[David C]

I don’t think competitions are in our future, but she could do it, I’m sure. Just don’t think that’s the sort of thing we could get into what with how much it costs. Private training around here is ~$150 for one lesson. Not an easy pill to swallow.

[David C]

anon101 – It may be a strange characteristic that we may just need to get used to. Haha! She did one fetch the other day while at the park. Sort of. Hah. Someone else’s dog that our dog had decided to befriend had left the ball. Zelda stared at it for a good few seconds, ears perked, and decided to go get *and* bring it back. She also watches other dogs play fetch with much intensity, especially if I’m the one throwing the ball. I think for now she’s really getting used to the idea of seeing other dogs and being able to socialize with them. She’s also still learning the entire socialization structure. She’s doing pretty well so far. 🙂

For the chewing, since she’s learned “Leave it” she hasn’t been chewing on inappropriate things as much, and if we catch her, she will leave it. We also picked up some Himalayan chews, and I’m hoping there’s no hidden dog-killers in there like the “No-Hide” dog chews. She loves them!

pitlove – No problem. 🙂

Evelyn H – Unfortunately, with our pup, she doesn’t really care that there’s stuffing or not. So long as she can chew it up. I was actually thinking about getting some cheap towels too, but I’m worried I might miss it the one time she accidentally swallows a piece.

There’s no way to tag people on these posts, is there?

• This reply was modified 6 years, 9 months ago by David C.

[David C]

Yeesh, pitlove. Brutal. Haha. I don’t think you know our structure, though…

I know she’s still teething, and I’d love to be able to help her by giving her something she can rip and tear through, but nothing like that exists. 🙁 She does love ice cubes though, so she gets those a lot. 🙂

anon101, typically dogs that aren’t interested in fetch have lower energy levels. She definitely does not have that. Haha.

As for giving her time to adjust, what does that mean, really? Because she does need to learn expectations, so we’re constantly correcting her when she tries to get up on counters or what-have-you. She’s tuned to a clicker, so we keep one nearby at all times to quickly reinforce good behaviors.

[David C]

Well, we’ve gotten her to sort of play fetch in the home, but she still would rather just chew things up, including the thing we’re playing fetch with. Which must be a soft chewable toy (a rope in this case) or else she won’t play.

Any time we take her out of the home, we cannot motivate her to play except with other dogs. Which is great and all, but we need a way to play with her without another dog. Outside the home, she’s too overwhelmed by smells and noises, always with her tail down and ears up, nose to the ground.

This pup reminds me how different they all are.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 9 months ago by David C.

[David C]

Thanks!

We just got back from an hour-long puppy play-date and it went very well. 🙂

She’s still winding down now, but we got to see how she interacts with a more confident dog. She does have some timidness, but the other dog did well picking up on her signs.

[David C]

Thank you both for the great advice!

I have actually been trying to think of positive ways of enforcing good behavior (letting something go, for instance) despite the initial act being a “negative” one, so thanks for the examples of what to do when she gets something she shouldn’t. What if it’s the couch? This hasn’t been much of an issue, but there has been a time. We’re working on “Leave it” and she’s responding pretty well. Should we use this command for if she’s standing or attempting to stand at a counter or table?

We do take her outside and around the block and to the park. As for allowing her to interact with other dogs that we don’t know, how strict and how lax should we be about that? The two times we took her there to interact with other dogs, she did okay. I just noticed many other dogs’ behaviors go unchecked. Maybe get a long training lead?

I’ll look for some classes!

• This reply was modified 6 years, 9 months ago by David C.

[David C]

ZG’s methods seem to work, and I’ve seen some research that back up some of his work. Any advice for different methods/resources for methods?

Our pup – Zelda – spent the first ~4.5 months of her life in a shelter in Hawaii, then was flown to Bellingham, WA to stay with a foster family with two other dogs. There, she was given free range of the outside under supervision, and spent the nights in her crate.

She’s super intelligent. When we picked her up and drove her home to Seattle (100 miles), she didn’t know any commands. Now, after 10 days, she knows her [new] name about 80%, sit 100%, lay down 50%, and we just started working on roll over. You may ask why we’re working on several things at a time. Frankly, I don’t think dogs can only learn one thing at a time – it really depends on the mood they’re in. She loves to lay down pretty much anywhere, so if she is, I work with her on roll over with a treat lure.

Today, I got her to play fetch after having gone for a potty and walk when I got home. I made sure that I was real low to the ground, as she responds better to that. She immediately wanted to play when I got into the “play bow”. We first played with her one stuffed toy that remains (I forgot it was still somewhat in tact). She kept getting distracted or bored with it, so I kept having to re-engage her. When she got completely tired of that toy, we used an antler. She really loved that because it slides across our hardwood floor. She got tired of fetch altogether after about 10 minutes, and only wanted to tear (not chew). I gave her some ice cubes because she loves them, and they’re super cheap. Hah!

[David C]

Goodness, it’s so difficult trying to figure out which products are actually okay for our pups! Shoot, the same thing can be said for us…

Thanks so much for your work with this! When I saw how the No Hide chews were breaking down (or, weren’t breaking down, really), I started Googling and found this topic. Mid-research, my Miniature Schnauzer horked up a bunch of solid chunks of it.

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