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Panic/Dribbling Updated


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Oh, haha. Whoops. I guess I'll edit then. :whitney: Sorries!

I got Finn from Northern, Indiana. :) Is that what you were looking for?

I haven't really emailed the breeder about his temper tantrums, yet/no. I emailed her to death, I'm afraid, before getting Finn, and the several weeks after bringing him home, (updates, pictures, etc), and the last week or so she's stopped replying. I guess I've driven her crazy with Finn reports? I didn't think once a week updates would be bothersome, but maybe it was? She SAID to let her know how he was doing.... lol. So anyway, I think I over-emailed my welcome, so to speak. I would imagine I'd get just as good, or better suggestions from here though.

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I'd stop the weekly updates and just stick with the major concerns. (lol)

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Oh yeah, I stopped the weekly updates tabout teo weeks ago. :whitney:

I still don't know what she'd tell me though. Sorry boutcha? ....lol.

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emmasmom

Amy, I'm certainly no expert, so I really don't know which would be the most effective with Finn..... Sit first, then take out or just make him calm down first. But, I do know, we had very much the same problem with Sadie out lab when we first got her. She was a challenge & I KNOW that trying to make her sit first would not have worked with her.....we just had to tough it out & make her calm herself first. Then, I made her sit, then she got to come out. Not a word was said to her first. And, it was horrible!!!! But after a couple of weeks, it worked. You have to do what you think will work for him, but me thinks it's a tantrum! My motto with these guys with kennels & potty training? "You have to be more stubborn than they are." LOL

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That kennel sitting in front of the play pen is his, when I think he's ready to be transitioned to it. Right now I just leave it sitting there, open, and toss treats and toys into it for him to go get a couple times a day. And I've started saying the word kennel when he goes in. Since he's been SOOOOOO stubborn though, with the tantrums, and not getting the potty training, I hadn't thought we were ready for the kennel yet.. but I hope he gets there soon.

I honestly don't know if the sit command would calm him. I say, we could try it.. but he's SO emotional about trying to get out of that pen, that I don't know that it would work for Finn either. I might just try waiting it out for a few more times to see if it gets better at all. I'm a little overwhelmed by it though, not gonna lie, lol. I wanted to do the whole leaving/coming home routine again today, but I didn't feel up to the drama. Tomorrow for sure though! *sigh* Just not looking forward to it.

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Try teaching him "puppy push-ups". Its basically getting the dog to do a sit, then a down, then a sit again, over and over. Rinse and repeat. Sophie gets frustrated when she's on the leash and this is how I calm her down. This can help you on two ways... 1.) Its giving him something more complex to do and 2.) its a great calmer. I would try to get him to sit before taking him out of the pen. My dogs have to sit before doing anything. This includes getting food, getting the car, going outside, putting on leashes, etc. Let him know before he gets to do anything fun, he has to do something. This might help with the tantrums.

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emmasmom

Try teaching him "puppy push-ups". Its basically getting the dog to do a sit, then a down, then a sit again, over and over. Rinse and repeat. Sophie gets frustrated when she's on the leash and this is how I calm her down. This can help you on two ways... 1.) Its giving him something more complex to do and 2.) its a great calmer. I would try to get him to sit before taking him out of the pen. My dogs have to sit before doing anything. This includes getting food, getting the car, going outside, putting on leashes, etc. Let him know before he gets to do anything fun, he has to do something. This might help with the tantrums.

Same here!

Well, usually......hubby isn't so good at this! :whitney:

Which is why they don't always listen to him! :)

Wish I could find a good training method for him!!!!! :(

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Carolina Girl

Amy, is he in that play pen for the day? Maybe he needs a crate? I know that my Mowgli loves to go into his crate. When I first brought him home, he was in a play pen but I also had his crate in there. I just popped off the door of the crate so that he could go in and out. Maybe a small crate to make him feel safe? I don't know....maybe I'm grasping at straws???? I just know that they usually love to be in a "den like" area......But make sure it's not too big....

Edited by Carolina Girl
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FairyTail Josette

Oh hun, I sympathize with you. Hang in there, puppyhood can be challenging....like a baby, but, it does get better. I promise! You've already received wonderful advice. So, I will try to add things that I think haven't been mentioned, already. Rita mentioned a stuffed kong when you leave. A special treat that will keep him busy for awhile. But, he only gets this special treat when you leave, no other time of the day. Also, put a t shirt with your scent in his kennel/crate. Exercise him an hour before leaving! A tired dog is a good dog, they always say. lol Walk him for at least 20 minutes, depending on his energy level. Pups have a lot of energy, but, also, need a lot of sleep. The last thing I want to throw out there is this: this is a bit of a different strategy than what you've been doing. Is there an exact ritual that drives him crazy/freaks out when you leave? Meaning, does he start to panic when you put on your shoes? Or, when you put on your jacket? Or, does it start before that....when you apply make up? If it starts when you apply make up, for example, put on your make up.....then, don't leave. Then, do it again and again and again. Or if it's picking up the keys? Pick up the keys....don't leave. Repeat over and over. You are desensitizing him to the actual action that is throwing him into the zone. Dealing with separation anxiety is challenging! So, don't be hard on yourself. It takes a lot of time and training. Last resort would be to bring in a trained behavioralist into your home to help you, if the separation anxiety is severe. There's an excellent website for seeking out trainers that use only positive reinforcement. If you need it, let me know. But, I'm still hopeful you and your husband can handle this with the knowledge you have just been given. He's a good little puppy, this is all just very new to him and throwing him for a loop. ;)

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Kae+Gizzy

Amy you also have my sympathy too, it's hard work and very trying and I guess many of us have had to deal with issues like this at some point. We always praise the good behaviour and ignore the bad, we also use Nilf in our household.

Gizmo is the biggest brat in the world and I remember tearing my hair out with him as a pup, he was a pest. We will always have minor issues with him but they have been drastically reduced by positive training.

We seem to get him out of one behaviour and he finds another way to make a pest of himself lol. His latest thing is to chase my 15 year old son as he leaves the room, snapping at his heels. I have now told my son to completely ignore him and he still chases, but now he isn't getting a reaction he has stopped the snappy stuff.

I'm with you, they are trying at times. You have had some great advice from other members and I too think he's just wanting attention. If it were me in that position, I would walk away, when he is quiet I would then reward him by getting him out. We are currently having issues like this with Wicket and crate training. He really is improving and we are now able to build up the time he is in the crate. Good luck ;)

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Hey everyone, Sorry I haven't checked in for a couple days.. we've been busy busy.

Okay, SO..

Micah.. We've been working on those puppy push ups. He's quite good at them!

Carolina girl, (haven't been able to find a name for you yet, I'm trying to learn everyone though!! lol). Finn is in that pen when we leave the house, (usually for meetings, doctor appointments or getting groceries). But my husband and I don't work, so he's normally not in there any longer than three hours, tops. We have purchased a kennel for him, when he transitions out of the baby play pen, but it's one of those open barred ones, not an enclosed crate. (We have a small one of those, that we left here in the living room the first few weeks we had him, and he never went in there once, unless I threw something in there, so it doesn't seem that he needs that kind of enclosed security.

Hey Suzi! We do give Finn a treat when we leave, but he's usually shrieking to much to stop and eat it, lol.. he usually eats it some time between his fit, and when we get back home though. We don't take a lot of walks, my husband's mobility isn't so good, but we do play ball in the yard, and my boys, (I don't know if it's universal), but they wear out pretty quickly.

There isn't one thing in our leaving routine that sets Finn off really. And actually, he's not upset when we're getting ready. He's excited, and chasing us, and anxious, but because he thinks he's going to get to go, lol.. he will run to the door a few times, and sit, hoping we pick him up on the way out, lol.. When I put him in the pen, he realizes he doesn't get to go, and that's when his tantrum really begins.

Thanks so much to all of you, for all the great advice, so far. I'm really hopeful that we'll be able to get on top of this issue, and that he won't always be like this. :(

We didn't do our leaving "experiment" today, because we took the boys and spent the day at my mother's for a cook out. But yesterday, and the evening before, we "pretended" to leave and I waited until he was calm again, upon going back in before he got to get out, then I made him sit, then we went out. The first day we tried this, it took eleven minutes for him to calm down. The second time it took five minutes. The third time it took eight minutes. :wish: I don't think we've made any progress YET, but tomorrow we plan on doing it again, so hopefully, in time.. it starts to sink in that he's not getting out of that pen until he's calm and quiet, lol...

I'll keep you guys posted. I think I have the patience to work on this temper tantrum issue, but honestly.... it's the excited pee dribbling that's really starting to get under my skin. And just the potty thing in general. Today at my mother's, he had JUST been out to potty before we entered the house.. within ten minutes, my mom set him on her bed to talk to him, and he pee'd on the bed. :P I mean, seriously. *sigh*

Edited to remove some smilie abuse, seriously, I had like.. ten smilies and frownies in one post, haha.. that's awful.. I have a problem, lol.

Edited by Whisper
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It's been a few days, of "waiting out the fit" when coming and going around here. The temper tantrums seem to be a little shorter, but not by much. :) Essentially, I have to catch him in a break in between leaps in the air, for a quiet few seconds before telling him to sit, (a coupe times, cause when I get up, he goes back to jumping.. *sigh*), and then I take him out to potty. I don't think we're making a lot of progress yet, but we're still working on it.

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emmasmom

I would say, when he starts jumping again when you get up, turn around,(back to him) & wait for him to settle again. I know it's hard, but you're getting there mom!

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You're doing great! To me, if he's taking a shorter amount of time to calm down, that's progress. We always have to remember they're still babies at this age. Their little brains are still developing and trying to figure out what you want. And I'm glad to hear the puppy push-ups are working out! Just keep doing what you're doing. He'll figure it out in the end. :puppy:

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luvmybabies

Amy, my pap and little malt are notorious for peeing on my living room rug so there aren't let in there unless they have protection on them. By that I mean a belly band. I have bought some but they usually have elastic along the side and I think that may feel uncomfortable so I have a couple that my malt breeder gave to me that are homemade. She took a strip of material a few inches (maybe 4-6 or so) longer than the measurement of the dog's body around, where his penis is. Make it as wide as you like but it is overkill to make it too wide. Then she lined it with soft flannel. After all seams are finished (looks like she sewed the flannel to the material finished sides inwards (leaving one end unstitched) and then turned it inside out, then finished the open end by stitching it (turn inseams inwards before stitching). Then she put a wide piece of velcro stitching to each end (about 2" wide) the whole width of the band. To use, put a thin pad in it. I like the Always Infinity with wings. They are thin but have good absorption. Whenever we all want to be together in the living room I ask if they want their panties and they come running. Don't leave it on too long though as it will burn like a diaper. Good idea I would think when you take Finn to your mom's place. At least that way you aren't afraid he'll make a mistake.

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Hey everyone! :puppy: *wallers with hugs* Thanks so much for the support.

It would be sooooo easy to just, shrug, and let him do whatever it is he's gonna do, but it's so important to me to make him a well rounded, happy boy that I keep working at his little faults, and you're right, he IS just a baby, even though it seems like he's been here foreeeever already, lol... he's still just (not quite) five months old.. *sigh* I need to try and remember that, and that some puppies are just.. slow learners.

Joyce that is definitely a good idea! I HOPE I can get him under control in time, without having to go there, but if we can't, then it's a good back up, especially for while we're in someone else's home. Thanks for the suggestion!! :)

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