[Jac]

Hi, boy do I relate!

Let me remind you (voice of experience here) keep the training up. Work on training every single day, do not let one day pass without it.

We had 2 puppies, siblings, and together they ate one thing after another. We have had every possible experience, so I am telling you this for your own sanity...training!

Now, I can also tell you that out of these wild and destructive puppies grew the most loving and calm adult dogs. The are the best companions ever!

So, hang in there, it does get better...and some day you will be laughing about these things...honestly, you will.

 

[Jac]

Hi,
My husband sent this to me in an email and I felt that it was especially right for this forum topic!

Enjoy!

Dear Dogs and Cats,
>
>
> The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The
other dishes are mine and contain my food.
>
>
> Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food
does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.
>
>
> The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack.
Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.
>
>
> I cannot buy anything bigger than a king-sized bed. I am very sorry
about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure
your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they
sleep.

> It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and
having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.
>
>
> For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If
by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob, or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered.
> I have been using the bathroom for years--canine or feline attendance
is not mandatory.
>
> The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's
butt. I cannot stress this enough!
>
> To pacify you my dear pets, I have posted the following message on
our front door:
>
> Rules for Non-Pet Owners Who Visit and Like to Complain About Our
Pets:
>
>
> 1. They live here. You don't.
>
> 2. If you don't want hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture.
(That's why they call it "fur"niture.)
>
> 3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
>
> 4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter
who is short, hairy, walks on all fours, and does not speak clearly.
>
>
> Remember: Dogs and cats are better than kids because they: eat less,
> don't ask for money all the time, are easier to train, usually come when
called, never drive your car, don't hang out with drug-using friends, don't
smoke or drink, don't worry about having to buy the latest fashions, don't
wear your clothes, don't need a gazillion dollars for college, and if they get pregnant, you can sell their children.

 

[Jac]

I personally like the "they live here, you don't."
:lol:

Training, well, we did it all. We took our dogs to puppy kindergarten, and we didn't keep working with them...time passed quickly and the poor dogs were getting pretty much, well, at home. (Their house, not ours.)

Then we hired an expensive trainer to come to our house, one on one training. We didn't follow through and so it didn't work either.

It dawned on me that we were really bad parents. Our intentions, as good as they were, didn't cut it. We needed to get them trained AND FOLLOW THROUGH! (But we wanted them to feel at home and comfortable, not restrained and forbidden.)

We finally sent them to what we called "doggie boot camp" and they stayed (all 3 of them) for a week. When we picked them up, they were absolutely perfect! The training worked wonders, they had so many good manners it was scary.

This time, we try to follow through. Sure, sometimes we don't...but when our dogs misbehave (which they don't really, not any more) it is because they are doing what dogs do.

Dogs are not human, they don't do things for spite or because they are mad at us...the do things because they LIKE what they are doing! Pleasure. It's that simple. Dogs like to chew, bark, dig, tear fluff out of sofas, jump on their people, nip and play, roll around on the ground, chew up favorite shoes, shred papers, discover stashes of forbidden things...and they like to be loved.

They will do just about anything we want them to do, as long as they know what that is. They need short, quick commands that they hear often and ones that they learn the meanings to. And they need to know that if they don't do it, there will be consequences (whether it is not getting a treat, a click, a love, or whether it is a quick tug on a prong collar.) I don't believe in being mean. I think that dogs learn love and kindness by the way we treat them...they also learn aggression and fear by the way they are treated.

They rely on us to be consistent. We can't let them chew on old shoes if we don't want them to chew on new ones. They don't know the difference...so, what I have learned is that the training needs to come FROM us...and WE need to be trained to do it. Most importantly, WE need to keep it in mind 24/7 until it is automatic for us and for our pets.

So, I can't say what type of training works best (although for us a prong collar does the trick). I have seen some wonderful dogs (well behaved, gentle, quiet) living with old ladies who give them treats from the kitchen table and I have seen really bad dogs living with aggressive and restrictive people...I think that it boils down to...you have to learn how to communicate with your dog, then let your dog know that you will be consistent. That you are the top dog, but you love them very much.

 

[Jac]

Oh, sure, bump this one up! LOL...see? Isn't it good that I confessed to once using prong collars??? LOL

Well, at doggie boot camp, they used prong collars...taught us to use them...but now I am older, wiser and have many more dogs. I can tell you, without hesitation, that experience mellows a dog owner!

Stuff is just that, stuff...and if we want it, we need to protect it. We can't blame the dog for eating something we have left out, now, can we?

I want to state on this followup, that I am no longer in favor of prong collars. I believe that they can be used well and that they can be okay...but I also believe that they are not necessary.

I know that others use them and that they feel that they are fine tools and I can't argue since I once felt the same way...but I have changed my mind and I strongly believe (now) that prong collars are not required on gentle creatures like Doodles. When I think of the confusion I caused by using prong collars...my poor dogs didn't get it...

So, my philosophy is... training is mandatory...if you don't train your dog, he/she will learn some good things, by chance or luck, but will also learn some bad things, through our neglect. I have never met a Doodle that won't respond to training...sometimes we just need to find the kind that works for them...

It is like helping your kids with homework...you can help them and explain to them, and give them patience and examples and they will learn to value the process ... or you order them to do their homework and send them off to their bedroom to get it done. That is when you learn from the teachers that your child has been failing and that they have no interest in school...it is all in how much time, energy and involvement we put into it...not in what the child or dog is capable of learning.

Bottom line: if you have a problem with your dog...take a goooood look at your interactions with him/her...every waking moment. You will likely find the answer.

 

[Jac]

I know! I really laughed at 3 month old Dakota!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Jac]

Sadly, Ann, the choke chain is still in use by many programs...thanks for your support.

About the treats....actually the word "treat" can mean any reward...food, love, chest scratch, ear rub, "good boy/girl!", favorite toy...etc...anything your dog enjoys because the reward for good behavior is a pleasant thing, sort of like we enjoy hearing "thank you" when we do something nice for someone...for instance, if I hold the door for a shopper, I don't really do it for a reward but when someone smiles and thanks me I feel good about it...but when they just walk through like I am not there, I feel slighted somehow...

So, you can vary the reward, it doesn't need to be a treat. In fact, that is the beauty of clicker training...the click becomes the reward (after they are conditioned to feel good when it sounds)...you might want to mix it up a bit for Charlie, don't let him know what is coming next.

My dogs LOVE it when we are getting ready to leave them alone...why? Because we lock them out in the yard BUT ONLY TO HIDE TREATS around the house! We hide them really well too...some we put out where it is easy but most are well hidden (in safe places in case they dig for it)...we let the dogs back in and they rush around looking for treats...this is only when we leave them alone so they start to really look forward to it!