Our first dog, Jenny

[Fizzyfefe]

Hi everyone! :wave:

My husband and I rescued our very first puppy yesterday! We are so excited. Her name is Jenny, she is a little over a year old, and she is a black lab mix. Okay, so maybe she's not quite a puppy anymore, but she feels like my baby puppy.

We've never owned a dog before, so this is will be an experience! Any suggestions are appreciated. We need all the help we can get with our new fur baby. I'm so excited that we are finally able to join this forum!

 

[Bevziibubble]

Aww, she's gorgeous! How are things going with her? Hope she's settling in well!

 

[Fizzyfefe]

Thanks, Bevzii! Unfortunately, it has not been all candy and rainbows since we got her. She was great the first few days, but has basically turned into a nightmare ever since. She is a sweetheart when hubby and I are home with her, but that's about the only time she behaves. She barks and growls at other people and other dogs, has destroyed our house once while we left her alone, has broken out of two (expensive) crates when left alone, and will not listen to any commands when we try and teach her something. Just in the past few days, she has now started whining at every little thing. She won't stop biting when we try to play with her, and it's really worrying me that she won't be able to socialize with other people, dogs, and especially, children. Her training classes start tonight, thank goodness, so we'll see if they help.

 

[Kess]

Aw bless, she sounds scared (especially the destroying things when you're away) - not surprising if she's still settling in etc. Have you looked into clicker training? It worked wonders with my dog - we thought she was really dim before that (all the training I'd done with previous dogs just wasn't working with her) but it turns out she just learns best with the clicker. Did you introduce her to the crate slowly with treats etc? A good positive, reward-based training class is a good idea, hopefully it'll help.

"Scaredy dog" and "Control unleashed" are great books, they really helped me understand my dogs better.

 

[Bevziibubble]

How have the training classes been going? hope they're helping Jenny. It certainly sounds like she's got a personality!
When my hubby first got his dog (before he met me) he was biting everyone but he did calm down in time and now he just nibbles. He has never bitten me as he won't bite women apparently! I think dogs get so over excited when they're young but they do calm down in time!

 

[Fizzyfefe]

Aw bless, she sounds scared (especially the destroying things when you're away) - not surprising if she's still settling in etc. Have you looked into clicker training? It worked wonders with my dog - we thought she was really dim before that (all the training I'd done with previous dogs just wasn't working with her) but it turns out she just learns best with the clicker. Did you introduce her to the crate slowly with treats etc? A good positive, reward-based training class is a good idea, hopefully it'll help.

"Scaredy dog" and "Control unleashed" are great books, they really helped me understand my dogs better.

Hiya Kess! The trainer said the same thing about her being scared when we went away. She has crazy separation anxiety and nothing calms her down.

The classes she is taking are based off of clicker training and positive reinforcement, and she is slowly getting better. It's still extremely hard getting her to listen if there are other people in the room. She gets so excited that she won't sit still or listen to a command. Also, if there is another dog in the room, forget it. All listening goes right out the window.

Also, yes, we did introduce the crate slowly and with treats and toys. We put a nice bed in there for her, made sure that we stayed in the room with her for the first few times, and did not put her in there as punishment. She sleeps in there with no problems, but, mind you, we are in the next room. She is completely fine when we were in the house, but the minute we leave, she starts trying to break out. (The attached picture shows what she did to her bed, and the second crate that she was able to destroy. It's a dark photo, so you may not be able to see too much. Also, don't mind the hubby wearing socks with sandals... he won't stop doing it and it drives me crazy! )

How have the training classes been going? hope they're helping Jenny. It certainly sounds like she's got a personality!
When my hubby first got his dog (before he met me) he was biting everyone but he did calm down in time and now he just nibbles. He has never bitten me as he won't bite women apparently! I think dogs get so over excited when they're young but they do calm down in time!

Hey Bevzii! The first one went all right. There was one other dog in the class, and she did not like him at ALL. He was very hyper, though, so I don't know if he scared her or not. She listened most of the time, and it somewhat stuck when we brought her home. She did finally learn her name, so that's good. Our homework assignment was to make her sit for thirty seconds by the next training class, and she's done well. I've been working with her every day since that class. However, like I said to Kess, she doesn't listen as soon as other people come in to the room. Also, she chewed through her leash. It's like we fix one bad behavior, and she develops another one.

What constitutes a young dog? She is a year and seven months. How long does it take them to develop an adult personality? Or do they ever grow out of it? How old is your dog now? Glad to know that there is some hope!


I appreciate your responses, ladies!

 

[Kess]

Aw, for a medium sized dog 1 year 7 months is not adult yet. When she hits two she's technically an adult, but at least another year after that before I'd expect her to calm down in general (judging by my cocker anyway lol). Really recommend Scaredy Dog and Control Unleashed. My cocker never listened. It explains in one of those books, can't remember which of the two, that when a dog is nervous they can't learn as the adrenaline etc stops the connections in the brain being made and stops them concentrating. She was stressed because of a dog attack on her in her fear period, she'd decided all of outside was scary, especially other dogs. Her daily walks were keeping her stress levels high. Once we brought her stress levels down for two weeks she was able to learn properly and we taught alternative behaviours (with the clicker). She's sooooo much better now!

 

[Fizzyfefe]

How do you use your clicker? At the training class, they were teaching us that we only click when she performs a command or listens, and then we give her a treat immediately. Click, treat, click treat. But what do we do when she doesn't listen?

 

[Kess]

Depends why she isn't listening, and which command, for me. Is she distracted, just not understanding, not giving you her full attention, not interested? Which commands are we talking about? I assume you 'charged' the clicker (treat with every click before you even start training so she learns to associate the click with good stuff). Which treats have you tried?

Tell me more and I can tell you what I would do. I'm not qualified, I can't promise I know what I'm talking about, but I read a lot and I can tell you what I would do based on my experience with my dogs (my own and fosters) - a couple of which have had fear issues.

 

[Bevziibubble]

Aww sounds like she made a bit of progress at the training class then. Have you watched the Dog Whisperer? I quite like that programme

My dog is around 6 or 7 years old, we're not totally sure as he was a rescue dog, but he has calmed down a lot from what he used to be like and is really good at following instructions. Apart from running and barking at cats in the garden!

 

[Kess]

Aww sounds like she made a bit of progress at the training class then. Have you watched the Dog Whisperer? I quite like that programme

My dog is around 6 or 7 years old, we're not totally sure as he was a rescue dog, but he has calmed down a lot from what he used to be like and is really good at following instructions. Apart from running and barking at cats in the garden!

Cesar Millan is a really bad idea for any dog, but especially for fearful ones. See Dog Welfare Campaign, Beyond Cesar, and Dog Willing.

 

[Bevziibubble]

Cesar Millan is a really bad idea for any dog, but especially for fearful ones. See Dog Welfare Campaign, Beyond Cesar, and Dog Willing.

Thanks, have had a look through some and I have to say that once explained like this, Cesar Millan's methods do seem a little like bullying I'm glad I've read this, I always thought what a good job he did with dogs on the tv but I guess there's a lot behind the scenes we don't see and it does sound like he's trying to rule by fear and placing too mugg emphasis on domination

 

[Fizzyfefe]

Here's a list of the problems she has:
Anxiety in crate when we leave (will destroy anything we leave in there as soon as we leave)
Breaks out of crate
Jumps on hubby when he comes home from work
Pulls on leash when walking
Chews furniture
Eats and drinks so fast that she chokes
Growls at strangers (although this seems to be going away)
Growls at other dogs
Will not defecate when I take her out, only hubby
Nips and bites when we try and play
Gets overexcited when we play
Whimpers for no apparent reason, both in and out of crate
Jumps on furniture (rarely, but it does happen)
Jumps on counter (also rarely, but it has happened twice)
Bolts out the door (it happened the first time she broke out of her crate and I didn't know; as soon as I opened the door, she ran out, and I couldn't catch her. Luckily, there was someone outside who got her.)

My greatest concerns are that she will:
Hurt a child that tries to play with her
Hurt herself trying to escape the crate (she has already chipped her nails and makes herself bleed)
Destroy the furniture if we are not watching her every minute

The things we have tried:
Three different crates (this last one, Kong brand, seems to hold her in the best)
Stop That! spray (doesn't seem to make a difference)
Bopping her on the nose/butt (only works for a short time)
Switched to harness rather than collar (made a tiny difference, but she still pulls when we walk her)
Leaving her out of crate (obviously didn't work, so we haven't done it since the first time she destroyed everything)

Her good attributes are:
She is fully potty trained (except for the one time she had bowel issues and defecated in her crate when left alone)
She is lovable
Loves to be pet
Loves attention
Eager to please (sometimes)

Kess, yes, we did associate the click with a treat before even training her with it. She knows she gets a treat every time she hears it, which is good. We use her kibble, baby carrots, and dog bones for treats. As far as why she won't listen, my guess is that it's a combination of not listening/focusing and being uninterested. She gets extremely hyper sometimes; even the trainer noticed it today (said she went through extreme mood swings and had periods of hyperactivity and periods of calmness).

We had the second day of class today, and it went MUCH better, for the most part. She sat even when other people were around, let them pet her... it was great. We also bought her a Thunder Shirt and a Kong ball that we can stuff with peanut butter. We are going to try to leave the peanut butter Kong in the crate with her to see if that keeps her distracted.

Bevzii, she doesn't like cats, either, but I don't scold her for trying to get at them. If the cat is stupid enough to come close, it's their own fault.

As far as the Dog Whisperer, I've never seen it. Many people on Facebook suggested that I watch it, but I never did. I will definitely look in to why he is not a good trainer, which is surprising, since so many people rave about him!

 

[Kess]

Right, this is going to be a mammoth post, sorry!

Anxiety in crate when we leave (will destroy anything we leave in there as soon as we leave)
Breaks out of crate Sounds like separation anxiety. Talk to the trainer, or look for positive solutions online (I've got no real experience or knowledge of this), but you can also try a DAP diffuser, spray or collar? It's a synthetic pheremone normally made by a bitch to settle her puppies down, and it works well on all ages of dog to reassure them.

Jumps on hubby when he comes home from work Teach a sit and pre-empt the jumping up with getting her to sit. Hubby needs to ignore her until she's calm, so she gets attention when sitting nicely but not otherwise.

Pulls on leash when walking Have you tried a Halti headcollar? They work well as a management tool whilst you work on more serious stuff, then once she's doing better overall you can focus on the pulling with the clicker.

Chews furniture There's a spray you can get that tastes bad that you put on things you don't want chewing. If you catch her chewing, can you say, "Ah-ah" (not sternly, it's just a 'no-reward' marker, i.e. a sound to tell her she's doing something you won't reward her for) and redirect her onto a chew or a toy? When she chews something appropriate, praise or click/treat. Stag Bars are supposed to be great chews, though I've never used them (been meaning to get some), but I'd get her a variety of chewing options - rope toy, squeaky toy, tripe stick, pigs ears, etc. Chewing releases calming hormones so she needs to do it, you just need to direct her onto appropriate stuff.

Eats and drinks so fast that she chokes Have you considered scatter feeding? Spreading her kibble all over will slow her down (works with my gobbley one ) and provides a bit more mental stimulation too. Or feed from a treat dispenser ball. Drinking fast I have no idea, sorry. She might be eating fast if she wasn't certain when the next meal was coming, or if she was used to competing with other dogs in the home for food. Maybe predictable mealtimes will help? Predictable routine can help nervous dogs in general, according to Scaredy Dog.

Growls at strangers (although this seems to be going away)
Growls at other dogs
Seriously, read both Scaredy Dog and Control Unleashed and talk to the trainer. These are too big for me. I do know IF it is fear-based, she needs to learn to associate good things with the things that scare her, so if you can get to a certain distance without a growl, point out the scary thing and as soon as she sees it, click and treat. You gradually get closer and closer over time as she becomes desensitised. Also, never punish a growl - it doesn't get rid of the feelings making the dog growl, and it doesn't lessen the chance the dog will take it one step further and bite, it just teaches them not to warn you!

Will not defecate when I take her out, only hubby How odd! What happens if you both take her out together?

Nips and bites when we try and play
Gets overexcited when we play
These two, you need to reward calm play and stop when biting/hyperness happen.

Whimpers for no apparent reason, both in and out of crate General nervousness? Read Scaredy Dog

Jumps on furniture (rarely, but it does happen)
Jumps on counter (also rarely, but it has happened twice) No idea what to suggest except every time she does it turf her off. None of mine have ever been agile enough to get onto counters, and they're allowed on furniture as long as they get off when told to.

Bolts out the door (it happened the first time she broke out of her crate and I didn't know; as soon as I opened the door, she ran out, and I couldn't catch her. Luckily, there was someone outside who got her.) Honestly I'd just not give her the opportunity, and teach a solid recall so if she does slip out she comes back when you call her.

In general, you could try more high value treats for the clicker. I use small pieces of cheese (really small) or chicken, or Coachies or Wagg Training Treats. I'd avoid hitting (in any form) as it won't foster trust or teach her to trust you and be calm around you, which is important.

Useful resources:
Scaredy Dog
Control Unleashed
Clicker videos
Learning about dogs.
Anything by Karen Pryor.
I have more resource links saved on my other computer if you're not bored stiff already! Let me know if you want them.

I hope something in there is useful!

 

[Fizzyfefe]

Wow Kess, thank you so much for responding so thoroughly! I really appreciate it. I will try some of the things you suggested and see how they work.