Pushy Puppies

For any of you who are FB friends or follow me on Instagram, it may appear that 5 month old Koll is "Kalm, Kool and Kollected" most of the time.  He does spend a decent amount of time in that mode, but he can also be a Krazy, Kamikaze Kritter, ripping tiny holes in more than a few items of my clothing with his razor teeth or getting reports from my friend that puppy-sat him overnight on his ability to leap over a baby gate or scream in his kennel for several hours.  

 

Jan and I sometimes look at our darling puppy and then each other and say "we should send him back to his breeder".  We then laugh hysterically, since we ARE his breeders, and then keep slogging away to teach him to be a better citizen of our house and the world.

I find that often when Koll is being a pest, there is some little change we can make to improve the situation.  If we can figure out  out why he is acting the way he is it can make it easier to devise a plan for how to respond to his naughty behavior. 

 

One recent evening, Koll was being irritating, body-slamming the other dogs and barking and ricocheting off the furniture.  Doggy dinnertime was approaching and Delta often starts getting a bit "busy" as the magic hour approaches.  Her excitement and moving around got the puppy all fired up.  I took him into the kitchen with me (we've currently got the living room gated off from the rest of the house until the pup is older and more civilized) and the clever little guy hopped onto his Cato board (a raised platform for dog training).  We've been using the Cato board to teach him a "place" behavior.  I immediately rewarded his going to his place (even though I had not asked for it).  He laid there calmly and watched while I cooked dinner for the human members of the pack and every few minutes I would give him a tiny treat.  This was a huge WIN for both of us! 

Another common reason for Koll to be a pest is because he has not had enough entertainment (training or exercise or both...).  This means that I need to get my butt off the couch, gather some training treats and think of some things to work on with him and do some training.  We'll train for 10 minutes or so and then usually cap off the session with a game of retrieving or tug.

 

Overtired puppies are also monsters sometimes.  If you think that might be the case, confine the beast in some way (using a tether, leash, crate etc) and you may find he drops right off to sleep after a short period of complaining.

The photo below has some excellent suggestions for other ways to engage and enrich your pups environment.

 

 Something else that bears reminding is that being a positive trainer and striving for positive interactions with your pup does not mean you should be permissive.  Set rules for your pup and stick with them, even when it is easier to give in to buy momentary peace.  Programs like Sue Ailsby's Leading the Dance are great to revisit when you find your puppy or dog's manners beginning to slide.

Susan Garrett has a book "Ruff Love" that outlines a program that can help getting your relationship with your dog in better order.  Here is a blog entry of Susan's from early last year that touches a bit on this program.  https://susangarrettdogagility.com/2020/05/ruff-love-tater/

 

Hang in there people with puppies!  Working through puppy challenges and overcoming them is what will ultimately make your pup the best companion you could want and the envy of all your friends.