General Puppy Issues(Mini-Husky)

• 08-01-2007 10:33 PM

  KotasDad Joined on 08-02-2007 Posts 1 Points 0

  General Puppy Issues(Mini-Husky) Reply Contact Hi First I just want to say thank you for all your help.  I got Kota, who is a Alaskan Klee Kai (Mini Husky) on June 8th, and is almost 14 weeks and is about 7lbs.  He has been with me for almost 2 months now.  I got him at 7.5 weeks(I realize now that was a little early).  You all helped me get through the first few days where I thought I was killing him when he cried all night in his crate  or that puppy nipping was normal(yelping and leaving the room is VERY effective).  I use positive reinforcement, combined with clicker training. We have been going to puppy play group on sat and sun for about a month now.  We are currently in puppy kindergarden and one day a week he goes to puppy day care where he plays with other puppies from 7am till 12:30(and is then pooped for the rest of the day).  He has all his shots.  He is very loving, friendly and hasn't had an accident in the house in a long time.  So now on to my issues and what I have been doing to work on them.  1)  Lack of attention to dad when he is interested in a bug, dog, cat, smell etc....     We practice the name game but he has no interest in food or anything else when he has his heart set on sniffing etc...I have heard the breed can be stubborn but I really think its that food doesn't compete with those others interests.  2)  Overwhelmed by big dogs and rough play.      He does really well with dogs his size, though he loves to dominate and snarl(but in a playfull manner).  He does get seperated at times because he gets too rough and will kind of nip at the person seperating him.  From what I understand rough play is sort of a husky thing.  The problem is when a bigger dog starts batting him around and he will run away and try to get space but if they don't leave him alone he will start snarling and growling and getting frenzied.  When you seperate him then, he is far more upset and will nip and struggle big time.  The day care trainer has suggested that he has dominance issues, and started talking about rolling him on his back when he starts getting out of control.  I think I talked her into praising his positive behavior instead.  I am not sure how to correct this other than to not let him around puppies that are bigger, but that doesn't seem like a very good social plan. He is very friendly to older dogs, loves being handled by everyone and loves meeting and sniffing other dogs. 3)  Not very food motivated     He doesn't really care too much about breakfast/lunch/dinner.  Most puppies can't wait to get these but he really could care less most of the time.  He will eat some, then go play, come back and eat a little more.  I am feeding Innova Puppy food.  Most of the time maybe a 1/2 cup of food, but that's combined with constant treats for behaviors.  I leave food out for like an hour and then take it away, though at night I think I am guilty of leaving it out for longer cause I get worried he will shrivel and die.  4)  He still pulls at my pants and shoelaces     I try to ignore this and give him no attention but its tough because he does a little damages and he plays tug of war with my shoe laces as I walk out of the room.  So thanks again, I appreciate all the help when I needed it the most(even though you didn't know it)

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• 08-01-2007 11:30 PM

  In reply to KotasDad

  Xeph Joined on 06-25-2006 Green Bay, WI Posts 1,792 Points 10

  RE: General Puppy Issues(Mini-Husky) Reply Contact 1)  Lack of attention to dad when he is interested in a bug, dog, cat, smell etc....   Normal.   That tells me you're in an area with too many distractions for him, and you perhaps need to move back indoors, and work on "watch me" before you progess to an area with more scents, sights, and sounds.   Rule of thumb is "No eyes, no ears", aka, if your pup isn't looking at you, he's not paying attention to you.   2)  Overwhelmed by big dogs and rough play.  Big dogs need to learn to play nicely with little ones.  See if you can find a "Veteran" of playing with small dogs, and introduce Kota to them, so he can learn that big dogs aren't all evil jerks who are going to try and squash him.   3)  Not very food motivated Motivation for food is talking more about during a training scenario than during meal time.  My GSD is extremely food driven, but he's not a fast eater.  Eager to eat?  Sure, but...it's not quite the same.   Don't leave the food down so long.  15-20 minutes, and then it's up, up, and away!  Tough noogies until next meal.   4)  He still pulls at my pants and shoelaces I'd expect that for awhile yet.  If ignoring isn't working, gently disengage him from your pants, say "No chew!" and make sure you have something to trade with him (a stuffie toy, chew bone, etc), and praise him for chewing that.   If he persists, place him in his kennel with a kong for a few minutes.  A little "time out".  He doesn't associate the kennel with anything bad this way, AND you can get a puppy break and attempt to save your clothing. Marcato Shepherds Where it's about function, not flash

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• 08-02-2007 2:57 AM

  In reply to KotasDad

  janet_rose Joined on 09-10-2007 DFW area, Texas Posts 3,781 Points 330

  RE: General Puppy Issues(Mini-Husky) Reply Contact KotasDad, welcome to i-dog!  [sm=welcome2.gif]  Your pup is precious!  KotasDad: The day care trainer has suggested that he has dominance issues, and started talking about rolling him on his back when he starts getting out of control.  I think I talked her into praising his positive behavior instead.  Good job!  The trainer was talking about an "alpha roll" which is extremely inappropriate for a puppy.    The alpha roll was based on wolf studies that supposedly showed that the alpha rolled a subordinate who then submitted.  In actuality the subordinate voluntarily rolls to show submission and the alpha ritualistically grasps the neck or stands over the subordinate to show dominance.   There are no studies that show how frequently an alpha wolf may (1) force a roll and then allow the challenger to submit as opposed to (2) forcing a role and then killing the challenger.   Personally I feel that an alpha roll is a death threat to a dog and I don't think that has any place in developing a relationship with a dog.  It is also likely to get a person badly hurt if the dog is dominant and/or aggressive.     KotasDad: 4)  He still pulls at my pants and shoelaces  Your pants and shoelaces need to start "hurting" - yelp and ignore.

  Filed under: alpha roll Post Points: 0

• 08-02-2007 6:34 AM

  In reply to KotasDad

  Jen D Joined on 07-22-2007 Posts 165 Points 0

  RE: General Puppy Issues(Mini-Husky) Reply Contact I like your advise janet_rose and I myself think that the pup is to young for a roll I feel that positive training is a good thing. There are two stages your pup will go through the fright stage and you would not want that at  this stage because of behavior you will have to deal with at an older age. I can remember rescuing an American bulldog who was in labor that had ten pups. If no one was at home I did a bad thing and let them all hang to my pant leg till I got them in their outside kennel, I wore long pants a lot when dealing with the pups.

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• 08-02-2007 7:17 AM

  In reply to KotasDad

  mrv Joined on 09-10-2007 west central OH Posts 2,700 Points 745

  RE: General Puppy Issues(Mini-Husky) Reply Contact I think shortening the access time to food is a good idea.  I would also consider hand feeding the first part of any meal.  Puppy looks at you, puppy gets a piece of kibble.  Puppy doesnt look, no food.  If puppy is not interested in food, put it away and try again later (regular feeding time).  You can still use some treats for training, but try and use the kibble too.  Limit the really good treats to learning new behaviors.    To try and succeed with the name game get really good treats (I like Solid Gold jerky treats, easy to break into small pieces, all meat, no filler type stuff etc).  Make sure he responds perfectly in the house or some other low distraction area (looks every time for 4 days in a row with 3-4 practice sessions per day 7-10 trials).  Then put on a buckle collar and a drag line.  Go some where more distracting.  When he drops his nose to sniff, step on the line to restrict movement.  WAIT until he responsed to the restriction by looking toward you, say his name and treat.  Release the pressure on the line, let him wander.  Repeat 7-10 times.  Pairing the restriction, the release and the treat has a greater probability to working since he gets both the treat and access to sniffing.

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• 08-02-2007 9:37 AM

  In reply to KotasDad

  Pit_Pointer_Aussie Joined on 04-13-2007 Upstate New York Posts 1,255 Points 125

  RE: General Puppy Issues(Mini-Husky) Reply Contact ORIGINAL: mrv I would also consider hand feeding the first part of any meal.  Puppy looks at you, puppy gets a piece of kibble.  Puppy doesnt look, no food.  If puppy is not interested in food, put it away and try again later (regular feeding time).  You can still use some treats for training, but try and use the kibble too.  Limit the really good treats to learning new behaviors. This really worked for my Aussie puppy. She was a slow eater and not food motivated when we first brought her home. For about a month she ate every piece of kibble from my hand as a reward for checking in with me (looking at me while she was doing something else) or as a reward for coming when I say her name. It took a while, but she is really good about coming when called and she is extremely food motivated all the time. We are up to her eating 60% of her daily calories at meal time, and 40% while training. The biggest upside is that for small training sessions around the house, I only need kibble and she will work like it is steak! It's just a better life with dogs.

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