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Old March 7th, 2006, 01:44 PM
sprayeddog sprayeddog is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 101
Quote:
The way you're describing it, you're not being very consistent. With a puppy, you have to be ready to jump up and enforce the rules you set every time he tests them, whether you're training or relaxing. If you correct the dog 90% of the time, you won't get any results.
Maybe it's the way I described it but that's not what I meant at all.

I correct him 100% of the times. If I say "OFF" and he ignores my command, he'll get penalized (and that's where the isolation comes in, in case you're wondering).

But when I set him up for a 'test' or 'training', he knows that's what it is and he responds A LOT better.

When I'm sitting down watching TV, and he tries to bite the magazine, I tell him "OFF". His response is A LOT less consistent in that case. I'd still follow through to make sure he follows my command, or else I'd isolate him for a few minutes.

So I do correct him 100% of the times and am as consistent as one can possibly be. The only thing is, if I have to get off my sofa, grab him and isolate him every 2 - 3 minutes when he fails to follow an "OFF" command, then I'm not really relazing at all am I?

(And by now I've gone full circle and gone back to my original point.)

Quote:
With any dog, there can be trouble. I've had abused dogs, dominant dogs, almost everything, and I have never had a problem with them. The thing is, a lot of the time, older dogs are more relaxed and are more willing to learn (in my experience). Baggage or not, it's all about time and training.
And that's my point.

I understand the reason getting a puppy can be exhausting because they are hyper and require a lot of time and energy and patience to train them. But if you're saying adult dogs could come with baggages and will require time and training as well - then is there really a big difference here?

I'd even argue it's difficult to make adult dogs 'un-learn' a bad habit they've already picked up from previous owner ... but it's a moot point for me now.

Quote:
That doesn't sound good. Under a year and already having social issues? You really have to tackle this one. A fully grown dog with aggression issues is not fun. When they're young, you can socialize them to death and get it out of them.
Maybe I wasn't clear but Matty doesn't have any agression issue.

Like most puppies, Matty's way of 'playing with other dogs' involves jumping at their face, nipping their ears and constantly bugging them ... and adult dogs don't like that.

When I brought Matty to puppy socializing class, and then later on obedience class, all the dogs (puppies!) behave the same way ... and Matty had no problem socializing with other dogs in that manner.

But when I bring him home to my parent's beagle, or when he meets other adult dogs, his obnoxious behaviour annoys them very quickly.

I know the "Sit and greet" routine, and Matty's just too hyper at this age he won't sit down properly to greet. In the meantime he has no problem socializing with other puppies cos they all play the same way. Which kindda begs the questiohn - what's the point of the socializing class / sessions if the puppies are not taught / forced to greet 'properly'?

Well according to the trainers, they said we can try the 'no sit, no greet' routine, which we tried, and 10 times out of 10 it ends up in a 'no greet' situation because Matty gets too hyper and just won't sit down to meet. The trainer told us puppies are obnoxoious to adult dogs and it's tough to get them to mix well ... but as the puppies turn into adult they calm down and it becomes less of an issue.

Last edited by sprayeddog; March 7th, 2006 at 02:00 PM.
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