new here -need help! - Paw Talk

w76 · #1 10-26-2005, 01:38 PM

Hi everyone,

This little guy, Chloe, is my 2-year old Jack Russel-Chihuahua. Don't let the pic deceive you - she is a quite the little monster. Mostly due to my inexperience with training her. I got her at 6-weeks and now at 2, I'm running into issues. She has no formal training and i'm afraid i've spoiled her and has self-inflicted barriers towards my ongoing training with her.

To give you an idea, Chloe stays in the apt most of the day. The apartment is large and she pretty much has the entire place to herself, meaning she can go anywhere and on anything. She had avoided the crate even in her early days -hates being confined. She is VERY smart -even in her first months -learned to jump into the tub to pee/poo... and now converted to newspaper potty. Other misc things: sleeps anywhere she wants (including with me); very possesive with toys and shows sensitivity/aggression towards those who touch them, jumpy and easily excited -esp when people are over; attentive to me - watches my every motion and going wherever I go. Sometimes, I feel as if she has a will/mind of her own. She goes crazy whenever there's food -but I never feed her anything but dog food. When I take her outside, she doesn't respond to me and constantly pulls the leash almost til choking...

On the positive end, she responds by listening and understands sit, no, paws, and goes crazy when i say "going outside."

I must humbly admit that I have no clue at how to approach this now.Ii've read books, googled, and have taken her to nearby vets. Their assessments told me that, "it is due to her strong will and intelligence and not me," that "she is too smart for her own good." Their bottom line is: her will is too strong to train and I can't accept that as reality.

So, I feel that there is still hope -and I am willing to learn and be corrected. So to do things right and after reading some good posts on these forums - I take my inexperience to you guys and know that the responses will only better my relationship with Chloe. So, let me know what you guys think! I am all ears!

Thanks.
w76

Denise · #2 10-26-2005, 03:02 PM

I do not believe there is no hope for your dog. Your dog sounds like she is lacking in socialization which is critical for a puppy. There needs to be boundaries set for your dog instead of your dog having free run of the house and doing what she pleases. Nothing in life is free is a useful tool http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/nilif.htm

I suggest finding a good dog trainer and having one on one time with him or her to get some help.

willibob3000 · #3 10-26-2005, 05:26 PM

Hang in there, it's not hopeless

Not completely anyway. You may never have a dog who's 100% obedient but she can get better. For the possessiveness over her toys I'd put her on NILIF (nothing in life is free). It's simple and effective and after a while it just becomes habit.
My border collie mix, Shadow, was strong willed and too intelligent for his own good. He was trained with a choke chain. I think clicker training (which I'm using with Rupe) would have worked a lot better for him. How did/do you train her?

Formula86 · #4 10-27-2005, 12:55 AM

it is not hopeless! dogs that are "too smart for their own good" can be great to train becaue they ARE so smart. but you have to be very active with them and very consistent.

i would read the "sticky" thread here in the dogs section on crate training and start all over with it.

she shouldn't be able to choose to go in the crate when you are gone/sleeping. she should be put in there. but there's a right way to do it, of course. don't just shove her in.

do you have a dog park around with a small dog section? sounds like she needs socialization with people and other dogs. you could start by just having friends over more and by taking her to places like Petsmart.

have you ever thought about enrolling her in a beginner-dog class? that would be great for learning and for socialization.

the "nothing in life is free" thing just means that she doesn't get anything good without doing something for it. she wants to eat? she has to sit first. she wants outside? she has to lay down first. do that with everything.

i think it'll be ok! just try to kind of start over as if she were a puppy.

let us know how it goes!

lilchris_28 · #5 10-27-2005, 12:55 AM

For the pulling, I would get a gentle leader. As far as her behavior, she's acting that way because she's been allowed to. You can train her otherwise, but it's not going to be easy. I would definitely recommend dog training. Make sure you get someone who does positive reinforcement training (I know Petsmart does). Don't take her anywhere that makes you leave her. We have a few places around here where you leave your dog for a few weeks and I know some people who have used them and when they got their dogs back, they had burns and cower down everytime there's a loud noise and they didn't do that before. Also, is she spayed?

Wendy · #6 10-27-2005, 07:11 AM

She needs to get out more, anyone, not just a dog would go quite mad having to be cooped up all day inside, even though she has the run of your home, and plenty space, dogs need to go out and have plenty exercise and fresh air - she's a terrier, and she will rebel. lol She looks adorable, and as you say she's smart, so with some time and effort, you'll be onto a winner.

Just looking at her in the pic, I'd love to give her a lot of smooching on that cute dainty face of hers!

willibob3000 · #7 10-27-2005, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by formula86


	it is not hopeless! dogs that are "too smart for their own good" can be great to train becaue they ARE so smart. but you have to be very active with them and very consistent.

To me they're the more rewarding sort to train because of the sense of achievement you get. Motivating them can be hard though, they seem to get bored of repetition. I much prefer them to the "your wish is my command" sort of dog. It irritated me that Wolf wouldn't disobey, not once in his whole life did he disobey me on a command he knew. I guess most people would be delighted with a dog like that though lol.

Jodi · #8 10-27-2005, 02:12 PM

I agree that it's not hopeless! Chole needs to know that you're the alpha dog (in other words, the boss!) and there will need to be *rules* that she'll have to follow. But you can make it fun for her to learn. Obedience class or a personal behavioral trainer is a great idea! Reading about something is one thing (and can work) but real life experience and having someone teach you to teach Chloe will work best. For behavior classes, look around at local vets offices, Petsmarts, etc.

Some of her attentive behavior may come from her Chihuahua side. I have a Chi that is the same way. He would spend every second by my side if I let him!

ChioxerMomma · #9 10-27-2005, 05:38 PM

Well, Chloe is a very cute baby who I would spoil rotten too. I have a two chihuahuas and yes they can be very clingy. Thats why We love them because they love back.
Although, Petsmart classes would be good but not everyone can afford them or have time to go. Like me my petsmart is 45 min one way and its hard for me to travel that on weekdays. so here are a few things to try first. Being alpha dog is the number one thing its a dominance thing. You be the boss even if you are the spoiler too.
The apartment thing and being cooped up all day is most likley your biggest problem. You need to spend more quality time (like an hour and a half every night when you get home.) Go for a long walk this will use up his energy and will get him socialized too. People are going to stop you and say awwwh what a beautiful dog can I pet her. On the pulling leash thing. One try a harness and retractable leash. Go to petsmart and get a good stiff one that are good and wide. or your local co op store they usually have a really good selection and varitey. Dan MY CHI is the same way he would pull and pull till we got a harness and a retractable leashe(It has a button to lock it when you need a shorter leash these can be purchased at walmart, petstores or anywhere). It also gives dogs alittle more room to get ahead of you a bit. The crate thing is in my oppinion a necessity for saftey. She could be going thru some separation anxiety from being home alone. all dogs go thru this but some get distructive. I have a boxer and she is six months now and I just started crating her. I tried when she was younger but she would use the bathroom in it.

She will hate it but your the boss. You could start by dropping a treat in crate to coax her in. You may have to shove her in after treat a few times. try words like Get In your Kennel as you are doing this. Slowly introduce it to her again buy doing the treat thing i explained above and leave her for a couple of minutes at a time. She may whine or cry ( I had one to growl at me everytime I crated her but you just let her do that. I realize you live in an apartment so this may not work well so ease into leaving her in kennel. She is the boss right now and she knows this.

I know all this is easier said than done but sometimes it takes time. A dog is never hopless. They are worth the time and effort.
good luck.

w76 · #10 10-28-2005, 01:27 PM

this is all good stuff. thank guys. keep it coming!

willibob3000 · #11 10-28-2005, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChioxerMomma


	One try a harness and retractable leash.

I hate those things! Used by someone with sense they're fine but most people just give the dog the full length of the leash walking down the street. There's a stop button on them, people should use it!!! The amount of nasty little dogs on flexi leashes I've had try to tear my 70lb dog up is unbelievable. Even crossing the road makes no difference, the leash is long enough to reach! Yet who's going to be blamed when my dog retaliates and injures a much smaller dog? If you get one of these please use it sensibly. Don't give her enough leash to get into the road, approach a strange dog or anything like that. Sounds like common sense but it doesn't seem to be from what I've seen. I'm not totally against them. I have one that I use if I can't let my dog off leash on the field for some reason. I find it uncomfortable to actually walk him on, the handles too bulky.