My poor Puppy needs confused.com ....

[kelandmitzi]

please help in giving my partner some advice in training our puppy, I just seem to come across as a NAG and I am unable to get him to understand that to get our Puppy to understand is for us both to issue the same commands in the same way ..... our puppy now approx 20 weeks is getting very confused and showing more bad behaviour with jumping/biting I know she understands when I command her to sit and stay etc but if my partner is around our puppy is misbehaving badley

ie : I will say Mitzi NO/SIT to that she will stop .... or I will ignor & walk away

My partner will yell NO NO NO NO and get angry at her with each NO ... & she will just do it even more ...


please if there is anyone who can offer some advice to my partner feel free , he will look on here and i know he will read & hope he will take some notice .....

Also please say if it is me thats in the wrong !

[jai]

Hi Kel,
It is extremely important that everyone is on the same page with the pup. My girls all know how to command Falko (he is almost 1) and get him to do what we want. Just like a child, Mitzi will learn to get what she wants from the one who is weakest and unsure. There is a great thread under behaviour about the biting jumping bit.. We all have gone thru it with our dogs. One thing about a weim.. either you are the master, or the dog is the master. Decide now by both of you learning the same commands and praising appropriately. In our house I deal the most with Falko. but everyone uses the same commands with an even keel in the voice. I will make mine deeper when I give commands followed by a 'helping hand' if I need it.. For example if I tell him to sit verbally I also use a hand command. If he doesnt sit, I follow him back or point to his rear. We taught this with treats and praise when we brought him home.

Good luck and keep trying.. You will get it!
jai and falko

[greyghost]

Half the problem of owning a dog for the first time is training the owners. If you do not get it right you can be sure the dog will train you!!!

Decide what commands you are going to give. We started off with 'down' when she jumped up then realised we wanted down to be lie down so down became 'off'........ see what I mean

Hand signals should be clear for the dog and consistent.

If you husband is shouting no, no, no, the pupster just thinks he is playing and will try and shout louder......

Firm but fair is the way to go. Shouting at the dog gets you no where. Use treats for training. Look on the APTD web site www.apdt.co.uk/index2.htm for a training school and go and sit in without the dog to see how they treat the dogs, how many are in class etc.

As for jumping up, turn your back, fold your arms if that fails remove the fun from dog and leave the room for a short while, game over . Teach the children how to behave around dogs i.e. no running and squealing and getting them wound up. Not fair is it, they're just kids, but if you want a well behaved dog and children then rules need to be applied.

Here is some more reading for you.....

www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm

Are you using a crate? Many Weim owners use crates. They are not used to shove a naughty puppy in but are a safe haven, a place to call her own and some time out. They should be introduced very carefully and it is also good for alone time.

The best thing about a crate is that when you do finally get to go out again you know your puppy is not at home chewing through something it shouln't and getting a possible electric shock or eating something that will cause a blockage (still need to get into the habbit of not leaving dirty washing around ).
radiofence.com/dog_crate_training.htm

I have a lovely booklet here which I got given when I picked up my rescue. It is so good (60+ pages of helpful tips for lots of situations) that I bought another 10 copies which I am willing to post out for a donation of £5 to rescue. If you (or anybody else) would like a copy please let me know. It is by Alison F Rowboham and edited by Turid Rugaas

Acquaint yourself with the signs of bloat/gastric torsion. Research the web. Weims are prone to this disorder and it is a killer. My first girl had a full torsion at just over a year old. Had I not read an article in one of the club magazine a few months earlier I would have missed the first (and only in her case) sign. We lived to tell the tale