I don't know about the yelling. If we yell our guy immediately stops what he was doing. I don't think yelling is bad, I have tried the NO and BAD and that didn't work for me.

And ...I have the posters brother so I know him well.

When and what do you feed your puppy? Do you leave food and water down all the time?
1. You should schedule meals and water. I leave water down but when you leave food down on a schedule, you can also schedule potty time. Try it. Feed him and take him out immediately. Wait an hour and take him again, and take him out until you fiigure out how long it takes for his food to digest. Mine is 2 hours. If you leave food and water down all the time you will have trouble helping him figure out when he needs to go. Water is touchy, you dont want to dehydrate them but you can still control it.
2. Is the food something that promotes high energy? Is it puppy food? Puppy foods have more calories (which equals more energy). Perhaps a change in food will calm him a bit.

Finally, you need to play with him to wear him down. You can get him toys but he needs a game that wipes him out! LOL

Hubby and I havent come to terms with food scheduling which means there is no house training here BUT when I am home on the weekends and its on a strict schedule, I do not have one mess to clean up! Now if I could just train my husband!

He does only eat when I put the food out for him...i don't leave it out all day (he would eat it right away) :) He does eat puppy food; but it is prescription...cause he used to have a really sensitive stomach. The only other things I ever give him are cheerios, apples, strawberries, carrots and stuff like that...but they are minimal amounts and sometimes only as treats. I do play with him a lot (trust me, he will not let me just sit. He brings his toys over and taps my hand to play with him or tosses it in my face). He has always had a lot of energy...we used to joke about how high he jumps. He is not afraid to jump really high or to jump off of high things.

As far as saying "leave it" or "wrong", I tried that and it did not work. :( He just ignores me. Honestly, my husband tells me that even when I yell at rufus (our dog) it does not seem like i am yelling. I think he knows I love him, and he just looks at me with those puppy eyes and I melt. I think it's just him...my friends have his brother (Hi Len), and his brother is calmer and sleeps, listens and does not chew as much... he is also pretty much trained!!! I think my dog is just a punk ;) He knows what is up, and just wants to do what he wants to do when he wants to do it! I guess I will have to wait it out.

I appreciate the advice, and I will try some of the ideas out. :) Definitly the Bully Bone!!!

Bully Stick
 

Can I just thank everyone who recommended the bully stick!!!!!

At first he growled, backed up and barked at it. He even would jump on the couch to go around it...lol Then I picked it up and pretended to eat it and kept saying "yummy". He licked it a bit, and all of a sudden grabbed it and took it to his crate (he hates his crate) to chew it!!! He is totally, independently entertained!!! I will have to see if he will sit with it when I have to do things around the house.

Anyways, thanks again! It's a lifesaver...I hope it continues to work. :D

Oh, does anyone know- can i leave it with him in his crate when I leave the house? Or- is it better to just give it to him when I'm home?

I would only let him have chewies when you are home

Thanks!!

I am glad the bully sticks are working! The puppy stage is so much work! Your little guy reminds me of a little child! into everything, demanding, does not listen, and full of energy!
one big thing is to be very consistent with him. Make a potty schedule around his eating time. Also with the peeing in the crate, make sure he is not in it for hrs at a time. Being a little puppy he will want to be with you all the time and want your attention as much as possible, that is just what a puppy will do. He loves you and now your his mommy. You are his world ! Bully sticks are great for him, as well as safe puppy toys just his size.
I have a pillow that I placed right next to the desktop on the floor for Suzi to be next to me while on the computor. She likes that she can be near me .
Remember to try and turn your back on him when he is being naughty, don't give him any attention. However when he behaves reward him! Always use positive reinforcement. :aimeeyork

Glad to hear bully sticks are working for you.

Now, I wonder if sometime down the line you will be posting "help, I have to hide his bully stick cause he ignores me".... ha ha, just joking ;) Glad he has a distraction to bring balance into your lives.

I can see you already got great advice. The only thing I can tell you I do with Mia and works great is. Positive reinforcement.
When Mia has her accidents I go and clean them I dont tell her nothing at all because if you do she would just learn to go when your not watching.
When she does go on the wee wee pad cause that's what I want her to do. I give her a whole celebration. Lots of prasing and special treat that she loves and would only get for going on the wee wee pad.

Mia is 4 months and she pee's on the pad but would not poop there for nothing in the world. The trainer told me to get an x-pen this way she wont have the whole house to poop.

Good luck.

You need to have a lot of patience................that's the answer! They are very smart and very stubborn! Abbey has a lot of energy and it's difficult to get her out for walks in the winter so we play fetch with her often - especially in the evening to tire her out. We bought a laser mouse and she LOVES to chase it! Bully sticks are the best! Especially the non-smelly ones!!!

Maui Girl-
He is totally ignoring me!! You were right. :) He has been chewing on it for one hour!!!! Crazy! ;) Hopefully this lasts!

Get him together with his brother for some play time - this should help wear him out and keep him busy ;) Glad the bully sticks are working. Don't get discouraged with training, consistency is key. Dogs will test you to see what their limits are.

I whisper a lot to my girls and that seems to work. I tell them how good they are but a rare poop on my carpet will get a hearty "bad dog". They are pretty well behaved but are very much on the adoring side. As others have said don't under estimate their intelligence. They are smart little cookies and will test you and your limits. Avoid hands on punishment. They are so delicate you could crack a bone easily. Have fun.