<p>Years ago I was given a book entitled How to Be Your Dog’s Best Friend, put together by the Monks of New Skete (who breed and train German Shepherds). The take-away message that stuck with me from this book is the importance of understanding that dogs are social animals. The implication is that, to become well-adjusted, dogs need to be integrated into family routine. They should be allowed to be present near the dining table at meal time (but must never be encouraged to expect handouts). They always should sleep in the master’s bedroom (but never ON the bed).</p>
<p>We followed some of these principles with our last dog and they seemed to work (though breeding may have been a big factor, too.) I’ve observed neighbors who kept their dogs isolated for too many hours in a garage or other place remote from the people and wound up with noisy, annoying pets they did not keep for long. So focus on providing a good social as well as physical environment, instead of trying to train away symptoms of neurosis after it develops.</p>
<p>Puppy is left alone for short periods of time, mostly running errands. She barks and cries when I am in a different room! I am presently awaiting fencing to make the yard smaller.</p>
<p>Next step in working more on the dog door. It has a magnet control for entry from the outside, so it is a bit tricky for her to learn all the steps: approach the door, listen for the release of the lock from the magnet on her collar, then push in the door.</p>
<p>One other behavior I’d like to work on…she runs to me, but retreats when I reach to pick her up. Usually she runs to her “safe” spot (bed). I have tried getting down to her level for the pickup, but it makes no difference.</p>
<p>JazzDrumMom: generally, dogs don’t like to be looked at directly, which usually is part of picking up the puppy. It’s pretty simple, though, to teach a dog to jump into your arms. </p>
<p>dmd77: I don’t really want her to jump into my arms. She is a Maltese that will grow to only 5 lbs. They are subject to knee problems, and jumping is not good! My previous dog would run across the room and leap onto laps, chairs etc. She was equally good at jumping down, and in most cases, would be on the ground before I could stop her. After she had knee operations, she stopped jumping on her own. Very smart doggie.</p>
<p>There are also some wonderful self-calming training tips in the book Control Unleashed by Leslie McDevitt.</p>
<p>(And just a note on the maltese knee problems: subluxating patellas are a genetic problem. If you take the dog to the knee surgeon early you should be able to tell if you need to worry about your dog’s knees or not. I know maltese dogs that do agility with great success.)</p>
<p>^^^
Tried that rescue remedy stuff cause my dog is a total basket case at the vet. Didn’t do a thing. I like homeopathic stuff though…maybe it works for other dogs.</p>
<p>If your dog is a basket case at the vet, stop every single time you drive by with the dog and take the dog in and give her some treats, then leave. And if you want to prevent that kind of problem, do it once a day for a week when you first get the dog–BEFORE you take the dog for the first exam.</p>
<p>actually, he’s just fine in the waiting room where I give him lots of treats.
It’s that darn metal table. Once they put him on it, he goes nuts, to the point where they have to put a muzzle on him and hold him down. He usually whines and tries to bark through the muzzle, and drools big time. Last time, he drooled so much that he was blowing bubbles through the muzzle! Poor guy. Bad scene. I think we should look into mobile vets. (BTW - he was always fine at the vet until we took him in for overnight surgery when he was 8 months old…never was the same…I think they hurt him…perhaps on the metal table. We are at a different vet now).</p>
<p>dmd77: Great tip on the subluxating patellas.</p>
<p>Real progress here…puppy now goes in and out of dog door. Will go back in on her own with no coaxing, needs a pep talk for the exiting, but can manage quite well.</p>
<p>I’d suggest that if there are any special types of doggy treats that your pup really likes… that you give them to her by “hiding” them right outside the pet door. If the pup finds some nice surprises when she goes out on her own… she might be more inclined to check things out on her own more often. Once she gets the idea that life outdoors is an Easter egg hunt, you might hide little surprises farther away from the door. </p>
<p>I’ve done that with my dog’s crate. (The crate thing didn’t work for potty training and isn’t needed for that purpose now, but I want her to be willing to go into it if I need to confine her for other reasons – including that I would like to be able to travel with her and stay in places where she may be welcome only if crated.) My dog never knows what treats will appear in the crate that don’t show up anywhere else… so she makes a point of checking quite regularly. Of course I put the treats in the very back of the crate, so the only way to check is to go in.</p>
<p>It’s official ! Our new family member has just come home with us. she is a pembroke welsh corgi , 18 months old. We named her Stella.
Very cute , but a bit overwhelmed by our older golden , who just went nuts when we brought her in…and seems a little afraid of our cats. I don’t know if this helped or not, but I covered her crate with a quilt to try to make her feel a little safer , ay least until she gets to know them</p>
<p>Congratulations!! Stella was what I wanted to name our dog 6 years ago, but we let my 16 year old daughter name her. I never loved her name, but of course I am now use to it.</p>
<p>Many dogs like the covered crate, your girl just needs time to adjust to the rest of your crew. Good luck.</p>
<p>Hey dmd, if you are still following this thread…our new girl is a little posessive of her chewy toys and stuff when our old girl comes around ( she would never take anything from anyone let alone defend herself from even a little aggressor ) other than issueing a stern “no” to the new girl , what can I do to goster the friendship between the two…golden LOVES the new baby</p>