Had a private trainer come into my home...

[2Morkies]

Just a suggestion...you can hate it if you want.
Have you tried bonding with him more?
Teaching him tricks with treats he loves...going on a LONG walk everyday at the same time and having him stay beside you while walking with leash?
Does the Petsmart or Petco near you have good trainers. Can you ask them? I wish I was closer to you I'd love to come try to help. My old dog did that as a pup and it lasted his whole life. I hope you can nip this soon.

[2Morkies]

Oh for good training treats try string cheese...little bits at a time. My two love that.

[smepperson]

and for training or anything we use Wellness Just for Puppies treats!! Our Teddi is CRAZY about them!!

We have the same trouble with our Teddi. He is only 4 1/2 mos. and is really pushing the boundaries lately. I feel like I'm reading our life lately with our new little one....*sigh*

[roseylovestosho]

Originally Posted by smepperson

Was that Petsmart or Petco? My vet suggests petco but I'm not sure. Also were they puppy classes? I am having the same problems with my Teddi (believe it or not). All was going well until I started to use the hand 'nipping' correction and now he barks at me and challenges me more than ever. It's maddening because I just want him to like me. He seems to get truly annoyed at me and the last hing I want to do is make him afraid. I want him to know that he is not the alpha but that he is safe and secure as well.

Hi, this was not at Petco or Petsmart. In fact, you can go to either of these places and I'm pretty sure they do not use negative reinforcement. The person that used negative reinforcement was a private trainer that my vet (he's not really my vet I was looking for a vet and that was one that received good reviews online). For the biting and barking, personally I think it may be boredom. First of all, when he bites you hard make sure to yell "OW" really loudly, enough so that it startles him into stopping what he's doing. The second he stops say good boy and give him a more appropriate thing to chew on. If he starts biting again yell "ow" once more and if he is absolutely not paying attention to you then you need to walk away from him or put him in his crate. When you put him in his crate only leave him in there for 30 seconds because he will start doing something else and forget why he's in there in the first place. Once the 30 seconds are done, try again. If he is still biting at you, then put him back in his crate. You need to MAKE SURE that you catch him when he's doing something right and PRAISE HIM LIKE THERE IS NO TOMORROW. Most of the time, myself included, we only correct when they start jumping, but you may have not even noticed that he was sitting first, and that went unnoticed. After sitting didn't work, he will start jumping. Usually the barking is out of boredom. You need to find things that HE ABSOLUTELY LOVES to play with so much that he does not mind that you've left the room. This is a problem with Teddy for sure. He starts whining, and then barking at me from his crate when I'm sitting in the living room and he's sitting there bored in his crate. What I've started doing is giving him bully sticks, wishbones, and beef trachea to entertain him for a while in his crate. The SECOND that I see that he is getting bored or restless I open the crate and I let him come out. This lets him know that he will not be in the crate forever, it is only temporary. This helps him build confidence in being alone. Another thing you might want to do for the barking/boredom is buying a chase it. They sell them at mychaseit.com, and other places as well. You can play with it in your own home and he GOES CRAZY over it. He just runs and chases all over the place, and this is great because Teddy REFUSES to play fetch. It bores him...the chase it though he loves. When he seems to get bored, just switch it, give him something else to preoccupy himself with and he'll definitely stop the biting because he is having so much fun with you that when you put him for 30 seconds in the crate after nipping too much or too hard he'll come back out and want to fix the "bad" behavior because being with you is so much fun! Teddy also barks/whines at me when he is thirsty. Make sure that there is always water in his crate for him to drink...you'd be surprised how much water they drink....Finally, if he is barking at you, and you've already fed him, he's gone to the bathroom, drank water, and you played with him more than enough, then usually I just use a squirt bottle and he goes STRAIGHT to sleep! Honestly, I think that puppies just want to keep going and going and going and they themselves don't realize that they're tired sometimes! After two mile walks with Teddy I put him back in the crate sometimes and he just starts whining/crying and I spray him once with water, he lies down and goes to sleep for HOURS! Sorry for the long winded response, it's just that I am still dealing with this problem myself, but I think its getting better. Just hang in there it'll get better! He doesn't hate you, animals don't think like that!!! It's hard not to be offended when they bark/bite/maybe even growl but sometimes they're not really doing it at us they're just frustrated by the SITUATION, which is something we can easily fix!
Hope this helps!

Oh and they do have puppy classes at PETCO/Petsmart

[candigirl]

what an amazing post rosey, is this what u learned with your new trainer or something you figured out on your own? Either way i must agree with you that boredom might be a big part. My Lexie is not ready to go for walks just yet because she's not finished with her shots but i can tell sometimes that she's bored, she has so much energy and when i'm carrying her down/up stairs to an area that she's had free play in she starts squirming and biting my hands like crazy to be put down, and the second i put her down she takes off like a bat out of hell. She whines in her pen sometimes to be taken out and will stand on her hind legs as you walk by her hoping to get your attention.

She likes her toys but i think she might be getting bored of them, she'll play fetch for a few minutes then lose interest. She loves tug of war but i've stopped playing that with her as i've heard it encourages aggression so i'm hoping to get her some really interesting toys for Christmas and i'll be looking into that "chase it".

She's still possessive over things she finds or toys etc so i'm working on teaching her "give it"

By the way where can you purchase the bully sticks? do they sell them at Petsmart?

[roseylovestosho]

Originally Posted by candigirl

what an amazing post rosey, is this what u learned with your new trainer or something you figured out on your own? Either way i must agree with you that boredom might be a big part. My Lexie is not ready to go for walks just yet because she's not finished with her shots but i can tell sometimes that she's bored, she has so much energy and when i'm carrying her down/up stairs to an area that she's had free play in she starts squirming and biting my hands like crazy to be put down, and the second i put her down she takes off like a bat out of hell. She whines in her pen sometimes to be taken out and will stand on her hind legs as you walk by her hoping to get your attention.

She likes her toys but i think she might be getting bored of them, she'll play fetch for a few minutes then lose interest. She loves tug of war but i've stopped playing that with her as i've heard it encourages aggression so i'm hoping to get her some really interesting toys for Christmas and i'll be looking into that "chase it".

She's still possessive over things she finds or toys etc so i'm working on teaching her "give it"

By the way where can you purchase the bully sticks? do they sell them at Petsmart?

Most of it I learned through reading, however I did not have the tools necessary to implement them. When the (new) trainer came, she had a BUNCH of treats for him to try that he absolutely LOVED...I was SO AMAZED. Because she had a sampling of freeze dried liver, boiled chicken, beef trachea, and wishbone, we were able to find out what Teddy liked without me having to buy absolutely everything to figure it out. She also helped me refine the "crate time" for when he bites. I used to put him in the crate when he bit me and I would just leave him there for ten minutes at a time, which like she said will make him forget why he's in there to begin with. She also brought the chaseit toy, which even though its a whomping $30 when I saw how much he loved it I ordered it! She also helped me understand about not being offended when they bark/bite/growl...she gave me some things to read, which helped me build confidence that what I was doing was right and I just needed to keep at it with him!

[roseylovestosho]

Originally Posted by candigirl

what an amazing post rosey, is this what u learned with your new trainer or something you figured out on your own? Either way i must agree with you that boredom might be a big part. My Lexie is not ready to go for walks just yet because she's not finished with her shots but i can tell sometimes that she's bored, she has so much energy and when i'm carrying her down/up stairs to an area that she's had free play in she starts squirming and biting my hands like crazy to be put down, and the second i put her down she takes off like a bat out of hell. She whines in her pen sometimes to be taken out and will stand on her hind legs as you walk by her hoping to get your attention.

She likes her toys but i think she might be getting bored of them, she'll play fetch for a few minutes then lose interest. She loves tug of war but i've stopped playing that with her as i've heard it encourages aggression so i'm hoping to get her some really interesting toys for Christmas and i'll be looking into that "chase it".

She's still possessive over things she finds or toys etc so i'm working on teaching her "give it"

By the way where can you purchase the bully sticks? do they sell them at Petsmart?

I know that several YT members sell bullysticks, however I cannot say I've bought from them (you might want to ask someone else about them!). One member on here recommended eddieb260 on ebay and I just got them in the mail yesterday. They do NOT smell at all and Teddy absolutely loves them! I got 50 of the 6inch bully sticks for $37!!!

[smepperson]

Hi ~ thanks so much for your post. It's been a long time since i've had a baby puppy. Gizzy was 14 when he left.

I do have to give credit where credit is due. Teddi is very smart! He already knows 'drop it', 'sit', his full name (Teddi Bear), doesn't really bark in the pen anymore - I give him a treat, small but was suggested by another YT member, and is walking better on his leash thanks to our sitter. He just gets these spurts of energy where he runs around like he's had too much coffee, growling, barking and biting anything in his way. Also he ran around in circles in his pen once when he was having a tantrum with the growling etc.

Just got in from a walk with the hubby and immediately jumped on me and pawed at me and did some mouthing. Used the 'ouch' and he immediately stopped. He's quite amped at the moment. I'm not really sure how to use the pen either. I think he needs to have it for naps sometimes but he will nap with us and I like the cuddling but then sometimes I can see him getting so sleepy and he still keeps going like the energizer bunny ~ then he gets crazy when he is over tired. Maybe I should do the nap thing in there. It's just he hates to be in there ~ no whining unless I leave the room and then just lightly. It's so weird ~ it's like he's normal one minute and then gets over excited and NUTS the next!!! *sigh*

He was so amped the other day I was crying...so...he starts puppy classes on January 3rd. I just wish it was sooner! It's like he has split personality or something....

[RachelandSadie]

Originally Posted by JeanieK

I'm am guessing that the puppy viewed the trainer as a pack leader because of her confidence and experience. He does not see you as a leader and is therefore challenging you.

This is going to take some time. I suggest getting Cesar Milans books or CDs on how to be the pack leader. Here is a link to some exercises that you can try, to help you to estalish yourself as the leader. More Information

This is an ongoing process and it will take time. Dont give up. As you become more confident the puppy wil begin to look at you differently.

It is good that you are concerned about this an not viewing as a phase or 'oh isnt he cute".

Good Luck

while i do respect Ceasar Milan he's only going to teach you the corrections method that you have already learned. I personally do not agree with this method. You don't have to be a "pack leader" but you do have to be calm and assertive. that's the one ceasar thing i agree with most, be calm but assert that you mean it. all the pysical stuff is where ceasar and i part ways. i do not believe in tapping, kicking (even lightly) smackin or spanking a dog. it's verbal cues, and non verbal with my hand signals that work best and it's ALL positive training with treats and praise all the time. for biting withdrawing attention and saying NO BITE worked for us. also having another dog for my girl to play with helped her to learn not to bite hard but just barely and then she stopped biting at me. she still does play with her mouth open, but those teeth never close on our fingers now, she will touch our hand and open her mouth again never biting. just keep positive. when you withdraw from play that shows that biting isn't positive and therefore they learn to play without it or not play at all.

[RachelandSadie]

Originally Posted by roseylovestosho

I got him when he was 12 weeks old. I do not think he used to get away with biting. When he got here, he did not start off by biting. He only used to kind of knaw on my finger as if he was teething. I think that my lack of clarity with what is acceptable may have led him to think he can just bite/chew do whatever he wants and get away with it. Before the trainer, I used to yell "OW" when he bit me, and I'd give him another toy to play with, however he would ignore the toy and keep biting me. Now, I'm back to yelling OW and he seems to be encouraged by the fact that it is hurting me and now he is biting HARDER when I yelp! When he does this, I put him back into his crate where he begs to get out but I ignore him.

sadie did the same thing! it baffled me because she literally came at me more when i cried OW. it was nuts. but she did grow out of it and she got better with our walking away or say UH OH and putting her on the floor away from us.

[Britster]

I agree with Rachel. Here's my take:

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/tra...ods-views.html

You've gotta have FUN, and create that bond, and be a friend to your dog. Enjoy each others company. Yes, they need rules, boundaries and limitations for sure... but training is not about being the boss. It should be a mutual respect and partnership.

[Tinksmygirl]

Originally Posted by Britster

I agree with Rachel. Here's my take:

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/tra...ods-views.html

You've gotta have FUN, and create that bond, and be a friend to your dog. Enjoy each others company. Yes, they need rules, boundaries and limitations for sure... but training is not about being the boss. It should be a mutual respect and partnership.

I couldn't agree more.

[RachelandSadie]

Originally Posted by Britster

I agree with Rachel. Here's my take:

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/tra...ods-views.html

You've gotta have FUN, and create that bond, and be a friend to your dog. Enjoy each others company. Yes, they need rules, boundaries and limitations for sure... but training is not about being the boss. It should be a mutual respect and partnership.

i'm starting my CGC training with both dogs in January with a private trainer. Sadie's going to get some prep school lol then she's going to hopefully try out agilty to expell her endless energy...and Bentley is going CGC then prob. right into therapy dog training for a year or two and then hopefully we can do earth dog on the side since i finally found a local earth dog trainer YAY. i'm going with AKC limited registration for non AKC born dogs so they can start competing in those trials...can't wait to build those bonds and friendship with them both...i think they will really blossum from it.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by RachelandSadie

i'm starting my CGC training with both dogs in January with a private trainer. Sadie's going to get some prep school lol then she's going to hopefully try out agilty to expell her endless energy...and Bentley is going CGC then prob. right into therapy dog training for a year or two and then hopefully we can do earth dog on the side since i finally found a local earth dog trainer YAY. i'm going with AKC limited registration for non AKC born dogs so they can start competing in those trials...can't wait to build those bonds and friendship with them both...i think they will really blossum from it.

Yay! Congrats! It's so much fun, isn't it? I'm starting Jackson in a class in February that ends with a CGC test. He's definitely my active/agility dog, and I'd love my future next dog to be more therapy dog material so I can have both. I'm curious about earth dog trials, I haven't really seen much about them yet around here. I'm also highly interested in rally-o and dock diving, but again, don't see it yet around here.

[107barney]

I'm late coming onto your thread.....but, I think it is good you re-evaluated this trainer. We do not use physical force to train our dogs in any manner. I would never use my human hand to correct the dog, because all it does is teach them fear of a human hand which is not a good thing. The only aversive I've used is a water bottle for VERY bad behavior like excessive barking or arguments that I need to intervene in which are very few. I love obedience training and we have always done off-leash social training.