 discipline and puppies
When I first got my little yorkie girl, "Sophie" I didn't know alot; however, I did know that I wanted a calm , patient , approach. I was 62 yrs old when I got her and she is now 3 yrs old and comes to work with me, travels with me and there are no disicpline problems.
The first thing I did was hire a personal trainer to come out and train me. I learned so much. Then, I read " Cesar's Way" by Cesar Millan and bought his CD's and watched his show. I learned that all problems were caused by me not teaching the dog what I wanted. Everything that I learned from the Dog Whisperer worked! I didn't need language, I needed to meet her needs as an animal and that meant two to three walks a day, initially getting a comfy crate/house ( I use it at work, it is open and she goes in by herself) feeding regularly, and teaching her by association and with much patience what I wanted her to do . After hundreds of hours and rarely raising my voice, just using praise, she will go "pee Pee potty" on cue and "Poopy potty" on cue, she will walk without a leash in a heel and will be off heal when I say, "ok", she will not come to me or anyone to play with toys at work, playing is when we get home, she sits quietly in her car seat which enables her to see out of the window ( not the safest). She does not do yappy barking, when she started barking at things outside, I would get up, go to her and praise her for letting me know, then sit down. Now she runs to me when there is an animal outside or a person. She is not allowed to be aggressive with the cats and this was done with a constant interfering of her space, not yelling or ever hitting her. She will also, off leash, not go after squirrels, groundhogs or anything else unless I say. She has a signal that I use with my hand that means it's ok to play with my hand and nip, then it's "all done." and another signal. They are so smart. One last thing ....when I eat, she does not come near me because she is not allowed to. I have never fed her from my plate ( one exception means months of undoing) When I finish my last bite , she comes running and sits to hear me sa y it's ok to come up.
so.....exercise, teaching, affection. Watch tone of voice, they don't understand English or German or Chinese but they do understand tone. When I leave the house, I tell her I will be back and wait, when I get back, she used to be so excited because I was using an excited voice. Now, I just say, "good wait." This dog is the joy of my life and it has been very painful to acknowledge that my ineptness was the cause , at times, of her not learning. Sorry to go on and on. Good luck! |