[Sam]

It's really interesting for someone who has never had a dog before. Everyday, Sam has a new action emerging and these actions are not always good. :twisted: Recently, he's taken to really biting and pulling on his leash and jumping up. The other day, he actually growled at me when I told him off. :shock: I would really appreciate any advice on how to discourage this behaviour.

 

[DebBrown]

I'm not an expert and I'm not sure of Sam's age but it sounds like he is young and trying to gain some dominance and independence. My instincts are to be very firm and make sure he knows who is the boss. I wouldn't put up with any growly behavior. If he doesn't respond to "no" or a command, you need to physically correct him, ie remove him from the situation, put him in a "sit", etc.

Good luck!
Deb

 

[lindamarie]

I don't know about the growling. That obviously needs correction.
We have been trying to get Bogie on a leash. We started, as others suggested, to let him walk around and drag it. He of course, chewed on it.

Then, we started to walk with him around the block. He was hestitant and resistant at first. We then started the "treat" thingie. If he didn't want to move forward and was just sitting there, we called him for a treat. We treated him a whole lot for everything he did/does. He's now much better.

They say never to pull the dog to make him walk. I've seen dogs resist so hard they pull themselves out of their collar and run........which can be dangerous!
We're finidng that working slowly and treating him is starting to work!

 

[annabelles mom]

I never had the growling prob with Annabelle, but I would def take immediate control of the situation and let him know it's not allowed

As for walking, I never walked AB with a collar, always a harness, no chance of her backing out of it. I still use a harness when we travel or take her to pets mart.

Good luck, hope the growling was a one time thing

 

[blueteal]

We use the "Gentle Leader" on Denver so he cannot pull.........
And if I walk him without the leader then everytime he pulls
I walk in the opposite direction, till he walks nice beside me.
When he was younger and pulled I took him back home and we started all over again, not always practical but It was consistent..........

 

[Sam]

Thanks everyone for such great advice as usual. Sam will be 10 weeks tomorrow. I suspect he could be trying to assert dominance. I don't know if it has anything to do with puppy pre-school but he turns into quite an assertive little thing when there are other puppies present

As for the jumping up, I try and immediately put him in the down position when he does it. Seems to relax him briefly when I do that. As for the growling, I put him in pupppy "time-out" for about a minute. It's quite funny to hear him go from growly doodle to whimpering doodle in a matter of seconds....oh so tough! hehehehe :lol:

 

[MaxandMe]

SAM your doodle is just testing the waters, pushing buttons and going "whadda mean i can't have my way all the time" hahahhaaa

Peanut was like your doodle though she has the sweetest temperament now

OH i also found time outs were good and NAPS were better restoring a sens of humor and good listening skills back into a small puppy

 

[Sam]

Yes I think you're right. I used to be a school teacher for many years; Sam is not unlike the teenagers I used to deal with on a daily basis. The time-out seems to work but the nap is difficult when he's a hyperactive psycho doodle. He continues to be a daily adventure. :lol:

 

[Guest]

Maya is 7mos and still jumps. She is good for me and will not jump on me when I come home anymore cause she knows she won't get ay attention that way. But when company comes over she is a little mexican jumping bean. It is a work in progress with us.

 

[lmtoth2]

We have found the jumping up to be very difficult to correct. Dexter just gets SO excited when someone comes to our house :roll: We have gotten it much better by distracting him with his favorite bone and giving it to him after he sits nicely when company comes. We also use a harnass on both dogs (EZ Walk) and it helps a lot. Kirby will only pull if he sees another dog and Dexter's has gotten much better in the past few months.

 

[Sam]

Can I get a harness for a grown up Sam and adjust it for his puppy body or will I have to get a puppy harness and trade up to a grown up harness? He seems to be growing quite rapidly and I'm not sure if I should wait to get the harness. :shock:

 

[madcity_mike]

10 weeks is soooo young i think. if you stick with all the advice things will be fine. It just takes a little time.

 

[lmtoth2]

oh I didn't see that Sam is only 10 weeks old...I agree that it's probably a bit young for a walking harness. We started with ours around 16-18 weeks. At that young age I would work on walking on a leash only around the house or your yard until he is a bit older.

They test so many things early. I agree that you need to make him know the growling is not acceptable. I bet a stern "no" would deter him since he is so young.

 

[Sam]

A stern 'no' generally works effectively on Sam. A friend of mine with a grown up Westie saw Sam last night and commented that he was actually VERY good on the leash, especially for his age. Admittedly, there are times when he does walk calmly next to me while on a leash. I've been letting him run around the house and the yard with the leash attached, just so he gets used to it. When he goes into his psycho doodle part of the day, he thinks everything is a game. I need to not expect too much too soon.

 

[DebBrown]

Charlie will bite his leash and mess with it if it is just trailing him around the house or yard. When we walk, I keep a good pace and he doesn't have time to mess with me. If you need to, keep a small treat in your left hand and keep him at your left side. He will follow the treat. You can have his sit and give him the treat as you feel necessary.

He sounds like a spunky little rascal. I have one just like him. He keeps me on my toes.

Deb

 

[lindamarie]

Yes I think you're right. I used to be a school teacher for many years; Sam is not unlike the teenagers I used to deal with on a daily basis.

Me too! I was just thinking of how much Bogie is like my students!!! I want him to be like my High School seniors were. That was a great age to teach!

 

[Sheila]

Pixie is 5 months, and she is jumping, biting and pulling on the leash a LOT when we go on walks. More toward the beginning of the walk, less toward the end. I figure she's very excited about the walk and has a lot of energy to burn. I do stop and tell her 'down' every time. We have not started obedience training with a trainer yet; we'll be starting a class after the holidays and I can hardly wait, honestly. It's a lot of work to walk her. I use a slip lead and try to correct her every time I see her get that look in her eye, before she jumps, but I can't always catch it in time.

She does growl when she jumps, but it's her play growl. It still could be a dominance play, I'll be curious to see what the trainer says about it, but she has a mild temperament. I think it's just her telling me she wants to goof around.

Turning and walking the other way if they pull works really well. I don't know about the harness, I've never tried one (maybe I should!). It really sounds like you're doing everything right with Sam, and he just needs more time.

 

[MaxandMe]

Beau stopped biting his leash and pulling and now understands the word WAIT when outside on his leash. He's 5.5mos old

now all puppies bite leashes, doing a bucking bronco maneuver hahahaa it's part of maturing till they stop along with US humans trying to teach them its not acceptable

PULLING: doodle pulls, i stop and stand still not saying a word and ignore them. they pull again, i do same. and over and over and if not I walk right back in the house and WALK TIME ceases.
takes about 2 days and they learn if they pull NO FUN NO WALK
then the next step is i say WAIT and give a tiny tug on the leash
that way i don't fall on the ice on the stairs


don't know if this helps but it worked for me with 3 doodles so far.

 

[mtd885]

When he does go into his Psycho Doodle schtick that's a good time for a training session. Get some treats and pick a behavior you want Sam to do rather than jump let's say sit for example. When some one comes in and you see Sam about to launch himself get his attention tell him sit (when he does) treat him, tell him how smart he is, make a fuss. Repeat this everyday for two weeks. After a while he'll be looking forward to sitting when guests arrive to get his treats. After he's 90% foolproof you can stop the treats and use love/petting rewards instead. My 16 week Old Doodle has learned that one in a day. Best of Luck. My mother in law visits with her Yorky and the puppy gets excited trying cartwheels while tethered in the living room. I simply tell her to got to her bed, when she does she gets rewarded. Now when the little dog enters the house the puppy runs to her bed for her treat. No more jumping and chasing the Yorkie around the house...mtd

 

[Sheila]

Good advice!

Yesterday on our walk, every time Pixie jumped I stopped and told her to sit, and gave her a time out for 20 seconds or so. She realized pretty quickly that if she jumps, she doesn't get to walk! I will incorporate your advice, too.