Barking & Leaking

[minyvlz]

I posted this in the Pomeranian sub thread but on hindsight it would be better here.

My friend has an 8-month-old pom, who has had quite a bit of problem with barking, so much so that he is not allowed at her apartment anymore. My friend is considering sending him to her home country because there is just no place for him here. Apparently he barks at everything, even on walks and at home. Both citronella & static collars have been tried by owner but apparently no success. He also has a leaking problem, which seems to be triggered by overexcitement. I will be taking care of him for a month or so before he goes, so am asking for some tips/pointers. I recommended a behaviourist for the barking, but not sure what else I can do with regard to the leaking and overexcitement. Is this common in poms or is it unique? So far I'm thinking vet checkup, chamomile tea and crate training. Any pointers will be greatly appreciated!

[W Sibs]

Do your friend ignore the pup when it's excited?

How much exercise is this pup getting? Is it trained or getting trained?

What does your friend do when the pup bark aside from using citronella and static collars?

Is the pup socialised or getting socialised?

Is this pup crate trained? Is he a high energy dog?

--------------

It's best to ignore the pup till he is calm before giving him attention. You do not want to feed the excitement energy by giving it attention. He has to learn that he will get his cuddles and pats when he is CALM and not hyper crazy.

[persephone]

Your friend is sending the dog overseas because it is excited/understimulated/underexercised/needs direction ???? (just going by the age of the pup,and what you posted..MY opinion)

if you are to be having the dog at your place- may I suggest a behaviourist do an assessment first - so you know exactly what is happening,and how to go about giving this pup a better quality of life .

Where do you live- let us know, and someone can give you the name of a professional to contact

[minyvlz]

Do your friend ignore the pup when it's excited?

How much exercise is this pup getting? Is it trained or getting trained?

What does your friend do when the pup bark aside from using citronella and static collars?

Is the pup socialised or getting socialised?

Is this pup crate trained? Is he a high energy dog?

--------------

It's best to ignore the pup till he is calm before giving him attention. You do not want to feed the excitement energy by giving it attention. He has to learn that he will get his cuddles and pats when he is CALM and not hyper crazy.

Thank you both for your replies! When the pup is excited he basically zooms around, jumps up and down and runs all over the place. When the owner scolds him he leaks, but when the owner does nothing to stop him he leaks too. He basically never stops being excited, so it's hard to ignore him and wait until he's calm. I don't think he's a dog that loves cuddles as well. So yes, he is a high energy dog that has been transferred between owners quite a bit. Backstory - he had two owners, both overseas students so shuttled from the Gold Coast to Brisbane every once in a while. When one went home he was left with the other one who lived in an apartment. I know both owners tried to crate-train him with no success.

I don't know about the amount of exercise he's getting, but he will be getting at least 5km of walks everyday at my place. Is that too much for a pup of his size? I have a similar aged pup (we went to puppy school together) but he's a Westie so different exercise needs. Sometimes we do 10km with some off-lead play, except on rainy days. I live in an apartment as well so there's no yard for Panda (Maltese) and Polar (Westie) to play in. Perhaps a separate walk? As far as I know he's not been getting further training.

Socialisation is hard because he barks at everyone and every dog and everything when they go on walks (according to her). I recall it was the same in puppy school. No dog wanted to play with him because they wanted to play with the bigger dogs, and so he went around growling and trying to playbite them? They ignored him and chased some other puppy instead.

Your friend is sending the dog overseas because it is excited/understimulated/underexercised/needs direction ???? (just going by the age of the pup,and what you posted..MY opinion)

if you are to be having the dog at your place- may I suggest a behaviourist do an assessment first - so you know exactly what is happening,and how to go about giving this pup a better quality of life .

Where do you live- let us know, and someone can give you the name of a professional to contact

Yes, I think that's exactly what she's doing. To be fair though because the other girl has gone home and my friend lives in an apartment (only a 1br) and has been complained several times, she is at her wit's end. She had to send the puppy off to a kennel for a while before she found a friend who could take him in. I offered to help take care of the puppy but at the same time because I have a similar aged pup I'm worried that my pup will learn to bark as well (does that make sense?) The pup will either go to the girl who has went home or to my friend's family in her home country. I really don't know what I can suggest to her?

I searched the forums for a behaviourist in Brisbane and told her to try Jane Harper. However we live on the Gold Coast so if there are any good ones you can recommend please do I am taking my two to obedience on Saturday and am not sure if the puppy can fit in. Do I take him to the behaviourist first before starting obedience with him?

Thanks very much in advance!

Edited May 25, 2011 by minyvlz

[Guest donatella]

Do your friend ignore the pup when it's excited?

How much exercise is this pup getting? Is it trained or getting trained?

What does your friend do when the pup bark aside from using citronella and static collars?

Is the pup socialised or getting socialised?

Is this pup crate trained? Is he a high energy dog?

--------------

It's best to ignore the pup till he is calm before giving him attention. You do not want to feed the excitement energy by giving it attention. He has to learn that he will get his cuddles and pats when he is CALM and not hyper crazy.

Thank you both for your replies! When the pup is excited he basically zooms around, jumps up and down and runs all over the place. When the owner scolds him he leaks, but when the owner does nothing to stop him he leaks too. He basically never stops being excited, so it's hard to ignore him and wait until he's calm. I don't think he's a dog that loves cuddles as well. So yes, he is a high energy dog that has been transferred between owners quite a bit. Backstory - he had two owners, both overseas students so shuttled from the Gold Coast to Brisbane every once in a while. When one went home he was left with the other one who lived in an apartment. I know both owners tried to crate-train him with no success.

I don't know about the amount of exercise he's getting, but he will be getting at least 5km of walks everyday at my place. Is that too much for a pup of his size? I have a similar aged pup (we went to puppy school together) but he's a Westie so different exercise needs. Sometimes we do 10km with some off-lead play, except on rainy days. I live in an apartment as well so there's no yard for Panda (Maltese) and Polar (Westie) to play in. Perhaps a separate walk? As far as I know he's not been getting further training.

Socialisation is hard because he barks at everyone and every dog and everything when they go on walks (according to her). I recall it was the same in puppy school. No dog wanted to play with him because they wanted to play with the bigger dogs, and so he went around growling and trying to playbite them? They ignored him and chased some other puppy instead.

Your friend is sending the dog overseas because it is excited/understimulated/underexercised/needs direction ???? (just going by the age of the pup,and what you posted..MY opinion)

if you are to be having the dog at your place- may I suggest a behaviourist do an assessment first - so you know exactly what is happening,and how to go about giving this pup a better quality of life .

Where do you live- let us know, and someone can give you the name of a professional to contact

Yes, I think that's exactly what she's doing. To be fair though because the other girl has gone home and my friend lives in an apartment (only a 1br) and has been complained several times, she is at her wit's end. She had to send the puppy off to a kennel for a while before she found a friend who could take him in. I offered to help take care of the puppy but at the same time because I have a similar aged pup I'm worried that my pup will learn to bark as well (does that make sense?) The pup will either go to the girl who has went home or to my friend's family in her home country. I really don't know what I can suggest to her?

I searched the forums for a behaviourist in Brisbane and told her to try Jane Harper. However we live on the Gold Coast so if there are any good ones you can recommend please do I am taking my two to obedience on Saturday and am not sure if the puppy can fit in. Do I take him to the behaviourist first before starting obedience with him?

Thanks very much in advance!

i'm not too sure if you come to this forum anymore as this post is a few months old, however whatever happened to this pup? i have a 5 month old pomeranian pup and they are just very very very very hyper happy energetic little dogs. i was told puppies sleep a lot...well not mine, she is constantly on the go playing, she's happy enough to play by herself with her toys but she does not stop. I even take her for long walks thinking that will tire her out but she comes home and keeps playing. its quite cute really, at least she's a happy dog and can amuse herself. :D

[minyvlz]

i'm not too sure if you come to this forum anymore as this post is a few months old, however whatever happened to this pup? i have a 5 month old pomeranian pup and they are just very very very very hyper happy energetic little dogs. i was told puppies sleep a lot...well not mine, she is constantly on the go playing, she's happy enough to play by herself with her toys but she does not stop. I even take her for long walks thinking that will tire her out but she comes home and keeps playing. its quite cute really, at least she's a happy dog and can amuse herself. :D

Health-wise, he had struvite crystals and I tried to alter his urinary pH with raw, herbs, vitamins and ACV. He was also put on Propalin by the vet (as well as an overdose of ABs).

Behaviour-wise, I sent him for boarding at the behaviourist's place and he improved a whole lot. This trainer's old-school style (no violence but a lot of dominance over the dog) but he calmed down a lot. He is currently in Taiwan and still has some problems with motorbikes and men, but on the whole he is much, much better than what he was before. He also plays by himself a lot (toys and such), and is very energetic. I guess they are just little dogs with big personality just like everyone says. They don't tire with walks but some crazy bursts of energy like chasing after something, playing fetch etc. Building up trust with him was also a big thing as he was living with different people after his owner left so to him everyone abandoned him I suppose.

P.S. would love to see photos of your baby girl!

[Guest donatella]

glad to hear he's doing well, he's lucky to have someone care so much and not just give up and pass him onto someone else.

there are photos of my girl in the pomeranian sub forum, at the end pages, easy to find as i've only just stumbled on this forum

my girl is crazy, very independent. she has the option to sleep in my bed but prefers to sleep in her bed in the lounge, i dont get that, every dog i've ever known has loved the opportunity to sleep in my bed, but not this one, she does her own thing and wants to sleep in her own bed. i guess its a good thing she has her independence and isn't clingy or needy. i've never known a dog to knock back a spot in their owners bed though.

[minyvlz]

She is very cute

My little Maltese x also doesn't like to sleep in my bed. He'd rather sleep in his crate or at the foot of my bed, while my other dog loves to cuddle with us. He loves humans and attention but is also pretty independent and does fine being by himself. Pretty good for a dog who came to us at 7 weeks!

[Guest donatella]

She is very cute

My little Maltese x also doesn't like to sleep in my bed. He'd rather sleep in his crate or at the foot of my bed, while my other dog loves to cuddle with us. He loves humans and attention but is also pretty independent and does fine being by himself. Pretty good for a dog who came to us at 7 weeks!

i've found the bigger dogs to be more sooky and needy and the little ones more independent and just get on with it. i sometimes wish she was more sooky, she's only sooky when she's tired and thats never because she's always so hyper. i went home sick from work the other day and my workmates said "go home and get some rest", and my reply was "you're kidding right, i have a 5 month old puppy at home" and they said "you'll be right, puppies sleep all day" ha, not pomeranian puppies