Is it okay to focus on calm so much?

[SUSANNAH DARLING]

We just got a new mutt pup, an 11 week old suspected Australian shepherd/lab mix. We have had him for a little over a week now. He's very smart and responds well to training, other than trying to bite everything he sees. One day we'll get past that, he's a baby and I'm not expecting a miracle lol

The one thing is that I hope to train him to eventually become a bit of an assistance/service dog (not to give away! But for me. I have anxiety and diabetes, and having a little helper would increase my quality of life a lot). So a lot of the training has been focusing on staying calm and socialization, because it feels like any time he gets too excited he loses what little attention he has. So any time he relaxes in his playpen, he gets a treat. I dont let him get too excited about dinner (he goes a little crazy for food), and slooowwwllyy hand feed him or use it for training sit/down/eyes on me. He's only 11 weeks and already picking up what I want, even if he does get a little frustrated. 

I guess between the sleep deprivation and overall stress, I need reassurance (or repremanding if I'm doing something wrong) that it's okay to treat so highly for calmness. He doesnt ever really get the zoomies unless he chases my husband. He sometimes annoys our older, small pup (8 lb Shih Tzu), but we're working on him learning to leave her alone unless she wants to play. 

 

I guess I just wanted to know if it's okay to focus calmness - sometimes I feel like I'm stifling his puppyness, even though we obviously encourage happiness and he always wags his tail while training. 

 

Thanks and here's my little mischief maker:

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there, 

Welcome to the forums, what a cutie pie you have there! 

You have a suspected mix of high energy breeds (maybe some border collie too?) so it's good to put an emphasis on learning how to relax and creating positive associations with that. You are using gentle training methods to let him know that you like it when he's lying down and relaxing, so there's no harm there. I would have been concerned if you were trying to instill calm by suppressing "hyper" behaviors by using scary tactics such as yelling or punishment-based techniques-which is clearly not the case. 

Things may change though as he matures and reaches the flight stage and then doggy adolescence, but if you keep it up, and work on impulse control training, you should be able to maintain some level of calmness (and some sanity!) during these turbulent times ahead. 

At this age, they don't have much long attention spans, but it's a good idea to carefully watch what stimuli or situations causes them to become hyperaroused and work on this a little at a time by presenting similar stimuli and situations, but in less-distracting, less-intense versions so as to allow them to be under threshold enough to cognitively function and be more responsive to us. Baby steps are important, if you notice signs of frustration try to make the exercise easier. 

You are doing a good job on this already by offering some of his food after letting him perform a calm behavior first. 

Puppies will bite everything they see, because they explore the world with their mouths and they are eager to interact and play. If he's biting your hands, feet etc., here are some replacement behaviors: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/replacement-behaviors-to-stop-puppy-biting/

and here are tips to getting puppies used to being touched: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-to-teach-puppies-to-tolerate-touch/

Enjoy puppyhood until it lasts, they grow so fast! Make lots of pictures and happy training!

[SUSANNAH DARLING]

Thank you so much!

I have one last issue, which is integrating him with our older and much smaller dog. She's a 3 year old Shih Tzu, but she was the runt of her liter and maxed out at 8 lbs. We think he thinks she's another puppy, not an adult dog, and he lunges at her to initiate play. He is only ever in a playpen or on a leash around the house/backyard, so thankfully he hasn't ever reached her with these lunges, but I still can't find anything helpful when it comes to that situation. He lunges at her regardless of situation, how tired he is, how distracted he is, how recently he was played with, etc. She never corrects him and just hunches down or runs away when he lunges. 

Other than keeping them apart and trying to reassure the Shih Tzu that we won't let him get her, is there anything we can do to help them bond and stop the lunging? Will age eventually help? Or just more socialization with other dogs so he can learn to play gently? 

Thank you again for answering, every day is a new challenge but also new wins! 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

You're very welcome!

I hear you, pups are so eager to play, they don't care if the other dog is old, small,  sick, or simply not interested. 

If she's not interested in play and just wants to retreat and have nothing to do with him, until he's better trained you will likely have to keep him under control around her (leash, baby gates, exercise pens) and invest in safe zones for the time being. It sounds like she is a well behaved dog who gets overwhelmed by rowdy approaches. 

Walks together, one handler per dog (once he has finished his shots and got the green light by your vet) can be a bonding activity as long as you keep your pup not so close that he tries to lunge. Car rides together to nice places (with your pup under control) can also help. 

Until he shows signs of being calmer around her, she likely will feel stressed around him. Of course, this is a great incentive in getting him trained faster! You will need to train him individually at first. Once he's better trained, you can then involve both of them in fun training/play sessions (like group recalls, hide and seek) which can also be a great bonding activity. 

On top of not letting him lunge, it helps to help her form positive associations with your new pup, such as feeding her treats when she sees him/hears him at a distance, so as to not let the negative associations of being lunged at prevail. 

Here are some more tips for introducing a puppy to an older dog: 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/how-to-introduce-a-puppy-to-an-older-dog/