So I just moved across country - yes, I know, probably a big factor that my pup and I have been on the road for over a week - to move in with my SO and kindergartener. We have been together almost 3 years but spent the last year living apart, which is when I got my pup at 2 months old.
My girl is a Bernese/Labrador/GS mix in that order. I taught her basic commands on my own, then starting at 4 months, took her through a level 2 and level 3 training class with a well-respected trainer who does CGC classes. I'll admit that before (and even during) these training classes, my main source of info/thinking on dog training was from dominance theory. I'm open to learning new ways of doing things - I just want a happy and well-behaved dog.
Her ongoing issues are distractions, over-excitement, wanting to jump on and play with every dog and human who she crosses paths with, and pulling on the leash during walks. Newer issues that are cropping up are: refusing to sit and lie down when told, barking both at noises/strangers/dogs and for attention, whining for attention, pretty bad mouthing during play, and chewing - she used to chew, I curbed it, and now she is chewing on things again - papers, iphone cables, rugs, you name it. These new issues are all just hitting at once and have started just prior to or during this move that I had planned.
I am ignoring her when she whines and have been the whole trip, but when she was younger and couldn't hold her bladder, her whining was a cue to be taken out of the crate in the middle of the night. I only took her outside to pee and gave no reward, reinforcement, or play time. Now she whines when left alone, crate or no crate, and sometimes barks when the whining doesn't work. I was told by my trainer to curb the barking at people/dogs by distracting her with a treat ("find it!") on the ground whenever she would focus on another dog or human and start barking. I've been doing that but it doesn't seem to be working.
I take her for 2-3 walks daily, about 30-40 minutes each. She is a sniffer, so I let her smell if she wants to because that tends to tire her out more. I play with her usually once a day but this is not as consistent as the walks. Is there anything else I can do to mentally stimulate her or give her a "job" to tire her out and curb the over-excitement? It has been a long and stressful day. She was so good at our old place.
She just met the 5-year-old today. The kindergartener is shy and afraid of the dog. The dog is overexcited and keeps lunging at the little girl, reinforcing her fear. I had to keep her on the leash in the house today so the kid could eat dinner in peace. Even then, puppy keeps trying to pull away on the leash - this has gotten worse on walks lately, too.
I feel like I'm in WAY over my head here and would really appreciate some guidance in what to do next. The training classes helped, but it was so much information at once that I couldn't possibly train all the commands to perfection before the next class. So my plan is to start over with "sit" every day until it's perfect, and then go from there. What do you think?
*Edit: Just got done with a play session outside. It blows my mind that she is able to have enough self control for me to brush her rope toy against her face after I say "not yet" until I say "take it" when she lunges for it. She also waits for my cue to eat her food. Then sometimes it seems that she doesn't listen at all.
My girl is a Bernese/Labrador/GS mix in that order. I taught her basic commands on my own, then starting at 4 months, took her through a level 2 and level 3 training class with a well-respected trainer who does CGC classes. I'll admit that before (and even during) these training classes, my main source of info/thinking on dog training was from dominance theory. I'm open to learning new ways of doing things - I just want a happy and well-behaved dog.
Her ongoing issues are distractions, over-excitement, wanting to jump on and play with every dog and human who she crosses paths with, and pulling on the leash during walks. Newer issues that are cropping up are: refusing to sit and lie down when told, barking both at noises/strangers/dogs and for attention, whining for attention, pretty bad mouthing during play, and chewing - she used to chew, I curbed it, and now she is chewing on things again - papers, iphone cables, rugs, you name it. These new issues are all just hitting at once and have started just prior to or during this move that I had planned.
I am ignoring her when she whines and have been the whole trip, but when she was younger and couldn't hold her bladder, her whining was a cue to be taken out of the crate in the middle of the night. I only took her outside to pee and gave no reward, reinforcement, or play time. Now she whines when left alone, crate or no crate, and sometimes barks when the whining doesn't work. I was told by my trainer to curb the barking at people/dogs by distracting her with a treat ("find it!") on the ground whenever she would focus on another dog or human and start barking. I've been doing that but it doesn't seem to be working.
I take her for 2-3 walks daily, about 30-40 minutes each. She is a sniffer, so I let her smell if she wants to because that tends to tire her out more. I play with her usually once a day but this is not as consistent as the walks. Is there anything else I can do to mentally stimulate her or give her a "job" to tire her out and curb the over-excitement? It has been a long and stressful day. She was so good at our old place.
She just met the 5-year-old today. The kindergartener is shy and afraid of the dog. The dog is overexcited and keeps lunging at the little girl, reinforcing her fear. I had to keep her on the leash in the house today so the kid could eat dinner in peace. Even then, puppy keeps trying to pull away on the leash - this has gotten worse on walks lately, too.
I feel like I'm in WAY over my head here and would really appreciate some guidance in what to do next. The training classes helped, but it was so much information at once that I couldn't possibly train all the commands to perfection before the next class. So my plan is to start over with "sit" every day until it's perfect, and then go from there. What do you think?
*Edit: Just got done with a play session outside. It blows my mind that she is able to have enough self control for me to brush her rope toy against her face after I say "not yet" until I say "take it" when she lunges for it. She also waits for my cue to eat her food. Then sometimes it seems that she doesn't listen at all.