Five Month Update

[Colleen & Abel]

Abel is growing like a weed. He must be close between 40-50 pounds right now. For the most part he is a good dog. The things we need to work on include:
* Heeling.
* Not moochin.
* Not jumping up when he gets excited.
* Not piddling when he gets excited to see the neighbour or my sister.
* Not to steel socks!!

Well now he doesn't sound so good but he really is!!! I am planning to take him to obediance classes soon. Has anyone ever been? Will they help with heeling and mooching? I don't know why these habits are popping up now. I worked on these with him from day one.

Otherwise he is smart. He learned how to lay down the other day very quickly. Now whenever he sees a treat he automatically sits, flaps his paw around in the air (to shake eagerly), then will lay down. Goofy dog.

As for the piddling I did research and most sites say it is out of submissive behaviour. I really don't think this is the case with him. I think it is just out of excitement. My sister and neighbour love Abel and show their excitement when they see him. Abel just goes happy nuts cause he loves them too. I guess I will just have to get them to ignore him for the first while.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Yes, remember that even if Abel obeys in the house, you must work on heeling, sitting, etc...outside of the home. We do obedience work on walks, while visiting friends, etc...
I must say it is FINALLY paying off - I actually might get a sit out of her when a lot is going on around her. It just takes lots and lots of time and patience. Good luck!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Okay UPDATE:
Not 4 mins after I write this I got outside to pick up the leaf blower ( he absolutely hates the leaf blower) and he bites me in the back of the leg! So there. Nope, we have a long way to go.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Agreed. Adina has got me through many many times. :) Thanks Adina

When you keep working with your dogs the progress is so slow you may not notice just how well you two are doing. I certainly am guilty of this. I see Spud as a jumping puppy, who still does not listen well enough to trust him in most situations--jumping on kids, inviting in guests, chasing after deer, and other things that will lead to major trouble.

But twice this week alone, while out in public, we were complimented on how well he acts for his age. One was a trainer ( I did not know he was ) at the dog park!

My neighbor often compliments us and invites us over to play and interact with her rescues. She thinks he is well behaved. She also has trained many many dogs.

If you keep working with him you progress more than you know. It is also fun, rewarding, and a great bonding experience. Both of our dogs are puppies and they will act like the puppies they are. I don't ever think Spud will be perfectly trained, but enough to get us through to live with and enjoy each other.

[Leigh & Allie]

I think Adina's advice was worth much more than two cents!! Thanks Adina, I could use the reminder as well.

[Adina P]

P.S. you mentioned he's smart. So just remember that he'll LEARN what words mean and how to do things like sit, stay, etc QUICKLY. But don't let smart/quick learner fool you into thinking 'he's trained' or he's done with training. "Trained" is when he'll do it anywhere/anytime with one command and no nagging. THAT is when he's trained...which means although he'll pick things up fast, you'll have to be SURE to practice a lot in different places, really use that trainer for tips and suggestions and a plan for how to help Abel generalize that one command here in your house means the same thing and requires the same thing of him as when you say that command at the park, when you have guests, etc. So in the meantime when your friends/family comes over and he does NOT sit and stay when you tell him....it doesn't mean sit-staying doesn't work...it means you're not done training and you have to work up to that difficult situation and practice more because he's not quite ready to obey under such intense distraction. So back to the drawing board for more practice.

[Adina P]

Abel is a big boy! My Rosco was about 10 lbs per month until 8 months...he maxed out at about 82-85 lbs---except now that he gained a whopping 14 lbs so he's a little chunky at 95-96 lbs.

yup...ignoring for a few minutes really helps with glee pee/submissive urination. It doesn't make it go away but reduces the chances. Or have them greet him outside where it's okay to pee =) That's what we did with our Thule (say Too-lee!) when she went through such a stage. We'd have people say hello to her in our yard before letting her back in. She'd get her pee out if needed, but not inside.

I HIGHLY recommend taking obedience classes! It gives you a structure and focus and things to practice and guidance to help you improve your technique. One thing I would suggest is to re-look at your 'not' list. It's hard to teach "NOTs". Much easier to teach things TO DO.

So instead of NOT mooching....what could you teach him? For example, you could teach and train a solid "Down Stay" and then if you're eating or munching you have him 'Down Stay' at your feet or on his dog bed and he can NOT mooch because he's holding a stay. But it will take time and work to get him there.

Instead of teaching "NOT" jumping -- you could teach him to go to his bed and stay. Or sit stay while people approach him...etc. Again this takes a lot of time, but in the end is SOOOO worth it because then you can use these commands anywhere and anytime you need him to hold still. Sit Stay gives him a task, a job, something TO DO. "NOT jumping" is too vague for dogs and doesn't give them a focus. That's my two cents =)