NMHP Forum - Puppies aren't just cuddles and good smells!

#1Question from Helen:
I am asking a question for a co-worker of mine. Her family purchased an Australian Cattle Dog a puppy. The puppy is about 5 months old and they are having some behavior issues. They are enrolling in obedience classes at their local Petco store but they don't start for 2 more weeks so I was wondering if you might make a few suggestions to help them out.

The issues they are having with their puppy are:

1) The puppy barks at almost everything, including her reflection in a door, mirror, leaves, the leaf blower.
2) The puppy lunges at the TV set when she sees other animals.
3) The puppy nips at their feet as she walks with them.
4) The puppy nips at their hands and arms.

Sometimes when she explains the puppy's behavior it seems as if the dog is looking for constant attention. I get the impression that the nipping and biting is getting to be a big problem for them.

The family thinks she is very cute and realizes that some of her behavior is puppy behavior but are getting a bit frustrated with her. They have not mentioned getting rid of her but the other day she growled and bit so this added to their frustration. They are hoping the obedience classes will help them, but I doubt that the classes with address all of these situations. I believe that they want to work with her but just need some direction on how to guide their little dog so she will be a member of the family that they enjoy spending time with.

Would appreciate any suggestions on solving these issues.

Response from Best Friends Network:
Thank you for your question. I will try to keep this response short for the purpose of this forum, but please feel free to have your friends contact us directly (benetwork@bestfriends.org) for further assistance if needed. In the meantime, you could tell them (excerpted from http://www.bestfriends.com/theanimals/pdfs/allpets/choosingapet.pdf in the Best Friends Caring for Your Pets section,
http://www.bestfriends.com/theanimals/petcare/):

Sharing your life with a companion dog has great benefits and can bring you great joy. It's best to learn about the needs of different types of breeds to find one that will best suit your lifestyle. Each type of dog breed is different in terms of care, behavior, cost, housing and demands on your time.

After all, if you know what you're getting into, you'll be more likely to have a happy animal, a good relationship with your pet, and an easier time dealing with any challenges that might arise. If you're thinking about getting a particular breed of dog, you might want to read up on various breeds before deciding what type of dog to get. Different breeds of dogs have different characteristics.

If you have your heart set on a specific breed, please consider adopting a homeless dog or puppy from a shelter rather than purchasing a dog from a pet store or breeder. More than a quarter of the dogs in shelters are pure bred dogs. By opening your heart and home to a shelter dog you will be saving at least two lives. Even if you adopt from an organization that adheres to a "no-kill" policy, you will be helping to rescue another animal by making space available at the shelter or foster home.

By adopting, rather than buying a new companion dog, you reduce the demand that drives the commercial breeding of puppies. Each year, millions of healthy and well-behaved animals are destroyed in shelters and pounds simply because there are not enough homes for all of them.

Here are some questions to ask yourself as you consider what type of dog to get:

. If you have children, how will having a dog/puppy affect them? Will everyone in your home welcome an animal?

. If you rent, do you have permission from the property owner?

. How much space do you have inside and outside your home? Will you need a fenced yard?

. How much time do you have to spend with your dog?

. What is your activity level? Are you sedentary or physically active?

Adopting a puppy is a huge commitment, since you cannot leave a puppy home alone all day. Most puppies need to eliminate every two hours or so. Also, in order to co-exist happily with humans, puppies must be taught house-training skills and basic commands. If puppies are not handled often and socialized when young, they will become shy and fearful which in turn could result in fear aggression issues later on.

You'll also want to consider where you live, how much space you have, and what your lifestyle is. For example, larger dogs may not do well confined to a small apartment or living in a big city, unless you are thoroughly committed to providing your dog with plenty of exercise. Dogs need quite a bit of interaction with their humans in order to be happy. Bringing a puppy into your home is making a long-term commitment, since dogs live 10 years or more.

But now on to the more specifics of your question:

During the period of 4-6 months, puppies grow rapidly and you may notice daily changes. Even though puppies are very energetic, you should not exercise your puppy too much - he can overdo it and he needs time outs just as children do. For more info on puppy development and behavior please go to http://www.bestfriends.org/theanimals/petcare/dogs.cfm for some helpful fact sheets.

Dogs need guidance and consistent training from their people if they are going to live in harmony with humans. All dogs must be taught acceptable behavior, and one way to do that is to train your dog or puppy or to pay a trainer to do it. Dogs are happiest when they know who's in charge and what's expected of them.

Positive reinforcement is the most effective and humane way to train animals. The basic principle is to reward a desired behavior with something pleasant. As with so many things, correct timing is essential. To get the animal to associate the reward with the correct behavior, the treat or praise must be delivered immediately. Consistency is also essential - always reward the desired behavior
and don't ever reward undesired behavior.

See the info at
http://www.bestfriends.org/theanimals/pdfs/allpets/positivereinforcement.pdf for more information and suggested reading.

The reward for good behavior can be a favorite toy, a game, petting, praise, or food treats. Most dogs will work for food, so food is the most common training reward. Use small pieces of soft treats that don't require a lot of chewing, so that you don't lose the puppy's focus on the task at hand. And again - don't overdo it. Puppies have a short attention span. CONSISTENCY is the magic word!

Clicker training is one great fun and effective way to communicate with a dog/puppy. Clicker training works by getting your dog to expect something positive (like a treat) in return for doing something you ask him or her to do. You use clicker so that your pet will associate the treat with the clicking noise. Eventually, you won't even have to use treats: your pet will respond to the clicker alone. For more information on clicker training please go to
http://www.bestfriends.org/theanimals/pdfs/dogs/clickertraining.pdf.

However, regardless of the type of training method used, praise and food rewards should be offered every time the puppy is learning a new behavior. After the dog responds consistently to a command, you can praise him without offering any treats. The dog will learn commands better if EVERYONE in the household uses the same commands and the same consistent reward/praise technique.

With lots of love, patience and willingness to work with their puppy, your friends should have a wonderful and rewarding experience in seeing him develop into a loving and devoted family member eager to please and share their lives.

Response from Dr Emily Weiss:
You said that your friend purchased this dog - does that mean she purchased from a breeder or pet store? A lot of the behavior your friend is seeing is due to the breed of dog she chose. Australian cattle dogs are tenacious herders. They are easily visually stimulated and will often become overly aroused from movement.

Many of these issues can be addressed with some positive reinforcement training. I think they would benefit greatly from a private session with a Certified Pet Dog Trainer. They can find a certified trainer in there area through the Association of Pet Dog Trainer's web site (www.apdt.com) . Be sure that the trainer they choose is certified - not just a member.

Some hints to assist them would be to make sure that the puppy is well enriched. I would feed this puppy out of a roller ball or buster cube, and would make sure she always has something to 'figure out.'

I would also suggest walking the puppy in a gentle leader - it will keep the puppy a bit calmer, and will help them stop the puppy from nipping their ankles on a walk. HOWEVER - it is vital that the puppy has time to get used to the gentle leader before they use it on walks. They should spend a few days putting in on and giving her a special toy, playing with her, or giving her a buster cube - as many dogs find the leader uncomfortable at first. Once she is comfortable in the leader, she can wear it on walks, and if necessary, when she is well supervised in the home - dragging the leash behind her (this should only be done if someone is keeping a constant eye on the puppy).

Finally I would play the "visible- invisible" game with the puppy. They will need to dress well (ankles covered with thick socks) to play this game, as the idea is to ignore the puppy when it nips and chases their feet, and pay attention to the puppy when she directs these activities on appropriate items. They should buy some squeaky, fun, movement oriented toys and place them on the ground. When the puppy picks up a toy, they should all direct their attention on the puppy, being vocal and touching the puppy. The moment she takes her mouth off they toy, they should ignore her. When she puts her mouth back on the toy, the party begins again. One or two very consistent sessions like that and the puppy will learn to keep her mouth on a toy.

I have to spend a moment talking about appropriate placement. I wonder if your friend was counseled on the behaviors she would likely see in her new puppy. One of the great advantages of many of the shelters and rescues around the country is that the client can be educated regarding both breed behavior, and specific individual animal behavior - as many facilities assess their animals before placement.

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Posted on SHARE Yahoo group - July 6, 2005