Am I Doing Something Wrong

[GSDhandler]

every time koda does soemthing we give her a growl, and often tend to ignore her for behjaviours like biting, but it just desnt seem to have done much good lately, as she just keeps bting. have tried every suggestion from the threat in here someone put up bout their 14 wk shep pup, to no avail.

she chews teh carpet, so have tried telling her off in the act (she thinks its a game, no matter what we try) and she wont stop ripping things up.

every time we leave the house something new is torn. she is opening cupboards and climbing on top of things now.

i lave her lots of stimuli toys, and chew toys to give her alternatives.

also she is housetrained when we are home, but the moment we walk out the front door, even for 30 sec she tiolets indoors, even on her own bed. i am pretty sure its her "up yours" for us leaving, but i dont know what to do about it.

to make matters worse, she was meant to start puppy school yester and when we got there no one was there, even though i was at teh place at the time they gave me, so am going to try and sort that out tomorrow, but no other school wants to take her because seh is 11 wks old now, and they think she is too old.

i am at my witts end, because i know i am not emant to get mad at her, but i cant help it when she manages to seek out everything to chew on, no matter what i am doing with it.

i dont want to make her an outside dog, because i dont beleive in keeping a dog outside alione for so long (also want to keep the garden )

any advise would be appreciated.

and i know it may be the solution, but any alternative to a specialist would be great becuase if anyone has been keepning up wiht me, they know im in strife atm cause someone wrote off my car, then has put me a whopping $5G in debt to get any other car of equal drivability cause my OH wouldnt listen to my fab womanly knowledge (just kidding guys) so anything that is going to cost a lot is really not going to make my day any better.

thanks

[Luke W]

Couple of comments...

Dogs don't do 'up yours'...they simply don't have the smarts for it. You're correct - she's housetrained when you are at home but not when you are out. She probably just knows that it's a bad idea to do it in the house when you are around. When your out - she knows no different. They can't generalise. And if you growl at her for toileting 2 minutes after she's toileted - she has no idea what you are growling about. At 11 weeks - she should be crated/penned and on a 1 hour toileting schedule. Are you toileting her outside just before you go out?

Chewing carpet and stuff - don't let her have access, simple as that. Put her in a pen/laundry whatever when you can't supervise her every second.

My pup is nearly 5 months old and will chew just about everything he can get his teeth onto. Fortunately, he's not that interested in furniture, rugs and carpets. Shoes, socks, underpants, cloths, towels, cables, paper, toilet rolls, on the other hand, he loves. How do I deal with it...I try not to give him the opportunity to get at them. Baby gates, closed doors, a doggy pen, everything out of reach, nothing left around on the floor.

I think the bottom line is he's a pup. Pups piss, chew and poo - that's what they do. That's what he'll be doing for the next 6 months or more. You have to prevent him as much as you can. Don't make him an outside dog, it's often the first step to a poorly socialised, bored, barking, on it's way to the pound dog.

As for puppy school - ring around - 11 weeks is NOT too old - no way! My pup didn't START puppy school till 12 weeks.

Download Dunbars before you get your puppy - RIGHT NOW:

http://www.siriuspup.com/beforebook.html

Read it while you are waiting for After You Get Your Puppy from Amazon.

Edited July 23, 2008 by Luke W

[persephone]

i am pretty sure its her "up yours" for us leaving, but i dont know what to do about it.

No- as Luke W explained- ,and I think I have in a previous thread- dogs don't do that- and especially not a very young puppy!

Puppies learn about the world by chewing- they don't have hands to feel and play with- they use their mouths.

If it were a toddler- would you let an 18 mth old have free run of the house?

Would you leave a toddler alone with the best china or your cd player ?

NO-

So why expect miracles from an energetic, smart puppy ?

For her own safety, and the safety of your posessions- confine her to one room, have her on a leash ,attached to you, so she cannot reach things, or crate/pen her indoors.

For a puppy to learn any manners - there must be continuous and reliable input from the owners.

The lessons should be ongoing, and as positive as possible.

It is repetition,repetition,repetition!

She is a DOG- and what may work for a human child,will not work for her- this goes for expectations- her learning process is geared towards her getting rewards - if a behaviour(like chewing a carpet edge ) gives her the BEST reward out of all the things she does in her day- then chewing carpet will be on the list for tomorrow!!

Her time with you, playing with her bones/toys SHOULD be the BESTEST times she has in her day!

These times should tax her little brain in a pleasurable way- she should be learning all the time, and she should be TIRED at the end of each new experience.

Puppies get tired by physical exertion- but also by learning, and having to THINK

Short bursts of thinking will work wonders ....

A TIRED PUPPY IS A GOOD PUPPY

[Kavik]

If you can't supervise her, put her somewhere she doesn't have access to stuff you don't want chewed. Whether this is a bathroom/laundry/crate or outside.

Have you been doing foundation work training with her? If you want to use her for security, there is a lot to do to prepare them for this role. Lots of socialisation or neutralisation, prey foundation, used to noises/crowds/different footing etc. What they teach you in puppy class is mainly geared towards pet people and may not be suitable for a potential security dog. It is more training clueless handlers anyway with a bit of socialisation. Personally I think you would be better off finding a good obedience club, or Schutzhund club or something and do it that way. My next dog (either Malinois or GSD at this point) will be taken to the Schutzhund club as a pup for foundation prey work, not bothering with puppy class.

A dog that is going to be a good working dog is going to be a right pain in the backside as a puppy! Kaos was a right little piece of work until around a year, worst at about 9 months.

Have you seen Nekhbet's sig? Really accurate description of working dogs

[charli73]

GSD handler, I feel your pain, but a few comments...

At 14 weeks they destroy stuff, thats just what they do, and so many times I lost my S#@& at Zoe for chewing stuff but shes a puppy and thats what they do and there is apparently a light at the end if a tunnel...

Zoe although she is outside during the day, is an inside dog. As soon as I get home from work shes inside on her bed, she sleeps inside and eats inside and we play inside and out...Could Koda stay out during the day and come in when youre home?

She does destroy stuff outside, I would never leave her inside, she would rip up the place so Id rather her ruin the garden and have it look bad for a few years until she grows out of it than eat my sofa or bed and cost me thousands..

Zoe still goes and gets stuff to chew to get our attention inside and then hopes we chase her, and nip at us etc. We used to grab her muzzle and growl at her but it just fired her up even more. Now we simply give her a firm no, and lead her quietly into the laundry or simply separate her from us and she soon learnt that if she acts up she gets the ultimate punishment, being separated from us and she is much calmer....

She didnt start puppy school until 9 weeks and she has been going every week since we got her 7 weeks. Can you find an ongoing training club raher than a 4 or 5 week course?

Best of luck and it will ease up eventually but you have a while to go, hang in there!!!

[Dogsfevr]

For starters your pup is also teething,chewing brings great relief from the teething process plus as mentioned a means off exploring & learning.

We have never done this growling stuff.Commands are given from day 1.Dogs are only as good as the communication you give & then you need to understand your dog & become the smart or smarter owners for that individual.

The toileting could be a form of insecurity into your expectations & reactions.

Lots of toys means very little.Have a play box & place the toys in there ,each day the toys are rotated .

Dogs often have a few toys they really like but when you have to many there is no thrill to them .

As for puppy preschool many wont take large breed pups at 11 weeks.

Seek out obedience clubs in your area as your pup is ready to go at 13 weeks.Do you havea GSD club in your area or similiar.

Its ounds like board puppy craving to learn

[persephone]

settrlvr- I tend to agree.

A smart 'working breed' pup with nowhere near enough direction as yet.

GSDhandler- at the moment- you are not aware enough of your pup's needs .

If you have time- go thru LOTS of puppy problem and training posts on here.There are so many with similar stories to you... it is alearning experience for both you and your pup- communication is a MUST.... BUT you must all speak the same 'language' :rolleyes:

[charli73]

While we're on the topic of speaking the same language, Puppy may be too young but I saw a Jan Fennell dvd the other day and it really opened my eyes on how to communicate with dogs in a more sedate way, not this growling stuff I was shown at school ...

its working really well for us.... some agree others dont, although its certainly better than growling and getting aggressive with the puppy which fires her up even more... now she settles down very quickly

GSD handler your post sounds very similar to my posts almost a year ago, we had a hard time too.. :rolleyes:

Edited July 23, 2008 by charli73

[GSDhandler]

we have made some awsome progress.

the last few nights, its just been me and the dog, OH has gone away for the wkend.

she has been bliss. no accidents inside except for this morning cuase i wouldnt wake up, no torn carpets, no chewed curtains.

[persephone]

[GSDhandler]

exactly

could feel like some days i was hitting my head against a brick wall, but since she learned her kong, it has been a godsend, since even when its empty she knows that the kong is out, i dont chew things.

she doesnt even chew my hand much any more

to everyone who has been helping.

[Flaves]

we have made some awsome progress.

the last few nights, its just been me and the dog, OH has gone away for the wkend.

she has been bliss. no accidents inside except for this morning cuase i wouldnt wake up, no torn carpets, no chewed curtains.

COngrats.

Everyone has given great advice.

Just a tip, make sure your OH is on the same page as you.

I also find that my dogs are much better behaved when my hubby is not home as he lets them get away with heaps.

ETA spelling

Edited July 26, 2008 by i haz flava!

[GSDhandler]

he's gonna be sulky when he gets home. he already sulks when the dog chooses to sleep on my side of the room.

i guess i will have to train him a litte harder as well. best part about the dog, even though shes vocal, she cant really answer back.