Pallas "issues"

[PallasMommy]

Pallas "issues"

I have a really weird series of questions. Lol. I hope these make sense.

1.) We have been working on "look" (at mommy) and she does do pretty well with it. However, when it comes to her food she won't do it. She knows that she has to be patient and wait for my to say "Okay" in order to start eating, but she won't look at me before I say it. Should I ignore this? Or should I still try to get her to look at me?

2.) Pallas is a crated pup for now because she is still not fully potty trained. She doesn't let me know when she has to go. She goes in the morning and runs around and sleeps free range until it's time to potty again in the afternoon (like 3 or 4pm.....5pm if she's been in her crate while I had to go somewhere). She is crated at night of course. Lately she has developed this whining habit. If she's in her crate and I'm taking a nap or going to bed, she whines. She will stop for a while and then she will start up again. I used to check on her, but there doesn't appear to be anything wrong. At night sometimes she whines for a while and then growls. Is this normal? Is she developing some sort of crating issue?

3.) Pallas is a jumper. She gets very excited when my Aunt or family comes over. She jumps and nips. We are working on her not jumping. She knows not to bite me as I do not tolerate that. Didn't tolerate it from my rabbit and I won't allow a dog to bite or nip me either. Any ideas as to how to get her to stop jumping and biting visitors? Lol.

4.) My pupsh HATES baths. Lol. Is that a Corsi thing? My mom's lab-mix (also a rescue) LOVES THEM. Pallas is the only dog I've had that runs for dear life when it comes to bath time. Is there anything that I can do to make her experience a little better or even more relaxing?

Thanks so much for answering any of my questions. I have a few more, but will save those for another time as I am a bit tired. Thanks again. I've also included some more pictures of the little goddess. She definitely fits her name. Lol.

 

[Smokeycat]

Pallas "issues"

I also make my dogs look at me before I allow them to get up and go eat. At 8 months Kryten finally gets the idea that he is supposed to keep his eyes on me instead of looking at the food. Don't give up, start small and work towards the final goal. Wait until her eyes flick towards you then praise and allow her to eat. Once she is reliably glancing at you work at making those glances longer. Kryten currently either will stay looking at me or will rarely flick his eyes towards his dish. Jiggers at 1.5 years will plant his gaze on me the minute I pick up his dish and wonk glance away until I say ok, even if that means his food is behind him.

 

[Marrowshard]

Re: Pallas "issues"

Hm ... I haven't got a lot of experience with puppies, but we also use the "look" command with Oscar except we call it "watch me". He will wait for his food if we ask him to, but I've never expected him to have eyes on me while I'm handling his food, it always seemed like a lot to ask when food is such a motivator for him. I suppose if I trained "watch me" with a higher-value treat like liver or cheese he'd forget about looking at his food but for me, it's been good enough that he waits/sits and doesn't try to butt in ahead of time.

Oscar used to hate his crate and it took a few months of being whined awake in the morning before he got used to the whole "no matter how much noise I make I can't get them out of bed any earlier". We made sure he was comfy for the night (extra blankets if it was cold, a gentle fan if it was hot) and had pottied before bed and left it at that. If he made noise, we'd shut the bedroom door and try our best to ignore him.

If you have to, start crating her right away when people come over and only release her when she's calm. Eventually she'll pick up that she doesn't get to rush the door and make a nuisance of herself.

Do you bathe outside, in the (human) tub, doggie pool, what? We found Oscar's easier to bathe outside with a hose but when it's chilly and we have to use the tub, he behaves better when I'm in there with him. Cramped? Yes ... but better than trying to force him to stay in.

~Marrow

 

[Mooshi's Mummy]

Re: Pallas "issues"

Hmmm typical puppy behavior here but best to nip the unwanted bits in the bum now....I agree with Marrow regarding the watch me and feeding, I dont think it is necessary to have him keep his eyes on you constantly whilst handling his food unless there is a particular reason you need him to do this? Feeding time should be calm, ask him to sit before placing the bowl down and then release to feed. If you have the bowl in your hands whilst he sits in front of you then he will automatically look to you, praise and set the food down and say 'ok' should be enough. Unless like I say you have a particular reason for needing him to keep totally focused on you during meal times.

Crating is a slow process and with the younger pups can be quite daunting. They have just been taken away from their mummy and litter mates, are in a new home with new pack and in a new crate, which they may have no experience of. How scary for them! When we brought Mooshi home we spent the first week with her crate in the living room by the sofa and my hubby and i took turns sleeping by the crate. This kept her calm and quiet and it was handy for getting up to her in the night for potty breaks. Slowly we moved the crate further from us and after 7-10 days she was away from us and confident that she was ok and safe in her den, which was also covered with blankets (except for the front) to make her feel safe and secure. It also helped that we found a hot water bottle cover that was a doggy, we put a ticking clock inside of it and it brought her great comfort.

Jumping....when you have guests come over it would be handy to keep her lead on her and when she jumps a gentle snap of the lead enforced with a NO may help you. I would start however with making her sit by your side and stay sat when greeting guests. Once she is good and calm then she can be allowed to go and say hello, but keep the lead on and take her to the guests. Dont forget to reward for good behavior. You may also trying keeping her lead on and if she gets silly and starts jumping then lead her out of the room, wait a moment and bring her back to the guest, keep doing this until she realises that jumping does not get her any attention but being a good and calm puppy does. Of course you will need patient and understanding guests. LOL.

Baths....are you just sticking the puppy in the bath with water in it? Start slow, get her used to being in the bath first before you start anything like washing her. Slowly does it. Put her in an empty bath, reward when calm and take her out. repeat, repeat and repeat. Next put her in the bath with her favorite toy, play, have fun in the bath...still no water. Then introduce a bowl of water and a rubber duck maybe. Once she is happy to be in the bath with no water put an inch or two in the bath and get in and play with her, getting her wet but having fun. No soap yet! Next another inch or so of water, play, toys and soap!!

Everything must be done slowly with a puppy and always made a good experience so that they feel confident. The world is a big scary place for a puppy and trying new things should always be full of fun and reward.

I hope this helps.

 

[musicdeb]

Re: Pallas "issues"

Congrats on new baby! Ditto to what's been posted. TONS of patience, consistency in training and LOT of love = TONS of love and loyalty from Pallas.

 

[bellareea320]

Re: Pallas "issues"

Congrats and welcome!! Patience patience and more patience and Love them but be firm not mean but firm! Mooshi's Mummy nailed it!!!

 

[PallasMommy]

Pallas "issues"

Thanks, Eeveryone. I will definitely work on this. I may have to take her to the groomers in the winter as I cannot lift more than 25lbs. I will be sure to let you know how it goes.

I do the "look" thing with her meal because that was how I trained my mom's dog. Just seemed like the appropriate thing to do when it came to meal time. Waldo looks up and waits for the Spanish command for "okay" and then eats. I will work with Pallas a some more. She's still just a pup and has a ways to go yet.

Thanks again!!