Some General Behavior Questions from a New Newf Owner

[johnbasl]

Hi all,

My fiance and I just got our first puppy. A beautiful 13 week old newf named Arya. I could use some general advice about several issues just to make sure I'm not mucking things up too badly. Sorry if this is too much to comment on, and I hope it is in the right forum.

1. Crate Training
We are fortunate that someone gets to be home with Arya every day (or Arya comes to work with me on occasion). So, she isn't crated for long periods of time. She has no problem eating her meals in her crate and with the help of a treat will even walk into her crate on command. I've done various things to make her like her crate (she gets special treats in there, etc.). However, she seems to hate being in her crate anytime we are home. We don't actually put her in there that much. However, sometimes we have to get work done at home and so might have to put her in for a couple hours at a time. Or, we'll put her in there if one of us is sleeping and the other has to shower and we can't watch her. However, she does not like being in her crate during the day if we are home. She barks a lot. We try to ignore it, but sometimes it seems like she needs to go to the bathroom. If we let her out and take her out ) she'll go outside and often pee a little bit, but then she'll want to stay out or play inside. I keep telling myself that as a general rule, after she's peed, I should be able to crate her for two hours to get work done, but it is very hard to ignore her. All the reading I've done suggests that I'm largely doing the right thing, but since she is going a little bit when we take her out, I want to make sure it is okay to ignore her even when she's barking like crazy to get out. Any advice would be great. I mostly don't want her to feel like she is being punished if I have to put her in her crate and then sit on the couch near her. I know she wants to be close, but if I can't keep a careful watch when she's out of the crate, I'd rather have her in there for a little bit.

2. Playing and biting
Arya will play tug and chew on things, but she doesn't really like to fetch. If we take her outside, I can get her to follow me using a lure reward method, but she doesn't often want to trot around the yard. What she really wants to do is play with us like she would a puppy. She wants to roll around on the ground and bite. If we won't do that, she'll start acting up a little and biting her leash or trying to bite our clothes. Saying "ouch" loudly doesn't usually stop her (it doesn't make her more excited, she just ignores it) and walking away from her doesn't seem to work much either. We give her plenty of chew toys and frozen rags for teething, so I don't think it's that. I've taken her to one puppy socialization class (and will take her to another this week), but she doesn't seem to want to play with other dogs. She is a little edgy around them. The trainers think she'll warm up to it, but in the meantime, any advice on how to change her play habits?

3. Sleeping
a. Since we don't really play with her in the preferred mode, she often isn't very tired at night. Even if I take her for a 20 minute walk around the yard every hour or so after dinner, she isn't really ready for bed at 9pm or 10pm when we'd prefer to put her to bed so we can get some extra work done before bed. Any tips on that?

b. Also, on sleeping. She wakes up pretty often in the night to bark. Since it isn't constant, I typically get up to take her out anytime she barks and she will typically go to the bathroom. Sometimes, when she's tired, she goes, comes back in and goes right back in to lay down. Other times, she'll think it's time to get up, or go back in and bark again in another hour or so. She won't always go potty after such a short time, but it is so hard to tell and I want to reinforce the barking for going out even while I don't want to reinforce barking for play. We've had some nights where I plan to get up every 4 hours to take her out and she wakesup when she hears my alarm, barks, and goes. But the last few nights, she hasn't made it that long and wants to go out more and to play. Any tips?

c. Water at night. I don't really like the idea of taking away her water after dinner, but at the same time, I'd like to get her used to sleeping at night. Is it okay to restrict water during bed time? What about during the day when she has to go in the crate for a couple of hours. I go back and forth about leaving water in there. Except at night, she's never kept away from a fresh full water bowl for more than two hours.


That's a lot of help to ask for, sorry for all the details. We just want to make sure that we are doing the right thing. We are trying very hard to use only positive reinforcement (the only negative reinforcement is sometimes we'll use a stern no when she bites...I'm trying not to, but sometimes I do it out of habit) while still doing things like keeping her in her crate to get used to it (in a few months, there will be days when we have to step out for several hours and leave her there).

Thanks,

John

 

[ElvisTheNewf]

I'm no expert by any means, but it sounds like you're on the right track. Isn't it hard to ignore these guys? Elvis is almost 5 now and he didn't come home until he was almost 5 months old, so we missed out on all this new puppy stuff - except for the barking in the crate. It was really hard to ignore, but my husband and I knew he had to get used to it. It did take awhile - and his barking/whining at night just about broke my heart - but he very quickly learned that the crate was HIS place and learned to love it. As I mentioned, he's almost 5 and still loves his crate. We haven't shut the door in years, but he still naps in it and sleeps there at night. It's his safe place.

I think if you watch her water intake/output and keep her on a very, very strict schedule it may help. We never gave Elvis water in his crate and took him out every 3 hours (he was older and could go longer in between breaks) but I think she should be able to go for two hours at a time. Has she ever messed in her crate while you've been gone? How about when she's in there while you're home?

I don't have any suggestions about tiring her out - Elvis slept the first two years of his life! You'll get a lot of good advice here. Welcome, and please post pictures!

 

[victoria1140]

unfortunately ours hated the crate with a passion even though we fed them in there and they had lots of toys, etc, so after the 6th load of puppy washing the floor, pup and crate we decided not to use it but kept him in a secure gated area where he has always settled down.if not a crate try a puppy pen

distraction is really good for the nipping and favourite toys are employed if i think he is going to mouth at any time.

the whining and barking are difficult to ignore but check there is no reason for it first.

personally i dont restrict water but then I also got up every two hours to make sure he understood going out to pee and poop and as he wasnt in a crate he has puppy pads in strategic places.

try training now and aslso making their minds work we have puzzle things, kongs , silly toys and do search and retrieve with Max when he is able to

 

[padkins]

We used the crate for all of ours. They were crated at night and whenever they couldn't be supervised. It is an adjustment period for both of you. I like to give a treat and lots of praise when they go in the crate. Treat and lots of praise when I let them out. Whenever I let them out of the crate, we immediately go potty.

Playing and biting can be difficult. You need to make sure that everybody in the house is handling it the same way to avoid confusion. We use a correction sound (Ack?). We don't use ouch or no. Whenever the puppies would bite, I would correct and praise and treat if they stopped the behavior. Can you tell that when they are young that I would have treats in all of my pockets at all times?

Sleeping. Hmmm. Another difficult one. I usually try to get the puppies to adapt to our schedule. If there is a certain time that we go to bed we would establish a routine. I did restrict water at night and in the crate. I would take them potty before being crated for the night. I would treat and praise when I put them in the crate. A fan blowing on the crate is a big help. When they are extremely young I would set my alarm for regular intervals to get up and take them potty. Say every two hours. I would take them out even if they were sleeping and praise and treat if they went potty. Praise and treat when they went back into the crate. No play allowed during the night potty trips. These are for business only and if they didn't want to go potty, they went back into the crate. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Slowly lengthen the amount of time between potty trips.

Another command that is very helpful is "Leave It". "Leave It" can be used for when they bite you, when they bite the leash, when they are trying to get into something you don't want them to. Practice, practice, practice and make sure everyone is doing the exact same thing to avoid confusion.

Just remember, you are not alone and things do get better as they get older. Congratulations on the new addition. We need lots of pictures!

 

[cmorgan.1505]

There are different ideas on restricting water, but we did this about two hours before we wanted him to go to bed and then would give him an ice cube as a bedtime treat or anytime we can back in from going outside. Also, a fan REALLY helped getting Thor to sleep for more than 3 hours at a time. Might want to look into getting one. Thor is now almost a year and still has a fan to sleep with and if he doesn't then it's a pain cause he wakes early.

 

[Kayak]

Great advice so far.....

As far as the crate goes, I think you're on the right track. Try a fan or something else to keep her cool. I ended up having to build a playpen and put it in an area where Kayak had access to the air vent (this was summer time) and also wood/tile floor. You could also try putting her crate in your room till she's a bit older and see if that helps to calm her.

I usually put less water in Kayak's bowl at night so that he still has some access, but not enough to over indulge. You just have to use your judgement on this one but it sounds like your pup is well cared for. Kayak also likes to swim in his water bowl and particularly loves to dump it over and sleep in the puddle. :banghead:

I sometimes had trouble tiring Kayak walking around the yard. You might try taking your walk around your block or in your neighborhood. If the pup is very familiar with your yard, changing the scenery might help. Then they are not only getting the physical exercise, but the mental exercise too.

Good luck!! Get excited about the teenage times to come :beatdeadhorse: I'm in the throws of that now... oh what I wouldn't give for the times when Kayak used to sleep a lot. :uglyhammer:

 

[Kayak]

Also, I work from home a lot too and found that when I needed to get work done, I would put Kayak in his play pen with a Kong to keep him busy. When he was a puppy, this would usually occupy him until he fell alseep

 

[wrknnwf]

I'd say you are doing a near perfect job and kudos for asking lots of questions. Puppies are really hard work, but it's only for a limited time. Somehow you will live to tell the tale. Here's my take, others may have different opinions or advice.

1. Crate Training
We are fortunate that someone gets to be home with Arya every day (or Arya comes to work with me on occasion). So, she isn't crated for long periods of time. She has no problem eating her meals in her crate and with the help of a treat will even walk into her crate on command. I've done various things to make her like her crate (she gets special treats in there, etc.). However, she seems to hate being in her crate anytime we are home. We don't actually put her in there that much. However, sometimes we have to get work done at home and so might have to put her in for a couple hours at a time. Or, we'll put her in there if one of us is sleeping and the other has to shower and we can't watch her. However, she does not like being in her crate during the day if we are home. She barks a lot. We try to ignore it, but sometimes it seems like she needs to go to the bathroom. If we let her out and take her out ) she'll go outside and often pee a little bit, but then she'll want to stay out or play inside. I keep telling myself that as a general rule, after she's peed, I should be able to crate her for two hours to get work done, but it is very hard to ignore her. All the reading I've done suggests that I'm largely doing the right thing, but since she is going a little bit when we take her out, I want to make sure it is okay to ignore her even when she's barking like crazy to get out. Any advice would be great. I mostly don't want her to feel like she is being punished if I have to put her in her crate and then sit on the couch near her. I know she wants to be close, but if I can't keep a careful watch when she's out of the crate, I'd rather have her in there for a little bit. Sounds like you are doing it right. Try giving her something to occupy her while crated, like a stuffed Kong or chew treat. It's best in the long run, if she learns to be in a crate, Ignoring her won't hurt her, but don't forget that puppies need to go out very frequently, like every twenty minutes for a while. And remember that this housebreaking period won't last terribly long if you are consistent.

2. Playing and biting
Arya will play tug and chew on things, but she doesn't really like to fetch. If we take her outside, I can get her to follow me using a lure reward method, but she doesn't often want to trot around the yard. What she really wants to do is play with us like she would a puppy. She wants to roll around on the ground and bite. If we won't do that, she'll start acting up a little and biting her leash or trying to bite our clothes. Saying "ouch" loudly doesn't usually stop her (it doesn't make her more excited, she just ignores it) and walking away from her doesn't seem to work much either. We give her plenty of chew toys and frozen rags for teething, so I don't think it's that. I've taken her to one puppy socialization class (and will take her to another this week), but she doesn't seem to want to play with other dogs. She is a little edgy around them. The trainers think she'll warm up to it, but in the meantime, any advice on how to change her play habits? Yes, simply don't allow the biting to happen. Keep doing the things you have been doing. It takes a while for it to sink in. Again, it's your consistency that will matter. The trainers are right, she will come around quickly to playing with other dogs. And when she does, she will be a lot bigger than most of the other pups in your class, so you will want to make sure she doesn't appear to bully the little guys. The trainers will help you with this. BTW. Congrats on getting her into a positive reinforcement class right away. You will not regret it. Also, have your trainers show you how to teach her "take" and "give" using an exchange method (NOT an ear or toe pinch method). If they don't know how, PM me and I will give you instructions. Then you will have some useful commands to use when she grabs things she shouldn't. By the time she is about 5 months old, you will thank me. LOL! And anything that you can think to put on command, you should do. You will be so happy you did. Don't just limit yourself to just the basics you learn in class. She's at that sponge age where she can soak up a lot.

3. Sleeping
a. Since we don't really play with her in the preferred mode, she often isn't very tired at night. Even if I take her for a 20 minute walk around the yard every hour or so after dinner, she isn't really ready for bed at 9pm or 10pm when we'd prefer to put her to bed so we can get some extra work done before bed. Any tips on that? She will eventually fall into the routine. Meanwhile look for interactive toys to entertain her before bed. There are lots on the market. But don't expect her to be entertained for hours. The novelty wears off fairly fast, so pick up the toy and put it away for the next evening. Rotate toys, too. For some reason, they are more appealing if they aren't left laying around the house all the time. You can even use the food dispenser types (like Buster Cubes) to feed her part of her evening meal. Then try using a fan pointed at her at night. She may be hot and that will make her more fussy. You can also try some kind of white noise if it doesn't keep you awake. Like a ticking clock, a radio on low, or one of those ocean wave machines if you have one. You can also try covering her crate with a very lightweight material, but realize that can make her hot.

b. Also, on sleeping. She wakes up pretty often in the night to bark. Since it isn't constant, I typically get up to take her out anytime she barks and she will typically go to the bathroom. Sometimes, when she's tired, she goes, comes back in and goes right back in to lay down. Other times, she'll think it's time to get up, or go back in and bark again in another hour or so. She won't always go potty after such a short time, but it is so hard to tell and I want to reinforce the barking for going out even while I don't want to reinforce barking for play. We've had some nights where I plan to get up every 4 hours to take her out and she wakes up when she hears my alarm, barks, and goes. But the last few nights, she hasn't made it that long and wants to go out more and to play. Any tips? Until you are certain she is potty trained, take her directly outside (Carry or leash her if necessary. You can clip a leash right on her crate wires for quick access, but don't let it fall into the crate or it will be chewed up toast). Then put her back in her crate immediately, no playing at night. Teach her to potty on command and reward her every single time. Again, routine and consistency. Yes you are reinforcing the barking, but you are also not reinforcing the play time. She will learn that barking is associated with going potty only. If it's clear she just wants to play, put her back in the crate. I'm am very sympathetic to your problem, but for a while, you are just going to lose sleep like you would with any infant. Go for naps, they're great! I wish employers gave families time off for new puppies, like they do babies.

c. Water at night. I don't really like the idea of taking away her water after dinner, but at the same time, I'd like to get her used to sleeping at night. Is it okay to restrict water during bed time? What about during the day when she has to go in the crate for a couple of hours. I go back and forth about leaving water in there. Except at night, she's never kept away from a fresh full water bowl for more than two hours.As long as she gets free access to water during the day at regular intervals, it won't hurt her to have it restricted at certain times. Puppies can get dehydrated but I doubt that being in the crate for 2 hours is going to do that, if she has access when she comes out. You may want to ask a vet.

Don't worry, a stern "NO" can appropriate. But remember that just saying no doesn't give her any real information. And it's usually overused to the point of becoming meaningless anyway. When possible, always show her what you want her to do. And then praise the heck out of her every time she gets it right. Don't worry, this puppy won't break. <grin>

Let us know if anything isn't working. There are lots of ways to deal with problems and we'll get you through this or die trying. LOL!

 

[johnbasl]

Thanks for all the advice. It sounds like I should just be patient and keep using the positive reinforcements to instill good habits.

 

[Murphy]

Thanks for all the advice. It sounds like I should just be patient and keep using the positive reinforcements to instill good habits.

Or you could just give her to me. :icon_lamer:

 

[Angela]

Or you could just give her to me. :icon_lamer:

Hmmm, Jen I thought you were taking Puppy from Hell aka Owain :uglyhammer:

 

[Ivoryudx]

The book 'The Newfoundland Pupppy: Early care, Early Training': by Judy Adler may help you as well. Its a must read for every new Newfie owner.

 

[johnbasl]

Yup. I've got the book and have read it. As well as several books by Patricial McConnel on training puppies.

 

[victoria1140]

Hmmm, Jen I thought you were taking Puppy from Hell aka Owain

hey I thought I got first dibs on Owain:goofy::goofy:

he can come and stay with munchkin an intersting combination and seeing as Owain likes demolishing stuff he would be in good company.
we could see who would outmunch the other

 

[dumainedogs]

You didn't say where the crate is when you're trying to work, etc. With Obie it all seemed to click when we moved the crate into our bedroom. He just didn't want to be alone in it when he knew we were around.

 

[Natasha]

I'm not sure if I've misread the part about the walks, but I'd be careful about overdoing it whilst she's growing! A general rule is 5 mins/month on lead

With the playing, try some interactive toys to tire her out? Such as a Kong Wobbler which you could put some of her kibble into.

Re the sleeping, Raleigh's only now sleeping from 10:30 pm - 6 am! It takes time for them to get used to the routine. I would still be getting up whenever she barks in the middle of the night though for toilet breaks, my partner and I alternated sleeping next to the crate for the first 4 weeks Once she has toileted, put her back in the crate. Don't play with her or anything and she'll learn to only bark during the middle of the night if it's urgent.

To help her like her crate, you could put a cover over it/make it more den like - a lot of dogs like them when they're against walls and not in the middle of a room for example. I would also recommend putting her in her crate when she's sleepy, even if it means waking her up, to begin with! We did this with Raleigh and it's helped him to learn to settle in there. A radio may also help or you could try an Adaptil plugin or the US equivalent (http://www.adaptil.co.uk/) to calm her if she seems anxious about being alone.

With the biting, unless it was biting/nipping skin, we tried to redirect with a toy. This works for the most part but if he gets too silly, we get up and leave the room for half a minute or so. We also say 'uh oh' too.

Sounds like you're doing a great job so far though

 

[AubreyMo]

Congrats on your new pup! As far as crate training and sleeping, what helped Moose the most when he was that age was a ticking clock wrapped in a towel and put in his crate at night. It reminds them of their mother and littermates heartbeats. If you think she's too hot you could take a milk jug (remove the cap) and freeze some water in it...that way she can lean against it at night to cool off (Just make sure she doesn't chew off and eat parts - supervise her with it first, and if she tries, the fan would be a great alternative) I used to leave Moose with a bowl full of a few ice cubes as well. It'll get better! You asked some great questions and I can't wait to see pictures and hear more about her. Good luck!

 

[johnbasl]

Thanks for all the additional tips. The crate isn't in our bedroom, but she's good at night anyway. It's during the day when we are home and she can see us that she doesn't want to stay in there. We've tried covering the crate, but I worry about the heat. Still, maybe we'll get a thin sheet that will avoid most of that problem.

As for the walks, we keep them short. 20 minutes max (maybe we should limit to 15 since she's just 3 months). I try to keep her off pavement as well. In the last few days we've been doing this, it tires her out quite a bit. She still barks in the crate, but it is decreasing the frequency of her wanting to expend energy in ways that involve biting us.

We've also recently introduced her to raw marrow bones. She had some before but was never interested. As of today, very interested. So, we are going to try using that as a crate reward and give it to her for a little while and then refreeze them for the next time. Hopefully that will help during the day. As I said, at night, she's really great.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[cmorgan.1505]

We have a thin sheet over Thor's crate, but also have a fan. The sheet covers the sides of the crate but not the front or back (the back is near our dresser in our bedroom) andI promise he does not get hot. Also, I forgot to add that if you are worried about water why not get a hamster style water bottle for the crate. We have one for Thor after someone on here told us about it and it's a great help! It took Thor about a day or so to catch on, but I often wake up to hear in drinking (like he is now lol). I found that during the day or when we have a big food party and need to put Thor up that placing him in our room (or a closed door room) with a radio on helps cause it cuts down the noise he hears from us. You might want to try this during the day. Your pup is lucky to have owners that care so much!