HI,

NEW TO SITE AND NEED ADVISE. I HAVE A 13 WEEK OLD FEMALE DAUCHSUND AND SHE IS A VERY HYPER PUPPY. HOW DO I START TRAINING HER IF SHE WON'T BE STILL LONG ENOUGH TO GET HER ATTENTION? SHE DOES KNOW HER NAME AND RESPONDS TO IT, BUT SHE IS A HYPER LITTLE THING. SHE ONLY WEIGHS ABOUT 6 POUNDS AND IS ONLY ABOUT 6 TO 8 INCHES TALL AT THE SHOULDERS AND HAS LOTS OF ENERGY.

I HAVE TO KEEP HER IN HER CRATE OR SMALL PLAYPEN WHEN I AM NOT HOLDING HER OR HAVE HER OUTSIDE TO DO HER BUSINESS, OTHERWISE SHE WILL START RUNNING ALL OVER THE PLACE PLAYING CHASE WITH ONE OF OUR OLDER (AGE 7) MALE DAUCHSHUND OR EVEN OLDER YET (AGE 14) FEMALE DAUCHSHUND. THEY PLAY THE DOMINANCE GAME (RUNNING AND PINNING ONE ANOTHER). RIGHT NOW ALL SHE WISHES TO DO IS BITE AND CHEW. I HAVE TRIED REDIRECTING HER WITH TOYS AND SOMETIMES THIS WORKS AND SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T. SHE IS VERY SMART AND WAS LETTING ME KNOW WHEN SHE NEEDED TO GO OUTSIDE WHEN SHE WAS 8 TO 9 WEEKS OLD. WHEN I TAKE HER OUTSIDE, ALL SHE WANTS TO DO FOR A LONG TIME IS PLAY WITH ANY STICKS OR WEED STEMS SHE FINDS.

I CAN'T LET HER OUTSIDE ALONE OFF OF HER LEASH BECAUSE WE HAVE TOO MANY AREAS WHERE SHE COULD GET UNDER THE FENCE DUE TO OUR NAIGHBORS DOGS. I HAVD BLOCKED AND FILLED THESE AREAS, BUT I THINK SHE WOULD GET OUT ANY WAY. WE ALSO HAVE SEVERAL LARGE PINE TREES THAT ARE LOW TO THE GROUND MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO GET TO ANYTHING UNDERNEATH THEM.

I PURCHASED THE VIDEO: PUPPIES 8 WEEKS TO 8 MONTHS AND FOUND IT VERY USEFULL AND HOPE TO BE ABLE TO TRY THE TECHNIQUES DESCRIBED. BUT HOW DO I GO ABOUT GETTING MY PUPPY'S ATTENTION LONG ENOUGH TO WORK WITH HER?

ANY ADVISE WOULD BE HELPFUL.
THANKS IN ADVANCE.

Hi there,

I know what you are going through lol. I have an 18 week old German Shepherd puppy who is full of it. It's important to remember that a tired dog is a happy dog. If your pup is just going outside on a leash, she is probably not getting much "run around and be crazy time". Have you considered putting a long line on her? I know my girl goes out and runs like a maniac...and then is content to come inside and play with her toys, do a little obedience training, etc. Mine also loves any frozen toys. They sell them at the petstore or even an old frozen rag is the best for her since she is teething really, really badly.

Also, you may want to look up Ed's article on introducing a new dog into your household. It helped me a lot and I can know allow my two German Shepherds together for limited, supervised times (like going for walks or being outside together with a fence in between them)...still working on my smaller dog though. Kira, the puppy, is still not ignoring Daisy when she is in her crate so...on it goes <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />It's gonna take a while for those two and I'm prepared to wait it out!

Good Luck!
Melissa

Thank you for the advise. I will try your suggestion. I am aware that Doxie's are "Earth Dogs" and that they love to dig and prey hunt. She is the first puppy we've had in a long time, and I want to train her right as to not break her spirit and loveable personality. She does look at me when her name is called (but not every time yet). I know it will take time to do things right. There are times, more often than not, I have to keep reminding myself that she is a puppy and not to push her too fast or too hard. I've had her since she was 7 weeks old and I guess I expect things to happen too soon at times. I will be viewing the tape/DVD again many times.

Again thanks for the tips and sorry for the all CAPS in my previous post. Forgot it was shouting on forums.

Here's the article on how to introduce a new puppy into a home with other dogs.
http://www.leerburg.com/introducingdogs.htm
It sounds to me like your pup is spending too much time with the other dogs, and is now becoming more focused on them instead of you. She's becoming "doggy". You need to make her understand that you are way way more fun than the other two dogs so that her focus will be more on you than on the other dogs.
If she wont' get down to business outside right away, make sure to have her on a leash and take her to one specific area to go to the bathroom so that she will start to associate that one are with going to the bathroom. Just make sure that there are no distractions there for her to get into, give a command of your choice (hurry up, go pee or whatever) and keep repeating it until she relieves herself. Praise her and then let her off her leash and play around with her as her reward. She will soon learn that the quicker she gets down to business the quicker she'll be off the leash and be able to play with you.

Never let her off leash until her recall is 100% on long line amidst the worst of distractions.

As for being hyper, she's a puppy and a hound. Exercise, exercise, exercise, exercise some more. Good exercise would be romps in the yard, short walks that gradually lengthen over time, chasing a ball or other toy, etc. Training sessions (mental exercise) should be short but sweet, a couple minutes or less at a time, always ending on a positive, successful note. Many 30 second sessions per day will speak louder to her than one 15 minute session. As she grows you can extend the time, but the rule will always remain the same- several shorter sessions are much better than one long one.

And don't forget exercise! She's on short legs so she'll be EASY to tire out. If she's not tired, you're not trying hard enough! <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> Also, make sure you don't allow her to be with your other dog much otherwise she will bond to the dog instead of you. It's fine if they play together, but you should be #1 in her world. To do otherwise will cause you problems later on.

sorry, i totally missed the part of her post saying that the pup could escape from her yard.

Don't let the pup off the leash then, but do make sure to reward her after she does go to the bathroom.