Puppy issues

[luvmyfam444]

We have a 12 wk Jack Russell (supposed to be a mix with some other poodle mix).

She has been really good (wild of course - but that's natural) most of the time -

I have her obeying come & sit & introduced her to the leash (we can get a little ways when she's not completely stubborn )

But she's just started not always coming when called - sometimes she'll get just where she can see me & sit there & decide to come if I have a treat or not or if I've got the leash - something along those lines. SO what do I do?

AND...today she started just running from me (in the house) - I'd go to pick her up & she'd dart from me I'd tell her come - sit - she'd obey that - I'd bend down to pick her up & she'd tear thru the house. I finally got her - telling her NO - do I need to do something different?

And I read the growling & violently shaking toys is a normal puppy behavior...but when she really gets going it's scary... I just think what happens if that was my hand or the kids & I just hope they don't get near her when she's like that. This morning she was going strong a good 30mins or longer. She'd leave the animal & tear thru the living room - under a chair & growl @ it - like she was gonna attack it as well.

And do you have suggestions for nipping? When you pet her she typically opens her mouth @ you - a stern NO usually takes many tries before she may stop - or we give up one.

And what about growling @ a kid? She'll growl @ them sometimes when walking by & chase after them - of course they run 'cause its a scray sound. I don't think its a warning growl before biting but I wonder

We have not gone to puppy school yet - waiting on the next one to start in a couple of weeks...so any help would be great.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Work on your Recall command. First, never give the Come command unless you can enforce it. Not coming is not optional. You need a long rope and some treats. Let the pup walk around, then tell him to Come. (Only say commands once, they heard you the first time.) Do whatever you need to do to make it fun for him to come, including high voice, clapping hands, jumping up and down, etc. If he ignores, gently tug on the leash to you, but try to let him do it as much as you can on his own. Reward successes with praise, and the session with a really good, tasty treat.

Coming to you should ALWAYS be a positive experience. Do NOT give him the come command while he's running off with no way of you getting him back. When you do this, you teach him it's ok to ignore you. If you do need to be stern or reprimand him, you go to him. Never, never, never call him to you, then hit or scold him. If you do this, you teach him that coming to you is something to be avoided.

Be sure to pick up a copy of Good Owners, Great Dogs, by Brian Kilcommons and Sara Wilson. It is a very common sense approach to dog ownership and training, and all of your questions will be answered there.

I have two JR "nephews". Interesting little dogs.

 

[AmongMadPeople]

Is this your first puppy? A lot of this sounds fairly normal to me.

Recall - it's something you need to train. Plus, for a puppy, the outside and smells are a lot more fun than coming to you. Be fun and exciting when you call her, squat down and clap. Sometimes have a fun toy as a reward. Most importantly, when you're working on this, the end result can't always been go inside/get in kennel/or anything less fun. If you vary the reward (treat, toys, play) it will keep her interested, and if she doesn't associate recall with "bad" things (going inside) she'll be more likely to come to you.

Running from you in the house - sounds like puppy games. It's fun to be chased and chase!

Thrashing toy play - sounds like a terrier to me! If this is your first puppy you may be alarmed or put off by it. When we had two dogs for the first time, I was alarmed by how rough they played, but I found out it was completely normal.

Petting & nipping - honestly, I haven't seen a lot of puppies really interested in petting. She's probably trying to play cause petting is boring for her. If your hand is coming at her from the front, it's an instinct to play with it. If you want to work on petting, wait until she's tired, and pet her while her head is facing away from you (if that makes sense).

Don't want to advise about kids since I can't see the behavior.

That is good that you're already looking at puppy classes. I think you just have a high energy breed without enough outlets for her energy. But a trainer will be able to see things I can't see through the internet and give you better advice

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

we have a Jack Russell---I remember our Jack would have some manic type fits if he didn't get enough exercise... It took us spending around 2 hours a day at the dog park throwing the ball with him to reach the level of activity he needed as a puppy. WE once had an all-day BBQ at our house and he had a variety of people throwing the ball for him ....he didn't stop chasing the ball for 9 hours straight... Jacks have a ton of energy---even at 10 years old, my Jack can easily run 5 miles with me... THis may be less of a discipline issue and more of a personality thing....so please keep in mind that the reason why Jack Russells typically act up is because they feel that they need to have a job to do all the time. It's in their breed.

 

[walden]

Kilcommons and Wilson also wrote Childproofing your Dog. Another very good read for anyone with dogs and children.

Also, get to puppy class soon. I love positive reinforcement clicker training myself.

I had a Jack Russell years ago, and they have boundless energy. Your pup needs a lot of exercise. Several miles a day of walks and our Jack Russell could still play fetch with a ball for hours on end. A tired puppy is a good puppy. Some of what your describing sounds like a bored puppy trying to play.

On the nipping, don't let her nip or mouth you or the kids. If she does try, then remove your hand immediately, walk away and ignore her completely for a few minutes. Can you describe more the growling at the kids? How old are they, and what is she/they doing when she growls?

 

[Christine]

I did read once that Jack Russells are one of the breeds that has very poor recall. It's very difficult to really let them off-leash because they often won't come back when you call. Even with tons of training. So, this may be a very difficult thing for you to teach the puppy and it's probably not going to happen quickly.

 

[Evil Genius]

Sounds like a normal puppy to me. She's 12 weeks old give her a break. The growling at the kids sounds like she wants them to pay attention to her not just wander by. Do they have any interaction with her?

 

[Jeniferdwn]

I'm happy to read all of these suggestions! This sounds exactly like my 5 month old Chihuahua puppy! She is so wild!! and she LOVES playing with my 3 yr old DS. She runs and growls and slaps at him. It's all play. I think too, if they're wagging their tail, they're playing. If their tail isn't wagging, they're angry. OR this has always been the case with our dogs. Good luck with the JR!!

 

[luvmyfam444]

we have a Jack Russell---I remember our Jack would have some manic type fits if he didn't get enough exercise... It took us spending around 2 hours a day at the dog park throwing the ball with him to reach the level of activity he needed as a puppy. WE once had an all-day BBQ at our house and he had a variety of people throwing the ball for him ....he didn't stop chasing the ball for 9 hours straight... Jacks have a ton of energy---even at 10 years old, my Jack can easily run 5 miles with me... THis may be less of a discipline issue and more of a personality thing....so please keep in mind that the reason why Jack Russells typically act up is because they feel that they need to have a job to do all the time. It's in their breed.

I haven't figured out how to get her to fetch - I'll throw the ball or kick a little one & she'll run towards it & I'll praise her huge but she just looks at me - we've been doing it for a while now.


She usually just wanders around the yard chewing the leaves & grass - even when I'm right beside her (guess she has my ADD ) she'll come running with me for a time & then go on her own - she's not overly interested in playing with us - just exploring

 

[luvmyfam444]

I did read once that Jack Russells are one of the breeds that has very poor recall. It's very difficult to really let them off-leash because they often won't come back when you call. Even with tons of training. So, this may be a very difficult thing for you to teach the puppy and it's probably not going to happen quickly.

She was doing great for a while - we actually just put her on a leash - she'd play in the backyard or in the house & come.

Sometimes in the house she can't find me so I have to call her more than once -she'll come to where she thinks I am & sit until I call her again & she can find the room.

Maybe she's figured out I don't give her a treat everytime I call her - I always praise her - but don't always have the treats handy.

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

I don't think he was fetching at 12 weeks but by 5-6 months old he loved fetch---it took a long time to get him to let go of the ball once he retrieved it...then he learned to let go in order for the game to continue

 

[luvmyfam444]

Kilcommons and Wilson also wrote Childproofing your Dog. Another very good read for anyone with dogs and children.

Also, get to puppy class soon. I love positive reinforcement clicker training myself.

I had a Jack Russell years ago, and they have boundless energy. Your pup needs a lot of exercise. Several miles a day of walks and our Jack Russell could still play fetch with a ball for hours on end. A tired puppy is a good puppy. Some of what your describing sounds like a bored puppy trying to play.

On the nipping, don't let her nip or mouth you or the kids. If she does try, then remove your hand immediately, walk away and ignore her completely for a few minutes. Can you describe more the growling at the kids? How old are they, and what is she/they doing when she growls?

She is definitely a tired puppy - she'll get up @ 6:30 or so & play & run wild til about 9 or 10 & then be ready for a long nap. Of course if she could actually nap in quiet it may be a shorter nap - since there's noise always around here she'll perk up when we go by & then go back to sleep - but its sometimes 2-3 hours. Then she's up & ready to go for the rest of the day. With little catnaps here & there

And then she is worn out around 8:30 though sometimes not til 10 & she'll sleep all night.

 

[luvmyfam444]

I'm happy to read all of these suggestions! This sounds exactly like my 5 month old Chihuahua puppy! She is so wild!! and she LOVES playing with my 3 yr old DS. She runs and growls and slaps at him. It's all play. I think too, if they're wagging their tail, they're playing. If their tail isn't wagging, they're angry. OR this has always been the case with our dogs. Good luck with the JR!!

This is what I was thinking. She tends to growl @ the 2 youngest - 8 & 4 - this morning the youngest was just walking by her to get on the couch. the other day the 8 yr old ran by to get on the slide outside. I'm thinking it's the clothes that may get her attention - the little one is wearing a knee length dress. I don't know though.

She always wags her tail. But still when you see those teeth! Ocassionally she'll growl when she's sleeping if we try to move her & put her in her kennel. Which makes sense of course. WE usually let her be unless we have to go somewhere.

 

[sparks19]

Do specific training sessions each day and work on all of those things while in the training session. Don't give her the command while you are in another room and she can't find you... at least not yet. She needs to learn the basic behviour before you throw a curve ball in lol. Do several short training sessions a day. that way you will always have treats while you teach this command.

using a clicker is a great tool for shaping a behaviour as well. Like during your sessions give her the command "Come"... when she comes to you click the clicker and treat. She'll start to learn that the clicker means she has performed the task as asked and gets the reward.

the reward also doesn't always have to be food. it can be a favorite toy, or a game of tug o war or even just excited attention

don't punish her for growling at the kids... this could really backfire. IF she's using the growl as a warning then you aren't going to want to discourage her from using this warning. though at this age I'm sure it's more playful than anything. See if you can find out what triggers the growl and then try to discourage the kids from doing that around her. but if she really is growling as a warning already at this age I would contact a behaviourist and find ways to nip it in the bud without leaving the dog thinking that giving a warning is not a good thing and just goes for the bite... not saying this is what your dog is doing but this is a possiblity with dogs.

As for the shaking... she's a terrier. yes they sound very scary. My mom has a shih tzu pug mix and sometimes she'll just get going and just growl and shake her toys and throw them across the room and then run and pounce on them and growl and shake them some more. it's just play. let her have her fun (unless she's throwing it and breaking things LOL it happens)

for the nipping... give her her normal attention but as soon as she makes the move to nip or mouth you... get up and leave. Even give her a firm "no biting" and walk away. She'll learn that that behaviour means no fun times for puppy lol.

Good luck... I think puppies are worse than kids LOL

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Maybe she's figured out I don't give her a treat everytime I call her - I always praise her - but don't always have the treats handy.

This is why, IMO and E, it's good not to give a treat every single time. You will not always have treats handy, but your dog should learn to do what you say anyway. Use a combination of verbal and tactile (a pat to the head, a little rub, etc) praise, which you will always have ready. As a special treat I like to end training sessions with a morsel when they're young, then I phase them out. Later, verbal praise and even a whole play session is reward for good behavior. This does probably vary from what many do today, but this is what works for me and my dogs. The other problem I found with too many treats is that the dog becomes a food monger, and that's never good with young children around. Food needs to be a whole separate and safe issue.

 

[hsmamato2]

since this sounds like a new thing for you-I recommend googling 'clicker training' and positive reinforcement then getting you and pup to a class.... your puppy needs walking. just letting it play and run around is not enough,sorry but that is a fact with energetic breeds. I have a chihuahua mix,less than 9 pounds,she required LOTS of time,training,and attention.
You should understand that exercise ,like a JRT mix needs is a LOT of walking,training,toss,fetch,practice behaviors and tricks.

 

[luvmyfam444]

This is why, IMO and E, it's good not to give a treat every single time. You will not always have treats handy, but your dog should learn to do what you say anyway. Use a combination of verbal and tactile (a pat to the head, a little rub, etc) praise, which you will always have ready. As a special treat I like to end training sessions with a morsel when they're young, then I phase them out. Later, verbal praise and even a whole play session is reward for good behavior. This does probably vary from what many do today, but this is what works for me and my dogs. The other problem I found with too many treats is that the dog becomes a food monger, and that's never good with young children around. Food needs to be a whole separate and safe issue.

That's what I was thinking - my logic anyway -they need to follow commands with or without a treat. That's what I wonder about with clicker training - I'm sure I won't always have that handy either.

 

[walden]

That's what I was thinking - my logic anyway -they need to follow commands with or without a treat. That's what I wonder about with clicker training - I'm sure I won't always have that handy either.

Ah, clicker training is much misunderstood. Please research it more because it really does work! The click is just a precise and convenient marker for wanted behavior. I trained one of my dogs by just snapping my fingers rather than using a clicker. You phase out both the click (or marker) and the treat as soon as the dog "gets" what is wanted, and that doesn't take long, but you always, always, praise. I actually like to watch the cogs turning in that doggy brain as he or she says to himself "I must have done something good because I got a click. Now what was it that the human liked so I can do it again?"

 

[RNMOM]

Our dog still will mouth my hand occassionally. I handled it by gently holding his mouth closed and saying "no bite or don't bite". It really curtailed it well but when we play vigorously he can do it.

As for the running, do you crate train her? If not, I would. I am a big believer in it and dogs are den animals. Most really love their crates and will spend all their sleep time in there on their own. I would remove her from the crate and keep her on the leash all the time until she cooperates with the commands. Really, put the leash under the chair leg when you are with her and make it clear she is to stay with you when you want. Every so often use the leashe to bring her to you telling her to come and just pet her for reward. It may only take a couple days till she figures it out.

The play you are describing doesn't surprise me as these dogs are bred to kill vermin. She is immitating shaking a rat or weasel to death. Give her soft safe dog toys and let her use up her energy up this way. Don't play with her in this manner until she is older and understands how to play without hurting human skin.

 

[luvmyfam444]

She's been doing pretty good the last few days - maybe I fussed enough when she was on her wild spree she's been more calm inside. She's still a bit stubborn on the leash - but it depends on who has her - no my dh tried to take her out tonight & she didn't walk for him - but she walked for dd today -so she's getting it - its just who's in charge of her.

She played really well inside today - still with her animal that she shakes - but she didn't run wild 2 everything else too. MAYBE I did have her in the house too long that day - I don't remember now. Today she spent most of the day out playing -when she was in she was almost always asleep.

Though today she has learned to jump on the couch - something new for me to figure out how to stop I'd tell her No & take her to her bed each time - but unless someone was sitting there she would jump right back up there (Actually once she jumped up there with youngest dd)

We hope to make it to puppy school either this weekend or next