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[FloatingDivider]

(Sorry for the long ass post)
What's up GAF friends. I need some help raising a dog. I've seen the threads, and some of y'all seem to have awesome dogs so I figured you could help me out.
My fiancee bought a 12 week old french bulldog puppy and I don't know the first thing about raising it. The extent of my knowledge in dog training is catching some Cesar Millan, the dog whisperer, on NatGeo, while high on a buddies couch, half a decade ago.

I've mostly had cats as pets my entire life and they're the set it and forget it version of pets. You teach them where their litter is, spray some water at them if you catch them peeing anywhere else, put some food down, and everything else works itself out. My cats have all ended up responding to verbal commands and hand signals with no issues or real effort on my part.

I'm not a cats or gtfo person though, so I wasn't opposed to the concept of owning a dog. My fiancee has wanted one for years because her family has had dogs for most of her life, and since my very old cat recently died (R.I.P buddy) I figured I'd stop crushing her dreams. So after researching breeds and breeders (she was really particular about getting a good breeder she trusted) we ended up purchasing a french bulldog who's currently 13 weeks old.

I told her I'd be okay with it only if she made sure to train the dog immaculately. Because I like well trained obedient dogs, but I'm not a big fan of the run ram-shot through a house barely under control type dogs. You know the dogs that charge at you on the street, won't stop barking, etc... I was kind of an asshole, regretfully, in retrospect, because I thought I could just put it all on her, and have her figure it out.

Now we've owned the puppy for a week and I've quickly come to the realization that I can't put this all on her because we're a family, and I love her too much to make her fly this mission solo. The issue is I know fuck-all about raising a dog. She knows more than I do, because she read up on it prior to purchasing him, but her previous dogs came from the pound and were effectively pre-raised. So she's never really trained a dog either and I can tell she's pretty insecure about her knowledge because she's trying to bounce ideas off of me. Unfortunately I don't know anything either and am at best guessing based on that whole calm assertive thing Cesar Millan preached about.

Now I've been furiously googling for the last few days trying to figure this out but there's so many things out there and differing opinions and I'm feeling like I know even less about things now. So I'm kind of wondering if you guys have any good online resources you'd recommend. I'm essentially looking an online how to raise puppies for dummies, or dog training the ELI5 edition. (Shameful admission: I have already ordered the dogs for dummies books and they're currently on the way)

I also have some concrete issues I need advice on:

• House-breaking
  We're currently kind of still struggling here. He's only pooped indoors once, but he's had several urination type breaching events. Currently we're immediately taking him outside and cleaning it up out of his sight with an anti bacterial thing that's supposed to not leave a smell. He does pee more outside so we're ruling it as accidents. He essentially seems good for about 2 hours right now. Anything over that is a risk, but we're wondering if we should try to slowly increase the time because clearly every 2 hours is unsustainable for a long period of time. He manages 6 hours without accidents every night though, and when he's ready to go in the morning he clearly indicates it.
• Humping
  We've caught him humping the shit out of a stuffed animal we gave him. We've had to confiscate the thing. After a repeated test to verify if we weren't making shit up the humping is immediate and rather vicious. Is this normal for a 13 week old puppy? I have to mention he's not neutered because he's apparently a pedigree dog with a contract that has that as a clause so he could be used for breeding in the future. He hasn't tried to hump anything else but I'm kind of worried about it.
  
• Separation Anxiety
  The puppy is imprinted on my fiancee and will follow her anywhere (except the elevator). But now we're worried this is going to lead to separation anxiety when she has to go back to work. Any tips on preventing that kind of behavior or nipping it in the bud. He already whines when she leaves him in an enclosure and goes away. We're trying to make her leaving as uneventful as possible so she doesn't say goodbye or anything but he still starts whining.
  
• Fear of the elevator
  We're moving out to a house pretty soon but currently we live in apartment that has a fairly loud elevator and he seems to be scared shitless of it. He will loyally follow right up until the point when he makes visual contact and will literally freeze when he sees it.
  No amount of coaxing will get him to enter it or even take a step towards it. Currently my girlfriend is picking him up and carrying him while in the elevator, while I'm lifting him over the lip and setting him down.
  
  I can tell my girlfriend feels really guilty about doing this because he apparently starts shaking. I however feel like she should stop carrying him because I think it's adding to his fear, but I'm unsure. I'm just theorizing he's essentially treating being picked up as a thing that indicates the elevator might be dangerous or something. Any ideas on how to get him over that fear? I've thought about just elevator training him by riding the thing for half an hour a day or something but I also wouldn't want to terrorize the shit out of him. I personally try to act like it ain't no thing because it isn't and he should know that.
  
• Obedience training
  Currently we're working on sit using a treat and waiting for 5 seconds of sitting before giving it to him. But I kind of feel like we should figure out how to do it without using a treat because I don't want him to be food driven. In my opinion he's also not responding to the sit command as much as the food being held over his head is forcing him to sit down to look up at it. So any tips would be cool.

Also don't get this list wrong because I think it's been going well in general. He's already super cool with being crated for the night as long as he's in the bedroom. And we're making pretty good progress on getting him to walk besides or behind us without pulling on the leash until we reach the dog park. And he doesn't really seem to bark a lot so far so that's a big +.

TL;DR
My fiancee bought a 13 week old french bulldog puppy and I need tips on how to raise it properly and would appreciate it if you guys could give me some.

Thanks.

Edit: Oh shit picture, I don't have one right now because my fiancee is camera master supreme, will update when she gets back home later tonight. She's taken him to visit his grand-ma.

 

[Dr.Horrible]

First rule of dog threads is you need to post a picture of said dog.

Especially if it's a puppy.

 

[robotrock]

First rule of dog threads is you need to post a picture of said dog.

Yeah, wtf OP?

 

[Volimar]

WTF no pic?!?!

Sorry but we can't start this thread until we see the pupper wupperz.

 

[FloatingDivider]

Wait I found a picture, this is him one week ago.

 

[backflip10019]

Aw I love Frenchies! He's adorable.

Hope to have one some day myself.

 

[SomedayTheFire]

Awww cute doggie

 

[wesleyshark]

That's a solid looking doggo. Well done.

If tearsofash tells you to pick up the dog from its leg/s, DO NOT pick it up.

Hahahahahahahaah

 

[neorej]

You got a dog and you have no idea how to raise it or how to take care of it?

 

[panty]

Start separation anxiety training immediately. First just 30 seconds, then a minute, two minutes, five minutes etc. Don't make a huge fuss when you "come back home", just be chill.

Also decide on boundaries where he/she is allowed. Make it clear from the get go.

Good luck.

No shitty food
No cooked bone

For obedience and food, too easy. You are the master. Put the food in front of the dog and tell it to sit/lay down and wait. I did that with my AmStaff and the big fucker can be starving but unless I say "good boy", he won't budge.

Also this.

 

[Dr.Horrible]

Bathroom - when you are home go outside frequently with them on a leash. When he does any business offer a ton of praise and give him a treat. Otherwise crate training will help when you aren't home as long as the crate isn't too big and he isn't in it for too long.

We ended up using a bell on the backdoor for when we were home and the puppy was loose. He learned to ring the bell when he needed to go outside ... however, he eventually learned to abuse this for just wanting to go out and fart around.

Not that you would, but never scold them for doing business inside the house. I hate it when people think that rubbing their nose in it or whatever works.

 

[TurboButts]

Gotta start that instagram account and get this pupper viral

 

[sammex]

Cute dog OP.

House breaking will get better over time, older dogs can hold it for longer - try and pick up on any signals that indicate they need to go - I noticed early on that my dog would pick up a particular toy and come over to me to go out. Otherwise the rule is take them out after meals and at regular intervals, then try and space them out slowly.

Separation anxiety - again, try building up from 5 minutes or so at a time to longer periods. You can just go in the next room. Don't go back to the dog if it's crying, wait until it's quiet. I used a kong that had treats inside (and frozen) to distract my dog. Put some bits of apple/carrot and a bit of peanut butter or something inside the kong, freeze overnight and then give it to your dog before you go out and they spend 30minutes or whatever licking/chewing it. You can get other mental puzzles like that which are good.

Fear of the elevator - it's going take a while. Try rewarding the dog in the elevator with a treat or it's fav toy. If you can play with the dog in there without getting strange looks that might help, or just outside in the corridor so it gets used to the noise and slowly get closer.

Obedience - get a clicker. Click and give a treat. Then the dog knows that a click means good. Click at the exact moment they do what you want and the dog will get the idea really quickly. You have to be exact on the timing.

(can't really help on the humping, I've got a bitch).

Otherwise read and watch all the dog stuff you can. This is my first dog too after having lots of cats but it's amazing how quickly you get flipped to the other side

Enjoy your new buddy!

 

[Cheebo]

Wait you aren't alllwed to fix it and they can use it from breeding whenever they want?

I have never heard of this level of control over a pet after selling it.

 

[FloatingDivider]

If tearsofash tells you to pick up the dog from its leg/s, DO NOT pick it up.

No shitty food
No cooked bone

For obedience and food, too easy. You are the master. Put the food in front of the dog and tell it to sit/lay down and wait. I did that with my AmStaff and the big fucker can be starving but unless I say "good boy", he won't budge.

That's what my girlfriend has been doing with treats, but I'm going to suggest we start extending it to his actual meals. We probably did mess that up because we've just been putting it down straight away so far.

Dumb mistake lol. As for food we've gotten recommendations from the breeder and have been sticking to that so far. I don't really know what you mean by shitty food though, is there canned food I need to avoid or something?

We also don't give him scraps and try to prevent him from eating scraps that fall off of the table. Which is a challenge so far because he's a doggy vacuum cleaner. I've suggested we crate him while we eat but I don't think my GF is entirely on board.

You got a dog and you have no idea how to raise it or how to take care of it?

I know man, then again it doesn't seem like something you can become experienced in without owning a dog. I'm studying up on this stuff as hard as I can though. And my girlfriend has owned dogs before so she knows how to care for one. She just hasn't raised one from a puppy herself.

Start separation anxiety training immediately. First just 30 seconds, then a minute, two minutes, five minutes etc. Don't make a huge fuss when you "come back home", just be chill.

Also decide on boundaries where he/she is allowed. Make it clear from the get go.

Good luck.

So just put him in an enclosure and walk away? Do we need to wait for him to calm down before returning? We've been debating on how to best approach this. My girlfriend seems to think I'd be better at doing it because I'm less emotionally responsive if he starts whining. We've defined very clear boundaries on where he's allowed to go in the apartment and he generally seems to have gotten the message so I guess that's another one for the win column.

Bathroom - when you are home go outside frequently with them on a leash. When he does any business offer a ton of praise and give him a treat. Otherwise crate training will help when you aren't home as long as the crate isn't too big and he isn't in it for too long.

We ended up using a bell on the backdoor for when we were home and the puppy was loose. He learned to ring the bell when he needed to go outside ... however, he eventually learned to abuse this for just wanting to go out and fart around.

Not that you would, but never scold them for doing business inside the house. I hate it when people think that rubbing their nose in it or whatever works.

My fiancee does the praising and treat thing. I'm still working on not feeling super awkward praising an animal for pooping but I generally try to as well. We haven't reprimanded him at all outside of vocally and with tsst and shh sounds. Sometimes when he's laser focused on something we have given him a very soft tap to snap him out of it.

Wait you aren't alllwed to fix it and they can use it from breeding whenever they want?

I have never heard of this level of control over a pet after selling it.

Yes, I have expressed the same concern to my fiancee. That being said the contract very clearly states that both parties have to come to an additional agreement for breeding and we'd essentially collect some form of profit share from it. I'm kind of iffy about it myself but my fiancee seems to think it's fine. She essentially fell in love with a dog the breeder wanted to keep herself and worked out a deal.

 

[neorej]

I know man, then again it doesn't seem like something you can become experienced in without owning a dog. I'm studying up on this stuff as hard as I can though. And my girlfriend has owned dogs before so she knows how to care for one. She just hasn't raised one from a puppy herself.

There's "experienced" and looking for knowledge on a internetforum. There's books you can read up on before getting a dog, you know, to get an idea about how to deal with things like House-breaking, Humping, Separation Anxiety, Fear of the elevator and Obedience training. That way you got some general knowledge on what to do, experience will make you do it better.

 

[suzu]

Crate training helps immensely with house breaking, and is also useful for separation when everyone else is out.

 

[Dr_LucienSanchez]

Profit sharing from dog breeding. What a world we live in.

 

[FloatingDivider]

There's "experienced" and looking for knowledge on a internetforum. There's books you can read up on before getting a dog, you know, to get an idea about how to deal with things like House-breaking, Humping, Separation Anxiety, Fear of the elevator and Obedience training. That way you got some general knowledge on what to do, experience will make you do it better.

I guess you're right man... But it's not like I can go return him at this point nor do I see any real reason too. I mean my fiancee did read several books and asked questions on breed specific forums before she bought him. I didn't, I'm just trying to catch up to help her out and maybe get some alternative opinions rather than just assuming the books my fiancee read are all we need. I'm trying to do this raising a dog thing right man.

 

[Dubbedinenglish]

Have plenty of play time. Tired dog is a happy dog. So having walks, play fighting with him (he shouldn't bite with any force when playing) or games like fetch help. Every dog has a personality and certain tells for what they want.

 

[Sabre]

 

[Kayhan]

Wait I found a picture, this is him one week ago. Hand pictured is the breeder not my fiancee lol.

Why did you feel the need to mention this? GAF is no-judgement zone.

 

[EstoyBlackWaldo]

I have to mention he's not neutered because he's apparently a pedigree dog with a contract that has that as a clause so he could be used for breeding in the future.

This, I would have a big problem with, it would in fact be a deal breaker. Cute dog and good luck to you, with all the advice read and given it will still be a learning process and mistakes will be made.

 

[FloatingDivider]

Why did you feel the need to mention this? GAF is no-judgement zone.

Oh it wasn't for any visual quality of the hand itself. I'm sorry if it came across that way, it's because multiple family members pointed out the hand and asked why it was holding the dog like that.

Edit: I edited out the comment.

 

[Kiko]

Hey mate. First congrats on an awesome Frenchie pup. We got ours a couple of weeks ago, he is currently 6 months old and we are pretty much done with the puppy part. Now he''s more and more becoming juvenile with its own problems. That said, we did a lot of things straight away in the beginning, so he is a lot easier to handle now.

Always have in mind, a well trained dog is not only good for you, but also for the dog, as he understands that his humans give him security and will handle critical situations for him, so he does not have to think that much on his own.

[*]House-breaking
We're currently kind of still struggling here. He's only pooped indoors once, but he's had several urination type breaching events. Currently we're immediately taking him outside and cleaning it up out of his sight with an anti bacterial thing that's supposed to not leave a smell. He does pee more outside so we're ruling it as accidents. He essentially seems good for about 2 hours right now. Anything over that is a risk, but we're wondering if we should try to slowly increase the time because clearly every 2 hours is unsustainable for a long period of time. He manages 6 hours without accidents every night though, and when he's ready to go in the morning he clearly indicates it.

Perfectly normal. Frenchie pups only really recognise the urge starting around 5th month. Until then it is a lot of carefully watching and praising him as soon as he does it outside. Slowly the times will increase. They usually adapt very fast to your night cycle, so this should be done quite fast. We put ours in a box, so he had to make sound at night when he wants to pee. Works perfectly. Dangerous times: After feeding, After sleeping, After playing.

[*]Humping
We've caught him humping the shit out of a stuffed animal we gave him. We've had to confiscate the thing. After a repeated test to verify if we weren't making shit up the humping is immediate and rather vicious. Is this normal for a 13 week old puppy? I have to mention he's not neutered because he's apparently a pedigree dog with a contract that has that as a clause so he could be used for breeding in the future. He hasn't tried to hump anything else but I'm kind of worried about it.

Nothing to worry. Humping at this age is a sign of domination. Neutering not before 6th month, better as late as possible. I would not be worried yet.

[*]Separation Anxiety
The puppy is imprinted on my fiancee and will follow her anywhere (except the elevator). But now we're worried this is going to lead to separation anxiety when she has to go back to work. Any tips on preventing that kind of behavior or nipping it in the bud. He already whines when she leaves him in an enclosure and goes away. We're trying to make her leaving as uneventful as possible so she doesn't say goodbye or anything but he still starts whining.

Very slowly getting him used to be separated. Depending on his character it can take a while. First just going out of sight (closing a door for mere seconds) then doing these things longer and longer. Later stage going out for some minutes so he loses the smell too. Do not hug him before going or after return. This will be imprinted in his mind and he will know what happes as soon as you say goodby to him. He needs to learn that this is perfectly normal, so also no hugging when returning. Just pretend you have never left, leave him until he gets quiet after you return, then you can hug him.

[*]Fear of the elevator
We're moving out to a house pretty soon but currently we live in apartment that has a fairly loud elevator and he seems to be scared shitless of it. He will loyally follow right up until the point when he makes visual contact and will literally freeze when he sees it.
No amount of coaxing will get him to enter it or even take a step towards it. Currently my girlfriend is picking him up and carrying him while in the elevator, while I'm lifting him over the lip and setting him down.

I can tell my girlfriend feels really guilty about doing this because he apparently starts shaking. I however feel like she should stop carrying him because I think it's adding to his fear, but I'm unsure. I'm just theorizing he's essentially treating being picked up as a thing that indicates the elevator might be dangerous or something. Any ideas on how to get him over that fear? I've thought about just elevator training him by riding the thing for half an hour a day or something but I also wouldn't want to terrorize the shit out of him. I personally try to act like it ain't no thing because it isn't and he should know that.

If you touch him when he is afraid, he will learn that this is the reaction you want to have. As harsh as is sounds, he needs to understand that those things are no danger. He will later look at you and check whether you are afraid or not. Send him the signals of security and that this situation is nothing to worry abount, then he will trust you and be a lot calmer. Please do not push him. Make a game out of it, lure him into the eleveator with toys/food so he does not think about it. He needs good remembrance if those things. For example vaccuum cleaner. I was making funny sounds and played with it in front of him. He because interested and wanted also to play with that thing. Later on he remembered that the cleaner is not bad to him.

[*]Obedience training
Currently we're working on sit using a treat and waiting for 5 seconds of sitting before giving it to him. But I kind of feel like we should figure out how to do it without using a treat because I don't want him to be food driven. In my opinion he's also not responding to the sit command as much as the food being held over his head is forcing him to sit down to look up at it. So any tips would be cool.

Dont worry. In the beginning there is a lot of food involved. Later you use a technique called variable rewarding, so not every command is a treat. He should never know if his next action grants him a treat or not, so he will always obey. But this only later. If he is not food drived per se, hugging does the job as good. Depends on your dog. Mine is pretty much non-food driven.

Lastly, there is a lot of different opinions in the web. I only rewarded in the beginning. No punishment. He doesn't know yet, what is right and what is wrong. Whenever he does something right -> reward. He does something wrong -> Ignore.

Later you teach him commands for no (or wrong). As soon as he obeys, reward.. etc etc.

The sooner you start the easier it gets later on, when he gets his own mind and ideas

Have a lot of fun with him =)

 

[CliqWriter]

http://https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZzFRKsgVMhGTxffpzgTJlQ

https://www.youtube.com/user/tab289

Here are some very good channels on training the pup. I'd like to highlight the training positive video on crate training. I've used all these videos and training my pup has been super easy and fun.

I think the biggest thing for you to know is that everything takes time and every dog is different. Be patient and loving with your dog. The second thing that is majorly important is to keep a consistent schedule for the bathroom, you'll be surprised how much your pup will pick up.

Also, your pup is at an age where socialization is important. Take him around people and other dogs and get him acquainted. (IF he has had all his shots and deworming's)

Its also uber important with getting him used to being touched for future grooming's at this age. play with his ears, paws, mouth so he will be comfortable with it later.

For a new owner it is good to look up a few articles about dogs and their body language. Can't just teach yourself to talk to it and train it, you have to know when he is communicating with you as well.

Good luck mate!

 

[Escape Goat]

Read up on training your dog. I think the thing to always remember is that your dog is forming a pack with your family. There needs to be an alpha dog or it will try to become the leader.

When its time to go out, you are the first one out or nobody goes out. As someone said above, when you put food down you say when its okay to eat. When you're out walking you are the one in the lead, not the dog (it can walk next to you but never ahead).

Good luck, OP!

 

[Darryl M R]

Classes. I got a dog over a year ago and he has been through 3 classes now.

Also we thought he had separation anxiety but what we think now is that he hates closed places.

He is okay with being in his crate for sleeping if he is close to us or if we are in a car but he hates staying in it for multiple hours during a day (without a treat) or being in his playpen.

We tried letting him just roam our 1 bedroom loft and he stopped crying or yelling when we were away. When confined just to the bedroom section he would cry. Something about him feeling trapped though he has been trained to stay in his crate.

Having a pup is like having a kid. After this experience I don't think I ever want kids now. Probably for the best.

 

[zeemumu]

For housebreaking we taught our dog to pee either outside or on designated potty training mats that we bought from the store. Once he got older we took the mats away and he exclusively pees outside now.

But that doesn't seem to extend to Petsmart because he tends to try and mark his territory in there. Hasn't done that in a while though.

 

[Adaren]

Give your dog a small, training-sized treat when he gets in the elevator and he'll love it in no time. Then wean him off of it (replace the treats with lots of praise and cuddling).

 

[MartyStu]

Crate train him asap. It will break your heart to do it, but trust me, it is better for all involved in the long run.

And don't half-ass the training either. My dog was only half trained and now she will whine about being left in her crate if she figures out that someone is in the house.

 

[thegreyfox]

http://https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZzFRKsgVMhGTxffpzgTJlQ

https://www.youtube.com/user/tab289

Here are some very good channels on training the pup. I'd like to highlight the training positive video on crate training. I've used all these videos and training my pup has been super easy and fun.

Great channels but you might want to start with this.
Stonnie Dennis: Common Sense Puppy Training Part One
Stonnie Dennis: Common Sense Puppy Training Part Two
Stonnie Dennis: Common Sense Puppy Training Part Three
Stonnie Dennis: Common Sense Puppy Training Part Four

and read this
Ian Dunbar: Before you get your puppy
Ian Dunbar: After you get your puppy

 

[jackal27]

A few things:

- Your dog is not a cat. Don't expect him to act like one. I've interacted with several cat owners who struggle with this.

- Your dog is not a human. Don't expect his memory or conscience to work like a human's. If you're potty training him, you will have to catch him in the act of going in the house and give him a stern, loud, deep NO! For him to associate that with you being upset.

- Positive reinforcement will always work better. Dogs literally love to please and he wants to make you happy (especially because you seem to divvy out the food). Whenever he's doing what you want him to, give him lots and lots of affection and a treat now and then. Even if he's just chilling and being a good boy, it reinforces that behavior. Same for when he goes potty outside. Give him a little treat every time for a few months.

- Be stern. Don't back down just because he's the cutest thing you've ever seen. Dogs need to know you're the pack leader or they'll assume THEY are. Just like we see them as too human sometimes, they see us as dogs. Use that communicate with him well.

- Kennel train. It can seem cruel until you realize that dogs are den dwellers and need their own space anyway. Get him a kennel, make it cozy, call it his house, have him sleep in their and teach him to go in it on command. Also, dogs don't pee or poo where they sleep so it helps with house training a lot. Thank me later.

- Learn his personality. You can find puppy personality tests online and there are some good ones. Learn if he's submissive or dominant, if he's independent or not, if he has high or low patience/pain tolerance (this will tell you if he's good with kids), if he's motivated by food or affection. All these things will help you so much and it's a lot of fun.

- Do not let him have free reign of the house for the first year or so. Would you let your 5 year old wander a huge warehouse by himself all day? No. Dont let him do it either. It's exhausting those first moths, but it'll help a ton with potty training and keeping him out of trouble. This isn't also where kennel training comes in handy. Put him away for an hour or two to chill out.

- A tired dog is a good dog. Expend his energy or he'll find a way to. Take him for lots of walks (every day if you can), play ball, teach him tricks, chase him around, etc. If you don't you can bet he'll start ripping things up or getting into trouble.

- He's got a tiny little bladder and needs to potty a lot. For however many months old he is, that's how many hours he can hold it, up to about 6 or 8 months. May be different for smaller dogs. "But wait... I have to let him out in the middle of the night?" Yes. And it's awful. But it only lasts a little while (a month? Two?) and then he'all learn to hold it through the night until morning. Also, learn to watch his body language and whines because he'all try to tell you when he needs to go. Usually by whining a lot and staring you right in the face haha.

- Teach him tricks now! The ones he has to learn are sir, lay down, and stay. It'll change your life. Tricks are easy to teach, use up their energy, make you both happy, and impress your friends with how awesome a dog owner you are! Look up YouTube tutorials for them. Also, teach him words. Seeing him come to life when he so much as THINKS he heard the word "Hungry?" Will make your day.

- Learn how much to feed him now. He's not a cat. You need give him two meals a day and they need to Ben small portions. He will probably eat whatever you put in front of him. Learn how much he needs for each meal and keep it at that.

- Get him neutered. This won't get rid of humping completely but it'll save you a lot of trouble. Especially if you don't plan to breed him. Also, dogs hump as a sign of dominance so just remember that when he does that to his toy, it's normal, and it's not necessarily sexual. If he does it to you, no go. He's trying to say he's the boss.

- Physical contact is powerful. Give your dog lots of love. DO NOT hit your dog. The only time I would say that a small strike might be warranted is for biting. They need to understand that biting hurts and they can't do it. Hitting them for having an accident, whining, tearing something up, etc is not effective and only damages your relationship.

Hope some of these help! Feel free to ask me anything!

 

[FloatingDivider]

Hey mate. First congrats on an awesome Frenchie pup...

Thanks for the awesome post dude. You're spot on with the dangerous times thing. I think you're right about not touching the dog for the elevator since we don't touch him anywhere else on our walk to the dog park.

I do think we'll need to use treats or something to lure him in, however my girlfriend said she couldn't reliably get him to come to the elevator when using treats. I guess we should work on a follow command so he knows what we're expecting or something.

Here are some very good channels on training the pup...

Good luck mate!

Thanks for the channels, I saw a few good vids I bookmarked for later viewing. We're already trying to get him socialized but he honestly seems really social from the start and will generally allow everyone he's met so far to touch and pet him. I think the breeder got most of that out of the way for us honestly.

That being said I'm worried because I haven't seen him around other dogs yet and our local dog park is suspiciously empty for some reason. I've seen a grand total of 2 dogs there and he seemed fine but there also wasn't any real interaction. He's had all of his shots/deworming and is microchipped too btw.

You're right about the body language thing because I have no clue how to read any of that and I hadn't really thought about it outside of trying to tell when he wants to pee.

Read up on training your dog. I think the thing to always remember is that your dog is forming a pack with your family.!

We're totally doing the alpha thing I hope. He's not allowed out or in before us. We want him by our side or behind when walking. So far we've just been stopping if he gets ahead and wait for him to return to our side before moving on. I mostly prefer to keep the leash short enough that he can't really fall far behind or get out in front too much though and it seems to be working. We did mess up on the food but I'm going to start doing that properly from now on.

Classes...

We've been thinking about seeking out a puppy training class if only to reliably get him socialized with other dogs.

Crate train him asap...

I've heard this a lot, so far we've been getting him to sleep in his crate and we reward him with praise if he hangs out in his crate when we just want to chill and watch tv. So far he's really taking a liking to the thing and hangs out in there a lot. We do keep the door open when we're not sleeping though and I'm wondering if we should close it more often.

I also feel like we should be getting him used to being in an enclosure without us around. But I'm confused as to how we should handle it. Some people just recommend doing it on a time basis and just leaving them in there for say five minutes and getting them out. But I've also read that you should wait for them to be calm before retrieving them. Still trying to figure out the best way to approach this.

Great channels but you might want to start with this.
Stonnie Dennis: Common Sense Puppy Training Part One
Stonnie Dennis: Common Sense Puppy Training Part Two
Stonnie Dennis: Common Sense Puppy Training Part Three
Stonnie Dennis: Common Sense Puppy Training Part Four

and read this
Ian Dunbar: Before you get your puppy
Ian Dunbar: After you get your puppy

Wow. A+++ post man. I'm going to work through this tonight if I can.

 

[El-Suave]

Wait you aren't alllwed to fix it and they can use it from breeding whenever they want?

I have never heard of this level of control over a pet after selling it.

I had the same clause in the contract when I bought my Shiba Inu. It also had a clause that if I would ever want to sell the dog, she would have the first option to buy it back. Doesn't say anything negative about the breeder, mine is super friendly and caring and the puppy is already house broken and leash trained when you get it. We needed to neuter our second Shiba for medical reasons (one testicle had moved and could have caused problems down the road) and it wasn't a problem.
My advice is to visit a dog school puppy training course asap, it's fun for the dog and its owner, you learn something and the dog needs to socialize with other dogs.

 

[NandoGip]

It sounds like you guys are off to the right start. I seriously judge dog owners who don't train their dogs because they make life hell for the rest of us and give us a bad name.

The main thing to learn is how to show your dog the right way to act and the wrong way. All dog's differ, so you have to find out what motivates them and how to motivate them. Get a high value reward you use for important training (a bone or something) and then a "low" value one (small treats) that can be used to reinforce good behavior.

For example, my dog loves little treats, and is very obedient after I give her some good exercise. Anytime I need to train her, like not to pull, or to stop barking when I leave, I give her some good exercise, then give her a training session on the right way to act. Repetition is key.

House breaking:
You're doing it right. Feed/give water at the same time everyday and be mindful of how the dog acts when they're looking to go out. It sounds like they're already getting the picture, so continue doing what you're doing. Give them a low value treat after they poop and pee outside.

With the pooping/peeing inside, you have to be watchful and catch them in the act so that you can correct the behavior immediately. If you don't catch them and then try to correct it, they'll associate you finding the poop being bad, rather than the actual act of pooping inside being bad. That's when you start finding poop in the corners and stuff.

Humping:
I don't have much experience with this, but you might be in a tough position since you can't neuter your pup. My guess would be to correct the behavior when you catch it so that they don't get into this habit.

Seperation Anxiety:
If you're not doing it already: Crate train your dog. I don't know if you have any misconceptions about crate training, but it's essentially give your dog its own private space to be comfortable. My little pup has a big cage with soft bedding, all her toys, and a big blanket covering it and she loves it. Her anxiety used to be terrible but after getting her used to the routine, she learned to relax.

She used to bark when we left, but I did some training sessions where I would put her in the crate, and when I left, if she barked I'd come in and tell her "No", and if she didn't I'd come in and give her a treat. It's difficult because any attention compared to no attention is a win in a dogs book, so you have walk a fine line with training this way.


Fear of the elevator:
Do some training sessions with the high value treat. Goad the pup into really wanting the treat and then make them follow you in to the elevator. Repeat like 10 times in a session. They'll get over it.


Obedience training:
Some dogs are motivated by treats, some are motivated by toys, some are motivated by affection. Whatever you dog is, just play to that and take advantage of it so that they learn that if they want it, they have to act the way you want them to.

Your dog sitting because of the treat being held over his head is actually a technique utilized to teach dogs how to sit. You stumbled upon the actual way people use to teach dogs to sit lol.

But yeah, besides that sounds like you're off to a great start. Essentially this all boils down to:

-Get high value treats for important training, get low value ones to reinforce good behavior.
-Repetition is key.
-Correct bad behavior with a "No"
-If they're barkers: Do not react, or it reinforces that they get attention when they bark.
-Crate training: Will help them get over separation anxiety, and become independent.

Also I want to mention www.dogfoodadvisor.com. Make sure you are feeding your dog high quality food. I feed mine grain free.

I also give my dog multivitamins and a yeast supplement for dogs. Her fur has become fuller and shinier, and it has helped her with her sensitive skin. I don't know if your dog needs that, but I can vouch for it's effectiveness.