I know it can be a bit annoying on forums when people either ask for general advice, or ask a lot of questions in the one post. But, I don't really want to start lots of new theads, and maybe by talking about a few problems at once can help someone to build up a picture and help us prioritise.
We've already had Emma (16wo beagle X) for 2.5 weeks now, and I don't want to go on for too long without doing things "properly". We've called an obedience/training place that sounds good (thanks ness) but they don't have any new groups starting until July 8th... which feels like a long way away. Until then I'm worried that we'll get into bad habits that will be hard to break. Just the normal anxiety of a new "parent" I guess.
So far we've discouraged her from jumping up to greet us by ignoring her when she does, and patting her calmly when she's sitting, which has been pretty successful, although she still jumps up occasionally when we're walking around out the back. I'm pretty sure she knows what "sit" and "come here" mean too, but she's not always so keen when there isn't food around. She sits before we put her food bowl down, but we don't make her hold the sit until the bowl is on the ground, as long as she doesn't jump we don't really mind...
One issue at the moment is that she's not toilet trained - there haven't been too many accidents because we watch her, but because we're both out during the day (and leave her outside) she's only had limited time inside to practice. I'm really looking forward to being able to relax more when she's inside, and for her to be able to sleep inside overnight. I hope we'll get there eventually if we're patient.
Also, she gets in a biting/mouthing mood sometimes, and seems to prefer biting/chewing us to anything else (not that we let her bite us). Sometimes out the back she starts attacking my pants/jacket (while I'm standing up) and it can be really hard to get her off. Pushing her away makes her more excited, and I can't really completely ignore it because she'll rip my clothes. Ocassionally she's actually nipped me near the knees (and on my wrists when I've been trying to get her off) and it really hurts. It's only happened a few times, but I don't really know how to deal with it when it does.
We've taken her for two walks around the block on her lead (today and yesterday). She pulled off to the side quite a bit, and at times stopped dead and sat down. We held some dry dog food (which she likes as a reward) to encourage her to move forward, and come back to us, and walk at our sides, but overall it was pretty slow going. I've read things like "never let them pull on the lead"... but I also want her to get used to the idea that by walking on the lead she can see nice places outside. Is it better to train in the backyard first? If so, at what point is she "ready" to go outside?
Sometimes she steals things inside, like tissues out of the box, or shoes that are on the ground. What's the best way to get something off her that I don't want her to have?
We also have two cats. At the start, Emma kept her distance, but she's gotten more bold lately and will actually (gently) jump on one of our cats in an attempt to play. That cat is really good, and very calm around Emma. She never runs away unless Emma actually makes physical contact, and even then not right away. Hannah (the cat) likes to lie on our bean bag, and will stay lying there for a while even after Emma gets on in and makes playing motions, but she does eventually jump off... at which point Emma chases... Should we be calling Emma away before she gets to the beanbag? We mostly do, but every now and then I have this thought that maybe this time Emma will be calmer, and maybe even lie down and go to sleep next to Hannah. It's not like she runs to the beanbag or anything, but she gets more and more excited trying to get Hannah to play.
Sorry for all the questions. If anyone has any advice about anything, I'm listening.
