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I think the new mom needs a vacation from the little one. This trip to Canada will do you both a world of good:D:D:D:D:D
A bit of separation, fun for you, she'll be missing you, it is a good thing;)
OR
You and Marie can buy those plane tickets to Sas and Yunah for the juniville delinquints!!!!!!
It will get better, Sus, it really will, all of this will be a distant memory.
Did I ever tell you the New Years Eve story? I'll tell it tomorrow and you will be loving your pup.;););)
Love ya,
Addy
Some thoughts on some issues....if I may :)
"I have always been able to go out in the back yard, or at night in the front yard, without any kind of leash. She has always "hung around." No more. She is off never to return until trapped. Prevention is the key here :) Take her with you outside on a long leash and let her do her thing. Don't try and call her etc but just keep her on the long leash. Don't even pay attention to her...she's on a long leash, she can't go anywhere ;) The more she will succeed with this behaviour, the stronger it will become and the harder to "correct". She is so dang strong willed. She won't come when called. You can't catch her to discipline her. She still hasn't figured out to scratch or ring the bells to go outside. My personal opinion on this...don't invest any energy in trying to teach Bailey to ring the bell. If she doesn't even master the basics, you can't expect her to ring a bell to let you know she needs to go out :) She is old enough to be capable to do her business during several walks a day. There really is no need for the "ringing the bell trick" at this moment. Dogs need walks and she can do her peeing and pooing during those walks. Walks will also help with the bonding process :) "
In general, you cannot expect Bailey to understand or know certain things/commands/behanviour, if she doesn't master them. And mastering them, is something that needs to be trained and taught with patience and consistency :) If I were you (from what I read) , I would start from scratch. Very simple, very easy. And don't get mad or frustrated over things she doesn't master yet... Try to decide what is important for her and start there. And what's important for Bailey to know may differ from what you might feel is important she knows. If you take for example the "here" and the "ringing the bell"..."here" might be a life saver one day so thats a pretty important command for Baliey to master. Ringing the bell...is a totally unneccesary command (from Baileys point of view) so just forget it, for now anyway. Once she is mature and masters all the important commands, you can add the "ringing the bell" just for fun. But it's a command that right now had really no importance what so ever. So try and think of the things you really need her to know (for her own benefit and safety) and start over with those commands. Do some bonding with her. Bonding is not having her lay on your lap and cuddle..eventhough that's very nice ;) Bonding is about being active with her, going for walks, train, play and have fun. Don't mind her "mistakes" but just have fun and focus on that :)
Saskia and Yunah :)
Thanks very much, Sas. I was about to say we have bonded "too" much-and then you explained what you meant about bonding. I have not, not sure why, gotten mad with her. I did swat her behind last night and that got her attention and got her to settle down. I don't want to do that very often.
Bob has been really frustrated with her on walks, so I guess that's another reason for me to take that over. What do you consider to be a "long" leash? How do you feel about flexi leashes? We've had much better luck with the flexi leash.
And then I guess you would say,that for now, we do not need to concentrate on the loose leash bit.....or having her stay by my side-which wasn't happening anyway.
Thanks for your input. I was hoping your were still there keeping an eye on things here!:D
-Susan
Susan,
regarding the long leash, that would be a rope about (training rope) at least 32/33 foot long. (here's an example of what I mean) You can attach one end to her collar/harness and you could attach the other end to a pin in the ground or something else steady and strong enough to hold her. It will give her plenty of room to wander about your yard without you having to try and catch her :) Of course you have to stay with her so she won't get tangled up in it. But other then that, let her roam, don't pay any attention to her and once she is used to it (but let her wander about for at least a few days) , you could start by calling her over...and reward her with a treat and praise and the usual fun things if she comes ;) Call her just once, with a happy voice, lower yourself to her level and clap your hands when calling her to you. If she comes, reward and then let her play and wander again. Next day, you do this again, and if she responds to you calling, let her go wander off again on her long leash, wait a few minutes and call her over again :) (and later on, when Bailey does a reliable recall in your yard, you can take her on walks with that training leash and work on her recall outside in a forrest or so...it's a handy training tool)
And a very quick and easy way to teach her how to walk on a leash....Put the leash on her, grab a huge hand full of treats and start walking. Every time she looks up at you, give her a treat. Don't praise verbally, just give her the treat, nothing else. No talk, no stopping and petting but continue walking. With this method, you may have to decrease her food quite a bit since you don't want her to become overweigth. But if you use this method, I guarantee you she wiil walk beside you, paying the utmost attention to you, in no-time :) Of course, once she does, you make her walk and watch you for longer periods of time before you hand her the treat :) But just walk, make turns, walk faster, walk slower...don't use your voice at all, it's her task to focus on you, to watch you and to follow you around. You should not have to watch her to avoid stepping on her :p
Please, do not use a flexilead, they are sooo not right for leash training nor for casual walking. A dog that knows how to walk on the leash, doesn't need that extra space a flexilead gives them, they walk beside you and a normal size leash (5 - 6 foot) gives them still enough space to pee or poo in the bushes if they like :)
This should get you started..if not, let me know :)
Sas and Yunah :)
Thanks again, Sas. I have, but have not used, a cable and stake. It's called a tie-out here.
I'll try that plus the walking /treats idea. I'll keep you posted on how it's going. I'm also having problem with Bailey's eating, so the treats should not be a threat for obesity. The vet told us she should always have a waist....and she does. We haven't figured out the food thing. Now I leave out some kibble and she seems to munch on it as she chooses. I also put down her regular food, but it's not uncommon for her not to touch it. She'll sniff it and then walk away. She used to really like it.....and several others that we have (moist food.):confused:
Thanks!:)
Susan
And oh, I forgot.
"I did swat her behind last night and that got her attention and got her to settle down. I don't want to do that very often."
She may have given you the impression that swatting her back helped...but it never does. The behaviour you saw (the result of swatting her back) was more likely due to her feeling "bullied" and as a result she "crawled into her shell" so to speak instead of her understanding what that swat meant and what she was supposed to do because of that swat. Swatting a dog (or child for that matter) never teaches them anything...it's simply us letting out our own frustration (and in my eyes always unacceptable). If you want her to settle down, you need her to teach what it is you want from her...that takes patience, repetitions, a sunny mood and voice, rewards and praise, never swatting :)
You can swat a dog..or tell it "no" or pull on the leash for example...but the dog has no clue (from the swatting or the word "no" or from you pulling its leash) what it is supposed to do instead. So our goal is to teach them what we like to see in our dogs. And we do that by making it fun and letting the dog know how happy we are with what we see...not by telling them (either verbally by saying "no" or by actions like swatting) a certain behaviour is unacceptable. (Let's say you have a 3 year old child and all it does is scream... You can tell that child "no screaming", you can swat its back....what does it teach the child? It doesn't teach the child what IS expected of him...and therefore, all things "negative" either verbally or by actions, is counterproductive. What you probably would do instead is tell the child, listen, I don't really appreciate you screaming but I understand you have the need to get rid of some energy....so why don't you go run a few laps in the yard or we could go play ball together. You don't discipline, you help guide the child into showing the behaviour you want :) )
Hope I explained this in a way you understand what I am trying to say here...
Sas and Yunah :)
Hi Susan,
I noticed you asking about home cooking on another thread and wanted to jump in. ;) Puppies are growing and changing so rapidly, it is best to keep them on a high quality commercial feed for the first year of their life. Nutritionists and consultants work their tails off keeping on top of home cooked meals for puppies for this reason, making it quite expensive to do as well as taxing for all involved. It is never a good idea to start cooking or feeding raw ad hoc but it is particularly vital to have either a nutritionist or consultant involved with a puppy diet. Unless there is a health reason, commercial feeds are best for puppies. ;)
Unless there is a problem, when Bailey gets hungry she will eat her food as long as she is not given treats between meals. "Between meals" is an important distinction - puppies need to be fed several times a day for a while gradually cutting the number of meals down to 2X/day, morning and evening. Free feeding can lead to obesity as an adult. Changing feed often can lead to pickyness so find one that she likes that provides the best nutrients and stick with it. Not only are you training her behavior, you are training her body and health for the future as well. ;)
Hugs,
Leslie
Sas-I had not clicked on your link before. I like what it says about that leash so I have ordered one.
-S
Thank you Sas...and Leslie-
Regarding the feeding....she just now ate (11PM) and did not eat anything all day long. We have left the food down so she could eat when she wanted to. We don't give her more than a certain amount each day. I know we're supposed to pick it up, but since she's so tiny to start with, I worry when she is not eating.
Sas-I understand perfectly what you are saying and I appreciate your comments. There have only been two swats-and there will be no more. I don't believe in spanking kids and we raised our son without spanking and he turned out really well, even if I do say so myself.:D
Tomorrow is a new day and a new chance. Thank you for all of the support.:)
Susan
Hi Susan, did you start the "walking on leash" training yet? With all the constant treats involved? I have never seen a dog not learn very quickly what's expected of him, using this method ;) Try to do this exercise 3 till 4 times a day for short periods... Stop the exercise when she's doing REALLY well, unleash her, and only after you unleashed her use your voice, be happy and play some :) This will also teach her that after a walk on the leash, something nice will happen, often making dogs more eager to please you during the walk since they will anticipate something fun :D
Just remember, do not use your voice in any way...during the walking-on-leash training. I'm pretty sure that after she received 3 or 4 treats (for looking up at you) she will understand what's expected. Please let me know how she is doing :)
Saskia and Yunah :)
p.s. At this stage, it really doesn't matter where she walks, left, right, criss-cross....all you want right now is for her to look up at you, to pay attention to you :) And remember to make turns, walk faster, slower...as diverse as you can make it. And if she stops, sniffs...you continue walking, you do not adjust to what she wants....she has to adjust to what you want :D