We just adopted a 1-year-old MinPin/Spaniel mix. She’s a great dog, very playful. She doesn’t bite or get agressive with us (which is grrrrreat!). But she was never trained, and still has a lot of “puppy” in her. She jumps up (over and over and over again no matter how many times you tell her “down” or “no”), barks like crazy at anything and everything that moves (even the neighbors that she’s gotten used to), and will pee/poop in the house if we allow her out of her cage for extended periods of time (even if she’s just come in from outside). I’d also like her to walk a bit better on her leash instead of doing her best to pull me around the block. Will an obedience training like PetSmart’s help with these things, or should I be looking at ways to train her myself?
If your new to dog training (which it sounds like you are) 🙂 then it can help to have someone with a little more experience (and usually thats all your gonna get from Petsmart) that can help you with the basics (and I do mean basics….sit, heel, etc).
Sounds like your pup isn’t getting walked enough & has alot of energy. And of course being dragged down the street isn’t exactly anyone’s idea of a good time so I’m sure your probably not all that eager to get out and be dragged for a walk everyday lol.
Let’s put it this way……anything can be a help, and taking your pooch to Petsmart won’t hurt..but don’t expect any miricles, especially with any problem behaviors.
You could pretty much get the same thing by picking up a cheap or free training manual. Although the socialization by going to a group is very good for any dog which can help with doggie aggression (towards other dogs) later on down the road.
If you get the National Geographic channel, it would be wise to check out The Dog Whisperer on Friday nights (they’re running a week long special right now, so he will be on tonight around 8pm central time….and all the rest of this week. Or you can also get his DVDs off ebay.
Check out his website:http://www.cesarmillaninc.com
There are also some other good trainers out there that deal with basic obedience, Barbra Woodhouse is an old standby if you come across any of her vhs.
If you’d like to enjoy a little advanced training you can check out David Dikeman – Command Performance but this is for a dedicated owner who is willing to spend alot of time on the dog.
In the meantime, here are some simple tips to help a few of the problems you mentioned:
HEEL: There’s a couple options here, I would try this one first – when your pooch starts to walk out ahead of you, turn and walk the other direction and keep going for at least 20 steps or so. Your gonna be doing ALOT of turning lol till your pooch catches on, but she’ll get the idea that she needs to be by your side & watch you so that she doesn’t get caught by the leash.
OR, you can also purchase a Haltihead Collar (I recommend this over the Gentle Leader collar) The Halti looks like a horse’s harness & works on the same principal, where the head goes the body must follow, and it keeps a dog from pulling. You can order these anywhere, they may carry them at Petsmart, or you can get them out of any pet catalog or off ebay.
HOUSEBREAKING: First, if your papertraining your pooch, STOP. Thats the worst thing any owner can ever do, it teaches the dog it’s perfectly fine to go potty INSIDE your house. Instead, give the dog frequent potty trips especially 10-20 min. after any food/water intake. And also don’t feed or offer water close to bed time. Many owners make the mistake of leaving the water dish out all night, you don’t need to drink all night long & neither does your dog. Unless you catch her in the act, you cannot scold her for relieving herself on the carpet, simply clean it up and move on (make sure you clean it well as they return to the scent, white viniger works nicely for this, or you can buy special cleaners that get rid of the scent, soap & water won’t cut it). If you do catch her give a firm but NOT a loud “no” (a loud no may startle her and cause her to empty her bladder even more) Also, use the crate when your not able to supervise her, used properly dogs have no problem staying in a crate. But if you go this route make it “matter of fact” that she goes in, and you go on with your biz even if she whimpers a bit or cries. If you return to her when she whimpers, or if you make a long drawn out “mommy will be right back” kind of thing, this may cause seperation anxiety in the future….and once that starts it’s a BEAR to get rid of.
JUMPING: A dog that jumps on you may be displaying puppy exuberance, it usually is also telling you that it’s the boss around here. BUT, being a smaller breed dog I’m betting that when someone wants to pet her, they pat their leg for her to jump up. If so, being petted is praising the dog for jumping up. And she can’t be expected to think it’s ok to jump up and say hello at one point, and then when your in your business suit & she’s full of mud….that it’s not still perfectly ok to jump up and say hello. If you teach her sit, you can eventually teach her “ok” (jump up and say hello) and “sit” (get off me & sit down). But for now, I would suggest not allowing her to jump up and if she does, step into her & raise your knee a bit (this will throw her off balance) and say NO LIKE YOU MEAN IT (not “no” or “noooooo” or “no no no no no” lol)
BARKING: MinPin’s are great little barkers and she’s doing what comes naturally. However this doesn’t mean she should be allowed to be a 24/7 alarm system. This is a pretty active little breed, even if she is a mix. If you walk her 30 min. twice a day (and I do mean WALK, not a DRAG around the block, if she drags you she’s boss, and if she’s boss outdoors she’s boss indoors too). The walks will help get rid of her excess energy. IF she does bark at inappropriate times (at kids, other dogs, mailman, etc) give a sharp firm NO. If she spends alot of time in the crate when your at work (or even locked up in a yard or inside the home for that matter) it only stands to reason she’s gonna have energy to burn & walks will help this 🙂
Hope this helps. If you enjoy yahoo groups, I have group which discusses training, care, etc. of 4-legged fur-kids 🙂 Your welcome to drop by & check us out (it’s family safe)http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/dogwh…
i took the petsmart class and it wasn’t too good all they taught her was the basic commands like sit ..and to walk on leash .. but it didn’t help ( i trained her fine myself after that) and now she is pretty well behaved but i know the soloutions to your problems just remember you have to work with your dog every day even if it’s for only fifteen minutes at a time. when your dog jumps up you need to knee her in the bellyand tell her no .. i think she will get the point after that then when she is fine around you , you need to ask a friend to come over and if your dog jumps on them you need to tell the guest to knee her and say no ..your dog will catch on that it is not a good thing to do a,..for the barking at everything you can either clap your hands loudly and say no or whistle and then say no or maybe get a blowhornor or something just to get your dog’s attention and then say no…. the going in the house thing is just to spite you it’s your dog’s way of saying since you put me in the cage for so long i will spite you by peeing or w/e in the house to give you what you deserve or it’s is possible that the people you got the dog from before didn’t potty train her if you see her going pick her up tell her no and put her in the place you wish her to eliminate…. everytime you take her for a walk if she is pulling stop pull her back make her sit and say heel or you can use another tecnique where you spin the end of the leash front of her face…right infront of your knees if she starts to go farther then you would like the leash will hit her in the face …she won’t like it so she will stay back by your side ..after she is wawlking nicely by your side for a while stop swinging the leash if she keeps walking by your side reward her if not say no and start swinging the leash again…the petsmart class doesn’t deal with most of these problems if you went you would have to get a private instructor at petsmart that is ..but i like training them on my own i have a pup who is pretty well trained ( i trained her myself) but that is what is easier about getting a pup i also have a lab that i got when she was ten monthes and so i experienced a lot of these problems also if you want to teach your dog to heal sometimes it is best to walk with a dog buddy that has learned how to heal ..ask your friend or whoever to borrow their dog and tie their leashes together in about the middle that helped me a lot .. o and my self taught pup is only 11monthes and she know sit, stay down, lay go get it, cometouch ( with a clicker), up ( like jump) , come, over ( sort of) , walk , crawl ( sort of) , and then we’re working on heel , leave it , and the one where they balance the biscuit on their nose and then holds it there until you say ok or w/e , o and she knows rollover too, my other dog that i got when she was 10monthes old knows sit, stay, come , down , lay , shake, heal , kiss , up
Petsmart training won’t help you with her barking problems, nor help in house training her – they’ll teach you how to teach your dog very basic obedience commands. They’ll help you teach her how to walk on a leash better.
You still need to work with your dog yourself, you need to practice every day. Remember, no one can or should train your dog for you – you do it. They’re only there to give you some methods for teaching. Keep in mind that Petsmart instructors are not highly qualified – if you have a dog that’s going mainly for socializing and to learn manners, they’re fine. If you need more than that, you need to find better classes – often through an all-breed dog club is a good place to start.
well I know there is a great course for 100$’s that teaches all the basics that you and your dog can do together, and it strengthens you and your dogs bond together.
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They would teach her to obey you and maybe even some tricks.
yes, all three of my dogs have gone to petco dog class, also repetition is the answer. work with your dog several times a day for at least 20 min. or so, also walking your dog for at least 1/2 hour will get rid of some of that energy. I can say that going to a class will help you train yourself to train your dog, especially if you’ve never had a dog before. all these problems your saying have been covered in the classes I have taken, and you might get lucky and get a good trainer. Mine will go to peoples house to help them or gives them a little extra time at the end of class.
PetSmart puppy training will help with beginning clicker training, potty training, leash training and barking problems. The trainers are very knowledgeable and patient. Just remember that you have to work with your puppy at home after you learn what you need to do in class. 🙂
Good luck!
when my dog was in that they taught him how to come to you and also how to sit and also how to stay.
I’m going through training at PetsMart right now with my puppy. Training involves: “watchMe”, “sit”, “Stay”, “Down”, come when called. And much more. They give great advice. Our trainer is GREAT.
Every trainer at PetsMart is an entity in them selves. There are a few good ones around and plenty that couldn’t train a goat.
if I were you I would most definitely hire a professional pet trainer, for about the same price and it will be one on one….no distractions in the store…other animals…people etc…
you can definitely do it yourself with a little bit of patience…i believe in you…here is a good site to start you out…http://www.dogtrainingbasics.com/article…http://www.dogproblems.com/public/depart…http://www.seefido.com/html/training_12.…
YOU CAN DO IT!!!! good luck!!! e-mail me for help!!