Dog-dominant Pup

[Kelpie-i]

Rosebud, you've been given some very good advice but I'd also like to reiterate that puppy preschool is merely the "tip of the iceberg" for your dog. You will need to continue his training, especially due to his "dominance" problem at least untill he reaches maturity.

How long does the current course run for and where abouts in Melbourne are you?

[rosebud]

Hi Kelpie-i,

Yeah, tell me about it - I came in here a nervous wreck but after just one day and after the responses I got...

I feel so grateful, but I don't know how to express it properly without sounding like a prat Just the encouragement and the fact that people know how to go about stopping the behaviour is a good feeling - it is due to inexperience with dogs, but I've never ever seen such a young puppy backchat a larger dog like that before.

How long does the current course run for and where abouts in Melbourne are you?

I'm around the eastern suburbs - Balwyn side. The course itself runs for 4 weeks.

These are the advice people have given so far and are being implemented:

NILIF

practicing 'settle down' a few times a day

no playing inside the house

no sleeping on beds/couches

I think his self-control is an issue (or thinking he can do whatever he wants, when he wants) - not sure if it will help but I've decided to restrict him around the house as well so I'm putting him on lead every time I go from room to room.

I don't have an opportunity to meet any dogs/pups outside of preschool ATM so I can't work on his dog/dog skills yet. When he does, there will be no free play at all, and he will be told off if he tries to mount, and isolated for a while if he continues.

Hopefully I haven't left out anything, if so please feel free to tell me.

[helen]

sounds like you are putting in a huge effort, well done. Too bad the instructor is not a bit more experienced though. The site I listed has some good training places listed if you wish to continue after your puppy pre school.

The settle is a great exercise to teach, now you can try and put it in practice while the instructor is talking etc at the puppy pre school, it is not easy though when you have an active dog, it takes time and plenty of patience.

[jbbb]

Sorry if I read this wrong, but did the humping only start when he came in contact with a 9 month old female Rotti? Is she desexed? Perhaps she is starting to go into season and he is picking up on that?

Good luck with his training!

[rosebud]

Jbbb (that just rolls off the tongue.. very nice):

No, he was mounting in preschool as well - wish it was as simple as the rotty going into season.

I've gone away for the past few days and began the new routine - and there's already been an improvement in his settling/calming down skills (you guys ROCK) I especially like the lead thing throughout the house - improved his leash skills by a ton (admittedly it's not like we have a lot of distractions but I'm pretty excited )

He's also going to be desexed; have already made the appointment for next week so it's going to be bye bye bollocks soon. I've read up the pros and cons of desexing early - talked to my vet, the women who run the pound where I volunteer and read research papers - and am quite confident that it will be fine.

Only opposition I really had were from my parents who are extremely old school when it comes to dogs. Comments from "Oh my goodness, why would you want to do such a thing to him?" to "He is going to turn out into a wimp... remember your last dog..?" and from my mum: "Don't you feel kinda bad for doing this to him? I cried when Obelix was castrated, I felt so awful." (Obelix was a great dane we had when I was a baby.)

But I'm working on educating them, in a gentle way - "Do you REALLY want him to pee on the couch to mark his territory" etc or "Think of all of the unwanted dogs out there!" I think it's kinda embarrassing that my parents are like this..not even sure if I want to mention it on a public forum especially with the 'Rescue' thread right next door.. *cringes*

So anyway, I'm feeling more confident about the dog-dog socialisation thing. I feel like I've got a lot more control over him, and the problem is just with his mounting and trying to get away with everything with other dogs. Other than that, he is a happy chap who loves new faces, furry or otherwise with a bit of a rebellious streak in him. (LOL how brave do I sound now? Haven't even met another dog yet, but here I am talking it up )

Have a great weekend everyone!!

[Kelpie-i]

rosebud, you "sound" like a different person already...more confident about yourself and your actions with your dog.

Well done and keep up the good work.

[rosebud]

Hi Kelpie-i,

Yes, I did panic badly, thank you for noticing Was the stutter really that bad?

Honestly speaking, I think I was just shocked that my baby turned out to be a crass minded, back talking little punk with absolutely no manners. I felt like a bad mother for not teaching him any - doesn't help that I can become absolutely anal about doing it 'perfect'. (I was also shocked that I didn't know everything there was to know about bringing up a puppy )

But yeah, different person, different attitude - helps that most people were telling me I was doing OK - not sure about that, but nice to hear anyway

Love yez *sighs*