Dog Training

Alright Becca. How are you doing this morning? (morning for me)...At five months old, dogs already have a good amount of control over their bladders (they gain the most control around four months). Also, at the age of five months old, dogs begin learning heirarchy. This is where dogs dominate or submit over or above dogs and/or people. If your dog is attempting to display a little more aggression or fear towards people or other dogs it may be that she is just getting use to the idea of whether she's on top or bottom. Now, dogs who urinate on many items at a time are usually displaying dominance 'this is mine' type thing. But it could be other reasons. A few signs that tell if she's displaying dominance is: -Independence -Aggression or pushyness with people and/or dogs -Excessive barking -Small piddles around the house (not in large amounts) -A strong oder (very distinct from when she needs to eliminate, and if she's 'marking' her territory) -Command refusals (refusing to get off furniture when told, refusing to sit when told, etc) There are several more, but those are the largest signs that you're dealing with a dominant dog. Now, let me warn you, if she displays any form of aggression or pushyness towards dogs or (especially) people, it would be wise to not leave her alone with those she's unfamiliar with. Don't bring in smaller puppies. Because it can result in someone being bit. Dominant dogs aren't dangerous, but they are more of a threat than most 'medium' or 'submissive' dogs. You don't want your dog to dominate you! If she displays these actions, here are a few ways to let her know 'I am above you'...They're called 'practicing leadership'... (The following requires one or more people - and presumes that the dog knows the commands laydown, sit and stay. You're going to need a leash and she needs a collar or harness or gentle leader (I recomend the gentle leader).) -Hook the leash to her collar, harness, whatever you're using -If she doesn't know the commands sit, laydown and stay, she will learn a bit of that here -Command her to sit (to teach her, lift her head gently and push her but down. Don't force (she may refuse) be VERY patient -Tell her to stay, place your hand in front of her face and move in circles, step over her, walk around her, move any which way you'd like. Don't let her move out of your way, don't let her move from the sit position. (This is basically telling her, 'I can go anywhere I want') -Telling her to laydown and keeping her there only furthers the actions, though it's a little harder with only one person. When you have two people, have your friend hold the leash under her foot so it forces her to stay down. That way, you're not saying 'no, stay' the leash is automatically correcting her. When she tries to stand up, give her a calm but firm correction 'ahh!'. You don't have to yell at her, this will only induce fear, anxiety or even anger. -In no way do I sugguest an alpha roll-over (rolling the puppy onto it's back and holding it there) unless you are a trained professional and this is only a puppy who is displaying aggression while you're moving around them. An alpha rollover hurts trust and understanding, and pushes the dog's relationship with you to a level of zero. Never attempt (even with a professional) an alpha rollover with a larger or older dog. A dog who learned dominance at puppyhood will only escalade to a much more dangerous action.

That was great advice and thanks for taking time to write all of that. She isn't aggresive and her nipping and jumping stopped when she was spayed. She now knows that We will not pet her if She is jumping and will sit and then We will. We did get her checked out by a vet when She was 3 months old since She was peeing all over the house and their was a small infection but She had antibotics(?). She does pee when She gets excited like going to the vet lol. At first it was just a small amount but no it's a full puddle. She is crate trained but We only put her in there if We are leaving the house or over night. Right now the crate is in the LR We put it there since We were told when We brought her home that She should be given time to rest since We do have 3 kids. I have 2 gates up. So She is mostly in the Kitchen - playroom area. We had a hard time keeping her from runing out the door if the little ones were coming in. Should I move her crate into the playroom area and She her in there more time? That is one thing She doesn't pee over night, so I know She can hold it. It's driving me insane. Thanks for anymore and all your help.

Another way to stop the dominance over people is to have the dog 'earn' what it gets. Toys (do a trick), food (let them stare at you while you eat FIRST, then give them their bowl if they are calm and polite. Don't keep the food down for them.) If a dog growls with you reach for it's bowl while it's eating (or further more it's bone while it's chewing), stop the action immediatly and contact a trained professional. To animals who growl at their owners for any reason could be dangerous... Now I'm assuming your dog doesn't get aggressive, otherwise you'd be more concerned about that than the eliminations in the house... Some dogs (those who are usually very submissive) urinate when excited, scared, etc...This is called 'submissive urination' duhh.. :P And when a dog does this, they usually grow out of it in about a year or so, there's really no 'cure', but there's a way to help. -Keep the puppy calm, when coming indoors, when going outdoors, when you come home...Don't greet with a high-pitched voice (this makes it more excited, and you have a puddle)...Don't try to scare it or play rough (also causes a puddle and mistrust)... You can usually tell when a dog is very submissvie. -Excessive barking at someone it doesn't know (even when you say 'no, they're ok' or when they're sitting down or standing and the dog keeps yapping away (this could also be dominance, there's a difference in the bark. Dominance is a low pitch-like anger, submissive is a high pitched-like excitment)... -Runs away even from it's owner when an owner talks in a regular voice (not soft) the dog often thinks it did something wrong -Rolls onto it's back when you approach (usually a dog doesn't do this because it wants it's belly rubbed...It's saying 'You say jump, I say how high'...Some dogs do roll over for a belly rub though, it depends on the personality... -Lays down, ears flattened, tail tucked (these are all signs of submission when someone approaches or stares at it in the eyes) -Sometimes, submissive dogs think that to please their masters or higher ranks, they have to be playful and lick at their chin and mouth. Submissive dogs often (while your sitting watching TV) run up to your side and really lick the h*** out of your chin, neck and mouth. You can push the dog to a standing or sitting position and say 'no' to them, this will eventually help them understand that it doesn't make you happy when you inturrupt your favorite TV show and you don't have TiVo... If these two issues are not the case, you could be experiencing housebreaking issues. Is the puppy crate trained? If so, keep up with the housetraining. (walk after every meal, play session and nap - then back to the crate after a job well done outside) When it starts sniffing or tries to squat, don't freak out, but lift the dog and take it outside immediately after stopping it's action. If that doesn't seem to work in about a week or two your puppy may have a bladder control problem. Maybe it's time for a vet checkup. There are other ticks, so if this doesn't work, and you'd like to try something else before vet checkups, send me a message and let me know a little more about the personalities and the history of the dog. I'll see what I can come up with. Just for a note...NEVER EVER EVER scold, yell, hit or in any way punish a dog for eliminating in the house. Many people think that if you rub their noses in it, it'll teach them not to go in the house...That's not the case. What it teaches the dog is to hide from you while it goes in the house. When a puppies gotta go, it's gotta go, there is no waiting! (this is why people often had housebreaking problems and their dog now goes behind the couch)

Thank you very much for the luck and comments. If I went to any form of vet work I would take on the Vet Tech jobs. Always wanted to, but decided that I had better skills in the people with dogs, and dogs themselves. As for the smaller animals, I adore them so much, but I hate seeing the condition that they come in. We had a rabbit that was suppose to be white, up to it's neck was brown with yellow stains. We still are having trouble getting the stains out of the poor thing. The owners were reported as a humane case after that. But I enjoy helping them out. Plus you have these parents who just try to get rid of animals that they bought their children, because they don't take care of it the parents do and they're sick of it. :P Those are always horrible to go to, because then you have to listen to the kids kick, scream, cuss, cry (we just came from a house with two guinea pigs where the kid locked his mom out of the house). We stood there for two ours until we were able to get the door open. Poor kids, but poor animals.