Nova'sMum

Hi Guys, I'm a little confused here, I've never heard of the "forced method" before and the nomenclature sounds a little harsh, but the way I read it is that the "force" is in that you actually place the dumbell in the dogs mouth to teach it to hold as oposed to letting the dog take the dumbell of it's own accord. Is this correct? If that's the case, then I can see no cruelty in this method of training - without the ear pinch of course.

My Cavie pup used to give me the hurry up when I was preparing his dinner. He'd sit by the kitchen and bark at me. I would walk away and watch TV or do something else until he realised no dinner was coming, then I'd finish getting it ready and give it to him, making him sit and wait for a release comand to eat. He soon learned that barking at me made dinner take even longer to get to him and now sits very quietly watching my every movement whilst I'm in the kitchen

Have tried to divert attention from whatever it is. Nova will come over to me and maybe even play, but then goes back to whatever he was barking at, particularly the stump at least on that occasion. I think he's now made friends with the stump. He's not madly barking at it anymore. Will try Erny's advice and ignore whatever he's barking at, but how long do you let them bark for, particularly when diversion doesn't seem to work? He tends to fixate on things for a time.

Suspected as much. I'm trying very hard not to reward fear response but honestly how long can you let it bark at the big black murderous tree stump for?

Hi, My 5mo cavie pup has started barking at everything. He looks at something, backs up and then barks. I go over and look at whatever he's barking at if I can work it out, go right up to it make sure there's no threat, go back to him and then tell him to be quiet. I don't mind if he's letting me know there's something out there (even if it's nothing), but I would like him to stop when I've assessed there's no threat. What is the best way to deal with this?

I'm experiencing the same thing with my 19wko Cavie pup. He stole a nice white garment from my clothes horse and when I retrieved it was a lovely mottled red. Also his tug toys and soft toys have spots of blood on them. Over the weekend my daughter found 3 puppy teeth under his mat, a canine and molars. I guess this is normal but would also like to know more. Hope this helps. Cheers

Have you tried looking at a dog run for outside. I know it's effectively like a cage, but it is larger than the crate and there's room to have food and water at one end and bed and toys at the other. My sister used to keep her lab in the run when she wasn't at home while we were renting. Just a thought if you have enough room. You can always lock it if you're worried someone might steal your dog.

Wow, Love all the puppies! Name: Nova (short for Casanova) sex: Male Date of birth: 1st May 2007 Age: 20 weeks old Colour: Blenheim Breed: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Hobbies: Playing, eating, sleeping Playing oh and eating Loves: Chewing fingers, or any toy if he can't get to fingers; Killing soft toy duck and snuggle pup; stealing mums slippers Hate: Noises

My 4mo darling does exactly the same thing. I tell him once to be quiet, and if he barks again I walk away and ignore him and the food. When he's forgotten about the food, I go back and finish getting it ready. He usually sits very quietly watching while I finish preparing the rest of his meal. Then I make him sit and wait, put his dinner down and keep him waiting until I give the release comand. He seems to be getting the idea that I won't be barked at.

If you can get hold of a Slurpex get one! Worth their weight in gold. Great around kids or pets for clean ups. It is basically a chamois block. I pour water onto the mess and then use the Slurpex to remove the moisture. It's brilliant. I then go over the spot with Urine off just to make sure there's no residual urine smell. Hope this helps.

Hi Gwinganna Have to confess, I'm guilty of reading and not posting. I'm new to puppies and the forum and having similar problems so I'm just surfing for info. Not having much luck with my own pup, though he's worked out what the dog door is for and is quite happy to go outside to play and I guess toilet (there's no mess in the laundry when I get home from work). He knows the word "toilet" and will usually oblige when requested. He also will prop in the middle of whatever he's doing when inside and feels the need and give me this baleful look (if I'm around to see it - and it seems I'm the only one in the family who can see the dog) as if to say "when a guy's got to go, a guy's got to go!" and then goes on his merry way. I need to work out how to make him realise inside is not good. He knows outside is good. I've come to the conclusion I must be more vigilant oh and pay more attention to how long it's been since he last went. BTW - hope I'm not "hijacking" this thread. Totally new to forums and how things work, so any advise on forum eticate as well as puppy training greatfully accepted.

We use Sprint oil as it has omega 3 & 6 oil which gives better absorbtion and for $38.50 for 5 litres value for money as you only use one cap full Jenkie99 Where are you located and where do you get the sprint oil from?

He's was the only pup in the litter. He s also the only pup in our house, but that's not what I was concerned about.

Hi Guys, Thanks for your responses and advice. Here's an update. This afternoon we went out to meet a friend with an adult ckcs. When Charlie (the friends dog) came over to meet Nova, Nova started to run off, but soon was interested in Charlie. He went over to say hello to Charlie and started typical puppy play invitation. Not sure if this is a result of meeting puppies yesterday, or if it's because Charlie is a Cav or because Charlie isn't a very dominant dog. Charlie was a bit overwhelmed by Nova if you can believe it. Anyway, I'll definitely be taking Nova to further obedience training as I firmly believe in having a well behaved dog, especially if it's to be a companion dog and go everywhere with the family. I also have a 2yo niece who's a bit frightened of dogs. She's OK when she's on the sofa and Nova is on the floor, so I want Nova to learn to ignore her if possible.

Just a question on how exact is it that a pups temperment is set by 16 weeks. My 15 week male ckcs pup is a bit concerned about other dogs. Weeks 1 & 2 at puppy school saw him under the chair, week 3 saw him sitting by the chair and asking for treats from the trainers, week 4 he tolerated the other pups attentions, but was still very wary. The following week I took him to different puppy class for socialization and again tolerated other pups attention but didn't initiate contact. Today met neighbours 5mth old pups and he would have bolted except he was on a lead. After about half an hour, he did finally do the puppy play bow for the beagle, but beagle wasn't interested. Next tuesday he turns 16 weeks - am I going to end up with a wuss of a dog (not that I really mind) or will further socialization increase his confidence?