Trouble with my dog

[deborah]

Hi again
I think I'll try out the new training method you told me about, if she
does not keep up the good work. Right now she doing pretty good, and I
hope the rest will work out bu training and the fact that she's getting
older

The absolute BEST method for this, as funny as it may sound... Is to
'yelp' (like a mother or littermate would) and turn away as soon as the dog bites. Not only are YOU going to do this, but everyone else around the dog.
It
will soon catch on that it cannot bite because it will not play, and it
has upset you. I cannot stress enough how well this works!

I do know this method, and have used it since we got her, at 8 weeks old,
but it hasn't worked yet. I've tried not to be too naive and stop my
corrections (I've heard that's the worst you can do in that situation)
but kept doing it. Normally she stops for a few days, and then she begins
again, like everything else... she shows progress, I get happy, but are
still training, and then she sets everything back to the bad behaviour...

The best thing I learned in the obedience classes I took with Ivy, was
that
when a stranger or anyone really, is approaching you, have the dog
trained
to sit in a heel position when it is greeted. The dog will want to get
up,
just through strong corrections and positive rewards, the dog will
learn
that it will have to sit and be good to be greeted by others. If you
want
information on how to train this step-by-step, I will be more than
happy to
share, just let me know!

I would really appreciate it. My only problem concerning training is,
that I don't want to push her too hard. She seems very bright, but every
time I train her a bit too intensively, she (like described above) does
what I tell her to, and then a couple of days later, she does not, even
though I've been training her every single day...

I don't know about this one! I think it would train the dog to take
your
cloths, if only for now to lay on... it could progress to destroying,
or
destroying things to get AT the cloths, if they are not on hand. Plus
I
don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to wake up to a dog hair
covered
shirt, I have to at least go all day before it gets covered! )

I know, that's why I've been giving her an old T-shirts, so she does not
steal mine. It can be that you are right about the destroying, but it has
really helped, she now relax at nighttime.

If you mean 'pees' I do not know 'peeps' (except those colorful little
marshmellow things at easter time)... so I will assume you mean pees.

I'm sorry, I did not use the right word. I mean the sound that a dog
makes when it is hurt and so. Not howling, but... and here should be the
word I do not know
She has only been peeing one time when I yelled at her, I stopped right
away. Sometimes, very seldom, she pees of excitement when we have
visitors in the house, only a few drops, but we are working on it.

If the dog DOES do it on pourpose there are a few methods of realising
this.
That would be 'marking' different areas of the house, or if the dog
comes over infront of you and just starts peeing. If it does pee
infront of you like this, it just wants attention. Even by yelling at
it, she will recieve attention that it is looking for, ignore the dog
under any and all circumstances!! If it keeps up there would be other
methods of correcting it.

She has not been marking - yet
But it has happened a few times that she has looked at us, sat down, and
started to pee. The first times I yelled at her, but last time I was just
so tired of her, that I didn't even react and since then she hasn't done
it again. It was the 5th of June.
Just to excuse myself so I don't sound like a quitter , I have to
mention, that this particular day, she had started the morning by ripping
my sheets apart, then been peeing and doing the big job in the kitchen
just after I had taken her for a walk, where she had done both,
Then she hunted my cat, tried to eat my staircase, been digging big holes
in the garden and destroyed my favourite, newly planted, tree.
Then she ate the roses, cat again, peeing again, ate almost THREE KILOS
of beef-filet we should have been eating when my parents and siplings
came over for dinner, a pound of pork and almost same amount of chicken-
filet, destroyed some toiletpaper and spread it all over the house....
and so on, and so on...
I had just had it there, so I didn't even yell at her when she was peeing
right in front of me. - Since then she hasn't done it. You gave me the
explanation why, I guess.

Hope this has helped some. If you have more questions or need more
information, just let me know I would be happy to help with what I can!
Good luck!

Thank you again, I really want you all to know that I really apreciate
your help and advise.

Deborah.