My Puppy Is Bouncing Off The Walls

[aquaticmalamute]

Hi, i'm Nikki and I have a problem...... a Malamute sized problem.....

Where to start? geez.. how about I start with a little background then move onto each issue.

Background: I have a very outgoing and oozing confidence, almost 6 month old Malamute problem child named Boh. He is undesexed and learning about the cocky manly things in life (as they do). He is entering his terrible pre-teens. He has been very well socialized and is swamped with dogs and commotion every weekend when I take him to dog shows where he struts around like he owns the place, lets everyone knows he is there and needs patting and fussing over (apparently). He makes this well known with ALOT of loud Malamute vocalist noise - imagine a little kid tugging at your pants going "mum, mum, mum, mum, mum, MUM,MUM,MUM,MUM, MUUUUUUUM! This gets either ignored or a correction on his show leash which gets very little responce. He IS getting better with not being quite so vocal.... But that's the least of out problems!

Lets start at home. I have an older Malamute female (desexed) named Kodi and she is almost 8 years old (in a week). She is quite happy being the Beta in our little pack, walks calmly by my side on walks and is pretty much the little angel that all dogs should be. She has never put Boh in his place unless there is food involved. Boh pushes her and pushes her, she will growl at him and the harshest thing she will do is a quick snap and bark till he stops - which he respects instantly, if only for a second, before hounding her again.

He barks at her at 5:55am, 10:20pm and 1:10am on the dot without fail every day/night. I temporarily fixed this by putting Kodi in the pool yard when we go to bed and letting her out in the morning, she and the neighbours appreciate the peace and quiet overnight. I however do not want to do this for the rest of her life. Any suggestions?

Next issue: Boh's harassment of Kodi is getting steadily worse, for example, he will put his head down and charge at her (sideswiping) He gets his head under her belly and forcefully pushes her till she loses balance - he likes to catch her offguard when he does this. He also insists on putting his front paws on her back and pushing off her before racing off - much to Kodi's annoyance! He also insists on pulling on her ears (and hers aren't all that big!) pulling out her long coat (this she retaliates with a bark) he bites her feet and gets in her face while she is trying to sleep. We have thought about seperating them permanantly. He has NO respect for her whatsoever (if you haven't figured that out yet )

I can't keep him occupied. He digs holes in the yard (I expected this anyway so not really a big problem) He has learnt the joys of hanging off the clothesline (Kodi litterally dobs on him for doing this lol!) He digs the water out of their waterbowl at least twice a day - I put a brick in there and he just pulls it out. He barks at anyone/dogs passing the front gate. He barks at people when they don't pay attention to him. He spends half the day running from one end of the property to the other. If given the chance he will jump into the pool. The list is endless and is starting to stress me to a point that I don't sleep well worrying about it....

I hear you asking about exercise, treat balls and the like? Don't forget that he is 5.5 months old and classed as a giant breed dog. I walk him 8km a day I break it up so we to 4km in the morning and 4km at night. We get home from the walk and he is still full of beans and starts to pummel Kodi while she is trying to do her ritual pee (she refuses to toilet on a walk) I swear he is the Energizer Bunny. Any ideas how to burn that energy besides walking him, playing ball and all the other things i've tried to settle him down? I'm thinking of making up some weave poles, anything else?

He gets breakfast at 9am which consists of 3 cups of Eukanuba, a large dollop of yoghurt, fish oil, vitamin C, half a can of fish and a large turkey neck. Lunchtime he gets a large knuckle bone. Dinner is 3 cups of Eukanuba, a large dollop of yoghurt, fish oil, vit C and a large chicken frame. He doesn't put on weight (gee I wonder why!) and is a ball of muscle. He gets frozen fish/bone/beef stock ice cubs (frozen in 2L ice cream tubs) to play with which don't last long. Kongs go missing so I stopped buying them, too expensive!

One last issue, I promise! On walks Mr Confidence turns into Mr Anxious. He has learnt where the scary dogs live (ones that rush the fence barking madly) and starts this whine way before we get there, and continues after we have passed the scary houses. While passing them he doesn't know what to do, he dances around whining and runs into me. I have stopped him before and tried to make him ignore them, doesn't work - he is too paranoid. I have tried checking him (he has a thick rope check collar) which diverts his attention for all of a split second. I have tried the whole blaze past the scary house, not stopping for nuthin' focus on going forward - doesn't work. He flips around and whines like he is about to get eaten. Meanwhile Kodi and I are walking calmly side by side trying to set a good example to Boh - he pays no attention to us whatsoever. I've tried mixing up our walks but the instant we go somewhere he hasn't been before he whines the whole way, glancing down driveways and expecting to be rushed at - not fun! when I first started walking him he would charge back at the offending dog, barking and carrying on. I do not accept this behaviour and roused on him intantly, he then went from Mr Cocky to Mr Insecure.

Apologies about the long post but this puppy is driving me bonkers! He is literally bouncing off the walls and annoying everyone - i'm sure it's not good for his mental state either! I can't wait till he is old enough to be hitched up to the scooter and do what he was bred for

[Kavik]

What about some training? I find training tires my guys out much more than just running/walking. There are the standard obedience commands - come, sit, drop, stand, come, heel, and there are also some tricks - target training with a clicker, send aways (my guys love these!), eye contact/focus, shake, and many others. Most don't take much time to practice.

[poodlefan]

Aquatic:

Don't forget that he is 5.5 months old and classed as a giant breed dog.

No, not by any classification that I've read.

I think this boy needs training, obedience training, and BOUNDARIES.

Engage that brain, teach him some self control and don't let him play roughly with your older dog. Sounds a little to me like he thinks he's in charge Acquatic.. time to turn that on his head.

[Nekhbet]

Malamutes are not giant breed dogs and you feed your puppy more then my 60kg Mastiff eats a day - no wonder he's hyperactive. Swap dry foods or cut down the amount of dry you are feeding he's going bonkers on energy. I've used Royal Canin with success it won't hype them up and you should not be feeding 6 cups + extras a day.

Dogs dont need that much Vit c either, especially if they are on dry food.

NO weave poles they put an immense amount of strain on the dogs joints when they speed up. You need to start exercising his brain and take him to group classes at least to get him mentally tired. He sounds bored, frustrated and too full of energy.

[aquaticmalamute]

Oops, sorry PF there I go generalizing! True he is not technically a giant breed but he is from the old australian lines with his relatives around the 30 inch mark. I tend to refer to my dogs as giant because they are quite above the breed standard

Do you have any tips to teach self control and boundaries? I whole-heartedly agree that he thinks he is in charge, which is half the reason i'm having problems with encountering aggressive dogs on walks.

Kavik - Boh has all of his obedience commands down pat (though isn't 100%) he however doesn't do sit as I don't want him using it in the showring. I am interested in teaching him target training (must find my clicker!) and would like to teach him some agility

[MAC]

You need to start exercising his brain and take him to group classes at least to get him mentally tired. He sounds bored, frustrated and too full of energy.

i couldn't agree more.. he's mentally bored.. if you could keep him mentally stimulated i'm sure he will before long be looking for new things for you to teach him.. i have a hyper brood like that and i find working her several times a day compared to the rest is enough to satisfy her.. and most times i dont need to walk her..

good luck

[aquaticmalamute]

Nekhbet - his breeder asked me to up his food to 3 cups a feed because she wants more weight on him, he was previously on 2 cups per feed. I agree that it is alot of food, my girl gets 500grams of raw a day.

Point taken on the weave poles. I've never used them before and thought it would be a good way to get him thinking about something different - I wouldn't expect him to do it at speed, just a walk.

I know he is bored/frustrated and too full of energy, thus the reason I came here to ask about anything I can do to activate his mind. I can't spend all day with him going over obedience - he gets bored with it easily too. He does alot of travelling with me, every weekend we are going somewhere in NSW to show, he gets play dates with his half sister every week and comes out with me to feed the horses every day. My problem is he gets bored at home and takes it out on my old girl. I'm not sure how to keep him occupied while i'm not there....

[poodlefan]

Aquatic:

Do you have any tips to teach self control and boundaries? I whole-heartedly agree that he thinks he is in charge, which is half the reason i'm having problems with encountering aggressive dogs on walks.

Yep. Crate training and obedience training would be a good start.

Nekbet:

NO weave poles they put an immense amount of strain on the dogs joints when they speed up.

Missed that.. very stressful on a developing spine also. No weave poles until he's at least 12 months old.

[aquaticmalamute]

He is already crate trained, do you mean crated time outs?

As with the obedience training what would you suggest? He gets training in 10 minute stints twice a day, any longer and he loses intrest. I refuse to go to our local obedience club and the next nearest is an hour away - OH only just tolerates the money and driving distance that I have put into this dog so far, he wouldn't appreciate the time and money spent travelling that far to obedience every week, I do train at home and with my friend down at the park.

I won't do weave poles just yet then, i'd love to get him into agility but obviously not till he is older. I figured weave poles were one of the least impact exercises I could start training him on, i'll put it off for 6 more months

[Staff'n'Toller]

TOT is a sticky at the top of the training forum.

NILIF on the www.k9deb.com site you need to read it, implement it, then place on your fridge.

If you are worried about the sit/stand showring stuff then your stand position isn't strong enough because I taught my first dog to auto stand in obedience and he could still sit on command. Dogs are not stupid they can differentiate.

He probably needs obedience more than the the showring right now, he's getting away with a stack of pushy behaviour that I wouldn't tolerate. He's also entire so he's going to keep on pushing the boundaries.

If you don't want a monster in 6mths time you need to get onto it now.

Bring your poor old girl inside at night and crate the young one so he can't be a shit. It's your responsibility to manage his behaviour so she is not constantly being harassed and pushed by him!! He also desperately needs to learn how to CHILL OUT a good trainer will teach you how to get it.

Mel.

[poodlefan]

If you are interested in agility, you need to get him out, working and focussed on you in the presence of other dogs.

Club based training would be one way to accomplish that. If he can't learn to focus on you and ignore other dogs, you'll get nowhere with agility where all training is conducted off lead.

If you want to do agility, resist your breeder and keep him LEAN. A lean puppy is going to stress his joints less and that will make for a sounder adult dog. If you can't feel his ribs with the flat of your hand, without pressure, he is carrying too much weight.

And yes, I mean spending time in his crate doing nothing.. and giving you and your other dog a break.

Edited September 15, 2008 by poodlefan

[aquaticmalamute]

Mel,

We do TOT, he is at the point where I can leave him off his tie out and walk out of sight and he still won't touch the food till I say so. He is the type that is obsessive about food to a point where his pupils dialate and drools excessively - he is incredibly food driven.

We impliment NILIF and have been doing it since Kodi came home 8 years ago.

Having a previous mal that I taught to sit and also showed I would never do it again, if you talk to other showies they agree not to teach a show dog to sit. The time that the dog has to stack for (and the short attention span of a mal) they will try out other things to get that treat, including sitting. I know dogs aren't stupid! I know that they can differentiate between a show lead and flat collar, but he is a 5.5month old puppy for goodness sakes - I don't expect that of him yet.

If you don't want a monster in 6mths time you need to get onto it now.

Well that's what i'm doing here, no?

As for bringing Kodi inside? No way no how, she has killed one of our cats before and i'm not risking it again.

[Staff'n'Toller]

For someone who needs help there's a lot of stuff you won't do.

I have shown before, with a pup who knew how to sit and stand and when. Basic learning theory blows the 'not teaching sit' out of the water.

Good luck!

Mel.

[aquaticmalamute]

If you are interested in agility, you need to get him out, working and focussed on you in the presence of other dogs.

Club based training would be one way to accomplish that. If he can't learn to focus on you and ignore other dogs, you'll get nowhere with agility where all training is conducted off lead.

If you want to do agility, resist your breeder and keep him LEAN. A lean puppy is going to stress his joints less and that will make for a sounder adult dog. If you can't feel his ribs with the flat of your hand, without pressure, he is carrying too much weight.

And yes, I mean spending time in his crate doing nothing.. and giving you and your other dog a break.

Ahh thanks! I wasn't sure what you meant by crate training

We do training with friends and their dogs, and also I work on him at shows with lots of distractions! He knows that showing means work and is an angel at shows (minus the constant talking ) Oh and I don't expect much from him at Agility, Malamutes aren't exactly known for their reliability offleash It's more of an activity to keep his mind busy, I don't expect to get competitive with him.

We do keep him lean, he has a lovely hourglass shape to his body and ribs are easily felt. I'll dig up a photo from 2 weekends ago when we went to Coffs Harbour, he isn't exactly pudgey by any means...

[poodlefan]

Aquatic:

Malamutes aren't exactly known for their reliability offleash

Nonetheless, there are Malamutes competing in agility who are reliable offleash. It's not impossible to achieve it.

[Nekhbet]

True poodlefan there is show weights which I dont always agree with.

If you want to up his weight give him more chicken carcasses instead of puppy food. Calories that turn into stored product and calories that hype the dog are two different things. I have kept all my dogs lean and it has immensly helped them perform.

Feed him ONLY from treat balls like the Triple Crown toys, teach him targeting, high 5, paw, shake, drop, roll etc and the thing is to perfect them. I would leave a radio on for him as well that seems to help my dogs during the day, a station that is fairly wide in their selection is good. Aussie Dog also have a selection of bungee and tug style toys that may be good for him too, but not until he has finished teething.

All agility is considered high impact and not something for a large breed like a Malamute. If you want him to do Agility later on he needs to be stripped down to a nice lean (probably too lean for show) size and easily felt ribs they work so much better.

If there is anywhere he can swim that can take out some energy without stressing his joints too much.

[aquaticmalamute]

For someone who needs help there's a lot of stuff you won't do.

I have shown before, with a pup who knew how to sit and stand and when. Basic learning theory blows the 'not teaching sit' out of the water.

Good luck!

Mel.

What? you mean not teaching a dog to sit and not going to an obedience class because I don't agree with their training methods and the one I do is too far away? terrible dog mum I am! Thanks for the mocking... appreciated

Sorry but a Malamute isn't exactly your push button dog. That's great you got your puppy to hold a stack when asked but it ain't gonna happen with a breed of dog that was bred to dismiss their owners commands - it certainly doesn't help when there is food involved

[Staff'n'Toller]

I'll repeat for you, I have shown a pup, then we did some showing as he was maturing, he knew how to sit from the get go and him sitting in the show ring was never a problem.

I've never had push button dogs either.

Get a trainer in, there are heaps in NSW you don't need to travel anywhere and they'll work on exactly what you need help on.

[cowanbree]

If you want to do agility, resist your breeder and keep him LEAN. A lean puppy is going to stress his joints less and that will make for a sounder adult dog. If you can't feel his ribs with the flat of your hand, without pressure, he is carrying too much weight.

While I do agree that puppies should not be fat if you are going to show him this is too lean. There is a vast difference between agility lean, show weight and being over weight. Your breeder will know her breed best.

I have an aussie and had a similar problem. She now has her own seperate run and my greatest tip is to fill his kong with part of his food. There are all sorts of things you can stuff it with and it takes hours to get it out which occupies the mind and body. Not something I would do unless seperated from the other dog though.

[aquaticmalamute]

Great post Nekhbet! Just the kind of advice I am after! I will feed him only from a treat ball, fantasitc tip I'll also freeze his raw half of his diet in an ice cream tub to make him work for that too!

Interesting to know about the different types of calories and how they are used in the body. Believe me I would MUCH rather up his raw than his kibble. I hate Eukanuba and he is being fed it till he matures (he is co-owned and I have to feed him what his breeder asks) I'm more than happy to alter his diet slightly (and save some money!)

I'll have a dig around in the tricks sub-forum to try out on him too, anything to keep that mind ticking! I never thought of the radio, I always have one on in the stable for the horses but didn't think about the dogs - won't hurt to try! He finished teething about 2 weeks ago so i'll try and find the toys you mentioned too.

Now the weather has warmed up we will be going to the beach often, my parents also have a house on the lake to i'll get him in there too - i'm sure he would love to do some regular swimming. Considering he deliberately fell in the lake a few weeks ago, and kept doing it when he discovered how fun it was I think I have a water baby on my hands, not like any of my other dogs! i'd love to let him swim in the pool but i'm sure the chlorine won't be terribly good for his coat.

Poodlefan, yes I know there are some mals who are fanastic at Agility, it can be done i'm sure! I think if I go in with an attitude of not expecting him to be prefect, if he is terrible I won't be dissapointed, but if he does well then I think I will add an agility title to my goals for him.