[Cadillac_Rotti]

hey yall im matt im 18
ive owned several dogs over the past years
my 2 current is my 2 year old akita inu/border collie mix
and a 13 week old lab mix.

the 2 year old's name is marley
the 13 week old's name is gina

to give you an idea of whats going on i'll start off with a short story

2 years ago before marley came to me my rottie got hit by a car (it wasnt no accident either and the driver is in jail still to this day) after a lil depression and such i had the sudden thought of gettin another dog. shortly after me thinking about callin a breeder for another rottie marley shows up at my door step... 9 weeks old malnourished and lost. shortly afterwards her mom shows up a full bread border collie which my friend has now... anyways, ive raised marley as a puppy. i trained her and corrected her when she was wrong and she's became one of the most loyal dogs ive had.

now a few weeks ago at walmart i saw a few people giving away some free puppies. lab mix. my parents decided to keep marley for themselves and ive said to them that i would find another dog for myself then. well i picked up this dog. and it was a bit shy... didnt like playin with other dogs and all at first but then loosened up a bit. she plays fine with marley....

lately she's been having the typical puppy accidents and going through the "chew up everything in sight" phase. from time to time if i catch her in the act i correct her. if its with going potty in house its usually a gently tap on tbe butt and a sturn "NO" and i take her outside to finish her biz then correct her afterwards...
if its chewing i normally tap her nose and say stop and she does for a bit but when i turn my back she does it again.

lately ive found out that my puppy is somewhat scared of me. when my girlfriend is around shes alive and alert and plays with her but when im around its always her head hung low to the ground, tail between her legs and wetting. ive never experienced such a thing before with my previous dogs even with my 2 year old when she was a pup.

could it be that im being too hard on my puppy? i mean im not whoopin her rear end and taking things to the extreme its more like as if you was poking someone, just a soft pat nothing major. but like i said i dont really treat any dog different ive used the same technique for years after seeing my parents do it wit my rottie who i had since i was 6.

pretty much to ease up your mind and avoid any confusion. my question is...
how do i get this puppy to ease up and open up to me and be normal and know that its ok to play? ive tried to bride her with treats, toys, sweet talk but nothing seems to work. i was thinking clicker trainin but i dont really know if thats the solution. theres gotta be another way to be able to gain this dog's trust back and be herself again.

any ideas?

[reeskujo]

As a dog trainer I can tell you that your methods of physical dicipline do absolutely nothing more then teach your puppy to fear you..First and most importantly you should never ever use physical dicipline on a dog unless you're trying to tech it to fear you and others.When a dog is corrected in that matter for having an accident it has no idea it's in trouble for going in the house as dogs can't generalize. In the dogs mind it's simply in trouble for going to the bathroom. This causes them to either sneak off and do it or refuse to go outside if you're within their view. They also have no idea what your telling them "no" for. If they have an accident and you catch them you just pick them up and take them outside.If they finish going outside you give them a treat and praise them.

As for swatting a puppy on the nose when they're chewing something you're physically punishing them for something that is instinctive to them.If they're chewing on something they shouldn't then you give them one of their own toys to chew on and praise them when they do and you begin teaching them the "leave it" command.

Physically punishing a puppy only serves to confuse them and teach them to fear people.You're expecting way to much from your puppy.Now what you need to do is start teaching her that you're not wanting to hurt her by using positive reinforcement,no longer physically punishing her and give her lots of love and attention until she comes around.FYI..a fear biting dog will bite much quicker then an aggressive dog and if you continue swatting her that's exactly what you're going to have!

[Lunareclipse]

I do agree about using physical punishment to correct your dog. It really shouldn't be used. I do swat Buster on the rear when he thinks he's going to sit on my lap, though. It hasn't fazed him a bit.

[reeskujo]

Originally Posted by Lunareclipse

I do agree about using physical punishment to correct your dog. It really shouldn't be used. I do swat Buster on the rear when he thinks he's going to sit on my lap, though. It hasn't fazed him a bit.

LOL and we also have dogs well over 100lbs say that don't even feel it most likely..

[Lunareclipse]

Maybe his fur is too thick. lol Or his head is too thick. He doesn't have a brain, so there's nothing for his nerve endings to attach to.

[Cadillac_Rotti]

ye i never really knew physical punishment would lead to fear. i mean im not even hitting the dog to put fear in it. just a tap but i guess it all leads to the same thing.

so pretty much i just gotta bring in the positive stuff and use it to gain this puppy's trust back? guess im in for a long road of recovery cause i know a friend whos had a dog fear him even tho he didnt raise the dog it was a rescue. and he's still workin on gainin the dogs trust back after like 2 years of having him.

[cigwyllt]

You've got it. Positive training, lots of attention and gentle handling.

[reeskujo]

Originally Posted by Cadillac_Rotti

ye i never really knew physical punishment would lead to fear. i mean im not even hitting the dog to put fear in it. just a tap but i guess it all leads to the same thing.

so pretty much i just gotta bring in the positive stuff and use it to gain this puppy's trust back? guess im in for a long road of recovery cause i know a friend whos had a dog fear him even tho he didnt raise the dog it was a rescue. and he's still workin on gainin the dogs trust back after like 2 years of having him.

You're puppy is still very young so as long as you stay consistent with the love and attention as well as the positive reinforcement you should be ok. Puppies/dogs just don't have the ability to relate physically punishment to the behavior they're getting in trouble for and therefore they simply interpret it as the owner wanting to hurt them..That will also cause the puppy to lose trust in the owner and that can have very adverse reactions on their training since they'll be much less likely to want to follow the owners commands since they don't trust them.

[lange]

Cadillac_Rotti, you also have to keep in mind some dogs are more shy & insecure than others. You also need to work with (not against) their personalities when you're bringing them up.

[reeskujo]

Originally Posted by lange

Cadillac_Rotti, you also have to keep in mind some dogs are more shy & insecure than others. You also need to work with (not against) their personalities when you're bringing them up.

Lange is right..Dogs are like people in that sense..While there are the basics of training and dealing with certain issues or behaviors a particular dog might have they are each individual in their personalities..What works with one may not work with another so you need work with the dog in ways that work for his particular personality.

[Lunareclipse]

hot dogs and peanut butter. stock up.