Hi All,
A little background..My last dog lived to be 15 years old and she was a dream. I told myself that was my last dog and opted for a cat..Well on a trip to Pet Smart..There was Lilly..A survivor of a double dog attack who had her jugular ripped open and was left for dead. Well with a wonderful vet and the Georgia rescue she has now become my beloved Lilly..She is 7 mo old 40lb Lab/Hound. I have ordered..Prong collar, dominant collar, Pack and Dog Obedience videos. I have been following the groundwork article. She has been separated from the family (Just my husband and the cat) I am the only one to feed, walk and care for her. So here are my questions..This is my 3rd full day with her..
1) We are going on walks but they are crazy as she has HUGE Prey drive..should there be corrections or should the walks just be to get her out?
2) Is she still a puppy? Again the guess is that she is 7mo-10mo old so I am confused on how much isolation and non-bonding I do right now
3) Crate time..I do have her tied to me at all times when in the house but as you know that can't happen all day. How much "out of the crate time" is enough right now if at all. When she is out can I give her a chew bone?
4) At what point do I remove her crate from isolation and into the family setting
5) Potty breaks..How often? Last night I put her to bed at 9:00 and took her out at 6:00 am she has not had any accidents at all in the crate.
6) She will sit when I exit the door and then sit while I get my coat and shoes on and then she also is sitting when returning home..This happened in just the two days I have been with her..Should I be marking with food or just praise at this point..
7) The Prey drive..I have a cat..I live in the woods so anytime she sees the cat or anything outside she goes crazy. I want to stop this now..She is never alone with the cat! But I want to develop the correct correction now. Or do I use the distraction method..Get her attention have her sit and then mark the good behavior with a high end treat???
8) When do I bring in play time? Since I am following the GW with a new dog at what point will this happen. I know she want to to play but I have kept my affection to a min. Only giving praise or a pet for her good-behavior.
9) Will my husband ever be able to engage with her? He is also an animal lover but in the reading I have learned that in the beginning the pack leader should be the only one engaging the dog..

Ok well that is a lot and I really appreciate the help...I am 110% committed to Lilly and making her a beloved family dog that is calm and well behaved. I have the time to do the work and I don't fear being the pack leader. I look forward to the time that she can be my companion in walking/running/travel and life

K

Hi Kristina,

Welcome to the forum.

I'm not a pro trainer, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but I'd invest my time in researching marker training. Study everything you can on this site involving the topic and order the videos if you can possibly afford it. You'll build a better relationship with your dog and I think both of you will be happier in the long run.

Also, can I add that since you are on just your third day with a new dog, you will want to have the dog crated or tethered to you all the time (more tethered than crated when you are there) when indoors.

On walks, what is triggering the "huge prey drive"? Squirrels, other dogs, what?

Potty trips: For me with a new dog, the more the better, with praise, so a mistake just never has a chance to happen and no bad habit gets any toehold whatsoever.

You have lots of points to cover, and I'm sure others will pop on as their time permits and perhaps address a couple at a time.

And yes, I'm with Meredith on the marker video. Did you order it?

WELCOME!

Welcome! Thanks for rescuing your new friend. I'll chime in with opinions on a couple of points.

 Quote: kristina woolf

2) Is she still a puppy? Again the guess is that she is 7mo-10mo old so I am confused on how much isolation and non-bonding I do right now

Yes, she's a puppy. I don't understand the concept of non-bonding. Bonding to you and your family is exactly what you want, right? The puppy should be tethered to you as much as possible. The crate, IMO, is for those times when you cannot be engaged with her for whatever reason. But isolation for its own sake isn't a concept I understand.

 Quote: kristina woolf

3) Crate time..I do have her tied to me at all times when in the house but as you know that can't happen all day. How much "out of the crate time" is enough right now if at all. When she is out can I give her a chew bone?

Again, IMO, crates are for protecting the dog (and your home) from harm when there is no better option. But she's not bonding or socializing in the crate, and I think that's what puppies need.

 Quote: kristina woolf

6) She will sit when I exit the door and then sit while I get my coat and shoes on and then she also is sitting when returning home..This happened in just the two days I have been with her..Should I be marking with food or just praise at this point..

This says to me that this pup wants to please you and wants your attention and is showing you in appropriate ways. (sitting for your attention is appropriate, jumping on you is not.) OF COURSE you should be positively marking this kind of behavior. The kind of reward is based on what the dog responds to. If she's food motivated, get her to work for treats. If she prefers toys, use that. You can also scale the reward based on what she does. Eliminating outside now ought to get a big party. Sitting quietly next to you while you're on the computer might just get an occasional soft look or gentle praise. Ignoring is the response for behaviors you DON'T want. If you do not acknowledge good behaviors, they will go away.

 Quote: kristina woolf

9) Will my husband ever be able to engage with her? He is also an animal lover but in the reading I have learned that in the beginning the pack leader should be the only one engaging the dog..

Is the dog somehow reacting to your husband? i.e. afraid of men? If not, then OF COURSE your husband should be interacting with her. He lives there, right? The dog should be "interacting" with everything in her new world. You, your husband, your vacuum cleaner, your drive-through bank, a toothbrush,--etc. IMO, If you want a well-adjusted companion dog, the most important thing you can do is to get her out of the crate when ever that is feasible and continue to build on the positive cues you're already getting from her that she wants to learn and to please. Her world should be as big as possible, not as small.

 Quote: kristina woolf

2) Is she still a puppy? Again the guess is that she is 7mo-10mo old so I am confused on how much isolation and non-bonding I do right now

3) Crate time..I do have her tied to me at all times when in the house but as you know that can't happen all day. How much "out of the crate time" is enough right now if at all. When she is out can I give her a chew bone?

6) She will sit when I exit the door and then sit while I get my coat and shoes on and then she also is sitting when returning home..This happened in just the two days I have been with her..Should I be marking with food or just praise at this point..

Welcome!

I'll take a couple...

Yes, she's still a puppy. She's not a baby puppy, but she's a pup.

Regarding crate times, I have to give my disclaimer first. I'm not intimately familiar with the GW program here, so this is just based on my own way of doing things.

I like to use a crate schedule, especially with a baby puppy. It's not written in stone, in the sense that you can certainly get your dog out if you want when it might be scheduled crate time, but dogs thrive on schedules and on knowing what is going to happen, when.

So, for example, you get up, get your pup out and outside to do it's business, play some, feed/water/hang together, outside again, then back into the crate for a couple/three hours (depending on age, and your's is old enough to stay in the crate for three hours at a stretch). Anytime you can't be directly supervising her, she should be in the crate. When she's out of it, tethered to you or otherwise watched like a hawk.

Then, you might get her out again around lunchtime, same sort of deal, then back in for afternoon rest. Out again for late afternoon/dinner time with her, back in for early evening, back out again...whatever works for your own schedule. This builds in plenty of time for you to take care of living life details without having to worry about supervising her.

With a very young pup, it's outside before and after everything (play, training, eating, chewing...). I'm with Connie in believing you can't go wrong giving her plenty of opportunities to learn where the bathroom is.

As far as the marking with food or praise...first, I assume you mean is it OK to use praise after a mark, or do you have to use food? Generally speaking, with marker training, food is the general reward that is paired with the marker, initially. Once the dog understands that a reward comes from the mark, you can use whatever the dog finds reinforcing...toys, food, affection, etc.

For what you are doing right now, I'd just keep in mind that any behavior that is reinforced will be repeated. So, praise your dog for doing what you want her to do; if she responds to verbal praise and/or affection, use that. I wouldn't worry too much about the marker stuff until you've had a chance to read up on it some more and feel more comfortable with it.

She's a lucky girl!

leih

Also, I just realized this: "I am following the GW with a new dog."


This is a puppy.

http://leerburg.com/puppygroundwork.htm

Thank You all so much for your input!

I am going to order the Marker Training DVD

I am following the GW article along with introducing a new dog into a home with a cat. Ed speaks of keeping the dog separate the first weeks maybe even weeks when new to the house. He also talked about the pack leader being the only one to feed, walk, and care for the dog and that goes with not having other family members "Gush" over her in the initial stages. She is not aggressive at all with us just really excitable when she sees birds, squirrels or our cat!! Today we used the prong collar on our walk and it was AMAZING!! No pulling just a nice fast 50 min walk! I look forward to all of your input as Lilly and I move along in our training. I would love to have her certified as a therapy dog someday..Any input on that?

Also, since I am still waiting on my DVD and input you have for corrections would be helpful..I had her out with my all night while cleaning the kitchen, dinner and TV (attached to my belt) She did great except for when we sat down she wanted to get on the couch, chew the table, scratch the rug...I am giving her toys but she would rather chew her leash..So I am wondering what collar she should be wearing inside and what type of corrections applies for this puppy behavior. Thanks so so so much! Did I mention I can't wait for the DVD!

Oh PS
We took a trip to the Vet yesterday to follow-up from her attack and he told me expect her to be about 60 plus pounds and that she was basically dead when they brought her in and he is amazed at how fearless and friendly she is..She was awesome in the car but I am still going to get her a travel crate.

PPS..Sorry I am just really excited..my heart has been empty for a long-time..Nice to put my energy into Lilly

Thank You all so much for your input!

I am going to order the Marker Training DVD

I am following the GW article along with introducing a new dog into a home with a cat. Ed speaks of keeping the dog separate the first weeks maybe even weeks when new to the house. He also talked about the pack leader being the only one to feed, walk, and care for the dog and that goes with not having other family members "Gush" over her in the initial stages. She is not aggressive at all with us just really excitable when she sees birds, squirrels or our cat!! Today we used the prong collar on our walk and it was AMAZING!! No pulling just a nice fast 50 min walk! I look forward to all of your input as Lilly and I move along in our training. I would love to have her certified as a therapy dog someday..Any input on that?

Also, since I am still waiting on my DVD and input you have for corrections would be helpful..I had her out with my all night while cleaning the kitchen, dinner and TV (attached to my belt) She did great except for when we sat down she wanted to get on the couch, chew the table, scratch the rug...I am giving her toys but she would rather chew her leash..So I am wondering what collar she should be wearing inside and what type of corrections applies for this puppy behavior. Thanks so so so much! Did I mention I can't wait for the DVD!

Oh PS
We took a trip to the Vet yesterday to follow-up from her attack and he told me expect her to be about 60 plus pounds and that she was basically dead when they brought her in and he is amazed at how fearless and friendly she is..She was awesome in the car but I am still going to get her a travel crate.

PPS..Sorry I am just really excited..my heart has been empty for a long-time..Nice to put my energy into Lilly