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Old May 25th, 2010, 11:02 PM
Tanlaithial Tanlaithial is offline
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Colorado
Posts: 1
7 month old Wheaten Terrier puppy won't listen to instruction

We are completely new at Wheaten Terriers; our last dog was an Akita mix we got from a rescue place (similar to Dumb Friends League), who was found in a box with his siblings on the side of a highway. Most of our dogs have been rescues like this, and so were somewhat mellow when we got them. My last dog was especially willing to listen and work with us, and, despite never having any real training, was not a problem to control, even though he was 125 pounds.
We know they were mellowed because they had had a rather tough beginning, and were probably just grateful to have a loving, safe and warm home.

Our new dog, Rosie, however, is 7 months old, and a purebred Irish Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier (I don't know if that specific breed makes a difference in training or behavior), and has not had a single hard day in her life. Needless to say, she is NOT a mellow dog.
She stubbornly fights us whenever we try to make her do something she doesn't want to do, is ALWAYS going after all of our clothes, our trash bins, and going onto our shelves to find new things to chew on (she manages to stand literally upright like a meerkat, so we've mostly cleared everything from a 2-foot range from the floor up).
We have tried I don't know how many times to discipline her against these habits, but as soon as she's loose she will go after them again. She understands that she is not supposed to (she is very smart), but does so anyway. I know for a fact that it is not just to get our attention; she often wanders to another room to cause this havoc, and we have to chase her down to get back the sock or the dirty kleenex she has.

We have been able to train her to sit, have her (mostly) paper trained to go in the kitchen on newspaper we put down (because we have coyote in the area), and she is a very loving, sweet dog. I know that she is more than capable of being trained, and wants to do right by us. But we can't train her until she's willing to listen; that much is more and more obvious.

How do you convince a Wheaten Terrier that you are the one in control, not them? How do you get them to listen to you? As I stated, we are completely new with Terriers in general (we had no idea what we were getting into when we read that they were "high energy;" my mother needed a Wheaten Terrier due to her allergies), and I've never had to train a purebred; only a rescue, which clearly makes quite a difference. We've looked online, but nothing tells us how to just make her listen; we can do the training once she understands how she ranks to us.

Any and all help and information is much appreciated!
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