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Okay, well, I'm going to warn you all that this is going to be a long post, so if you don't have the time to read it, then spare yourself the agony.
I've been going through a hard time. I'm seriously asking for advice, but also ranting at the same time, in hopes that someone will correct me, and tell me what I'm doing right, and what I'm doing wrong.
About a month and a half ago, I adopted a two year old schipperke/terrier mix. Despite the stereotypes her breeds may follow, she was extremely calm, which was the reason why I chose her. But as the weeks go by, she seems more and more hyper, and disobedient. She used to sit almost every time I told her to before leashing her, now it's a struggle to get her to pay attention to me. She used to always come to me when I called her name, and now she only does it sometimes. I know dogs can get into funks where they kinda forget what they've been taught, but it's making me feel like I lost my "pack leader" status, or that I've lost her respect. I tried reteaching her her name, in hopes that she'll respond to it more now, but I don't know if it worked.
Lately, her tail has been straight up lately, which usually means dominance/confidence. I'm starting to fear that she's becoming overly confident, and that's why she won't listen to me anymore. Ever since the first day I got her, I haven't allowed her on the carpet while my family eats (the dinner table is on carpet), so she's not begging and bothering us while we eat. She picked it up right away, and was perfectly behaved, until recently. I admit, I am at fault here, because I would let her play with her toys on the carpet while we're not eating dinner, since the rest of the area I've allowed her in so far is hard floor, and she slips and slides a lot on it. I guess since I've allowed her to do that for a while, she's gotten confused, and now I spend more than half of my dinner time trying to get her to stay off the carpet. No matter how many times I praise her and treat her for coming off the carpet, she just won't stay off.
The only tricks/commands/cues/whatever-you-want-to-call-it she knows is sit...and that's it. I'm not entirely sure how to teach her anything else. I've watched countless videos, episodes of whatever dog show you can think of, read books, but it's very hard for me to learn anything without having an actual person show me. To be honest, no book or video tells you the reality of how long it takes for a dog to really learn a cue, so please, tell me, how long should I teach my dog something per day, and how long will it take for her to learn it? I feel awful because I feel like I'm not giving my dog enough mental stimulation. I've tried teaching her stay and come, but neither are effective, and I'm not sure if it's because I'm not spending enough time teaching it to her, if it's because I'm doing it wrong, or both.
So far, I've only allowed my dog access to the kitchen and the living room (they're right next to each other). I remember learning from a book or a video that as the weeks go on, you should introduce the dog to other sections of the house. I'd really like to trust my dog with the rest of the house, but I know I can't. She still has an accident in the house every once in a while. I've brought her into the basement with me a couple times, so she can be with me while I'm on the computer, but she goes off everywhere, and occasionally tries to pick something up to eat, etc, etc. She also paces a lot, sniffing around everywhere down here, and it makes me nervous, and I'm not sure if I should be. Is it because she's bored? Or is it because she's just curious? How can I let her know that she doesn't own this part of the house, and I do? How do I introduce my dog to a knew part of the home? I know this is going to take months and months, I just need to know that I'm doing things right.
Since her temperament is changing, is it because she's becoming more comfortable in the home? If it is, that makes me happy, but I don't want her becoming overly confident, and thinking she can do whatever she wants. I'm afraid that if she's going to become more and more hyper, and that I won't be able to control her, and that I might end up taking her back (God forbid). I know, I'm totally thinking the worse case scenario, but I'm a worry-wart, who's lost. She's also starting to pant more and more lately, as opposed to how she used to be extremely calm and laid back. Also, how can I introduce my dog to a new situation well? I've brought her to a lake by my house a couple times, and to my boyfriend's house a couple times, and she paces around and whimpers, and then is fine when we come home. I'm worried that I'm spoiling her somehow and not knowing it. Also, recently, she's actually starting to eat all of her meals, instead of eating most of it, and leaving some of it. (I feed her twice a day- once in the morning, and once at night). And not only that, but she's starting to actually beg. I know it sounds funny, but she didn't used to do that.
I'd also like to know if I'm spending enough time exercising my dog and playing with her. I walk my dog at around 9:30 in the morning for 45 minutes to an hour, and then feed her after wards. (I know I probably have to wake up earlier than that-- I'm really really trying to. It's hard to sleep when you're so worried). After that, we play together and hang out together for a couple of hours. It's about 1 pm at that time, so I put her in the crate (since she can't be trusted alone yet), and go do my own thing for four or five hours, then by then it's dinner time, and I feed her, and hang out with her more and play with her more for a couple more hours, and then I leave her, but at this time of the day, my family is usually around, so she's not alone. Please, I know it's okay to leave her in there for that long, because she needs to be prepared for when I get a job and/or start college. She also needs to learn to hold her bladder so she doesn't have accidents in the house. If anyone says the words "learned helplessness," I'll go nuts.
Overall, I just want my dog to be happy and fulfilled, and I'm not sure if I'm doing anything right, at all. I'm often afraid that she's bored, but a lot of the times when I try to play with her, she's not interested and just wants to lounge, and then other times, she has these spurts of uber hyperness, and then she acts nuts. Help me, please?
feel totally lost.
About a month and a half ago, I adopted a two year old schipperke/terrier mix. Despite the stereotypes her breeds may follow, she was extremely calm, which was the reason why I chose her. But as the weeks go by, she seems more and more hyper, and disobedient. She used to sit almost every time I told her to before leashing her, now it's a struggle to get her to pay attention to me. She used to always come to me when I called her name, and now she only does it sometimes. I know dogs can get into funks where they kinda forget what they've been taught, but it's making me feel like I lost my "pack leader" status, or that I've lost her respect. I tried reteaching her her name, in hopes that she'll respond to it more now, but I don't know if it worked.
Lately, her tail has been straight up lately, which usually means dominance/confidence. I'm starting to fear that she's becoming overly confident, and that's why she won't listen to me anymore. Ever since the first day I got her, I haven't allowed her on the carpet while my family eats (the dinner table is on carpet), so she's not begging and bothering us while we eat. She picked it up right away, and was perfectly behaved, until recently. I admit, I am at fault here, because I would let her play with her toys on the carpet while we're not eating dinner, since the rest of the area I've allowed her in so far is hard floor, and she slips and slides a lot on it. I guess since I've allowed her to do that for a while, she's gotten confused, and now I spend more than half of my dinner time trying to get her to stay off the carpet. No matter how many times I praise her and treat her for coming off the carpet, she just won't stay off.
The only tricks/commands/cues/whatever-you-want-to-call-it she knows is sit...and that's it. I'm not entirely sure how to teach her anything else. I've watched countless videos, episodes of whatever dog show you can think of, read books, but it's very hard for me to learn anything without having an actual person show me. To be honest, no book or video tells you the reality of how long it takes for a dog to really learn a cue, so please, tell me, how long should I teach my dog something per day, and how long will it take for her to learn it? I feel awful because I feel like I'm not giving my dog enough mental stimulation. I've tried teaching her stay and come, but neither are effective, and I'm not sure if it's because I'm not spending enough time teaching it to her, if it's because I'm doing it wrong, or both.
So far, I've only allowed my dog access to the kitchen and the living room (they're right next to each other). I remember learning from a book or a video that as the weeks go on, you should introduce the dog to other sections of the house. I'd really like to trust my dog with the rest of the house, but I know I can't. She still has an accident in the house every once in a while. I've brought her into the basement with me a couple times, so she can be with me while I'm on the computer, but she goes off everywhere, and occasionally tries to pick something up to eat, etc, etc. She also paces a lot, sniffing around everywhere down here, and it makes me nervous, and I'm not sure if I should be. Is it because she's bored? Or is it because she's just curious? How can I let her know that she doesn't own this part of the house, and I do? How do I introduce my dog to a knew part of the home? I know this is going to take months and months, I just need to know that I'm doing things right.
Since her temperament is changing, is it because she's becoming more comfortable in the home? If it is, that makes me happy, but I don't want her becoming overly confident, and thinking she can do whatever she wants. I'm afraid that if she's going to become more and more hyper, and that I won't be able to control her, and that I might end up taking her back (God forbid). I know, I'm totally thinking the worse case scenario, but I'm a worry-wart, who's lost. She's also starting to pant more and more lately, as opposed to how she used to be extremely calm and laid back. Also, how can I introduce my dog to a new situation well? I've brought her to a lake by my house a couple times, and to my boyfriend's house a couple times, and she paces around and whimpers, and then is fine when we come home. I'm worried that I'm spoiling her somehow and not knowing it. Also, recently, she's actually starting to eat all of her meals, instead of eating most of it, and leaving some of it. (I feed her twice a day- once in the morning, and once at night). And not only that, but she's starting to actually beg. I know it sounds funny, but she didn't used to do that.
I'd also like to know if I'm spending enough time exercising my dog and playing with her. I walk my dog at around 9:30 in the morning for 45 minutes to an hour, and then feed her after wards. (I know I probably have to wake up earlier than that-- I'm really really trying to. It's hard to sleep when you're so worried). After that, we play together and hang out together for a couple of hours. It's about 1 pm at that time, so I put her in the crate (since she can't be trusted alone yet), and go do my own thing for four or five hours, then by then it's dinner time, and I feed her, and hang out with her more and play with her more for a couple more hours, and then I leave her, but at this time of the day, my family is usually around, so she's not alone. Please, I know it's okay to leave her in there for that long, because she needs to be prepared for when I get a job and/or start college. She also needs to learn to hold her bladder so she doesn't have accidents in the house. If anyone says the words "learned helplessness," I'll go nuts.
Overall, I just want my dog to be happy and fulfilled, and I'm not sure if I'm doing anything right, at all. I'm often afraid that she's bored, but a lot of the times when I try to play with her, she's not interested and just wants to lounge, and then other times, she has these spurts of uber hyperness, and then she acts nuts. Help me, please?