Some of you may know from the senior/deaf dog training thread that our sweet 14 year old golden/lab mix passed away at the end of March due to GVD/bloat despite 2 surgeries. It was too quiet in the house and we really miss the companionship a dog provides (despite our 3 old cats and a chinchilla), so we contacted golden rescues and breeders that week.
And 2 weekends ago, we drove to Lake Tahoe and picked up Tomo! He was born 3/20/2019.
Overall he's doing great, it's only been 10 days but he's picked up commands pretty well and he's adjusted to being with us. He knows come here, sit, down, stand, and we're working on sit stays in the pen, leave it, and trades for ball throwing/treats. He'll potty to "go pee" if he has a full bladder and he's not too busy to respond. He's mostly good about sitting when he sees the cats around, but the chinchilla escape was too exciting.
Perhaps it's just the Tiger Mom in me, but there's a few areas of concern we're actively working on and I'd love some advice:
1. Potty training is rough (ruff). Crate training is going very very slowly, so he sleeps in the x pen that's connected to the crate. Potty outside ratio varies from 1.2:1 to 2:1 successes to accidents, so that's still pretty good. Sometimes he is too busy playing in the yard to want to pee, then as soon as he comes in, he pees in the pen.
We plan to keep doing more crate training and maybe it's time to bring out the bully stick... So far we've put kibble, kongs with pb/yogurt, Earth Animal no hide chews, and tons of toys in the crate, and he's fine eating in there, but he doesn't ever sleep or lay inside. Other than progressing with the crate, I think what we're doing is okay and it's just a matter of time.
2. He gets into bitey moods. We're working on mouthing slowly so he can learn bite inhibition (I think this was in the Ian Dunbar book I'm reading), but he's started to bite at clothing and pants to pull at them. Success rate with "leave it" is okay, but he'll let go, eat the treat, and then immediately latch back on to my pants. Taking myself out of the room works to a point, but he'll often just be playing with something when I return, so he's not really being punished per se... I found a squirt bottle but it only mists so that didn't bother him at all.
He'll get a bit calmer if I make him do commands (and he does really like to train), but what other method can I use to calm him? I'll look for another bottle that does jet spray and fill it with vinegar water... And tonight we're going to a puppy social so hopefully playing with other puppies can help teach him that this playing is not acceptable??
3. This is more of a yard question... He's had 4 baths already because it's been raining and the wood chips are getting old, so he either gets muddy or dusty when we go in the backyard. I'm thinking about more wood chips (albeit temporary solution because he likes to munch on them), plant some groundcover plants or lawn alternatives (eg, clover), and add some large tiles or flagstones? Is there something I can put down to protect the plants while it's growing and still be okay to walk on?
4. Our house is pretty quiet, so we started going out for socialization opportunities this weekend. We went to the farmers market and to the mall, and we are starting puppy kindergarten this weekend. He's actually more nervous about the car ride than meeting new people, so I'm planning to do more short excursions around the neighborhood. He's fine when the car is not moving (it's a Prius so it stands still) but gets a bit anxious during stop and go. Should I just keep talking to him and feed him treats continuously while we're in the car?
I know that the puppy class will cover some of the same house training/manners questions I have, but I just really want him to start off doing things right and not have my lack of training be the reason why he's not living a great puppy life.
And 2 weekends ago, we drove to Lake Tahoe and picked up Tomo! He was born 3/20/2019.
Overall he's doing great, it's only been 10 days but he's picked up commands pretty well and he's adjusted to being with us. He knows come here, sit, down, stand, and we're working on sit stays in the pen, leave it, and trades for ball throwing/treats. He'll potty to "go pee" if he has a full bladder and he's not too busy to respond. He's mostly good about sitting when he sees the cats around, but the chinchilla escape was too exciting.
Perhaps it's just the Tiger Mom in me, but there's a few areas of concern we're actively working on and I'd love some advice:
1. Potty training is rough (ruff). Crate training is going very very slowly, so he sleeps in the x pen that's connected to the crate. Potty outside ratio varies from 1.2:1 to 2:1 successes to accidents, so that's still pretty good. Sometimes he is too busy playing in the yard to want to pee, then as soon as he comes in, he pees in the pen.
We plan to keep doing more crate training and maybe it's time to bring out the bully stick... So far we've put kibble, kongs with pb/yogurt, Earth Animal no hide chews, and tons of toys in the crate, and he's fine eating in there, but he doesn't ever sleep or lay inside. Other than progressing with the crate, I think what we're doing is okay and it's just a matter of time.
2. He gets into bitey moods. We're working on mouthing slowly so he can learn bite inhibition (I think this was in the Ian Dunbar book I'm reading), but he's started to bite at clothing and pants to pull at them. Success rate with "leave it" is okay, but he'll let go, eat the treat, and then immediately latch back on to my pants. Taking myself out of the room works to a point, but he'll often just be playing with something when I return, so he's not really being punished per se... I found a squirt bottle but it only mists so that didn't bother him at all.
He'll get a bit calmer if I make him do commands (and he does really like to train), but what other method can I use to calm him? I'll look for another bottle that does jet spray and fill it with vinegar water... And tonight we're going to a puppy social so hopefully playing with other puppies can help teach him that this playing is not acceptable??
3. This is more of a yard question... He's had 4 baths already because it's been raining and the wood chips are getting old, so he either gets muddy or dusty when we go in the backyard. I'm thinking about more wood chips (albeit temporary solution because he likes to munch on them), plant some groundcover plants or lawn alternatives (eg, clover), and add some large tiles or flagstones? Is there something I can put down to protect the plants while it's growing and still be okay to walk on?
4. Our house is pretty quiet, so we started going out for socialization opportunities this weekend. We went to the farmers market and to the mall, and we are starting puppy kindergarten this weekend. He's actually more nervous about the car ride than meeting new people, so I'm planning to do more short excursions around the neighborhood. He's fine when the car is not moving (it's a Prius so it stands still) but gets a bit anxious during stop and go. Should I just keep talking to him and feed him treats continuously while we're in the car?
I know that the puppy class will cover some of the same house training/manners questions I have, but I just really want him to start off doing things right and not have my lack of training be the reason why he's not living a great puppy life.