[frankiebugsy]

Hello! I have got a 4 month old Jug puppy (only had him 10 days) and I'm following training advice from my classes and books on puppy training. Some things he's already great at, like sleeping in his crate through the night, going outside for a pee etc. However, he can get really excitable. We think it may be because he's just over tired and is just getting to know us and his boundaries, but we just don't know what to do when he goes beserk around the kitchen biting everything in sight. We're spending a lot of time with him playing and training but we're also leaving him alone so he gets used to us coming and going. We don't want to use the crate as a time out spot and we try the calming belly position when he's super hyped up but nothing seems to work. Does anyone have similar problems and any suggestions? Thank you!

 

[spotted nikes]

No idea what "the calming belly position" is, but if it involves putting the dog on his back, stop doing that.

When he gets playful, maybe try playing fetch with a toy, throwing a ball, etc. Are you actually walking him a couple of times a day? Maybe 20 min each time?

 

[Gally]

Sounds like he needs more exercise and he's getting the zoomies before bed time. Zoomies is just a dog working out their pent up energy and is normal but you should make sure he's getting enough exercise during the day so he doesn't feel pent up.

How much time do you spend a day exercising him? How many walks and for how long? How long do you play actively with him doing things like fetch, tug etc. ? Does he get mind games like treat dispensing toys? Does he have appropriate chew toys like nylabones and bully sticks? How long are you leaving him alone for? It's okay to get him used to you coming and going but he should have something to do while in his crate to keep his mind entertained and if he's spending prolonged periods in a crate while you're at work you're going to need to make up for the missed exercise when you get home.

The calming belly position sounds like the "alpha roll", if that's what it is you really need to stop that now as it is only going to hurt your relationship with your dog.

 

[frankiebugsy]

We are taking him for 3 walks a day for about 15 minutes each time (we've only just started leash walking, but maybe we need to make those walks longer?) We do play actively with him and he has loads of toys and loves the Kong where he has to find his treats. We're not leaving him for more than 3 hours once a day. I don't think we have Bully Sticks in the UK (Cesar Millan mentions them a lot). The puppy classes we went to advised the belly position (when he's on his back and your hands are under his front legs). Why don't you recommend this? Thanks for your feedback.

 

[Nil]

Forget Cesar Milan if you are using him as a resource to raise your puppy. The methods he teaches can be very harmful to your dog and you can easily cause a lot of problems using his "theories". As far as rolling the puppy on its back, it's called an "Alpha Roll" and is NOT something you do with a dog, much less a baby. (http://k9domain.org/alpha_theory.aspx)

In short, dogs don't understand what an Alpha Roll is or why they are being forced on their back. Puppies need to learn to trust you, not fear you because you might roll them and hold them down. Not fun. You want to teach the dog to be calm so you need to reward calm behavior. Not punish him for being a puppy and being excited.

As far as walking, are you walking on grass or cement? Generally with puppies you want to be careful with their joints. You don't want to walk on cement/asphalt for long. You don't want forced exercise (running/walking) for long periods of time because this can hurt their joints. I would get a long line or, since he is a smaller dog, some twine that is 20-30 ft and take him out to an open grass field. Take some really good treats and let him explore. Just kind of follow him and walk around, let him explore. If he comes up to you, say "good job!" and give him a delicious treat. This gets all his senses working as he explores around and gets him to start thinking that if he stays near you he gets delicious treats.

Do more, smaller training sessions using positive reinforcement or clicker training. Dogs love clicker training. Puppies are not as able to focus for as long though, so just keep the sessions short (2-3 min). (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wv1uvvqaSw - She has a lot of really great videos)

How are you training? You don't want to use corrections with a puppy, ever. They are babies and need to learn by you showing them and rewarding them. Training using corrections can just make your puppy not trust you and become afraid of you.