new dog, needs training

my2monkeyboys wrote: We took in a stray puppy the other day... he's really sweet, not so small though. I think he's some kind of beagle mix. He's about 12" tall at the back, but he's still pretty young as his boy parts haven't descended all the way yet.
We're having some problems with him though. He doesn't pay ANY attention to you when you call him or get on to him (like to get him off the couch!), he howls half the night when we put him outside in the back yard (prob because he's fenced in), and when we take him for walks he pulls and tugs the whole time, making for a tiring walk.
He loves Will though, and Will has just fallen for him so we hate to get rid of him, but I've got to get things under control or we'll have to.
Any ideas? I've never had to train a dog that was half-grown.

cameragirl21 replied: that's so great of you to take in a stray!
With puppies, you just have to be consistent. Dogs in principle want to please their owners so you just keep rewarding good behavior and telling him NO! for bad behavior and he'll come around. It's not easy and takes time and patience but it will pay off in the end. As for walks, you can get a choke chain collar, that works really well to teach a dog not to pull ahead, just be careful, it can choke them if not used properly.
As for howling at night, he's probably lonely and wants to be with you guys...is it possible to put him in one of the rooms at night or leave him something of Will's (like his clothing) to sleep with so he won't be lonely?
With the couch, again, just consistency, give him a treat each time he gets off the couch or comes when you call him and he'll get the message.
Enjoy your new puppy.

my2monkeyboys replied: He's not completely alone outside, as my Shih-Tzu Charlie is there with him. They seem to get along ok so far, all though you can tell Charlie gets irritated with his jumping and playing all the time. We tried letting him in last night but shut the doors to the LR in case he decided to poop or chew up toys/furniture. He proceeded to scratch and howl all night until I finally couldn't take it anymore and let him outside again. DH said he heard him barking up the road sometime last night, but when we got up this morning he was laying in our carport. I know we can't let him run around freely, but I don't know how to make him stop. We've already had a neighbor let us know that he kept them up half the night howling/barking.

boyohboyohboy replied: our dog trainer, had us use real chicken breast meat, so the treat was super special, and just tiny pieces like the size of a pea, and every time the dog did something right, it was treat treat treat, and she got it fairly fast.
I dont know about the howling though, I think they say its the same as letting a baby cry it out, if you give in just once, thats how long they know they have to howl before you come get them.
I know its hard, and we were not able to keep our dog.
I hope it works out for you.
I was trying to think when she was training us to walk the dog she had us use just a regular leash that was short, so the dog walked right beside us, and also it was treat treat treat...and lots of stopping and asking her to sit, and treat her, and then walk and treat her after a few steps, and she got so she walked right beside us because she wanted that chicken.
she also made some turkey jerky, with parm. cheese and the dog just loved that..
I will rack my brain and see if I can remember anything else..

BAC'sMom replied: Two words....Clicker Training

my2monkeyboys replied: Clicker training? I'll have to look that up...
Thanks for the ideas - I may try that chicken idea, too, at least for the walking/coming parts.

DVFlyer replied: Two words: Consistency, Repetition.

Clicker training is good because it almost guarantees consistency with "marking". But any type of training that is consistent and repeated will yield results.

From talking with various people *cough* my wife *cough*, I get the feeling they think dogs should just "know" what to do.

Dogs are just like kids. They need to be taught EVERYTHING you expect of them. Then you need to be consistent until a habit is formed. This takes time.

And, of course, just like kids/ humans, some dogs are easier to train than others.

luvmykids replied: This may be a dumb question, but do you know the dog can hear? I was trying to get a stray out of the middle of an intersection and thought he was ignoring my smooching noises but it turned out he couldn't hear. It turned out he was trained with visuals...if you snapped, he'd sit, if you pointed to the floor, he'd lay down. It took me a minute to catch on because he noticed another dog in a car but it was his sense of smell, not hearing.

On the walks, what worked with both our HUGE labs was that if they started pulling or got ahead, I'd stop dead in my tracks, let them pull until they realized I wasn't coming along, and wait for them to come back to me. All the leash they need when you're teaching them this is enough to get from your hand to their collar, so if yours is longer, hold it in your left hand and use your right hand to grip it down closer to him (if he's on your right.)

And rewards are always helpful, just make sure you give it RIGHT THAT SECOND or because they associate it with whatever they did the second before you give it to them. For sitting, reward them as soon as they sit, don't try to make them stay first. For getting off the couch, the second they touch the floor, etc.

jcc64 replied: Dogs need to understand first and foremost that you are the boss, aka the pack leader. When they pull out in front of you on a walk, they are communicating to you that they believe they are, quite literally, the leader. You have to start the walk right by:
1. Not putting his leash on unless he is sitting calmly
2. Not letting the dog walk out of the door ahead of you
3. Every time he pulls, do not pull back towards yourself--this is almost like an invitation to tug-of-war for the dog.
4. Keep the leash high up on the dog's neck, and yank him to the side the minute he starts to pull
5. If this doesn't snap him out of it, make him sit and focus on you before you will let him start moving again
6. reward good behavior, as others have already said

As far as the couch, does he have a dog bed or a crate--something that is his own, designated comfy space? When he goes on the couch, you can redirect him to his bed and reward when he stays there.

I've only ever adopted adult dogs, and it is absolutely possible to train them--much easier than with puppies, actually. They're smarter. As far as the barking outside thing, I don't know what to tell you--we leave our animals inside at night. i'm a big fan of crate training. Maybe try that.

coasterqueen replied: I haven't read what others have said, but sounds completely NORMAL to me. We got rid of all the nighttime howling and not listening to us by taking him to a trainer. We did the 2 week bootcamp (sounds awful, but isn't) and done! viola! He's MUCH better. Not 100% because he IS a puppy and puppies will be puppies, but the training helped immensely!

mom21kid2dogs replied: Something to consider . . . .if he's a new to you stray and primarily outside he won't likely respond when you call because he doesn't recognize the name you are using. Similar to if everyone just up and started calling you Sheila. You wouldn't get it for awhile. Like Jeanne, I usually adopt adult dogs and the tips you've received are all appropriate. They've all trained well. It would be great if you could locate a training class coming up soon & join. The reinforcement of a class if great, especially if you've not had much experience with animal training.

my2monkeyboys replied: I think I'm gonna pull out Charlie's old crate and see if that helps any with the night howling/barking. I just don't know if he'll pee in the floor or eat everything when we go to bed if I leave him out freely in the house, though I'm sure his favorite place to sleep would be in the bed with Will. That dog LOVES him!
Today we had him on his leash outside while we were playing. I hated not being able to take the leash off and letting him run around, but he'll take off down the road if we don't. He was responding better when we called him, though, so maybe he's starting to pick up on his name, or at least how we sound when we're calling him.
I'm going to try that clicking training, too, after I get one from the store tomorrow.
I appreciate the help... I really don't want to have to get rid of him, so anything we can do to make it better will be great. I think I may talk to the people at PetSmart tomorrow, too, about training classes.

coasterqueen replied:
Just my opinion, but I'd go to any trainer but Petsmart. Just a personal preference though.

Oh and on him sleeping in bed with Will. Just remember, no matter how much a dog loves ya and will sleep with ya, even at the puppy stage they will still get up in the middle of the night without you knowing and wander around and chew things/go potty, etc. I learned my lesson the hard way when we decided it was time to let Buster sleep with us and he got up in the night, chewed up my VERY VERY VERY EXPENSIVE cloth blinds I just had altered (I had them standing in the corner ready to be hung the next morning). He has since been in his crate to sleep at night

Puppies are a LOT of hard work. More work than what you really think, just like how we think kids are going to be so easy before getting them. They are fun, though! They take a LOT of patience too

my2monkeyboys replied: We trained Charlie on the crate - it was a lifesaver! So I guess Waylon's ball pit will have to be put up for a while until we get Moochie trained, too. (That's the only place we have for the crate.)
I really appreciate all the help!!!

mom21kid2dogs replied:
Good plan to keep him on a leash. Beagles and beagle mixes need alot of recall training to be off lead. BTDT!
Got any pics of the new addition?

my2monkeyboys replied: Here's a couple...

one of Moochie sitting in the seat with Will. He was asleep and wouldn't hardly wake up to have his pic taken!




This is one of Will and Mooch together. Excuse Will's hair, we'd just gotten back inside from playing! lol




This is one of Waylon and Moochie -- Waylon kept giving him hugs and kisses on his nose.




The more I look at him I'm pretty sure he's a full-blooded Beagle, so I've been looking up info on them. Last night nothing we did helped with the barking/baying thing so we just let him and Charlie inside. When we woke up this morning they were both asleep, Moochie on this big chair (used to be Charlie's chair!) and Charlie on a laundry basket. There were no messes, no chewed up toys other than the ones we gave Moochie. They both got outside and used the potty, too. Hopefully this will be the norm and not the exception. If he'll behave inside at night I have no problem letting him stay.
He really is such a sweet dog.

DVFlyer replied: Maybe I missed the answer to this, but just realized....

You took in a stray- and are keeping it? Have you contacted animal control or local shelters etc to see if anyone is missing their dog?

my2monkeyboys replied: It's not from our area, exactly. He had been hanging around the garage that works on my Dh's big truck for a while. We ended up bringing him home because, well, quite frankly he wouldn't get out of the car.
But we have been checking back with the guys at the garage to see if anyone has put up a poster or called or anything and called the animal control, too. We've even been checking the papers. So far nothing, but we do plan on giving him back if someone claims him.

Edit: typos - lots!!

luvmykids replied: OMGosh! Look at all that cute puppyness!!!!

luvmykids replied: OMGosh! Look at all that cute puppyness!!!!

mom21kid2dogs replied: Moochie is stinkin' ADORABLE!!