Today, or a bit of it, has been a one step back day. Ted broke through his admittedly flimsy "barrier" on the patio and sprinted round the garden, refusing to come back. First time I went out with the lead to find him, couldn't find him anywhere, when he burst out of the house through the French doors. He'd gone back in to find me and had heard my voice outside. The second time I had to lure him back with a new chew he likes. The barrier was only meant to show him where his "space" is, rather than act as an iron deterrent. That would be too expensive. We'll be working on Pippa's recall with him, using a whistle in the next few days, (my wife's away until Sunday) but we had got a kind of recall going with him which was obviously not "proofed" enough. Roll on puppy classes The other step back is his persistent chewing of the base of a climbing honeysuckle on the patio. He's torn off some of the flimsier woody side shoots already. Now he's making a bid to go for the main stem. He really is persistent. He responds to "leave", comes to get his treat for "leaving", then goes right back to carry on chewing. I cant find a suitable barrier to protect the honeysuckle and two other climbers we have there, so I am constantly on duty when he is on the patio. I distract him a lot with chews, tugs, squeaky stuff and much appreciated belly rubs, but this honeysuckle stem seems like a love rival at the moment, and he goes right back to it. Time out in his crate gives a bit of respite, as do moments like now when he's on a long afternoon nap. I should mention, we worked a lot with Ted on "leave" and thought we'd cracked it because he's so good leaving tea towels, oven gloves, my glasses, etc. But this honeysuckle...? Puppy training eh? It really is two steps forward, one back.
I know the feeling! We have a climbing Rose, Honeysuckle and a blackberry plant that Alfie just would not leave alone! We had the same problem with coming back for a treat then heading straight back to the plant for another chew! Everytime we tried to do something constructive with him in the garden he would just head for the plantsl!! In the end for our own sanity we put pegged out chicken wire round the plants, and then continued with the leave it training. He's a bit better now as he can't physically get to them but he does like to take his toys to visit everyone of the chicken wired plants in the garden! Hope he learns to leave yours alone soon!
They do grow out of this pruning! I had a German Pointer who was an exception to the rule and every year she used to prune my Hydrangea and I always had the most beautiful flowers; now she has gone, no expert dog pruning, not such good flowers.
Yes they do grow out of it. Molly did some pretty severe pruning and all the plants survived. I'm fairly sure that Honeysuckle will shoot again. I did resort to making a paste from curry powder and spreading it on the wooden fence at one point where Molly was determined to chew and that put her off.
Ah, I only used it on the fence not on plants. I can't see why it would damage a plant, as it's just spices, but perhaps you should google to check.
I only put it on an area about 6 inches square ( the spot she was in danger of making a hole) - just in case anyone is imagining this revolting stretch of garden fence covered in smelly curry paste.
I liberally used chilli powder in washing up liquid on my skirting board and edge of door when Lilly was nibbling. An effective deterrent for her. And washed off fine when not needed.
Recall training at an early age is good for your pup and you too but "proofing" will take much longer, possibly the life of your dog. As they mature and become more independent recalling with distractions -- seeing people and especially other dogs -- will be a challenge. re: chewing -- yes it's a pain and they can be stubborn. I used the manta -- deny, distract, deter. Know they do get over it and soon you'll have something else to fret about.
It certainly has been more like one step forward two back this week. Ted appears to be experiencing early-onset adolescence. The only thing he's not doing to challenge me these days is blowing smoke rings in my face. He seems to have regressed with the biting. Just when I thought I had established a good incoming stroke of the head without a bite in response, he now offers his teeth as a first response, and then tries to step up the tooth action. Blood has been drawn frequently in the past two days (mine, not Ted's). He is also jumping up on chairs and the sofa immediately after being coaxed off. I'll get there with that. It's just where he's at today. What is equally frustrating is the new walking on a lead ritual. What used to be a fairly smooth, event-free pleasure has turned into walk nice-click-treat-yank-stop- repeat. I've tried various remedies - higher value treat, more frequent treat, less frequent treat, allowing time to sniff, gentle coaxing onwards. His routine response to a treat now seems to be to stop, if only to look back where we came from. But stop it is. The only triumph this week has been to stop Snail-finder General swallowling snails but using distraction treat. Apart from that, I need a lie down. I'm thinking of changing his avatar to one of him lying on a sun-lounger drinking a sundowner. My mantra, to myself, is "All shall be well...."
Well said AlphaDog. Dogs are an on-going challenge, but it's the best fun ever. Embrace the challenge and enjoy them ...
@Deejay50 your post reminded me that puppies grow so fast this time last year Mabel not only destroyed the honeysuckle but she also removed all the trellis she could reach . This year she hasn't chewed the plants or dug holes, it certainly does improve as they age. I like your mantra, a good one to have
You all are singing my tune! We have strung a few "good" days together, but then all of a sudden POOF. The Cha-cha starts again. I try to remind myself that he is a baby and as long as I keep making steps forward, we will get there. I wish I could take my own advice, very hard to remember when you have shagged him off the couch/counter/me/the door 197,000 times in a row. But most of the time he is the sweetest boy.
