Dog Training and Behavior

[EverythingDucks]

Labradoodles can be quite a handful. Smart and energetic. They need mental and physical exercise. A lot of people just get them because they're cool, or cute, but don't realize how much work and time and effort you have to put into training. Once you train they do great. They're just the sweetest things.

I have a Maltipoo that is very smart. Responds to commands quickly and even learns tricks all by him self. I always said 'gotta go Teddy' whenever I got up when he was sitting in my lap and quite quickly he learned that when I said that I was getting up. Now if I say that he jumps up immediately.
He's also learned 'gettem'. When we see a squirrel we'd say 'go get that squirrel, gettem!' and he'd go chasing after them barking. Now if we say 'go gettem' he barks at whatever we point at. He also stops on command.
Personally, I like having my dogs alert me when someones at the door or someones working in the yard. If someone were to try and break in or something I don't want them to stay quite. Which is why I don't say 'no'. But, I don't want them to keep barking their faces off.
So, what I do is say 'hush', then 'sit', then reward. If I didn't say 'sit' it would be like rewarding them for barking. But, 'sit' is an easy command that I can reward them for. Now when they bark I tell them 'hush' they stop barking, and most of the time they sit without me even saying to.

 

[Teneniel]

Asking for takers, do you mean you’re offering advice? My trainer is closed during the pandemic because of increased hours at her vet tech job and I have some things to work out:

1. Our dog was a Freedom Ride rescue. She took a 5 day ride from Texas to Washington and is now terrified of car rides. Shaking, panting, doesn’t matter how long the ride or what the destination, she hates it. we live on a busy county road so this makes walking a challenge. We’d asked to be matched with a hiking dog. I want to work with her on this phobia but don’t know how to break down the tiny steps.

2. Same thing but with baths.

anyone have any tips?

 

[EverythingDucks]

Asking for takers, do you mean you’re offering advice? My trainer is closed during the pandemic because of increased hours at her vet tech job and I have some things to work out:

1. Our dog was a Freedom Ride rescue. She took a 5 day ride from Texas to Washington and is now terrified of car rides. Shaking, panting, doesn’t matter how long the ride or what the destination, she hates it. we live on a busy county road so this makes walking a challenge. We’d asked to be matched with a hiking dog. I want to work with her on this phobia but don’t know how to break down the tiny steps.

2. Same thing but with baths.

anyone have any tips?

Are they're any nearby places she likes to go to? Like, a park or a pet store she gets toys and treats at?

Taking very short rides to fun places will put a positive meaning with it.

Don't coddle her in the car or it will be like rewarding her for being scared.

Bring treats and toys she likes. The higher value the better.

Keep calm. They can sense how your feeling. If your happy and content so will she.

Start small. First get her in the car with toys and treats. Keep it short and fun. It only has to be for a minute or two. She'll associate the car with treats and toys and fun.

Do this multiple times and a day if you can.

Once she get used to it more you can just drive down your street and come right back. Follow the rest of the steps above.

Do this multiple times a week.

Over time you can make the trips longer. Take her to fun places but keep the ride short and fun.

And be patient. Patience is key. Don't rush it or be disappointed if she's still freaked out after doing this for some time.
Hope this helps

 

[ShrekDawg]

Asking for takers, do you mean you’re offering advice? My trainer is closed during the pandemic because of increased hours at her vet tech job and I have some things to work out:

1. Our dog was a Freedom Ride rescue. She took a 5 day ride from Texas to Washington and is now terrified of car rides. Shaking, panting, doesn’t matter how long the ride or what the destination, she hates it. we live on a busy county road so this makes walking a challenge. We’d asked to be matched with a hiking dog. I want to work with her on this phobia but don’t know how to break down the tiny steps.

2. Same thing but with baths.

anyone have any tips?

How long have you had her? It might just take some time. One of my brother’s dogs used to be the same way. Terrified of everything. Just such a scared and anxious dog. And he used to get extremely car sick and anxious in the car. Whenever a big truck or anything drove by on a walk, he’d jump away. When you walked near the cars he would get scared because he thought he was going for a ride. Just so anxious. But then he actually eventually just kinda grew out of it.

We worked with him a little bit, took him places, exposed him, etc. but a lot of it was just time. They also have a mountain cabin thing about 5 hours away they used to go to a lot so he just had to get used to cars too haha I think for him having a confident doggy sibling really helped too. And now having two siblings ha he was and still is a lot more confident with them and he bonded immediately to her.

I know this probably isn’t very helpful but I just wanted to say that sometimes they grow out of it the more confident they get. He was on a truck too. Also a rescue. You can try giving treats whenever they’re in the car or bath or you can even break it down further and reward them just for going near the car or near that room, whatever distance they don’t freak out at, and slowly move closer.

It may also help to just do some general confidence building games and exercises too rather than just specific socialization. If she’s more confident, she should be less anxious. Lots of exercise can help with some of the anxiousness too, believe it or not. But for confidence building there’s lots of stuff online about it but clicker training is good for that and nose work/scent game type things are actually really good for that too as is trick training and even agility. You might try some of these things and see if it helps.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Are they're any nearby places she likes to go to? Like, a park or a pet store she gets toys and treats at?

Taking very short rides to fun places will put a positive meaning with it.

Don't coddle her in the car or it will be luke stewarding her for being scared.

Bring treats and toys she likes. The higher value the better.

Keep calm. They can sense how your feeling. If your happy and content so will she.

Start small. First get her in the car with toys and treats. Keep it short and fun
It only has to be for a minute or two. She'll associate the car with treats and toys and fun.

Do this multiple times and a day is you can.

Once she get used to it more you can just drive down your street and come right back. Follow the rest of the steps above.

Do this multiple times a week.

Over time you can make the trips longer. Take her to fun places but keep the ride short and fun.

And be patient. Patience is key. Don't rush it or be disappointed if she's still freaked out after doing this for some time.
Hope this helps

This is all really good advice!

 

[CharcoalDragon]

I’ve done some of this stuff with them before but not in a while haha I might try it again but I don’t really see them that much and they’re a lot better now but like you said, they do all feed on each other haha that’s why we’ve started ignoring them when we come in and they calm down a lot faster. But they’re way calmer now than they were when they were younger. They’ve really gotten pretty good and they wait at the door, wait for food, wait when we release one from the crate, go in their beds, etc. so they’re pretty good with the impulses thing now. They still sometimes get excited on walks though but they’re mostly good. I think Libby would need it more because she does still sometimes act puppy like and get hyped but she’s like 80 pounds so it’s dangerous and she’s also fixated on the chickens when she comes by whereas the other two got the hint pretty quickly when I told them to leave it. She just doesn’t hear me. But that and me coming over are really the only time she gets super hyped now. They’ve worked hard on getting her to ignore people and dogs on walks so she does that easily now. It’s just when she sees like a fox/wildlife or the chickens or me, certain situations. But they all used to be crazy and not listen and stuff cause they’d get so wound up playing but they’ve all gotten a lot better and listen really well now for the most part. Just Libby is a bit goofy and puppy like sometimes hahah I think cause of her breed mix I think I might try working on some of this stuff next time I’m there.

Yup, we work hard on impulse control, there's always new levels to aspire to. I basically drill it, to the point where she won't take off after the multitude of rabbits that are always hanging around. There have been more than a few times where the rabbit bolts five feet in front of her and she stops herself before she gets more than four feet away from me. It happens so fast, that I don't have time to say anything, she just comes right back to me. She doesn't even move if the prey item is more than ten feet away. Prior to all her training it had been a real problem with chasing ducks, lizards, chipmunks, etc. Damn huskies with their prey drive. We practice constantly- I don't want her to hurt herself or anyone else (who might be walking her for us), especially if the rabbit takes off into the street.
We're also working on boundary training (she's not allowed to leave the sidewalk unless in a 'heel'), and holding food items in her mouth until the 'okay'-to-eat cue is given. I also started working on leaving food alone if they're on surfaces, if it's on the table, countertop, ottoman, or coffeetable, it's not hers. We normally keep a clean, temptation-free house, I'm just planning ahead for an accident, or a guest 'oopies'.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Yup, we work hard on impulse control, there's always new levels to aspire to. I basically drill it, to the point where she won't take off after the multitude of rabbits that are always hanging around. There have been more than a few times where the rabbit bolts five feet in front of her and she stops herself before she gets more than four feet away from me. It happens so fast, that I don't have time to say anything, she just comes right back to me. She doesn't even move if the prey item is more than ten feet away. Prior to all her training it had been a real problem with chasing ducks, lizards, chipmunks, etc. Damn huskies with their prey drive. We practice constantly- I don't want her to hurt herself or anyone else (who might be walking her for us), especially if the rabbit takes off into the street.
We're also working on boundary training (she's not allowed to leave the sidewalk unless in a 'heel'), and holding food items in her mouth until the 'okay'-to-eat cue is given. I also started working on leaving food alone if they're on surfaces, if it's on the table, countertop, ottoman, or coffeetable, it's not hers. We normally keep a clean, temptation-free house, I'm just planning ahead for an accident, or a guest 'oopies'.

Yeah, they don’t really like ever actually “train” anymore, like actual training sessions, just cause they’re so busy and with 3 dogs it’s harder, plus they’re pretty good now, but they used to and they’re also quite strict with them (but not in like a mean way or anything) so for them they learned the rules and what’s allowed and not allowed right away and the resident dogs have always taught the new ones and fosters haha so like for them they know they’re not allowed to eat any food but their own or chew on stuff or anything. For as crazy as they can be when excited, they have very good house manners and don’t touch anything that’s not theirs or bug anyone or anything like that. They mostly just go lay down unless somebody actually wants to interact with them haha they’re very good like that. The newest one did have some issues with chewing shoes and eating things so he’s now crated when they leave haha Frank’s big thing was eating paper/cardboard type stuff. But he’s good now and I’m sure Ike will be too eventually. Franklin has a very strong prey drive and he used to run ahead on walks, like to the end of his leash. He’s run ahead a bit and then freeze. And then run ahead and freeze again haha he used to fixate in everything. Birds, chipmunks, squirrels, etc. but they’ve worked a lot with him and he’s gotten better. Libby wa the first and had tons of individual training and also went to “school” so she’s very good on the leash. She had a brief period where she kind of “forgot” her manners when they got Frank and they both would pull hard but she’s better now. And doesn’t care about turkeys or anything really. Both of them even occasionally go off leash in the neighborhood and they stick right by their side. It’s weird. Franklin is almost better off leash haha he sticks right next to them. And they also hike and stuff so they’re pretty good. Their big thing is prey animals and getting over excited occasionally but their house manners are good and they won’t steal food or beg or anything or go on furniture uninvited. Well, except Ike does all that still he’s a bit of a trouble maker LOL but a total cutie! He also is a bit more of a barker. The other two learned barking isn’t okay either and rarely do now unless there’s like coyotes or something hah Ike on the other hand he is also a crotch puncher. I say puncher not sniffer because he just shoves his nose right in there he’s getting better with that.

 

[CharcoalDragon]

Asking for takers, do you mean you’re offering advice? My trainer is closed during the pandemic because of increased hours at her vet tech job and I have some things to work out:

1. Our dog was a Freedom Ride rescue. She took a 5 day ride from Texas to Washington and is now terrified of car rides. Shaking, panting, doesn’t matter how long the ride or what the destination, she hates it. we live on a busy county road so this makes walking a challenge. We’d asked to be matched with a hiking dog. I want to work with her on this phobia but don’t know how to break down the tiny steps.

2. Same thing but with baths.

anyone have any tips?

I would go even slower than previously suggested if she's anything like how our rescue was.

If she thought we were going to get in the car, she would start to balk, panting and drooling included. We would start to walk towards the car, and when we could tell she was starting to get nervous, we'd back up a few feet and sit down with her. Treats, praise, and play/toys. She would occasionally look at the car nervously, but would then be distracted by how much FUN we were being. Her nervousness slowly shrank over the week and we were able to move closer and closer to the car without panic. Then we would turn the car on before taking her out, and repeat the whole thing. The engine noise didn't seem to bother her as much as 'the physical presence of the car', so we breezed through that pretty quickly.
Next, we started laying hand on the car door, then worked on opening the door, and leading her away. (Just because we opened the door, doesn't mean she had to get in). Keeping it easy, keeping it fun, moving at HER pace. If we moved too fast, we backed up and went back to what we were working on before. If she acted like "psh, I got this!" we moved a bit faster.
Here are some baby steps I would recommend mastering before taking trips in the car to fun places:

1. Being near the car
2. Being near the car (engine on)
3. Being near the car while the engine is suddenly turned on
4. Touching the door (engine off)
5. Opening the door (without asking her to get in, engine off)
6. Opening the door and letting her sniff inside
7. Putting front paws on the seat
8. Opening doors on both sides and having her jump in (encourage her to jump out the other side
9. Open the door and ask her to jump in, and then out (same side)
10. Open doors on both sides and ask her to wait for XX seconds inside the car before jumping out
11. Open one door and ask her to wait XX seconds inside the car before jumping out
12. Having the engine on in steps 5-11
13. Having her jump in the car, shut the door then open it
14. Having her jump in the car, shut the door, wait XX seconds, then open it
15. Having the engine on in steps 13 & 14
16. Have her jump in the car, back the car out of the parking space (less than the length of the car), then let her jump out
17. Load her in the car, back the car out of the space, then pull back in
18. Start taking short (only a minute or two) drives, always return home

This is all dependent on the dog, break it down to as many steps as your pup needs. If it's boring- you're probably doing it right. Forcing the dog to be in a situation they're not comfortable in, in order to face their fears is called "flooding", and will not be helpful. The key is to counter-condition so that the dog has a positive baby-steps experience with the trigger to build confidence.

Our pup is our hiking buddy, and 95%+ of the time, we aren't going to the groomers or the vet's. We meet friends, go play with friends dogs, go to restaurants/breweries, hike, or run errands. She doesn't LOVE the car, but she's no longer scared of it.

 

[Teneniel]

I would go even slower than previously suggested if she's anything like how our rescue was.

If she thought we were going to get in the car, she would start to balk, panting and drooling included. We would start to walk towards the car, and when we could tell she was starting to get nervous, we'd back up a few feet and sit down with her. Treats, praise, and play/toys. She would occasionally look at the car nervously, but would then be distracted by how much FUN we were being. Her nervousness slowly shrank over the week and we were able to move closer and closer to the car without panic. Then we would turn the car on before taking her out, and repeat the whole thing. The engine noise didn't seem to bother her as much as 'the physical presence of the car', so we breezed through that pretty quickly.
Next, we started laying hand on the car door, then worked on opening the door, and leading her away. (Just because we opened the door, doesn't mean she had to get in). Keeping it easy, keeping it fun, moving at HER pace. If we moved too fast, we backed up and went back to what we were working on before. If she acted like "psh, I got this!" we moved a bit faster.
Here are some baby steps I would recommend mastering before taking trips in the car to fun places:

1. Being near the car
2. Being near the car (engine on)
3. Being near the car while the engine is suddenly turned on
4. Touching the door (engine off)
5. Opening the door (without asking her to get in, engine off)
6. Opening the door and letting her sniff inside
7. Putting front paws on the seat
8. Opening doors on both sides and having her jump in (encourage her to jump out the other side
9. Open the door and ask her to jump in, and then out (same side)
10. Open doors on both sides and ask her to wait for XX seconds inside the car before jumping out
11. Open one door and ask her to wait XX seconds inside the car before jumping out
12. Having the engine on in steps 5-11
13. Having her jump in the car, shut the door then open it
14. Having her jump in the car, shut the door, wait XX seconds, then open it
15. Having the engine on in steps 13 & 14
16. Have her jump in the car, back the car out of the parking space (less than the length of the car), then let her jump out
17. Load her in the car, back the car out of the space, then pull back in
18. Start taking short (only a minute or two) drives, always return home

This is all dependent on the dog, break it down to as many steps as your pup needs. If it's boring- you're probably doing it right. Forcing the dog to be in a situation they're not comfortable in, in order to face their fears is called "flooding", and will not be helpful. The key is to counter-condition so that the dog has a positive baby-steps experience with the trigger to build confidence.

Our pup is our hiking buddy, and 95%+ of the time, we aren't going to the groomers or the vet's. We meet friends, go play with friends dogs, go to restaurants/breweries, hike, or run errands. She doesn't LOVE the car, but she's no longer scared of it.

This is PERFECT thank you! And moving to the fun rides after getting her acclimated to the car will work really nicely.

Yeah... when we got her she was terrified of every single thing. Within a week she trusted us but any time something changed she’d bolt to her crate and huddle.

now we’ve had her for a year, she’s about 18 months old. She’s almost *too* confident. The trainer said she was incredibly smart (I was like oh NOOOOO ) and she’s fairly food driven, but only if she’s not nervous. As soon as she’s even a little nervous she doesn’t want food, toys, pets, nothing. She just shuts down. We have to lift her into the car if forced to go somewhere, and she’ll huddle and shake the whole time.

thank you so much, all. I was stuck and this helped so mich

 

[Noellereagan]

I will bite. I love dogs almost as much as my human family. Always have. I am an animal lover in general. Chickens were a surprise though because I always wanted some but poultry and fowls of the air were a foreign language of sorts when it came to handling. back to the canine world. I believe the why is the first name of the game and consistently gets the game won for the human so that both have successfully happy lives together. They why lets the dog enjoy himself while he is being Man’s best friend in my way of thinking mostly. I have gotten into very heated debates on here with a few folks who do not understand why they cannot own certain breeds or dogs and expect them to leave their chickens alone and not kill them. I am out of steam on that and will not burn my brain calories on that again. Stupid is as stupid does. Poor chickens and poor dogs.

I agree. Sounds like you’re well versed on this topic, Which Is why I’m going to ask your input on something related. Our old girl is on her last legs. Not sure how long she has but she is wheelchair bound. Once I feel she is suffering, I will make the hard call, but for now she is happy and gets around just fine with help. She is a German Shepard. We had her before birds. She wasn’t always good with the birds and killed a few at first. I was so upset. But we took proper precautions from there and now she couldn’t catch one if she tried. Point being, once she crosses the rainbow bridge we’ll be in the market for a new furry family member. What do you suggest not only as a compatible dog with birds but as the best inherent flock guardian? I know any dog of any breed needs training but where’s a good place to start? We now have quite the flock of very rare, very valuable birds. They don’t free range unless we’re right there but in a perfect world, it would be amazing to have a dog that could “birdsit”. Of course, I know that would always be a gamble and probably not the best idea. But I’m a perfect world, what breed would you choose in that situation? Some people have said the heeler, aussie, Border collie family but I always thought those were more for cattle, goats, sheep, ect. I’ve actually seen competitions where these breeds get pretty aggressive with their nipping on large animals like cattle. I know it boils down to training and time but I was wondering if anyone has had success with dogs like this as flock guardians? I once read about a breed that was a very large (white dog I think) that typically doesn’t like to much human interaction but loves to stay with their flock. Does anyone know what this may be? We’re set up in a way where we could make a dog like this very happy. And what about a rescue? I’m not sure if I have the patience for a pup anymore. But with that, I fear inheriting someone else’s problems or them hurting or killing birds while learning. But I suppose if you don’t exercise caution that can happen with any dog at any time. I guess I’m just looking for the best idea for the best breed for the situation. And thoughts on a pup verses an older dog.