Congrats on the progress. <3

Help! I really messed up yesterday.

I came home from work really tired and therefore unable to deal with Duke's antics. I grabbed his collar and shook him while forcing him to sit all the while yelling.

Some times. It is so hard to be patient. How do I stay focused?

Next time you have a bad day, go out to eat, take a short walk, and call a friend BEFORE you go home.

This may not help you, but it works for me:
I taught my dog "go hide." If I get frustrated, impatient, tired, I tell her to go hide (usually through gritted teeth) and she disappears to her kennel or a dog bed until I feel better. She picks up on my stress level, so she's more than happy to get out of there! Now I've had other dogs that will crawl up on me and lick, poke and nudge me until I start laughing - it depends on the dog's personality.

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Help! I really messed up yesterday.

I came home from work really tired and therefore unable to deal with Duke's antics. I grabbed his collar and shook him while forcing him to sit all the while yelling.

Some times. It is so hard to be patient. How do I stay focused?

Of all these great trainers and owners of pets and working dogs on this site, I would bet a million dollars there have been times that even their best dog has tried their patience to where they thought they might snap like a dry twig. Most probabaly have snapped like a dry twig on occasion

Why just today I had to cut an obedience session drastically short because i could feel a rage building in me

Being consistant/patient is EXAUSTING. If I don't have the patience to train or deal with it, I don't.

Walk past the misbehavin' hound and lock yourself in a room. Have a drink, have a smoke, have a cry....whatever it takes to calm yourself down.

Return to dog and maybe do something easy you and the dog can be successfull at that day. Make something up to be successful at if need be.

Tomorrow will be another day and another chance to make headway!

Baby steps...Baby steps.

Chin up

More questions .... hope you all don't mind but I can really use the help.

I have begun crate training and one of the things I am confused about is ignoring him when I get home from work. All the advice has been to ignore Duke when I get home. I am having trouble with this because it has been 10 hours since his last walk and I know that BOTH dogs (I have 2) need to go do their business. How long should I make them wait? What if they can't make it? He usually barks until I let him out. Do I wait until he stops barking??

I am not ready to leave him in the crate 24/7 as I have seen suggested to this site so I am hoping a modified approach will work.

Thanks

 Quote: donna sakkatos

More questions .... hope you all don't mind but I can really use the help.

I have begun crate training and one of the things I am confused about is ignoring him when I get home from work. All the advice has been to ignore Duke when I get home. I am having trouble with this because it has been 10 hours since his last walk and I know that BOTH dogs (I have 2) need to go do their business. How long should I make them wait? What if they can't make it? He usually barks until I let him out. Do I wait until he stops barking??

I am not ready to leave him in the crate 24/7 as I have seen suggested to this site so I am hoping a modified approach will work.

Thanks

Where did you see anyone suggest a 24/7 crate time? Do you mean when people say that a puppy is in his crate or tethered to you when he's not outside or being trained?

Your dog is a year old, right? He's probably a little past the sleeping-almost-all-day part of puppyhood (although I always have adults, so correct me if I'm wrong).

Still, until he is potty-trained, I would keep him tethered to me inside when he isn't crated, so you can get this potty-training done.

When you come home:
I'd be asking for the quiet "sit" that you have taught here:
QUOTE: Duke will now sit on command before I allow him in the house after I get home from work. END

Ignoring him is all about not "feeding" or pouring fuel on the dog's excited behavior, and not rewarding it by opening the door, taking him for a walk, or anything good while he is giving you unwanted behavior. If the "sit" command isn't solid yet, you can stand by the crate like a statue, which I think I mentioned earlier, waiting for a quiet second to reward with "yes" (or your marker) and opening the door.

Then spend some time on a command that you want performed before you open the crate.

The big deal to me with a pet is not to reward unwanted behavior. Saying (in effect) "Oh, OK," while the dog is yapping and throwing himself around reinforces that behavior very efficiently -- exactly what you don't want to do.

Actively looking for behavior to reward will probably be helpful at this stage in training. It makes basic obedience much easier and more fun when the dog learns that he can elicit a pleasurable response from you with certain behaviors.

JMO.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

(although I always have adults, so correct me if I'm wrong).

You say this a lot, Connie. When are you going to stop being immune to puppy-fever?!? Then we can harass you about puppies as well!

 Quote: Amber Morgan

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

(although I always have adults, so correct me if I'm wrong).

You say this a lot, Connie. When are you going to stop being immune to puppy-fever?!? Then we can harass you about puppies as well!

Every time someone in our club gets a new puppy, and I start thinking about it, something always happens where a special situation comes along and a good dog needs a new home!


Thanks for the warning, however!

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Every time someone in our club gets a new puppy, and I start thinking about it, something always happens where a special situation comes along and a good dog needs a new home!

You are an angel. Not that many people will take in adult dogs and take the responsibility of fixing others mistakes.

There should be more of you