Willie

[ValleyGal]

I am getting my Christmas gift early tomorrow - a puppy named Willie. He's 4 months old. Would love some tips on training - especially so Willie does not become a barker, biter, chewer or runner. Does anyone have any advice on getting and training a puppy?

 

[Willie T]

Well, he sure couldn't have a better name!

 

[ValleyGal]

lol. You probably saw the title of the thread and thought I was directing something to you. Sorry....hope I did not disappoint....

 

[Cernunnos]

Breed is important to give advice, but there are some universals... . . I have & have had Great Danes, so I will be giving advice oriented to that but trying to be universal:

1. Walks are important to preventing "having a runner" my second Great Dane was famous for going on "runs" anytime she could get out a door. She didn't do anything bad, but eventually the local (good) PD would coax her into a squad car and bring her home. When she came to me, I looked up the daily walk-distance requirement for the breed & made sure she got it. . . she never ran after that. Running was a function of not getting the distance her breed required & so she'd run with the pent up energy. My third Dane gets walked between 3 & 4 miles a day between my two youngest kids & has never run.

2. Barking is natural, but when the dog barks can be trained. If you acknowledge things that don't need to be barked at & discourage barking & do acknowledge barking and encourage barking at things like . . . someone at the door.. . . your dog will get a sense of when barking is good. Discouraging barking altogether isn't healthy. The best dogs bark until you ask them to stop & then stop.

3. Biting gently can be okay. In soft-mouth breeds, like Great Danes & many hunting dogs, the ability to take something in their mouth and NOT hurt it, is actually bred into them. Our Great Dane will grab a wrist when she needs to go out to bathroom, but it is so gentle an infant wouldn't be scared. This is something to cultivate and reward. Not all bites need to tear flesh. . . though I have no doubt if anyone ever threatened a family member out Great Dane would kill them dead as a half grilled steak.

4. Chewing is pretty breed specific, but I have had a Pitbull-Mastiff cross & if anybody would chew, he was it. My pitmix took a desk down to nubs (drawers on the floor, literally chewing the legs out from under it in the course of a work day) from anxiety when we found a home for the Dane we fostered (my first) that we rescued at the same time. When I adopted a second Great Dane, he was fine. Taking him on the same walking regimen was part of that I think. I have never had a Great Dane with chewing issues, nor Gordon or Irish Setter or Brittany Spaniel. Of all the breeds I have had, the only chewing problems I have had, were due to circumstance mostly & breed secondarily.

Training in general, I'd put positive reinforcement above anything else. Domestic dogs WANT to please you & if you let them know something is "good" it goes MILES beyond trying to tell them what is "bad". Positive, positive, makes positive dogs. I have a Great Dane in my house that never makes bathroom mistakes, doesn't chew what she shouldn't, doesn't bark unless there is good reason (but then she does & impressively) and will gently take a hand in her mouth (rather than scratching a door) when she needs to bathroom. That said, if there was a threat, it'd be a hard call if I could put a bullet in it before she killed it dead. Chances are I'd just watch and put a bullet in the bad guy if it looked for a moment he was getting the unlikely upper hand, our girl can tear whole muscle groups off in a twist of her neck . .. but she is gentler than a mother hen around children that belong here.

 

[Odetta]

No advice, because I went with an older rescue because I was chicken about training a puppy for my first dog (next dog will be puppy most likely). But congrats on your new family member! Post pics. What kind of dog are you getting?

 

[ValleyGal]

Thanks, Odetta and Cernunnos. Wow, you have some really great information there!

My pup is Maltese and Yorkie cross. He was really sick yesterday when we picked him up, so today husband took him to the vet to start several treatments. Today he is a cornucopia of energy, curiosity, mischief and cuddles. We have discovered he loves to chew - hopefully as a phase of puppyhood. He's made off with kleenexes, socks, shoes, and he is even trying to chew his collar and leash! He's a rascal! I've been telling him "no biting!" and then giving him his chew stick to divert him from chewing shoes and socks. He's been eating everything off the floor including fuzzballs. I divert and show him his food, which he only eats if I am standing there watching him. He's not house trained, so that's something we need to work on, too.

Our local pet shop has someone who comes in to do obedience training, so I think we're going to sign up for that. I've never had to train from puppyhood, so this is a huge deal. On the plus side, he knows his name, sometimes will come when I say the command, is terrific on the leash, and started bonding really quickly with me - within 30 seconds of being handed to me, he started licking my face, and within a minute he stopped shaking. He is not much of a barker, although it's something we will need to keep in check otherwise it will turn into something.

Tomorrow I'll go get him a tug/fetch braided rope, a kong chew/treat toy, and a little comfort toy that I can cover with an old sleep shirt with my scent on it. When husband was at the vet, he picked up a bag of good dental chews. Between all that, and upcoming training, hopefully he will become an amazing little companion and walking buddy. He's got a pretty good personality....I just have to learn to read his communications... especially with housetraining.

 

[TravelerFarAwayFromHome]

I am getting my Christmas gift early tomorrow - a puppy named Willie. He's 4 months old. Would love some tips on training - especially so Willie does not become a barker, biter, chewer or runner. Does anyone have any advice on getting and training a puppy?

socialization is key to a well tempered dog

I think that is the only thing I can think of

but I don't know

I have never seen a Yorkie or Maltese to be neurotic....

 

[ValleyGal]

I think you're right about socialization. He's trying really hard to socialize with the cat, but cat has nothing to do with him. He wants to play all the time! I think the little guy has ADHD... he's all over the place!

I've been reading up on training. Pups are not fully housetrained till at least 6 months. I take him outside frequently, and he has still had a couple of little accidents. Between that and the hyperactivity, we think we will get a very large "crate" of wire and start paper training from the beginning. This should also help take care of him getting into things he shouldn't, like chewing on the coverlet tassels and pulling kleenex from the box and shredding them.

Having a puppy is exhausting!! But I can tell he is eager to please, so training should be effective.

 

[Sketcher]

It's been a while since I had to deal with a puppy, but it is critical that you put the time in to training him. Puppies need constant attention and supervision, so I would go so far as to say that the puppy always needs someone at the house who is willing and able to do that with him. Working full time just doesn't allow for that if you don't have other people at home spending time with him when you're away. The exception I would make to that is if there is another dog in the house for him to spend time with.

For a crate, it should be just big enough for when he becomes full-sized. Wire crates make it more likely that the tags on the collar will get caught on them, there have been dogs that choked in their crates because of this.

The Monks of New Skete breed German Shepherds and train them so well that they can load the dishwasher without licking the plates first. They have a book called The Art of Raising A Puppy. I recommend it.

 

[ValleyGal]

Thank you, Sketcher. I'll check out the book for sure! This is exhausting and we need help! We are also starting puppy training tomorrow evening. He's going to be a great dog once he gets past the biting everything. He doing okay with barking and with housetraining, knock on wood! He's only had one "accident" that was challenging to clean up in the house. But we take him out a LOT. Our son is home all day, and husband is home part of the time. I'm on vacation next week, so I'll be able to spend a lot of time with him, and once he's trained, I can take him to work with me for a day or two a week. This is a huge job! I have gained a lot of respect for people who train puppies....

 

[BFine]

I didn't have a book...I've always been a pet owner
since I was a toddler and enjoyed dogs the most.
Puppies required much attention/love...and regular bathroom breaks/ or taking them outside to "potty".
My thing was keeping their food/water near the back
door (which lead to our backyard.)

The key is: patience.
They will make you crazy but once the training sinks in
you got yourself a great friend/pet for life.

So your puppy is a Morkie... oh my!
The little guy "will" keep you all busy for sure lol.
They are known for being energetic and pretty "vocal"-- hopefully yours will not be too much and I pray his fur won't be too oily nor will he be too high maintenance.

High energy? keep his calories up, Morkies can have problems with low blood sugar...that too depends on how
energetic he is /and or remains...only time will tell.
Enjoy your new addition!

 

[Psalm3704]

I don't know much about dogs but hope these videos will help you get started in the right direction on training Willie. I seem to noticed giving the dog praises and treats is a key to reinforce their training.

.

 

[ValleyGal]

There were some great tips in those videos! I didn't think to use a special treat for toileting outdoors, I just give lots of praise. One of our problems this year is that it's really cold out, so when I take him out, everything tightens and he can't go. Then we come into the warm house and it all loosens up and accidents have been happening more and more. Not good. He's also really easily distracted outside. Evidently, pups are not fully trained in elimination until they are six months, so we have another month to go.

Other training is going well. We've had four training sessions, and we work on it during the week. He's still a puppy and likes to chew on things he shouldn't but at least he no longer chews on shoes, slippers, etc.

BFine, we ended up getting a little sonic emitter for the barking. If we tell him "no barking" and he continues, we will push the button and he will then stop barking and come to us.

His personal care needs are expensive right now - he needs cleaner for his ears (they bother him since we got him), he's getting updated on his shots, and he needs tear-stain remover. We just got a trimmer and did his paw pads last night. Once he's updated on everything, he will be fine. His coat is silky soft but not oily, so we will need to brush every couple of days. He likes the brush though.

So...although it's slow going, it is coming along. The next few months will be the hardest, but if we continue to work consistently at it, he's going to be a great dog! We love the little guy!

 

[BFine]

That's good ValleyGal