aussielover

Mindy has been reasonably good with toilet training, but we have had a few accidents, due to my inattention to her. When these happen, I usually just clean up the mess without comment. She hasn't had an accident for a while now, but will probably have one every 3-4 days. She doesn't seem to get that it is desirable to go outside, despite us only rewarding her if she goes in the "toilet corner". She toilets on command which is useful and perhaps why she doesn't have accidents when we are at work. I am more vigilant there because I would be very embarassed if she were to pee at work! I think part of the problem is that I am a bit slack at home, we have tiles, so an accident is not really the end of the world. Also, my family are not reliable with toileting her and she seems to have more accidents if one of them is in charge of her. She is crate trained and does not have accidents overnight. I was just wondering: 1. When, if ever, will she realise that outside (ie. grass) is the appropriate place to toilet? 2. When she does have an accident, will saying "no" or taking her outside to the toilet place speed up the toilet training process? I know it will happen quicker if we crate her whenever we can't watch her, but we do like having her with us most of the time as she is so lovely Our house is open plan though, so if if take you eye off her for even one minute, she really could be anywhere! I would like to be able to let her have free run of the house (downstairs) without having to worry she will be peeing somewhere! Any other tips would be greatly appreciated

it sounds like marking to me.

Initially, just as they are beginning to pee (or poo) say the words "quick quick" or "hurry up" or whatever. We used to say "do wee wees" but that is a bit embarssasing in public! Then reward them. If you do this consistently they will soon associate the words with the action, just like any command. As you get to know your pups behaviour better, start saying it just before you know they will go- eg when sniffing on the ground etc. My pup was doing it on command within a week. Competition horses are trained to pee by whistling! You could probably do this with dogs too.

Just allocate an area where you would like him to go. Then take him to the area on a lead. Reward when he goes. Don't reward if he goes anywhere else (he shouldn't if he is on lead). Does he toilet on command? this is very useful and quite easy to teach.

Yeah that happened with Mindy. I now spend a few minutes with her settling her into the crate making sure she is looking sleepy and not playing with her toys. Obviously it is not ideal and the crate training people with their perfect puppies will probably poo-poo this, but I would rather spend 10-15 mintues extra with her in the crate than listen to her carry on barking, howling etc for a couple of hours (i'm sure the neighbours appeciate it too). She is absolutely fine in the crate during the day, will not bark at all, so still not sure what is going on at night. I think as they get a bit older, they can try to start to test you, see what they can get away with etc. As long as there is nothing actually wrong (like she is cold, sick, needs to toilet etc), then you'll just have to ignore her.

Mindy was insulted the other day and called a labradoodle... I mean seriously, I don't know how you could possibly confuse a purebred lab and a labradoodle? I have no problem with labradoodle dogs themselves, some are very cute, but Mindy is clearly not a labradoodle. When I corrected the person they actually said "oh that is a shame, labradoodles are much healthier and calmer" A few people have also said she can't possibly be a labrador as labradors are crazy and playful puppies, not nice and calm. Mindy has her crazy moments, but I do try to keep her under control in public. A few people called Clover a mutt

what is a lip roll?

I have started using the water spray with excellent results. For some dogs, I'm sure getting up and walking away, time out or transferring a toy into the mouth is fine but my puppy was very very mouthy (being a lab). In fact, no other puppy I have met so far has come close to being as mouthy as Mindy. I work at a vet and some people brought in a spoodle puppy and were complaining about biting/mouthing. I cuddled and it only mouthed me once or twice very gently- nothing compared with Mindy! I have also found that her responsiveness to the word "no" in general has also improved since I started using the spray. Wizzle- I agree with your definitions of mouthing and nipping.

The quickest way to get on top of toilet training is crating. I found crating/tying up really sped up the process and reduced the no of accidents. I am lucky enough to be able to take my pup to work and I have the option of working at home as well. When I am working, I tie her up under my seat. Pups are unlikey to toilet right underneath you. This also has other benefits- pup can't destroy the house etc. Now my puppy does not need to be tied up anymore, and will just lie down and sleep next to me on her bed, or even a towel. If I needed to do housework or to be getting up and down a lot, I crated her. Pups are unlikely to toilet in the crate. If the pup is running around free, it is impossible to watch them all the time. This is why crating and tying up is great. I know of trainers that will crate pups almost all day (obviously with regular play time and toilet breaks as well) for the first few days. People seem to like the idea that pups have free range of the house but in reality this is not really neccesary imo. Puppies sleep A LOT, so as long as you have regular play/cuddle sessions where you are supervising puppy closely, I thinking crating is great. If you work away from home for longer hours (greater than 3-4hrs) , it would be best to leave puppy outside if possible with access to a sheltered, warm area. You sound dedicated to your pup so perhaps it would be worth purchasing a crate. I will be honest, they are not cheap (I think around $150-250 depending on size) but worth it in the long run. It makes a lot of things easier in the long run as well eg car travel, visiting friends, being at the vet etc I am also interested to know what your breeder had recommended. And please post some pics of the gorgoues boy!

Sorry, I keep reading these terms in various posts and am not 100% sure on what they mean. Could someone please clarify for me or direct me to an appropriate thread. I tried doing a search but only came up with thing like "nerve sheath tumour" etc

His dad is one of my lecturers at uni! He actually does really worthwhile work: working with aboriginal communites to eliminate parasites in their dogs. For some reason I can't comment on the FB page?

I was also recommeded to remove water after 7pm at puppy school. I DO NOT agree with this, it is a bit selfish to deprive your pup just so you don't have to wake up or clean mess. Puppies can NOT hold on for 8hrs + if they are awake and active and should not be encouraged to do so. If they are sleeping it is a different story, they can hold on for longer as metabolism slows down. You should focus on getting your puppy to go to sleep quickly at night and sleep through the night. My puppy started sleeping through the night with no accidents at around 11-12 weeks and I know some pups do this at 8-9 weeks. You will soon be able to recognise the signs that the puppy is about to toilet (especially poo), this is useful as you can pop them out quickly as soon as you see them. When I got my pup at 8 weeks, I toileted her every 40 minutes and also after food, water and waking from sleep. Just set the timer and it is easy. I actually had no accidents in the first few days (but then got a bit slack with setting the timer so had a few accidents) I still toilet my 3 month old after she wakes up or has a big play.

Could it be canine geriatric vestibular disease? This presents in a similar fashion and often resolves itself within a few days. I know she is only 7 and a half, but that is a reasonable age for a Dogue?

I'm sure he will grow to love it when he is old enough to go. As long as you don't force him in the water, it should be fine. Cookiez- does your pup have good recall when at a normal park? I doubt he would bolt into the water and drown himself though! I personally wouldn't let my dog off leash unless I was reaosnably confident with their recall.

Where did you get puppy from? perhaps he is used to sleeping in his own mess? I would try to condition him to go on grass/dirt only, though most pups naturally want to go on these surfaces anyway. Take him out on a lead and don't let him leave the toilet area. Use a very good reward (eg chicken, roast beef, something very yummy) when he does go in the correct spot. If he goes somewhere else don't reward. Take some turf or dirt and put in in a tray or somehting and put it in the puppy pen at night. I used puppy pads initially, some people don't like this but I found no problems when i took it away when my puppy was older. Personally I would rather my pup go on the pads than on bedding! When I fist got my puppy, I locked her in a crate overnight. I put a towel on the bottom of the crate, but then the puppy pads over the top of the towel just in case there was an accident. They are good because they are soft top but have platic on the bottom, so will stop the towels from getting dirty/wet. Also teaching him to toilet on command is great and relatively easy. Just say somehting like "quick quick" or "hurry up" or something you are comfortable saying just as he begins to toilet. It is unusual that a puppy will go in a confined space and especially on their bedding! Perhaps talk with his breeder? Otherwise you may consider getting a trianer/behaviourist to help you figure this out. ETA: if you got your pup from a pet shop it can be EXTREMELY hard to toilet train them. I would get the assistance of a trainer or at least a very experienced dog person.

Some of the things he does are just unbelievably stupid. He is an embarassment to the veterinary profession. He should know better than to give a puppy to someone without them agreeing beforehand. Especially a Malamute! From a petshop! She looked like she had no idea what do with the poor puppy. And what was this business about a trial- you can't just take a puppy on trial, it is a lifetime comittment. What if she doesn't like it after the trial period (and she was already getting over it pretty quickly in that short time!)? The pup will be bigger and may have developed bad habits making it much harder to rehome. It is a shame he is such a douche because some of the other vets on the show are great and do very good work.

It is probably just excitement. He knows when the alarm goes off, he gets to see you soon. If you're getting up anyway, does it really matter?

God I love dogs that do this, I just think it is so cute! My puppy is very pushy. It is hard to deal with sometimes and I will just have to tie her up or crate her.

Anyone used a spot on treatment called essential 6 (or maybe 3??) ? Im trialling it on mindy, but only did it yesterday so no results yet.

I think the broom is my puppy's favourite toy! She will chase it and then not let go if she actually gets it. are you sure he is not just playing, some dogs are quite snappy when they play. If you don't like this behaviour, simply crate him or put him in another room or outside whilst you are sweeping, vaccuming etc. I think it is asking a bit much much of a young pup NOT to chase and react to these things. You could try tying him up also and reward moments when he is sitting quietly. OT but I vaccum cleaned Mindy yesterday! She loved it! Maybe it felt like a massage or something? It might be a good way in future to get rid of the hair

I honestly can't believe some of the things he does...

I would say it is a mild form of separation anxiety at the moment, but obviously you need to get it under control in case it escalates. When you say carries on- what exactly do you mean? does she have an accident, or start destroying furniture etc. These are typical hallmarks of separation anxiety. In my opinion it sounds a bit more like a "puppy tantrum", (my puppy used to do this as well) she doesn't like being left alone and is trying to get you to come back to her. Do you go back to her when she howls and cries? If you do, you are reinforcing her behaviour. My advice would be to leave the room for very short periods, starting from a even a few seconds. If she starts barking, Only re enter the room when she is quiet for at least 5 seconds. Are you crate training? this can be a great help as it minimizes the damage that can be done to your house! It is also great for teaching them they can't be with you every second of the day. If you search crate training, there is plenty of great advice. Are you doing puppy school- an good puppy school teacher might be able to give you some extra tips and better assess if it really is separation anxiety. If you are really cponcerned you may want to speak with a vet behaviourist or dog behaviourist/trainer. Also, I wouldn't leave her tied up outside a shop- risk of strange dogs attacking her, ggetting her sick etc. She is also clearly not ready for this, as you can't even leave her by herself in your own home let alone a new, potentially scary situation. She will not be fully vaccinated yet so it may not be a good idea to take her on walks just yet.

Is nipping the same as mouthing? My pup is very gentle with kids which is strange because she can be quite roughwith adults

I have also tried redirection to a toy (which works when i have a toy nearby),stopping play, walking away (useless as she bites my ankles!). If I stand still she thinks its great she can tug on my shoes or pants! I am seriously considering using the spray bottle! She is atcually not too bad with me now, but with other people she is shocking. saying no has no effect.

The most important thing imo when looking for a boarding kennel, is to see if they will let you have an inspection of the facilities (without a prior appointment). You can then go and look and see what you think. I would not use hanrob as they sometimes put two dogs in the same run (not good if your dog is DA). I have heard this can happen even if you pay for an individual run. A company called positive puppies does boarding- it is really good because your dog actually stays in the owners home. She has a lab of her own and takes around 6-7 dogs. I have found her puppy classes very good and she is an experienced dog trainer and used to train guide dogs. It is not really in your area though here's the website if you want further info though http://www.positivepuppies.com.au/Board%20and%20Train.html