Any tips?---I really want a well mannered dog.

[Puppy Madness]

   Grayson is four months old and I finally have time to buckle down and get training...not that I haven't been all along, but now I have time for more intensive one on one.  He is a big boy-almost 40 pounds I think now.  Considering his size, training and manners are going to be important.  We have a yorkie who really has no manners but at four pounds most of time people overlook his rudeness because the of the "cute" factor.
   He is almost house broken. I think.  He has had one accident in the house in three weeks.  But I am not sure which of us is trained.  I just happen to know how long he can be in the house after eating or drinking.  Crate trained at night and either in the crate or in a pen outside when we are gone.  To be honest, with the heat, he prefers the nice hole he has dug outside over our house.  So he has been spending alot of time outdoors.  He sits and lays (most of the time) and is catching on to stay.  HE is great at fetching and giving up the ball on command (mostly because he loves it and it positively reinforces automatically for him).  When he is in the house with just me he is great.  But with him and the kids cooped up it is chaos, so I would like to work on that.
   He was a biter (playful, pup biting) but has gotten so much better at that.  Still occasionally bites at hands but I making a hissing noise and he stops.  He is a jumper though and I am having a heck of a time with him getting up and taking things from my counters.
   My last two pups were yorkies, so does it sound like I am doing okay---or am I a bad doodle momma?  I am on my own with all this...as hubby is away  5.5 days a week. 

[Holly Doodle]

Sounds like you're doing great! We have a 14 month old doodle who was a handful as a pup, but is very well mannered now. My advice is to make every situation a training opportunity. For example, make him sit before getting his food, going in and out of doors, getting out of his kennel/pen, etc. The jumping on counters may subside just like the biting has, but be consistent with letting him know that's not ok. Holly stopped counter surfing around 6-7 months. We did take a training class at Petsmart which helped a ton with jumping on people. As for the potty training, part of that is just preventing the accidents until he learns that he goes potty outside.

Also, don't be afraid to use "time-outs" in the crate when him and the kids get too excited. We still use them when Holly starts to do laps around the house, or if she gets pushy or demanding for a toy or attention. It's a great way to calm her down quick. Like I said, sounds like you are doing a great job, just be consistent and give lots of positive reinforcement for the behaviors you want. Hope this helps!

[Melissa]

Sounds like you are doing a great job at training. We also are using Petsmart classes. I would recommend that as it might give you some ideas you haven't thought about and it also helps with socialization with other dogs and people as well. And one thing it also helps with is distractions. If you are training in the house or in the backyard all the time there might not be has many distractions as the class (other dogs, noise, etc). Our trainer actually teaches some of the class in the store to help with this. That way he is more inclined to listen in all situations. Keep up the good work!

[BG and Gavin]

Our trainer suggested that we can practice distraction training by going to the dog park and practicing OUTSIDE of the fence. The distraction is there but you are not fending other dogs off of yours and your treats. I must admit this is still on my to-do list, but I definately am planning on following through on this suggestion.

[Minga & Malu & Costa]

I used the shaker can to get Malu to stop jumping on the counters, aka counter surfing. You take an empty soda can, fill it with 20 or so pennies, then tape it shut with some duct tape. The idea is that you toss the can near them when they jump up (but without it seeming like it came from you). Just in the general direction and try not to let them see you toss it. This happened twice and Malu has only tried to see on top of the counter twice in two or three weeks.