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Puppy updates....
My husband finally came up with a name I liked as well, his name is Chance.
Things are going well. I am yelping when he bites me and have a playdate planned for this weekend with a friend's dog so he can learn from another dog bite inhibition. I was originally trying to give him a toy instead of my arm to bite and discovered that was the wrong thing to do after reading on Cesar's Way website. Yelping seems to be working better than OW!
I am so proud of myself, last night when he was barking and crying because he was in his crate I didn't give in and bring him to snuggle in bed, I looked up everything I could and solved the problem and got him to stop and stay in his crate within a matter of minutes of trying the suggestions. I clapped loudly from where he couldn't see me whenever he barked. After a few times he stopped and went back to sleep.
He's certainly keeping us busy, thus no further pics quite yet. I will make sure to bring my camera to his playdate this weekend and get a bunch of pics to post.
My husband is going to go to the intro session on Tuesday at the AHS for their dog training program. I think that's where we'll take him for the time being, he can progress through the levels at his own pace and we get a little discount for adopting him from there. I also have everything I can by Cesar Millan on request from the library and have been reading his website and watching some youtube videos of him as well. I need to learn how to play fight now....
Thank you everyone for all of your help and tips and shared excitement for us!
Re: Puppy updates....
It all sounds great, BUT, the first thing I would do is return everything you have on Cesar Milan and forget you've ever heard of him. His techniques are quite outdated and come from a place of fear and domination. That is not how you want to train a dog! He is a professional who has perfected his own techniques but they can sometimes do more harm than good if an experienced person attempts them. If you get nothing else out of this paragraph please PLEASE do NOT ever alpha roll your dog. You're asking for trouble!
Check out videos of Victoria Stillwell (It's Me Or the Dog is her show). She uses positive reinforcement. http://positively.com/
Love the name Chance! He got a 2nd chance at life with you!! :-)
I find myself to not be a fan of Cesar Milan's way of 'training' - there is a youtube channel I subscribe to - I think her name is kikopup. She does clicker training. We are working at this - although it's US that needs training more than Chloe!
It's been hardest for Joe (my H)
Yelping when Chloe nipped us (as a puppy) and replacing our arm/foot/whatever she was biting with a toy helped in combination. That phase didn't last long. I found that it's best if you replace the item they are biting with something similar. Soft toys for pillows, nylabones for arms/fingers, etc.
Chloe used to whine and howl in the kennel, but as soon as we stopped paying attention to her (talking to her, letting her out) it pretty much stopped. At least at night. In the morning, when she's ready to get up, she's ready, and no amount of ignoring her will help.
Good luck and have fun!! Puppies are so much work... but so fun!
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There is lots of info out there. And I'm just one opinion. I actually got into a semi heated FB conversation once about Cesar (with someone who alpha rolls their dog....ugh). Some people will follow him to the grave.
There is a reason his show has a disclaimer.
I think, since there are so many other trainers out there, just skip Cesar so you don't have to "pick and choose" what techniques of his to use. Make it easier on yourself and your dog. :-)
eta: The Pets board has a great FAQ section!
http://sites.google.com/site/petsboardfaqs/home/training-and-behavior/tv-trainers-books-and-websites
eta: Why the "Dominance Theory" is outdated. Worth a read.
http://sites.google.com/site/petsboardfaqs/home/training-and-behavior/why-is-dominance-theory-outdated
Yes there is conflicting information out there on CM. We don't like him in our household. His stuff doesn't work with our dogs. It seems to make them worse.
We have found NILIF and clicker training to be life savers. M1 is a very strong willed, stubborn, and very smart dog. Last Thursday I taught her to shake in 30 minutes. Before that she would growl if I touched her paws (too much cutting the quick when she was little so she associates me touching her paws with lots of pain). She had been acting up, not listening to us for a few weeks so we upped the NILIF and she has completely settled down. It works really well.
NILIF and clicker training are really easy to use!
*M&M* Super Pitbulls
Glad I"m not crazy! I decided to teach Puckett to 'shake' just so he'd get less crazy about me touching his paws. He fought me like nothing else before when I'd try to clip his nails.
Akstanl- I read CM stuff every once in awhile, but I take it with a grain of salt. I think the general idea is the same as NILIF and other stuff. Basically... your dog needs to know you are the alpha. But the means of getting there are totally different. Like PP said. CM's stuff works well for him, but if you haven't been doing it forever, it's likely to do more harm than good.
Ok, and have you tried leaving a radio on for the puppy? (BTW, I love the name Chance!) We do that, or a fan and it helps a ton. But our apartment is right next to one of the main entrances for our building, so we wanted to mask all of the noises.
Eat.Drink.BeMarried. Blog.
This is one of CM's theories that I don't recall ever hearing a positive-reinforcement trainer ever use. Your dog knows he is a dog and you're a human - we need to give them a little credit. It's not at ALL about being "alpha". You want your dog to respect you and not fear you.
I agree with the PP who suggested NILIF. We use it at our house with great success.
I can't wait to start puppy school and training!
Thanks again everyone! Much appreciated!
ETA: NM I followed Kiz's link and found what I needed...
I didn't say 'being alpha' was the only thing that matters. But, really... it all comes down to making sure your dog knows you're the leader. You're the head of the pack. Isn't that what alpha means?
The first NILIF link I found (http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm) says the exact same thing. If you're making them do things in order for them to get food, aren't you in control? You're controlling the resources, therefore you're the alpha of your 'pack.' I never said they have to fear you, either. In fact, I said that CM and NILIF are looking for the same results, but the means of getting there are totally different. I.e. one through positive reinforcement, one not as much.
Eat.Drink.BeMarried. Blog.