Dog advice contradictions

1088 Views 11 Replies 10 Participants Last post by wvasko, May 25, 2012

shipcamein

Discussion Starter · May 23, 2012

Posted here a while back about puppy selection (found a blacklab/mutt from shelter) and some bite advice (he was only 8 weeks old). Mostly going well, still working on the angry/sleepy/hungry snap or bite. It happens. Thanks for all the great advice.
Here are some contradictions I have seen, even on this website:
1. Maintain eye contact / look away when trying to stop biting.
2. Move to other room from biting dog / never leave dog unattended, not even a moment.
3. Say NO BITE / do NOT say NO BITE
4. Play tug of war/do NOT play of war
5. Try ONE technique and stick with it/List of 5 or 10 things to always do
6. Punish/don’t punish (I don’t need advice here – I will not physically punish the dog, no matter the opinions of many/few)
Also, a small loop I am sometimes in – dog eliminates in the evening, then wants to play, then has to drink…then has to go at 2am.
Or – dog eliminates, I refuse to give him water after 8pm, he becomes …desperate for a drink around 11, to the point of not sleeping/howling.
So – water, or no water, in the evenings? (Refusing to play after going out at 8 or so is not really an option – he’s wide awake and ready to romp.)
Thoughts? Thanks…

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Hambonez

· #3 · May 23, 2012

shipcamein said:
Posted here a while back about puppy selection (found a blacklab/mutt from shelter) and some bite advice (he was only 8 weeks old). Mostly going well, still working on the angry/sleepy/hungry snap or bite. It happens. Thanks for all the great advice.
Here are some contradictions I have seen, even on this website:
1. Maintain eye contact / look away when trying to stop biting.
2. Move to other room from biting dog / never leave dog unattended, not even a moment.
3. Say NO BITE / do NOT say NO BITE
4. Play tug of war/do NOT play of war
5. Try ONE technique and stick with it/List of 5 or 10 things to always do
6. Punish/don’t punish (I don’t need advice here – I will not physically punish the dog, no matter the opinions of many/few)
Also, a small loop I am sometimes in – dog eliminates in the evening, then wants to play, then has to drink…then has to go at 2am.
Or – dog eliminates, I refuse to give him water after 8pm, he becomes …desperate for a drink around 11, to the point of not sleeping/howling.
So – water, or no water, in the evenings? (Refusing to play after going out at 8 or so is not really an option – he’s wide awake and ready to romp.)
Thoughts? Thanks…

People have different opinions. Find what works best for you.

With #2, when I 'leave the room' - I'm standing on the other side of a baby gate for 15 seconds. I'm not going to the office and responding to emails or anything.

Our trainer says tug-of-war is fine, and pairs it with "drop it" or "give" commands to practice self-control. We've always played tug with our pup (5 m/o now), and it hasn't seemed to lead to any sort of aggressive behavior.

What time is your last potty break of the day. To me "evening" implies like 5-7 pm, in which case, I'd expect the dog would need to go out again before morning. If it's 10 or 11 pm, then it might just be a maturity issue. Your dog might just not be physically able to hold it all night yet. My pup has access to water all the time EXCEPT in his crate overnight (goes in between 10 and 11, comes out between 6 and 7). He has been able to wait to potty all night since he was about 12 wks old, but that doesn't seem to be the norm.

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