Hey guys, this is my first post here so let me start with a "Hello" and thanks in advance for the advice etc.

We inherited a 3 month old rescue that was dumped in a box at a friends house. Her name is Lola (she isn't a showgirl) and as per most of the chow information I have read she has started out as most chow pups do. Easy to housebreak, mild mannered and very cute.

At 5 months now, going on 6, she is starting to assert herself with my wife and something that happened recently got me a little concerned. She came out of the crate, and normal procedure is her to sit while we collar her and leash her. This time she wormed out and started hauling ass around the house. My wife couldn't catch her, so clapped and said no upon which Lola started peeing while she was running around.

She has never done this. Typically she is pretty well behaved. She goes in her crate when we unleash her outside the door. She has never peed in her crate, and this is the first mistake in the house since a month ago. Obedience wise we use a 20ft lead to get her to 'come',we have taught her to sit going in and out of the house. She knows to sit around other people and we have been very careful with her around other dogs (getting in between and trying to engage her as much as possible).

I am aware that chows get harder to train if you are not vigilant and we will be starting marker training very soon. My questions are:

1.) Should we be investing in an e-collar and the dvd for the purpose of a little more stern training for behavior that we want to extinguish (dog aggression etc) or can marker training help with this?

2.) Will the increased interaction with the marker training help her to mind us when we are out and about?

3.) If we were to get the e-collar, would this suffice in place of a prong/dominant dog collar? Or is that more of a temperant thing?

Thanks again, we are just starting out with proper and effective training of our dog and we want to make sure that Lola gets the most out of our enthusiasm so we don't have any problems with her during her rough phase which is approaching.

You haven't really told us yet what all of the assertion issues are.

"At 5 months now, going on 6, she is starting to assert herself with my wife and something that happened recently got me a little concerned. She came out of the crate, and normal procedure is her to sit while we collar her and leash her. This time she wormed out and started hauling ass around the house. My wife couldn't catch her, so clapped and said no upon which Lola started peeing while she was running around."

Tell us in detail what else you are seeing so we can put this into perspective. So far (and I am fully aware that there can be tons more to it) I am seeing a dog who really really had to pee.

Believe me, I am not trying to make light of anything. We need more info.

Please also detail her structured exercise and training time (two different things) every day.

Also:

".... we will be starting marker training very soon."

What type of training are you doing now?

What Leerburg DVDs (if any) have you watched?

BTW, what are you seeing in the way of dog-dog aggro (you touched on this)?


PS

Welcome to the board. Fortunately, we have many members who have dealt with and/or are now dealing successfully with dog reactivity and aggression.

I just wanted to get some better details into the thread.

eta:
Will the increased interaction with the marker training help her to mind us when we are out and about?

Yes.

Edited by Connie Sutherland (08/09/2011 11:41 AM)
Edit reason: eta

A 6 month old puppy having an accident is nothing to be concerned about. Running around and peeing must be just an one off where she could not hold it in. If it happens , scold her and tell her "bad girl" and forget about it.

You should get an e collar, but first train using clicker/marker. E collar in my opinion can come later.

 Quote: Ramachandran Subramanian

A 6 month old puppy having an accident is nothing to be concerned about. Running around and peeing must be just an one off where she could not hold it in.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!

This is pretty much my first reaction .... she really had to pee too bad to sit and wait for the leash, and that's 100% handler error. Too long since last pee.

But you see from all the disclaimers I threw in that I know we may be
missing something.

The clapping could have scared her and she peed submissively.

Like Connie, I too would like to know how else she is asserting herself. From the peeing incident alone, I would not say you need "stern training for behavior you want to diminish." She is still a puppy and may need more structure and positive training, which it sounds like you are on your way to with beginning marker training. I would stay away from the e-collar and prong collar at this point, she is still a puppy. Before you start using these tools, you should read up as much as you can on them.

Let us know other problem behaviors for a better assessment.

Thanks guys, some more info:

The peeing thing, yea that's basically it. A little long in the crate that time. More important is the dog/dog thing...

The dog aggro is well contained so far, we have worked to get her to move behind us when other dogs approach so we can get their owners to get their dogs away. But at times, she will see a dog (this is outside, she is leashed and the other dogs are 30 ft plus away and inside, leashed and she sees them through the windows) and the hairs go up and she will start to ruff, and head and eyes are on the other dog. Is this a problem? Or a curiosity thing?

We just don't want to miss it and then have problems if it is a sign of aggression and we didn't address it early.

Thanks again!

We won't be working with the prong collar or the e-collar until later on and certainly not until we have watched the dvd's. I know that I don't know enough to use those without some direction.

I would like to say that I am finished raising my most recent addition, but the truth of the matter is that at about 14 months, even he is still learning every day. I have found with him that I was very careful to teach him how to behave and it sounds like you are doing the same thing. For us, it was a constant process of my pup going "hey, I think I will do this" and me going "hey, you shouldn't do this, but you should do this". Lots and lots of redirecting...in response to his always creative thinking

With the "pee" incident, it does sound like she really had to go! I wouldn't consider this to be assertive behavior (although I expect all pups to go through phases when they are testing the waters a bit).

With the dog/dog behavior, how much experience does she have around other dogs? It is hard to tell if this is aggression or curiosity. My pup was about ten months old when he seemed to get confused on how to act around other dogs, aside from my own. I enrolled him in a beginner's obedience class so he could learn to be around other dogs and remain in control of himself. I took the class at a place where I have gone for years so I knew their protocol. I also knew I could park myself in the corner and just work on focus type activities if I needed to (turned out not to be necessary). My pup did great.

I am guilty of allowing my dog on my couch. Yep, I admit to it. It is the only place he can see out the front of my house and he loves to chill and look outside. BUT - if he barks (and doesn't quiet upon command), he has to get down and is not allowed back up. He will literally watch a dog go down the sidewalk without a peep or with one bark. Same goes for the mail lady... I did teach the command "who's here?" to encourage barking when needed. We are still working on calmly passing dogs when out walking. And of course, we have the new development of barking at dogs when he was at my MIL's house this past weekend...just another training speedbump that will need to be addressed.

Enjoy the journey