I know that Samoyeds, just like any other Alaskan or Siberian breed, are stubborn and difficult to train, but I had forgotten the full extent of the battle. It's just like battling with a 2 year old child. I tell our puppy, Shasta, "No!" and he rebels and complains and barks at me. I keep telling him, "Now look! You are not the boss. I am.", or in doggy terms, "You are not the head dog. I am and you WILL obey me!"
The potty training seems to be taking awhile, we've had Shasta now since a week prior to Yesterday and he still occasionally peas in the house, but I've noticed that he sort of does it when he's excited, so I guess it's not such a good idea to get him too wound up while in the house. The problem is that he has lots of energy to burn off. During the day, we can take him for walks and let him run in the yard, yet we keep him in at night because of the animals (Raccoon, Bear and Mountain Lion). He's way too small yet and thus, could be a target for such animals, so at night, we have a real problem. He can't run outside cause of the animals and he can't run too much inside cause it might make him pea in the house. If we discipline him and insist that he remain still, he may sleep too much during the day and than be too hyper at night, when it's time for bed. I'm not sure what the solution is. Oh well. I know it'll get better in time.
If you want to read more about our adventures with our dog, Shasta, there is more in the comment section of the next post down, as I'm sure there will also be in the comment section of this one. One of the things I was writing in one of my comments below the next post down, though, was about how the beauty of Alaskan and Siberian breeds (sled dog types) does not come without a cost. The long hair requires brushing. The floors require vacuuming. The high energy requires exercise and the stubbornness requires a lot of patience and persistence. I personally think that it is worth it, but there are some people I know that do not agree.
When I wrote out the title of this post, I was thinking about how the dog training books claim that puppies feel best when they are on some sort of a schedule. This probably is true. If the puppy has a normal "scheduled" play time, maybe we would be able to plan our lives better around his more quiet nap times, for he does sleep a lot. I just need to learn how to make use of the times in which he does.
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That's true - puppies respond best when on a schedule, sort of like children! :)
Your pup is like a child in another respect too. I've read that children who are harder to get to go along with the flow are more intelligent than those who are easy to get along with. So... you have a smart dog! :)
I just figured that putting the puppy on some sort of a schedule would help us to predict when he might sleep, so that we can plan our day around that.
I've been told that Alaskan/Siberian breeds are a little bit independent and stubborn and I've also been told that Samoyeds are very smart, so that all fits with what you are saying.
We may need to change our discipline approach too because my husband, Ray, has been reading this puppy book that suggests a rather "Gentle Approach" and suggests that you "should never hit a puppy". Well, the common trend now a days is that you also shouldn't spank children, yet the result of that is a lot of unruly, spoiled children.
We were trying the "Gentle Approach" with Shasta and as far as I could tell it wasn't working. His playful biting just got worse and worse. We told him "NO", but he just wasn't responding to anything. There didn't appear to be any way to get him to stop.
Rays hands are sensitive and Shasta got him really good right in a vain and he had to soak his hand, so the next time I played with him and he got really rough with me, I smacked him on the nose. He went off and pouted and acted like I hurt his feelings, but he lived through it. I didn't hurt him none. He's just fine and after a few minutes, he tried to play with me again, but was really timid and gentle.
The interesting thing about puppies is that sometimes we spend the first week earning their trust, bonding with them and well, getting over the "Oh How Cute!" phase and it takes awhile before WE learn, not the puppy, what we need to do in order to get the puppy under our control.
Shasta's a real sweet heart, though, and I have no doubt that he will be a very good dog in time.
I've seen photos of Shasta and find it hard to believe he could be
stubborn and hard to train. :) Puppies are notorious chewers, though..hands, faces, furniture, rugs, clothes. Quite a few years back, I aquired a dog from a Native American friend. About a year old, totally without discipline..border collie mix with different colored eyes. He was a total handful and I said I would keep him if he 'settled down'. The dog had had the run of half the state and hated being tied up. First night, he wrapped his leash around my rear axle and had to be resued at 2AM. He expressed gratitude with muddy paws. Second day, after pulling me through every hedge in the nieghborhood, we tied him out back and I left for work. By 8AM my wife was on the phone, "He won't stop barking!"
I told her to say STOP and whack him with a rolled up newspaper.
She called back in half an hour.
"I did. He ate the newspaper!"
That evening he ran away. We chased him five miles in the car.
I knew if I returned him to the Indians they would call ME an 'indian giver'. A woman at work
volunteered to be the next owner.
Her hubby was a cowboy and could always use a good cow dog. So, with
much doubt, I turned the character
dog over. Turned out to be the best cow dog on the ranch....
So, you won't get much advice from
me. :)
the only advice i can give is that it is a fact you'll go through this period of frustration just like any new dog owner. but there will be a time when the both of you will look back and laugh at how shasta seemed like a big problem.
as for hitting a dog, i'm not exactly for it. i've found out that learning from hitting that the dog will be wary of your hand even when you want to pet him. remeber, that dog is watching your every move. remember also, that dogs are not children. you can explain to a child and he'll know why. that dog only knows what.
Hi BB,
It's just that the "Gentle Approach" probably does work on German Shepherds and Labs. Alaskan/Siberian breeds are independent; sort of like cats. They come when they want to and if they get out of the yard, they take off. Sure they'll come back later, but a German Shepherd or lab, or for that matter even my husband's first dog, a Cockapoo, can be called back into the yard and they obey without question.
It's obvious that they can be trained, though. As sled dogs, they do have to go in the direction they are commanded to go.
It's harder to train dogs than puppies too and a year old? Well, that's a full grown dog. I don't know that much about the temperament of the Border Collie other than they like to chase things, like sheep, yeh, but also cars and bicycles and from what you have shared, it sounds like another high energy breed that needs lots of exercise. You need a good size yard where a dog like that can run; either that or get a sheep farm, or cows?!
Oh, I didn't know they also did that. They're not that big.
I just found out today that it is not the Border Collie that has the two colors of eyes, but the Astralian Shepherd and they have patches of different colors on their fur, really neat and unique looking dogs. I was trying to talk my husband into that breed as well, but he wasn't interested.
Well, I do have advice for you. Get a large yard, a younger puppy, or maybe just a German Shepherd or Lab. The common breeds are easier, that's why they're so common. Don't give up on dogs, BB. Not all of them are difficult.
Griper,
Your opinion about dog hitting is a very common one, yet Shasta really did seem to understand because once he got done pouting, he came up and licked my hand and than started play biting more gently.
I do believe that hitting can be over done and that it should sort of be a last resort when nothing else seems to be working and it is also good to give warning first by saying "NO" a whole bunch of times before applying the last resort option. Also, just like with children, it is good to be consistent and predictable in your discipline. This creates less confusion.
My experience has been that dogs are much smarter than people give them credit for. That's just my own opinion, but I've also seen evidence of it in the dogs I've owned.
Glad to hear your adventures are going well Lista. You should send me your email address (contact me at cwhiatt@yahoo.com) so I can send you some pics of my little guy Winston (Labradoodle). He's just over 7 weeks and is coming along on his training as well.
One thing that works besides just saying NO, is to correct his behavior immediately when he does something you don't want him doing.
A good thing that's been working for me is to make my hand into sort of a claw shape and when he starts chewing on something or nipping at me a bit too agressively, I merely use my hand as if it were an older dog's mouth sort of gnawing on his neck or underneath.
Seems to be working well. The other thing is that if you're just doing a single walk a day, you might want to add another one in there. At least a half hour walk twice a day is what I've been doing and it also seems to help to assert myself as the Alpha Male. If he gets a few steps ahead of me I don't mind but if he does it for too long then I stop and make him come to me and then we start walking again.
Most of all though, just have fun!!! Sounds as if you are...
Ooh, another request for my Email address and I need to offer my apologies to you and also the other one who made the request before you. The Email that I currently use comes with my husbands full name in the the "From" area, so anyone could easily look in a phone book from my area and look me up. I've been planning for the longest time to open another Email account, but just haven't taken the time, but maybe I will soon.
The most recent trend in dog training appears to be to try and imitate what the mother dog would do. You can also grab them by the scuff of the neck giving them one really firm and quick shake while saying "NO", or you can grab the nose, holding the mouth closed and push the nose down to the ground and hold it there for a few seconds before letting go, while again saying "NO".
In relation to the chewing, you need to always have an appropriate and acceptable chew toy or bone handy, so that after saying "NO", you can hand them what they are allowed to chew on and say "Good Boy".
I agree with you on the walk, yet my husband keeps forbidding me to go that far. He says that the puppy needs to develop more of an immune system before I walk him too far. The deer and squirrels and raccoons, etc. etc. carry diseases and there are even things that can be caught from the poop of other dogs.
My husband says that Shasta is just too little and there are still some additional puppy shots that he is due for. We walk him to the end of our 400 foot drive way and that's all the further I'm allowed to take him.
He loves to run, though, so we throw balls and dog toys and run around the yard so he will chase us. Pretty soon, Shasta starts running on his own without needing our encouragement.
I haven't been in the habit of teaching dogs how to heal. I know that's supposed to teach them more respect, but so often our dogs have been high energy dogs and so the idea of exercise takes priority while on a walk. We use a long lease, so that the dog can run behind and ahead of us. Thus burning off more energy than if he was forced to walk along side a couple of slow pokes like us.
Some people jog with their high energy dogs, but I don't know. I think I prefer the brisk walk and I'm not really that fast and some days I'm just plain lazy and end up just walking.
just go to hotmail.com or yahoo.com, lista. i have one just to use online when some site asks for email. that way any spam will go there, if any.
Thanks Griper,
I'll do that, yet first I need to post something, for I haven't done so in awhile.
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