orloffer's Spoo Puppy thread! 🐩

[orloffer]

We have a Spoo. Marcella is a lovely, boisterous 2 yo apricot. We had hoped to have a litter from her one day, but unfortunately, genetic testing didn't come out perfect, so she'll be getting spayed soon. I'm still waiting for her to grow up enough to settle down, but as of now, she still goes everywhere at a flying gallop, gets into EVERYTHING and has the attention span of a gnat. We love her though, she is a sweetheart. Absolutely the doggiest dog we've ever had - she chews shoes, the works.

Ooh, another spoo owner! Marcella sounds like quiet a handful, but a really great dog! I'm sorry the genetic testing didn't go as you had hoped. Got any pictures? I'd love to see her!

 

[orloffer]

Tessa did really well at our relatives' house. Their dog Jax stayed calm (we didn't let him go too close to her), and so did she. She slept the majority of the time. She didn't throw up in the car (yay!) but she throw up outside in their yard because it was too hot. We let her go into the house after that, and she slept in a crate.

But since she slept all that time...now she is really boisterous and active, and she was jumping up on me and barking and chewing on everything in sight. I know it's not going to get better as she gets older...

Her harness arrived yesterday! I can get her to put her head through the loop to get a treat, but once I get the whole thing on her she grabs it in her mouth and tries to bite/pull it. Same with the leash. When I connect the leash onto the harness she grabs it in her mouth. I have tried getting her to "trade" for treats but it doesn't always work and after she is done chewing she grabs it again. Should I just let her bite the harness and leash for a while and hope she eventually gets bored, or should I try something else? I haven't used either for actual walking or going outside yet.

 

[black_cat]

Tessa did really well at our relatives' house. Their dog Jax stayed calm (we didn't let him go too close to her), and so did she. She slept the majority of the time. She didn't throw up in the car (yay!) but she throw up outside in their yard because it was too hot. We let her go into the house after that, and she slept in a crate.

But since she slept all that time...now she is really boisterous and active, and she was jumping up on me and barking and chewing on everything in sight. I know it's not going to get better as she gets older...

Whatever you do, DO NOT reinforce jumping with attention. If she jumps on you, turn your back (it usually works best if you take a strong pose, like legs planted and crossed arms) and ignore her until she has 10 seconds of all feet on the ground. Then give attention. Same with barking. If she's barking, do the same things until you have 10 seconds of no bark.

Her harness arrived yesterday! I can get her to put her head through the loop to get a treat, but once I get the whole thing on her she grabs it in her mouth and tries to bite/pull it.

Is this a Y front harness? is it front led or back led?

 

[black_cat]

(we didn't let him go too close to her)

Why not?
Next time, if you're seeing a dog that you KNOW has all of it's shots and isn't sick with anything, let them interact!! She's in the prime socialization window right now. Bring her as many places as possible, ring the doorbell, use all of your appliances (blenders, etc) slam doors, tote bag her around, etc.

 

[orloffer]

Whatever you do, DO NOT reinforce jumping with attention. If she jumps on you, turn your back (it usually works best if you take a strong pose, like legs planted and crossed arms) and ignore her until she has 10 seconds of all feet on the ground. Then give attention. Same with barking. If she's barking, do the same things until you have 10 seconds of no bark.

Is this a Y front harness? is it front led or back led?

I try not to give her attention for jumping, but I will make sure to wait longer before giving her attention. With barking it is a bit more difficult because typically if we ignore her barking it escalates, and at this stage 10 seconds of silence seems a bit unreasonable. Also sometimes the barking means she has to go outside, so if I wait too long trying to get her to be quiet the result wouldn't be good.

Yes, it is a Y front harness, and I believe it can be front led or back led. I would use it back led to try to minimize leash biting.

 

[chickentrains]

why 10 seconds?

ignore her til she quiets down and then say good girl and move on. You don't have to wait for 10 seconds of silent.

 

[orloffer]

Why not?
Next time, if you're seeing a dog that you KNOW has all of it's shots and isn't sick with anything, let them interact!! She's in the prime socialization window right now. Bring her as many places as possible, ring the doorbell, use all of your appliances (blenders, etc) slam doors, tote bag her around, etc.

Jax is immunocompromised because he is on several medicines, and his vet doesn't want him to interact with other dogs until his medicine is reduced and he regains some of his normal energy.

We want to take Tessa on walks in a dog bike trailer/stroller, but she still isn't comfortable going into the stroller and having it move. Plus she would have to be on a harness connected to the inside of the stroller. I know she is in the prime socialization window though. Should we just go for it, or spend more time getting her comfortable with the harness and stroller? I am afraid she will bite her harness while in the stroller.

 

[orloffer]

why 10 seconds?

ignore her til she quiets down and then say good girl and move on. You don't have to wait for 10 seconds of silent.

Okay!

 

[black_cat]

I try not to give her attention for jumping, but I will make sure to wait longer before giving her attention.

Try to actively take away attention by turning your back, as opposed to just ignoring it.

With barking it is a bit more difficult because typically if we ignore her barking it escalates, and at this stage 10 seconds of silence seems a bit unreasonable. Also sometimes the barking means she has to go outside, so if I wait too long trying to get her to be quiet the result wouldn't be good.

Do you want her to bark to signal that she has to go outside?

Yes, it is a Y front harness, and I believe it can be front led or back led. I would use it back led to try to minimize leash biting.

I'd just deal with getting it on, and then use the back led attach thing. Finn still bites his a bit going on and off, but is getting better. He doesn't bite the leash if it's not hanging in front of his face (he doesn't bite the leash at all, now, but when he was first learning). If she's actually turning around to bite it, I'd hold a toy or something that she'll focus on at your side. This doubles as encouragement for pleasant walking.

 

[black_cat]

why 10 seconds?

ignore her til she quiets down and then say good girl and move on. You don't have to wait for 10 seconds of silent.

From everything that I've read, if you don't wait for 10 seconds (some places say five) you're rewarding the barking and not the quiet. That's what we do with Finn (he's had issues with barking in his crate, and when he's waiting for something like a meal and getting frustrated) and it's been helping calm the barking a lot.