# How to break several bad habits.



## Angie (Sep 2, 2009)

I have never had such a large dog that has no manners at all. (Bell has always been a sweet dog just had to be leach trained.)

She climbs the fence. (working on the fence to make it taller by adding kennel fencing ugly but rather her be safe.)

She is a jumper. She jumps on me when outside. Once I work with sit, come and stay I think I can fix that.

Some basics well help with the house manners. She is getting on my kitchen counters and my stove top. When I cook she tries to grab stuff from my hands. I don't want to have to lock her up in the bedroom every time I cook but sit, stay and come should help with that too.

She licks every time she gets near her or you touch her. This was sweet at first but needs to be controlled so as not to get any more annoying. 

No does not slow her down. The licking is one habit she has that I am not sure how to stop. Don't think sit, stay is going to help this one at all. Also when she gets really excited she nips your hands. Well sit stay help that?

Now that she has had a couple days and seems to be use to the place official manner training starts today. Can I do more then one thing at a time. Like sit, stay and come? Or well this be to much to soon?

The only time no works is when she is not near me. But I don't think it is really working. She comes to me when I say it. I think she thinks it is her name too. lol But it does keep her off the fence, counters and out of the garbage.

Any tips on dealing with a dog that comes with all sorts of bad habits would be great. We are willing to put in the work I am just not sure where to start. Nor do I want to over do it and confuse her in my effort to correct problems in a hurry.

I'll let you know how our first training section goes today.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Angie, there are a lot of specifics you can do that will help - And I hope that others will jump in and post.







(cop out, from me, haha!)

A few quick tips, don't have that much time right now:

I took a look at your other posts. I see that you just got her, a few days ago, is 2 years old, and has never had any training. She sounds like a high-energy dog prone to being nervous. A bit of background about your new dog in your post will help people give you advice appropriate for your situation. 

At this stage, keep all the training positive and rewarding. Don't expect too much from her. She will need a TON of excercise to burn off that hyper, nervous energy. Being let out in the back yard and going for a 30 minute walk is not enough. 

Seriously, SERIOUSLY consider trying to work 2 to 3 hours of walks, fetch, play time and one-on-one training sessions A DAY. I know it is a lot, but you can break it up: 30 minutes in the morning, short sessions of obedience and fetch, a big walk in the evening, etc. 

Sign up for classes, get her into rally or agility or tracking - she looks like she needs to have a job! 

Is she crate trained? I would get a crate and start training her to it if she is not. For now, you can have the crate in the kitchen or some other area near the kitchen, and crate her when you are cooking, etc. She won't be able to bother you but will be with you and not feel left out. Or get a baby gate to keep her in another room - somewhere where she can see you and not feel left out. 

If she has never been trained to anything, the concept of doing something for you is going to be foreign to her, don't get discouraged if at first she does not seem to want to do anything - her brain is confused about it. It will be a new level of interaction that she will need to figure out before you can even get a basic sit. I would do with her like people do with puppies: shape behaviours you want. Have treats in you pockets all the time, and when she is doing something you want, reward her! She is NOT nipping at your hands? Good dog! Here's a treat!
Sitting quietly in the kitchen? Good dog! Here's another treat! 

Basically you want to show her and reward her for what you WANT, instead of trying to teach her what you don't want. 

Another thing you can start working on once she understands basic commands is a "place" command. Teach her that in the kitchen, she needs to go to her place and stay there - like a mat in a corner, out of the way. 

Good luck, she sounds like there is a lot of very good potential in her just waiting for some love and training to unlock and bring out! 

PS: I love that gorgeous Oscar in your Avatar!


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## Angie (Sep 2, 2009)

Classes are not an option at this time. The only good one we have she would need to be fixed. So have to wait till spring to join that one. (Can't afford to have her fixed till Jan with the Christmas money my Dad and Grandmother give me.)

No agility groups here anymore. Use to be but the club closed. (I did this with my peke. lol) No tracking here either. 

Since I only work part time 2 or 3 hours a day wont be a problem once I build up to it. So starting with 20 minutes a day.

I was told she is crate trained but have not brought my crate in from storage building yet. 

We did work on heel, sit this morning. She did pretty well. Better then I thought. We ended on a good note and I well take her out again when it cools down this evening. There are other places I can take her to work on commands just wanted her to learn how to learn and what to expect when she gets it right.


The 20 minute walk we took yesterday helped a lot and she was calm in the house till my husband got in at 3:30. But once he had been home and he settled down she settled down too. She laid on the floor in front of our recliners. (My husband is also hig henergy. I am a desk potato.)

I think the lack of attention was her largest problem when she did escape the fence she never went far and come right back when called.

I am hoping some training well help with this other problem we have with her and my husband's cattle dog(Bell). Bell is very sweet and she even lived with Sugar for about a year before we got her. Anytime Sugar and Bell get near my husband the Cattle dog (Bell) growls at Sugar and then they fight. Nothing bad yet just a lot of noise. 

Not sure what to do about this. So far I have told him to let them fuss. That is what I have done in the past so that they establish some sort of pecking order. 

Not sure this is going to work since it is a jeolousy thing. They both want to protect my husband. For now I just want let Sugar in the back yard with my husband. They don't do this with me out there just him.

Thank you for any suggestions. I am use to training puppies not dogs. But I am sure I can do this and it well be the motivation I need to get out of my chair. I had planed on some sort of rescue for myself right after Christmas anyways she was just a little earlier then planed is all.

Oh any toy suggestions? I have lots of stuffed toys around here but she does not play with any of them. I have a kong around somewhere I could fill up with dog biscuits that I well drag out today. Anything else that might work?

Oh and funny story. I have a 3 pound chi. She is 11 years old and has like 8 teeth left in her mouth. She bites Sugars muzzle when Sugar tries to sniff her. The look on Sugars face is priceless. lol
She has this look like "you got to be kidding me". 

Sugar is so gentle with the house dogs. She even stops moving when my 16 year old peke walks by as if she knows the older dog has issues getting around and she needs to give her room. They even slept on the big dog bed with TinkerBell (peke) some yesterday.

Now the house cat is a different story. Can't wait till she learns stay. 

I know a lot of this well work itself out as she settles in more. I just want to make sure I don't do anything to make it worse.

Sorry this is so long. Hope this gives you some idea of what is going on so you can give me pointers.

PS The Avatar is one of my many fish. His/her name is Karma. I have 6 fish tanks.


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## GSDElsa (Jul 22, 2009)

Hmmmm.....20 minute a day walk is NOT going to work with this dog. Maybe 20 minutes 3 times a day. It sounds like she has some serious energy to burn. Do you have a bike? I'd recommend that...we do that with Elsa every AM at 4:45 before work to get some heeby jeebies out before crate time. She usually goes for another walk AND bike ride after work.

Also...YOU should be at the top of the pecking order, not either of the dogs. If you tell them to jump, they should ask how high? Or in this case...stop squibbling and "sorry mom".


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## Angie (Sep 2, 2009)

I know 20 minutes wont work. But I have to build up cause of my own health. No I do not have a bike. I have been looking for one that last couple weeks. If/when I get one how would I keep her from getting run over by the bike?

Sure me being on top is a great idea but what happens when I am not home? Wont they kill each other? I can but don't want to have to keep them apart the rest of their lives when I am not home. 

So far the only training that works for her is praise. Corrections only make her wag her tail. lol


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## GSDElsa (Jul 22, 2009)

I'd get the crate out for when you aren't supervising them!

And I'd also try and be creative with making sure she gets enough exercise. Dogs don't know your health problems and don't care. If she's not getting enough energy out of her system, she'll likely continue to be a little terror. 

For teaching Elsa to go along on the bike, I had her walk on the bikes right side with me walking it on the left and employ the same idea as walking on the leash. I give her the command "match" rather than heel because I give her a little more freedom with the bike....she can't be so close or she'll get run over. When she was walking nicely along with the bike between us, I tried getting on the bike on a flat surface and going along slowly. They will learn quite quickly that running in front of the bike isn't any fun.


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## Angie (Sep 2, 2009)

Ya soon as hubby gets home. In the mean time got to clean up and make a spot for it.


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## Tbarrios333 (May 31, 2009)

If she thinks her name is "No!" which is probably right, I would start saying "Ah ah" or "Phooey", "Wrong" "Uh oh" etc when she's doing something wrong.


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## Karin (Jan 4, 2008)

Sugar sounds so much like Heidi when we adopted her at the age of two. Heidi was hyper, totally untrained, and very fearful of people. She jumped up on me and mouthed me for quite a while too. It took a lot of patience and training, but Heidi is doing so well now that she gets all kinds of compliments from people about her behavior when we go out. She still has her moments, but boy, what a difference from when we first got her.

The things that really helped were:

--Crate training
--NILIF
--Obedience training
--Outside classes
--Clicker training (this was a biggie for her and she still loves it)
--Having really, really good treats to use for training
--Walking her with another calm dog

I just found this the other day and wish I had it when I first brought Heidi home:

http://www.brightstargsd.org/mainpages/adviseforowners.html

And check out this thread when you have time. It's long but has a lot of good tips.

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=443469&page=1#Post443469

Best of luck to you! Another thing that really, really helped me was posting on this list when I had problems. The advice and support here is fantastic!

By the way, Sugar is a really pretty dog! Thank you for rescuing her!


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## Karin (Jan 4, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: DenaliFofaliIf she thinks her name is "No!" which is probably right, I would start saying "Ah ah" or "Phooey", "Wrong" "Uh oh" etc when she's doing something wrong.


I agree. In the beginning, Heidi wouldn't respond to "No!" But she did respond to "Ah, ah, ah" in a bit louder and firmer voice. She still responds better to that than "No" to this day.


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## Angie (Sep 2, 2009)

Ya I am trying to train myself to do, ummm, its a sound that means no but not sure how to spell it. Not really a word but something like ehhh ehhh. Anyways she does seem to stop what she is doing when I do that.

Going to check out those links. Thank you for posting them.

I have tried clicker training with my other dogs. (even tried it with my parrots.) Never worked well for me cause I can't seem to get myself trained with the clicker. I never click at the right times or I give the treat at the wrong time. My coordination is just awful.

She is settling in much better laying next to my computer chair and not pacing the floors today. She is much more relaxed.


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## Angie (Sep 2, 2009)

NILIF
What is this?


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

> Originally Posted By: AngieNILIF
> What is this?


 Nothing in Life is Free


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## Angie (Sep 2, 2009)

*Re: How to break several bad habbits.*

Ok I found the link for that. So far just sounds like basics but Ill keep reading.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Hm, since this following video is what I have to do with my puppy/adult dogs about 3 times a week, you may have to adjust your exercise regime and realize that's a HUGE part of your problem (not training at all).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc3pNhDOuwU

Without the exercise, almost like I'd be setting up my dog to FAIL each and every day when we wake up. Cause they just have too much energy to even listen or pay attention. Plus the fact that even negative attention is better than NO attention for most of our dogs.

Many local shelters have spay certificates even for dogs that have NOT ever been in their facility. The point is they don't want the unwanted puppies if we wait and have an accidental pregnacy, so they would prefer to pay for the pay surgery. I'd call around so that is taken care of ASAP. I know my one dog is a handful, that dog with puppies would be a freaking nightmare..............

I want to set up my dogs to succeed and think they are BRILLIANT everyday. Constantly being rewarded for doing 'right' (good sit before mealtime, good crate, good jump into the car, good taking the treat) rather than WAITING until they do something wrong and having to correct them cause they are a bad bad dog.

Doesn't mean I don't deal with them when they do something I don't like. But I manage their lives best I can to THINK and work stuff out ahead of time so they have a great day. So there is a whole lot more of the good dogs and praise going on than not. Problem is this is more work for me.

It's easy to yell and punish when the dog is bad. I don't have to do anything until the dog is bad, and then I just can react (overreact? with anger?) and feel better cause I've vented (ate my new shoes AGAIN!!!! WHY CAN'T YOU LEARN BAD DOG BAD DOG).

When instead I could have put all my shoes away (what? tidy my house?) exercise my pup to wear them out (WHAT? I'm too busy to take 2 hours out of my day to drive to the park!!!) and plan an activity for both myself and the dog (WHAT? Be proactive and figure out a playdate/training session/learning activity the day before? ) learn to clicker train and practice in the house/yard/world. Save up money for dog classes (WHAT??? Not go out to dinner/lunch? Not have cable tv? Not go out to the movies? For a DOG?) 

Heck, I think dog training is hard. How people do it with kids REALLY amaze me!


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## Angie (Sep 2, 2009)

Thank you every one. Lots of great stuff to get me started.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Here is some information on low cost speuter programs in MS. 
http://www.msspan.org/spanAWO.htm

Why pay full price when you can do it sooner, maybe get her into training class, and save money!

Not sure if this site also has help: http://hssm.org/programs/snip/

And the voucher program from the first link: http://www.msspan.org/voucher.htm

Definitely keep the girls separate when they are not supervised directly. 

Good luck!


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## Angie (Sep 2, 2009)

Ok checked on the spay certificate and I can not get one.
I well not go to the big fix clinic. My best friend took her dog 3 months ago and the dog got an infection. The low cost spay cost her a total of 600 bucks on top of the spay cost. Because she got so sick and almost died.
So we well just have to wait. Won't be a problem. So we can get back on topic now.

She is doing much better. Not licking so much still jumps when I am outside with her but not in the house. She well play fetch and well walk on a leash with no problems.

I am confident we well deal with all her bad manners and she is going to be a nice house pet. 

I am already in love with this girl. She is just amazing.


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## GSD07 (Feb 23, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: Angie No tracking here either.


You don't need anybody and anything special to start tracking. You can start in the park, or on hard surfaces right away, track on sidewalks and parking lots. 10 min track equals 1 hour walk for the dog, you'll be surprised.

You got excellent advice from other members, I just wanted to comment on tracking.


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## Angie (Sep 2, 2009)

Very cool. Ill have to look it up and see how I would teach tracking.


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