We picked up our new 10 to 12 month-old male GSD/Cattle dog pup, Jack, this past Saturday night. It's been less than a week and he is doing well, but I wanted some advice/critiques on how we are helping him adjust and learn. Thanks in advance!
A bit about him: He's still young, a year tops, but already 60lbs. We brought him up to Portland, Maine from a farm in TN (Relevant). He is high energy and loves to wrestle with our current dog Piper (a 42lb female 3y/o shepherd/husky/border collie mix) and play outside with me. He feels very uncomfortable around men he doesn't know. He barks out the window at people and noises. He chews anything he can get his mouth on. Between the roughhousing inside and chewing, we can't leave him around the house while we're at work (Like we do with our older dog).
How we're addressing these things:
Strange men: He was very timid around me at first so I let him come to me on his terms, and any time he did he got some treats. Once he was somewhat comfortable I gave him a bath and he loved it - good bonding experience. Any time he sees a man and barks, I calm him down, and once he stops barking and seems calm, I ask the stranger if they're comfortable giving Jack a treat. The thought here is that barking accomplishes nothing, but being calm gets strange people to give him food.
Constant playing: We try to give him as much outside time and long walks as possible, about 2 miles a couple times a week in addition to normal walks and play. He's allowed to wrestle with Piper in the back yard. We allow her to put him in place if she's had enough, but will step in and redirect his energy if he ignores her signals. Sometimes it doesn't matter what we do, he won't stop trying to get her to play.
Barking out the window: As I stated before he came from a 22 acre farm, and now is in a non-urban residential zone in a medium sized city. We live across the street from a high school and there is a fire station just down the street; lots of scary and unfamiliar things to bark at. When he barks we give a quiet command, when he stops barking, even for breath, he gets a treat. If he keeps barking he gets nothing. It seems to be working so far, but it's only been 5 days, hard to tell.
Inappropriate Chewing: We give a 'no' correction immediately followed by a chew toy or antler when we catch him chewing furniture or shoes. It seems to work, but he is trying everything he can (Books, table, blankets, refrigerator magnets, etc).
We're crating him during the day with some toys and NPR; the room is closed away from other dog but has view of back yard. We want to eventually be able to leave him free about the house with Piper but need to correct these issues first. It's only been 5 days and we've seen good progress, but I want to make sure that we're not accidentally teaching him bad habits. Any critiques or other advice? I have read the sidebar and viewed some Kikopup videos.
Thanks!
Submitted September 17, 2015 at 06:01PM by StanMikitasDonuts http://ift.tt/1KoCAbd Dogtraining
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