Need Help with Training Puppy !!

You have gotten good advice on potty training...

As for smell, a dog will emit the odor of the food they ingest. You need to feed your dog a food that does not have a strong odor and that has quality ingredients. I suggest the Nutro brands. I use Nutro Max for large breed puppies with my American Bulldog. He has no odor. Also, for the breed combo you have, you need to make sure you clean its ears regularly.

GL!

Congrats on your new puppy! We just got puppy #2 last week. I'm a huge fan of the "Dog Whisperer" Caesar Milan. I highly recommend reading his books or watching the show. I used his techniques on my 110lb lab and now walking with him is a breeze and his manners have improved 100%. He is now nearing the title of the "perfect" dog!

Just remember, when correcting your doggie you must assert yourself with calm energy. Only getting riled up, upset or frustrated will feed his anxiety and make it much harder for you to control him. Don't allow so much slack on the leash so that he is able to take off ahead of you. You must be the pack leader, and he should follow behind or by your side. On the jumping thing, like one of the other moms said, don't acknowledge bad behavior. Praise good behavior and only when he is calm. Don't praise an anxious mind, as it will only convince him that acting that way is acceptable.

Go for daily walks at least 30 minuted in length each time. It will get better, I promise! Tire him out first, then training will come easier.

As far as the potty training, did you use a crate when he was a puppy? You have to be very conscious of your dogs every move when potty training...keep close watch and have him on a schedule. Don't allow him to come back in the house until he is done relieving himself. You might need to go outside with him and make sure he is going and not playing out there.

How long have you had him?

I wish you good luck!!

J.
http://www.cookielee.biz/jenniferdockery

If you can afford it, I would recommend taking your puppy to Man's Best Friend. (I think they have a location in Garland.)They will board your puppy for up to 2 weeks (I think it's that long), and then have you come back with him for additional weekly training. (Like I said, they can be pricey, but they are worth it! I had a deaf dog about 20 years ago, and they helped me with him a LOT! Too bad I couldn't get them to help me with my husband at the time. LOL)

As for the smell of your puppy, I buy products from a wonderful company online that makes products that are SAFER for your kids, your pets, and the environment (oh....and you, too! :)>) Part of your puppy's smell may come from either his diet, or an illness. You might want to have your vet check him over, just to be sure on that.

Email me at ____@____.com, and I can give you more details about where I shop!

HTH!
~J.~
Healthy Families Happy Moms

I used the puppy training pads and they helped a lot. I still keep a couple of them hidden (but dogs know where they are) and if we are gone for a long time the puppy will go there.

As for the jumping, my dogs do that too. We blocked them from the front of the house with a baby gate so they can't do that when someone comes to the door.

As for the smells, we don't have much of that unless they get feet wet and I hate wet dog smell.... I use a good smelling doggy shampoo.

Good luck!
S

I've had several dogs and we've used formal dog training. What we did was join a dog club-Fort Worth has one and I bet other towns have one also. The one we used was Metro All Breed Obedience Club. Here's their number ###-###-####. Some of the members with their dogs showed their dogs also. We weren't into showing our dog, however we wanted our dog trained. Our dog knows how to sit, stay, heel, come and walk on a leash, walking beside us not running out in front of us and she learned not to jump on us too. We did a 12 week course where we trained our dog with an instructor. It was very reasonable $50 or $60 and then getting some proper equipment-leash, collar. You meet once a week in a group type situation and have homework/handouts. It is very important you work on dog training every day. Dogs are a lot like kids, they need time, attention, training, love,etc... Yes, there is Man's Best Friend, however they are very expensive and they train your dog. You need to know how to deal with your dog. They also have socials and a newsletter with good information on dogs and their behavior. I'm not sure where you live, however Petsmart and maybe Petco also have training for dogs, so you might check into those places or a personal dog trainer that will come to you maybe recommended from a co-worker or a friend.

As far as the smell goes. We use an air cleaner-HEPA kind. We also use a natural type of air freshner (in a mesh bag) that has natural type rocks that will help with the odors. We got it at the Wamsutta/Linen store in the Gainsville Outlet Mall. You might check Linen's N Things, they have different products like this. Rainbow also has a water air freshner/air cleaner too that we use that helps also. If you need further info on the air cleaner/purifier, let me know.

What we do is have our dog only in our den. The kennel is there, she sleeps in our den and we have a dog gate that is in our hallway and she can only go to a certain point. The trick is making sure the gate is closed every time! This way her smell isn't all over the house, she doesn't scratch up our hardwood floors either. She has knocked the gate down sometimes when it is lightening/storm. We now make sure she is in her kennel when that happens. Our dog is mostly indoors, however, we let her in and out during the day into our backyard so she can get some exercise. We have a large backyard that is fenced in too.

I would recommend getting a really good dog gate and keepin your dog in a certain area of your house. The crate is great for sleeping and training,etc... There is some great dog gates, we have one that fits between our walls in our hallway and it is step gate where you step on the foot pedal and the door opens-hands free gate (don't think they make these gate anymore). Dr. Foster and Smith has a great dog catalog with various kinds of gates and sizes too. We even have a gate that you can fold up and make it into a circle like a small pen, so I would recommend something like that to for your puppy.

Jumping is a common problem. I would start working on saying No Jump and sitting. When your dog sits or lies down and doesn't jump on you, I would praise your dog. You could give him a treat and keep them in your pockets and when your dog is good, give him the treats and pet him and love on him.

It would be best to get eveyone in your family on the same page as far as training goes. That way the dog has consitency. Dogs like hand signals too.

I would recommend the book No Bad Dogs, by Barbara Woodhouse. Good Luck, I know it can be frustrating! It does get better, however you do have to work at it.

Crate training! May seem mean but really it's not. My 2 year old husky actually whines if she can't get in her crate.

We also have a 8 week old Great Dane Puppy. She too is in her crate if she's inside. Her schedule is as follows.

Go outside and potty, come in, play for about 20ish minutes then in her crate. She also gets treats any time she potty's (outside) and when she goes into her crate.

As far as the smell...I haven't had the nasty smell. My house normally doesn't smell like dog but, if it did I would say it's because well I have DOGS. Goes with the territory!

You've gotten some great advice on the potty training and jumping up and walking issues. I strongly recommend basic obedience training. Local stores like Petco and Petsmart offer very affordable, weekly classes that teach you to teach your dog, that way you both learn. Crate training is the only way to go for potty training, so if you don't have a crate, it's a worth while investment.

As for the smell, don't wash the dog so often. I know, we bathe ourselves to keep from smelling. But, if you bathe a dog too often, the over produce the oils that cause the smell. When a dog is bathed every week, they get dry skin which cause an increase in oil production and an increase in smell. Yes, at first you will have to deal with the smell, but after a while the oil production will slow back down and the stink will fade with it. Trust me, too many baths WILL lead to a STINKY dog.

Good luck!

We found that using the crate is the key to potty training an indoor dog. We used a guidebook written by the Monks of New Skete and it helped us alot with general training. you can find it at the library or bookstore. There are tons of books on dog-training at the library but the Monks were our favorite resource.

As for jumping up on you, ignore your dog when you first come into contact with it. If it jumps, turn your back to it; Then, when the dog calms down or sits down, give praise then. Essentially, you're rewarding good behavior and not acknowledging the bad behavior. Puppies are rambunctious little nutjobs even at that age. Our lab is 2 & 1/2 now, and just getting to the point of being a sweet and well-mannered dog. Though she doesn't jump up on us, we don't let her greet guests at the door b'c she does jump on them; we're still working on that one ourselves.

Also, we still use a Pinch collar to walk our dog b'c she will pull us on a regular collar. The pinch only pinches her when she pulls. If she heels right beside us like dogs are suppose to, it doesn't pinch her. Any pet store sells them, and our trainer told us to use one with her. I know that some trainers and vets say to use them, and some think it's mean. So, you just have to decide for yourself on that one.

Hi N.,
I was a vet tech for about 11 years and helped to train many "problem" dogs. Some of them were mine!
You can get him potty trained if you use a crate. Keep him crated for most of the day at first. Letting him out only to go potty. If he goes potty, then allow alittle bit of freedom to run around a bit then crate him again. Make sure to watch him to make sure that no accidents happens until he starts to prove he can be trusted. I would take him out every couple of hours and after he eats and then at the latest time you can at night. And then the first thing in the morning. Do this for a few days and you will start to see a pattern of when he goes poop or pee and help you decide when he really needs to go out. I wouldn't allow any unsupervised freedom until he is accident free for at least a week. During this time of training it is important that you stay positive and calm. The only time you would want to scold him is if you catch him in the act of going in the house and then run him outside. If he is not used to of being in a crate he may not be too happy about this. I would give him some "safe" chew toys/bones and of course water to take out his frustrations on while he is out there. If he decides to make a mess with his water use a metal bucket hung up inside of the crate instead of on the bottom of it. If he ever makes a poo poo somewhere where he shouldn't, take the poo and place it in the area outside that you want him to go to help get the scent out there.
As for his stinkiness, I use cologne drops that are made by Lambert Kay after I bathe my dog. Yes he does smell like a freshly groomed poodle from the salon but it's better than smelling like an old musty mop! I use just two really SMALL drops of this stuff. One on his upper neck and on the base of his tail. It's last for a good week or so. I'm sure you can find it or something like it at a Petstore.
And one more thing, he should be taught to walk on a leash correctly. This means NO pulling. The jumping, pulling on walks means that this dog is in control and not the humans in the house. I can't really explain the technique for walking on here without showing you. It's all about timing and calmness on your part. If you are serious and want to train your dog to walk with you it's not necessary to hire a trainer. You can rent DVD's/video at the library to help you learn. Also the internet is a GREAT resource of help once you weed through the sale pitches and find some free stuff to watch.
Hope this helps you alittle,
C.