From: pdsmith.mitre.org (Pat Smith)
Subject: Re: troublesome puppy
Organization: The MITRE Corporation
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 19:17:49 GMT

In article <16084@borg.cs.unc.edu>, whitaker@verdi.cs.unc.edu (Ross Whitaker) writes:
> 
> I own 6 1/2 month old chocolate labrador retriever.  My wife picked him 
> (a male) from a litter of about 5 based on his smaller size and least
> aggresive attitude.  This is our first dog, and he has number of
> behavioral problems that I need to correct.  I have read one book
> on dog training, called "Dog Obedience Training" by Pearsall.  I am
> not interested in competing, but would like to develop in this dog
> a basic number of skills that will make him easy and fun to live with.
> 
> When he was very young (less than five months) he was very well behaved
> and easy to train.  He now does the following (unless he is very excited
> /distracted) on command:  sit, down, cage (go in his cage), fetch, stay
> (no more than a couple of minutes), heeling on lead (under ideal conditions),
> and sit from heel.  Dispite these good results we seem
> to have developed a number of very undesirable habits which we are unable 
> to correct.  I am particularly interested to know if some of these
> problems are typical 'puppy' things that we can expect to improve as
> he gets older.  Any help that people can offer with any of these would be
> appreciate.  E-mail or post at your convenience.
> 
> 1) Biting.  We have discouraged this since we have owned him and have
> seen very little improvement (except his teeth aren't as deadly).  We 
> have used a strong "NO!" to discourage him.  Currently he will put his 
> teeth on a limb and apply minimal pressure, but he will as do very rapid,
> painful, "nips" with his front teeth.  
> Recently, we have resorted to administering
> short smacks under the snout for biting, with only a little improvement.
> 
> 2) Stealing things.  When he was young he seemed to very quickly develop a 
> sense for which things were his and which were not.  We could leave things 
> lying around and he would not bother them.  Or he might try them, but
> would respond to a short reprimand.  But as he gets older he seems to be
> fighting back more.  A typical example.  He goes into our room, find the 
> hamper, and comes running out with a pair of underwear.  It seems to 
> me that he knows he shouldn't have them, because he comes running out of the
> room, when he would otherwise walk.  With a reprimand ("No" and a growl)
> he usually drops them,
> but if he is in a fiesty mood, he will attempt to evade you and wait until
> you catch him before he drops them.  It seems to me that he might be 
> doing it to get attention, or because it's a fun game.  I don't know.
> He has 2-3 toys to chew on, and he picks fetches them and carrys them
> around freely.
> 
> 3) Come.  In the house, he generally comes when called.  He knows his
> name quite well, and mentioning his name will often bring him prancing
> into the room to see you.  Outside is a different story.  If he is
> distracted, he ignores you.  Sometimes he knows you are calling, he will
> defy you.  He will run around if you come after him, making a game out
> of it.  He will run toward like a fullback carrying the ball over the goal
> line, and then dart away as you reach out grap him.  Other times, he
> will obey.
> 
> 4) Tantrums.  He seems to get into moods where he is purposely defiant.  For
> instance, while on lead, he may start grabing the lead, trearing at it and
> pulling at it.  Or while at home, he starts running around the house, grabbing
> or biting everything in site, barking.  These usually last some minutes, and
> then he slowly calms down and returns to his normal, more mellow, self.  
> During these moods, I used to ignore him, but as they become more prevelant
> I have taken to correcting him, by turning him over on his back and
> holding him there until he calms down.  This has had very limited 
> success.  These tantrums can be dangerous, because he sometimes bites
> if you attampt to touch or pet him when he is in one of these moods.
> 
> Finally, if someone could recommend a good book on such things I would
> be thankful.  
> 
> 	Ross
> 
> 
> 

There is a good book called Dog Watching.  There is also a book written by
some Monks who train German Shepards.  I forgot the name.
Mainly you need to train the dog that you, not he, is the boss.  Saying NO
is not enough.  You need to punish him.  I suggest you get a crate and use it
for punishment.  When the dog is bad, tell him no and put him in the crate and
ignore him for 2 or more hours.  10 minutes is not enough.  Never tolerate
biting.   You will have a real problem when this playful puppy is and adult 
who bites.  Curb the behavior now. You must be consistent and firm.  Give 
him proper punishment when bad and praise when he is good.  They learn quick
and want to please you. Good luck.
> 
>