Training a puppy- looking for tips/suggestions

[anomaly13]

We got an 8 month old pit bull/jack russell mix over the weekend. A big reason for the dog is to watch the house when we are not home, which is not that often probably a few hours a day 2-3 days a week, and to alert us at night if something is going on outside in our yard, like we are being robbed or something (this just happened to us last week). He is definatly a family dog, he is great with our kids and listens really. He sleeps inside at night and spends a lot of time outside during the day when we are home. We have about .25 acre fenced yard fro him to have free rage over. I walk him every morning after breakfast and before we run errands for about an hour. Some days he gets an afternoon walk depending on when my son gets up from his nap and how late/dark it is. On the weekends we will spend at least one day in the woods/mountains with him and the other day he will get two walks. Right now the main thing we are trying to figure out is what to do with him while we are away. So far I have left him home alone once for about 20-30 minutes and came home to a torn up mini blind and him sitting on the back of the couch/window sil with the curtins all pushed away (we don't let him on the couches/beds when we are home). We would love to keep him in the yard while we are gone but worry about him jumping the fence, in back it is 6 foot but in front it is much shorter. Since a main reason for getting him was to watch the house having him tied up doesn't make sense nor do I think it's very nice. And crating him in the house seems to miss the point as well. This evening we went next door to my sisters house and left him in the yard and told him to "stay". He did good for awhile, staying in the same place and just watching the house but eventually he jumped the fence and came over to her door, probably because he knew we were inside. I don't think he wants to run away, I unleash him on walks and he stays close and we take him in the yard with the gate open and he stay in. So how do you teach a pup to stay in the yard while your away? I was thinking of sending dh nextdoor and then leaving in the car with the kids and leaving the dog in the yard. That way dh could watch and see what he does without the dog knowing he was nextdoor and if he did try to chase after us or something dh could go after him.

Also I have taken him with on the rest of the errands and left him in the car for maybe 20 minutes at the longest, however I put him in the trunk of our minivan while driving and when I come out of the store he is always in the front seat. I am guessing it's because he is young and we are a new family and he isn't sure what is happening, anxiety maybe? What should I do about that, hopefully we won't actually be taking him in the car much once we figure out a way to leave him in the yard.

And what about jumping. He doesn't jump on us much, just when we get him really excited or are playing with him, but he jumps on other prople when he meets them, so far it has just been family becase when we meet other people he is usually leashed and I can hold him tight. How do we curb the jumping?

Any good books to read or sites to visit, tips or suggestions?

[greenmagick]

Personally I wouldnt leave him in the yard...its just not safe. He needs to learn the house rules before you let him have free range of the house...and that means either crating or confining to a puppy proof room.

Books....I love everything by Patricia McConnell. Karen Pryor I like as well.

Suzanne Clothier has a great book on dogs, but it is not training per se, but her website has a bunch of great articles.

Ian Dunbar's Before and After YOu Get Your Puppy is great too....I dont have the link on this computer, but if you google it there is a free pdf of the book....one for before and one for after.

[~*max*~]

I agree w/the above poster. 8 months old is still a puppy, albeit an "adolescent" one. He needs a good training & foundation before he is able to be the watchdog you want. Once you lay that foundation, he will know what is expected of him and aim to please you. Dogs love to have a job. It sounds like you are off to a great start w/the exercise and family involvement.

Also, crate training really taps into a dog's instinctual denning instinct. It is not cruel or unkind at all if done properly. Our pup goes into his crate on his own, w/the door open, when he wants a little quiet time. We crate trained our Rottweiler/Shepherd mix as a pup and she was the best watchdog ever. (As she got older she needed the crate less, and after a couple of years we did not use it at all.)

Good luck and have fun!

[russsk]

I third the crate training. It will really help him understand the rules of the house. After a bit you can stop locking the crate, and just ask him to go in. You can also leave him with a kong stuffed with treats, which will keep him occupied and less interested in your blinds.

[Ola_]

I agree with crate training - especially since he's still in that boisterous adolescent phase and will mellow some with age. Many dogs really take to their crate after the initial adjustment and will seek it out later. One of my dogs really didn't like it at first, but now if there are fireworks (which she is afraid of) she will often go to her crate and curl up in it.

BTW, we adopted Chaos at about 6-8 months old and she was crated till about 1.5-2 years old. She has free run of the house now when we are home and away, but we started it gradually - once I felt she was ready to be un-crated we confined her in a room (our bedroom, where her crate was). Keep in mind that a dog's bark is the deterrent, and if someone knocks on the door while he's crated he will likely still bark in response.

I would not leave him in the yard. Since he can get out, it could happen at any time - the one occasion of your husband watching him doesn't tell you what will happen every other time. Also, dogs don't escape from the yard because they "want to run away". There are all kinds of doggie temptations out there like squirrels, other dogs going on a walk, loud truck or thunder that scares them, etc. You can't be sure that one of these won't happen while you're gone and IMO one yard escape is one too many - it can mean the difference between a dog and a dead dog.

[anomaly13]

Thanks for the responses. We are def. going to do the crate thing, right now I take him with me in the car to run sort errands but I don't want my new van ruined or dirty/covered in hair. He has jumped the fence twice now while we were home, each time he just went into sil front yard and sat there. I am thinking of adding something like this http://www.unchainyourdog.org/FenceExtend.htm to our fence in the back so he cannot get into the front yard and jump that fence.

As for crate training how do you know when your dog is ready to be left out of the crate while your away?

Also, anyone use a barrier in their car to keep the dog in the back? Thinking this would be a good idea since he can climb over the back seats and out of the trunk, sometimes while I'm driving, only to come sit between the front seats or right behind them. But if we are going to do the crate thing then he would rearly be in the car with us, only when we are taking him somewhere in which case the trunk my be full of strollers and other gear so he would have to sit in the main part of the car. I guess we should do one thing at a time, crate first.

[gingerstar]

Another great book is My Smart Puppy - I like many of their books, especially the one about kids and dogs. I also love P. McConnell, too.

Our dog loves her crate - but be warned that the first two or three nights can be tough ones. It is like CIO for dogs - but it really is worth it, and my dog does love her crate, and goes in by choice in the evening.

For when to leave them out at night- that will vary by dog, but you will see them becoming more trustworthy, in terms of not doing what they shouldn't. My dog is 18 mos, and is just now showing signs that she may someday be trustworthy! She has been redecorating the tree, right now....

[Ola_]

I would consider crating him in the car also. If he is not staying put it's not safe for him (he could get injured in an accident or even a sudden stop) and not safe for others in the vehicle in an accident. If a crate in the car is not an option, I'd definitely consider a tether/doggie seatbelt setup.

Re: yard, I prefer to only have the dogs out there supervised anyway. They can get into a lot of trouble besides jumping the fence - digging and making a mess, barking and irritating the neighbours, digging under the fence even, chewing things up they're not supposed to.

For crating, I'd put the crate at night in the room where you sleep. That way he won't feel like he has been abandoned and you can tell him to hush or go back to sleep if needed. Putting a blanket over top if you get a wire crate is good, though personally I prefer the plastic airline-style ones and my dogs seem to like them better too (more den-like I guess).

[Oubliette8]

I'm all for crate training, but I'm wondering- you say you left him home alone once, and you came home to your blinds destroyed and him looking out the window? Many dogs LIKE looking out the window when their master is away. Frankly, I don't object with my dogs. A dog in the window- particularly a pit mix is going to be a deterrent all on its own. Plus, it allows them to keep watch over the house and yard- its much easier to protect the house if you can see who's approaching. I'd prefer my dog watched than barked every time he heard footsteps near the house, you know? with all my dogs, the behavior has been limited to times we are not home. The know they aren't "allowed" in the window, and they don't do it when we're there. But when we've gone out, I don't particularly mind coming home to evidence that they've been watching and waiting.

I guess, I'm wondering if, since the only damage was to the blinds in front of the window, what if you just left them open enough for him to see out and removed and breakables etc? If you're really opposed to the dog in the window, then yes, crate train, but I think it could have its benefits, and really, its not like he's chewing up your furniture or peeing on your floors.

As far as the car, my dog always waits for me in the drivers seat when I run in, no matter where she was when I left. I suppose its probably because it smells strongest of me. I simply put her back to where ever she needs to be. If its an issue for you- have him ride in a crate, or buy one of those barriers. Goodness knows when transporting a muddy dog home I sometimes wish i had one! lol. I do not recommend leaving a dog in a seat belt unattended in the car most of the time. In my experience, dogs tend to get tangled in them fairly quickly. Also, they are almost all fabric, and a bored dog will chew out of one fast.

[anomaly13]

Well I don't think we need to crate him at night as he is already very well behaved when we are asleep. I think we would only do it when we are not at home for a few hours running errands.

I also think he should be able to be free to roam the yard unsuprevised, I do look out the window every once in a while right now to be sure. He spends a lot of his day outside because he wants to and I cannot possibly be out there with him all the time. Is it possible to train a dog not to jump the fence while we are home? While we are away would be good to but for now I think we will crate him while we are away.

As far as the miniblinds he broke the ones on the side, I think when I backed the car up he ran over to that window and they were closed and he jumped on them. The ones in the front window were not damaged but could have been. We moved the couch from that window so it will be less tempting. I think I will leave them open a little so he can look out with something for him to sit on so he's not jumping all over to look out, but of course this will be after we do crate training. A pit in the window is a deterrant but having the window open shows off all our stuff, not that we have much but it gives anyone a chance to take a look for future reference, kwim?

Overall he is really well behaved, housetrained and knows sit, stay, come but is a little stubborn with them. We do need to get him a few more toys as the ones he has had are not lasting with his chewing, but rawhides have been great to occupy him.

[Ola_]

Just putting him in the crate when you leave the house is not really crate-training though. It is very likely to create a negative association with the crate and he may resist going in there.

Is training a dog to stay in the yard when no one is home possible, when the fence is easy to jump? Maybe, but IMO it's not realistic and carries pretty high risk when he decides to jump it.

Also, I'd stop thinking that he is being stubborn with commands. You just need to practice and build some consistency (and follow-through each time he doesn't do a command). Dogs aren't really stubborn, but they easily get confused and don't generalize well.

[anomaly13]

So am I supposed to put him in the crate all the time? I don't get it. He will have the option to go in the crate when we are home, i.e. the door will always be open. But I don't see the need to keep him locked in there when we are home. And at night he doesn't even get up, except right before we go to bed to go potty outside otherwise he is on his bed until about 6am whn he walks into our room to be let out. I guess I need to read up on crate training, I was thinking of it as a way to keep him from destroying the house when we are not home, are we to lock him in his crate when he naughty while we are home? It is possible that once we get it set up he will want to go in there on his own which is fine but do I need to force it?

[Ola_]

No, you definitely don't want to use the crate as punishment! At the beginning you just need to get him used to staying in there before you just lock him up and leave the house. So once you have the crate (not sure if you already do) put some treats in there, let him explore it and eat them. If he's not sure about it, you can put some really yummy treats, and close the crate door (with him on the outside so he can't get them), that often makes them more interested in it. I'd also randomly put goodies in there, so my dog would go in each time she walked past it just to check if anything new appeared.

Once he's going in willingly I would have him go in (usually you'd want to teach a word for this, some people use "kennel up" we just tap to top of the crate) and feed him a treat (don't close the door). After a few repeats ask him to go in, close the door, and then give him the treat and let him out. When you leave the house (and I would do this a few times while you are home too to practice) give him a Kong or similar toy with some food stuffed inside it. Gooey things like peanut butter or cream cheese work well (assuming his tummy is ok with it) and a couple of hard cookies. Let him chill and clean out the Kong and then let him out.

So no, you don't need to be crating him all the time, just at first to introduce him to the crate so he doesn't fight it. If you only put him in the crate when you leave, it can become a very negative thing and many dogs will resist it.

[anomaly13]

Thanks for the tips. I just set up the crate and he went in right away, before I could even get a blanket to put down. So I closed the door while I went to get the blanket just to see how he would react and he sat there quietly. So I am guessing he has already been crate trained. A little while later I told him "D'Jango Kennel" and he went right in and laid down, I left him in with the door shut while I put the kids down for their naps and came back to find him sleeping. So I moved his big pillow/bed out to our front porch and now have the kennel in our living room with the door open and a soft blanket folded up inside. I will keep putting him in there for short periods while we are home but out of sight before I leave in there and leave the house.

As far as the fence goes we are going to attact something (more fencing or lattice) to the top of the lower fence that seperates the front from the back so if we ever need to keep him outside without worring about him jumping over we can. Although I prefer him to be able to roam the entire yard freely and come to the door when he is ready to come inside which is how it is right now, our house is small enough that I can easily move to any room to look out and see what he is up to. But he will definatly be staying inside, in his kennel, while we are away from the house.

[~*max*~]

It does sound like he has been crate trained, which is good news. I bet you'll find he appreciates his crate/den as a place for safety, security & rest. There is nothing wrong with putting him in for a little down time during the day too, after he's been fed & exercised, while you are home & attend to other things. (Our pup always goes in while I am getting the kids ready for bed for example, as it is quite hectic then.)

One last thing, be sure to let your kids know that the crate is only for the dog. They should not play in it or touch the dog while he is in it. It should be his own personal space.

Keep up the good work!!

[gingerstar]

OT, but did you say his name is DJango?!? That was my kitty's name, after the amazingly talented Django Reinhardt.

How he got it was funny, though. We had brought the kitty home from the shelter, not knowing what to call him. After about three days, that was the only name that had come to me, and I kept thinking, no, that won't do. Finally my DH said "What about Django?" so we knew that was meant to be his name - and no, we hadn't been playing his music at all! Oh, he was the dearest kitty....

But at the vet, they just didn't know what to call him, and sadly he was called "Dango" half the time....

[anomaly13]

He seems to really like his crate, I can tell he use it as a place to get away from hecticness like bed time/bath time/nap time, but not meal time, lol. The hardest part is keeping the kids away, my 3 year old gets it pretty good but my 16 month old thinks it's a play house and he will crawl all the way to the back where it is hard to reach him to get him out or he will shut and open the door repeatetly when the dog is inside, surprisingly the dog doesn't seem to mind/notice but I know it's not good to let it happen. It has only been half a day so we will have to keep on top of keeping him away until he gets it, but he knows how to latch and unlatch the door already so we have our work cut out. (SIL has a very similar crate only much bigger and unfortuantly the little kids were all playing in it and locking eachother in it on Thanksgiving, the adults who were watching them thought it was really funny/cute so they let it happen until I came in and was like no way!)


OT...Yes his name is DJango, I assume it is after Django Reinhardt, to make it easier we write it as Jango on his vet papers and on his tag so there is less confusion. We got him from the shelter, he was surrenderd by his owners the day before Thanksgiving and had been there almost a month before we brought him home. I am pretty sure it was the name given to him by his last owners since he knows it and he wasn't a stray. We are really curious about him b/c he was not fixed until the shelter got him which means to me that the last owners thought about possibly breeding him, which could mean they spent some money on him. He also has a tattoo, a small circle, on what I guess would be his belly near where his back leg meets his body. I have read people do it for identifying purposes but usually they use a number of some sort and mostly on valuable animals they really don't want to lose, like at a dog show or something. It does not look fresh as his other sutures do, so I don't think the shelter did it (I read some shelters tattoo a small circle to show the animal has been fixed, in case a male had testicles that did not descend). I keep meaning to call the shelter to see if they know any more about him or his tattoo.

[Ola_]

I'm glad the introduction went well! I think you've got the right idea to keep the little ones away from it, I'm sure he appreciates having his own quiet spot.

[anomaly13]

So today I left him home alone in his kennel for about an hour and when I returned he had gotted out. He managed to collapse the kennel. I thought it migh happen so I made sure to close all the doors and put everythin away. No damage was done, a few things turned over and the blinds a little messed up. I read a lot of reviews of these metal kennel and some people had the same thing happen. I think I will havd DH put zip ties on all side so it cannot collapse. He is in there now with the door locked and I am in the other room. There is no fussing from him, I guess he knows I am home. We will just have to keep trying and for shorter times, though I get the feeling he escaped soon after I left. I also left him with a rawhide to chew on which keeps him pretty busy normally but not this time.

[Ola_]

Yeah, this is one of the reasons I prefer the plastic airline-style crates. My dogs actually seem to like them better also.

Be careful with how he's doing it - one of our dogs learned to open the door in a wire crate too (from the inside) and I believe he was doing it with his teeth, pulling on the crate door inwards till it gave. I was worried about him damaging or breaking his teeth on it.

Just wanted to add that for my separation anxiety dog (the one that broke out of the crate) it really helped to give him at least 30 min of focused exercise beforehand. Going on walks worked much better than playing in the yard, something about the stimulation of seeing and sniffing different places maybe? Not sure exactly why. After coming back we'd give him maybe 5-10 min to mellow out and then crate him and leave so that he wasn't all worked up from the exercise still.

BTW, not sure if anyone mentioned this but the DAP diffuser and rescue remedy may help him also while you are gone. I would not give rawhides unsupervised because of the choking risk (actually this is one reason I don't give them at all). A stuffed Kong would be my preferred choice, if he's a strong chewer get the black one and size up.