Introducing Chewie!

elissa

elissa

Well-Known Member
Chewie is 5 month old cross, I think yorkie and jack russell, but I'm not sure!

I found her all alone and dehydrated/hungry in the street in September 2013 and couldn't leave her there... I took her home, cleaned her up and she's become the best thing in my life! I adore her! She's playful and intelligent and I can't imagine life without her!

 
elissa

elissa

Well-Known Member
She is super cute! It's a problem when I'm trying to teach her to walk nicely on the leash, because so many people want to pet her in the street, so she thinks *everyone* wants to pet her and she tends to jump up at anybody we pass. I'm not sure how to correct this behaviour as it's not her fault people want to stroke her. Also, I live in a small Italian coastal town, I teach here and so lots of the kids I teach or their parents are the ones who want to pet her, so I can't really say no!!

Here's a little video of her at 4 months fetching her favourite toy from a hidden location! Super cute and brains to boot!

 
MaryK

MaryK

Honored Member
Chewie sure has cuteness all sewn up! She's so darned cute is positively unfair to other dogs:D

Thank you so much for rescuing her, she sure is showing her gratitude:D

Just a suggestion with training her re jumping up, or rather people who are always harder to train than our dogs How I over come it is to very nicely ask people to wait and say my puppy will shake paws with them. If you teach Chewie sit/shake paws, and ask people to wait a second, you will find it's a win/win as people think shaking paws is cute, so are prepared to wait to stroke her. And Chewie will also learn sit before being made a fuss of by people.:D
 
elissa

elissa

Well-Known Member
Little cutie is still cute as a button and my absolute best friends... But leash training is proving difficult and if anything she's gotten worse!

She still pulls, no matter what I try...

Changing direction as soon as she pulls: This she regards as a fun game
Stopping when she pulls and making her sit and wait: This just means it takes 20 minutes to get 200 yards
Taking treats out to keep her focus on me: Cooked meat, bones, doggy chocolate... She's not even vaguely interested
Citronella collar: I used it once ad felt like the biggest monster in the world.

She's now taken to barking at other dogs (even ones she knows), pigeons and most embarrassingly joggers!

I'm at my wits end... I just don't know what to do with her any more!!

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srdogtrainer

srdogtrainer

Experienced Member
elissa said:
She is super cute! It's a problem when I'm trying to teach her to walk nicely on the leash, because so many people want to pet her in the street, so she thinks *everyone* wants to pet her and she tends to jump up at anybody we pass. I'm not sure how to correct this behaviour as it's not her fault people want to stroke her. Also, I live in a small Italian coastal town, I teach here and so lots of the kids I teach or their parents are the ones who want to pet her, so I can't really say no!!
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My golden retriever River thinks that everyone wants to pet him too. He has become a therapy dog. He used to be terrified of people so I can't complain that he wants to get petted now. He will go up and sit in front of people. You could teach her to sit politely in front of people that she meets to get petted or you could use treats or a toy when out for a walk to make wanting to be with you even better. Work on eye contact and focus first and then the loose leash will be a lot easier.
 
elissa

elissa

Well-Known Member
srdogtrainer said:
My golden retriever River thinks that everyone wants to pet him too. He has become a therapy dog. He used to be terrified of people so I can't complain that he wants to get petted now. He will go up and sit in front of people. You could teach her to sit politely in front of people that she meets to get petted or you could use treats or a toy when out for a walk to make wanting to be with you even better. Work on eye contact and focus first and then the loose leash will be a lot easier.
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I try making her sit when she sees people, but it's not just jumping at people now, she's pulling a lot too. She's a very exuberant little dog, she's far too excited to sit and treats are't as exciting as live people to her! Indoors she'll do anything for a bit of chicken... Outside it's like Chicken doesn't exist!
 
running_dog

running_dog

Honored Member
elissa said:
Little cutie is still cute as a button and my absolute best friends... But leash training is proving difficult and if anything she's gotten worse!

She still pulls, no matter what I try...

Changing direction as soon as she pulls: This she regards as a fun game
Stopping when she pulls and making her sit and wait: This just means it takes 20 minutes to get 200 yards
Taking treats out to keep her focus on me: Cooked meat, bones, doggy chocolate... She's not even vaguely interested
Citronella collar: I used it once ad felt like the biggest monster in the world.

She's now taken to barking at other dogs (even ones she knows), pigeons and most embarrassingly joggers!

I'm at my wits end... I just don't know what to do with her any more!!
Click to expand...

If you still think Chewie is your best friend then you are not so much at your wits end as I was with Gus! Hang in there it does get better, she is only young and the world is just so exciting.

I found rewarding with playing tug for nice leash walking helped with Gus eventually because it released some of his frustration, treats weren't important to him outside either.
Another idea is to use two different leads so she knows there is one lead for being good (and you do all your leash training on that) and another longer leash for sniffing, yapping, running, playing, that way she doesn't get mixed messages about what is allowed and what isn't. We use a "go sniff" cue so our dogs know when it is okay to do their own thing on leash. Extending leads are not good for leash training as the dog learns to resist back pressure in order to go further.
Is she getting time off leash to use up her energy?
 
brody_smom

brody_smom

Experienced Member
elissa said:
Yeah, she gets plenty of run time... I have a big yard and she has little legs!

Will give the two leads thing a try!!

And yeah, such a character! I love her to bits!
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I don't know if these are available for small dogs, but we found that a head halter (Halti, Gentle Leader, Snoot Loop are some major brands) was very helpful for controlling Brody on walks. Some dogs find the pulling sensation to be very rewarding, but the head halters actually make it so that pulling turns their head away from the thing they are pulling toward. If you can find one that fits Chewie, it may be worth a try.
 
MaryK

MaryK

Honored Member
elissa said:
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Adorable!!!!!!! She'll easily learn stand tall, when she's older gotta watch those little muscles etc. She's not stupid, she's a smart lady, my older boy Zeus used to take a while to learn something BUT once he'd 'got it' he NEVER forgot. Sounds like Chewie will never forget either!:)
 
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