Hi all, Mindy got in trouble for peeing on the deck (stern warning, taken to potty spot, then crate - nothing extreme or unusual) but then completely ignored me all night!!! Would NOT listen on her walk, wouldn't even look me in the eye. She's now 16 weeks old - is this permanent or normal? She wouldn't perform ANY commands I told her. At all. Just like my toddler! She just ate grass the entire time and otherwise ignored me. She was a COMPLETELY different dog she's gotten "warned" before but not with this reaction. Today was also different. It was my first day of work (I'm only gone three days a week and we have a neighbor come to play with her/take her out, etc twice a day). She's usually with me 85% of the day. We did some lengthy exercise and play and training in the morning so I could burn her energy and give her attention before I left. Thoughts? Seems like when my two year old is mad at me, but I didn't think dogs thought that way! Thanks, Sunny
Please try to remember that she is still a baby , not even four months old , so to chastise her for weeing on the deck is not the best way to go as she will be confused as to why she is in trouble . I always try to advise that to correct a behaviour , you must try to stop that behaviour as it is happening and not after the event , as they forget what they have done very quickly . Labs can be very sensitive creatures , my own being no exception , he would have been mortified if I had chastised him at 16 weeks of age , even shouting ( not at him ! ) could easily upset him . I don't think she is angry with you , rather a little confused as to what she has done to cause chastisement . Likewise , commands , and I don't tend to use that word , rather giving an instruction , a cue . She is too young to be expected to be obedient , they have the attention span of a fly at this age , so training must be very short sessions and all fun based , all game based and not too serious ! So yes , training is best started young, but nothing too heavy , and I`m afraid she will forget where she is supposed to wee , just patience and repetition is the way to go without chastising .
Exactly what Kate has said. She is very young. If she has an accident it's not her fault, it's your fault for not recognizing the cues. I'm not saying that to be mean or rude, it just is what it is Axel had several wee accidents on the deck at that age. I imagine it was very confusing to him as he was outside so he probably assumed 'im outside so I can wee' He eventually understood that the deck was not a place for a wee, but it took some time and lots of up and down the stairs. Same training as inside the house. Good luck!
Well, she's only had a handful of accidents and I was watching her while she did it. It's just odd because she's never reacted this way to stern warnings for anything (was my same stern voice for biting, etc) so it's not like I went overboard or beat her! She had just gone out, too. I'm with her most of the day which is why she is usually accident free, so it wasn't exactly my fault this time. In fact, I don't care whose fault it is, I just was wondering if my being away combined with the discipline made her ignore me. Discipline isn't a bad word and it seems like it can be around here. I used it loosely so I'm sorry if you imagined me beating my dog but that's not what happened.
Sorry, no one accused you of beating your dog! But you'll see often on here that puppies aren't fully housetrained until 6 months of age. Axel even had a couple whoops at 10 months of age. Which was a ginormous lake sized puddle on my beautiful new carpet I just lead him outside and cleaned up the mess and realized that he wasn't completely reliable yet. They are puppies still and aren't reliable for quite some time unfortunately He's 16 months now and accident free since the whoops at 10 months old and I had left him downstairs after a good morning swimming at the lake, came home and he has peed everywhere!!! I felt terrible because I knew it was my fault and how uncomfortable he must have been. I didn't even think about how much water he accidentally takes in plus what he intentionally drinks when swimming, that he would need extra wee breaks before I left the house for an hour. So even though a puppy may have just had a wee, doesn't mean they completely emptied themselves, but also if they are playing or warm they will drink more and may have to wee very soon after the last one. Just have to watch the cues and go from there. Dogs are very forgiving, so I don't think she was holding a grudge. Probably just having an off night. Some days Axel was great others he was nothing but destructive and not listening. Which all started around 14 weeks. I was covered in scars from his biting, was having break downs and crying but I have learned a lot and would do things differently and have more patience the next time I get a puppy.
She's worried and confused, you are being unpredictable and telling her off for things she can't yet control. Here is an excellent article to get you on the right track - http://www.thelabradorsite.com/house-training-your-labrador-puppy/ ...
You're kidding right? I'm being unpredictable? Really? Are you picturing me screaming and ranting and raving? That's a bit judgmental and assuming of you. I've seen where people generalize behavior of people with values they don't like. That's exactly what you're doing. Sorry if the word discipline conjures up a whip and a good rant fest but that's just not the case here. I don't need to defend myself because that's not what happened.
Yeah, he had a lot of whoops or oops in many things. That's puppies for you. I still have scars that will probably never go away from his 'whoops' days. 'Whoops, sorry mom. I sliced your arm open by saying hello' is how my OH usually described it
I think when Mags said unpredictable she meant something unusual rather than to mean they way you've taken it. You've said your puppy has had very few accidents, she pee'd outside (which is where I assume she usually pees.. either on her walk or in your garden etc) and got told off for it when she usually gets praised and told what a good girl she is. So your puppy has no idea what she's done wrong and is confused. You've come for help and people have offered it, and you've jumped down their throats a bit unnecessarily. No ones accusing you of anything - just pointing out your puppy isn't reliable and you just grit your teeth and bare it until their bladders mature. I assume you wouldn't tell your 2 year old off if he wet the bed - it's the same principle.
Honestly, she's not being judgemental and it's you putting words in Mags' mouth now. You are being unpredictable. Your puppy, who isn't in full control of her bladder yet, and still needs guidance, was told off for not going where she "should". That's as daft as telling a human baby off for not using the potty. It's no wonder she's confused and on edge. You shouldn't be telling her off at all, not even with just a stern voice. It is not her fault. You should be ignoring the "accidents" and simply praising her when she gets it right. That's all.
And, really? You expect a 16-week old puppy to always obey your "commands" (man, that word sets my teeth on edge)? Just like your toddler? Sorry to be a bit blunt, but SHE IS A TODDLER! She's SIXTEEN WEEKS OLD!!! She's not a robot, cut her some slack. Always think, if my dog isn't doing what I ask, it's because I'm asking too much. It is always the fault of the handler.
I'm picturing a puppy who has little control of her bladder. This is very, very normal at this age. None of my pups has been reliable until five months old and, even then, had the occasional accident. The best way to deal with accidents is to completely ignore the fact that they happened and clear them up with a bio solution so that the smell is completely gone (normal cleaners smell of ammonia - wee - to pups) I am also picturing an owner telling the pup off, in a stern voice, for weeing where the owner doesn't want her to. This will make you very unpredictable to the pup - as in she can't predict your reactions so is confused as to what to do. She will begin to try and pee out of your sight, which will store up problems for the future. Gentle and kind with lots of praise for good behaviour and ignoring unwanted behaviour is always best. ...
Hi there, I think there's a bit of confusion here. I don't think that anyone thinks you are shouting, ranting or beating your puppy. Truly we don't. 'Disciplining' puppies as young as 16 weeks was standard practice in the UK until not so long ago, and still is standard practice in many parts of the world. Happily, modern dog training has made huge strides lately and one of the great things about this forum is that members here are committed to spreading the latest information about positive reinforcement training, and gentler methods of raising puppies. So please don't be offended by what you hear, because there are some incredibly experienced dog owners here who will be able to help you immensely with your pup. What is happening is that you are coming across a difference in attitude towards dog training that occasionally causes misunderstandings on the forum. There have been some big changes in the way dogs are trained, especially in the last decade or so, that have become very popular up in the UK and are also being adopted elsewhere. Dog owners are adopting an approach to dog training that involves two significant changes One is the use of scientific definitions of punishment (or correction), where punishment is defined as anything that we do to or around a dog which diminishes his behaviour. This can take a little getting used to as many people tend to think of punishment as being cruel, and use the word correction when they are trying to describe a punishment that is in no way harsh. The other significant change is that frequently, modern training techniques that involve little or no correction at all. Some members of this forum train their dogs entirely without corrections of any kind. This is an exciting progression for dogs and their owners, and again, you'll find some very experienced trainers here that will happily share their knowledge and techniques with you. You can read a bit more about the prevailing view on this forum in this article. http://www.thelabradorsite.com/dog-discipline/
