Doberman girl, 16 weeks on Thursday. I'm a new member, and please pardon my other posts in inappropriate spots while I find my way around the site.

I've raised many puppies in my life, but this one seems to be the hardest and most stubborn. So far I consider her temperament to be pretty normal, although I've never really compared my pups with others at the same age . Shaking her stuffed chew toys like crazy (gotta wonder how puppies don't get brain damage!) and total submission with "I'm an innocent baby, and I really need a lap" whining, just normal puppy stuff.

She goes totally nuts over running water. There are many of you who can relate to this . It's still hot during the day in S. CA, and she's not all that active during the mid-day. When the yard is half-way shaded (after 4), that's when I get outside to work on my yard, and she runs full-tilt and plays fetch.

When she is crazy at the hose, I can give her a pop, get her to snap out of it, make her sit, and she can watch water until she can't hold it anymore. So I repeat this endlessly everyday.

This is one thing I want her to stop. I can throw her in the kitchen and finish yard work no problem. I'm however wondering whether to remove her from the yard or keep training, hoping it'll some day stop.

Our previous dog was a M Rottweiler, and his "thing" was sand. Or anything I kick, even bricks and rocks in the yard that would break his teeth. I couldn't let him go near the sandbox at parks, and he was extremely difficult to control in that focused, aggressive, and "kill" state because of his size, while he was sweet and totally obedient with everything else. He never grew out of it, until we put him down at the age 12. He didn't start it until he was fully grown, or I didn't know about it until I innocently kicked cardboard in the yard then he had to aggressively attack & shred in million pieces to make sure it's dead. I don't want to make the same mistake of not correcting it.

If all possible, I don't want this new pup to develop that kind of obsession with serious aggressiveness with certain things. I may be over paranoid about this, since it's not all that uncommon with puppies and they may just grow out of it. I'm an avid gardener, and this "kill any running water" madness will have to stop eventually. Do you suggest not letting her outside with me with a hose or continue daily correction until she's older and calmer?

I play tug-o-war pretty hard with her. I can stop it any time, make her sit for a few seconds in the middle of it, then we resume again to burn more energy until I run out of gas. She's been very good about playing rough by my rules, so maybe I can get her to not go after running water eventually??

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I moved this to Puppy Training.

 Quote: cherlee reid

... I'm an avid gardener, and this "kill any running water" madness will have to stop eventually. Do you suggest not letting her outside with me with a hose or continue daily correction until she's older and calmer?

I would not let the dog continue in any obsessive behavior, but correcting the puppy would not be my route. Distraction and redirection very fast, very promptly would be.

But is this actually compulsive behavior or just puppy-ness? Can you describe better exactly what happens, and also what you are doing to "correct"?

My dog is also a bit obsessive about the garden hose and it was starting to get annoying as all get out. I began using it as a "reward" only used during obedience work and it seems to be working. I get the best, sharpest "downs" from Falcon when I have the garden hose in my hand! (I'd love to be able to use this on heeling but can't for the life of me figure that one out.) LOL! Last night I washed the car and he had to down while I did one side of the car, I released him, let him play in the hose a minute, repeat, etc... If I wasn't making him down or sit, he would be an idiot all over the hose. I do the same thing when watering plants, etc... He can't play in the hose until released from a command. Connie, is this an appropriate way to "redirect" this obsession?

when are you going to posts some vids of Falcon? He oughta be pretty sharp by now

 Quote: barbara schuler

My dog is also a bit obsessive about the garden hose and it was starting to get annoying as all get out. I began using it as a "reward" only used during obedience work and it seems to be working. I get the best, sharpest "downs" from Falcon when I have the garden hose in my hand! (I'd love to be able to use this on heeling but can't for the life of me figure that one out.) LOL! Last night I washed the car and he had to down while I did one side of the car, I released him, let him play in the hose a minute, repeat, etc... If I wasn't making him down or sit, he would be an idiot all over the hose. I do the same thing when watering plants, etc... He can't play in the hose until released from a command. Connie, is this an appropriate way to "redirect" this obsession?

Wow! This sounds brilliant to me!

You totally figured out HIS currency!

 Quote: connie sutherland

But is this actually compulsive behavior or just puppy-ness? Can you describe better exactly what happens, and also what you are doing to "correct"?

Thank you for your reply, Connie.

It is compulsive obsession and aggression. We thought she was just being a puppy a month ago and sprayed water on her, but it's not. She starts with whining. She circles around the planter box full speed barking & growling and tries to "bite and shake" the water. She loses it. She means to kill it, not to play. Completely focused, and throwing a twig or a toy doesn't get her attention.

I do what I wrote in the original post. I yank the collar with NO and make her sit. She does snap out of it. I sandwich her chest with my hands if necessary to make her stay--that for some reason calms her down every time. Then she watches the running water for a couple of minutes sitting down until she can't control herself anymore. So I repeat. I say nothing but NO and SIT.

 Quote: Dennis Jones

when are you going to posts some vids of Falcon? He oughta be pretty sharp by now

Oh Dennis, if Falcon had been fortunate enough to have YOU as his dad, he would be razor sharp by now. You've met me... you know the handicap the poor dog is dealing with!!! LOL!

Well, since it sounds like using this as a training tool is not crazy, let me share what I did with my knucklehead. He already knew the down command. He already knew the sit command.

At first, I tried this when I needed to water the plants, etc.. but got too frustrated on trying to train and do something constructive. MY BAD. I quickly went to just training the "hose issue", then added going back to watering plants, etc...( It is imperative to have one of those nozzles which you can simply remove your thumb/finger off the trigger and the flow of the water stops. When I first tried doing it by crimping the hose or using the nozzel which required having to turn down the volumn, I got no where; too much lag time.)

If your dog knows down; put her on down. Start the hose/stream. The moment she bolts, stop the flow. Put her back in a down. Etc... If you can get her to hold the down for a few seconds (keep is SHORT), release her and let her have a moment or two playing with the water. If she won't stay down after giving this a few tries, go put her in her kennel. Let her stew for a bit. Then give it another try. It won't take long for her to know the only way she can get her fix is by doing what you tell her do.

I also tied Falcon off on a flag pole for the first two or three training sessons. This was when I didn't have the right type of nozzel and he was rushing me while I was trying to turn the water off. You can use this in addition to the right type of nozzle if needed.

He still LOVES the hose and it is a big treat for him. He now has to earn it. The energy he expends watching me water the tomatoes is a great thing... lol! I need to see if I can make a super soaker water gun that I can use in other areas of training...

 Quote: barbara schuler

If your dog knows down; put her on down. Start the hose/stream. The moment she bolts, stop the flow. Put her back in a down. Etc... If you can get her to hold the down for a few seconds (keep is SHORT), release her and let her have a moment or two playing with the water. If she won't stay down after giving this a few tries, go put her in her kennel. Let her stew for a bit. Then give it another try. It won't take long for her to know the only way she can get her fix is by doing what you tell her do.

Down as opposed to Sit is because the down position is more submissive? Yes, she knows down, with her chin down too. I can do that, though I'm not that happy about getting her to lay down on the muddy ground .

She doesn't "play" with water but wants to kill it. I don't really want her to play with water, even in a fun puppy fashion..... #1, serious water restriction with drought, and I'm allowed to water my yard just because what I grow is mostly crops. #2, she is so fixated, and I'm not confident that she'd learn the difference between attack and play, so I may confuse the issue by rewarding her with water.

What do you think? I can certainly keep her away and lock her in the kitchen while water is running in the yard and she doesn't sit or down for long enough. I can also tie her on the patio post and let her watch me water----she'd bark & growl like a mad dog at an intruder until she's exhausted (or would she get exhausted??????). What I want to achieve with her is to "ignore" the hose. I keep 3 hoses running while I take care of each plant, and I don't want her to even nicely "play". I used to use an irrigation system that sprays a fine misty stream at each plant. I hooked up an old part to see how she'd react, compared to the hose & nozzle. The smaller/slower the water, the lesser she reacts (DUH????). BUT, she stares at it then attacks the whole thing once the pressure builds enough inside her head. I figured I'd lose all those "stick in the ground" small thingies in no time.

I really wish I had a camcorder to show you how she loses it. I very much wish to "desensitize" her before she gets too large to handle in that state like my Rottie boy did, and that's the reason I haven't kept her away while I water. It's tiresome to yank, sit, and repeat endlessly, but I haven't found a different method. I pray she'll grow out of it, but if she doesn't, I know I'd be real sorry for not correcting.