New Member in Texas

[Ramy]

I just got my first DS pup, and he is something! He'll have me trained in no time, I'm sure
Ruger ("Roo") is super sharp. I am exploring clicker training for the first time, and would like to connect with other DS owners for breed specific tips in this area.
We currently live in East Texas, but have bought a ranch in remote Eastern Oregon where we will be moving as soon as the mountain passes between here and there are clear in the Spring. I was hoping to be up there by now, but technicalities here have slowed us down. With the weather they are having already, though, it's probably not a bad thing. We will be renovating a log house and living in an RV for awhile. Not sure I want to do that in cold and snow...
So I have a new pup to keep me busy over the winter.
I also have two standard poodles (no, no contrast there! Ha Ha Ha), one of whom is very smart, the other is, well, very blonde. Both are very mellow (almost comatose in comparison to the new guy).
My Roo came from a program that produces military, police, and personal protection dogs. Fortunately, he is less drive-y than the rest of his litter. He is not shy by any means, just not as "crazy" as the others. I have been very impressed with is boldness and confidence. He will go anywhere with an air of authority. I have to really watch him around the horses, that lack of fear could easily get him in trouble. I've had him out around people and he greets everyone with confidence. This is really a cool pup and I am enjoying him thoroughly.
My goal, if it works out, is to pursue wilderness SAR with him primarily. I would also be interested in doing agility and possibly Schutzhund, though I'm not sure what opportunities we will have for those in our new location. He is mostly meant to be a family companion, particularly for my almost 4 year old daughter. We will be living in a very remote, mountainous area, and I wanted a dog that would be watchful and protective of her (and the rest of us, too). I think if we can just survive the piranha-puppy stage we will be fine.

[Sugars Mom]

Welcome and congrats on your new pup! I hear you on the piranha stage!!

Looking forward to seeing pics and hearing more about Roo

[Karin]

Welcome.

I'm at Lake Tahoe in CA. I have a nearly 6 month DS and am training him in SAR. The DS, I think, tend to have a phenomenal nose. Reading about this it may be in part due to the dark pigment that is so prominent on the DS, lips, nose, mouth etc. Dark pigment apparently factors into olfactory function.

I have been clicker training Tygo and it is going great. I don't think there are necessary specific tips for the DS, just be consistent and use high value treats. I love clicker training. Start now!

The good news is the piranha phase does pass at about 3-4 months, and then with teething I now have the, "well I won't bite you, but I will destroy every toy and bed" phase.

Having an ex-pen in the house and crate training is what has saved both me and Tygo. Provides me with many options.

Best to you and welcome to the west!

Karin

[Ramy]

Karin,
I guess I need to invest in another ex pen, his is outside on the covered porch. Tried kenneling him in the house for a few nights and it didn't work so well. He wanted out an hour after we went to bed, then an hour later he wanted out again. When he went back in the crate that time he set to having a screaming hissy fit. He stays in his crate just fine during the day for long stretches (if we are traveling, which we've done a couple of times all day since I've had him) so I'm guessing he just doesn't like staying in it at night. I finally put him in the ex pen on the porch with the crate door propped open that night, and he has been happy there at night ever since. I will still work on house training, then try him inside at night again because that's where I ultimately want him to sleep. He is doing well on peeing on command, I've noticed he has started squatting to pee, then looking up to make sue I see what he's doing, expecting his praise. I had one dog that would do that his whole life. If I walked into the yard he would run and hike his leg and look at me like, "Look Mom, good, right??"
As for the piranha stage, how do you deal with this? I've never had a dog like this before. The last pup I had is now almost 10. He is a standard poodle, and a few gentle bops on the end of his nose as he mouthed, along with "eh!" and that was it, he understood teeth were not to be put on people. I've had border collies, too, and that's about it for my puppy raising. I'm beginning to think the DS is a cross between a border collie and a chainsaw! I understand the mouthiness is normal for the breed, and I don't want to cause later problems. So how do you manage this appropriately, and what can I realistically expect from this guy? He can really get wound up playing, too. He loves to play tug, and will "sometimes" fetch the toy. What are some of the best ways to play with this type of pup at this stage? If you potentially want to do any type of sport that involves biting, I guess you don't want to take that out of them (not that you realistically could)?
We have started clicker training, working on sit, touch and come so far. Oh, another question. How do you respond when you are not training, do not have a clicker or treats, and the pup comes up and offers a behavior you are working on, like sit? I have just praised him and petted him, I guess he will figure out he doesn't get to decide when we are "training" and when we are not

[Karin]

Hey there… couple of things.

Get Scent of the Missing (Susannah Charleston) a book about a Texas SAR volunteer and her dog. It is a retriever but it is a relatively new book and might give you some ideas about Texas training. You can and should start training with a group now. There are entirely puppy appropriate training methods that gets them going.

On the piranha stage… First, every dog is different but my experience was similar, I have never had such a bite-y puppy. This coupled with sharp baby teeth and his nightly cujo possession period (5 PM to 8 PM), I thought I was really really in for it. The cujo period in particular.. he was whacked. BUT, I had a trainer that said that puppies need to bite and learn bite inhibition, so I kept working with him, letting him bite a little but working with him to not bite hard. I also invested in every toy and chew I could think of… (I started a thread in Whatever a couple months ago, called "Appropriate Chew Toys", you can probably search it, great info there from others). I am happy to report that the cujo possessions happen… well not at all recently. Tygo now can keep his wits about him, although he can test the limits don't get me wrong. You will be in a very celebratory mood at 4 months when the puppy teeth start dropping. Tygo now likes to mouth my arm at times more when I'm petting him and he is in a relaxed mood. I do just correct him and he is much better. I will also say, that while I think his back teeth and gums are still a bit sore (he is just shy of 6 months with all adult teeth), when he plays with tug toys he is pretty darn spot on and never catches my hand or fingers accidentally. So, I do think this stage is typical, keep consistent rules, buy things to divert his mouth but don't over punish him for using those jaws. Now I forgot your other questions, hold on.

[Karin]

Playing tug… see if you can find some of the You Tube videos by Michael Ellis dog trainer. A good way to play with the tug, is to tug for a bit, then give an "out" command, and get the release, wait a few seconds (give a sit if pup is too amped) and then initiate again. Never let him "win" unless you are sure he will bring it back to you to engage. You want to encourage that you are the fun, not possession of the tug. Keep working on fetch… I still don't have a return it to me that is consistent but I can't wait until I can throw a ball over and over. I like Michael Ellis's concept of "capping" the energy. So tug or play and then get the sit for a few seconds and then resume. It will come with age too, the ability to contain and cap.

Crating. Since your dog will crate during the day, he will do it at night but he has trained you.
Not saying you have to crate at night but it is a way to keep the dog out of trouble. Reading up on crating, you might have some rough nights, but I would crate him, taken him out for a pee at 2 or 3 and then first thing in the AM to start. Yes there will be howling but maybe a frozen kong treat at each evening crate will make him like it more. There is a ton of stuff here and on line about crate training. Depends what you want to do, I need to have that option because Tygo could still be a very destructive dog.

When I get a behavior I like but no click or treat I do a good chest rub and ear rub and Tygo seems to respond to that well.

Hope that helps. They change phenomenally fast. Tygo was a pudge last week and then his legs grew again and now he is tall and skinny. I was glad to see the super wild puppy thing go and the teeth, with his maturity is also coming a deep bonding and he and I are touching that intuitive level.

Anyway, best to you.

karin

[Ramy]

Thanks, Karin, I will look into those resources. Since we are moving to Oregon in the next 6 months, I don't know about getting involved in a group here
I am already seeing a slight mellowing in the craziness, or I'm learning to deal with it better. Maybe some of both...
Thank you so much for the feedback and recommendations.

[Boss Dawg]

"Part chainsaw" hahahahahahaha. Yes, I'm pretty sure JoJo has a bit of that in his "mix," as well.

I saw both the mouthing and the running around like a complete lunatic when I adopted him at 1.5 approx. years of age. To be fair, they said he came to the pound as a stray, so it could have just been his "hobo" time that caused him to revert if he ever did belong to someone. If he did belong to someone, my guess is he scared the crap out of them and they dumped him, or he jumped the fence (he's also part kangaroo) where he was kept (which had to be outdoors, since he had never been inside a house when I got him, that was clear). Not sure. But he's mellowed out A LOT on both since I've had him these past 8 months. Consistency is key from what I see, too, even as a complete newbie. A boatload of consistent exercise and training.

I'll be interested to hear how your pooch does with horses. I'm now beginning to train JoJo to jog alongside a bike. I feel like this is going to be like riding a twitch racehorse of a bike with a twitchy racehorse of a dog attached.

[Ramy]

Boss Dawg, you need to be sure and get video of jogging your beast on a bicycle He's a handsome boy, by the way.
So far, Roo shows no fear of the horses, even after the mini stud got out and pawed him. He is still interested and I have to watch him carefully or he will be under the fence and under their feet in an instant. Not running at them, not barking, just very curious and bold. No fear. Haven't really found anything this pup is afraid of so far. But that's not surprising considering he came from a kennel where they train military, police, and personal protection dogs. I need to find out more about his specific bloodlines.