[Todd]

Originally Posted by Oscar

I didnt' let him out of the crate when he's barking. I let him out of the crate when he stops barking. I dont' dare to put him in the crate at night time b/c i'm afrad that his voice will annoy my neighbour. I live in townhouse managed by a condo.

My other dog 's life style never change lately, except there is another puppy living in the house right now

Another problem: My puppy doens't seem to pay attention to me. Everytime i walk him, he never looks at me and walk to wherever he wanted to go. I use treats to attract his attention, but he doens't care at all. He loves the treats when he's in the house, but when he's outside the house, he doens't like the treat anymore. He seems a bit scared of the outside environment and he's easy to get tired and alwasy lies down on the floor. I ask him to come to me but he never comes to me and never follows me. I've been trying very hard to give positive feedbacks to him when he walks witih me.. but still, he follows his instinct and never look at me in my eyes when he walks. However, he does follow other strangers!

How can i change this and make him concentrate on me?!

Don't let him out of the crate right when he stars barking. This doesn't make much sense. You want him to be in the crate and not be barking. This should be the prime time that he is kept in the crate to adjust him to it once he has calmed down. Letting him out when he stops barking may make him associate barking with punishment and punishment would mean going into the crate. You don't want him associating the crate with punishment and good behavior gets him out. You want him associating the crate with a safe, calm, happy place. So when he stops barking, def. keep him in for a little while, depending on how long he's been in already.

Your other dog may be peeing in the house because of the new puppy indeed. Years ago, my cat did the same thing when we had to take care of a kitten for a few weeks. Hopefully this issue will go away on its own as time goes by and your older dog adjusts to there being a new puppy in the house. Be sure to pay plenty of attention to the older dog as well so she doesn't feel left out.

As far as the pup not paying too much attention to you, be patient. A strong bond with your dog takes time. Just continue to show him love and care and participate in plenty of activities with him and I'm sure the bond will come. Just be patient.

As far as being a bit shakey about going outside, this is very common because the pup is not used to the outside world yet. Here is a link to a thread where a pup had this problem, probably worse than your pup, and plenty of suggestion were given. The key is socialization and positive association...

leash training

[nattiej1976]

we crate trained Kato as an older pup, i think he was about 8 months old when we decided to try it, we kept the crate at first in the middle of the lounge, and carried on our normal lives pretending it wasnt even there, we would pop in the odd treat and toy in with the door removed, and praise Kato when he went in. Over the course of a couple of weeks, whole meals would be put in, door still open, then we moved on to closing the door for just a couple of moments, then open it up again, praising calm behaviour the whole way, once we were able to close the door for a few moments, that time became longer, if he cried we ignored it untill he settled down and then would open the door again...............it took some weeks, but now he loves going to his crate and will walk straight on in when we ask him too.

We still make sure that everything to do with the crate is positive, it is not used for any sort of punnishment or if we are cranky at him. Its his happy safe place. We do also cover the crate with a dark cotton sheet, it is thick and dark enough to remove the majority of the outside stimulants, but light enough to allow comfortable temprature inside it at all times (we do live in a climate controlled home so the room temprature is quite consistant)

His crate also remains where we are so he is not excluded from the usual comings and goings of the home, this is so the crate is never in Katos eyes a place of exclusion and isolation. The only times it is in a diffrent room is when lots of people or strangers are expected in the home, cause he is quite stranger wary, he likes to be in our bedroom in his crate when lots of unknown visitors are around.

[Oscar]

Thanks so much Todd. Do you suggest me to get a plastic kennel for him instead of the crate? I use blanket to cover the crate but everytime he drags the blanket into the crate and still continues barking. I sense that he may be scared when he's inside the crate with the door closed, because he stands up and jumps, digs, screams inside the crate..

Originally Posted by nattiej1976

we crate trained Kato as an older pup, i think he was about 8 months old when we decided to try it, we kept the crate at first in the middle of the lounge, and carried on our normal lives pretending it wasnt even there, we would pop in the odd treat and toy in with the door removed, and praise Kato when he went in. Over the course of a couple of weeks, whole meals would be put in, door still open, then we moved on to closing the door for just a couple of moments, then open it up again, praising calm behaviour the whole way, once we were able to close the door for a few moments, that time became longer, if he cried we ignored it untill he settled down and then would open the door again...............it took some weeks, but now he loves going to his crate and will walk straight on in when we ask him too.

We still make sure that everything to do with the crate is positive, it is not used for any sort of punnishment or if we are cranky at him. Its his happy safe place. We do also cover the crate with a dark cotton sheet, it is thick and dark enough to remove the majority of the outside stimulants, but light enough to allow comfortable temprature inside it at all times (we do live in a climate controlled home so the room temprature is quite consistant)

His crate also remains where we are so he is not excluded from the usual comings and goings of the home, this is so the crate is never in Katos eyes a place of exclusion and isolation. The only times it is in a diffrent room is when lots of people or strangers are expected in the home, cause he is quite stranger wary, he likes to be in our bedroom in his crate when lots of unknown visitors are around.

Thanks so much! when i raised the older dog, he loved the kennel a lot and he's always very quiet in the kennel. But this pup is so stubborn and seems that he hates his crate so much..

Do you think i should instead put the pup in my older dog's plastic kennel to see if he's willing to stay there before I buy a new kennel? but i believe it does have my older dog's smell in the kennel..

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Oscar

Thanks so much Todd. Do you suggest me to get a plastic kennel for him instead of the crate? I use blanket to cover the crate but everytime he drags the blanket into the crate and still continues barking. I sense that he may be scared when he's inside the crate with the door closed, because he stands up and jumps, digs, screams inside the crate..



Thanks so much! when i raised the older dog, he loved the kennel a lot and he's always very quiet in the kennel. But this pup is so stubborn and seems that he hates his crate so much..

Do you think i should instead put the pup in my older dog's plastic kennel to see if he's willing to stay there before I buy a new kennel? but i believe it does have my older dog's smell in the kennel..

I don't think it would make a difference if you used a plastic one as opposed to the one you're using now.

I could be wrong here, please someone correct me if I am, but putting him in a crate with another dog's scent in it may make him feel as if the crate doesn't belong to him , but the other dog. This could make matters worse. Again, I could be wrong. Just an assumption.

[reeskujo]

I agree with you Todd about putting him in the other dogs crate...The issue isn't what type of crate he's in but the fact that he doesn't like it...

OP you may want to try confining him to a small room such as a bathroom or laundry room... Or even the kitchen...Since my puppies were always crated at night for bed time I used to put them in either the kitchen or bathroom when I would go out...I would put the baby gate up and if in the bathroom removed the rugs,trash can etc and if in the kitchen the trash can and whatever else they could get into...I would put some toys in there with them and leave some water and a few potty pads...This gave them room to move around and to play...It also kept them from feeling like they were confined to the crate all the time and in turn made it easier to keep them in the crate at night and that made it easier to break them from barking...

As for your older dog peeing on the couch...usually when a dog pees on the owners furniture it's a sign that he/she is trying to claim itself as the dominant one...He may feel that since the puppy is there he's losing his place in the pack..

It's important to make sure the older dog is still getting plenty of your attention as well as one on one time with you...

As for the puppy not paying attention to you that's normal...Puppies have a very short attention span and when they're outside they tend to focus on their surroundings instead of their owner...

Try teaching him the "Watch Me" command...Take a treat in your hand,let him smell it and then bring the treat up towards your eyes....With him looking at you say his name and then say "Watch Me" try and count to 2 or 3 and give him the treat...Once he's gotten good at it you can use the "Watch Me" command to get his attention..

As for him not coming when you call him the "Come" command has to be taught...It's not something they just know...It's best to start teaching it when there's no distractions around.....You need to say the puppies name and in a really happy voice ask him to come...When he does come to you reward him with a treat and lots and lots of praise...

It's important to remember that you should never repeat a command over and over again...if the puppy is ignoring you and you repeat the command over and over again your simply teaching him that he will still get attention by ignoring you...You have to give a command if he doesn't respond wait a few seconds and repeat it....If he doesn't respond the 2nd time walk away and wait a few minutes before you try again...

You also need to be sure they know you are in charge...A dog or puppy should always be made to at the very least sit before getting their food,going outside or receiving attention...This will teach them they have to obey and earn what they want and they don't get it just because they want and certainly not with bad behavior...

My puppy automatically sits now when I fill his food and water bowls and if he gets up before I set them on the floor I put them back on the counter until hit sits again and he's not allowed up until his bowls are on the floor and I release him from the sit position....

Last but not least never use the puppies name when your correcting him...They need to associate their name with positive and if you use it during correction they will associate it with getting in trouble and therefore not come when you call them.

I hope this helps!

[Todd]

Originally Posted by reeskujo

I agree with you Todd about putting him in the other dogs crate...The issue isn't what type of crate he's in but the fact that he doesn't like it...

OP you may want to try confining him to a small room such as a bathroom or laundry room... Or even the kitchen...Since my puppies were always crated at night for bed time I used to put them in either the kitchen or bathroom when I would go out...I would put the baby gate up and if in the bathroom removed the rugs,trash can etc and if in the kitchen the trash can and whatever else they could get into...I would put some toys in there with them and leave some water and a few potty pads...This gave them room to move around and to play...It also kept them from feeling like they were confined to the crate all the time and in turn made it easier to keep them in the crate at night and that made it easier to break them from barking...

As for your older dog peeing on the couch...usually when a dog pees on the owners furniture it's a sign that he/she is trying to claim itself as the dominant one...He may feel that since the puppy is there he's losing his place in the pack..

It's important to make sure the older dog is still getting plenty of your attention as well as one on one time with you...

As for the puppy not paying attention to you that's normal...Puppies have a very short attention span and when they're outside they tend to focus on their surroundings instead of their owner...

Try teaching him the "Watch Me" command...Take a treat in your hand,let him smell it and then bring the treat up towards your eyes....With him looking at you say his name and then say "Watch Me" try and count to 2 or 3 and give him the treat...Once he's gotten good at it you can use the "Watch Me" command to get his attention..

As for him not coming when you call him the "Come" command has to be taught...It's not something they just know...It's best to start teaching it when there's no distractions around.....You need to say the puppies name and in a really happy voice ask him to come...When he does come to you reward him with a treat and lots and lots of praise...

It's important to remember that you should never repeat a command over and over again...if the puppy is ignoring you and you repeat the command over and over again your simply teaching him that he will still get attention by ignoring you...You have to give a command if he doesn't respond wait a few seconds and repeat it....If he doesn't respond the 2nd time walk away and wait a few minutes before you try again...

You also need to be sure they know you are in charge...A dog or puppy should always be made to at the very least sit before getting their food,going outside or receiving attention...This will teach them they have to obey and earn what they want and they don't get it just because they want and certainly not with bad behavior...

My puppy automatically sits now when I fill his food and water bowls and if he gets up before I set them on the floor I put them back on the counter until hit sits again and he's not allowed up until his bowls are on the floor and I release him from the sit position....

Last but not least never use the puppies name when your correcting him...They need to associate their name with positive and if you use it during correction they will associate it with getting in trouble and therefore not come when you call them.

I hope this helps!

This is great advice!

Glad you brought up the watch me command. My dog is great with that one when I have a treat. This was one of the first things we did when I attended a puppy obedience class with her. This was to get the dog's attention/focus on you in order to follow commands.

Here is an answer I gave for another thread...

First of all, how much exercise do you provide him with? Seems he craves to go and run in the outdoors which is normal for dogs. What breed is the dog? I think if you took him out to run around a few times during the day it would calm down his desire to bolt out everytime the chance presents itself. It's best to let him run off leash because he will burn the most energy as he seems like a very high energy dog. You say he's small too. By any chance is he a Jack Russell? Just a guess lol. Anyway, you could keep a leash on him so he could drag it and it would be easier for you to catch him when necessary. You also need to teach him to come. A good method outdoors would be to use a clicker or whistel or just yell his name. clickers and whistles seems to be more sucessful outdoors. Start with him on the leash and blow the whistel or the clicker and prompt his to come to you for praise and a treat or favorite toy. Eventually you can try this off leash and this should work well.

[reeskujo]

That is also good advice however owners need to be careful about working with their dpgs outside and off leash until they are completely sure their dog won't run off..There are certain breeds that in general can't really be trusted off leash...

My Husky was never able to be trusted off leash as they were bred to run and that's just what she would do....Akita's as well since they are known runners and as good at escaping as any Husky I know....Also if they have a lot of pent up energy they more inclined to take off running just to burn it off...

For off leash the safest bet until you know the dog won't run off is in an enclosed area such as a fence yard...

Some breeds like Jack Russels maybe more inclined to run as they were bred for things like hunting vermon..


Clicker training works great I've had many students who have great results with it but the OP needs to first teach the pup how the clicker correlates to the reward and I believe you posted some links for that....

Depending on the breed of dog sometimes it may take 2 or 3 long walks each day to burn off all of their energy so that may be a factor here...How many walks a day is the puppy getting and for how long?

is the puppy on a feeding,walking and bed time schedule? Puppies need a schedule and routine just like a small child does.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by reeskujo

That is also good advice however owners need to be careful about working with their dpgs outside and off leash until they are completely sure their dog won't run off..There are certain breeds that in general can't really be trusted off leash...

My Husky was never able to be trusted off leash as they were bred to run and that's just what she would do....Akita's as well since they are known runners and as good at escaping as any Husky I know....Also if they have a lot of pent up energy they more inclined to take off running just to burn it off...

For off leash the safest bet until you know the dog won't run off is in an enclosed area such as a fence yard...

Some breeds like Jack Russels maybe more inclined to run as they were bred for things like hunting vermon..


Clicker training works great I've had many students who have great results with it but the OP needs to first teach the pup how the clicker correlates to the reward and I believe you posted some links for that....

Depending on the breed of dog sometimes it may take 2 or 3 long walks each day to burn off all of their energy so that may be a factor here...How many walks a day is the puppy getting and for how long?

is the puppy on a feeding,walking and bed time schedule? Puppies need a schedule and routine just like a small child does.

Of course. Starting on lead helps. Some even have their dog on a kind of cord or rope in the house. Sounds a bit extreme to me though.

You're right. Some dogs are a lot harder to enforce recall than others. High prey driven dogs are the worst. Dogs such as huskys, greyhounds, pitbulls, collies, etc.

[reeskujo]

When I first got Nina I used to let her run around the house with her leash on...My reason for that was it helped to get her adjusted to having a leash and collar on as some puppies don't like it because they've never had one on but once she got used to it I took it off...

Another thing as far as not liking the crate...Some shelter dogs don't like being crated because they spent so much time in a crate when they were in the shelter.,Nina was fine with it but once I brought Kujo home I was never able to put him in a crate...Any time I did he would literally bang his head against the side of the crate so for his own saftey I never put him in obne again...In fact when I first brought the crate home for Nina he ran and hid!