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Hello you all !!!I have new puppy named Biscuit she is 12 weeks now and a blue merle. Are Australian Shperds usually fiesty? Do Australian Sheperds calm down when she get older or worse? Any tips how to get her stop biting my girls?
We don't have obedience classes. I have started clicker training. She is doing well but have question how to get her to heel? Boy alot of questions. Any one have a good site to learn how to do Agility or catching a frisbee? I need to teach myself so I can teach her correctly. Here I go again. Blah Blah away.I will asked more as we go along. Thank You for your help and tips.
Hello you all !!!I have new puppy named Biscuit she is 12 weeks now and a blue merle. Are Australian Shperds usually fiesty? Do Australian Sheperds calm down when she get older or worse? Any tips how to get her stop biting my girls?
We don't have obedience classes. I have started clicker training. She is doing well but have question how to get her to heel? Boy alot of questions. Any one have a good site to learn how to do Agility or catching a frisbee? I need to teach myself so I can teach her correctly. Here I go again. Blah Blah away.I will asked more as we go along. Thank You for your help and tips.
I got a Aussie!
Beautiful dog!
Australian Sheps need a job or they get bored. We taught ours to pick up clothes and a trick a week until he settled down. ...look up shaping w/ clicker training ...it was our savior!!!!
The girls settle before the boys but they are always active. Mine was in our face alot at first and we trained self control. When he would sit or lay down in a relaxed position we would click and treat the behavior. Now he has learned to be still when we are and to be active when we are. Work on recall now, because they are impulsive!!!!!!!!!!!!! only call them once Biscuit come and then have her on a long leash and pull her in w/ lots of praise ...if you start this now it will just become second instinct. theres a video called reliable recall, which is what we used, but it is still a work in progress as we got him after much abuse and bad habits.
you need to stop all play and put her in a crate if she nips. Get the point across that that is unacceptable, but be careful in correcting her as they are sensitive and can become shy.
Another way to do it is whenever she nips(I'm assuming she is when they run) put a toy in her mouth. I have a friend whos dog always has a toy in his mouth when he plays w/ the kids, so he can't nip. It's not mean, it's a herding behavior.
We clicker trained our dude w/ everything.
Frisbee ...click(of course a treat always follows the click) when she shows interest in it. Then throw it and click when she goes for it a few times
....then throw it a foot away from you and when she picks it up call her and click when she turns around ...then keep doing this until she brings it back sucessfully and then add in distance.
I don't know where you are located, but I have a friend who owns a clicker training school and they train frisbeee and agility.
If you want the info PM me.
Hope that helps!
There is a book called 'click and play agility" that we started w/
ohhh and they are very smart TO SMART but some learn w/ baby steps and others see big pics.
Figure out which way she works and then you can tire her out.
agility is a great way to bond w/ the dog. i prefer frisbee because I think it's so much fun, but agility worked too.
We run ours a few miles daily, ontop of a soccer game at night, but we have to tire his brain as well.
We ask him for things while we run. Like I ask him to run in the grass and then I'll ask him to run on the street w/ me and he has to think about it ...makes his brain tired. he's a bump on a log today because of our houseguest and halloween.
ohhh and the treat doesn't necessarily have to be a treat. Cody is attention driven so the treat is a hand game or tag.
My friends dog is toy driven so the treat is a ball ...many are food driven ...if you can't find awesome treats, try baby food.
Last edited by kelly3120; 11-02-2007 at 08:58 AM..
Australian Sheps need a job or they get bored. We taught ours to pick up clothes and a trick a week until he settled down. ...look up shaping w/ clicker training ...it was our savior!!!!
The girls settle before the boys but they are always active. Mine was in our face alot at first and we trained self control. When he would sit or lay down in a relaxed position we would click and treat the behavior. Now he has learned to be still when we are and to be active when we are. Work on recall now, because they are impulsive!!!!!!!!!!!!! only call them once Biscuit come and then have her on a long leash and pull her in w/ lots of praise ...if you start this now it will just become second instinct. theres a video called reliable recall, which is what we used, but it is still a work in progress as we got him after much abuse and bad habits.
you need to stop all play and put her in a crate if she nips. Get the point across that that is unacceptable, but be careful in correcting her as they are sensitive and can become shy.
Another way to do it is whenever she nips(I'm assuming she is when they run) put a toy in her mouth. I have a friend whos dog always has a toy in his mouth when he plays w/ the kids, so he can't nip. It's not mean, it's a herding behavior.
We clicker trained our dude w/ everything.
Frisbee ...click(of course a treat always follows the click) when she shows interest in it. Then throw it and click when she goes for it a few times
....then throw it a foot away from you and when she picks it up call her and click when she turns around ...then keep doing this until she brings it back sucessfully and then add in distance.
I don't know where you are located, but I have a friend who owns a clicker training school and they train frisbeee and agility.
If you want the info PM me.
Hope that helps!
There is a book called 'click and play agility" that we started w/
ohhh and they are very smart TO SMART but some learn w/ baby steps and others see big pics.
Figure out which way she works and then you can tire her out.
agility is a great way to bond w/ the dog. i prefer frisbee because I think it's so much fun, but agility worked too.
We run ours a few miles daily, ontop of a soccer game at night, but we have to tire his brain as well.
We ask him for things while we run. Like I ask him to run in the grass and then I'll ask him to run on the street w/ me and he has to think about it ...makes his brain tired. he's a bump on a log today because of our houseguest and halloween.
ohhh and the treat doesn't necessarily have to be a treat. Cody is attention driven so the treat is a hand game or tag.
My friends dog is toy driven so the treat is a ball ...many are food driven ...if you can't find awesome treats, try baby food.
Sounds like your having Fun with your Australian Sheperd. Thank You so much for responding. I am well aware she needs to use her brain. I have been clicker training with her. Just having trouble with constant biting my girls all the time. Not just trying to herd but even when the girls sit down,or play with her walking bite in the front leg ,hands,face and jump up and holding on the girls. I think she is trying to dominate. My husband and I don't get bit as much as the girls. My oldest daughter clicker trains her as well and still get bit all the time.We not sure what to do . We tried shake a can but that is hard because the girls have to carry it all the time and they forget a lot.
My other problem is getting her to walk in a heel postion. I was wondering how did you use that do clicker training? Sometime she walks next to me and sometimes she walks ahead of me and if I loosen the leash while she is ahead she stops and looks at me but the keeps going and stop again.My goal is get her walk beside me without leash.
I live in Missouri and I could drive an hour each way to a dog obedience class but that is to much for me with kids and gas price is high. I don't mind driving a 30 minutes. I still looking but I need to start learning how to do frisbee and agility for her. Yes she is young but she needs to busy all the time unless she is napping after her hard activities. All the help I can get would be greatly appreciated.
Exercise, exercise. "A tired dog is a good dog." I love aussies and aussie mixes, great coloring and so smart. As for the nipping, it's just got to be no no no and no while she still in the young puppy age. I've read that many puppies grow up thinking, "My name is No."
Sounds like your having Fun with your Australian Sheperd. Thank You so much for responding. I am well aware she needs to use her brain. I have been clicker training with her. Just having trouble with constant biting my girls all the time. Not just trying to herd but even when the girls sit down,or play with her walking bite in the front leg ,hands,face and jump up and holding on the girls. I think she is trying to dominate. My husband and I don't get bit as much as the girls. My oldest daughter clicker trains her as well and still get bit all the time.We not sure what to do . We tried shake a can but that is hard because the girls have to carry it all the time and they forget a lot. This is werid to me, get a medical check? ...if she checks out ok medically, I would go for some private lessons w/ a positive trainer about this.
If it was my dog, I would not even give the dog attention but put her in her crate when she did this. Is she play biting? If so she just needs to be taught what is acceptable. My husband plays hard w/ cody(like hand wrestles) and then randomly ask cody for a down and kisses and then he begins the game again. When cody was little he would get kinda rough and my husband would say no and end the game for the night. Also if Cody would play bite to hard Andy would yelp like a puppy and leave the area, like a litter mate would do. She'll learn, but all of you have to be consistent.
....maybe run her hard and then play w/ her when she's tired as she won't act out as much. Also when you are walking and she's not nipping ...click and treat it, capture the good behavior. when she's sitting still click and treat, when she comes to you click and treat, when she licks you click and treat, when she's playing ncie click and treat ...when she gets to nippy say no and put her in her crate. ...but when you take her out of the crate praise her for coming out of the crate nicely. i know "no" is not positive, but it works for us.
My other problem is getting her to walk in a heel postion. I was wondering how did you use that do clicker training? Sometime she walks next to me and sometimes she walks ahead of me and if I loosen the leash while she is ahead she stops and looks at me but the keeps going and stop again.My goal is get her walk beside me without leash. Leave a leash on her and when she gets ahead of you step on it ...when she's next to you, talk and treat her BUT she's a Aussie, unless you are in the country and lots of land, she needs to be on a leash when outside, they are way to implusive.
I live in Missouri and I could drive an hour each way to a dog obedience class but that is to much for me with kids and gas price is high. I don't mind driving a 30 minutes. I still looking but I need to start learning how to do frisbee and agility for her. Yes she is young but she needs to busy all the time unless she is napping after her hard activities(how old??? don't' let her nap as much). All the help I can get would be greatly appreciated. get your clicker and treats and do three 15 minute sessions of training a day, followed by some play and then click randomly as she lays down(this will teacher her calm behavior is good). Get the kids to stand still in the back yard and throw a ball between them that she can chase. have them call her as it's thrown back and forth and let her have it randomly. This teaches good play habits, all good things come from you and the ball is more fun the nipping. Praise her when she gets the ball and when she's near the kids and not nipping.
also ask for a sit,down,shake,etc before anything ...foood, poop breaks, play,walks etc. With cody when we ask for a sit he sits until we say "ok". We taught this by saying "opps" if he gets up early and asking for another sit. It worked and also taught self control.
i would personally contact a private positive instructor a few times, just to learn how to redirect the nipping. i don't believe this is a dominate thing, this is a crazy wild Aussie thing.
Karey
I hope this helps!
I'm not a pro at this, but I do understand the crazy Aussieness that is your puppy.
I hated Cody for the first 3 months we had him, until i learned to shape his behaviors . We do a little correction as well, but try to teach new behaviors because they exhaust his brain and create bonding.
I'm w/ brightdoglover ...exercise the baaageeezes outta her, wether it be mental excercise or physical. Get a baby tunnel and teach her to go through a tunnel. look up target touches, target tricks and other mental stimulations.
Kelly3120 Thank YOu so much for your help. Yes Biscuit has been to the doctor and he said it is normal for a puppy. It is a love and hate relationship with the girls. The girls love her to death but when she always biting them it just hurts them all the time. Sometimes I feel like getting a muzzle. I am thinking I might need to get a crate for her.Not sure!!! There is got to be something we can do about this active biting. We say no or uhh unn all the time but she is so fiesty so won't let it go. I am hoping as she grows older that she will calm down. She is now 12 weeks old and yes she takes naps during the day. I train her three times a day already and take her for a 45 min walk.
I took my little girl in the stroller and walk for about 45 min to a park and played there for an hour. I trained Biscuit to use the slide over and over and she loved it. It is so cute. Any hoot I walk back home which is another 45 min and she is tired. Takes a nap for hour while I am doing stuff around the house and then she starts biting all over again. I wish I had a trainer to help me here because biscuit is no help at all.
Exercise, exercise. "A tired dog is a good dog." I love aussies and aussie mixes, great coloring and so smart. As for the nipping, it's just got to be no no no and no while she still in the young puppy age. I've read that many puppies grow up thinking, "My name is No."
Very funny brightdoglover..... I seen shirt like this for toddlers....
Kelly3120 Thank YOu so much for your help. Yes Biscuit has been to the doctor and he said it is normal for a puppy. It is a love and hate relationship with the girls. The girls love her to death but when she always biting them it just hurts them all the time. Sometimes I feel like getting a muzzle. I am thinking I might need to get a crate for her.Not sure!!! There is got to be something we can do about this active biting. We say no or uhh unn all the time but she is so fiesty so won't let it go. I am hoping as she grows older that she will calm down. She is now 12 weeks old and yes she takes naps during the day. I train her three times a day already and take her for a 45 min walk. GET A CRATE and send her to it when she misbehaves. dogs like rules and they like having a time out. You also need to make the crate a awesome place for her at the same time. Cody goes to the crate when he wants quiet time and if he's misbehaved. It's not that we are punishing him we are saying ok, you've steped out of line, hang out w/ yourself. ...so we don't' ruin the crate in doing this.
I took my little girl in the stroller and walk for about 45 min to a park and played there for an hour. I trained Biscuit to use the slide over and over and she loved it. It is so cute. Any hoot I walk back home which is another 45 min and she is tired. Takes a nap for hour while I am doing stuff around the house and then she starts biting all over again. I wish I had a trainer to help me here because biscuit is no help at all.
that's awesome. That's making her use her brain. stuff like that works as well. 12 weeks old is major puppy stuff and can't be taken personal. if she bites don't' say a word, just put her in the crate and go get her once she's quiet. She will then learn that fun ends when she bites and fun begins when she's quiet and doesn't bite. You will need the crate when she gets into the chewing stage anyways.
Sounds like you are getting the hang of it! just remember she's a young puppy and will do silly things. My two year old aussie still does.
You've gotten great advice so far. Aussies are great dogs. I have raised Aussies for the past 20 years. A lot of work, and a lot of fun.
Make sure you always have a puppy toy for Biscuit available at all times. When she starts to nip, tug or bite, try and redirect her to her own chew toy. The key to success is repetition and consistency. The second she puts her teeth on you, quickly say UH UH, and give her, her own chew toy. If she refuses the toy and continues to bite, all play stops. The important thing here is to find what bone or toy will be a strong motivator to redirect her with.
Remember she is still a baby, she will grow out of this. They explore with their mouths, and at this time she will be starting to teethe.
The godsend, for us, was the leash. Ours wore a 12 foot leash, even inside, and when she started a behavior, it was a lot easier to get to than she was. She wasn't allowed unstructured play with our small children, and I think that's a huge reason she is so well behaved now.
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Any tips how to get her stop biting my girls?
so much for your help. Yes Biscuit has been to the doctor and he said it is normal for a puppy. It is a love and hate relationship with the girls. The girls love her to death but when she always biting them it just hurts them all the time. Sometimes I feel like getting a muzzle. I am thinking I might need to get a crate for her.Not sure!!! There is got to be something we can do about this active biting. We say no or uhh unn all the time but she is so fiesty so won't let it go. I am hoping as she grows older that she will calm down. She is now 12 weeks old and yes she takes naps during the day. I train her three times a day already and take her for a 45 min walk.
