[riseagainstme]

Edit: Perhaps I should have put this in the first time dog owner forum. Sorry. Please move if admin feels the need.

So I just adopted my very first puppy, Ruby, a lab/whippet/border collie/boxer/coonhound mix from a foster parent. She is about 12 weeks old. I've only had my pup for a day, and already the problems are bubbling up.

Problem 1.
She whined, howled, and barked last night and during the day when we were getting ready for work. She was crated indoors during the night with a peanut butter filled kong(which she seems disinterested in) and several chew toys. The crate was located in our bedroom.

During the day she has access to her crate but not inside the house (is it bad that we are moving the crate around? I think I know the answer to this... ) but we leave the crate door open for her to explore/potty. I had to go home a couple of times today (see problem #3) and she even whined and howled while I was with her. She had breakfast, access to water, full access to her potty and plenty of chew toys.

We've tried ignoring the cries last night, we scolded the cries a couple times out of frustration, I rewarded her for being quiet, which seemed to work and finally got her to go to sleep, but she did the same thing after 2 a.m. when I took her out for potty. Am I expecting too much out of her too soon? Is it bad that she is in the crate in our bedroom during the night? Should she have her own separate room where she cant see us? Should we crate her in during the day? We work 8 hours and I know thats going to be way too long for her to hold it. My fiance is worried about our neighbors, I dont think they can hear it or care... yet.

Problem 2.
I was trying to get her to loose leach walk around the back yard. The opposite problem occurred more often: While walking on her leach she frequently stops dead in her tracks. Do I pull/continue walking? I tried this and it seems to to have a negative effect making her resist by going into a sit or even trying to pull. But I needed her to move before she pottied in the house or on the deck. When I train her and she does that, do I coax her with a treat? I reward her when she correctly walks by my side, but this only lasts so long before she decides she doesn't want to move again.

Problem 3.
She's a little escape artist. She dug under my fence the first time and whined at the neighbors window. I was at work, luckily they took care of her until I got home. After fixing it so she could no longer dig under the fence, I discovered she shimmied though the fence in another spot (good neighbor fence with a partially broken slat). And again whined at the neighbors window. I know the solution to this is to just do a better job of enclosing my backyard and as the puppy gets fatter it should become less of a problem, but I needed to vent. It freaked me out how easy it was for her to escape... twice.

Problem 4.
She's very timid around me, almost as if she expects me to punish/hit her. I've never struck her. I feel like I walk, talk and act confidently around her. I've given her treats and belly rubs. But she gets anxious around me for seemingly no reason at times.

Solution?
My guess is I'm not established as the alpha dog in her eyes just yet causing anxiety leading to the barking/howling, the walk stopping and the timidness... That and she just got removed from her litter mates to a new house that she's never seen before with all these new rules.

So I guess what I'm asking is: Am I asking too much out of my new puppy? Am I being too strict? Too impatient? I dont want to give up on her because I know with the correct training she will be a wonder addition to our family, I just dont want her to seem me as a harsh dictator. I know it's only been one day, but with two close calls to her being lost my fiance and I are stressing out. Am I on the right track to fixing these problems and just need to be diligent? Or am I totally screwing up?

P.S. not all has been bad. She seems to resist using the bathroom in the crate (though she had a pee-pee accident) and already has a safely spot connection with it. When taking her to the bathroom we taught her the place to pee/poop in twice by bringing her there, waiting for her to start going, telling her to potty and praising her when finishing. While home alone (while not trying to escape) she used that spot 2 more times correctly on her own! And she is already showing very good bite inhibition. Good dog!

[carrie_griffes]

[quote=riseagainstme;347029]
Problem 1.
She whined, howled, and barked last night and during the day when we were getting ready for work.

During the day she has access to her crate but not inside the house (is it bad that we are moving the crate around? I think I know the answer to this... ) but we leave the crate door open for her to explore/potty.

We've tried ignoring the cries last night, we scolded the cries a couple times out of frustration, I rewarded her for being quiet, which seemed to work and finally got her to go to sleep, but she did the same thing after 2 a.m. when I took her out for potty.

Problem 2.
I was trying to get her to loose leach walk around the back yard. The opposite problem occurred more often: While walking on her leach she frequently stops dead in her tracks. Do I pull/continue walking?

Problem 3.
She's a little escape artist. She dug under my fence the first time and whined at the neighbors window. I was at work, luckily they took care of her until I got home. After fixing it so she could no longer dig under the fence, I discovered she shimmied though the fence in another spot (good neighbor fence with a partially broken slat). And again whined at the neighbors window. I know the solution to this is to just do a better job of enclosing my backyard and as the puppy gets fatter it should become less of a problem, but I needed to vent. It freaked me out how easy it was for her to escape... twice.

Problem 4.
She's very timid around me, almost as if she expects me to punish/hit her. I've never struck her. I feel like I walk, talk and act confidently around her. I've given her treats and belly rubs. But she gets anxious around me for seemingly no reason at times.

Solution?
My guess is I'm not established as the alpha dog in her eyes just yet causing anxiety leading to the barking/howling, the walk stopping and the timidness... That and she just got removed from her litter mates to a new house that she's never seen before with all these new rules.

So I guess what I'm asking is: Am I asking too much out of my new puppy? Am I being too strict? Too impatient? I dont want to give up on her because I know with the correct training she will be a wonder addition to our family,

I know it's only been one day, but with two close calls to her being lost my fiance and I are stressing out. Am I on the right track to fixing these problems and just need to be diligent? Or am I totally screwing up?
QUOTE]

Sounds like normal new home adjustments to me. The first few days and nights are adjustment days and timid behavior is common as is the night time crying.

As for the crate, any place you perfer to have it is fine the key is not to let her out while she is crying (wait until she is quiet) after a while she will learn that crying is not going to get her out any faster.

As for the timid behavoir, that will subside as a trusting relationship is built up between the two of you. Some dogs only take a few days while some take a few weeks. Just depends on the dog.

The backing up on the leash is also common and patients will be the key. I have always gotten my dogs adjusted to the leash by letting them drag it around for a while. If your dog is a chewer, a chain collar would stand up to the chewing where a nylon collar won't.

Please don't pull on the pup while she is stopped very short gentle tugs will work with some, she could become fearfull of it; either be paitent and coax her or pick her up in an emergency (just long enough to get her outside). It will only be nessesary untill she gets used to the leash.

As some dogs are very good escape artists, a very stable and secure enclosure is the only option.

All of these are common new dog/puppy issues that are worked through with paitients as the relationship and trust are established. Don't fret so much and you'll do right by her and her by you.

[riseagainstme]

Thanks for the help. I think more than anything I'm just ranting that things aren't going as smoothly as I had unfairly hoped. I'm sure she's just as frustrated with all these lifestyle changes if not more so than I am. Hopefully things get better for my sanity and my human relationships.

[MistRiver]

Also, she may not really care for chew toys yet. You have to train them to love them. You can either do this by playing with the puppy with the chew toys to raise it's enthusiasm for them or by getting the kind you put treats in. If your puppy doesn't like the kong with the treats try a different treat that the puppy would love. Like peanut butter with a little cheese.

You can listen to podcasts for free from a very good trainer about a lot of these issues here http://www.dogstardaily.com/radio if you go to episode 5 I think it's about a puppy being home alone.

[aero4ever]

I know this is frustrating, but hang in there. I think you've got some good basic knowledge of what you need to do and are on the right track. It doesn't sound like you're 'screwing up' at all, just need to have some patience.

I think alot of the issues are because she's in a new place and she's very young. As she gets older she should settle down. She has some interesting breeds in her and what you're seeing could be a result of that breed characteristic taking over as well. Border Collies for example are intelligent dogs and need to be challenged.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend giving a Kong at night in the crate simply because it may cause her to need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I think it's pretty common for dogs to whine and cry at night. I used to just tell mine that's enough (usually more than once, but they caught on that it wouldn't get them anywhere) and when they settled down, praise them. I moved the crate around for mine as well. At night it was in the bedroom and during the day in the living room. That seemed to work well.

Keep ignoring her whines and unwanted behavior. If she whines and you look at her or speak to her she will learn that will get her attention. Dogs really don't like to be ignored.

Because she is young and really can't be trusted, I recommend crating when you're not home. It will keep her safe and you won't stress about what she's up to. Are you in a position to take her to doggy day care or get a dog walker? Some people will probably disagree with me but there have been times where my dogs would be crated all day, sometimes you have no other choice, but sometimes the alternative is worse.

Ahh, leash training! I used to give mine a tug and make them get up and move with me. I feel that it's important in establishing my role as pack leader. I'm not heavy handed, but do get my point across. If a dog learns that if they sit and you stop and wait on them, they'll do this even more and your status is lowered.

If you decide to crate her during the day, it will resolve the issue with her digging out of your yard. Like you said, the only way to resolve this is with dig proofing around your fence line.

She'll probably outgrow the timidness. She's learning the rules (or a second language, ours ) and needs some time to adjust. Don't baby her trying to make her feel better.

Try to relax and enjoy having your baby, they'll pick up on your stress. I think you're doing a lot of things right, headed in the right direction and just need to give her some time to adjust. One last thing, be consistant in your disipline however you plan on doing it.

Hang in there!!!!

[Parkergirl]

I think what you are experiencing is a normal puppyhood. The other posters gave good advice: letting the pup drag the leash around the house while you are there to supervise, having the crate in the bedroom at night, positively reinforcing when she potties in the correct place etc. But PLEASE DO NOT leave a chain collar on the puppy. These should only be used when it is attached to a leash and you are on the other end of the leash. Leaving a chain or prong collar on the pup when you are not there can lead to tragic consequences. They can get hung up on something and choke themselves. You are doing many things correctly. Enjoy that pup!

[carrie_griffes]

Originally Posted by Parkergirl

But PLEASE DO NOT leave a chain collar on the puppy. These should only be used when it is attached to a leash and you are on the other end of the leash. Leaving a chain or prong collar on the pup when you are not there can lead to tragic consequences. They can get hung up on something and choke themselves.

Sorry, I did mean chain leash not collar, got side tracked by feeding time.

[riseagainstme]

Thanks for the kind words everyone. 2nd day/night was much better. She really is a smart, sweet girl. We took her to the vet to get microchipped, which she was good about. Then when we took her home as I was petting her I found a half inch long, white pill looking thing on her back...the microchip fell/got pushed out. Took her back to the vet who said they had never ever seen that happen before. After several minutes and apologies she was rechipped, which she was again very good about. Played around at home, pottied correctly again. Came inside and just konked out in her crate at 8:30 (despite my best efforts to keep her awake). Cried at 3:30 after her potty (which she did good on again).

This morning I gave her a frozen kong with peanut butter, kibble and some lamb and chicken treats. Still seems disinterested. I hope the foster parent didn't hit or punish her for chewing. She wont grab at the soft Frisbee either.

NILIF worked really well this morning too. She was bouncing up and down trying to get me to give her any affection/attention at all. Eventually she lied down, I walked away and called her over and she bounced over happily (upon which she recieved a tummy rub). She's already getting the basics of recall. She howled when I exited though, which is extra bad since I leave before 6... sorry neighbors.


Question: When I exit and she barks/howls/whines. Should I just wait like 10 minutes after she calms down and come back in? (this was recommended by a trainer at petco) Or will this just stress the dog out more, only making her whine again when I leave for the second time. Its pretty heart wrenching to hear her whine multiple times.


UPDATE: So I had thought I made it impossible for her to get out this time. My neighbor just called and said she got loose again... what is this dog? Houdini reborn?

[Criosphynx]

First of all. I need to see a photo of this dog. Sounds like an interesting mix. :P

I agree with everything everyone else said but just had one comment.

It sounds like you have a submissive/soft dog, by how you described her acting like your going to hit her. This just means she is extra sensitive to you and your reactions. This means the "dominate" aproach is set up to fail, as it will just frighten your dog.

So with this dog like this especially its important to be patient with them. A raised voice or a quick move can make them turn off so som'things may take longer to teach at first.

NILIF is free is a great tool, it will help your dog build the confidence it needs.

[riseagainstme]

She looks an awful lot like a rot-mix but apparently not.

This is a picture of her sister Lucy:
http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/dis...petid=11512629

Ruby is similar but more black on her muzzle. Lucy apparently is the hyper active one.

I may have to get her doggie dna'd one of these days to confirm the mixture.