# If you could change just one thing....



## Locket (Jun 21, 2009)

I wish I had been more vigilant with Smiley when he first came to my house as a foster. I had never had a dog who marked in the house before, so I never even thought of it, but he got his chance, and it was a struggle to break him of this habit, and I still don't completely trust him. I hate crating him during the day, and wish I could just let him free roam around the house. 

If I had caught him lifting his leg the first time, I don't know what I would have done, probably yelled and scared the heck out of him. Not sure if that would've worked though...


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Locket house soiling is really tough. I am sorry you feel you can't trust Smiley to be out of his crate when you aren't home. I know you have done lots to give him a great life since he came to you.

Have you thought about totally retraining his house breaking like he was a puppy? Use the crate when you can't watch him. Leash him to you when you can keep him close to you but have other things to do. If you catch him in the act scoop him up and get him out the door. Get pottying on command.

I am sure you have thoroughly cleaned any places he has marked, but maybe you want to double check with a UV lamp that you haven't missed any splatter.

If all else fails maybe you can train him to use a potty patch since he is small. I could see the use in that technique for a small dog. I hope that some of these suggestions may work out for you since for me (unless the dog was old or sick and couldn't help it) peeing and pooing in the house would be a deal breaker.

I know a family who now has four dogs. Two larger older lab mixes, a mini doxie and now a puppy designer dog. The doxie is not house broken, but is three years old. He is confined to the kitchen and rugs have had to be replaced. They seem to think that working on house breaking the puppy will give them a do over with the doxie. I just hope it doesn't back fire on them and give them a puppy that won't learn to potty properly. The last time I spoke to them I was told that the puppy was peeing all over the kitchen floor right along side the doxie! I wouldn't want to live like that.


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

Lily cd re, I can totally relate about the counter surfing. I too have been trained, in contrast to teaching the poodles not to. I tried everything you mentioned, plus balancing noisy pans on the edge that fell off when the dogs sniffed there, Frank's red hot sauce on the edge of the counter, and the dogs have NEVER been allowed to even sniff the counter since they were puppies. They don't care! They check out the counter every single day multiple times (like just now actually!). We ALWAYS run over and say "No!" So really I don't think I could have done any more that way. However one thing I wish I hadn't been so strict about was trying to socialize Indy. She's the best dog, so calm and responsible, a bit protective, and thoughtful. But she just doesn't really like other dogs, unless they're of that calm, kind type of temperament you run into occasionally. Anyway when she was young I tried to force her to get to know other dogs and she got so stressed out, poor thing! She HATED doggy daycare. She's okay being boarded because she has her own space. But now that I know she just gets stressed out by other dogs, I'm more accepting of her little quirk. Some people are shy, too, why not dogs. Anyway about the toilet training, what if you pretended the dog was a small puppy and just started over from square one? If you took some days off and took the dog out every half hour, treat him when he goes, etc. They can ALL learn anything, is my philosophy; it's just finding the circumstances to make them want to. I suppose if I hid in the kitchen for a week with one of those canned air devices and startled my dogs every time they counter surfed, that might work too. But in this case I find myself thinking....ahhhh. Maybe I'll just keep a super clean kitchen instead


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Indiana said:


> Lily cd re, I can totally relate about the counter surfing. I too have been trained, in contrast to teaching the poodles not to. I tried everything you mentioned, plus balancing noisy pans on the edge that fell off when the dogs sniffed there, Frank's red hot sauce on the edge of the counter, and the dogs have NEVER been allowed to even sniff the counter since they were puppies. They don't care! They check out the counter every single day multiple times (like just now actually!). We ALWAYS run over and say "No!" So really I don't think I could have done any more that way. However one thing I wish I hadn't been so strict about was trying to socialize Indy. *She's the best dog, so calm and responsible, a bit protective, and thoughtful. But she just doesn't really like other dogs, unless they're of that calm, kind type of temperament you run into occasionally. Anyway when she was young I tried to force her to get to know other dogs and she got so stressed out, poor thing!* She HATED doggy daycare. She's okay being boarded because she has her own space. But now that I know she just gets stressed out by other dogs, I'm more accepting of her little quirk. Some people are shy, too, why not dogs. Anyway about the toilet training, what if you pretended the dog was a small puppy and just started over from square one? If you took some days off and took the dog out every half hour, treat him when he goes, etc. They can ALL learn anything, is my philosophy; it's just finding the circumstances to make them want to. I suppose if I hid in the kitchen for a week with one of those canned air devices and startled my dogs every time they counter surfed, that might work too. But in this case I find myself thinking....ahhhh. Maybe I'll just keep a super clean kitchen instead


I forgot about the hot sauce. We tried that too along with booby traps that would fall over on her but Lily has just kept surfing, so clean counters it is. I am glad you have made peace with Indy's feeling about other dogs. I hate it when I see people trying to make their dogs into something they really don't want to be. I agree some of us are shy, some of us aren't athletes, etc. It is sad to me when I see stressed out dogs heeling around an obedience ring like they are on the way to the shelter or when people think that their agility dog who took off and did the zoomies around the ring because they are exploding with stress is having a blast.

I hope that Locket may be able to make progress on the marking in the house from Smiley by trying some of our ideas. I agree she should start by going back to square one.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I wish I had encouraged Sophy's playful side more when she was a pup, and started clicker training and shaping with her straight away. I was never harsh with her, but somehow training, even with treats and other rewards, became serious rather than a game, and I am aware that it has left her a bit anxious about understanding the rules instead of throwing herself into it for fun. And even more I regret the times I didn't listen to her, especially when she told me she did not like jumping - it turns out she probably had very good reasons for resisting and found jumping uncomfortable if not painful...


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## Shamrockmommy (Aug 16, 2013)

I'd change Jack being afraid of everything. Although, that said, he's made great progress with that, so he's getting there!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Well, I really should be doing more separation anxiety training with Timi, but it is tough because I want her to be a really good go everywhere dog, possibly a service dog, so that training takes precedence....


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

fjm you can always invent new games that don't have anything but silly rules to try to reduce Sophy's anxiety over what the rules are. Also I agree with you that it is important to listen to what our dogs are trying to tell us, whether it be Sophy telling you jumping wasn't fun because it hurt or Indy telling her mom that she really just wanted to be a shy stay at home girl rather than the doggie day care's life of the party. I have tried hard to understand Peeves and his stresses and have decided only to do rally with him and only at venues where I know he will be comfortable.

Shamrockmommy I am sorry Jack has fears you have to work through but it is great that you are seeing progress. If you ever hit a roadblock on this PM me and I will try to give you some ideas based on some of what I do with Peeves.

Tiny Poodles, you do have a bit of a conundrum with trying to balance separation anxiety and the bomb proof go anywhere service dog you are looking to Timi to become. Maybe you can work on separation anxiety issues at home by leaving for short periods, but staying near the door and listening for quiet and going back to reward short periods of calm separation.

Don't forget folks I hope we can use this as a "pay it forward" opportunity. If you post about something you would change you should also try to offer a suggestion to someone else who had a problem you might know how to help with. It may not fix things for that person but hopefully will help others avoid our past "mistakes."


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## Carolinek (Apr 2, 2014)

I have two things- I wish I did better with Mistys housebreaking. She is my hav mix. She was a year old when I fostered her, and had three homes already- and was clueless about where to go to the bathroom. In fact, she acted like the great outdoors was a very strange thing. 

After several months, I thought I got her to a point where she was good, and was leaving her out of the crate when I left, but then it was a pile here, a couple puddles there, and I had to go back to crating her. She would go weeks without an accident and then there would be a string of them. 

She is fine when we are home, and we're home a lot, but I feel bad crating her when we do leave. She's fine at night too. No pertinent health issues. I wonder if it's a seperation thing. 

I'm home for the summer now so maybe I'll get her to a point by the end where she is OK. I wonder if I gave her freedom too soon...and then it was a busy time for me when she backslid, so I didn't get on it as soon as I should have. I may just have to resign myself to the fact that she always has to be in a crate when we leave. 

And the second thing- I wish I got Lily ( my poodle mix who is a whole lot of poodle!) involved in agility sooner. She took a beginning class 2 years ago but I didn't keep it up. Recently I found a great place that works with my schedule, and it's indoors! And she loves it- they asked if she was a "ringer" ...that's how much she has taken to it!


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

I wish I had considered a work around for picking up Sunny instead of him flying from Minot, ND to Minneapolis and my flying there to drive him back to Chicago. Although a short flight, everything went wrong and it took a toll on him. After picking him up in MN at Delta cargo, we also had a 9 hour drive home and he was like a deer in the headlights, hardly moving on my lap and not even making eye contact until almost home. Missteps at the airport--being moved to another flight, heat by the time he landed (was supposed to be on an early flight but then was rescheduled), and the crate having flipped over in flight and being delayed an hour on a people mover riding around the airport with that loud obnoxious siren sounds they make. I really wish.......

I think if that had not happened, it would have been much easier for him since he was 3, too. He can still get jumpy around really loud noises, so I would love to have changed that. That's why I would never ship a dog again -- even though I know many breeders do regularly (as does his), and most are fine, this was the exception and if I could have a "do over" I would!

Thank goodness he made it ok, and we are doing fine now, but...


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## hopetocurl (Jan 8, 2014)

Well, I have had Willow a month now... I wish the bell training was going better. I am still working on it...


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## Specman (Jun 14, 2012)

Lily, great idea! I love the advice I get from this forum. I tried to post and had issues logging in and will try later when I am more rested.


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

Ok since I have two poodles, I will report on the second one too! I wish I had known what having a drivey poodle like Maddy would be like. I thought (and you all can laugh at me here) since I am a runner, that any poodles I could buy would get enough exercise running a sedate 5 k with me every day, or every other day, and a 10 k on the weekends. Oh how very wrong I was! Besides, it's not that she needs that much exercise, she finds running kind of boring. For a while I thought she was excellent on a leash, but really she's just not into it, lol. She really craves challenges. I wish I could go back 2 and a half years and tell myself, there's nothing wrong with her, just because she's into everything constantly while her sister is happy chewing on a toy! She's just the smartest little whip you ever will meet, but she's a bright, sparkly, outgoing little girl who needs to use her great big brain every day. Also, I would have put her straight into baby obedience lessons, pre-RallyO and pre-agility, but only with tons of treats, praise and no pressure...oh and I would have bought her 3 sheep so she could learn to herd. Unlike her reserved and serious sister Indy, there is not an animal or person alive that Maddy doesn't love. She LOVED doggy daycare, and they all loved her; she loved her dog walker and her dog walker's 3 blue heelers (who are just a little bit bossy aka nippy). She loves the horses, and she loves the new puppy Aria. Anyway, I'm mad at myself for not appreciating her earlier on...I thought she had ADHD or that she totally disrespected me (well that could have been a tiny bit right) but she's only 3, I can still redeem myself now that I finally understand her. She's probably cost me $1000's in the things she's destroyed, but she's kind of the love of my life, that little stinker.


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## cindyreef (Sep 28, 2012)

I wish I had done some leash training when he was a puppy. It's really a lot harder to control his pulling now at 70 lbs. He gets too excited when we go for walks. My own fault. I have to get at it and get at it more often!


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## Manxcat (May 6, 2013)

I wish I'd got a cat instead...

No, only kind of kidding. I wish I had done more research before we got Pippin so we were better prepared mentally for the challenge of puppyhood. The books we did read gave some conflicting information and also kind of left me feeling it was all joy and fun - it was flippin' hard work!! 

The one thing I really dislike about Pippin is her propensity to snap. She comes and snuggles into the side of me, but if I happen to touch her when she's relaxed she will turn around and snap, then gets distressed and cries which makes me think she doesn't mean it viciously. She only ever does it with me occasionally, but with hubby more often. She never did it as a puppy, it's something that has come on over the last year. And it doesn't happen all the time.

It's taken me a while to recognise the warning signs of lip curling, but it breaks my heart that she feels either threatened or scared or cross enough to do this. She's never been harshly treated, is absolutely fine with other people, but it means when she snuggles into me I'm sometimes a bit on edge. Maybe I didn't cuddle her enough when she was a puppy, or maybe she's just a git, I don't know but I wish I could go back and start from scratch with her.

When it's walkies time in the morning (with hubby usually) she goes on the back of the sofa and won't come off without a treat - if you approach her to put the lead on she goes ape... Then she will get off the sofa and come down and all will be fine, or he just goes out without her. It's becoming a habit with her, and somewhere in her little woolly brain she's decided that being called to come out for a walk is a bad thing - but only in the morning!! All other walks are absolutely fine, she's at the back door raring to go... :shrug:..

I don't want to give the impression she's a nasty dog - she absolutely is not! Just sometimes... Maybe it is a respect thing? She's too damned clever for us, that's for sure! But we've noticed things so much since Pushkin came as he is such a love bug and absolutely adores being stroked at all times, so it's a joy to have him wedged in.

Oh, and I wish I'd found Poodle Forum _before _we got her, or at least when she was still little!!


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## Manxcat (May 6, 2013)

cindyreef said:


> I wish I had done some leash training when he was a puppy. It's really a lot harder to control his pulling now at 70 lbs. He gets too excited when we go for walks. My own fault. I have to get at it and get at it more often!


There is so little I can offer to "pay it forward" with advice, so this one is maybe my attempt!

Get a halti and start from scratch... I only say this as a friend has a BC who is equally a problem (adopted) and she's doing really well with it! Start in the garden or somewhere where it's not exciting.


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## Carolinek (Apr 2, 2014)

At Indiana- boy can I relate to that energy level! I am constantly saying that Lily would have made a great running partner.....for someone who runs. We walk a lot but she could go forever. At 4 and 1/2, she has the energy of a six month old pup! I love her personality, but my house does only have room for one Lily- all 13 lbs of her:act-up: 
But I have never laughed at a dog the way I laugh at her- she is almost like a little cartoon character sometimes. She is smart as a whip too. I bought some of those "smart toys"- the ones where they have to figure out how to get the treat. Well, it kept the others busy but she had it figured out in about 10 seconds:alberteinstein: and then opened up Max's when he got bored and walked away!

Boy 5 and 10k- that's wonderful!


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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

There are two things I would change about Penny, one I think will come with consistency and time, the other, not so much. The first is focus. She is well focused on me when we're in the house but out of the house everything and I mean everything has her attention. Leaves blowing across the yard, birds flying, birds in the bushes, birds in the grass, squirrels where ever they are, branches moving with the breeze, people, other dogs. None of this stuff scares her, nothing does, she wants to chase or play. I'm guessing a pretty high prey drive here. Just a guess though since I'm no expert. This makes it very difficult to train or teach her stuff outside of the house. You should see puppy training class. All she wants to do is play with the other dogs. With just a basic sit command it takes a while just to get her attention and when she finally sits she turns around to sit so she can see the other dogs. All the other dogs are sitting looking at their owner. Penny is sitting on my feet so she knows I'm there but facing the other dogs. Kinda frustrating but kinda funny at the same time. But again, in the house she's gold. Comes when called, sits immediately, lays down beautifully. I think with some age and consistency on my part she'll grow out of the "exuberance" of puppyhood.

The other is she hates the car. I'm working on it with desensitizing her to it but I don't think she'll ever love the car. I think at most she'll just put up with it.

Rick


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Manxcat said:


> I wish I'd got a cat instead...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I just love your sense of humor!
If it was me, I would put Pippin on a basic, Nothing in life is free program. I just would not tolerate a dog of mine showing a hint of aggression towards me. For example, the second that she curled a lip at me, I would instantly scoop up her but, and plant her behind on the floor. Then, I would practice some basic obedience training with her (it does not have to be complicated, even if she just knows sit, I would have her do sit 15 times), and then, only if I saw the complete change of attitude that I would expect from the exercise, I would invite her back up for a snuggle. I would make sure that I was the one to end the snuggle session, and I would do so by placing her down on the floor. 


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

PoodleRick said:


> There are two things I would change about Penny, one I think will come with consistency and time, the other, not so much. The first is focus. She is well focused on me when we're in the house but out of the house everything and I mean everything has her attention. Leaves blowing across the yard, birds flying, birds in the bushes, birds in the grass, squirrels where ever they are, branches moving with the breeze, people, other dogs. None of this stuff scares her, nothing does, she wants to chase or play. I'm guessing a pretty high prey drive here. Just a guess though since I'm no expert. This makes it very difficult to train or teach her stuff outside of the house. You should see puppy training class. All she wants to do is play with the other dogs. With just a basic sit command it takes a while just to get her attention and when she finally sits she turns around to sit so she can see the other dogs. All the other dogs are sitting looking at their owner. Penny is sitting on my feet so she knows I'm there but facing the other dogs. Kinda frustrating but kinda funny at the same time. But again, in the house she's gold. Comes when called, sits immediately, lays down beautifully. I think with some age and consistency on my part she'll grow out of the "exuberance" of puppyhood.
> 
> The other is she hates the car. I'm working on it with desensitizing her to it but I don't think she'll ever love the car. I think at most she'll just put up with it.
> 
> Rick



Rick,I think that you need to tape some bacon to your face and work on eye contact training outside!
Only slightly exaggerating here 


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## Feelingdoc (Feb 18, 2014)

I love this post...I can relate to many of the issues you face. One suggestion for pulling on a walk, which when walking 2spoos seemed hard for me was changing to a harness/and different leash. I now have better control and they can't pull...making walking much more pleasant for all of us. 

I wish I had a better solution for my female's "aggressive" behavior. I have clients in and out all day - My dogs rarely move from their bed except to greet or to appropriately offer sympathy. However, if I leave the room to grab some water or make a photocopy...My female is all up in my clients face demanding attention. she could be sound asleep when I leave...I have tried to tell my client if she does this to firmly push her down and say NO but dog people encourage her...and non dog people are intimidated by her. My solution has been to take her with me when I leave the room but have not been successful at changing the behavior.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Manxcat I agree with Tiny Poodles about nothing in life is free. You should have great success getting this "pushiness/cranky" behavior under control. Don't wait, do it starting today. 

For those who have complained about leash manners, in addition to changing collars or harnesses, I used the you pull, we turn around concept. In other words I set the pac and direction not you. I have posted more detail about this else where so I won't rehash it here.

For those with high prey drive dogs (Maddy, Lily, Penny) it is a blessing and a curse. Your dogs need mental exercise at least as much as physical exercise. A couple of you made that point yourselves. Rick once you get better attention out of Penny (and it will come) remember to keep up the mental games. I always found Lily did better training outside if we played ball first to burn off some of the wild energy.

Feelingdoc can you work on having your girl's stay command duration increased? Maybe if you put her on a down stay facing away from the person you are leaving her with she would be less temped to break. I would also recruit your dog loving clients to help. Tell them that they should order her back to the stay if she breaks and that they have to make her stay for let's say 30 seconds before they can release her to give a greeting.


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## Lily's-Mom (May 31, 2012)

Lily is really such a wonderful dog, but the one thing that I wish we would have worked on when she came to live with us is the jumping. She is so excited about someone coming into the house, she jumps on them- family, visitors, doesn't matter, she wants to say hello. We tried a few things and then slacked off. My husband wasn't very consistent with training and he's the one she's usually jumping on.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Lily's Mom get back on that training. Be consistent you can make it happen. It sounds like you know exactly what you need to do.


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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

Tiny Poodles said:


> Rick,I think that you need to tape some bacon to your face and work on eye contact training outside!
> Only slightly exaggerating here
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


That's not far from the truth. Our trainer, Steve at the ZommRoom, has us doing a focus exercise. My command is "watch me" and I draw her attention with a treat and move the treat right in front of my eye. We're starting off slow so if she looks at me and holds the look for 3 seconds then I give her the treat. When she's consistent at 3 seconds then we move to 5 seconds and so forth. Hope it works.

Rick


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## cliffdweller (Jan 31, 2011)

I empathize with all who have incorrigible counter-surfers. Rain was a year old when she came to live with me --- she was up on the counter within a day. I do not have a solution to offer beyond clean counters ...

@ Rick :


> She is well focused on me when we're in the house but out of the house everything and I mean everything has her attention.


 I'm probably going to get into trouble with this ... I would back off on formal training outside, make it a game, and let her explore her world as much as you can (don't take this away from her; what a glorious thing to have a young dog with boundless curiosity about her world and to watch her develop all her senses). I admit, this has the potential to make for a more unruly dog, full with life though ...



> ... she hates the car.


The first few times I took Rain on the boat, she was sea sick; it was a major operation to get her _on_ the boat. She hated it. My Dad commented that she would never be a "boat dog". A few trips to the beach, the fun she has there, cured this. Now, when she sees me getting the boat ready, she fusses and can't wait to get aboard. Getting her off the beach to head for home is another story ...


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Nu2Poodles I do agree with you about Rick not worrying too much about training Penny outside yet. He needs to do as he is to get really good attention from her with low distractions. Later on her curiosity about things will be an asset to him.

I also think that once she matures a little he will find that she will not be so stressed about the car. Like Rain and the boat, once Lily figured out that she loved what happened when she was let out of the car she loved getting into it. When she was young I had to pick her up and put her in the car, now she flies in on her own.


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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

nu2poodles said:


> I empathize with all who have incorrigible counter-surfers. Rain was a year old when she came to live with me --- she was up on the counter within a day. I do not have a solution to offer beyond clean counters ...
> 
> @ Rick :
> 
> ...


Oh yeah, I definitely don't want to crush her spirit. I'm a live and let live kinda guy. Once she calms down a bit on our long walks she is better so we work on sitting when we stop, walking on my left and as always work on healing which in general is going pretty good. I'm getting better at knowing her threshold for distractions and not doing any training when she's gone over it. And only training when I have her attention even if there are some minor distractions off in the distance. As for the car I do, at this point, only take her to fun places. Picking up my son a high school and let her out and his friends play, pet and treat her or tho the ZoomRoom. She loves it there. Or just a super short trip around the block to let her know she won't die if she gets in the car . Sometime she's ok in the car. Other times it looks like it rained on the backseat there's so much drool. Poor baby.

Rick


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Manxcat - I would first check for any pain issues (knowing you this has already been done!), and then teach a budge over warning. I have found my small dogs respond much better when they have some warning of what I am about to do, whether it is a request to them to move over, a warning that I am about to stand up and they need to move their tails, or a gesture to tell Sophy that I am about to pick her up. I used a few treats and lots of praise, but I think the real reward for them is feeling more in control of what happens around them.

Rick - Sophy was horribly carsick for what felt like months. I desensitised and counter conditioned, which did help, but it was the canvas car crate that made the biggest difference. The car is still not her favourite thing, but she likes the comfort of the crate and is much, much more relaxed than she used to be. As we have discussed before, I also changed my driving style, and avoid twisty roads when she is with me! I too would ease off training a little and let Penny have fun out and about - I wish I had done so with Sophy. I think she would enjoy training more now if I had. Not that she is miserable about it, just not exuberant in the way Poppy is!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

PoodleRick said:


> That's not far from the truth. Our trainer, Steve at the ZommRoom, has us doing a focus exercise. My command is "watch me" and I draw her attention with a treat and move the treat right in front of my eye. We're starting off slow so if she looks at me and holds the look for 3 seconds then I give her the treat. When she's consistent at 3 seconds then we move to 5 seconds and so forth. Hope it works.
> 
> 
> 
> Rick



I know, we r doing the same thing in Timi's class, I was just remembering you post titled "hil the power of bacon" lol!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Baby steps for baby dogs!


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## Specman (Jun 14, 2012)

Liljaker,
Don’t be too hard on yourself. I will relate my story of picking up Max from the breeder. I too wanted to avoid air travel and wanted to get some measure or the dog so I made the 8 hour drive from Chicago to Minneapolis to get Max from the breeder's house. Max seemed to be a bouncy, well-adjusted dog when we met him. His mother was sweet and his dad was friendly and enthusiastic so after the transaction we were out the door. It was very sad when his mom tried to block our path as we were leaving.

At the first potty break in the middle of nowhere, Max tried to pull out of his collar and run away. Very scary! We put Max in his crate as he was crate trained by the breeder and at the second potty break he tried to dash out of his crate and bit my wife when she grabbed him. The rest of the trip was uneventful but he was very shy and reserved when we got home and would have nothing to do with my son.

He was six months old when we picked him up and was living with his mother, father, two siblings, and a litter of puppies that he provided cared for. I think that any time you take an older dog away from his family it can have an effect depending on the nature of the dog.

He can be a little reactive which may be a result of early socialization, trauma from being relocated or it just may be his nature but, at two and half years old is now a great dog and totally devoted to me and being a poodle is not like any other dog that has been part of my family!.


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## Pamela (Sep 9, 2008)

I wish I would have gotten Gingers fears and anxiety under control as a puppy. Her barking is a result of this - unfotuneately she still has a problem barking when anyone goes by the house or if she sees a chipmunk etc. She drives me crazy. I think its part of her "they're coming to get us" fear. She did have a trainer at 6 months for 6 weeks but barking would have been another lesson and I should have done it! I have tried everything with her - she is absolutely obsessed by anyone going by - its terrible. I have to retstrain her and keep saying no and enough but her mind is still on the people going by and I can't distract her with anything! So that is what i wish I could change.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Pamela, have you read Turig Rugaas' booklet Barking: the sound of a language? I found it very helpful, particularly the idea of getting up to look at whatever is triggering the barking and showing that you are not bothered by it. My two will quickly stop now if I demonstrate that yes, I have looked, and yes, I do know what they are telling me about, and it is nothing we need to worry about (but thank you for the warning). Unfortunately saying it all while sitting in my chair staring at a computer screen is less effective...! A good recall has helped, too, as it gets them away from the worrying door or window.


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## Manxcat (May 6, 2013)

fjm said:


> Pamela, have you read Turig Rugaas' booklet Barking: the sound of a language? I found it very helpful, particularly the idea of getting up to look at whatever is triggering the barking and showing that you are not bothered by it. My two will quickly stop now if I demonstrate that yes, I have looked, and yes, I do know what they are telling me about, and it is nothing we need to worry about (but thank you for the warning). Unfortunately saying it all while sitting in my chair staring at a computer screen is less effective...! A good recall has helped, too, as it gets them away from the worrying door or window.


That's what we do with ours - acknowledge they're barking at "something" (although Pushkin barks because Pippin is...) then we just say "oh yes it's (whatever) and it's fine". And they settle down. Even dimbo Pushkin is getting the idea!


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## Pamela (Sep 9, 2008)

fjm said:


> Pamela, have you read Turig Rugaas' booklet Barking: the sound of a language? I found it very helpful, particularly the idea of getting up to look at whatever is triggering the barking and showing that you are not bothered by it. My two will quickly stop now if I demonstrate that yes, I have looked, and yes, I do know what they are telling me about, and it is nothing we need to worry about (but thank you for the warning). Unfortunately saying it all while sitting in my chair staring at a computer screen is less effective...! A good recall has helped, too, as it gets them away from the worrying door or window.


I havent read the book - will look for it - but I have tried that too - she is just so focused that I can hardly make her look away.


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## Pamela (Sep 9, 2008)

Tiny Poodles said:


> I know, we r doing the same thing in Timi's class, I was just remembering you post titled "hil the power of bacon" lol!
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


do you think that might work with a nine yr old? Ill try anything lol:afraid:


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Pamela said:


> do you think that might work with a nine yr old? Ill try anything lol:afraid:



I bet it would work with any dog that likes food lol!


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

cindyreef said:


> I wish I had done some leash training when he was a puppy. It's really a lot harder to control his pulling now at 70 lbs. He gets too excited when we go for walks. My own fault. I have to get at it and get at it more often!


I've taken so many obedience lessons with the poodles, and before that with a border collie and a pitbull that we had. The instructors always taught us this thing (and forgive me if you already know this) where you walk with the dog on your left and a treat in your left hand above their nose. Walk briskly and give them tiny bits of the treat as you walk. I thought, ohhhhh, you have no concept of the pulling power in my pitbull's neck! But my goodness, it worked! It worked on all our other dogs too! We had to do lots of practice sessions and in increasingly distracting situations. I would never have believed it worked before it actually did. Maybe that will help you too?!


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## Locket (Jun 21, 2009)

Thanks for the advice re: marking in the house. Smiley has improved TONS in the last while, I can't even remember when he last marked (at least a month ago), which is HUGE considering he would mark practically every other day in the beginning!!

What worked for us was knowing where he was at all times, and keeping him within sight. After a while, we let him have more freedom. Right now, when we are home and awake, he can go wherever he wants. If we are home, but sleeping, he is in our room with us. If we are out, he is crated. The next step I'm hoping to take is giving him the kitchen when we are out, and maybe eventually, the main floor and upstairs...we shall see.


PoodleRick - Don't give up hope with Penny's anxiety in the car. Matrix was an AWFUL drooler in the car (we're talking bucket loads), and I think a combination of lots of fun car rides and growing out of it made him stop. 
He gets anxious if we make a pit stop, but otherwise, he's good as gold.


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## bookwormjane (Dec 18, 2011)

The one thing I'd change about Daphne is her barking. It's not incessant or anything, but compared to the greyhounds, she's very reactive in her barking. Noises outside might incite immediate barking without any investigation.

If she starts barking, I know it's probably nothing. If her middle brother starts to bark… well maybe it's something. If the oldest brother starts to bark, i pay attention, though if often turns out to be a strange cat on the front lawn.

Mainly, she is a joy to live with. I never thought I'd get a poodle, but now I couldn't live without her.


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## cindyreef (Sep 28, 2012)

Indiana said:


> I've taken so many obedience lessons with the poodles, and before that with a border collie and a pitbull that we had. The instructors always taught us this thing (and forgive me if you already know this) where you walk with the dog on your left and a treat in your left hand above their nose. Walk briskly and give them tiny bits of the treat as you walk. I thought, ohhhhh, you have no concept of the pulling power in my pitbull's neck! But my goodness, it worked! It worked on all our other dogs too! We had to do lots of practice sessions and in increasingly distracting situations. I would never have believed it worked before it actually did. Maybe that will help you too?!


I did not know this. I will try it. Thks


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## cindyreef (Sep 28, 2012)

Manxcat said:


> There is so little I can offer to "pay it forward" with advice, so this one is maybe my attempt!
> 
> Get a halti and start from scratch... I only say this as a friend has a BC who is equally a problem (adopted) and she's doing really well with it! Start in the garden or somewhere where it's not exciting.



I think I have one of those! I'm notorious for buying stuff and thinking it will work magic on the shelf.  So its time to try it. Thks


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

cindyreef if you want later to be able to fade using the halti, put it on your dog without hooking it up and take walks as you are doing now for a couple of weeks. After your dog comes to view the halti as a "nothing" put it on along with a new and strongly scented collar and hook up the halti. Your dog will associate the action of the halti with that new smelly collar, not the halti, then you will be able to get rid of it later if you want. That was a tip from the Ian Dunbar workshop I went to back in early May.


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## cindyreef (Sep 28, 2012)

Thks lily cd re. That makes total sense. I was a little worried about the transition Forgive me do you mean just a new collar that would have a new smell to him or is there such a thing as a "strongly scented" collar?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Just a new collar that you put some sort of scent on. Ian suggested a leather collar with mink oil on it.


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## pandj (Jun 12, 2013)

I got Jolie at 10 months. She is my first Poodle. I would have put her into puppy class right away! My Bichons have just loved every dog they have ever seen. Not so with Jolie.

Although she lived very happily with her Bichon family she is really not a fan of strange dogs. She is fine if they are respectful but has no patience if they are rude.

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## Locket (Jun 21, 2009)

pandj said:


> I got Jolie at 10 months. She is my first Poodle. I would have put her into puppy class right away! My Bichons have just loved every dog they have ever seen. Not so with Jolie.
> 
> Although she lived very happily with her Bichon family she is really not a fan of strange dogs. She is fine if they are respectful but has no patience if they are rude.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I find a lot of poodles aren't very tolerant of rude behaviour, but give fair corrections. And to be honest, I don't really blame them! 
As long as my dog can learn to ignore others and remove himself from an uncomfortable situation without starting crap, I don't mind if they don't like all other dogs. 

What I found helped with Smiley's tolerance was no on-leash greetings and walking in areas where we can "meet and move on" off leash. It eases the pressure and tension from the interactions and reinforces leaving the environment positively.


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## pandj (Jun 12, 2013)

Thanks Locket...Jolie is s Service Dog and after a lot of work she now works nicely on lead around dogs. We have done a lot of BAT training. She has her CGC ,CGCA and PAT but I think that it would have been easier for her if I had exposed her to strange dogs earlier.

I agree that off lead is far easier. Our Bichon Rescue Bash's are always off lead. We have had up to 101 Bichons at one Bash and the only incident was when my 13 year old male jumped off of a retaining wall and blew out his ACL ...

Thank you for sharing your very useful information with me. This kind of sharing is why I love this forum so much!

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## Rachel76 (Feb 3, 2014)

lily cd re said:


> What is the one thing you wish you could change in your dog's behavior or in how you trained your dog? After me, if you post you must offer a suggestion to at least one person about how to fix the problem they would like to solve. *If your only solution is to beat people up about how bad you think they have been to their dog, then please don't bother replying. If you are nasty to people I will report you.* Let's keep this about finding solutions not about making people feel bad over mistakes that are in the past.
> 
> I wish that the very first time I saw Lily's nose poking around on the kitchen counters that I had been definitive in my displeasure at seeing it there. I would happily trade a one off life lesson aversive that worked for all of the bad stuff that could have really made her sick that she has pulled off the counters. Counter surfing has been a really bad problem for us. It is less so now mostly because we have been trained not to leave anything in her reach. I tried the upside down mouse traps, shaker cans with coins piled up as a startle, double stick tape along the edges of the counters and all sorts of other things. I can put snacks out on my coffee table and she knows to leave it, but the kitchen counter has been so strongly self reinforcing for her that I have just about given up trying to find a way to stop it other than to make sure doing it is boring for her.


First off what a great idea! Thank you. My first two dogs were terrrible counter surfers. My redbone had a thyroid problem and had to have steroids for her horrbible seasonal allergies and so she was ALWAYS HUNGRY. I also tried just about everything that you and others have mentioned. With Hemi I have been working on 'leave it' from the very beginning using kikopups method. We are making great progress so far (knock on wood)


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## Rachel76 (Feb 3, 2014)

Opps I forgot to mention what I would change.....more socializing before she turned 4 months old! I thought we were doing ok but sometimes I wonder if it wasn't enough. She is a little stand off-ish/ shy with new people. If she meets a dog person it is no big deal, when she meets a non dog person or someone with no 'feel' for animals/dogs she picks up on that right away and doesn't want to be pet and has in the last week even started to occasionally let out a woof.


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## ericwd9 (Jun 13, 2014)

*Feeding*

When my present Standard was first home I had all the "right" rules.
1. Never feed your dog before all the members of the family have eaten.
2. Only ever feed your dog at the one feeding station (no hand feeding)
3. When feeding say: SIT, Stay Back, (hold the dog back if needed). Then point at his/her food and say "name of dog" EAT. 
4. When out walking etc. and dog picks up food say "NO EAT"
In time your dog will not steal food (from bench etc) and will not pick up poison baits or wild food. He/she will not beg or hassle you when eating.

Now the truth. I did all this but in my old age I weakened and gave the girl
spoo Grace TV treats (very small piece of whatever I had)
I now have her head on my lap, with eyes making contact, every time I have food in front of the TV (which she watches for hours on end) She likes animal shows and ball games. At the beginning she used to look behind the TV and behind mirrors for the dog. But now she knows all about these human things.
Regards Eric.


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

This is a great thread. 

I got both my girls as adults, Carley was 7 and Stella was 2. Both of my girls go insane whenever anyone visits, they jump and bark and it is very scary to people that don't know them. They came from the same breeder that allowed this ... I have not been able to stop it either. I am lucky that the master bedroom is off of the foyer and it is easy to just put them in there before opening the door. I would like for them to just sit calmly and let our visitors in, but at this age and as long as it has been going on, I don't know if that will ever happen. Suggestions Welcomed. Carley is now 9 and Stella is 4.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Carley's Mom have you done practice arrivals? Have your daughter or someone else who they won't be so worked up over do the whole guest arrival routine: ring the bell, ask for sit, open door while reinforcing sit, have visitor ignore dogs as they come in etc. This can be chaotic when someone comes to our front door, but with practicing it gets better. Unfortunately then we forget about practicing and they backslide.


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

Yes, Lily, I have done that and it does help, but then time will go by and they get right back at going insane. We don't have enough company to keep them doing well. They are so smart too, they just look out the window and see that it is my mom or daughter and say, Oh look at me sit down, give me a treat...lol


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## JudyD (Feb 3, 2013)

We have the same problem with Luke and Jazz. Company comes and they go nuts, even if it's family that they know well. Putting them behind a closed door before visitors come in works best. After some time, I can usually let them out and they'll be reasonably calm. I wish they'd just quietly greet people, but I don't think it's in the cards... Maybe we'll do better with Blue.


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## Minnie (Apr 25, 2011)

If I could go back in time I would absolutely not have gone to one particular "agility" trainer. I've spend the 2 years since helping Bella recover not only on the agility field but her trust in me and the world around her. I was so excited to finally find a trainer that I did not properly research :-(


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I hear you on the agility "trainer" issue Minnie. I spent the better part of two years going to a class where I often didn't feel I was getting my fair share of time and where not much was explained. The last straw came when i was told to front cross something even though the trainer knew my knee wasn't in good shape. I had a big setback in healing it and used that as my excuse to leave.


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## Locket (Jun 21, 2009)

Carley's Mom said:


> This is a great thread.
> 
> I got both my girls as adults, Carley was 7 and Stella was 2. Both of my girls go insane whenever anyone visits, they jump and bark and it is very scary to people that don't know them. They came from the same breeder that allowed this ... I have not been able to stop it either. I am lucky that the master bedroom is off of the foyer and it is easy to just put them in there before opening the door. I would like for them to just sit calmly and let our visitors in, but at this age and as long as it has been going on, I don't know if that will ever happen. Suggestions Welcomed. Carley is now 9 and Stella is 4.





JudyD said:


> We have the same problem with Luke and Jazz. Company comes and they go nuts, even if it's family that they know well. Putting them behind a closed door before visitors come in works best. After some time, I can usually let them out and they'll be reasonably calm. I wish they'd just quietly greet people, but I don't think it's in the cards... Maybe we'll do better with Blue.


Have either of you tried separating the dogs before people come over?
Dogs often feed off each other in high excitement/high stimulus situations, and become "unreachable". Have you tried separating them before a guest arrives and working one on one with each dog? 

It's a hard thing to break, but definitely doable! Have guests enter and completely ignore the dogs until the dogs lose interest in the visitors. I like to give the dogs bones or something to keep them quiet and occupied while we visit.


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

We used to have this pitbull that would get absolutely frantic when people came over; she would whine and groan and claw the floor with excitement, she was so anxious to lick and jump on our guests. My then-husband got sick of it and shouted at her once, and made her sit while his mom came in. I was mad at him at the time, because of the fuss he caused, but my goodness I didn't know she COULD sit calmly while guests came in! After that, even though I was mad at him, we always made her sit while guests came in and she always did. Just my observation that the dogs CAN do it, if we are firm and insistent enough. I know I don't give my dogs enough credit for what they can do because I'm too soft...personal observation there.


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## cindyreef (Sep 28, 2012)

My son prides himself on how his dogs listen to him. ( I admit he has a gift) He used to have a problem with them jumping up on guests. Well now they don't jump up on anyone but ME! It frustrates him to no end. We have tried everything. Now I tell him they are just so super glad to see me.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Locket I love your idea of separating dogs that are too worked up to listen when guests arrive (or any very excitable moment for that matter).


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

I always separate my dogs before anyone comes over. Most people have learned to call at the top of our drive. If not, it just takes me longer to open the door, I have a sitting room off of the master bedroom and I take one of them in there, leaving the other in the bedroom. I can also let them out once the guest is sitting and they have calmed down. I have never had a dog act like that, most of my dogs before did not even bark.


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## reginaanna217 (Jan 16, 2014)

If I could change one thing about Rex's Behavior is that he barks for hours if me and my boyfriend are having "alone time" he will bark until that door is open. I usually just let him bark it out in hopes that he will one day stop but he's pretty relentless 


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

reginaanna217 said:


> If I could change one thing about Rex's Behavior is that he barks for hours if me and my boyfriend are having "alone time" he will bark until that door is open. I usually just let him bark it out in hopes that he will one day stop but he's pretty relentless
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Where is he left during alone time? Is he loose or is he crated? How old is he? Perhaps if he was crated with a good assortment of chew toys he would learn that alone time is good for everyone.


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## reginaanna217 (Jan 16, 2014)

lily cd re said:


> Where is he left during alone time? Is he loose or is he crated? How old is he? Perhaps if he was crated with a good assortment of chew toys he would learn that alone time is good for everyone.


At first I put him behind a gate but he learned how to jump it now I put him in the crate with toys and even a treat usually something really special he won't even eat it he will just go crazy until we let him out he's one of those Velcro dogs lol at least when I put him in the crate downstairs while I'm upstairs I can't hear him as bad as when he plops himself right in front of my door hahaha


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Try Crate Games as a way to help him view the crate as his private quiet time space. It sounds like he is not used to using the crate and accepting being there is not always automatic, especially when dogs have been given lots of freedom. Lily and Peeves are not crated at home but both of them will choose to go to their crates when I am using them at shows since they know it means some down time for them. I trained for them to understand and accept that.


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## atlflier (Mar 31, 2014)

If I could turn back the clock thoughts? I'd take a mulligan with how quickly I tried to socialize Alex. I think I didn't focus enough of his individual personality, first and foremost, and instead unknowingly put him into uncomfortable situations too quickly. He's more a reserved, I'll get to know you on my terms, dog as opposed to the social butterflies, I'll go anywhere and meet anyone, ones I've had before. 

Since he came to me from his breeder at 4-months of age, she held him back as a show prospect and then offered him as a pet when that didn't pan out, I assumed--based upon conversations with her--combined with the fact I've always brought my pups home at 8-weeks of age--that she'd done a lot of early socialization with him. Errr, not. I think she coddled him and thus he had minimum exposure to the outside world. 

Not knowing all of this, in hindsight I can see where I didn't give him much time to decompress from all the changes--from her house to mine--before zipping him off to the* first and only* puppy obedience class we could find. Mistake number two for me as he was nervous, easily distracted by all the younger and much larger breed puppy exuberance around him, and I could tell there were times he wasn't happy and became unsure of himself as a result. 

The fact the instructor was a male and used a loud booming voice that bounced off the tiled walls of the room we were training in didn't help matters much either. Alex finished the class but it left him distrustful of some elements of the big outside world around him, particularly men and large dogs and I have to be mindful that he can exhibit fear-based aggression tendencies towards them. He also has a high prey drive, things that make him go whoosh: cars, squirrels, and cats. 

Another detractor is we also live in an area of the country where 90-plus degree temps and 70-percent humidity levels prevail 10-months out of the year so you'd be hard pressed to find people out-and-about walking with their dogs in neighborhoods.

The upside, and there are many about him, is he's incredibly smart (knows 30 commands), openly and lavishly affectionate to those he's comfortable with and is a fantastic therapy dog for my dad--the only male he's ever open up and bonded with though it took a long, long time to do so.

What am I attempting to do to change things for him? Well, I took the suggestion offered by Lily cd re and patk on this forum and started rereading Patricia McConnell's series of books, "The Other End of the Leash, Fiesty Fiedo and Cautious Canine." I want to respect Alex's personality, his needs, and hopefully find a balance where he can experience things with me without causing a sensory overload for him which results in a fear-based aggressive response.

Alex's is also scheduled to attend a new obedience class designed for older dogs, smaller dogs like mine next month. It's a beginner's course, and he already know all the commands, but I think it'll suit our needs for a structured socialization learning environment for him to participate in. There will only be a handful of other owner-and-dog attendees so that should be an added bonus. 

In the meantime, Alex meets with the wonderful *male* instructor who'll teach the course, twice weekly in short ten-minute, down-on-the-floor play sessions. These are designed to be fun, non-threatening opportunities so Alex can build up a rapport with him prior to the formal class start date. 

I've also begun walking Alex later in the evening, always carrying a favorite squeaky toy in my pocket (one he never gets to play with except during these outings) to use as a redirect-to-me tool whenever a prey trigger for him pops up. I find he responds better, with less stress, than relying on the turnaround and walk in the other direction routine.

If anyone has any further suggestions to offer, I'd be happy to hear them.


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## Manxcat (May 6, 2013)

Sounds to me like you are doing a sterling job with Alex, Atlflier. You've recognised where he needs extra help and are dealing with it.

Good job, says I!!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

atlflier you already have my ideas for Alex in progress. He will blossom and even if he is never a social butterfly hopefully he won't want to be part of the wallpaper either before too long.

You have hit on two things that are important concepts for others. First, the need for early socialization. Second, the need to read each dog's individual temperament.


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## atlflier (Mar 31, 2014)

Sorry Lily cd re, you did mention everyone should pay it forward with advice on what did work for you if someone posted a situation you had first-hand experience with. Well, I'm no expert but here goes:

I traveled a lot with my dogs while in the military--cars and planes predominately. I had a little toy poo, Trina, who started out very hesitant to be in any conveyance: pant, pant, pant, whine, whine, whine...repeat. Normally she loved her crate, but whenever she was confined to it and sensed motion/vibration beneath her (like on a car ride or plane) she became very unsettled...possibly because she couldn't get directly to me for comfort in those situations. I suppose the same could be said of pups who are harnessed in the back seat or cargo area of an SUV or truck. 

I decided to wear one of my comfy old tee-shirts to bed for two nights in a row and then cut it up into sections and then store them individually in a zip-lock so they'd retain my scent. Each day, for two weeks I'd take her out for a nightly ride for 20 to 30 minutes, with no particular destination in mind, just the two of us, and I'd place one of those scrap pieces inside the crate with her. I'd also provide her with a delectable bone for gnawing on and a favorite toy that she'd routinely slept with. I'm not sure which of the above ultimately was the most effective, since I tried them simultaneously, but she calmed down and the panting and whining ceased to be an issue. I also think familiarizing her with the travel during night time hours helped as there was less traffic noise and her natural bio-rhythms were kicking in, telling her it was time for rest, which were beneficial factors in lowering her overall anxiety. After that, I never had any more problems with her. 

Another friend of my who had a spoo told me that she used to make it a habit of playing soothing music each night when it was owner/pup cuddle time on the couch just prior to grooming or bedtime for the pup. When she noticed her pup was having a difficult time in car rides, she made a point of playing the same music when they traveled. She said it worked like a charm.

When it comes to pups jumping up on guests when they arrive at your home, it might help to solicit their aid beforehand by asking them to turn their backs to the dog/s when the "Jump, jump, jump...hey, hey, hey" starts and to keep turning away until the dog sits down. Only then, when the pets are calm are they to be acknowledged in a soothing voice and gentle stroke of the hand. If the pups tend to greet you in the same way after your return home, or extended family members when they visit, it might help to start doing the above with them too so it becomes force of habit and they learn which behavior gets a good response and which doesn't. You could also keep a treat pouch handy at the door, if your dog is motivated more by food, so he/she is further rewarded for good behavior when guests arrive.

Hope one of the above helps someone.


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## Caniche (Jun 10, 2013)

Both of my dogs are great, and I love them to pieces. But......

Ryker is either overly confident for the 7 lbs that he is or uber insecure. He barks at everyone that walks by our house. 99.9% of the time, he'll stop on command. But he runs after the neighbor's dogs (a daschund and a pit mix) and barks non-stop. I just wish I knew if he was protecting me, antagonizing or so scared that he's on the defensive. BUT, with much training, Ryker is much better. I found a few tricks that keeps him calm outside and now he won't go onto anyone's property and will return when I call him. Yay!

Cash has a few issues that we're trying to sort out. He's very skittish and will halt on a walk if a jogger/mail truck/shadow/etc. spooks him. And they can be stationary objects! I'm trying to figure out if I ahold console him or make him walk by it.

He is also having problems when coming when he's called. Which is a huge issue. He'll come when there are treats involved or I call in a lovey-dovey excited voice (most of the time) but he won't come if I call him normally. 


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

i would say don't "console" cash when he's spooked. that's just sending the message that his behavior is okay. either ignore completely (often does not work) or work out a desensitization program.


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## Caniche (Jun 10, 2013)

patk said:


> i would say don't "console" cash when he's spooked. that's just sending the message that his behavior is okay. either ignore completely (often does not work) or work out a desensitization program.



Thanks patk. I do not console him because I did not want to give him reinforcement for his anxiety. When he halts in his walk I usually prompt with a cheerful "let's go" and keep moving.

I'd love to desensitize him - but he's nervous around everything. Trucks, cars, even parked vehicles, people walking and running, the wind blowing a piece of paper, etc. How do I desensitize him to all of that? And it's weird because he came home in the summer and was outside a lot as a puppy.


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

caniche,

i think there's a lot of info out there on desensitization and i'm no expert, so take what i say with a large box of salt. i'm sure others will chime in. i think you have to break it down. you can't address every trigger at once. so try to decide where to start. if moving cars are a big issue, i think i might actually take my dog somewhere with a lot of cars going by (a parking lot? a bus stop on a busy road?) and just sit with him, put him in a sit and give treats. i suppose someone who uses clickers would say click each time a car goes by, just before he goes berserk, and treat. the message is, gee, each time we're in this situation, when you are calm, that's good.

for parked vehicles, here's what i did with my dog years ago when he balked as we approached some large black barrel-like objects (there was construction going on). i just picked him up, walked him over and told him to "nose it." since the barrels were inanimate and did not even notice him, when i put him down to walk on, he did so without a hitch. i think some people will tell you that was "flooding," which is supposedly overwhelming, psychologically painful and a no-no. guess my dog did not get that message, because he was okay ever after with motionless inanimate objects.

for runners, maybe you can get a friend to help you with a set-up situation. same thing. make him sit. click just before he goes berserk as your friend runs by, and treat.

for it to take, you usually have to work on the scenarios several times. though as i said, in the barrel situation, my dog got over that fear immediately. 

btw, the watch me command (which i never trained my dog to do, but have read about) sounds like a great way to first get your dog to focus on you while he is sitting so you can exert better control as the triggers appear.


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