Nena's Life with Emmy!!! (Photos updated: 17NOV2010))

[4CrazyCanines]

And one quick thing I have to point out - puppies don't just bite out of fear. Puppies bite when they play, they bite when they're teething, they bite if they have strong herding tendencies (Diesel used to nip my heels in attempts to herd me ... ruined many sweatpants of mine!), they bite because they're curious and putting things in their mouths is how they explore their world, they bite because they're excited, etc. Just wanted to point that out - I personally think she was nipping at your feet because again, she was trying to get your attention (and nipping at your feet is an attention-seeking behavior for many puppies). Anyway, it sounds like ignoring the undesirable behaviors and reinforcing the desirable behaviors is working ... so keep up the good work!

[kian]

Yes puppies will nip, bite or mouth for various reasons, I took Emmy's thread that Nena actually bit. I have seen where scared puppies for fear of discipline will take a bite at the nearest body part in a aggressive manner, especially if the owner raised a foot to get the pups attention. I counseled owners to soften thier approach if that happens. It really is fear-confusion on the pups part when the "real bite" occurs. Emmy will have to clarify if it was a actual bite like a adult dog or just a nip. Sometimes it is hard with the forums to actually understand. Either way It looks like he is well on his way to a great dog!

[4CrazyCanines]

Kian, I apologize --- I misinterpreted your initial post about reasoning behind why puppies bite. Of course you know the countless reasons why puppies do what they do. And yes, it is definitely hard to interpret writing in the way the original author intended at times!

[Nena & Me]

Nena tried to bite, not nip... I can tell when she nips because her teeth feel soft on my skin as though she is exploring.
When she tried to bite I could tell by her body language that she was not happy. She was trying to bite down hard when she scratched me.

With this new approach I am taking I can see the results immediately. She places her paws on the sofa, but when she is ignored she moves on to the next thing. Could it be that when she was always trying to get on the sofa before and I told her 'down' she took it as positive reinforcement? I mean, I was giving her attention. She likes attention any way she can get it. maybe she knew that by touching the couch I would look at her? Now that I don't I can see out of the corner of my eye how she stares at me and waits for me to turn my head.

Now she goes to her bed, sits, and stares at me in hopes of getting a treat. I am prolonging the time from sit to treat. She is up to 20 secs! Is that a lot?

Also, I am guessing that Sicilians are not fans of dog clickers. Went to several places yesterday with negative results. It was so funny trying to explain it to them. They laughed at me trying to talk through my hands, and I laughed at them also. Good times! I will have to order one...

Any typos are the result of Nena trying to get my attention in a different way...lol. She now gets right in front of where ever I am looking...

[Nena & Me]

Also, I have ignored her behaviors with positive results, but what can I do about behaviors which cannot be ignored? For example...

She likes to play with wall plugs. I cannot ignore that in fear of her getting shocked. She constantly tries to nip at the cords plugged into the wall. I guess I can try hiding them, but the way this apartment is made I'd have to rearrange everything.

My shoes. She constantly takes them to her bed now. I cannot let her chew them up If I take it and place it back where it belongs she goes right back to grab it and drags it to her bed. I cannot give her a treat for staying in her bed with my shoe. Wouldn't that confuse her?

This is what she likes to do with my shoes. I sometimes find her with her mouth inside the shoe resting, or just nipping at it like this. Then she watches to get my attention...

[4CrazyCanines]

With this new approach I am taking I can see the results immediately. She places her paws on the sofa, but when she is ignored she moves on to the next thing. Could it be that when she was always trying to get on the sofa before and I told her 'down' she took it as positive reinforcement? I mean, I was giving her attention. She likes attention any way she can get it. maybe she knew that by touching the couch I would look at her? Now that I don't I can see out of the corner of my eye how she stares at me and waits for me to turn my head.

This is all so great to hear, Emmy! Dogs love and crave attention. Of course they love positive interaction (such as playing fetch or being petted). But, if you're too busy to interact with them positively, they'll seek out negative attention from you just as quickly! From personal experience, here's a scenario that I often faced. As I studied for an exam, Diesel would continuously place his frisbee in my lap and look at me like, "Ok, mom, it's time to go play and you really don't need to study!" Because I would be trying to study (and thus ignoring him), he would decide to change his tactics - he would change his positive attention-seeking behavior to a negative one, his favorite being find Evee, pounce on her, and bark continuously in her face. I would then have one wild dog in a barking fury and one annoyed dog growling nonstop. Diesel knew that this behavior would get my attention almost immediately. And it always did - I would eventually cave in and go scold Diesel for "being a brat". As humans, we communicate verbally - we respond to our dog's behavior by scolding our dog. Whenever any displayed behavior receives a response from us (even if it's verbally scolding our dog), that behavior is reinforced. In a dog's mind, any behavior that we pay attention to (and thus satisfy the dog's desire for attention) is effective and the dog will maintain that behavior to some extent. Any behavior that is ignored (such as what you're seeing with Nena) will eventually disappear. Diesel learned that if I ignored his positive-seeking behavior (trying to get me to play with one of his toys), he could always revert to a negative-seeking behavior (i.e. annoying Evee to no end) in order to get my attention. A way to work on this is catching the dog being good and always reinforcing the good behavior. This could include praising the dog when he is chewing on his bone instead of your shoe, petting the dog when he is laying down by your side quietly instead of jumping all over you, clicking and treating the dog when he returns to you (for any reason) while at the dog park, etc. Any behavior that is reinforced (whether positively or negatively) will be repeated in some degree so reinforce only the behaviors that you want repeated!

As far as the behaviors that just cannot be ignored (chewing on your shoes or chewing electrical cords), I would personally try to divert her attention. Does she know recalls yet ("come" or "here")? I would appear to ignore her negative behavior (that way you're not reinforcing it negatively and she thinks she's not getting your attention), go into another room, and call her to you. As soon as she recalls, give an immediate click and treat (mark the desired behavior as soon as it happens). Then I would try to get her to either play with one of her toys or chew on one of her bones. In the meantime (while she's distracted), go retrieve your shoes and place them out of her sight (or try and cover/hide the electrical cord). Go back to Nena and praise her immensely for staying occupied by playing with her toy or chewing on her bone. This is what I would do but hopefully others have some say on this subject!

A couple things about clickers --- clickers work on the basis of operant conditioning. A click is simply a marker signal. It tells the dog exactly what he was doing right at that point in time. Behaviors marked by the click (and therefore reinforced), are more likely to happen again. When the trainer "clicks" and marks the behavior, the dog is given a high value reward (either food or a toy, whichever your dog will work the hardest for). This method is very successful with many dogs because it pairs an event marker (the click) with a reward. The dog then associates the sound of the click with a positive reward, making the click a conditioned or secondary reinforcer and rewarding in itself! One thing I wanted to point out (since Sicily appears to be devoid of clickers lol) is that you can use a marker word (I personally use "Yes!") instead of a click. The principle is still the same - marker signal (which becomes the secondary reinforcer) followed by high-value reward (primary reinforcer). Because you're just starting to work with Nena, make sure that you maintain an extremely high rate of reinforcement (i.e. click/"Yes!" and reward her incessantly)!

Karen Pryor is the pioneer in the clicker-training world of training. I highly recommend her book, "Getting Started: Clicker Training for Dogs", to help get you a solid foundation in clicker-training. She also has a website, http://www.clickertraining.com/, which has free training articles, training tips, and even blogs where she answers some frequently asked questions. I highly recommend that resource as well!

Anyway, I didn't mean to write a novel! I hope that some of this helps and that you continue having success with Nena.

[lynners]

A Merle & Me, please write more novels! I love love love reading your posts because you and I are so on the same wave length when it comes to training/behaviour.

Karen Pryor is brilliant. Her book "Don't Shoot the Dog" is also excellent.

[kian]

Yes I echo the same thoughts, excellent post!! Emmy teach the "leave it" command with the plugs and the shoes and then substitute for another valued item. When you see her going after the plugs, clap your hands loudly (just once) and step forward on one leg using that stern face and "say leave", no nonense.

Merle I had to chuckle at your description of Diesel going after Evee, I have that exact thing happening now. It's raining out and I have two dogs in a travel trailer. Ice is annoying the heck out of Allie. Since he has associated the clap with the "leave it", I clapped once and he came straight to me, thus leaving Allie alone.....a few minutes. Time to bundle up and go for a w.a.l.k.

Emmy your doing great!

[4CrazyCanines]

Lynners & Kian --- Thank you SO much for the those words!! It means so much to me, especially coming from the two of you. And Kian, that's why they're called "bossy Aussies" I think - they just have to drive us nuts sometimes lol!

Emmy, I would definitely teach Nena the "leave it" command, as Kian suggested. That is a very useful command and has actually protected Diesel's health and safety at some points in time (kept him from picking up cigarettes, licking a poisonous caterpillar, getting attacked by a feral cat, etc). This is a really great video that explains a way to train this command by using positive reinforcement and clicker training (and again, you can use "Yes!" as a marker signal until you get your clicker). Hope this helps!

[SookDog]

Hahah, Kian - I laughed out loud at how you spell out w-a-l-k. Seriously, something only dog people (or baby people, I guess) would get. I have to spell c-h-e-e-s-e now and p-a-r-k, because saying either word sends Sookie into a frenzy!

Emmy, the clicker is wonderful - order away! A merle & me (I'm sorry, I don't know your name ) suggested some great reading material. I had a hard time figuring out the timing of the clicker at the beginning, but then someone told me to think of it as the sound of a camera shutter. You're literally taking a picture (with the sound) of the exact behavior you want your dog to replicate. The interesting thing about the click is that they've found that it can bypass the learning center of the brain and go right to the emotion center, so it's always associated with happy feelings and tasty treats. You effectively engage their entire brain in training with it, and results are super fast. I loop a hair tie into mine and wear it around my wrist in the apartment, so it's always at hand (I also have a few because I've been known to scatter them around ) You can substitute a marker word, which is what I've done for behaviors she has down really well, like sit, touch, paw etc. When Sookie sees the clicker she gets right to work!

A Merle & Me, I second Lynners' sentiments. So well written and informative!

[4CrazyCanines]

Oops --- I just realized that I didn't give the link to the video I was talking about! Here it is - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNAOe1djDyc This trainer also has other great training videos if you're interested! Her YouTube username is "kikopup".

SookDog --- Oh cheese is a big one that we have to spell. One time we ordered a cheese pizza over the phone and guess who was sitting at our feet before we hung up the phone? Lol! And I go by Kas so you can call me that if you want ... I'm horrible with names (except for dog names haha) so that's why I normally put people's usernames! The camera example is brilliant - I'm going to use that example in order to explain clicker-training from now on if you don't mind! And thank you - I'm great at writing about things that I'm passionate about. Grant proposals or term papers? Now that's a different story

[Nena & Me]

AWESOME advice! Nena seems to keep improving with the new attitude. I can actually pet her when she sits without getting nipped... Most times... Plus, less of my shirts have been getting ripped! lol...

I also just got done watching Marley and Me. Great movie and gave me a whole different point of view on a lifetime relationship with a dog. The ending was very sad! I will really hate life when that time comes. I also hope she doesn't behave that way...lol

[Nena & Me]

Nena's newest dilema...

My nena seems to have been getting confused lately. She will spend time outside doing her stuff and playing, then she comes inside to hang out... but as soon as she goes to her bed she goes number 1. She won't pee on the bed, but instead right in front of it. She spends a lot of time on the bed now. I am not sure why she is doing this. I have watched her and caught her in the action. I then walk her to where she is supposed to go. When she goes pee at her bed and I am coming, then she will run outside.

Any advice?

[kian]

I read the book Marley and Me and then watched the movie, I picked out all the things they did wrong from the start.

Nena could be outside playing and just doesn't go before she comes in. That's where you come in, you will have to be outside and encourage her to pee, then praise. You have a tile floor? That will be easy to clean up the smell with some Clorox. Watch to make sure she pees first, limit her water about 2 hours before bedtime. If she continues to do this after you have seen her actually pee outside, then it's time to crate her at night for awhile until you can get this under control again. Pups will actually forget to pee with all the distractions and it could be there is something that is frightening her at night when outside. The act in itself is a vulnerable thing for a dog, if she isn't feeling secure at night, then she won't pee. This is where you get to play detective!

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Kian's advice is absolutely spot on, as usual. May I also caution you to be certain that she hasn't somehow acquired a UTI (Urinary Tract Infection).

If she is going to the bathroom more frequently, or just going a little bit here and there, it may be time to double check with your vet to make sure there is no medical reason for these "accidents". She is probably fine, but as Kian said, you really need to watch her and make sure you see her do her business so you know exactly what is happening.

Good luck!


P.S. Put your shoes in the closet!