My 2 cents...in the words of Mr Frawley...Back in the crate...no Lovey dovey time...and then back into foundation of pack structure....then the basic obedience, right?? Puppy does not know it's place in the pack and certainly doesn't respect the pack leaders family. Puppy is not obedience trained if it doesn't obey.....this is at least the advice I think I understand from Leerburg Kennels.

Good luck to you Kelley.

That's not what I see here, at all.

 Quote: alyssa myracle

That's not what I see here, at all.

It's not what I see, either, although pack structure is crucial, Ray, and you're reading good stuff.


I see this

 Quote: kelly schultz

... I agree that the consistency has not been there, and that is probably because I tried to combine a TON of advice, and it all varied, not necessarily from here, but from trainers and friends. ...

more than anything else, although some excited escalation of what starts out to be rambunctious play-biting hasn't helped.

Also, I'm not seeing very much structured exercise.

Kudos about the fetch! Does he get a workout? Does he return the item to you? Do you play tug?

Kelly, the training time seems to be a "maybe, if we have time, some days." If short and upbeat training sessions can be incorporated throughout the day, that helps towards tiring the dog's brain a little, reinforcing commands, improving his confidence (this dog is reactive about many things, as I recall ...? to the point that you stopped walking him), and draining a little frustrated energy.

How are the practice walks going? I'm sorry if I missed this, but did we talk about his reactivity with strangers?

Ah. OK, I looked back a bit. (Another senior moment .) How is this going?

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=134&Number=272862&Searchpage=1&Main=25937&Words=+Kelly++Schultz&topic=0&Search=true#Post272862

I had always heard that tug was bad if you couldn't always win, but have since heard that is not the case. I bought a tug rope today, and he is in heaven!
Here is the issue I have with him and training. When he smells the food on me and he knows we are having a training session, he will do just about anything I ask. I can't really practice the leave it or drop it with him at this time, because he won't even look at what I want him to leave or take what I want him to drop. He's too busy staring at me waiting for his food. However, when I want him to do these things in real life situations, he often ignores me. We always practice sit, down, stay, and wait throughout the day.
He will sometimes return the item during fetch if I give him a treat when he drops it. He still gets very distracted by all of the smells outside and loses focus in mid run often. He does it great indoors.
His favorite outside game is to chase a ball too big for his mouth and kick it around. This exhausts him!
He ddoes well walking without any distraction in the house or yard, but once he gets out of those areas, forget it. While the Gentle Leader headcollar is on him, it's amazing! The problem is he will suddenly roll up in a ball when he gets nervous and get the nose loop off.

 Quote: Kelly Schultz

Here is a typical weekday for us:
7-7:30is: out of crate
7:30-8: on leash held by me while my dd an I have breakfast and get ready.
8:00: dd feeds him, then on leash with me again
8:30: out to potty and off for ride to take dd to school
9:00: 20-30 min walk and back out to potty
10:00: takes a nap either in crate or by me, then hangs out.
12:30: we used to walk, but since he's started growling and pulling at strangers, we usually just play fetch, find it, or practice walking in the yard, etc for around 30 minutes or longer depending on how much time I have.
1-1:30ish: lunch
1:30: sits by me with chewie while I study or work
3:00: off for ride to pick dd up from school
3:30: out in the yard to play with me and dd (somewhat)
for a half hour or so.
4:00-5:30: tethered to or by me while I get dinner
5:30 dinner
After dinner, we've been doing practice walks with the Gentle Leader in front of the house, then we hang out and do some fetch or training when we have time.
Between 9-10: out for final potty and up in our room in his crate to bed.
Obviously, this changes if we have somewhere to go..

Thanks Kelly.

Good work on having a consistant schedule; I think it helps. IMO and others may differ; I think this was a perfect schedule for a younger pup, but at 7 months; I'd say more brain work and aerobics are necessary to rid him of his excess energy.

Could you possibly tweak the times a bit to include a longer and more strenuous workout?

As an example; the walk at 9AM is there anywhere you can walk, a park or baseball field etc where he can be on a long line (will save your arm and allow him more motion) ? 20 feet of line will let him get ahead and then you can call and turn the other way and run so he has the opportunity for a few sprints and when he gets to you pull out a tug and let him have at it. If you are winded you are heading in the right direction. I would also extend this type of play to 35 minutes and then switch into a 10 minute training session, nothing fancy just practice the basics he already knows.

The 12:30 time sounds good I'd probably play fetch for 15 minutes, find it for 10 and then at least 5 minutes practicing his basic obedience.

I imagine he is excited by your daughter's return so if possible I'd try getting him out playing something strenous or the treadmill for 15 minutes before you get her. That way you can play a little when she gets home but work with both of them on his basic obedience. Her being there will increase the difficulty for him which is what you want. Tired brain and body makes for calmer dog who is easier to train.

The time outside after dinner; again I would give him a few minutes of strenuous activity and then incorporate your husband into the training.

I haven't offered any training solutions to your issues because I think you and the pup need a break. Following this schedule and a strict management routine will hopefully give you a breather and a chance to think clearly about what you want and can realistically expect from a puppy.

An observation I would like to make; playbowing and then jumping, biting, barking and growling are a puppy's way of inviting your husband to play....contrary to being dominant or aggressive; he is crying out to bond.

If you can let go of the negative pictures some of the trainers have painted of your pup and memories of the Chow's temperment issues; I think you will be in a better place to raise the pup to the dog you want.

Goodluck.

P.S. If you are not sweating and out of breath during your play sessions you are not playing hard enough...the morning one should be killer.
Did I tell you I lost 15 lbs in my dog's first year?

Great Advice, Sheila! Tiring him out before my dd comes home is a great idea. I've been set in my studying and working routine, but I can try to shuffle it a bit. Unfortunately, I just learned none of the ball fields allow dogs. When I let him on a long line to run in our yard, he just sniffs! I try to throw balls and run, but within a minute, he is sniffing again!

One more thing my husband just mentioned..when Toby jumped at him the other day on the deck, the hair on his back was standing up. I'm not sure if that means anything. He was wagging his tail just a minute before that.

If it is just inappropriate play, which I think it might be, how do I turn it to appropriate play??

One more thing, I just got more details from my husband. He said that he came up onto the deck. Toby was crouched down in a play bow, started to bark and jumped up on him. My husband turned around so his back was to him (this is what we do when he jumps on us and it usually works). Toby continued to jump and bark and also started to growl. He started to bite his shirt. My husband turned back around to face him, and calmly said "NO" and Toby's hair went up and he got more intense. He jumped up and bit his arm. That's when I got there.
This is what I'm trying to say. We don't always overreact when he does this. What should we do when he does this?? "Sit" or "Down" doesn't work when he's in this state.