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Archive for the Category »General Advice «
Potty Training/House Training Questions
05
Aug 2008
Category: General Advice, House Training Your Dog
2 Comments
Cocker Spaniel Walking
24
Mar 2009
Jill has asked for advice regarding her cocker spaniel:
“Hi
I have a six month old cocker spaniel bitch who is very energetic and loves her walks. I myself am a very keen walker but have tried hard not to over walk her when she was younger. How far is she able to go everyday now would you think? I live in very hilly countryside so she races up and down.”
It’s not really the distance that you need to worry about, but the impact of walking on her bone development. Any advice I offer here could not replace that of a vet or the breeder you got her from. I know that larger dogs need longer for their bones to develop before letting them race around too much, but you should really have a chat with your vet to make sure.
As you are based in the UK, the following pages may be able to offer you an answer from a qualified vet:
http://www.pdsa.org.uk/managed/ask_the_vet.html
http://www.emmathevet.co.uk/askthevet.asp (not my first choice, as this one asks for a donation in order to receive a guaranteed reply)
Category: General Advice
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Crate Train Mum and Pup Together?
24
Mar 2009
Anne asks:
“I am adopting a 6 year old springer spaniel and one of her pups. I am going to crate train the puppy, but should I put the older dog in the crate with the puppy when I am training?”
The short answer is that it really depends on the age of the pup and whether or not it has been weaned.
You can keep more than one dog in the same crate, but if they are the same sex, it can lead to squabbles and fights. If the puppy is over twelve weeks, I would consider letting it have a crate of it’s own
Category: General Advice
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Golden Retriever Misbehaving
24
Mar 2009
Maris needs advice about her Golden Retriever:
“I have a 2 yr old golden retriever, female, who weighs 80 lbs. she is generally very well-behaved, but I try and take her for long walks each day. Where we live the walks are usually limited to the same 2 or 3 places. And she also has an affinity for other animal’s feces. Through either attempting to get at animal feces along our walk, or just for no apparent reason – she will decide to just stop walking and no treat or command will prompt her to continue. any suggestions? She’s too heavy to really ‘nudge’ along very far.”
Just to be on the safe side, I would ask the vet to take a look at her just to ensure there is no underlying medical condition contributing to her behavior, though I am sure she will be just fine. Golden’s do like poop and, given a chance, will happily roll around in it all day. The key is to find something she likes more, such as a favorite toy or an extra tasty treat.
In an earlier post, I mentioned that one of the best treats for even the most difficult to please dogs is pilchard (sardine) cake, though tuna cake and liver cake can be just as effective. You can make these at home, but they do stink. I have seen them on Ebay, so you could search and buy it ready made. Find what she cannot resist and use it to lure her away from the poop or to get her moving again.
Also, try and vary the walks. I know you mentioned there are only two or three places, but you can vary the route each time and change the day you go to each. It really can make a difference
Getting Lab Mix Into A Routine
24
Mar 2009
Tamara needs a little help settling her rescue Labrador mix into her routine:
“We recently(2 mos ago)adopted a 12 month old Lab mix from a neglect situation where he was crated 23 hours a day. Our dogs are routinely fed at 6:30 AM and again in the evening. This new dog begs to go out several times a night because he knows eventually after 1 of those trips out it will be breakfast time. We are getting up about 6 times a night to either let him out or give him attention. He sleeps with our daughters at night and we close their bedroom doors so that he can’t have free run of the house. How do we get him to sleep during the night and patiently wait until morning for breakfast? He was very thin when we took him and is gradually putting on weight. I am also concerned because I have never seen a dog eat as fast as this one. Thank you”
Time, patience and perseverance are the only real things needed here, Tamara.
It can take up to 12 months for a rescue dog to settle into new routines. The main thing you need to do is to not give in to his cries to be let out more than once through the night. One thing that may help is to have him sleep in a crate at night in your children’s room. Because he was used to being crated so long, it might give him the added security to help him settle overnight.
Once he realizes that he is always going to get fed at a certain time, he should be less frantic. making sure he gets plenty of exercise and mental stimulation will also help calm him down a little.
Category: Bad Behavior, General Advice
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Bull Mastiff Leash Training Problems
24
Mar 2009
Robert asked for help with leash training his Bull Mastiff:
“I have a 4 month old female bull mastiff i can not get her to walk with on a leash it ’s like a stand off she will just lay down i do not use a chocker i don’t thank it would help can you please give me some suggestion’s on how to do this so it’s not so painful on both of us thanks”
Try getting her to associate the leash with positive things. Have a selection of her favorite treats to hand. Lay the leash on the floor beside you and call her over to you. When she comes, give her a treat and let her go. Do this a few times, then try attaching the leash before treating. Take it off immediately and let her go. Again, repeat this a few times, gradually moving towards being able to hold the attached leash whilst standing up.
Once you have got her associating the leash with a treat, use the treat to lure her to walk beside or behind you while you hold the leash. Do this indoors at first then after you have got her happily following you around in the house, venture outdoors. Increase the time between treats and you will eventually find she walks along with you without needing them.
It looks like a time consuming job, but it should only take a day or two if she is receptive to the treats you offer. I have found that even ‘problem’ dogs can’t resist fishy treats like pilchard cake or tuna cake if you are stuck to find something she is prepared to accept the leash for.
Do You Have a Dog Training Question?
30
Dec 2008
Are you having trouble house training your dog? Perhaps you just got a puppy and need advice on the best way to socialise him. Never heard of clicker training and want to know what it entails? Whatever your dog training question, this is the best place to ask it!
You can submit your dog training questions by leaving a comment on this post (you need to provide your email address, but it will not be displayed or used – unfortunately, the old question page that didn’t require an email address had to be removed because a sp*mmer was making two or three posts advertising unsavory items. By using the wordpress comment form, Akistmet filters will make sure my readers are not subjected to it again). I will try to answer all of them either in the newsletter or publish them on the dog training answers pages. Even if I can’t give you an answer to your dog’s problem, I will be able to point you in the right direction so that you and your dog can get the best out of your relationship.
A quick note on Potty Training/House Training: Before posting a “new” question, please check it hasn’t already been answered before! For more advice, read this post first: Toilet Training Woes
I don’t routinely email people to let them know their question has been answered, but you can check on the latest answers or subscribe to the site RSS Feed to keep updated of new posts (I use Google reader to view mine)
Category: General Advice
19 Comments
Home Alone Labrador
16
Dec 2008
Cindy asked for advice regarding her Lab puppy:
“Hi, We have a 8 mos yellow lab. Sweet as can be when you are with her. SHe is outside alone 4 days a week. She has managed a couple of time to get inside the house while we are gone and wreaks havoc this time is was all the xmas decorations ..shredded. Other than the obvious of making sure she can’t get in, do you have any suggestions? My husband and I are thinking she is bored and may need a playmate. What are your thoughts?” more…
Category: General Advice
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New Puppy Dominant With Older Dog
28
Nov 2008
Sharon wrote:
“I have a pure breed Black Labrador, now 5 months old Mimi. I also have a Black/collie/Lab/Retriever mix 2 years old very sweet and passive,Suzy. The puppy Lab (Mimi) is now as big as the 2 yr. old Suzy and has become dominant over Suzy to a point she will not even let Suzy play ball. Although Suzy loves her company at times running in the yard, she often crouches and looks very unhappy. I am home all day with both and try to train Mimi but she is very defiant even with love training. I am worried my Suzy is no longer happy and thinking maybe I should find a home for the new puppy although I do love her. But she is making life very annoying, and soon she is going to be huge and I worry she may harm Suzy with her defiance. How do I train Mimi to stop jumping on me, and to listen to commands when she is always excitied? It’s as though she does not want me to love Suzy even though I give them both much attention. Mimi is really becoming a problem as I see Suzy crouching more and more and less playful. Mimi will not let Suzy play with any toys and snatches them from her immediately. Please give me some advice. I want them both to be happy. When Suzy is in the house alone with me, I play with her and she seems happy that she can play with her toys. When Mimi is with her, she crouches. thanks for help you can give.” more…
Category: Dog Obedience Training, General Advice
5 Comments