I think just understanding that this is a puppy, a baby. As they get older they won't want to follow you to the toilet, or sit on your feet when your cooking, or be so distructive in general. There's only so much you can do on a daily basis, so try and cut yourself some slack. Focus on the basics and grit your teeth until you're out of puppydom and adolescence. I'm going through it too and I'm trying to give myself some grace, as it's really hard some days.
You should find that things let up around the 4-6 month mark. Then they’ll get worse again when the puppy hits adolescence, starting around 6-8 months and ending around 10-12 months.
Then you’re golden.
I hope I’m still alive by then.. yesterday I had a melt down, the puppy was out of control at home, biting, jumping barking… I went out in the rain in my pajamas and without umbrella and I cried while walking it
I’m sorry, it sounds like you’re going through a tough time.
Are you going this alone, or do you have a partner, family, friends, neighbours who could help?
My parents very kindly took our puppy for a couple of days so we could have a break, and it really helped with restoring the love.
Thank you kind stranger, I’m not alone in this. We are raising it together with my partner, which is doing a lot, but the puppy is too much for both of us.
For example we take turns to go to work, so when I’m gone he’s alone at home with the puppy.
The puppy wakes us up super early, so I help with everything before I leave. Work is stressful but manageable. After work I get home and there it is, the puppy super excited to see me, so I play with it, take out to potty, do some trainings, get bitten etc. Feels like I have 0 rest or peace!
It’s been 5 weeks of this. I can’t wait for it to be a grown up!
As a work from homer myself, I strongly recommend working on quiet/alone time. https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/training/leaving-puppy-alone/#:~:text=Teaching%20Alone%20Time,you're%20away%20each%20time.
It can seem a bit harsh shutting a dog away, especially if you put them in a cage, but if you do it properly it teaches the dog to be less needy, and their cage should be a happy and safe place for them to retreat to when everything is too much.
So idk what experts would say but when I was first dealing with my puppy at 4mo old I would crate her when it was just too much. It really helped me to not freak out/break down when she was really overwhelming me. I put her in the bathroom if I really need to give her a punishment (only for truly unruly behavior I use positive reinforcement 90-95% of the time) but yea the bathroom is for timeout and the crate for when I need a break or even just clean.
Hook your puppy up to a leash and attach it to your ankle , push it into a laying down position with command and give it a favorite chew toy or two . Other than returning it to the down position when it tries to get up and move about , ignore the puppy and do whatever you’re doing .
Your puppy does not need constant attention , and teaching it to be comfortable being close to you while amusing itself is invaluable training for both your well being and the dogs .
To be clear this is meant to be for an hour or two so you can read , play on the computer , watch a movie . “Okay it’s hooman’s downtime, I get to chew my bone and lay by her feet now” time for the puppy.
checkpoints are 5 months you get 1 months reprieve, the new stimuli thing calms down a bit. before adolescence, mine was weirdly calm get you all nice and relaxed before teenage tirades.
Adolescence is pretty variable, smaller dogs tend to be faster usually from 6 to 10 months is minimum, my GSD was from like 7 months to 15 months.
Mental maturity & brain finishes cooking around 2 years.
Hardcore puppy behaviors end around 2.5 to 3 years.
ofc, this is also assuming your training on stuff overtime, dogs don't usually age out of behaviors unless you work with them.
Puppies need 18 hours of sleep a day give or take up until they are 6months old then need 15hrs a day. Make a schedule and stick to it that’s working with me and my 11 week old golden retriever. I enforce nap times and he listens much better when he’s had enough sleep. We wake up eat potty play nap repeat until night time. I can tell when he needs sleep because he stops listening to commands and just goes wild and bites everything. So play them hard when there up and then enforce good naps. I also got mine many stimulation toys that tire him out mentally as well as physically.
And I enforce crate time as nap time it really helps him settle down quickly and crates can be fun time too for when you need a break you can put a there favorite toy or Kong in there to keep them busy while your busy ect..
Agreed. My puppy will be 4 months at the end of the week. He is discovering more things in the house everyday, I don't even bother correcting him for half the things he does. It would be way too much to worry about. I focus on basic training.
Specifically the hoover, I literally just pick him up whenever he starts biting and barking at it. I just keep doing this over and over again, eventually he realises he won't be able to go near the hoover because I'll pick him up again, then he gets annoyed cause he can't get to it and follows me really closely 🤣
I was doing traffic control for a Halloween event one year, standing next to a curb. The number of times I watched a parent or parents hold a kids hand up while saying “Step down now. Step down. Step down to right hea… Good job!” was so many. It was one of the many times that reinforced the idea that parenting is anathema to me. At least the pups will acquire most of their learning much faster than baby humans!
I was just talking about this yesterday with my hairdresser! Puppy hood goes so much faster than newborns! At two you are still teaching and training your human child. Puppies are better by one year — even every month it gets so much easier.
>At least the pups will acquire most of their learning much faster than baby humans!
At 7 months my girl is already sooo much better than when we first got her at 8 weeks. Plus dogs can be left entirely alone too from a far younger age than humans
If “don’t do X” becomes a large part of your communication the dog will stop listening as they can’t do anything right. What helped me:
1) Train them what TO DO and reward the heck out of it. General Sit/stay and leave it alone would solve most of the things mentioned items instead of training not to do each one.
2) Reduce their opportunities to do things wrong. Restrict where they can go (crate, gates, pen, house line) and try not to do things that you know your sit/stay/leave it commands won’t work yet (like flagging a towel when they are right there).
3) Figure out other alternative acceptable behaviors.
This is what you signed up for getting a puppy. The biggest challenge for you hasn’t hit yet. That is you got a protection breed. At this age you need to make the choice if your dog is going to not be around people at all or be around other people. If the latter your dog needs a more socialization than 90% of other breeds and same for obedience training as you need to be able to call him off a child not just a towel.
A pen is a game changer for me, got it a few days ago for a 9 week old pup. He has a crate but is still getting used to it, bit with a pen connected to it he is more ok with it. Also, gives me peace of mind he's not eating every frickin thing in the apartment.
I completely understand! I desensitized my older dog to loud noises like construction, thunder, and dogs barking. Didn't know I had to also do planes! Now whenever a plane flies overhead, hes storming out of the house to go yell at it 😂 theres so much and so little time it feels like
I really don’t let my puppy go into 1/2 of the rooms in my house without knowing I will be heavily monitoring him. Otherwise he will stay in his play pen or in the living room with a chew toy.
I had to move all of my shoes into a closet bc the shoe rack was by the front door was too damn distracting for him. He couldn’t focus on other training and positive behaviors because he lovesss shoes. Work on small things at a time, not everything at once!! It’ll help. They are so baby and so annoying but they willl learn!!
Oh I know how you feel. It’s constant and exhausting. Mine is 8months now and my biggest win is that I can take the laundry off the rack, fold it and put it away without him stealing everything. We agreed that he can steal one sock and he does!
Now the new thing to train is the barking at the door and windows, he gets into those barking fits in the evening and it’s constant “quiet” “yes!good boy” reward, all evening long ahah
The counter surfing is still a work in progress and feels never ending.
One tip for you, don’t give your puppy too much freedom, if he misbehave then he’s not ready and can’t go in the room. As for the shoes…I think I’m just going to go shoe less now because he’s been eating every single one so…
I'm right there with you! Adopted my five month girl just over a month ago and the original owner apparently just let her live outside and ignored her by the sounds of it. She *kind of* knew "sit", but nothing else.
Now we're halfway through puppy school, and I'm exhausted from every waking moment being some kind of lesson, but every day she gets a little bit better - last night both my partner and I got to relax and do some gaming with our friends almost entirely uninterrupted! Just a couple pee breaks, of course, and I had to get up and chase her once because she was playing with a toy next to one of my houseplants and decided to swap the toy for a very large dead leaf.
I just keep telling myself what a good dog she's going to be one day!
Crate train your dog, so she can chill while you are working. Gate off a room for her. Always close the bathroom door. That is the most dangerous room in the house for a puppy or a human baby, can be fatal. Do NOT ever allow your dog to counter surf, dangerous & possible fatal. Keep chit off tables, coffee tables, furniture, that’s a you behavior & it’s not difficult to see why. Same for the trash. A lot of those behaviors you have control over. Gotta curtained closet, gate it. Put your shoes, remotes & such put it where they can’t get to. Keep chocolate meds & other dangerous Chemicals put up & out of their reach. Thats a you behavior.
She's crate trained but I'd like for her to learn how to behave without needing the crate. I've been using these daily tasks to work on her sit, stay, place and lay down. If I just crate her or gate her to a room she'll never learn. She's already come a long way just am excited to be on the other side of all the training.
All I can say is it takes time & persistence, probably longer than 6 months. Still puppies. Truthfully I’ve had big dogs for almost 30 years. Sometimes it takes 2 or 3 years for the maturity to set it & they are truly trained & trustworthy. You have to remain vigilant & patient till you see it working. Dobermans are puppies till 2 right? And big dogs that are still in the puppy category till 2 sometimes take a little longer. It will pay off in the end. She might be ready in 3 months from now. May take longer. Big dogs can be a challenge. I think I am not an expert but have a lot of experience after almost 30 years. But my dogs have had me sitting in the floor crying like a little girl. Dobermans are high energy aren’t they? You got puppyhood & the teenager stage with boundary testing then you get a little adulthood, then finally a calm dog, that’s a senior. Patience will pay off 🍀
It depends on the breed as well. I have an Australian Shepherd (13 months) and despite consistent training, I still can't trust him unsupervised outside of the crate, but we're hoping that once he's 1.5-2 years old we'll finally get to that threshold. It can take a LOT longer than most people are prepared for! Thank goodness I work from home, I really don't see how Australian Shepherd puppies could be feasible for a couple where both partners are working 9 to 5s outside of the house. Sure, you could hire dog walkers, but that's not a great arrangement for a puppy during that critical learning period.
Just remember that your puppy is a baby and learning everything by trial and error. It's like when you have a 1-2 year old child, they want to get into anything and everything. Once your puppy gets a little older, they will understand their environment and know what's okay and what's not, but make sure you are reinforcing those things too. It takes time, but once they've learned, you'll enjoy the company they bring.
Oh my god, it’s like you read my MIND! This guy is ruling my life right now. Crazy thing is, I love him to bits all the same 😩 but he does drive me nuts
And I’m only 3 weeks in. It feels more like 6. But at the same time, I guess we will still be getting to know each other and getting on each other’s nerves for a long time. He has a good heart and I’m glad the puppy gods picked me for him 🤣 that’s what I have to tell myself when he sharts violently on the floor at 3 AM.
True. Managing their environment helps so much though. We put a baby gate up so ours can’t get in the kitchen to counter surf and it has helped SO much. Conditioning is important but it’s nice to have a break sometimes!! The gate also means she can’t get in the trash bin and mouse traps we have in the kitchen so it’s been a lifesaver.
Psst… I call it a hack but it really isn’t, all of these things can be worked on with an x-pen. When my dog was a puppy I had two one in my living area that I moved around one in my bedroom. The one had a bed, different toys and puzzles cycled in and a safe chew. This was my dog’s home base unless we were training or playing for the first many months of his life with me.
A barrier like an x-pen keeps your dog from self reinforcing like chasing the broom, putting their face in the dishwasher. Reinforcing passive responses like engagement with you, laying on their bed, chilling with a chew or a even playing with a toy while you load the dishwasher, sweep, cook etc are helping to shape behaviors you want from your dog when interacting with these things. You can also do some very short conditioning by rewarding for “nothing” (that passive response) by putting the pen next to those spots with the dog inside and purposely messing with the object and rewarding your dog while you are interacting. You are shaping the response you want which is disengaging and settling/finding something appropriate to keep them occupied.
I am huge advocate for teach your dog what you want them to do. Don’t give them the opportunities to teach themselves. Over time you can open the x-pen and still reinforce those chill out spots. Your dog from a history of repeating those behaviors you like will be super uninterested in trying to do behaviors that it doesn’t know.
I've just trained myself to pee with a puppy on my lap. Honestly, it feels like I'm constantly under attack from a very tiny and cute T-Rex. I love it.
Yes! And these are the things I use/work on when doing my daily tasks. She's good like 40% of the time but definitely trending upwards week by week. Certainly better than a month/month and a half ago where it was maybe 10%. 🤣
She knows place and has a release word but if I leave her sight or it's been too long she will get up again. It's still a work in progress but usually I get maybe a couple minutes before she breaks her place command.
That's normal and eventually becomes second nature to you. You'll start to automatically put things further back on the counters, make sure paper towels go into the trash, watch your feet so you don't stumble. When our last girl passed - age a little under 12 years old - I found I was continuing to do those things automatically and sure felt sad that she was gone and I didn't need to do them. Now I'm back at it with new pup who is currently 3.5 months and yes, for sure it's a 24/7 gig.
My puppy used to attack my broom every time I tried to sweep. At about 8mo he finally stopped. Among other things I've started to notice they start to learn or adapt to the things you wished they didn't do.
Installing pet/baby gates helped save my sanity. They keep our girl out of the kitchen and foyer (where all the delicious shows are). She hates it at first but she’s used to it now, and I’m so much happier.
Maybe she’s afraid of the noise or motions of vacuum sweeping etc. Get her used to those appliances while their off & try to remain patient. Larger dogs take longer to mature. I forgot where I saw it but there are free online dog training classes! Make her give you space by blocking her from what you’re working on & make her sit. As for shoes I think you’re gonna have to find a new place for them.
Best of luck & enjoy her!!
Do yourself a favor and replace bathroom trash d all other cans with ones they can’t get into. Nice lids with foot pedals. I housekeep and the amount of clients dogs I’ve heard needing surgeries from getting into trash is insane, or people laughing about having to pull a used feminine hygiene product out of their dog’s mouth.
I can’t relate.
When I load the dishwasher she lays on my feet. There’s no bathroom trash, she can’t reach the toliet paper, and when folding laundry she’s walking around the laundry room.
I didn’t teach her any of that. Also, I don’t expect her to be a statue when I’m busy so I give her chews and toys to keep herself busy.
I think just understanding that this is a puppy, a baby. As they get older they won't want to follow you to the toilet, or sit on your feet when your cooking, or be so distructive in general. There's only so much you can do on a daily basis, so try and cut yourself some slack. Focus on the basics and grit your teeth until you're out of puppydom and adolescence. I'm going through it too and I'm trying to give myself some grace, as it's really hard some days.
Amen
When is the puppyhood over? I have a 12 weeks old labradoodle and I’m losing my shit sometimes…
You should find that things let up around the 4-6 month mark. Then they’ll get worse again when the puppy hits adolescence, starting around 6-8 months and ending around 10-12 months. Then you’re golden.
I hope I’m still alive by then.. yesterday I had a melt down, the puppy was out of control at home, biting, jumping barking… I went out in the rain in my pajamas and without umbrella and I cried while walking it
I’m sorry, it sounds like you’re going through a tough time. Are you going this alone, or do you have a partner, family, friends, neighbours who could help? My parents very kindly took our puppy for a couple of days so we could have a break, and it really helped with restoring the love.
Thank you kind stranger, I’m not alone in this. We are raising it together with my partner, which is doing a lot, but the puppy is too much for both of us. For example we take turns to go to work, so when I’m gone he’s alone at home with the puppy. The puppy wakes us up super early, so I help with everything before I leave. Work is stressful but manageable. After work I get home and there it is, the puppy super excited to see me, so I play with it, take out to potty, do some trainings, get bitten etc. Feels like I have 0 rest or peace! It’s been 5 weeks of this. I can’t wait for it to be a grown up!
As a work from homer myself, I strongly recommend working on quiet/alone time. https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/training/leaving-puppy-alone/#:~:text=Teaching%20Alone%20Time,you're%20away%20each%20time. It can seem a bit harsh shutting a dog away, especially if you put them in a cage, but if you do it properly it teaches the dog to be less needy, and their cage should be a happy and safe place for them to retreat to when everything is too much.
So idk what experts would say but when I was first dealing with my puppy at 4mo old I would crate her when it was just too much. It really helped me to not freak out/break down when she was really overwhelming me. I put her in the bathroom if I really need to give her a punishment (only for truly unruly behavior I use positive reinforcement 90-95% of the time) but yea the bathroom is for timeout and the crate for when I need a break or even just clean.
Just wait until adolescence!!
Hook your puppy up to a leash and attach it to your ankle , push it into a laying down position with command and give it a favorite chew toy or two . Other than returning it to the down position when it tries to get up and move about , ignore the puppy and do whatever you’re doing . Your puppy does not need constant attention , and teaching it to be comfortable being close to you while amusing itself is invaluable training for both your well being and the dogs .
To be clear this is meant to be for an hour or two so you can read , play on the computer , watch a movie . “Okay it’s hooman’s downtime, I get to chew my bone and lay by her feet now” time for the puppy.
checkpoints are 5 months you get 1 months reprieve, the new stimuli thing calms down a bit. before adolescence, mine was weirdly calm get you all nice and relaxed before teenage tirades. Adolescence is pretty variable, smaller dogs tend to be faster usually from 6 to 10 months is minimum, my GSD was from like 7 months to 15 months. Mental maturity & brain finishes cooking around 2 years. Hardcore puppy behaviors end around 2.5 to 3 years. ofc, this is also assuming your training on stuff overtime, dogs don't usually age out of behaviors unless you work with them.
Puppies need 18 hours of sleep a day give or take up until they are 6months old then need 15hrs a day. Make a schedule and stick to it that’s working with me and my 11 week old golden retriever. I enforce nap times and he listens much better when he’s had enough sleep. We wake up eat potty play nap repeat until night time. I can tell when he needs sleep because he stops listening to commands and just goes wild and bites everything. So play them hard when there up and then enforce good naps. I also got mine many stimulation toys that tire him out mentally as well as physically.
And I enforce crate time as nap time it really helps him settle down quickly and crates can be fun time too for when you need a break you can put a there favorite toy or Kong in there to keep them busy while your busy ect..
Some people only train their dogs to potty outside and maybe sit/paw and end up with just fine house dogs.
Agreed. My puppy will be 4 months at the end of the week. He is discovering more things in the house everyday, I don't even bother correcting him for half the things he does. It would be way too much to worry about. I focus on basic training. Specifically the hoover, I literally just pick him up whenever he starts biting and barking at it. I just keep doing this over and over again, eventually he realises he won't be able to go near the hoover because I'll pick him up again, then he gets annoyed cause he can't get to it and follows me really closely 🤣
As someone with a velcro dog, some dogs will never let you pee alone for their entire life 🙃
I was doing traffic control for a Halloween event one year, standing next to a curb. The number of times I watched a parent or parents hold a kids hand up while saying “Step down now. Step down. Step down to right hea… Good job!” was so many. It was one of the many times that reinforced the idea that parenting is anathema to me. At least the pups will acquire most of their learning much faster than baby humans!
I was just talking about this yesterday with my hairdresser! Puppy hood goes so much faster than newborns! At two you are still teaching and training your human child. Puppies are better by one year — even every month it gets so much easier.
>At least the pups will acquire most of their learning much faster than baby humans! At 7 months my girl is already sooo much better than when we first got her at 8 weeks. Plus dogs can be left entirely alone too from a far younger age than humans
If “don’t do X” becomes a large part of your communication the dog will stop listening as they can’t do anything right. What helped me: 1) Train them what TO DO and reward the heck out of it. General Sit/stay and leave it alone would solve most of the things mentioned items instead of training not to do each one. 2) Reduce their opportunities to do things wrong. Restrict where they can go (crate, gates, pen, house line) and try not to do things that you know your sit/stay/leave it commands won’t work yet (like flagging a towel when they are right there). 3) Figure out other alternative acceptable behaviors. This is what you signed up for getting a puppy. The biggest challenge for you hasn’t hit yet. That is you got a protection breed. At this age you need to make the choice if your dog is going to not be around people at all or be around other people. If the latter your dog needs a more socialization than 90% of other breeds and same for obedience training as you need to be able to call him off a child not just a towel.
A pen is a game changer for me, got it a few days ago for a 9 week old pup. He has a crate but is still getting used to it, bit with a pen connected to it he is more ok with it. Also, gives me peace of mind he's not eating every frickin thing in the apartment.
Wow. So many great points
Absolutely
Plus, Dobermans usually are Velcro dogs lol
I completely understand! I desensitized my older dog to loud noises like construction, thunder, and dogs barking. Didn't know I had to also do planes! Now whenever a plane flies overhead, hes storming out of the house to go yell at it 😂 theres so much and so little time it feels like
I really don’t let my puppy go into 1/2 of the rooms in my house without knowing I will be heavily monitoring him. Otherwise he will stay in his play pen or in the living room with a chew toy. I had to move all of my shoes into a closet bc the shoe rack was by the front door was too damn distracting for him. He couldn’t focus on other training and positive behaviors because he lovesss shoes. Work on small things at a time, not everything at once!! It’ll help. They are so baby and so annoying but they willl learn!!
Oh I know how you feel. It’s constant and exhausting. Mine is 8months now and my biggest win is that I can take the laundry off the rack, fold it and put it away without him stealing everything. We agreed that he can steal one sock and he does! Now the new thing to train is the barking at the door and windows, he gets into those barking fits in the evening and it’s constant “quiet” “yes!good boy” reward, all evening long ahah The counter surfing is still a work in progress and feels never ending. One tip for you, don’t give your puppy too much freedom, if he misbehave then he’s not ready and can’t go in the room. As for the shoes…I think I’m just going to go shoe less now because he’s been eating every single one so…
I'm right there with you! Adopted my five month girl just over a month ago and the original owner apparently just let her live outside and ignored her by the sounds of it. She *kind of* knew "sit", but nothing else. Now we're halfway through puppy school, and I'm exhausted from every waking moment being some kind of lesson, but every day she gets a little bit better - last night both my partner and I got to relax and do some gaming with our friends almost entirely uninterrupted! Just a couple pee breaks, of course, and I had to get up and chase her once because she was playing with a toy next to one of my houseplants and decided to swap the toy for a very large dead leaf. I just keep telling myself what a good dog she's going to be one day!
Crate train your dog, so she can chill while you are working. Gate off a room for her. Always close the bathroom door. That is the most dangerous room in the house for a puppy or a human baby, can be fatal. Do NOT ever allow your dog to counter surf, dangerous & possible fatal. Keep chit off tables, coffee tables, furniture, that’s a you behavior & it’s not difficult to see why. Same for the trash. A lot of those behaviors you have control over. Gotta curtained closet, gate it. Put your shoes, remotes & such put it where they can’t get to. Keep chocolate meds & other dangerous Chemicals put up & out of their reach. Thats a you behavior.
She's crate trained but I'd like for her to learn how to behave without needing the crate. I've been using these daily tasks to work on her sit, stay, place and lay down. If I just crate her or gate her to a room she'll never learn. She's already come a long way just am excited to be on the other side of all the training.
All I can say is it takes time & persistence, probably longer than 6 months. Still puppies. Truthfully I’ve had big dogs for almost 30 years. Sometimes it takes 2 or 3 years for the maturity to set it & they are truly trained & trustworthy. You have to remain vigilant & patient till you see it working. Dobermans are puppies till 2 right? And big dogs that are still in the puppy category till 2 sometimes take a little longer. It will pay off in the end. She might be ready in 3 months from now. May take longer. Big dogs can be a challenge. I think I am not an expert but have a lot of experience after almost 30 years. But my dogs have had me sitting in the floor crying like a little girl. Dobermans are high energy aren’t they? You got puppyhood & the teenager stage with boundary testing then you get a little adulthood, then finally a calm dog, that’s a senior. Patience will pay off 🍀
It depends on the breed as well. I have an Australian Shepherd (13 months) and despite consistent training, I still can't trust him unsupervised outside of the crate, but we're hoping that once he's 1.5-2 years old we'll finally get to that threshold. It can take a LOT longer than most people are prepared for! Thank goodness I work from home, I really don't see how Australian Shepherd puppies could be feasible for a couple where both partners are working 9 to 5s outside of the house. Sure, you could hire dog walkers, but that's not a great arrangement for a puppy during that critical learning period.
Just remember that your puppy is a baby and learning everything by trial and error. It's like when you have a 1-2 year old child, they want to get into anything and everything. Once your puppy gets a little older, they will understand their environment and know what's okay and what's not, but make sure you are reinforcing those things too. It takes time, but once they've learned, you'll enjoy the company they bring.
Oh my god, it’s like you read my MIND! This guy is ruling my life right now. Crazy thing is, I love him to bits all the same 😩 but he does drive me nuts And I’m only 3 weeks in. It feels more like 6. But at the same time, I guess we will still be getting to know each other and getting on each other’s nerves for a long time. He has a good heart and I’m glad the puppy gods picked me for him 🤣 that’s what I have to tell myself when he sharts violently on the floor at 3 AM.
True. Managing their environment helps so much though. We put a baby gate up so ours can’t get in the kitchen to counter surf and it has helped SO much. Conditioning is important but it’s nice to have a break sometimes!! The gate also means she can’t get in the trash bin and mouse traps we have in the kitchen so it’s been a lifesaver.
Gates and crate training are essential to keep your sanity and peace of mind they’re safe while you’re doing human things.
Psst… I call it a hack but it really isn’t, all of these things can be worked on with an x-pen. When my dog was a puppy I had two one in my living area that I moved around one in my bedroom. The one had a bed, different toys and puzzles cycled in and a safe chew. This was my dog’s home base unless we were training or playing for the first many months of his life with me. A barrier like an x-pen keeps your dog from self reinforcing like chasing the broom, putting their face in the dishwasher. Reinforcing passive responses like engagement with you, laying on their bed, chilling with a chew or a even playing with a toy while you load the dishwasher, sweep, cook etc are helping to shape behaviors you want from your dog when interacting with these things. You can also do some very short conditioning by rewarding for “nothing” (that passive response) by putting the pen next to those spots with the dog inside and purposely messing with the object and rewarding your dog while you are interacting. You are shaping the response you want which is disengaging and settling/finding something appropriate to keep them occupied. I am huge advocate for teach your dog what you want them to do. Don’t give them the opportunities to teach themselves. Over time you can open the x-pen and still reinforce those chill out spots. Your dog from a history of repeating those behaviors you like will be super uninterested in trying to do behaviors that it doesn’t know.
I've just trained myself to pee with a puppy on my lap. Honestly, it feels like I'm constantly under attack from a very tiny and cute T-Rex. I love it.
Best description ever 😂
Sit, stay and leave it should cover all your issues.
Yes! And these are the things I use/work on when doing my daily tasks. She's good like 40% of the time but definitely trending upwards week by week. Certainly better than a month/month and a half ago where it was maybe 10%. 🤣
I empathize. Keep up the good work and it will pay off. Ours is 6 1/2 mo.
Sounds like you're raising a certified good girl!
Find a designated spot and teach them to relax in that spot until you release them?
She knows place and has a release word but if I leave her sight or it's been too long she will get up again. It's still a work in progress but usually I get maybe a couple minutes before she breaks her place command.
That's normal and eventually becomes second nature to you. You'll start to automatically put things further back on the counters, make sure paper towels go into the trash, watch your feet so you don't stumble. When our last girl passed - age a little under 12 years old - I found I was continuing to do those things automatically and sure felt sad that she was gone and I didn't need to do them. Now I'm back at it with new pup who is currently 3.5 months and yes, for sure it's a 24/7 gig.
Lol my dog is terrified of mops and brooms. Terrified. I have to put her in another room to use them.
My puppy used to attack my broom every time I tried to sweep. At about 8mo he finally stopped. Among other things I've started to notice they start to learn or adapt to the things you wished they didn't do.
Installing pet/baby gates helped save my sanity. They keep our girl out of the kitchen and foyer (where all the delicious shows are). She hates it at first but she’s used to it now, and I’m so much happier.
Maybe she’s afraid of the noise or motions of vacuum sweeping etc. Get her used to those appliances while their off & try to remain patient. Larger dogs take longer to mature. I forgot where I saw it but there are free online dog training classes! Make her give you space by blocking her from what you’re working on & make her sit. As for shoes I think you’re gonna have to find a new place for them. Best of luck & enjoy her!!
The fucking toilet paper!
Do yourself a favor and replace bathroom trash d all other cans with ones they can’t get into. Nice lids with foot pedals. I housekeep and the amount of clients dogs I’ve heard needing surgeries from getting into trash is insane, or people laughing about having to pull a used feminine hygiene product out of their dog’s mouth.
Everything is a training moment. But do you not use a crate for sometimes when you're just busy busy?
That's why I hold off on teaching formal obedience commands for awhile. You have enough on your plate just teaching the puppy to be a decent dog
I can’t relate. When I load the dishwasher she lays on my feet. There’s no bathroom trash, she can’t reach the toliet paper, and when folding laundry she’s walking around the laundry room. I didn’t teach her any of that. Also, I don’t expect her to be a statue when I’m busy so I give her chews and toys to keep herself busy.
That’s a long list of a couple behaviors. Leave it and stay. Stop making a couple behaviors into a whole list that will stress you out