Question about disciplining your doodle...

[Joey & Nellie]

I have a six month old golden doodle puppy and she is GREAT!! I love her so much, but I am having some trouble with her. She has learned every trick in the book and super fast, so I know she is very smart, but she grabs things that she not grad ALL the time and also puts her paws up on the table constantly. I have tried spanking her, squirting her with a water bottle, and rewarding her when she actually does do what I say. I know she understands and she is not always bad, but when she is, it is very frustrating. I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to teach her better manners. Any help would be much appreciated!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Leave it is a GREAT command. Keep working on this.

With NO, change your voice. Lower the voice, or make it firm, or act like she might get hit by a bus. Dogs understand VOICE more than words.

Dogs should know, NO and Leave it. And your dog will :) Enjoy your curious and happy puppy

Speaking of beer cans, my husband lined the table and counter with cans. One dog ran away and thought it was the end of the world. My other dog picked up the cans and started slamming them into the floor, rolling them around, and having a great time. What works with one, does not work with another. Same with your vinegar. Some love it and others think it is horrible.

Obedience training is a MUST. Do it early, do it now. YOU and YOUR DOG will be much happier :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I have a dog who was threatened and hit with a rolled up newspaper, or something similar, by his previous owner. It turned him into a fearful, frightened dog who was afraid of his own shadow, and all cylindrical objects. True, it definitely taught him not to counter-surf, but I would rather have the counter-surfing than a dog who slinks rather than walks and cowers every time someone lifts their hand. In a dog with a certain kind of temperament, that can lead to fear-biting, and then you have a much bigger problem. Please forget about using rolled up newspapers or magazines, and any other kind of weapon. "Discipline" is not what any dog needs, ever. Clear rules, leadership, and training are what they need. And there are much better ways to get your dog's attention than smacking your hand with a club-like object. Good leaders don't hit their dogs, on the bottom or anywhere else.
This is a puppy who has had no training, acting like a puppy. Obedience training is a must. If your dog is taught the command "off", that will end the paws on the table. It takes time, she is a baby. In the meantime, put things she shouldn't have away. Does she have a lot of appropriate chew objects? She may be teething. Learn to trade a chew toy for something she shouldn't have. Teach her what you want and don't want through obedience training, not through "discipline" and fear. You will both be happier.

[Jessica & Lucie]

I would try a "shake can" keep it sitting on the table so if she jumps up it is right there. For me a soda can wasn't loud enough, I used an empty coffee can with nails, pennies etc. It was very loud but very effective. Consistency is key to them learning that there isn't an alternative.

[Adina P]

Merriam-Webster Online says discipline is:
1. Punishment

..then a few later ...

4. training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character
5. a : control gained by enforcing obedience or order
b : orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior
c : self-control
6: a rule or system of rules governing conduct or activity

Punishment for a 6 month old puppy that isn't yet fully trained isn't really fair. So I'd say the other definitions fit. She has to be trained (obedience training does correct, mold and perfect a dog's behavior and choices), she needs prescribed conduct (more training). But she doesn't have self control yet so you can't allow her to mess up by leaving her unsupervised in the house, ever. She also needs rules and structure so she knows what is expected of her.

I don't think you smacking your hand with a newspaper will cause any damage to her...but it isn't working so it's time to try something new. She NEEDS OBEDIENCE TRAINING. Research the classes in your area. Go to class, do your homework daily, graduate, then move on to the next level of obedience.

In the meantime, she must be supervised in the house and crated or confined to a safe area when you can't supervise her.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

She sounds like a smart little girl who learns quickly. You will find firm consistant messages will eventually get through to her. I love the advice of saying NO like she was going to get hit by a bus. That has worked very well for me with Murphy and I am going to go back to it with my new puppy as I had forgotten how loud and urgent I needed to be when training him at first.

I had used the cookie sheet trick for teaching him to stay off the counters and table. That worked like a charm. I just lined the counters with cookie sheets, put something I knew he'd want back further on the counter and let him try to get it. Scared the heck out of him when he knocked one off and it clammered to the floor, and he never went back onto a counter or table. doing this with the puppy, but wouldn't you know it, now she won't go up there. It's like she knows it's booby trapped. They are just too smart sometimes. Don't worry, she will get it since she is so quick to learn other things.

[Joey & Nellie]

That cookie sheet trick sounds great! Counters are her favorite, and so is the kitchen table. Maybe I should go buy more cookie sheets... And I've never heard of the can thing before, but I will try that too! I do put her in her crate when I'm gone, and she doesn't mind it. She gets a hold of things when I actually am supervising her, but she is just so stinkin fast! She does not like loud noises very much so those things sound really helpful. I'm looking into obedience school but unfortunately that won't be able to start for us until after the New Year. But I see that it is a must. Thank you, everyone!:)

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Someone else already mentioned this, but the best thing I learned from our trainer (who I loved and taught positive reinforcement) was differentiating the tone of my voice. Peri only needs one firm NO and she absolutely knows that she has been bad. Then she gets my love right after because 99% of the time, she stops what she is doing immediately. When she listens and obeys any command, I still have a little party for her "YES", "Good girl" (think of me saying this in a really, really annoying high-pitched voice). She associates that with good behavior. Really work on this. Sitting and staying gets praise and then your girl will think - okay if I sit I get praise (or a treat!). The more you do training (obedience school will help sooo much), the more she will RESPECT and LOVE you. Trust me :)

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I totally agree with Allyson in regards to tone of voice and having a little party for being good. I don't use NO so much as I do a uh-uh sound and she gets that right away. I have to say I have only been training Bella for about 7 weeks but I can see changes when we are consistant and she does seem to love us even more so! I was thinking it was just me. Thanks Allyson :)

[Debbie and Thomas]

OK so now I am sure you have looked at all the advice from the puppy madness group. Having been through the troubles u are having...all I can say is you may have to say down or leave it a thousand times...but eventually she will just get it. Our dog trainer told us..."never say NO to your dog...half the dogs in the world think their name is NO" The command she taught us is "leave it" when the dog grabs something he or she should not have and "Down" if she jumps up at the table. of course with a reward for listening. Your puppy is just going through the normal misbehaviour that a 6 mth old does...within a few months with the proper attention to this she will get the hang of it. She sure is cute though!!