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Official puppy/dog training thread!!

iamme

iamme

Lifer
i noticed lots of members getting new puppies, so i thought i'd start a puppy training thread. maybe some seasoned veterans can offer us puppy n00bs some advice.

we just got a 2 month old puppy and we're trying to crate train her. she yelps and cries at night and it's so dang loud. i've been trying to take her for a walk/run before bed to tire her out, which seems to help, but she will still bark if she hears the slightest sound at night. it seems that she just hates to be by herself. any tips on this? will she stop as she gets used to everything?

also, are we supposed to feed her in her cage as well?
 
We never fed our dog in the crate. the crate was just for sleeping and for staying in when we were out of the house. Also don't ever use the crate as punishment for doing something bad. That defeats the whole purpose. The crate is supposed to be a safe haven for them to feel secure in. If you use it for punishment and then make her sleep there every night, you're basically punishing her every night for no reason.

Can give her some toys and such in there but no need to feed her in there unless you really want to or unless you're feeding her and then leaving. COuld put water in there though if you'll be gone for a while, but that will just make her have to pee which means she'll probably wet in the crate since she can't get out.

Could always put the crate in the bedroom with you as a trial. Sometimes just being close is all they need.

If anyone is in SE WI, here's where we went for training and it was great:
http://www.dogclass.com/

They do have books and videos available as well for anyone interested.
 
Is the crate an open cage type? If so, drape some blankets over it. It will dampen the sound that is bothering the dog and will make it feel safer for him.

Every dog has to adjust when they join a new pack. This will involve any number of behaviors such as barking when kept in a crate. Make the crate as pleasant as possible and do not let him out because he is being needy. If it is walk time for food time, by all means heed his wishes, but neediness is not a good behavior to reward.
 
hmm....i was wondering about putting a blanket over the cage, but wasn't sure if that was good or bad. obviously not cutting off all air with the blanket.
 
Originally posted by: iamme
hmm....i was wondering about putting a blanket over the cage, but wasn't sure if that was good or bad. obviously not cutting off all air with the blanket.
Click to expand...

Yeah, a blanket will help some. It will help them feel more secure to have the sides of the cage closed off from view.

Do not feed a dog in its cage. Also, never give a dog a treat or a piece of food while it is laying in its favorite spot or loafing around the house. Make the dog come to you or forfeit the treat. If you don't do this, the dog will establish dominance with you... similar to how you would feel like a king/queen if someone brough you breakfast in bed everyday.

My mom teaches a lot of classes on dog training/behavior, so I know a bunch of this stuff.

If anyone is in or around Springboro, Ohio, and looking for dog training, drop by the "Animal Medical Center" on Central/73 and ask for Connie. 😉 </plug>
 
Originally posted by: iamme
hmm....i was wondering about putting a blanket over the cage, but wasn't sure if that was good or bad. obviously not cutting off all air with the blanket.
Click to expand...

I think thta's what we did. Our crate was a big cage type that was collapsable. We put some blankers over it on the sides and top but left the front open. You don' thave to worry about air as air will go through the blankets just fine. but when it's darker they can feel more comfortable.
 
I use one of the plastic type crates for my golden pup. I got it from my folks, but she'll need a new one soon.

From what i've read, if you have the wire mesh type, it is a good idea to drape a blanket across and night, but leave one side open. Essentially this is how the plastic crate is.

What kind of puppy do you have? My buddy just got a mini daschound pup and she apparently barks and whines all night, but my golden is just about as quiet as it gets. I think one thing is that when she start making noise and whining don't immediatly go to her or she'll learn that being obnoixious will get her what she wants.

Finally, not only do you not wnat to give her food for overnight, but you don't want her to have water for a couple hours before bedtime. Part of crate training is that by nature they do not want ot soil their "den" but they also don't have absolute control over their bladders, so you're putting them in a bind by giving them water but then no way to urinate without soiling, so go ahead and take her water away at 8 oclock or whenever....you're not going to be harming her. (also- you probably don't want to have food available all the time anway for a couple reasons:1. you want to establish a potty schedule so she doens't eat and go whenever 2. you want to monitor exactly how much she eats and 3. to plan for the future when she's older and u dont want to be able to eat herself overweight.

ALl of the above information is from what i've read regarding Golden Retrievers. I am by NO means an expert and am just trying to relay some of what i've read. This is my first puppy too! 🙂 hopefully we can all help each other with the info. Good thread, OP!
 
thanks for the tip about the blanket guys.

our puppy has been good about peeing and pooping outside. we've been taking it out regularly and she hasn't had any accidents in a while.

limiting her food and water before bedtime is pretty much just like when kids are potty training 🙂
 
I have to stress the point someone else made about not disciplining the dog via the crate ... my parents did that and their dog hates the crate. My dog, on the other hand, although he doesn't often use his own anymore (too damn big to fit into the kitchen!), goes into it without pause every time.

We were also fortunate in the fact that our dog doesn't bark much at all (Rottweiler/Black Lab/German Sheperd sh!t mix), especially at night. Give him/her as much exercise as possible, and they'll get over the night yelps ... they're just missing their warm siblings.
 
Originally posted by: iamme
i noticed lots of members getting new puppies, so i thought i'd start a puppy training thread. maybe some seasoned veterans can offer us puppy n00bs some advice.

we just got a 2 month old puppy and we're trying to crate train her. she yelps and cries at night and it's so dang loud. i've been trying to take her for a walk/run before bed to tire her out, which seems to help, but she will still bark if she hears the slightest sound at night. it seems that she just hates to be by herself. any tips on this? will she stop as she gets used to everything?

also, are we supposed to feed her in her cage as well?
Click to expand...

..I had a Yorkie pup for awhile and had the same prob. So I put a mechanical clock in the crate under the beding. And she stoped crying at night. The loud mechanical ticking seemd to sooth her and put her to sleep. The clock I used was one of theose AA battery jobbies..you can hear the thing ticking from across the room when it's quiet.

 
Originally posted by: IGBT
Originally posted by: iamme
i noticed lots of members getting new puppies, so i thought i'd start a puppy training thread. maybe some seasoned veterans can offer us puppy n00bs some advice.

we just got a 2 month old puppy and we're trying to crate train her. she yelps and cries at night and it's so dang loud. i've been trying to take her for a walk/run before bed to tire her out, which seems to help, but she will still bark if she hears the slightest sound at night. it seems that she just hates to be by herself. any tips on this? will she stop as she gets used to everything?

also, are we supposed to feed her in her cage as well?
Click to expand...

..I had a Yorkie pup for awhile and had the same prob. So I put a mechanical clock in the crate under the beding. And she stoped crying at night. The loud mechanical ticking seemd to sooth her and put her to sleep. The clock I used was one of theose AA battery jobbies..you can hear the thing ticking from across the room when it's quiet.
Click to expand...

interesting....i'll give that a try. did you put the clock near her just at night or all day?
 
why not just get a nice bed for the dog? regardless, dont abuse the crate.

my friend has two little dogs she raised in crates, and they are annoying as fack. we also adopted a dog (a little over a year old) 9mos ago, hogan, and he has taken a lot of training to get to be as well behaved as our other dog weve had since a puppy that grew up "free range" out in the yard. in both instances, these dogs were put into the crate while the owners were out of the house so they wouldnt destroy anything. theyre puppies, they will find a way to eat your socks and toilet paper, crate or no.

i gave away the crate when we first got our second dog. if i have to worry about a dog destroying my home, i dont need that dog. he ate some stuff, sure, but now hes trained and we have no worries, other than him jumping the fence when we arent looking.....

dogs are roaming animals with territory. when you confine them to a relatively small space, they cant roam and guard their territory, and it facks with their heads and make them scatter brained. im no expert, tho.
 
IMHO...based on training 2 guide dog puppies, and 2 or 3 of my own...

Crate training for sure. But, never, EVER use it for punishment. You want the dog to LIKE his crate. If used for punishment, it wont. Here's how to start him using it...start with puppy and you and crate in your bedroom preferrably. Have a few treats. Open the crate door, and show the puppy a treat, but dont give it to puppy. Then, "lure" puppy into the crate with the treat. As soon as puppy is in crate, PRAISE IT FRANTICALLY! Get alllll excited and give it a treat. Let puppy come out right away. Do this over and over, until he stays in for 5 or 6 minutes, eventually closing the door of the crate (with you in the room). After 2 or 3 of these training sessions, he should go into his crate willingly. Always, ALWAYS use the same command. I use "Get into your bed". My puppy stopped crying his 2nd night, and never cries in his crate now (he's 4 months). Also make sure there is only enough room for puppy and his bed in the crate. You dont want enough room for him to go potty in his bed. This will also help in potty training him. Also, dont feed him in his crate. By my 2nd week, my puppy will stay in his crate for 7 or 8 hours evernight, and while Im at work without crying or peeing/pooping. Just make sure you give him INCENTIVE to get into his bed!

More later. I will write about stopping biting, chewing on furniture, potty training, and barking later.
 
we've had the puppy for 5 days and it still cries loudly when she's in the cage.

i've put blankets on the sides and top, and put a ticking clock next to her cage. she's not really frantic to get out, but she'll just sit there yelping and barking, trying to draw attention, i suppose. we try really, really hard to just ignore her when she does this.

as of now, she's in her cage for a good part of the day. she's out when we feed her, take her out to pee/poop, take her out for walks, and for short periods of time to play with her inside the house.

i've been doing my best to lure her in the cage with treats, rather than just tossing her in there. she's usually fine until she sees us leave the room...then she'll start barking. after about 5-10minutes she'll usually stop.

btw, she chewed on my laptop's AC adaptor 🙁 i just noticed because when i plugged it in today, it started to smoke! :Q
 
Originally posted by: iamme
we've had the puppy for 5 days and it still cries loudly when she's in the cage.

i've put blankets on the sides and top, and put a ticking clock next to her cage. she's not really frantic to get out, but she'll just sit there yelping and barking, trying to draw attention, i suppose. we try really, really hard to just ignore her when she does this.

Yes. You just have to ignore her. Then praise her when she is quiet. A puppy must learn the quiet xommand 🙂

as of now, she's in her cage for a good part of the day. she's out when we feed her, take her out to pee/poop, take her out for walks, and for short periods of time to play with her inside the house.

i've been doing my best to lure her in the cage with treats, rather than just tossing her in there. she's usually fine until she sees us leave the room...then she'll start barking. after about 5-10minutes she'll usually stop.

Eventually she wont bark at all.

btw, she chewed on my laptop's AC adaptor 🙁 i just noticed because when i plugged it in today, it started to smoke! :Q
Click to expand...


HAHA classic! Make sure you also get bitter spray to spray on things she isnt supposed to chew 🙂 If you see her chewing on something of yours, grab her toy, tell her no, then give her the toy. Then praise her for having her toy 🙂 Eventually she will learn oohhh daddy likes me when I have my toy! She's prance around you saying LOOK! LOOK AT ME! I HAVE MY TOY! LOL it's quite humorous when they finally get it 🙂
 
Potty Training:

At first you will need to paper train puppy. They can only hold their bladder for an hour or two. If you havent started paper training, your puppy will already have a favorite spot (most likely). Put the paper there. I use "puppy pads" from Petsmart and put paper on top of them to use a couple times 🙂 Make sure you rub some old pee into the new pad to scent it, so puppy knows THAT is where pee and poop goes. At first you may need to start in a large, puppy proof room. Again, you will notice puppy will start having a favorite place. You will slowly remove pads/paper, one by one, till you have only one or two pads for puppy to use. 99% of the time they will always use it. I have a hand held rug steamer for "accidents". Well worth it IMHO.

The next thing is pooping. Puppies like to eat poop 🙁 The reason is, there is usually undigested food in the poop, and they want to eat it. The proper way to cure poop eating (coprophagy) takes a few tries, but it must be done for puppy's and your health. First, there are additives for puppy food that will make his poop unpleasant to him (like it wasnt already! YUCK!). I dont like that method personally. I use Tabasco 🙂 When puppy poops, IMMEDIATELY coat the poop with Tabasco and leave it there. Puppy will try and lick it and YOWWWWIE! After puppy tries a couple times, he/she will leave it alone. Then you can pick it up. You have to be CONSISTANT with this for it to work!

The main thing about potty training, especially if puppy is 8 months or younger, is NEVER leave puppy unattended! The key times to remember to take puppy out is after a meal, after a nap, and after a hard play time. Their bladder will need to be emptied. If you just take puppy out after those times, he/she will start learning fairly quickly. Remember when puppy is doing his business, say "GO POTTY!" over and over and over again. Be enthusiastic AFTERWARDS and give a treat! That way, your dog will learn to "go on command" when it is full grown 🙂 Also remember rubbing puppy noses in poop or urine DOES NOTHING! Dont do it! If you see puppy START to go somewhere other than his/her paper, say NO! STERNLY and immediatley pick puppy up and put him/her on his paper. Then reward it when it goes there instead.

Thats all for now 🙂
 
Originally posted by: GrantMeThePower
I use one of the plastic type crates for my golden pup. I got it from my folks, but she'll need a new one soon.

From what i've read, if you have the wire mesh type, it is a good idea to drape a blanket across and night, but leave one side open. Essentially this is how the plastic crate is.

What kind of puppy do you have? My buddy just got a mini daschound pup and she apparently barks and whines all night, but my golden is just about as quiet as it gets. I think one thing is that when she start making noise and whining don't immediatly go to her or she'll learn that being obnoixious will get her what she wants.

Finally, not only do you not wnat to give her food for overnight, but you don't want her to have water for a couple hours before bedtime. Part of crate training is that by nature they do not want ot soil their "den" but they also don't have absolute control over their bladders, so you're putting them in a bind by giving them water but then no way to urinate without soiling, so go ahead and take her water away at 8 oclock or whenever....you're not going to be harming her. (also- you probably don't want to have food available all the time anway for a couple reasons:1. you want to establish a potty schedule so she doens't eat and go whenever 2. you want to monitor exactly how much she eats and 3. to plan for the future when she's older and u dont want to be able to eat herself overweight.

ALl of the above information is from what i've read regarding Golden Retrievers. I am by NO means an expert and am just trying to relay some of what i've read. This is my first puppy too! 🙂 hopefully we can all help each other with the info. Good thread, OP!
Click to expand...

QFT. This applies to ALL puppies 🙂 Very good advice.

 
Maybe I'm missing something, but why would you put your dog in a crate? Poor thing probably hates you already.

 
Originally posted by: iamme

as of now, she's in her cage for a good part of the day. she's out when we feed her, take her out to pee/poop, take her out for walks, and for short periods of time to play with her inside the house.
Click to expand...

I am anti-crate but that still sounds like you are keeping it in the crate way way too much.
 
How big is the crate? And is it covered? It can't be too big, and it should be covered... so if it's a wired crate, put a blanket or large towel over it. If it feels like a cave to her, and is cozy, then she'll feel much more comfortable.

You can also toss in a worn shirt of yours... your scent will be reassuring for her. Also, you should do every fun or good thing with her in the crate. If you're going to feed her, feed her in the crate. When she gets a new toy or treat like a bone, introduce it to her with her in her crate. Eventually she'll associate the crate as her own place, and she'll come to love it. My dog use to HATE the crate too.. she use to cry all the time, then eventually she loved it. When my nieces and nephews came over, and she got tired of them, she would escape into the crate. When i had to take her crate apart to clean it once, she went wild and started barking at me.
 
Originally posted by: iamme
as of now, she's in her cage for a good part of the day. she's out when we feed her, take her out to pee/poop, take her out for walks, and for short periods of time to play with her inside the house.
Click to expand...

Why is she in the crate so much? If you're at work, then that's understandable. But if you're home, you should let her out.
 
Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
Originally posted by: iamme

as of now, she's in her cage for a good part of the day. she's out when we feed her, take her out to pee/poop, take her out for walks, and for short periods of time to play with her inside the house.
Click to expand...

I am anti-crate but that still sounds like you are keeping it in the crate way way too much.
Click to expand...

All of my parents' dogs have been crated, and I agree-- the crate should only be closed at night (in the beginning-- after your puppy is better trained, you can leave the crate open all night) and if you're at work (also just in the beginning).
 
oh, i think i misinterpreted the crate training.....i thought it was supposed to stay in there early on as a puppy to make it understand that it's his home 😱

so basically, i should only be locking up the cage at night and when no one's home? the rest of the day, let it roam around the house, then? of course taking it out for exercise and bathroom breaks.
 
Crate training is the most humane wat to not only train, but keep a dog. Dogs are pack animals. Pack animals, by nature, want their own "cubby" or den to go to. A crate accomplishes it. NOT having a crate is cruel.
 
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