~Anne~ Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 (edited) I am hoping someone can give me a few simple training techniques to use on a little Pug that has come into my rescue. He is 9 months old, hyperactive, has been on prozac recently (although I feel perhaps this was overkill) for chewing his tail.... he did apparently chew the tip of it off though He is very active and playful, slightly skittish and head strong. He hasn't many manners in the house and table surfs, lounge climbs and climbs up on other furniture. When I walk he grabs my legs with his front paws, tries to attack my shoes and even growsl while he is doing it, jumps up at my bottom and nips me and basically make sit impossible to move without tripping up and hurting him. He will then also try to hump my leg. When I growl loudly at him using the word 'no' and try to push him away with my hands, he quickly and artfully dodges me and then bounds straight back at me. He is as quick as lightening! So far, when he jumps on the lounge or table or furniture surfs, I growl loudly and firmly 'no' and push him back down. This does seem to work for the most part but he has turned once or twice to bite me also. I beleive it is more play biting though or him pushing his boundaries rather than outright aggression. He is more reponsive to me pushing him off furniture than when he is biting my feet. He was surrendered due to his owners finding him a huge handful and he has spent a great deal of time on his own. Does anyone have any tips and clues to pull him into line? Edited July 18, 2009 by PugRescueSydney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gillbear Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Does the Army need a bomb detection pug? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddog21 Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Sounds like Raz has lost a family member Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anne~ Posted July 18, 2009 Author Share Posted July 18, 2009 Great help you two are In all seriousness though I need to get him sorted out otherwise he will never be able to be successfully re-homed. Poor little thing is only 9 months old and really only a bub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raz Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Sounds like Raz has lost a family member Pancake doesnt table surf...yet. She's going off to k9force for boot camp so hopefully it never happens any time soon. Goodluck puggles - I feel your pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 PRS - is it worth giving him something to think about in terms of clicker training etc? My Dally was a really tough puppy - no point telling him off or pushing him down as he thought that was AWESOME fun I made him work for every single scrap of food through training - biscuit by biscuit - he was so mentally exhausted that he was happy to let his adolescent behaviour fall by the wayside Love the idea of a bomb detection pug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemappelle Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 He sounds like he would fit in perfectly with my Cavalier and, I am embarrassed to admit, that she is 4 years old now, and umm, well, she is still like it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anne~ Posted July 18, 2009 Author Share Posted July 18, 2009 PRS - is it worth giving him something to think about in terms of clicker training etc? My Dally was a really tough puppy - no point telling him off or pushing him down as he thought that was AWESOME fun I made him work for every single scrap of food through training - biscuit by biscuit - he was so mentally exhausted that he was happy to let his adolescent behaviour fall by the wayside Love the idea of a bomb detection pug I have no experience with clicker training though. Where do I start? I feel most of his behaviour is borne from a lack of human and dog interaction and anxiety more so than just puppy exuberance. He was only 7 weeks old when he left the litter too I have calculated. The tail chewing and obsession (he apparently grwosl and snaps at his tail if he is given a bone... so he perhaps thinks his tail is ahtreat to him??) started due to anxiety it seems and commenced when the previous owners wnet away and left a family member looking after him and he was left by himself for even longer periods of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 PRS - is it worth giving him something to think about in terms of clicker training etc? My Dally was a really tough puppy - no point telling him off or pushing him down as he thought that was AWESOME fun I made him work for every single scrap of food through training - biscuit by biscuit - he was so mentally exhausted that he was happy to let his adolescent behaviour fall by the wayside Love the idea of a bomb detection pug I have no experience with clicker training though. Where do I start? I feel most of his behaviour is borne from a lack of human and dog interaction and anxiety more so than just puppy exuberance. He was only 7 weeks old when he left the litter too I have calculated. The tail chewing and obsession (he apparently grwosl and snaps at his tail if he is given a bone... so he perhaps thinks his tail is ahtreat to him??) started due to anxiety it seems and commenced when the previous owners wnet away and left a family member looking after him and he was left by himself for even longer periods of time. Poor little bugger With regards to the clicker - initially you just click and treat immediately around 10-15 times so he learns that a treat is always forthcoming when you click. It just allows you to precisely mark the behaviour so he knows what he is required to do. Start with a very simple behaviour that you can capture - when he has 4 paws on the ground, click and treat. When he sits, click and treat, when he lays quietly on his bed, click and treat. Extend the amount of time that he has to perform the behaviour before you click and treat. It will probably help you as well as you need to actively LOOK for the behaviours you want rather than just getting annoyed with the behaviours you don't like - it's a trap we all fall into at times I think From there, the sky's the limit - keep him so busy trying to work out how to earn a reward that he hasn't got time to be a pain in the @r$e. Wish I was closer - I'd be happy to show you. I suspect the tail chasing is more his way of coping with the stress of his environment and now it has become a habit. These things can be very difficult to break - one of my cat compulsively over grooms after having a caesarean and losing kittens more than 2 years ago! I have done everything I can think of apart from drugs as they tend not to work long term in cats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 PRS - not sure how much you know about clicker training but the clicker is used as a marker - a way to signal to the dog that they've done the right thing and a treat/reward is coming. I find it makes communicating to the dog much easier! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gillbear Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 I will leave the training tips till the experts arrive, but in the meantime I would suggest starting on lowering his anxiety. I have had some good success with Dog Appeasing Pheromones and also tranquil paste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelpie-i Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Forget all the bells and whistles, this dog sounds like he needs to learn some discipline...pure and simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Was he weaned off the prozac slowly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rappie Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 At a basic level I'd start 'nothing in life is free' and try to keep things simple. Dogs with anxiety do much better if they have a stable environment with clear guidelines about how they are supposed to behave. If he has true OCD then it's more difficult - it can be very difficult to treat real OCD without medication, but medication alone will make very little difference. As Staff'n'Toller alluded, any medication should be weaned down before stopping. Try to find some way to reward him - ask him to do something 'worthwhile' that is not compatible with doing something naughty, and then reward that instead of saying 'no'. If he happens to be being quiet and well behaved tell him he's awesome (quietly, without disturbing him) - don't have to pat or treat. If he's starting to nip and go nutty then I would keep it a 'hands off' exercise. If he's jumping up, ignore it, ask him to sit if you think he's got a chance of listening to you then reward if he gets it right. If there is no chance of him paying attention then remove himself or yourself from the situation, put him outside or in a different room and try again in a few minutes. If he's making it a game then even 'negative' attention like pushing him off will be worth it for him. He can have as much attention as he wants but he has to ask for it first. Routine will help too, set time and place to eat, sitting before meals, safe sleeping spot etc etc. With the tail chasing, it's important to redirect and reward - anything aversive can increase anxiety levels and contribute to stereotypic behaviours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jigsaw Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 What Rappie said!! Sometimes you have start with any behaviour that's not naughty behaviour is good behaviour!!! Clicker training is a very clear way to communicate with the dog what behaviour you're after. So even without training a sit if you've loaded the clicker when he puts four paws on the ground after table surfing you could click and reward him or any time he puts his bottom on the ground he gets clicked and rewarded. It sounds like he is crying out for direction and stability. Don't forget to handle him too. You said he's spent a lot of time on his own so it's possible he hasn't had a lot of physical handling so massage, rubbing ears, holding paws, etc would be good for him too - you might have to suffer through a few nips though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmolo Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 (edited) Sometimes you need to be able to stop all the craziness so that you have something to reward. Many dogs like whats being described won't offer you something good on their own while they're interacting with you. I would have a lead on in the house so you can stop the things he is doing first and then start to provide rewards whether it be through clicker training or anything else. I have seen pugs like this and while the ones i have met have been hard work, they have also been very intelligent and easy to motivate- once you get through craziness! Edited July 18, 2009 by Cosmolo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anne~ Posted July 19, 2009 Author Share Posted July 19, 2009 Wow! Thanks for the responses everyone. There seems to be some great advice. Rappie, I assume he was weaned off the Prozac and he definitely is not on it now at any rate. I am not sure it is a true OCD as he has been here since 11am yesterday and I have only once seen him go for his tail and that was when he was playing with me and I was grabbing him around near the tail but he immediately moved to my hands when I moved them away. Cosmolo, he does seem very intelligent too I must admit. He is just over exuberant and not very well socliaised and not trained in anyway. He jumps up at the cupboard when I am preparing food or making a coffee, he springs up and jumps up to my hands if I am holding anything, he jumps all over me and everything in sight and he doesn't rest for long. As I type he is currently sitting for once very quietly at my feet just looking around. I am off to re-read the advice given here and to see how I can implement it. He really is very sweet and I feel just needs some quality time and some training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paganman Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 He is just over exuberant and not very well socliaised and not trained in anyway. He jumps up at the cupboard when I am preparing food or making a coffee, he springs up and jumps up to my hands if I am holding anything, he jumps all over me and everything in sight and he doesn't rest for long. As I type he is currently sitting for once very quietly at my feet just looking around. This is a good thread for all those people who think pugs are unhealthy and arnt very active coz they carnt breathe properly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 (edited) What Rappie said, and also a good "Power Walk" (where YOU take charge of the walk - no stopping unless it is for a proper toilet break, but then only one; no sniffing, save for when on the toilet break). Finish off the power walk (little dog/9mo .... ummm, a good half hour - would 40 minutes be too much for an under 12 mo little dog?- , depending on how you think he is fairing) with a game of ball/fetch/tug in the back yard. Oh - and TOT. 3 x daily. Edited July 19, 2009 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 An understimulated, socially isolated animal prone to self destructive behaviour? Nothing new. Drugged to control him? Also not new. How many "ADD" kids have you seen be reshaped with discipline, boundaries and praise on any current affairs show you care to name. This little guy has no self control and clearly never got taught boundaries. He screams "crate, exercise and obedience training" to me. Poor bugger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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