New Puppy, New To The Forums

[Keeper]

I don't really know how much of the title is truthful. He's my little puppy, yes, but he's not really a puppy. He's a year and a half old and rescued. Also, I've been reading the forums for a while, just found no need to get an account because I didn't have a dog at the time. Also, I'm not new to dogs, I've had many of them. I trained them to do lots of things like say grace, e.t.c. Anyway, now that I'm back in the dog world, I want to join a community of others also training their dogs. My puppy is not really like any other...He's a funny kind of mix, he has hair, not fur, Two and a half feet long, maybe three, and hairy all over. His previous name was Scruffy, but we decided to change it. He didn't know the name well enough, so we weren't hurting anything by changing it to Keeper. I swear, he is the most adorable thing. We have to gove him haircuts every week, too. At his old home he was only taught no-nos. He is extremely sensitive if you say 'uh-uh' to him and he will go lie down on the carpet making you feel guilty for saying it. Anyway, we're trying to teach him only TO do things, not to not do things. I know this puts a damper on lots of obedience train but t just seems like the best thing to do. Oh yeah, he is VERY food oriented. I mean, training him with treats is tough, but it works. He already knows sit, but that's really it. Lie down is surprisingly tough for him. Not to say he isn't smart, though. Anyway, we're looking for new ways to teach him that don't involve negative reinforcement. Thank you so much. For readi-Oh my, I wrote you a novel. Thank you VERY much for reading.

Any dog obedience ideas or easy tricks would be great!

 

[Anneke]

Hi and welcome!!
Good of you, for rescueing a puppy(well youngster)
And you are definately in the right place for positive reinforcement training!!!!
Teaching your dog to do ANYTHING is possible, without saying no or other forms of punishment!
Everybody here trains positive and most dogs do obedience excercises.
Feel free to take a look at all the forums and to ask questions or for help!

 

[Dogster]

WELCOME!!!!! GOOD ON YOU for rescuing a dog in need!!!! He sounds ADORABLE!!!! We would LOVE to see pics of him!!!! (If you decide to read any other newbie threads, that is one of the first things we mention, LOL We LOVE pictures!!!!) Hope to see you around here a lot!!!

 

[tigerlily46514]

WELCOME!! I LIKE YOU ALREADY!! Rescuing an adult dog, and going for positive only training! YESssss!!

FEEL FREE to post some pictures of your dog, it's so obvious you are crazy about your new dog!! How long have you had the dog?

If it is less than a month or so, it's worth knowing, many newly rehomed adult dogs, take a little longer to feel totally at home in their newplace,
and often are overwhelmed by all the new scents, new rules,new humans,etc etc.
Even if the humans can't detect the dog is less than comfy there yet,
it's a chance it is so.
This could make lie down a lil trickier for a dog who is brand new to you, is, it does require trust and submission, and your new dog *might* be still checking you out.
it also could be the dog just doesn't get it.

my dog took forever to learn "stand". yeah, that's right, "stand"!! rofl! He could NOT get it!
what i do, if my dog can NOT get a trick after a week or so,
i put the trick away,
and wait a month, and just work on other tricks.
then, after i wait a month,
i bring out the old "hard" trick, and WA-LA!! NOW my dog gets it.
I can not tell why that works,
but, it works.

FEEL FREE TO POST ANY QUESTION YOU HAVE!! and yes, yes, i so agree, there is almost always a way to avoid even using the word "no" for a dog....especially a brand new dog who is still sizing you up.
I never ever ever ever ever use the word "no" during tricks training.
I just CLICK/TREAT the stuff i DO like,
and silently ignore the stuff i do not want.
that's it!

also, keep lessons short for beginner dogs,
and here is some other ideas if you want to look them over:
http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forums/threads/getting-started-with-a-clicker-for-newbies.5023/

NOW PLEASE POST SOME PICTURES OF YOUR NEW DOG!! AND I LOVE LOVE LOVE HIS NAME!!

 

[southerngirl]

Welcome!! Feel free to ask questions if needed everyone is glad to answer. Kudos on rescuing a dog I would love to see some pictures of your wonderful dog.

 

[Keeper]

Thank you so much, guys, for the fast reply! So we've been working on the name Keeper, but there's something about it he doesn't like. He responds to it kind of like he responds to uh-uh...Strange. Anyway, we decided to go with Teddy Bear. It's alot more distinctive and I swear he smiles whenever I say it. At first I said well, he's a new dog. He won't pick up on a name that easily. Then I realized it was the same 'I'm sorry,' face he'd made when I told him 'uh-uh'. I feel somewhat guilty for changing the name, but mostly I regret establishing this as his name before I'd realized that it wasn't that he wasn't responding to the name, but that it must sound like some word he didn't like before...Anyway, I'm stuck with this username now, but I don't really care. I like the name anyway lol

 

[Keeper]

Also, your dogs are ADORABLE. I will try and get you guys my own pictures soon.

 

[Keeper]

So this is my Teddy Bear. I got some images as soon as I could.
Want to know why he's so jumpy and cute looking? We've got a treat hanging over for him as a reward. Told you he was food oriented!

PS: Don't click full size image. It's huge!

Teddy Bear

 

[jackienmutts]

Awww, your little Teddy Bear is just adorable!!! Welcome aboard. Good for you noticing that "Keeper" wasn't responding positively to his name, and finding something he seemed to like better. Teddy Bear looks like it suits him perfectly.

We all use positive reinforcement training, and most of us use clickers. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask - there are lots of knowledgeable people always willing to help. Have fun!

 

[Keeper]

Thanks so much! I used a clicker with my past dog who would do all the lovely tricks for us. She was so loyal.
Thanks so much for the big welcome, everybody! I'll keep you updated on Teddy Bear.

Also, the fact that you all use positive reinforcement is such a good thing. Ever have someone come over and smack your dog when they come up on the sofa, which they are allowed to do? It's not not pretty for the pooch. Apparently this particular person had a dog and "did this all the time". This happened to a previous pup of mine.

Okay, that was slightly off-topic but just came me all of a sudden. Must be old age causing my mind to wander

 

[tigerlily46514]

//"At first I said well, he's a new dog. He won't pick up on a name that easily."//

I don't think dogs care what we call them, at all, i think we can change their names eveyr year if we wanted to. I love the name TeddyBear, nice sound.

Some ppl use the dog's name for "come" which i never ever do.
If i want my dog to come, i say, "Buddy COME!"
I never say "buddy" for him to come. Buddy hears his name alllllll dayyyyyyyy long, and it doesn't mean "come".
He does look at me when he hears his name, and i almost ALWAYS precede any trick or cue, with his name, to get his full att'n first,
like, "Buddy, sit"
or "Buddy, COME"
BUT just hearing his name he just looks at me. sometimes he comes to me, but, "buddy" is not his cue to come.
TeddyBear WILL pick up his name quickly enough, i bet.

ONe of the very few things i disagree with Kikopup on, is,
she does use a dog's NAME for the word "come" and i do not, at all. Kikopup says ppl overuse a dog's name, i know i certainly do!
We talk about our dog, by name,
all dog long, right in front of him. Buddy is a big topic of conversation at our house.

But i do NOT use my dog's name for "come". ever.

 

[Keeper]

Thanks, the different perspectives are great! Also, the video helped alot and the tough thing will be not training him every second I have him and resulting in over training. So excited!

 

[jackienmutts]

"Ever have someone come over and smack your dog when they come up on the sofa, which they are allowed to do? "

That caused such a visceral reaction in me, that I can't even tell you. While my dog wasn't smacked, I had something similar happen. I'm lucky enough to live close enough to walk my dogs at the beach all the time (I live on the central coast of Ca - USA). It's a 7 min drive, then we can take a beautiful walk. A friend joined us one day - this was back when I had other dogs - one being my big GSD/Golden mix, Sherman, who was the most gentle soul on the planet. No kidding, a 2 yr old could have walked him without any fear on my part. He had no reactivity toward any creature, he didn't pull, he was one of those dogs who didn't need a leash, he would have walked right next to me - but there's a leash law, so we used one. Anyway, I also had my big female GSD (who barked at every bird, other dog - altho not reactive, just told them off - stuff like that), and my one other dog. Since we were walking 3 and Sherman was a no-brainer, I gave her Sherman's leash (cuz she asked if she could have a leash). Well, sure. When I walk dogs esp at the beach, it's very leisurely, and altho they don't pull, they can have their full leash, enjoy the day, stop, sniff, walk where they want in their full 6' - and usually I walked the 3 of them together by myself (very easily) and the 3 would walk together side-by-side in front of me (all loose-leash). Well, she required Sherman to walk in a heel, immed next to her, and she kept insisting the leash be kept at about 6" long, and she kept it wound around her hand (cuz that's where leashes should be, and that's how dogs should walk). And I kept taking it from her, and unwinding it, and insisting he be allowed some freedom, it wasn't jail and this wasn't an obedience session. The second he'd wander more than a foot from her, she'd leash-pop him and wind him back up. After about the 3rd time she did this, I took the leash from her hand, and said no one is going to leash-pop my dog, and this is not a military walk. I informed her that I make the rules for my dogs, she does not, and I walked them for the next hour - and we've never walked together since. She said if she were walking my dogs, they'd walk much better and have better manners (than what? 200+ lbs of dogs being walked with leashes literally draped over 3 fingers)and no punishment?). Yes, she was very old-school, dogs were outside, aversives used, etc - dogs were dogs, and I spoil them. So be it.

If anyone had ever smacked my dog *in my home* they'd be asked to leave immediately. I can honestly say that no one that ever hit my dog would be welcomed in my home ever again. To me, that's no different than smacking someone else's child, because that's how they do it at their house. Sad, but some people just don't use their heads (and they're on power trips. I realize a lot of it's education - but I'm not sure I could allow someonen to stay. I think I'd have to educate them on their way out to their cars. Bye-bye, hitting is abuse, not allowed here, see ya.

 

[tigerlily46514]

//"If anyone had ever smacked my dog *in my home* they'd be asked to leave immediately. I can honestly say that no one that ever hit my dog would be welcomed in my home ever again."//

//"I informed her that I make the rules for my dogs, she does not, "//

yeah, same here.
I meant to say same thing as Jackie did, but distracted my own self onto dog name discussions....
Jackie is right-----------
that you are now your dog's advocate, to protect him. You do NOT let other ppl hit your dog, or even yell at your dog. ever.
GOOD LUCK!! Teaching humans is much harder than teaching dogs.

 

[tigerlily46514]

and lol, while we are talking about not hitting dogs,
not hurting dogs in any way,
and not scaring dogs, not yanking their leashes, no choke leashes, no prong collars, etc,
as i think eveyrone here shares your being upset with your visitor, Keeper,
anyway, re: hurting dogs
DO put "The Dog Whisperer" on child-block on your tv set, too.
and instead, do watch "It's Me or The Dog" tv show.

 

[Keeper]

It's nice to know someone else had the same experience. I had another where a dog started playing with mine and they threw a basket ball at my dog's head when I was young. I pulled my dog away and politely told them I had to leave because I was outside and didn't know how to handle it. It was terrible being so young and seeing a neighbor behave this way. Anyway, that's the last story I've got on this subject.

 

[sara]

I just wanted to say hi and welcome to the DTA! Keeper is ADORABLE! I have a thing for scruffy looking terriers .

The thing with terriers is they have to think it's their idea to do something

 

[Ripleygirl]

Welcome to DTA, you will find many, many like minded dog owners here... NO ONE should hit a dog, and almost any dog that has experienced this can be brought round with the right positive reinforcement training...

 

[Ripleygirl]

Teddy bear is very cute by the way. More pics!

 

[Dlilly]

Welcome! It's great you adopted your dog! In my mind, a 1 year old dog can still be considered a puppy. I still call my 4 year old Berner mix a puppy, but that's because I'n crazy.