Sadie is a shark!!! Please help

[princessmom]

Hi guys, I haven't been on here in a little while. Wow, I have been so busy with 3 dogs! Who would know that adding 1 more dog to the pack would be soooo time consuming. I've loved every minute of it though.
My problem is this, Sadie is a tasmanian devil. I have read all the stickies and have tried to train her with the string thing, crate training and such. She does "okay" but she is still THE most stubborn, onery, curious, uncoordinated, I would say "hyper" but that's not quite the word, it's more like her attention span is so very short that she is just into EVERYTHING! When she sleeps though she sleeps hard. You can do whatever you want, clip her nails, clean her ears, move her around, whatever. But when she's awake, she is like a cross between the tasmanian devil and a baby shark. I don't really know what to do with her. I think she needs more excersize than any dog I have ever known.
Okay now my question, will she outgrow this? To be honest, I have never had a puppy before. Any dog I have ever owned has been grown when I adopted it and I have had no trouble training any of them. Sadie on the other hand is such a challenge. She mouths everything in site and jumps up on us and tears at our clothes. I have tried to train her not to do this but I'm not having much success. I have trained her to potty outside, she rings some bells I hung on the doorknob when she needs to go out. I've taught her to sit, wait and lay down. She's very smart. The problem is when she isn't being paid attention she is into everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. Remember she's only half rottie and the other half is coonhound. I don't know much about coonhounds much less coonhound puppies. Maybe this is normal for them? I can't find much info on the internet about them.
Sorry this post is so long, but I could honestly go on and on. Anybody have any ideas? Thanks in advance.

[harleychik66]

Sadie is a single pup, so she will never get to learn about bite inhibition from her siblings. This is why you have a little barracuda on your hands. I believe in reading thru past posts it was poorbearsmom( I could be wrong) who raised a singleton pup. Try searching through her posts. If I remember right she talked about some of the things that she worked on with the pup and the problems she had.

Many of the things Sadie is doing are very normal rottie puppy behavior. The only things that I could recommend would be constant redirection, so when she bites just shove a toy in her mouth. This is something that you will need to be very consistant about and with Sadie being the only pup she may always tend to be on the mouthy side.

As far as her getting into everything, I would either crate her when you can't watch her or leash her to you. You will always know where she is and what she is doing. This way if she is leashed to you, you can also make the instant correction if need be.

How old is Sadie now? Is she current on all her shots? I think if I remember correctly that she is old enough now to be enrolled in puppy obedience. If you haven't already enrolled her I would do it immediately.

Hopefully others who have had more experience with single pups will chime in.

[princessmom]

Thanks for the post Harley. Sadie is 10 weeks old yesterday. She has had one set of shots and all and goes for her next set on tuesday. I don't know much about puppy obedience classes. How do I find good ones? See my husband seems to think that since I don't work outside of the home that I should be able to train the dogs and not need outside help. Not that I can't make my own desicions but I've just been trying to do things by myself. I'm thinking seriously though that I'm not equipped to deal with this high energy puppy. I just don't have the experience or knowledge and I don't want to ruin a GREAT dog. She really is awesome in so many ways. How do you go about finding good, affordable classes? Thanks, Keli

[harleychik66]

Keli- Try asking your vet, many times they have some good referrals. I would also try the local shelter, many times these classes are quite a bit cheaper. The humane society here holds classes and usually they have good trainers with quite a bit of experience under their belt.

As for hubby, explain to him that dogs need schooling just like kids. There is only so much you can do at home, for the rest we need the help of the professionals.

I've only had 1 puppy and that was almost 20 years ago. I've always adopted older dogs. Our youngest now is 16 months old. We got her at about a year. I had forgotten how much energy the young ones have, so I can only imagine what you're dealing with.

I'm sure once you start with some basic obedience it will not only help Sadie, but give you the confidence you need in dealing with some of her behaviors. From reading your past posts, I know how much of a rollercoaster this whole experience from her birth till now has been. Keep stong it will get better.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

[AngelBunny]

Originally Posted by princessmom

I don't know much about puppy obedience classes. How do I find good ones? See my husband seems to think that since I don't work outside of the home that I should be able to train the dogs and not need outside help. Not that I can't make my own desicions but I've just been trying to do things by myself.

If you were interested in learning French, say, I doubt your husband would think that just because you don't work outside the home you could teach yourself French. I'm sure he'd expect you to hire a French tutor to help you or that you'd sign up for a French language course.

Dog training is the same thing.

Since you're not a dog trainer, I don't see how your husband can reasonably expect you to train Sadie.

You need the help of a professional to help you do this.

In addition to the good suggestions harleychik66 made in finding a trainer, look at local dog clubs in your area. My kennel club offers obed classes from puppy K up thru advanced obedience.

[moondog]

From what you are describing, Sadie sounds like, with a strong foundation in obedience, that she will be a GREAT dog as a adult. She sounds smart, biddable, tolerant, and energetic. She just doesn't know what to do with herself, and you aren't sure, either. Giving her some mental work will help tremendously and classes are GREAT for that. You CAN do this, you just need some guidance.

Try contacting this AKC All Breed Obedience Club - most clubs offer classes at a reasonable cost. See if they offer puppy/basic obedience classes or if not, if they can recommend someone that offers classes at a reasonable cost.

Myrtle Beach Kennel Club
Corresponding Secretary : Nancy Lee Smalley
Address: 215 78th Ave. N., Myrtle Beach, SC , 29572
Email: SCTEXASAGGIE@AOL.COM
Club Type: All Breed

[Zumie05]

Gary sounds exactly like your puppy. All I can remember about his puppyhood is the word hyper. Running, getting into things, sleep. The cycle continued over and over again. Then he got bigger, and it was crazy. Now he's 7 months old and is calming down more. I don't know if it's due to his age or because I started his second obedience class. I think what might be going on is he is finally figuring out what I am expecting of him AND he is over his initial puppyness (wanting to put mouth on everything in sight).

Don't give up! You will have your up days and down days. It will pass. Get into a class and stay in them!

[cleaningchick]

I am currently training a 10 month old male Rott and a 14 wk. old female Rott.

We got the male when he was 8 wks. and let me tell you that I have raised dogs for about 20 years and never experienced one like our male. He had so much energy as a puppy similar to the things you described.

He is really turning into a very well mannered dog. I have had him in obedience and make it a point to yes, walk him every day, it does help. He is very smart and got bored with things fast as a puppy. I didn't think I would make it through but consistancy has paid off for both of us.

Hopefully you can find a good place to bring her for obedience.

Good luck :)

[princessmom]

Thanks EVERYONE for all this great advice. I agree with needing help from the professionals and I like what Angelbunny said about learning French. This is how I'm feeling. I study everything I can and I just get discouraged when things don't happen the way I think they should. I know that I don't have the most patience in the world! lol...I'm not a patient person. But if I thought I was acheiving something, and doing things right I can stick with it. I just don't have enough confidence that I'm doing things right. So yes, we need to find classes.
Thanks for the encouragement to all. It's good to know that this is normal puppy behavior. I'll keep yall posted on how the training goes and when I find a class for us.
I'm so glad to be able to "talk" with you all. I don't know what would have happened had it not been for people on this board. Thanks for everything, Keli
P.S. Princess is doing great. She's still a great mom and acting like a playful teenager when she plays with Sadie. These guys are so funny to watch. They're much more entertaining than tv shows!

[princessmom]

Originally Posted by moondog

From what you are describing, Sadie sounds like, with a strong foundation in obedience, that she will be a GREAT dog as a adult. She sounds smart, biddable, tolerant, and energetic.

Thanks Moondog. I think she is a wonderful puppy that will grow up into a great dog. Her issues don't seem to be so much as something "wrong" with her, but more that she is a singleton and she lives with 2 older dogs and I don't know what I am doing. I want to give her the best chance she can to find her potential and live up to it. Thanks for the contact info. I'm going to check on it tomorrow. Thanks again, Keli

[princessmom]

Hi, I posted a new picture of Sadie in the gallery. I think she's beautiful. She looks so much like dad!
I just wanted yall to know that yesterday I spent the ENTIRE day correcting Sadie with her collar and shoving toys in her mouth and today she is a different puppy! I would not have thought it possible. She's still as crazy and happy as ever and runs around the house like a tornado but the mouthing and jumping on people is WAY down today. I guess I just didn't have the confidence that I was doing the right thing or the right way and I hadn't checked in with you guys in forever. After getting on here and reading a lot of postings and you all being supportive I just went for it and the change is remarkable. Thanks so much, Keli

[cerulean]

Hey, Keli.... one thing for sure, no matter how good you might be with your "homeschooling for Sadie", you would never be able to be a substitute for socializing with different dog personalities... just the same as kids need to learn how to share their toys by playing with other kids.

With Mango (15 wks today) we have been watching her as she has playdates with a few pups near her own age. Each week we can see the different pups go through stages.... one week Jasper would be very dominating, the next week Mango would tell him that she'd had ENOUGH of that , and the week after that they would be best friends.

That's one example of what we get from puppy kindergarten and playdates with different friends' puppies or grown dogs. It sure seems like Mango is better behaved and sleeps well after a rowdy play session, as well.
Best wishes, hang in there !!!

[princessmom]

Thanks Cerulean, That's a great example. I really hadn't thought of those kinds of things. I am glad that I am able to stay home and be with my dogs (love the homeschooling!)lol...but I have been worried since Sadie was born about her not having littermates. Doggie kindergarten sounds like just the thing. I'll let yall know what I find out about classes around here.

[ZYNE]

WIth once again assuming the potential of getting flamed for posting something .. I have a singleton myself ... We had similar issues initially but she learned pretty quickly that biting/nipping was unacceptable. Redirection while saying "no-bite" worked real well and now I rely on just telling her "no-bite" and she stops in most cases. There are of course occations when a toy is necessary but usually that is during play times.

Good luck ...

[princessmom]

Zyne, yes, this is what we've been trying to do for the past week or so. It seems to be working pretty well. She actually still ACTS like a shark but the mouthing is far less. She sounds vicscous(sp?) but she hardly ever even gets her teeth on us anymore. She is very "sassy" though and talks back to her mom. I'm not quite sure whether to step in there or not. \
Thanks for you thoughts, Keli