suggest practicing the below brain games using a smacking sound and making the response to it extra fluid, and then preparing setups (have a helper wiggle a stuffed bunny animal tied to a string around the yard while your dog is kept on leash at a bit farther distance from the window). I would suggest not keeping the deck door open as this allows rehearsal of the problematic animal-chasing behavior. Here is how to train a strong response to the smacking sound: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/look-into-my-eyes/ And here is how to practice this to get his attention away from the window (while a helper wiggles a stuffed animal around or use a flying bird decoy) https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/ This read may turn helpful as it discusses the "leave it" cue and threshold levels applied to dog in predatory drive: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/attacking-small-animals/ And this discusses predatory behavior: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/chasing-things/ For your dog disliking other dogs, consider that walking him separate from your other dog is important until he is better under control. His reactivity is likely influencing your other dog and this leads to excessive pulling. Here is a guide on the behavior modification necessary to tackle this kind of problem: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/attacking-dogs-walks/ About the RV, I am afraid there is not much you can do with unrestrained dogs. Hopefully, people will obey leash laws. If you are on a walk and unrestrained dogs are coming your way, you can try an emergency u-turn. Practice it before hand for better results. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/emergency-u-turn/ A reduction in barking in the RV should be seen if you walk your dogs and provide brain games before hand. I am not sure how large your dogs are, but crating them with a stuffed Kong may keep them busy. A blanket over the crate may help calm them. Try to park away from other people or dogs or noisy areas. Playing some white noise like a radio or tv may help sometimes. Find a station with calm music. Make sure your dog's don't have access to windows as looking out may trigger barking. Pull the curtains away or block acces to them. Of course, make sure the A/C stays on if it's hot. You may have to check with the RV park rules though on keeping dogs unattended in the RV. I am not really familiar with them as I never travel with an RV but they may have rules to adhere to. While these are some general tips and solutions for some of the issues your dogs are facing, changing dog behavior requirs a multi-faceted approach. This means you will have to implement brain games and obedience exercises to obtain the best results so that your dog's predatory drives/natural instincts are channelled and you can attain better impulse control. It's therefore important to try to follow the whole course if possible so to take an integrative approach and tackle the root causes of many behavior and training challenges. I hope this helps. Happy training! Best regards, Adrienne

Hello Daniel Reed, Welcome to the forum! It's great that you are a stay at home mom, not many dogs are so lucky to enjoy human companionship all day long! You are never really too late to start crate training, however, it may take a bit more effort to train an older pup versus a younger puppy who has been introduced to a crate from day one. Have you watched the "love the crate" videos? You can find them here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/ If your dog tends to escape out of the crate, you may need some of those heavy-duty crates. However, if there are risks your dog may get hurt trying to get out a crate, you are better off keeping on using the laundry room if that's where she has always been so far. If she scratches the door like crazy, make sure that you never open the door when she's actively scratching (otherwise you'll have just rewarded that behavior) but open only when not scratching. It may help to keep a few interactive toys with her when she needs to be closed. The crate in your case may likely may be a good solution for when you are present during the day and need your dog to be calm for a bit. Alternatively, you can try to train a relax cue when she's acting out by telling her to go on her mat: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-go-to-mat Hope this helps, best regards! Adrienne

Hello Jeff, Welcome to the forum! Rico's behavior is not at all unusual. So much so, that dog trainers have affectionally given this behavior a name "Napoleon Syndrome." Despite its name though, there's often likely a fear component at play (just don't let these "tough" doggies know);). The fact that Rico's fur goes up (piloerection) is his way of manifesting not feeling comfortable around the big guys. With his fur up, he looks a bit more puffy, which is an adaptive function seen in several other animals as well (cats, porcupines) to make them look a bit bigger and intimidating. We also see piloerection when a dog is caught by suprise and is startled (eg. a dog popping out from nowhere like behind a corner) and in that case it's sort of the canine equivalent of goosebumps. Since Rico doesn't bark right away at the sight of a dog, this denotes that he may be taking a "wait and see" approach. Yes, he is on alert mode, but he's still under threshold and his emotions are still somewhat under control. From your description, the barking fest starts when you stop to say hello and either pet the dog or give the dog a treat. If this behavior starts when you stop to say hello, that may be likely because of increased proximity. Proximity is a big trigger for many dogs and that's when behaviors start to fall apart. Same goes with humans too. If somebody is umcomfortable being around people, being in a crowd in close proximity to people would be at the top of his/her fear-evoking hierarchy. Petting the dog or giving the dog the treat may be just an added trigger as the dog you are petting likely gets excited to be pet or excited to eat the treat so your Chi may be sensing that increase in arousal. Dogs have been found in studies to feel jealousy, but a more primordial form compared to us. They don't actively think "I better be careful, there's a risk that my owner will start thinking that Scruffy is much better than me. I must take action to prevent this from happening." This sort of reasoning requires superior congnitive functions not seen in dogs. Instead, dogs may attempt to break up the connection between the owner and a seeming rival by simply engaging in behaviors such as wriggling their way in between or do things to revert the attention from the other dog back to them by pawing, rolling over or grabbing a ball and running over to the owner with it. Barking can sure be a way to gain back the attention. It would be interesting to know whether the barking is directed towards you (hey, pay attention to me!) or towards the other dog (don't get too close for comfort). However, there may be other issues at play. It would be also interesting to know if the barking still occurs when you stop to just talk to another person without a dog. I have seen some dogs bark just because they do not like their walk interrupted and get bored and want to resume walking. Wondering as well whether the barking still occurs if you don't pet the other dog or give the treat (that would help rule out possibly jealousy or protectiveness towards you). Without seeing the behavior or really knowing what goes in the dog's mind, we can only make assumptions as to what is really going on. From your description though (the hackles up and getting a bit riled up at the sight of the dog aproaching), I am more inclined to think there may be a fear/uncomfortable feeling/anxiety component at play that is triggered by proximity since approach causes the escalation in emotional behaviors while leaving appears to resolve it. So here is a plan: since you do not have access to dog owners with larger dogs willing to practic for set-ups, you would then use the raw, real-life scenarios that are presented to you on your walks. This would be less than ideal and may pose a few more challenges, but if that's all we have right now, it's better than nothing. The moment you spot a large dog, right before Rico gets riled up, you can start feeding him a few small high-value tasty treats in a row in hopes of changing a bit his emotional response. You want him to go from "eek a dog is coming my way" to "yay, a dog! where's my treat?, where's my treat." After several trials you should see a reduction in the piloerection as the focus turns more on you. To further help make the point that the arrival of a dog means good things, start with lower value treats (kibble? if he takes it) and increase the value of treats as the other dog gets closer ( eg freeze-dried liver, fish skin dog treats). If you must stop to talk, it would be ideal to not give the other dog attention or treats for now. That's a stimulus gradient (increased challenge of a triggering stimulus) you want to leave for later on as your dog is better under control and calmer since it seems like it increases the barking. You don't want him to rehearse the barking behavior in presence of other dogs, also because other dogs may get annoyed by a dog barking at them and may even trigger reactivity in some. We can add this stimulus gradient a bit later if it's something you really enjoy doing and maybe only with dogs proven to ge frendly over time (there are risks for scuffles/fights though when two dogs are nearby and only one is fed treats/given attention). Explain to the owner that you are not being suddenly stingy, but that you are just trying to fix the barking issue since your dog seems upset by this. It would be preferable to initially try to talk a bit from a farther distance so that proximity is less. See if you can find a distance where your dog is not barking. From there, feed your dog some tasty treats (if he'll eat them) to change a bit his emotional state (also a dog who is eating can't bark at the same time). If your dog knows "sit" ask him to sit when you feed him. If at any time he barks, stop, move a bit farther (or make an abrupt turn) and try again until your pet is under better control and try again the same exercise. After several trials, day after day, you may be able to get closer. Another option is to pick up your dog. Many small dogs feel more safe once picked up and may bark less. This is also a good precaution when getting close to larger dogs as you never know if the other dog is aggressive and things can get out of and quickly. However, consider that picking up your dog can be a trigger for the other dog even if he is friendly. So it might be a good idea to pick your dog up from a distance, before actually getting closer and it's wise to always stay out of lunging distance from the other dogs met on walks. Hope this helps, Best regards, Adrienne

Hello Courtney! Welcome to the forum. If your dog has a tendency to back up when asked to sit, you can try practicing with your dog standing with his rear facing right next to a wall or large furniture so there is no space to back up. Then, as your dog develops muscle memory and gets a hang of the exercise, you can gradually start moving away from the wall. At times with some dogs, it's a matter of surface. If your dog is sitting readily on the bed, maybe he initallly needs something soft to sit on such as a rug or a blanket on the floor. Another thing you can try since your fellow seems to get frustrated is to split the exercise into smaller steps. Use the food lure slowly in the upwards motion and click/verbally mark initially for his head following the lure just an inch, then a couple of inches and so forth until your dog eventually sits upon looking more and more upwards. Make sure to give a jackpot the moment he actually sits. Repeat several times until the sitting behavior becomes mor fluent. Don't forget to gradually fade the food lure as outlined in the course. Alternatively, you can skip the whole luring thing and just do capturing. Sit down on the couch with a treat pouch on you and during the day observe him when he naturally sits. When he does, be ready to click/verbally mark and toss him a treat. Capture as many natural sits as you can, with time, you should see an increase in the sitting behaviors throughout the day. As they get more frequent, upon seeing him getting ready to sit, say "sit" and then give a jackpot of treats. Repeat several times ultil you can get the sitting behavior on cue. Just worthy of pointing out, some dogs have more difficulties sitting than others to sit due to their conformation (dogs with long legs), and for a few others at times it may be that they have hip problems or problems in the spine. I hope this helps! Let me know how it goes, Adrienne

Hello Oreo and Trevor! Thanks so much for the update, it's nice reading about your pup growing and all the stages he is going through. Here are my answers to your questions: 1) Good to hear he is back to eating from the bowl! There are really no rules written in stone about when to give treats for training. Generally, best when dogs are a bit on an empty stomach considering that after meals, treats may be less appealing. Since your dog has had in the past the issue of not wanting to eat from the bowl, perhaps it may work best for you to do several training sessions at a time that is far away from mealtimes like during the middle of the day if your puppy is fed twice a day morning and evening. As far as quantity, a little goes a long way. You can give tid bits of treats (like pea size) and this will be often enough to reinforce desired behaviors. If you are concerned about calories, there are now several low-calorie treats sold in most pet stores. Otherwise, you can reduce a bit his meal portions to make up for the extra treats. 2) Congrats for the upcoming baby! Yes, what you have read is correct. You want to give your dog as many opportunities to create positive associations with babies even before the baby arrives. You want to get your dog used to babies crying and babies crawling. Getting your dog used to you pushing a stroller is another thing to consider. You also want to get your dog used to your new routines and yes, having less attention from you, although it's still important to dedicate some time with the dog otherwise this may lead to undesirable behaviors. If you have another family member/close friend that can take care of providing exercise, training and mental stimulation during your peak busy times, that's a big plus. Of course, getting this family member/friend to help out prior to baby's arrival is best so that your dog won't be dealing with too many changes at once. I will be posting new material on the process of desensitizing and counterconditioning dogs to babies shortly. Will keep you posted as soon as they are up by posting an update here. 3) Learning never ends! Indeed, dogs learn all their lives and this includes desirable behaviors, but if we are not careful, even the undesirable ones. The more creative we can get in teaching new behaviors, the more dogs are happy and the more we increase the plasticity of the dog's brain. It does exist the phenomenon of some dogs getting bored from being asked the same behaviors over and over. This is especially a perk of the most intelligent dogs. Several dogs benefit from training sessions where several behaviors are asked in a row and they never expect what's coming next. Others need to be engaged in several different tricks, games (it helps to rotate games and toys so to add a touch of novelty every now and then) and activities (agility, nosework, Rally Obedience). I hope this helps, Best wishes! Adrienne

Hello and welcome to the forum! To answer your question, I would start training one dog at a time at first just because in the initial stages of training, you want one-on-one attention without too many distractions going on. The great news is that once each dog is getting more and more fluent in performing the desired behaviors, you can get them to perform the behaviors they were taught individually, now together which works great as part of the proofing process. Let me know if you need any further assistance. Happy training! Adrienne

Good to hear! Funny that he likes the handheld vaccum, when many dogs dread noisy things like that! Thank you for the update, keep up the great work! Adrienne

Yes, I feel consulting with a behavior specialist is the best call in such a situation because you can have an in-person assessment, evaluation and hands-on guidance. On top of that, there is also a safety issue at play when dogs fight. Since he drew blood, it sounds like the fights are quite intense which can also put others at risk for re-directed aggression (dog biting other people/dogs neaby, especially when being separated). If I were to tackle a mild case, I would manage as much as possible the situation (to prevent rehearsal) and then would try implementing a behavior modification protocol as outlined below: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dogs-fighting-over-owner/ However, there are no gurantees things may always work out because dog behavior can be unpredictable. There are always risks for a return of the behavior if the dog is exposed to a situation that wasn't practiced (eg, owner haven been away for some time, which makes owner much more valuable etc). Depeding on the individual circumstance, there may be chances that the safest option would be to keep the dogs separated (also from an emotional wellbeing perspective considering that, when a dog is bitten, there is often tension when the other dog comes near). And then of course, there is the option to simply rehome the dog to a family where he is the only dog (but from what I understand this dog doesn't live with other dogs sharing the household, which is an advantage.)

Hello Daniel Reed, Welcome to the forum! An article about begging at the table can be found here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/begging/ "Leave it" needs to be taught very solidly before putting the dog into the position of listening despite food raining from the table. If told too many times without success it leads to learned irrevance which means your verbal cue has lost its potency. Your puppy may not be ready for this level of self control and if he's constantly by the table fiding tidbits of food, you'll have to repeat over and over and this again leads only to problems. "Leave it" works better for the occasional mishap, such as your dog walking by the counter as you are cooking food, and you accidentally drop something. To tackle eating from the table behaviors, it's fundamental to prevent mishaps such as having the dog eat pieces of dropped food. What this does is reinforce the behavior of searching for food under the table and will therefore cause rehearsal of the problem behavior. This means you'll soon have a dog stuck to the table like glue! To prevent any of these mishaps, (which are almost inevitable with four young kids) it's important to firstly manage the situation. What this means is to prevent the dog from accessing the table during meals and cleaning the floor before the dog is allowed again in the area. You can keep your dog in a crate with a stuffed Kong for now and then as the puppy matures (he's too young now to hold a very long stay), you can make it your goal to train your dog to lie on a mat (or go to your place) during meal times. It helps at first to help the dog succed by allowing him to work on a Kong or a safe long-lasting bone. You can find how to train your dog to lie on a mat here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-go-to-mat/ Once you train a good down stay at a distance from the table during meals, you can then reward your dog with a cookie for keeping it until the end. You may have to remind your dog every now and then to maintain the position. My two Rotties were taught this from a young age and they always looked forward to doing their long down stays during meal-time in anticipation for their final reward. The behavor has become so ingrained that just a few months later, upon seeing us brining the dishes to the table, they didn't need to be told to go lie down and did it automatically.

Hello Manida Morrell, Welcome to the forums, I wouldn't really call this "attention barking" albeit there is an attention element, but more "isolation barking." Dogs are very attached to their social group (their family). By putting him outside, it is perceived as punishment because he is being separated from his family. If he needs outside time, I would suggest it would be best if you (or any other family member) can go out with him. This way he can enoy the great outdoors, he is supervised and prevented from getting in any trouble and you are there with him to redirect him and provide guidance as needed. Being out with him, you can also take advantage of training him. You can reward voluntary check-ins (praise and give a treat when he explores and then on his own will comes to you) and you can practice fun recalls too. Since there is always someone at home, this may sound like a great solution. Just to share a little tidbit: although my Rotties are now 10, all their lives they have been outside with us, ever since being young puppies! If you need to redirect him from being too rough with the chi, perhaps being sent outside is a bit too drastic. It may help to provide a timeout area such as play pen or crate, but not to really use as punishment but as rediection. In ther words, you call him to you and give him a stuffed Kong inside the enclosure for him to chill out for a bit. This still in the home with his family nearby. Alternatively, if he's being too rough, you can all go outside together (with your chi too). Chances are, once out they will just go sniff and explore rather than engaging in more rough play. You were correct in ignoring him and catching him when he's not barking to open the door. If this is done repeatedly and persistently, you may see a decrease in barking temporarily, but it's likely to resume because the dog is often in distress. This is why neighbors often complain about dogs left alone who bark all day. Although, the owners are not there for many hours to relieve the dog of the isolation distress, the barking persists just because it's the dog's way of venting his deep sorrow.

Hello Jenny, Welcome to the forum! It's great to hear that you have rescued this puppy who was found in the dump at 4 weeks. If the hairs on her back stand up (piloerection) it sounds like a startle/alert response and it can be potentially fear-based. This is a very common response to outdoor stimuli seen in dogs and most dogs who are contained in a fenced yard will start some form of vocalization sooner than later. Unfortunately, this form of barking is not very easy to tackle for the simple fact that dogs left outside to their own devices will just rehearse problems behaviors over and over which makes these behaviors stronger and more difficult to tackle. On top of that, consider reinforcement history. Once your neighbor goes back inside, your dog will have interpreted her leaving the area with her vocalization. If every time she barks, you come out of the house, that could also prove reinforcing as your dog gets attention and "back-up" to her alert. This form of vocalization tends to intensify if left untackled especially as the dog grows older and gains more confidence. It may lead to barking with intensity and even lunging behaviors. Now, your neighbor didn't have to do anything major to really scare her if your dog's vocalizations are truly fear-based. It could be just that one day perhaps she did something different such as dropped something on the ground that made noise, coughed/sneezed or came back home late one day and your dog didn't recognize her. Anything minor like that may have startled your dog causing her to go on alert mode and soon a chain reaction established. Her vocalizations are also likely putting the German shepherd dog on alert who feeds off your pup's emotions. Dogs are very sensitive to each other's emotions, which is why in tight-knit neighborhoods, one dog barking sets off all the dogs nearby and soon you have a big dog barking concert! You can try to tackle this issue using a desensitization and counterconditioning program that is outlined here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/barking-at-neighbors/ This approach would entail being out with your puppy and predicting when the troublesome vocalizations take place. In other words, you would need to know when your neighbor is coming home EVERY TIME initially so that you can be out with your pup to help her succeed. Predictability is key therefore here. If your neighbor goes out and comes back on a predictable schedule (like every day at the same time) you have a good chance to have many opportunities to succeed. Problem is if the neighbor comes and goes at random, unexpected times of the day. In an ideal setting, you would keep your dog indoors and take her out with you when you expect your neighbor to come by the fence so that you can provide guidance and work on behavior modification. Keeping her inside with you would allow prevention of rehearsing the problem behavior. When inside with you, you can provide fun brain games and training. Going on walks is also a great way to help her exercised an less likely to be bored and react to outdoor stimuli. If you make these activities extra rewarding, chances are that she may choose staying inside with you more and more rather than spending time outside which predisposes her to vocalize and react to stimuli. This will also help her bond more with you. Win-win! If your neighbor is really nice and collaborative, it may help if when she is approaching the fence, she could announce herself such as "it's me doggy!" and tosses your dog a cookie from a basket filled with a few cookies you may have attached to the fence (at a height out of your dog's reach). I don't know if this is feasible, but many dog owners have had success this way with dogs barking at the mailman. At some point, she may start rushing towards her to greet her rather than vocalize from fear. Or maybe she'll just vocalize a split second to announce her happiness in seeing her!

Hello Victoria, Sounds like Milo was very attached to the previous dog sitter! Dogs, as you may already know, are very routine-oriented animals and don't fare too well with changes. It takes an adjustment period for things to settle and this can be stressful for them. However, to the point of not wanting to eat much or play when he comes home, sounds a bit odd. Puppies should be full of energy and happy and eager to eat their meals. I would investigate a bit what happens when he is with this sitter. Perhaps he is eating already during his stays there? Perhaps she plays a lot with him? Or has other dogs that play with him? Many dogs are exhausted when they are picked up from daycare. You may be just seeing a tired pup. Perhaps, you can casually ask this sitter what his day is like and what (if anything) he is fed during his stays with her. Perhaps ask as well if he acts mopey in her home or if he is actually having lots of fun and playing a lot. A vet visit may also be warranted if he is not acting like himself. Perhaps he has tummy troubles or is just not feeling too well. Sure dogs can be sad when they miss people, but it's always a good idea to rule health ailments out. Seeing the previous sitter may make him extra happy, but if there are little chances that she will watch him again in the future, there may be no point. I think this may confuse things a bit. However, I can see how watching his reaction if she would watch him one day may prove some benefit in ruling or confirming whether missing her is playing a role in his recent behavior change. Adrienne

Matthew, Please find response here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?24-Hates-clicker Regards, Adrienne

Dear Magdalena, Thank you for opening your heart and home to this rescue dog! The outside environment can be overly stimulating to some dogs and in some cases even a tad bit intimidating if there are many sights and sounds that dogs are not used to. Here's the fact, indoors, sounds are muffled, smells are subdued and there are not many sights other than from behind a safe window but they are not 360 views. Once dogs step into the outside world suddenly everything becomes very interactive and potentially scary too. Your problem is not at all unusual. Many new rescues are scared of the great outdoors. Too much going on and they're not ready for it. As tempting as it may be to pull the dog on the leash, I have found that this causes more harm than good. The dog only learns that it's scary to give into leash pressure and this may also put a dent in the process of building trust. I think you are on the right track in being patient. You are also on the right track in allowing her to get more comfortable at her own pace. However, left to their own devices, I feel that some dogs would rather never leave the comfort of their homes and therefore may never show any initiate in going out. I think finding a middle ground by providing opportunities for reinforcement nearby the door and outside while letting her work at her own pace my offer a win-win. Here are some tips you can try once she seems more settled in your home. -Encourage play and provide opportunities for reinforcement in the backyard. Chances are, in the backyard she may hear/see/smell some of the same stimuli she may encounter once outside on walks, yet she may feel safe and be under threshold. -If you have windows and screen doors, open them. Play with your dog, have fun with her while she has another opportunity to get used to the sights/sounds and smells of her new neighborhood. Yet, again in a potentially safe and secure environment. -Of course, avoid the above tips when there are overwhelming things going on like the trash truck passing by in the initial phases. -Many dogs reluctant to go on walks, are scared of noises. If you find out a noise she is scared of and that repeats with a certain predictable frequency, you can try this behavior modification protocol: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-noises/ -Severe cases may require calming aids like DAP collars, Thundershirts, calming supplements or even prescription calming drugs from a vet or veterinary behaviorist. Here's a read on dogs scared to go on walks: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-going-walks/ Good luck and bless your heart for helping out this girl! Adrienne

Hello Magdalena, Welcome to the forums! When dogs refuse treats outside and are not very responsive to training there are several options: increasing the value of the treats, decreasing the level of distractions, motivating operations and taking baby steps. Let's take a closer look at these one by one. Increasing the value of treats. There are treats and treats in the world of dog training. Sometimes it takes experimenting to find the perfect concoction. If you go to a big box pet store and stop by the treat training aisle, you may find many options. Even better, talk to the local trainer there and ask for some recommendations as there always new training treat products coming out (insider alert: they'll often talk you into signing up for their classes when you chit-chat with them, I know this because I used to work as a trainer for a pet store). Most dogs cannot resist the smell of freeze-dried liver and this is why most trainers ensure they have a pack of it on hand. You can find this in most pet stores. Some dog owners make their own liver treats by baking them, you can find several recipes online. Some dog owners find their dogs completely change at the sight and smell of Green Tripe treats. Not many have heard about these treats but they are certainly worth a try. If you are fortunate enough to find a store that stocks these and you want a motivated dog, these treats may potentially gain lots of attention. Owner beware though, tripe treats are one of the stinkiest foods you may ever deal with. Slivers of hot dogs make good training treats since they can be cut up in small pieces and they are soft to eat without making a mess. Most dogs like hot dogs and look forward to training when they discover their existence. Hot dogs are also on the cheap side and convenient since you can get many pieces out of a pack of eight. I always suggest using the low sodium types and preferably organic. When training dogs for the Canine Good Citizen test, us trainers often use boiled/roasted chicken or steak. The main issue though is that they may be messy to carry. Another favorite is string cheese since strings can be peeled off easily and a dog may be willing to ''heel'' just to grab on one side. Best to not indulge too much though to prevent flatulence and an upset stomach for dogs with sensitive tummies. Of course, just like people, dogs may develop different tastes. There are some dogs that would do back flips for a piece of carrot or frozen peas. Some dogs love Cheerios while others may like a specific brand of dog treats. Often, mixing a variety of tasty treats will create great interest in a dog since he will not know what may come next. Experiment and see what works best for your dog. Chances are, if you notice his ears are pricked up high, his eyes are wide open and his shivering in anticipation, you got the right type of treat. For using treats with strong distractions though you may need to further take the edge off, so continue reading below. Decreasing the level of stimulation: Draining some excess energy may also help take the edge off. Try to get your dog to play with you out in the yard or in the house prior to the walk. Since your seems to loves to chase animals, you can try practicing with a flirt pole at home by adding a touch of impulse control in the game. Simply, wiggle a flirt pole and release your dog to chase it only when you give your dog permission to. This provides an outlet for the great desire to chase but it also teaches some impulse control. Also, once your dog gets good at this, have your dog on leash and practice having a helper wiggle the flirt pole around (while you pass by it from a distance and feed your dog high-value treats. Gradually decrease distance. If you have access to areas of tall grass, with high-prey drive dogs, I like to have a helper toss rocks in the tall grass. I make a smacking noise with my mouth and train the dog to make eye contact and give treats so that the dog learns to pick sticking with me rather than chasing. This teaches the dog two things: that not always grass moving and noises in the grass mean that there are animals to chase and that it's a better choice to make eye contact rather than chase. If you know that there are animals in certain parts of your walk, walk at a distance for these areas where your dog is better under threshold. Dogs are very good in associating certain spots with animals. If there is a tree with lots of squirrels, you can count on it that every day on the walk the dog will be looking for them. Walking farther away from the trees can help you get a more responsive dog. Here's a guide on getting acquainted on threshold levels in dogs, although this article talks a lot about stress, it applies to dogs who are overly excited or over aroused too. In your case, you will therefore have to watch for signs of over arousal associated with prey drive such as stopping and stiffening, pricking of the ears in a certain direction, stalking, paw lifting, mouth closing etc. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ Motivating operations: this simply means finding strategies to making treats more valuable. In this case, it may be worth trying training when the dog is hungry (like first thing in the morning) or an empty stomach. For some dogs, skipping meals prior to training may help. Baby steps: You are dealing with one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome when it comes to dog training: ignoring strong distractions such as fleeting animals. This is an instinctive behavior and it takes lots of training to get a dog to respond despite this level of distractions. Your dog may not be ready for this level of training yet. This is OK, many dogs are not ready for this level of training even the most trained ones. It takes a certain level of impulse control to control strong instincts (we must remember that although domesticated, dogs still have strong instincts to chase animals as it's linked to survival). You will need to take baby steps. First, practice heeling indoors and in the yard and try to make the behavior fluent as possible before walking by areas where there are animals The responsiveness to asking for heeling needs to be strong, almost instinctive. Indoors, your dog should be able to take treats. I have found that leash corrections are not effective in training dogs to ignore animals because the prey drive is so strong that the adrenaline blocks the ability to pay attention and learn. Same may go with treats though, dangling a piece of ham may leave dogs in prey drive unfazed. I find the secret is just a matter of practice and working gradually at higher levels of distractions. This is how I train heeling and attention heeling: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ If you continue walking by areas where there are animals and your dog hasn't yet accomplished a level of control and fluency yet, meaning that his training breaks apart, you are at risk for setting your dog to fail and allowing rehearsal of the problem behavior. In other words, your dog gets good at practicing the behavior and ignoring you and the more he practices this, the more the behavior becomes difficult to overcome. Once you have attained a good response in getting your dog to heel in low distractions areas, it's time to then try some "mock sessions'' with a friend wiggling a flirt pole around and you walking past it with your dog heeling. You can then practice with places where you know there are animals but from a distance where your dog is under threshold and better capable of cognitively functioning. If at any time, your dog's training starts breaking down, take it as a signal that he wasn't ready for that level of proficiency yet and you may have to further create distance. While praise may seem effective, it is not as powerful as we may expect when used on its own. Praise often works well once it has been paired with a primary reinforcer (food). Here's the thing: the tell-tale sign that a reinforcer is working is seeing desired behaviors strengthening and increasing in frequency. If your dog hears your praise and goes back to performing unwanted behaviors, it means that those unwanted behaviors surpass the value of praise. Your praise has likely become almost a release word in a similar manner as "OK" is used to release a dog from a stay. You may have to adjust your training environment via management so that your dog is not tempted to go back to performing poorly. Providing your dog with longer-lasting opportunities for performing desired behaviors is an option or removing access to distracting stimuli may be another. For example: if you are walking past a dog and your dog has a history of wanting to pull to meet the dog, do longer attention heeling (delivering treats every 3-4 steps until you are past the dog) rather than asking to heel one step and giving one treat and the dog goes back to wanting to pull, or alternatively, train the emergency exit and do heeling walking the opposite direction. See details on this: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/emergency-u-turn/ Hope this helps! Let me know if you need any further assistance. Regards, Adrienne

Thanks for the details! There may be several things going on here. Without seeing the behavior in person, it is difficult for me to get a full idea, but I can try to make some assumptions so here are a few possibilities. When he smells these dogs' noses and then goes on to "attack them" with his paws and "pretends' to bite them this can be simply his way to play. Some dogs have a little rougher play styles and this may fall under the "mock attacks" category. It's important for your puppy to play with a "circle of friends " who share his play style or dogs that aren't inhibited by it. Not all dogs are accepting of this play style, but so far so good, he got lucky to have done it to some well-behaved dogs who likely perceive he is still a puppy and grant him a puppy license to display some inappropriate greetings. One may expect some dogs to give a growl and even a mild correction (air snap inhibited bite) to a dog who approaches this way or persists. This can be a teaching lesson "whoops, guess this behavior is not liked by certain dogs" but with the wrong dog he may risk getting hurt especially since he's a small fellow. While his behavior may acceptable to certain dogs right now, if he maintains this greeting style as he approaches doggy adolescence (which is right around the corner), there may be higher chances for problems along the way. On the other hand, since he does it only some dogs, one may wonder if he's just trying to be a "bully." Some pups start bullying behaviors from a young age and instinctively know what dogs they can do it. Left to their own devices, these dogs may learn that they can get away with these behaviors with certain dogs. Since there is no consequence, they will therefore become more bold and try it with more dogs, and as they become more confident, there are risks for this behavior becoming the default way to interact with dogs. In any cases, regardless of his intent: here is what I suggest doing. Here is a fact, practice makes perfect. The more a dog rehearses a behavior, the more it will put roots and becomes ingrained. If it is important for you that your dog meets dogs on walks (if this is where these episodes happen), try to prevent them from occurring. Teach him to just take a quick sniff of the dog to say hello, praise him and then off you go to continue the walk. Most dog encounters go well in the first few seconds, it's when things linger for longer that often problems erupt. Even better, avoid meeting dogs on walks all together. If your dog learns to meet dogs on walks, there are chances he will expect to meet "every single dog" which may lead to pulling and barking due to overly excited behavior and the expectations of meeting. If your dog sees beagles and is barking/growling on walks, he may be likely already giving signs of trouble. A very social dog who is excited in seeing dogs and is prevented from meeting them, may develop barrier frustration. This read explains this in detail: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/barrier-frustration/ If instead, you suspect the behavior stems from simply not likely other dogs this read may be helpful: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/attacking-dogs-walks/ Hope this helps, Let me know if you need any further assistance. Adrienne

Hello! Welcome to the forum! Some dogs find the clicking sound too harsh for their sensitive ears. You have several choices here: muffle the sound of the clicker or simply replace its clicking sound with a verbal marker. There are several tricks of the trade to muffle the clicking sound: 1) Keeping the clicker inside a pocket and clicking from there. It helps pairing the noise with high-value treats so to create positive associations. 2) Putting some layers of tape on the clicker again to muffle the sound. Once the dog learns that the click brings marvelous treats, you would then start peeling off a layer of tape so to allow the dog to get used to the clicking sound. 3) Using a retractable pen that clicks may be good enough, for starters. Hope this helps! Best regards, Adrienne

Hello! Kudos to you for making lots of progress with your puppy! At five months old, your dog is now nearing the doggy adolescent stage which can be tricky as at this stage these youngsters are still puppy-like but now in bigger bodies and are in need of lots of training and mental stimulation. Here is some info on the adolescent stage: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ There are several forms of dog barking and the resolution may vary based on the type you may be dealing with. It's not unusual for us dog owners to think that dogs often bark for no apparent reason as we can't hear or see what they are barking at. However, dogs have a superior sense of hearing than us and they often hear (or even smell) things in the distance that we are unable to sense. Here are some common causes of dog barking and their resolution: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/behavior-training/barking/ When you mention "some other times he becomes aggressive towards the other dog" is this before he gets to actually meet the dog? Or does he act aggressive once he meets the other dog? What behaviors are you seeing that suggest he is acting aggressive? What is the other dog doing exactly when this happens? If you are struggling with heeling and you are having a hard time getting his attention there are several potential causes. Where are you training? What treats are using? It could be that the area you are training is too distracting. Start in a low distraction area (like in the home in a quiet room) and then build gradually from there. At the same time, it may help to increase the value of the treats you are using. Switch to something your dog really likes and use that only during your training sessions. Keep sessions short and sweet and always end them on a positive note (jackpot of treats). Baby steps is the way to go with these fellows. Not all dogs are fond of fetching. Some trainers think some dogs simply "lack the fetching gene." Often, I find it's a matter of the the item used to fetch. Many dogs are not eager to fetch dumbbells or Frisbees or even rubber balls. Many dogs though love to fetch tennis balls because they are so bouncy and unpredictable in their movements. I always suggest taking the tennis ball away once done playing with it. This to prevent problems to a dogs teeth and to ensure the ball is associated with fetch. There are several alternatives to fetching if you are looking to get your dog to get a workout. Since you mention he is biting, you can play 'targeting' where he targets your hand and you toss a kibble piece for each successful target. This gives nippy pups an opportunity to interact with hands in different way. Not sure if you stumbled on this already, but here are some games for nippy pups: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/ Careful in running him if you run him on hard surfaces considering that at this age those growth plates likely haven't yet closed yet.

Hello Lawrence, Welcome to the forums. There are several hand signals that can be used for training dogs although there are no official, formally used hand signals used across the board. For example, for a down you can use a lowered open hand or a finger pointing to the floor. For a sit, you can make an upward motion of the hand. For stay, you can hold your hand open palm facing the dog. Most of these hand signals are seen in the training sections of the course. If you want to stick to hand signals, simply skip the instructions/steps on replacing them with verbal cues.

You are very welcome! I personally do not recommend the use of scruff shakes as they risk evoking defensive aggression and dogs risk failing to understand such corrections. In a study of mother-pup behaviors of litters from 190 breeders, 97.2% of breeders never witnessed scruff-shaking administered by the mother to pups (source: Hallgreen 1990) Rather, mother dogs were found to be quite gentle with their mouths when carrying puppies from one place to another. Scruff shakes among animals are carried out as part of predatory drive. A dog bites down and scruff shakes to kill an animal by breaking the neck. Among dogs, having another dog approach the throat area is a very traumatic experience. A scruff shake done by the owner may potentially lead to fear and mistrust in the long run which may evoke defensive biting. The dog would learn to fear hands and may learn to bite hands as a way to defend himself. The word "no" delivered on its own is not a very effective form of communication. As humans, we dedicate a lot of time in conditioning dogs to learn that "sit" means to place the rump on the floor and "down" means to lie on the floor. Yet no time is ever dedicated to conditioning dogs to understand the meaning of no. And this is where things get confusing. What does no exactly mean to a dog? Does it mean to just stop from doing what he is doing? For how long? Unless delivered with cutting-edge timing, how can the dog know exactly what behavior should stop? Also, the fact that "no" is applied to many circumstances (no jumping, no biting, no counter surfing, no pulling, no digging) makes it even more confusing. If no direction follows when one uses the word "no" the dog will often be lost. We are often lulled into the belief that the word "no" works in stopping an unwanted behavior, when in reality it only interrupts it momentarily. Indeed, at a closer insight, more often than not, right after saying "no" the unwanted behavior may repeat in a short period of time, which is proof that “no” was simply an interrupter and provided no guidance on what is expected from the dog. It is more effective to ensure that 1) the dog is provided with legitimate outlets for pent-up energy (under the form of toys, brain games, training, exercise and socialization) and that 2) the dog is taught what to do instead. According to a study "Several confrontational methods such as “hit or kick dog for undesirable behavior” (43%), “growl at dog” (41%), “physically force the release of an item from a dog's mouth” (39%), “alpha roll” (31%), “stare at or stare [dog] down” (30%), “dominance down” (29%), and “grab dog by jowls and shake” (26%) elicited an aggressive response from at least a quarter of the dogs on which they were attempted. Dogs presenting for aggression to familiar people were more likely to respond aggressively to the confrontational techniques “alpha roll” and yelling “no” compared to dogs with other presenting complaints (P Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159108003717 I hope this helps! Let me know if I can be of further assistance. Best regards, Adrienne

Actually no, the methods suggested above work fairly quickly! Targeting can be taught in just a few brief sessions. To avoid bending down too much you can use a target stick or long wooden spoon. It's all about making the desired action far more reinforcing than attacking clothing/feet by using high-value treats. Dogs are smart and opportunists, so they will engage more in behaviors that yield the highest rewards. It should be a no-brainer choice when you have tasty treats and incorporate a fun game of "catch the kibble." After a few trials, the puppy should start walking towards you, but this time in hopes of repeating the exercise and being rewarded because behaviors that are rewarded, strengthen and repeat. That's the law of reinforcement. Puppy learns to make good choices this way. It took me just barely 3 days of short sessions to get one of the most nippy German shepherds to stop nipping hands and legs. Here are some games I especially recommend for nippy pups:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/ At 10 weeks, your dog is just a puppy and all he wants to do is play. Ask the dog to sit or target your hand, and then toss a piece of kibble far away from you. Skip feeding from the food bowl, from now on, all rewards come from you in response to desired behaviors. If you want to keep your pup busy, for some time, ask your pup to sit or target your hand and provide a Kong Wobbler filled up with a portion of his food. Watch him them have fun getting the food out. A tug toy can also offer a diversion to grabbing clothes if you want to skip the training for now. Some dogs are obsessed about tug-toys that are made of rabbit fur. They will want to tug that way more than any clothing because it has an enticing smell. Another option is a flirt pole. This is something you can try and no training may be needed at this point although I still find it important to implement sooner than later. As you notice your puppy approaching to grab your clothing, let him play with the tug toy and provide lots of great feedback for playing with it (praise, praise, praise) instead of with your clothes. If he ever grabs your clothing, stop walking in your tracks and entice him to play again with the tug toy. Puppies require lots of play to practice life skills and learn about the world around them. It's totally normal for them to want to play with hands, feet and clothing as they move and attract them. It's is up to us dog owners to provide them with acceptable ways to play. Make sure your puppy has access to toys and mentally stimulating activities. Walks in safe places (until the vaccine boosters are completed) and car rides are important as your puppy is at the peak stage of the prime time for socialization. Don't miss out in letting your puppy meet as many people as possible (the socialization window closes at around 16 weeks). Puppy classes are also important for social skills and allow socialization with other pups in a controlled environment. Of course, pups (just like kids!) who are under stimulated and under exercised, will be more likely to engage in undesirable behaviors because they have no outlets. It's important to therefore provide ample of opportunities for play, exercise, socialization and mental stimulation. All puppies regardless need to be trained, this is a must if the goal is a well-adjusted dog for the future. By training, you implement very important skills and use them to your advantage to tackle issues that may become troublesome if not tackled early. It's a win-win situation. Your puppy will not need to be completely trained right now and that's far to be expected at this age. At 10 weeks, puppies lack the ability to stay focused for too long. Just a few basics such as target and sit though can be taught easily as early as 8 weeks and used to one's advantage for redirection.

Hello ChelseaArias, Welcome to the forum. I am sorry to hear you are having difficulties in grooming your Norwegian Elkhound. You are on the right track in trying to make the process of brushing him as pleasant as possible by using grooming tools that are gentle and feeding him tasty foods. I feel that your methods can be tweaked a bit by using a clearer desensitization and counterconditioning program using more contingencies. I can offer a few tips that you can try to make the whole process easier. 1) Many dogs do better with short and sweet sessions rather than prolonged ones. So you can try to go back a few steps and every day do a few short sessions (like 2-3 minutes at the most the first few days) and gradually increasing them over the course of several days. 2) I am afraid that although the idea of giving him a whimzee keeps him distracted, he is missing the opportunity to create positive associations between the whimzee and being brushed. In other words, he might be missing the important piece of the puzzle which is creating a strong contingency that goodies arrive only when he is being groomed. A day may come where he may want to eat his whimzee without being "bothered" by the brushing. So there is a chance he may learn to move away and start being uncollaborative because he may want to eat his whimzee in peace. 3)I would therefore start by introducing brushing gradually and creating new strong positive associations. So for instance, I would keep the brush in my pocket or behind my back and would take it out casually every now and then during the day. Every time your dog sees or sniffs the brush, feed him a tasty high-value treat. Look for small, bite-sized treats that make the point without filling your dog too much. Then, put the brush back in your pocket and no more treats. You want to make it clear that treats are contingent on the presentation of the brush. Do this several times for a few days. After a few days, you should ''Pavlov's law'' in effect: your dog may start drooling or looking at the brush happily as it signals treats are coming! Then you can progress, gradually and systematically. Get the brush out of your pocket, pass it quickly on an area you know he likes to be pet, while you give him a treat. Put the brush away, and no more treats. Repeat several times, so it's clear in his mind that passing the brush gives him a treat. Don't overdo it. When the brush is put away, the treats are also put away. Continue progressing for gradually longer and longer times carefully watching his comfort level. Once you progress, you should be able to upgrade to giving the the treat no longer while being groomed but a little after. So while before your were feeding him with one hand, while simultaneously brushing with the other, you should now be able to brush him for a couple of strokes and give the treats right after the 2 strokes. You can build on this by gradually increasing the number of strokes but never make them increasingly predictable. For instance, if you do 2 strokes, then treat, 3 strokes, then treat, 4 strokes then treat, your dog may come to understand that time he is being brushed is getting increasingly longer and he may therefore come to dread it. Instead, go variable. Give 1 stroke, then treat, give 3 strokes then treat, give 2 strokes then treat, give 4 strokes then treat, give 1 stroke then treat. Remember, if at any time he seems uncomfortable, you are going too quick for his comfort, so go back a few steps and start again. Once positive associations have been made, you can then switch from high-value treats to using his kibble if he likes it. That way you can use a portion of his meal for rewarding him for being brushed and don't have to worry about too many calories. There are also treats now that have very low calories if you want to continue using treats. 4) And you are right in wanting to brush him more frequently. I have noticed that the longer time goes between brushing, the higher the chances for painful knots to form in the coat, and this is not good in a sensitive dog who doesn't like to be brushed. If there are knots that are easy to districate, you may be better off trying to detangle them very gently while you are petting him and talking to him in a soothing tone rather than attempting to remove them with the brush so to not impact your hard work in creating positive associations. Painful knots are better off just snipped off with a scissor. 5) Another option you may have is to use a glove brush (like the 'grooming glove") and wear it when you are petting him. Chances are, he may come to accept it better because it wears like a glove and makes dogs feel as if they are being petted. Talk to him in a soothing tone and praise him Of course, if he seems to dislike that, I would not use it so to avoid a setback in him pleasure in being petted. I hope this helps! Let me know if you need any further assistance, Best regards, Adrienne

If Oreo is super hyper during the walk, you can try draining some pent-up energy before going on the walk. It sounds like walks are being used to disperse energy, and this is good, but if the energy is too much, this may lead to rowdy, out of control behaviors which are more difficult to tackle. Instead, try to play some structured games prior to walking such as fetch rewarding calm behaviors (puppy sits before ball is tossed) or you can do some fun Jazz up and Settle Down. Get that extra energy drained and start the walk with calm behaviors. Ask for your puppy to sit when you put the leash on and sit when you open the door. Look up the open sesame game here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/college/open-sesame/ If you start your walk with uncontainable excitement, it will persist in future walks. Soon excess excitability is associated with walks. Stopping to move when he pulls is important and you really need to be very, very consistent. You will have to imagine your loose leash being your accelerator and the tense leash being your brakes. For consistency, always keep your hand in the same spot. Don't pull your arm forward when he pulls or he'll quickly learn that pulling gains him those extra inches. On top of stopping in my tracks when training good leash walking, I like to add the extra consequence of having the dog come back to me in "heel position" in order to free me up from being stuck in the "spell' that has glued me to the ground. Once back in heel position, I like to give two forms of rewards consisting of a high-value treat for rewarding being next to me followed by the life reward of moving forward. I have found that this leaves a stronger impression on the dog. This is discussed in detail here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ With some dog owners with dogs eager to do things, I like to teach them to stretch their hands and ask their dogs to "target" them to get them back into heel position when their dog is ahead pulling and they stop in their tracks. Here is the part about targeting if you want to give it a try: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ You will have to make targeting though an extra fluent behavior practicing a lot at home and in the yard beforehand before going on walks. I would start practicing on a quiet road at first. If he becomes a bit crazy jumping to your hand and barking for the food, make sure you never give food at those times otherwise you will have rewarded those behaviors. You need to be quick here and reward nice heeling before he has an opportunity to jump or bark. Providing the treat lower may prevent jumping, and if he manages to jump up or bark as you are delivering, the treat goes quickly back into the treat bag. You can add a little bit of drama by saying something like "whoops!" every time you do this. This is called negative punishment. If done consistently, dogs learn fairly quickly that barking or jumping leads to no reward, while quiet and calm leads to rewards and moving forward. Some dog owners find tossing treats on the ground makes dogs less focused on hands and jumping. Whatever you do, make sure the food is quickly stopped being used as lure here, but is then used as a reward for coming to heel. In other words, you need to fade the lure as explained in the heeling section. Now, puppies are easily distracted and have lower attention spans so it's OK to be a bit more forgiving for certain things. For example, I wouldn't ask long attention heeling at this age. I would also allow the puppy to sniff and explore a certain designated area of the walk by telling him "go sniff!" and loosening the leash. No pulling still allowed, you just give him a bit more freedom. However, to answer your question, I am a firm proponent that behaviors that are not tackled by the end of puppyhood will persist into adulthood. Right after puppyhood is the challenging adolescent stage (for your puppy it's right behind the corner), and you want to have taught strong polite leash walking basics by then. Now, it's true that many dogs will naturally behave better as they grow. Many dogs at the age of 5 become much, much calmer. But these dogs are more often than not, the dogs who were imparted a good dose of training by that time. As for book recommendations I have several written by great professionals. One of my favorites is "The Other End of the Leash" by Applied Animal Behaviorist Dr. Patricia McConnell, then "Inside of a Dog's Mind" by Alexandra Horowitz and "Do Dogs Dream?" by Stanley Coren. I hope this helps! Good luck with Oreo! Best regards, Adrienne