I haven't had a dog in eighteen years. I'm not sure I'm going to survive this! But I just made an arbitrary rule: I get up at 5 a.m., Doc gets up at 6 a.m. It requires tiptoeing very quietly past his crate, but I think I can make this work.

Anyone have any good dog advice?

-- Anonymous, July 13, 1999

Answers

The advice I remember best from when we had our dogs is sort of hackneyed, but nevertheless true: "A tired dog is a good dog." We walked them in off-leash parks with lots of hills until they were ready to fall over (most often Redwood Regional Park in Oakland). The best time for us, however, was when they went to visit a farm one weekend and apparently spent the entire time running after cows and geese. They slept for four days straight on their return.

The other thing that seemed to help a lot was obedience classes (a good dog is a good dog, I suppose). They loved taking those. An hour of undivided human attention.

-- Anonymous, July 13, 1999

Sounds like good advice. We can't enroll him in puppy classes until his fourth set of shots, in another three weeks, because he won't have his rabies shot until then and the classes require it. But he's definitely going to do puppy kindergarten and obedience training.

He's a really fast learner and he loves the training sessions he has now, so I think he'll do great. He also loves other dogs (except when he hears them barking from far away), so I can't wait to get him into puppy classes.

-- Anonymous, July 13, 1999

For two years we had two dogs. We got both dogs as adults, we took them to obedience classes and *poof* instant cool family member. A month and a half ago we got a puppy. *Whoaa* this ain't so easy.

I've found it's easier with multiple dogs, cause they keep each other entertained. The puppy is starting to learn commands, so that's good. The best thing I've found is to keep her entertained and tired. She loves playing with the other dogs and I try to keep her where she'll stay out of trouble. She's a chewer.

The best advice I have is patience. By the time Doc is 6 or 8 months old you'll have an easier dog to work with. I think training is your best bet to have him knowing you are the boss.

I'm up at 5 AM every day too!

-- Anonymous, July 13, 1999

I don't know if you've checked out obedience books yet, but the ones by the Monks of New Skete and Carol Benjamin are my favorites.

We also have two dogs, and they do exercise each other which is nice, because I can't tire the Siberian out by walking. Tired dogs are good. Mine are a little too close in age (1.5 yrs and 8 months) in my opinion. They are both still puppies and when there's 120+ lbs. of dog wrestling in the living room, I wish that at least one of them was more restrained. Oh well, the $4000 fence is going up as we speak so that they can play in the backyard.

Nylabones can occupy my dogs for hours.

As much as I love my dogs, I think that it's important to have some time to yourself so that you *don't* throttle them.

-- Anonymous, July 13, 1999

I've heard it's really hard to train two dogs at once -- the advice I've gotten is that if we want another dog, wait until Doc has been through obedience training and adolescence, and then adopt an older dog and put IT through obedience classes, as well. Jeremy really doesn't want a second dog, but we'll see how we feel about it when Doc is older.

I've got the Monks of New Skete book but not any by Carol Benjamin. I've heard mixed reviews of her techniques -- one review said her methods were mostly sound, but she advocated hanging an aggressive dog by its choke collar until it passed out. The reviewer didn't think much of that method!

I do love the way the puppy keeps to his schedule. He's been doing his impersonation of the worst dog in the world all afternoon, but he just went and put himself to sleep in his crate -- afternoon nap time!

-- Anonymous, July 13, 1999

I think the person who you heard the hanging thing from was mistaken about the advice coming from Carol Benjamin, or she has written some things in the books I haven't read that I would never support. I guarantee that she doesn't recommend anything like that in 'Mother Knows Best.' Two dogs are really hard to train, especially when they are both young. My newfie was a rescue, and I couldn't say no, but we didn't plan on getting another puppy (esp. a 35 lb. puppy who was growing fast) so soon. Does Doc like to play with his toys? I found that I can get things done as long as I let the dogs be around me with their toys. They are blocked in the kitchen with me when I'm cooking, they're hanging out in the bathroom when I shower, they lay by the computer when I'm using it... I find that as long as they can be around me they don't also need constant attention. I'm always carrying bones around room to room. Anyway, I think that you've heard the best advice, which is obedience and plenty of exercise. Maybe after you start obedience you'll meet dogs that Doc can play with, and you'll get the benefits of them wearing each other out without owning two yourself. Isn't it the best when they do their happy dance when you come home? There isn't anyone else in the world who's as happy to see me, including the sig. other.

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

I have the same problem when my dogs wrestle -- Mack (75+ pounds), Brandy (50 pounds), and the little *hah* puppy Ginger is already 25 pounds at 3.5 months. That's a lot of dog.

When I train them, I do it seperately or Dave helps out. I would reccomend going to a class as well as doing it on your own. Going to the class helped my one dog learn to behave around other dogs. He's much more well behaved around other dogs and other people now. He does not jump up on people or chase after other dogs.

Play time is essential. I throw that ball till none of them can run back without laying down in the middle. Mine especially need it because I'm not home during the day and I work too far away to go home at lunch.

I also reccommend waiting to get another dog till you've got the first one mostly in line. I would never suggest getting two puppies at the same time. I've got my hands completely full with one puppy. But I would say that having two dogs is great -- they really keep each other entertained.

Colleen, who was up with the puppy at 4 AM, 5 AM, and 6 AM today!

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

Allison: I think the criticism of Carol Benjamin related to some of her early books. Dog training has come a long way in the last twenty years -- I was surprised to see that the first Monks of New Skete book (from the 70s) advocates dragging the dog over to the mess as a form of housebreaking.

I really liked Don't Shoot the Dog -- can't remember the author's name, but she has a web site. She's a dolphin trainer/behavorial psychologist who advocates using positive reinforcement wherever possible.

For the opposite approach, see this site -- where they advocate negative reinforcement as the primary teaching tool. Maybe that works for older dogs, but it doesn't work AT ALL with Doc. The "Don't Shoot the Dog" author says in her book that puppies and human babies aren't capable of learning by negative reinforcement because their brains just don't work that way yet, and after our experiences, I believe that. They'll keep doing something that hurts or produces uncomfortable results because they don't make the connection ... but they CAN connect good results to actions. Which would explain why it's a breeze to teach Doc to do things -- sit, shake, lie down, etc. -- and an absolute bitch to teach him NOT to do things -- chase cats, jump on people, BITE, etc.

Colleen: man, you make me appreciate Doc ... he started sleeping through the night right away. Last night was an exception, and Jeremy claims it was because I was snoring and talking in my sleep, anyway.

Did any of you do crate training?

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

I wanted to offer what little advice I could from our recent puppy-raising experience.

First, I have to second the person who said that a tired dog is a good dog. Duncan, our uber-puppy, was a handful for the first nine months. My husband and I worked in shifts just like you two are doing. There's no real way around the exhaustion, but it does get easier. I think Duncan noticeably calmed down about when he hit the nine month mark. His favorite toys were: two-liter pop bottles with popcorn kernels inside to make noise, a plush, jack-shaped toy with squeakers in each end, and tennis balls.

Second, crate training is *fabulous*. It's a lot of work for the first week or so, but well worth the effort. Our puppy had exactly one accident (and that was kind of our fault--see below). When we first brought him home, he was either in the crate or playing with us outside where it was safe for him to pee. When he did so, we gave him a little liver treat to reward him. Worked like a charm. After a few days with no accidents, we let him roam around the kitchen. After a few days in the kitchen with no accidents, we added the living room, and so on.

Also, on the recommendation of our friendly pet store owner, we hung a small bell on the door leading out of the house. Every time we took the dog outside, the bell made its rattling clang. After about a week, Duncan figured out that if he rang the bell with his nose, we would let him out. It's much nicer to hear the bell than have the dog whine or scratch up your doors. When we visit friends, we take the bell with us and hang it on a door at their house, too. His only accident happened one time when I ignored the bell.

Finally, I would recommend Dogs for Dummies as another good book. I wasn't too hot about buying a book from this garish series, but it was well-written and had lots of good advice.

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

I didn't crate train my older dogs because I didn't get them as puppies. Both were rescues and came to me house trained. I did gate Mack up in the kitchen for most of his first year with me becase he was a chewer.

Ginger is being crate trained. She's either with me, in her crate, or on the deck gated in. It's been hard to house train her though. She's going on 4 months old and still has many accidents. When I'm home with her on the weekends I take her out a LOT, but she will urinate in her crate during the day when I'm not home. I give her tons of positive reinforcement when she goes outside, and she undersands "Go Potty", but if I don't keep an eye on her in the house she'll pee. No warning, just squats and pees. I'm going to try giving her treats when she goes outside and see where that gets me. I may also try that bell thing that Heather suggested. She wakes me at night to go out but at other times there's no warning. She'll pee on the kitchen floor right in front of me. I have her on a schedule that keeps accidents to a minimum but she still surprises me.

I know we probably leave her in her crate too long during the day and if I could change that I would. I leave the house at 7:15, Dave leaves a little before nine. By the time he leaves the house she's been outside at least 4 times. I'm the first one home and often that's not till 6 PM. I know that's too long for her so I don't scold her if she goes in the crate. She's at the point that she doesn't do it every day, but she does still do it. She rarely leaves me solid surprises.

She does not sleep through the night. Only once so far has she done it. Last night she went out at midnight and she woke me at 4 AM. I'm looking forward to the day she sleeps all night.

She doesn't mind being in the crate and she loves her toys. I have to be careful what I give her because of the other dogs. I have to make sure their toys are interchanable so that there aren't many arguments. They all love Galileo bones, Kongs, and these cool space ship toys I found. They have a groove in the center that will hold a treat and keep them occupied trying to get it out. They all love rawhide but I have to control the amount I give the older dogs because Mack has a weird digestive system. Ginger loves things that are stick shaped, whereas Mack loves things ball shaped.

I love my dogs and I wouldn't trade any of them for anything, but I would like to get one night of uninterruped sleep.

Colleen

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

We are crate training Doc (and damn, I keep meaning to buy a bell for the back door). He does like his crate -- he often goes in there himself when he's tired or when scary things are happening (vacuum cleaners, sirens, that sort of thing). He has never had an accident in the crate.

(Cute puppy aside: I took the crate pad out because he didn't like it, and for lack of a better place to put it, I stuck it on top of the crate, which is next to my bed. Now the cats sleep there. It's very cute except for one tragic night last week, when Benny had to throw up in the middle of the night ... sorry, Doc!)

We are still having house breaking problems, mostly because we give him too much free access to the house when we're home. We're going to buy some baby gates this weekend. He's just starting to let us know when he has to go. It got better after I finally convinced him to go downstairs by himself. He was deathly afraid of going DOWN the steps, but he was getting too big to carry (and he hates being carried). As soon as he was able to get down on his own, he suddenly started telling us when he had to go.

We still have at least one accident a day, though.

He's never in the crate for very long. I'm working from 9-1 and 2-5. He sleeps during the morning, gets a quick lunch break, and then goes back in the crate in the afternoon. I think he sleeps for part of that time, but not all of it. I usually give him a Kong stuffed with peanut butter (we call that the puppy pacifier) when I leave after lunch.

Have any of you tried the Buster Cube? It's expensive, but that occupies him, too. It's a cube that you fill with kibble or tiny treats. The dog knocks it around, and sometimes a treat will fall out. Doc loves his.

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

Colleen--

It sounds like Ginger might be a case in which paper training is a better idea than crate training.

As I understood it, the idea behind crate training is that dogs normally don't like to pee in the place where they sleep. If they lose this aversion, crate training won't really work. Puppies that spend a long time at a shelter, for example, learn that it's okay to pee in their sleeping pen because it's the only place they have. Since you have to leave Ginger by herself for a long time during the day, the same thing might be happening in her case.

Several things I read suggested that paper training might work better for dogs in these situations. The rule of thumb was that a dog could wait a number of hours equal to their age plus 1. A four-month-old puppy, for exmaple, could probably make it dry through five hours. If they have to wait longer than that, you cover the floor of their room with paper (probably the kitchen or bathroom where accidents are easier to clean up). Over time, the dog learns to take care of business on the paper and you are can cover less and less of the floor.

I hope things get easier for you.

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

I wish I could say Ginger never had an accident in the crate. We took the crate mat out because she peed on it too many times. She doesn't seem to miss it though. I also have the crate right next to the bed.

I sure wish I could go home at lunch for her, but my office is a 45 minute drive away. When I got her I thought I'd be able to keep her in the kitchen with newspaper to do her business on, but she chews too much (lab/husky mix).

She seems to like the crate, and doesn't give me trouble when I want her to go in it. She does like to play with the other dogs though and will sometimes cry if she wants to come out to play. I have to limit her access to the house though. She's allowed in the kitchen with me, in the den with us, or on the deck with the other dogs.

She knows 'sit' pretty well, and will always come when called. It's the sweetest thing to have her running full blast towards me in the yard. We have a big yard (not fenced in) but I do not need a leash to take her out. None of my dogs are wanderers.

Ginger didn't know how to do stairs when we got her. Dave and I taught her in two days by using lots of little treats.

I checked out that Buster cube but decided against it because of Mack. He's a very powerful chewer and will ruin anything made of plastic. He will also end up ingesting a bunch of it, which I don't think is good for him even if it does pass through. I stick with ropes, raw hides, and things made of rubber like plastic (kongs).

Doc might like that space ship thing I was talking about. You can see it here.

I'm going to try that peanut butter thing on her....

Do you have pictures of the little guy? I love pictures of cute puppies. Little Ginger is here.

Colleen

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

I have two pictures of Doc online, both in the garden site. He's here and here.

Both of those were when he was 6-7 weeks old. He's a lot bigger and hardly ever looks that angelic anymore.

We taught him to walk downstairs by putting a little dry cat food on each step. Even so, it took three days. He had fallen down the steps on the way up a few days earlier, so he was really terrified of the whole experience. He runs up and down like a champ now.

I have to say, I can't BELIEVE how easy he is to train using treats. He learns almost everything by the third try, although he sometimes gets things mixed up. On the other hand, I can't believe how much trouble we're having with play biting -- he bites hard, too. We've tried every trick we've heard of, and it's getting better, but he has got to learn this before he gets his permanent teeth!

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

Heather --

I may try that paper training thing instead. Hosing her down every day just doesn't cut it. You're right about the times though, she can stay dry about 5 hours.

Got any ideas how I can keep her from chewing up the paper?

I've got one of those play pen type enclosures, but she's getting so big so fast that she can climb out of it now. She cries too much if I leave her behind a closed door. I want her to be able to see the other dogs.

I may try the bathroom tommorrow. There's very little there for her to chew on or ruin.

This is a great discussion, and I appreciate everyone's advice!

Colleen

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

Beth --

Doc is such a cutie! Our dog is growing so fast too. Just 4 months old and over 25 pounds. Every time I look at her I think she's gotten bigger.

We use these Old Mother Hubbard treats for training. There are about the same size as cat food. Almost all dogs respond well to treats.

As for the biting, Ginger does it too, and we just keep telling her NO. It's less frequent, but she still does it. I read that if you tell them no and ignore them they might stop doing it. I will also hold her mouth closed for a second or two so she understands that I'm associating it with her mouth. It's working, but slowly. You have to use a pretty stern tone of voice when you tell them NO. And use a really sweet voice when you're telling them "Good Girl!" You sound like an idiot, but it works. We did this with both the other dogs and they know the difference between "Good Dog" and "Baaaad Dog".

Colleen

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

Colleen: have you tried (please forgive me, this is really what they're called) "Wee Wee Pads"? They sell them at pet stores and you use them instead of actual newspapers. They're treated with some kind of odor that we can't smell, but that makes dogs want to pee on them. (Lovely, eh?) I don't know how expensive they are, but they might work for you if she eats newspapers. If she gets the idea that they are for peeing, maybe she'll use them for that and not eat them.

I'm loving this discussion, too -- this is way more informative than the actual dog training forums I've checked out!

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

I tried those wee-wee pads (very funny name!) but she chews them too, and I'm concerned for her digesting that stuff. That chemical can't be good for her. Dave thinks the newsprint is bad for her too. What do you think?

I think I'm going to try putting her in the bathroom tomorrow, using the baby gate on the door. Baby gates are great for keeping dogs in their place. I've got my big dogs trained to stay behind them even though they could both jump over it.

Colleen

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

I had a lot of success with immediately giving the puppy something they *can* chew on and praise them after you tell them 'No' for biting. The newfie got so that when she was thinking about biting your hands, she would look around wildly for a toy. She hasn't been mouthly like that since she got her adult teeth in, around 5 months old. I assume she just doesn't have a need to teeth anymore. My dogs respond well to positive reinforcement and redirection in general. We praise them for one or two short barks to let us know someone came to the door, and then we give them a toy to shut them up so that you don't have them barking non-stop for the next 20 minutes.

Colleen, Have you thought about a pet sitter? My sister-in-law used to have a business doing that, and she charged $12 for a twenty minute visit to take the dog out and for a short walk. I'm looking for someone in the Twin Cities area now, although I admit I'm not really wild about someone coming into my house. And my Siberian is so shy that if he escaped somehow, no one else would ever catch him. Still, I would like to not have to run home at lunch every day. What I really want is doggy day care so that they don't have to be locked up at all, but I haven't found any here yet, and I probably couldn't afford it anyway. OK, rambling....

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

Colleen--

Ouch! That paper chewing problem is something no one talked about. I bet Ginger's doing it because she's lonely and/or bored. Probably all you can do is make sure she's well-supplied with toys and hope for the best. Also, you might try calling the newspaper and see what's in the paper and ink. Our paper uses soy ink or somesuch that isn't horribly toxic. A little paper here and there probably never killed a dog. Despite our best efforts, Duncan's always picking up tissues, hamburger wrappers, and the like on our walks. We're talking *total* garbage gut. It doesn't seem to really hurt him.

Another thing you might try for furniture, doorframes, walls, etc. is a product called Bitter Apple. It's this clear gel with flecks of icky stuff in it. Dogs hate it. When Duncan was teething, he liked to gnaw on the wooden doors in our kitchen. I don't know if it stopped his chewing altogether, but it certainly slowed him down.

Also, have you seen those portable dog fencing thingies? They're usually 5-6 panels of heavy wire mesh that you latch together and can move around. I haven't used it myself, and I have no idea how expensive it is, but it might be worth looking into. I know J-B Wholesalers carry the stuff. Their phone number is 800-526-0388. It's a fairly good catalog for pet stuff in general.

The stair stories are cracking me up. Duncan can handle going down the stairs outside, but he can't muster the courage to go down into our basement. As near as we can figure, he was traumatized as a youth. A few weeks after we brought him home, we had a rip-snorting thunderstorm. As in, a tree was uprooted and fell on our neighbor's house. As in, a tornado touched down on the south side of town.

Anyway, when the wind kicked up, we all took shelter down in the basement. We held Duncan the whole time because our basement's kind of dark and dank and we didn't want him getting into any trouble. I'm sure it must have been scary for a little puppy to be in such a big, dark place. I bet he also picked up on our tension and associated it with the basement. Ever since then, he wants absolutely nothing to do with the basement. When Peter goes down there to rotate laundry, Duncan sits at the top of the stairs and patiently waits for him to come back up. It's too cute.

And one warning about training with treats: It works really well, but you can end up with fat dogs. Okay, make it two warnings: You can also end up with dogs who won't obey you unless they know there's a treat in it for them. Duncan likes to play fetch, but only if he sees the Milkbone first. Little turkey.

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

I don't have a puppy--yet. I was planning to get a lab puppy to be trained by Duke, my elderly lab, but reading your entries is making me remember what puppies are like. I love the breath, the paws, the eyes, the love. But all the reality is tough. Maybe next year?

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

...the only thing i'll add is a little tidbit i remember from a dog training class i took taylor [my ex-dog] to: the more you make your dog earn your praise the easier and faster they will learn...

...i guess this goes double for puppies since people tend to cuddle them all the time...and it seems to makes sense...because they are so young it is harder for them to distinguish when they are earning praise for peeing outside versus simply getting attention 'cause they're so cute...all they understand is that they are getting attention, and the connection to "why" is lost...

...at the time, i remember all the dog owners who were in the room thinking that this was mean...but really, it isn't, and it really helps establish 'rules' of the house...for months after taylor was potty trained, i would still praise him for 'going' outside...i figured it couldn't hurt, though i'm sure people thought i was a moron for going "goooood boooyyyy, gooood boooyy" in my dorky voice- reserved-for-animals-and-occassionally-children voice everytime taylor pooped...

...right now i'm going through it again [though on the sidelines] with my boyfriend's new terrier puppy 'joey'...so i'm with you in spirit....i'll be checking back for tidbits...

[i'd post a picture of joey if i had one, but i don't...however, here is taylo r the wonder woofer in all his glory.....i know it's shameless, but i just had too...]

cheers!

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

Beth,

Since your puppy is whining for attention try putting a clock that ticks under a towel in his crate... I know it sounds strange, but "the Queen"(my mother) swears it will work, and she would know.

Good Luck!

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

My puppy doesn't whine all that much, Zoe, but I have heard that trick. I think it's mostly used when the puppies are first weened and they miss their mothers.

My puppy doesn't miss anyone; he's just a brat! Heh.

I've heard two approaches to treat training: (1) once they've absolutely learned the command, you're only supposed to give them the treat/praise/whatever if they do it better than they've done it in the past, or (2) once they've mastered the command, make the positive reinforcement random, sporadic, and unpredictable. You have to reinforce every time until they understand it, but after that they're more likely to keep doing it on command if they only might get a reward.

I'm not sure if either of these is correct.

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

I spelled "weaned" wrong. I think. Maybe this is wrong. Well, I'm not goign to correct it because it's a funny looking word either way.

I forgot to mention that we do make Doc "work" for pretty much everything. He has to sit or lie down for food or toys. If he's acting up (biting, jumping up and not listening when we say "down," etc.), he has to lie down before we resume playing with him. I find that this works really well when he's getting out of control.

-- Anonymous, July 14, 1999

Some random puppy thoughts:

You'll be so happy when you get baby gates - we use them a lot because the cats can jump over them and do what they please without the dogs bothering them. That might allow late sleepers a bit more peace.

When you're home, take him out constantly on the off chance he might need to go and praise like crazy. Even our older rescue fosters have generally ended up 95% accident-free after a week or two of that.

Biting: yelp like a hurt dog, very loud and high-pitched, even if he didn't bite hard enough to hurt.

A radio playing softly (especially talk or news radio) is an alternate to a ticking clock.

Instead of negative reinforcement (which, everyone is right, doesn't work on a puppy) use dominance. If he's being a butt, stare him down and don't back off until he looks away. Don't be surprised if this works better from one of you than the other, some dogs "get" two human alphas, some don't. One of you may have to be the ultimate human alpha. It is true that almost all dogs don't mind not being alpha as long as they know who is.

Rub heads with him, that's doggy affection, plus it'll prevent him becoming head-shy.

We try to always crate-train, especially the foster dogs if they aren't already. I myself am way too soft, I give up when they cry, and I get irritated easily and mastiffs can make a *lot* of noise when they're unhappy. But it is often safer and better for the dog, and I know our adoptive families appreciate it, and our vet appreciates it (as he isn't too keen on mastiffs anyway), and with 4- 5 dogs at any given time it saves us a lot of sanity. It is an excellent sign that Doc goes to his crate when he's tired or scared, it means it is his cave.

Kiddie pool. Most of our dogs just drink out of ours, although my greyhound will get in to cool his feet, but it seems to make them all a little more comfortable, and some of the dogs we've had *loved* it when you threw in a tennis ball or something for them to chase. Just put an inch or two in while he's little, it's enough for him to drink and splash in and the water doesn't stand long enough to grow funk. This is assuming you have enough room for one, and you'll need to pick it up when he's done or you'll get dead circles in your grass (although, if you have a large porch or patio it would work there too).

Anyway, make water a Good Thing when he's a baby, and bathtime won't be so bad. We recently had a foster who would happily stand in the yard and be hosed down for as long as you were willing to hold the hose.

And a word of comfort (for Colleen, too, my heart goes out to you and Ginger) - it does get better. Suddenly, one day, housebreaking is over. Of course, puppy adolescence arrives about that time, and they can get as onery as any human teenager, but that, too, passes, and all you remember of puppyhood was how cute they were.

And, never forget the rolled-up-newspaper rule: If you left the shoes out and they got chewed, if you left stuff on the counter that got eaten, roll up a newspaper and smack yourself on the head. With our current terrorist - I mean, puppy - I think I've got a permanent knot on my head. And I have no shoes.

-- Anonymous, July 15, 1999

So many things to think about and try, thanks!

One good piece of news -- got home yesterday and she was dry and clean. One day without an accident!

I've have a lot of success with replacement chewing. If she bites or chews inappropriately I give her a toy instead. This worked on my other dogs too.

Pet sitter? Wish we could afford it. I use one when we go away somewhere but on a regular basis I can't afford another $100 per week.

I'm lucky that none of my dogs are escapers. Neither of the older dogs will go out a door unless we say "OK". They'll stand in front of a wide open door looking around but will not go out. If by chance they do go out, they stay right there and maybe pee. I do not need leashes to keep them with me (unless it's a road where I want to keep them safe) and they almost always come when called. The minute Ginger knew her name she would come when called. It's really quite cute they way she runs at us full blast.

Heather -- I know what you mean about garbage dog. Mack is always doing that kind of stuff and it's never hurt him. I'm also thinking that the newspaper is safer. I spoke with Dave about it last night and he seems willing to try. We're getting new carpet in our bedroom this weekend so I don't want her peeing in her crate and having it get on the new rug. I think we're going to use the bathroom with a baby gate.

I used Bitter Apple on the older dogs, and I will use it for her if we put her in the bathroom without the crate. So far she hasn't seemed that interested in cabinets or furniture. More interested in napkins, q-tips, pens, paint rollers, etc.

I've got one of those portable dog fencing thingies. I just have to figure a way to make it more stable. As it is she can jump into it and move it and bend it in differnet ways. I don't want it to fall on her and hurt her.

Once she learned to take the stairs she became fearless. I've seen her jump from three steps up and SuperFly Snooka onto one of the other dogs. One day she was running down the steps so fast she tumbled down three or four of them and just shook it off. She jumped from the front porch off the side into some tall greenage.

The only thing I've seen her even slighly afraid of is the bathtub and I know she'll get over that. She likes to play in the water outside but she didnt' like the bath so much. I talked sweet to her and she endured it and was very happy afterwards.

I always give the dogs a bone after they take a bath and I think they remember. My oldest dog, Mack, will jump into the bathtub at even the word "Bath". The other night I was giving Ginger a bath, cause she reeked, and while I was getting the tub ready Mack kept jumping in there. He really wanted a bath, and he needed one, but since we just moved to this house I don't have a shower thingy to use. I had to wash Ginger with a big cup.

I train with treats, but once they get it I don't give them a treat every time. Ginger's getting a lot of treats, but she's a growing dog and still quite thin for her size. I can still feel her ribs and I think she's a bit thin so I feed her a little more. She's going to be a very big dog!

Mack is really the only one who likes to play fetch. He'll play for hours on end. The other dogs just like to chase him. They don't care that they never get the ball. I love to watch them play.

Now that she's almost four months we're training her a little more seriously. She really had a very short attention span previously. We're working hard to teach her to stop jumping up on us. It's hard because she's cute but I know I don't want her jumping up when she's over 60 pounds. Last night I was out on the deck with her and she jumped up on me and I told her "No" and then she backed off and sat and looked up at me... "Good Dog!" I've been making her sit to get attention. The other dogs help a lot, when I say sit *BAM* they're on their butts and Ginger catches on to it.

Never -- When I'm home I take her out constantly and she does really well. She just hasn't gotten to the point where she gives me any signal that she needs to go. When she's in her crate and I'm sleeping she'll cry and wake me up to go up (5 AM this morning) but when she's out and about she doesn't give any signal. She has learned to leave her crate, go straight to the front door, and wait for me.

And one good thing about her is that she knows the meaning of "business trip". At 5 AM she goes out, pees quick, runs around, poops, and comes straight back to the door. No fooling around. I can't say that for Brandy, who has to find the *exact* right stop to do her business and takes *forever*.

I'm going to get her a baby pool this weekend. I think she'd like it, and if I use the ball the other dogs will like it too.

I know it will get better because it did with the other dogs. Mack was a serious chewer and I lost a couch to him and you'd never know it now. He's a model dog and sweet as pie. When he does something bad, and I tell him "bad dog", he goes straight to the bathtub and waits in there till I tell him he can come out. At first I thought it would be bad to use the bathtub as the "bad dog" spot, but it doesn't seem to affect his willingness to take a bath.

I love them all and I wouldn't trade them for anything.

Man, this is long! I really appreciate everyone's thoughts on this! I'm getting lots of good ideas.

Colleen

-- Anonymous, July 15, 1999

Wow, great tips, Never. I'm so pleased that we have so many experts around!

-- Anonymous, July 15, 1999

I got Howard a year and a half ago, as an adult. I bought him a crate. I was hoping that we could make it into a safe place. ANd make us easier guests or Howard easier to sit, if I went out of town.

UNfortunately, he hates the crate. It's now in my basement. I could sell it, but if I did, I'm sure I would need to fly somewhere with him. (not that I plan on that. i'd be a basket case.)

Howard's a grown up dog. And my most successful dicipline tool has been a spray bottle. Now, even if there isn't one handy, I pick up a random object and brandish it and he immediately responds. You can see it go across his face 'oh, yeah, i'm not supposed to bark when mom puts on her shoes even tho it's really exciting. ugh spray bottle.'

-- Anonymous, July 15, 1999

I am not the best person to be giving advice on training since all of my animals are terribly spoiled, but my dog got the best training from my cat. He knows several words that we have taught him but he failed puppy school twice, after the second time I was reallt worried nothing would work, and then I started noticing he does everything my cat (Simon) does he cleans himself the same he even tries to go in the cat box, although he has not quite mastered it. About two weeks ago I ended up with a new kitten (Charlie) and now the kitten follows the dog doing everything he does panting when he is happy, alot of chewing and attempts at playing the same way he's like the Cecil's (the pup) second shawdow. So I have a houseful of backwards animals a dog who insists he is a cat and a kitten that is pretty sure he is a dog.

-- Anonymous, July 15, 1999

We brought our dog a pair of kittens! (Actually, I'm writing about them, in a dog forum, so I thought I'd throw that in so you wouldn't notice.) He thinks they'd be great squeak toys and is really frustrated that we won't share them with him.

It's them Bad Kitties (tm. Kymm) that I'm griping about today, however. They have discovered the toilet paper and what fun it is to unroll it. Also, it's a hunt for the basin trap every time we want to wash our hands.

Been a long time since I had babies!

-- Anonymous, July 26, 1999

Beth -- A little idea about the nipping problem. Ginger used to do that on the leash and I've gotten her to mostly stop.

First, get one of those nylon training collars. The kind that can slip and tighten. I stay away from the chain kind cause I think they might irriate them, but the nylon is comfortable.

When you go to walk him push the collar up high behind his ears and around his throught. When he tries one of his antics give a quick tug nd either use NO or HEEL to tell him what to do. And just keep walking. Don't stop and acknowledge what he's doing. I found that if you stop and try to bargain with them it encourages the behavior.

Since the collar is so high on his head a small tug gives an instant reaction. They taught me this when I took Mack to obedience training.

Now, wanna tell me how to get Ginger to stop pissing all over herself in the crate?

-- Anonymous, August 12, 1999

A psychological note from past experience with a mouthy puppy: some puppies seem to go through a phase where they'll put their mouths on you as a means of contact. He doesn't really mean to be a little turd, he just wants to touch you and hasn't figured out he doesn't have hands like you do. Of course, it's also fun because you react and it becomes a big fun game.

You can try ignoring him (stop speaking to him, essentially) when he does it, and then when he stops you can pet and rub him for a second (try putting him in a sit) or you can yelp like he's hurting you and then praise him when he backs off.

His reaction to wrestling and roughhousing is good - he accepts you as dominant. Apparently, you're the alpha human and Jeremy could either be second to you or in a weak position and Doc's vying for second. Might be good for Jeremy to make sure he's using lots of eye contact and more wrestling.

He's essentially treating you as the mama dog, and mama dogs have no problem showing their annoyance (growling, pushing, staring) when the baby dog is being obnoxious, so don't be afraid to stare him down or snarl at him when he's pulling at you. Just reward him once he's given you an appropriate amount of good behavior.

Aren't they fun? Our puppy spontaneously learned to play ball yesterday - all the way through bringing it back and dropping it to be thrown again. She's never liked the tennis ball before, and she's never brought back anything we've thrown. She still can't sit, she just backs in circles stomping her feet and getting excited.

-- Anonymous, August 12, 1999

On the nipping problem, my Newfoundland, Cosmo, did *exactly* the same thing. He'd be an angel, then as soon as he was on a leash and out the door, it was time to act out and prove that no human was gonna take him for a walk. Thankfully (he's 125 lbs. now), it was just a puppy thing, and he's long over it (altho he'll still do it when strangers try to walk him -- testing, you see).

Advice: Colleen is right, you need a collar that gives a correction. Nylon choke is probably a good place to start. A quick tug, followed by a correction word (No, or Hey) delivered in a sharp, stern voice. And hang in there, once you get to puppy classes, this is the first thing they'll address, I promise.

P.S. Obedience classes are the best, altho you have to be patient. Only now, with Cosmo just turned 4, are we getting the full payoff. He's suddenly such a good dog, now that all the adolescence is behind him...

-- Fred

-- Anonymous, August 12, 1999