Alouk Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Hi Everyone! I'd love some advice please:) I have a 14wk old border collie named Stella, she is lovely. She spends the days outside when I am at work and is inside in the evenings. I'm on holidays now so we have more days at home together (not just Sat and Sun), and I am finding that when she is inside with me and I am getting on with life she just can't settle down, she plays constantly (she doesn't need me to interact all the time) but she begins to get destructive after a while and starts to demand my attention and bites/jumps on couch etc! (I don't give it to her, I divert her I think) I am just wondering how to settle her down inside and to understand that she can just lie down and chill out, like she does when she is outside (I've spied on her!). She sleeps in a crate during the night, but won't choose to go off for a snooze in it unless I put her there during the day. If I put her outside during the day she will go in her kennel for a snooze. (But the weather is awful here today and I wanted her to be able to chill in here with me!!!!) Thanks a lot! Alouk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 When she starts to get naughty put her in the crate or back outside. Or get a puppy playpen and set it up inside for her. Puppies are usually full-on or dead to the world, no in between. By putting her in a quiet place place when she gets to boisterous you are teaching her to be calm and that naughty behaviour is not acceptable. Then when she is being quiet/relaxing in the confined area, you can reward her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 (edited) How much interaction/play/training etc. is she getting at the moment? A tired puppy is usually a quiet puppy ;) Edited to add: My puppy was insane at that age People kept telling me that puppies slept a lot, but my girl didn't get that memo. I spent a lot of time playing with her or training her, then "game's over!" and that was that. Once she got into a fixed routine (eg. she knew that we would get home from work, have a play, then rest, then another quick play, then bed) it got a lot better Edited June 8, 2011 by wuffles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alouk Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 How much interaction/play/training etc. is she getting at the moment? A tired puppy is usually a quiet puppy ;) Edited to add: My puppy was insane at that age People kept telling me that puppies slept a lot, but my girl didn't get that memo. I spent a lot of time playing with her or training her, then "game's over!" and that was that. Once she got into a fixed routine (eg. she knew that we would get home from work, have a play, then rest, then another quick play, then bed) it got a lot better He he! She gets two walks a day (morning and evening) and when I am at work we play/train after her walk and after our tea then she is off to bed by 8 as she gets over tired and bitey! I think I have mucked up her routine a bit by being on holidays and home with her! She is funny when she gets tired, she gets crazier! Rather than lazier! That is when she is off to her crate for a sleep. In the time between writing my post and your replies (thank you!!) I remembered advice to tether her inside sometimes so I have and now she is having a quiet play at my feet! I will also use her crate as suggested! Thanks a lot! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I find puppies are like 3 years olds, when they're tired they can go mental. If my pup goes mental then in a nice way I pop her in her crate and always make sure she has a chew item in there....within seconds she's asleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 How much interaction/play/training etc. is she getting at the moment? A tired puppy is usually a quiet puppy ;) Edited to add: My puppy was insane at that age People kept telling me that puppies slept a lot, but my girl didn't get that memo. I spent a lot of time playing with her or training her, then "game's over!" and that was that. Once she got into a fixed routine (eg. she knew that we would get home from work, have a play, then rest, then another quick play, then bed) it got a lot better He he! She gets two walks a day (morning and evening) and when I am at work we play/train after her walk and after our tea then she is off to bed by 8 as she gets over tired and bitey! I think I have mucked up her routine a bit by being on holidays and home with her! She is funny when she gets tired, she gets crazier! Rather than lazier! That is when she is off to her crate for a sleep. In the time between writing my post and your replies (thank you!!) I remembered advice to tether her inside sometimes so I have and now she is having a quiet play at my feet! I will also use her crate as suggested! Thanks a lot! :D If I'm home for whatever reason when I normally would be at work I treat the dogs the same i.e. puppy stays in her kennel, I think routine is really important for pups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alouk Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 Thanks everyone! I have been trying to stick to the routine but today in Hobart the weather was ridiculous! Not normal winter chill with bright skies, it was bucketing down with howling wind so I went soft and kept her in! When I did put her out she was standing around in the rain freaking out because we haven't had anything like it before! She also seems to be moving into her fear phase and is easily spooked. So in fear of her just getting soaked and freezing I brought her in again. We have been putting her in her crate when she goes like an over tired toddler and it works a treat. But the problem was more with her associating inside and particularly one room (not the room with her crate) with going bizerk! She isn't overtired cause I can walk out to another room and she will calm down again. Today I have been trying to play in the other room and when I am in my office (the one she goes crazy in) I have tethered her to a bid, and well so far it has been wonderful! She has munched on a Kong and just dozed. Here's hoping we are making progress She learnt to lie down today- hooray! Thanks a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Hi Alouk, My 7 month old BC also called Stella, LOL was exactly the same as yours at that age. Play all the time. She is outside all day with Sonny my 3 year old BC & then they are groomed about 4.30pm & brought inside to 'relax' until bed time around 10pm when they are both crated in our laundry. At 14 weeks Stella would just go crazy, jumping on the couch, which is a 'no no' in our house, doing laps of the lounge, jumping all over Sonny to get him to play with her e.t.c. just full on. I just tried to be consistant with our house rules.Never let her get away with anything that I don't want her to as an adult, not even once.Every time she got on the lounge she was put back on the floor & told NO. There is no running inside, if she starts to run around, I gently pick her up & tell her 'outside to play', put her outside & close the glass door till she is done & settled down,then I open the door & let her in again. at times it can be more than a little frustrating trying to teach them house rules but my Stella is now 7 months almost & is lots better than she was. She has a bed to lie on in our lounge room & I am in the process of teaching her to lie on it & 'settle' when I can see the batteries are starting to run low We have a game with both of them inside of an evening & when that is over they are told 'finish now' we then try to tone the atmosphere & it seems to be working. They have a treat each to chew on & told 'settle'. Hope this was of some help to you. If you can get into a routine that also helps heaps, as boring as it sounds, they love routine. Good luck with her. keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alouk Posted June 10, 2011 Author Share Posted June 10, 2011 Hey thanks for this! I have created a bed in the lounge now after your post Stella Mamma! And I have recently found that she loves cheese so I have given her a Kong with a bit in it to work on (she really didn't care for Kongs before!) and she has calmed down and munched away and is now dozing at my feet- right where I would like her! :D Granted, she is totally exhausted after her first trip to the beach today! Thanks for your support! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 (edited) Hey thanks for this! I have created a bed in the lounge now after your post Stella Mamma! And I have recently found that she loves cheese so I have given her a Kong with a bit in it to work on (she really didn't care for Kongs before!) and she has calmed down and munched away and is now dozing at my feet- right where I would like her! :D Granted, she is totally exhausted after her first trip to the beach today! Thanks for your support! My 2 go for a 2 hour beach outing everyday. Absolutely love it & they swim/ run/ chase the ball the whole time. Maybe that is why Stella's behaviour has improved inside at night time cause she is too tied to get up to any mischief Cheese is a big fav in our house as well. Also smooth peanut butter inside our Kongs works. Glad to hear your Stella is improving inside, just takes a while, some behaviour shaping & heaps of praise as well, cause it is much more fun to run a muck, isn't it? Edited June 12, 2011 by BC Crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alouk Posted June 12, 2011 Author Share Posted June 12, 2011 My 2 go for a 2 hour beach outing everyday. Absolutely love it & they swim/ run/ chase the ball the whole time. Maybe that is why Stella's behaviour has improved inside at night time cause she is too tied to get up to any mischief Cheese is a big fav in our house as well. Also smooth peanut butter inside our Kongs works. Glad to hear your Stella is improving inside, just takes a while, some behaviour shaping & heaps of praise as well, cause it is much more fun to run a muck, isn't it? Lucky dogs!! The beach will be much more frequently visited now she has finished her vaccinations! Yippee!! Back to the farm tomorrow- red mud here we come! If I were her I am sure being cheeky would be my favourite thing too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiekross Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Hi Alouk. I was going to suggest tethering but I see you've already heard that advice. Just a piece of cord tied to a chair leg can be enough; it's a psychological control rather than physical. Another thing that might help is slowing Stella's entry to the house. Stop her as soon as she's through the door, make her sit, then you slowly wipe her paws with a rag (whether they're wet or not). It's a little calming routine that puts the pup in a submissive state of mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Just a piece of cord tied to a chair leg can be enough; it's a psychological control rather than physical. I am always of the opinion that a habit never learned is the easiest to break ;) So - I NEVER tether/leash train a pup/young dog with rope/fabric or nylon weave. It is always a fine chain... or plastic coated wire . That way, the dog does not EVER learn that if they chew enough, they get free, or get attention ;) They learn by themselves, that the thing that attaches them to an object or a person is not nice to chew .... a very good lesson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiekross Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Or you can spray the cord with the bitter stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Or you can spray the cord with the bitter stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alouk Posted June 18, 2011 Author Share Posted June 18, 2011 Great idea about entering the house and wiping her paws- I might try that too, I am trying to up the anti on the grooming side of things too so this would help! :D She is a changed girl though now and really gets when it is time to settle, sometimes when I am later getting to the loungeroom (or I have other things I am doing!) she runs in and plonks down on her bed there and looks at me like 'come on then!', she still doesn't quite get that she can relax even if I am not yet!! It will come ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 (edited) Great idea about entering the house and wiping her paws- I might try that too, I am trying to up the anti on the grooming side of things too so this would help! :D She is a changed girl though now and really gets when it is time to settle, sometimes when I am later getting to the loungeroom (or I have other things I am doing!) she runs in and plonks down on her bed there and looks at me like 'come on then!', she still doesn't quite get that she can relax even if I am not yet!! It will come ;) Glad to hear Stella is going so well & loves her new lounge bed as much as my Stella does LOL. My girl wont stay in the lounge room without me either, follows me everywhere. I 2nd the wiping the paws thing before entering the house thing, works really well for us too! I groom my 2 kids every arvo before they come inside for the evening without fail, which includes wiping face/feet,checking pades e.t.c pin brush/comb, & Tick check (very bad for Tick's where we live) Once you get them in a routine they don't know any different & it does relax them. Sonny has his eyes closed usually by the time I finish him most times And soon as they see the grooming bag come out, they both are come over & wait their turn, don't even have to call them. Calm's them into a nice lay back mood to enter our home. Edited June 19, 2011 by BC Crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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