Puppy training issues

We rescued a puppy in March of this year. They told us she is a shepherd hound mix. Recently a friend suggested she a black mouth cur. Looking at the pictures, that is spot on. She came up from North Carolina. Our friend told us that they breed these dogs, and will only keep the absolute best. Many go straight to the shelter. He also stated that many southern shelters have a 3 day rule before they euthanize them. Which explains why so many are in rescues.

She's extremely head strong. We can get her to sit, but she's struggling with come and down. For a small dog, she's constantly on the counters getting stuff. Her bitting has gotten better, but she'll bite my youngest. (I believe this is playful.) She also chews anything and everything she can get in her mouth. Our last dog was a lab and the one before a German Shepherd. Both were very easy to train.

One final note, she is getting spay next Tuesday. Normally this would be already done. However; this us our first female. I made the mistake of listening to the woman at the rescue. Our vet set me straight.

Looking for any suggestions. My wife has been ready to get rid of her for some time now. That is not my answer.


Jason from RI.

 

As far as the counter surfing goes, a loaded mouse trap on the counter top will usually help to stop that nonsense. Also, DO NOT FEED HER in any other place but her bowl. She needs to learn that that is the only place to go for food. She sounds like she is going to take a exceptional amount of time and training. As for the biting and the kids, reality is that might be a on going issue. She is probably fearful of the fast actions that children, especially younger kids often do around dogs. Good luck with your training.

 

Try a spray water bottle, helped my brown one a lot with the nipping as well as just general condoning of random bad behavior. A stern "no" and a quick squirt worked wonders.

Now I just use my voice, but puppy training is certainly a labor of love. Good luck.

 

Puppies are no joke. Firm and consistent is how you have to be.

I'd suggest a book or to do some breed specific research. Different types of dogs respond to different types of training. I have always found that with puppies you have to find what motivates them the most. Usually it's food but not always. You can build off that to form good habits with positive reinforcement.

 

Oh and tire that puppy out. A tired puppy is a well behaved puppy.

 

This is an ongoing technique we are using. So far it's not yielded results. Maybe it just takes longer.

 

This is what I am trying to do. I take her on 2.6 miles walks, but she is still full of energy. The kids play with her in the backyard. However; they don't like to take her on walks as she stops every 2 feet to sniff. For me she's not so bad. She does listen when I say come on a walk. Unless she has a really strong sent.

 

Get a prong training collar. Keep it on unless they are crated.

First off....a crate is not punishment. Don't use it as such. They don't learn if you lock them up....they learn from training.

Start with the leash. Use the collar and leash to correct any bad behavior in the home. Yes....leash on....in the house. You can get a short 10 inch lead for this if you want. I used a goat handle I got at tsc.

You said yourself the squirter bottle doesn't work so throw it out. Use your leash and be firm and consistent.

Come should be easy.....train with food in your pocket. They come....give treats and praise. They don't come, leash correction.

Lots of treats and praise for positive behavior.

For correct leash usage, learn which way to correctly pull for the correction. For example, to force down, spin collar around and pull leash down while saying down.

Sit...pull straight up, not back.

Come...put dog on down, face dog, pull leash towards you, while saying come, and immediately reward with treats. Make them WANT to come....running is better than walking.

Consistent corrections with verbal commands will quickly lead to them responding to a correction based on the direction of pull. You are teaching them your words thru the leash. If you vary, they will too.

Don't even try off leash commands until you and the dog have mastered leash commands.

I also suggest some book reading or get a trainer involved.

DaveGunter speaks k9....maybe he can help

 

I feel your pain. Floyd was the easiest dog I have ever trained. My malamute's on the other hand were a pain in the butt till they got to be around 4 years old.

 

I have a book suggested by our vet. However; I am open to other sources. I've never used a pronged collar. She's a smaller dog. Max weight for email is around 40lbs. I guess when I think of those collards I think of husky dogs like a rottweiler. Before I start using that, I will do some reading about using them for training. I did think about the shock training collars. A friend who trained his hunting dog uses them, and recommended I try that for my lab.

As for the leash, we often leave it on her to control and work with her.

Her eating habits are like none I've ever seen before. She does what I call drive by eating at her bowl. When we feed her in the same spot in the same bowl, she goes to eat it and eats a little and then gets distracted and walks away. If you don't bring her attention back to the food, she'll leave it. Eventually she'll return on her own. However; we can't leave it on the floor as our 9 year old dog will come along and eat it.

Thank you for the suggestions. I'll research and give it a try.

 

Agree with everything already said. I will say that a 2 mile walk isn't much. She needs to run. Also for biting, I'd roll my pups lip in to make her bite herself coupled with a firm NO. It worked. Be consistent.

How hard is she biting the kids and how old are they? Get on top of that.

 

E-collars work but she has to know what you want her to do. I think they are more for enforcing known commands versus teaching.

 

I know. 2.6 miles is what I can do when I get home at night. We are finishing up in the dark. On weekends, I have more time to take her further. Once she is spayed, I plan to take her to the playing fields about 2 miles from our house. We can easily put in 5 miles there.

Running would even be better. I am on Weight Watcher's getting my weight down. No where near ready to run with her. Once spayed I could take her to the same park and throw the ball in the baseball park. This way she's in a contained area.

 

Great advice, and as mentioned the squirt bottle works or has no effect. It did nothing for my black lab.

I trained in the darkness around the yard at night. Not ideal but beats an untrained animal.

If jumping give the front paws a squeeze. If biting, do as mentioned with the lip trick. While tired dogs are good dogs, some take a lot longer to tire out, not as easy as the saying suggests but throw a ball or stick if you can't run.

 

Patience and consistency. My wife is usually great with the dogs, but we did have to work with a local trainer for a couple of them. She was great. Literally saved us from having to put down a couple of dogs. Good luck.

 

Our lab took to retrieving as expected. That really helps in getting miles on those legs. For a while we had a glow in the dark ball for nighttime retrieves.

Good luck with her.

 

I need to make time for a trainer. This I believe is the underlying issue. It's not fair to her. In hindsight, getting her might have been a mistake in the sense that I am consumed with softball on weekends from spring until the end of October. As well as the 3-4 hours of drive time to and from work. While I am able to find the time to be with her on weekends and walk her during the week, we all know that she needs much more. Unfortunately my wife is little help when it comes to getting her out walking. She's had a partial knee replacement on the left and a full on the right. What I can do is get her to take her in the yard and play fetch. One thing I am doing now is leaving for work at 6:15. This way I can leave by 4 and get home right around 6pm. Coming home is much worse than driving there. This will give me more time to work with her. At some point, I hope to be able to find a job closer to home to give me much more time with her.

On days where I can get her out on two or three walks, I see a big difference in her. Not that she is tired. More that she has expended all of the built up energy. I don't think we could tire her out.


I wanted another German Shepherd. In college I rescued one that turn out to be the best dog I've owned. Our lab was great, and he ranked right there with the Shepherd. I've never had a hound before, but I love her. She's a beautiful dog and full of spunk. I'm sure you all understand I am reaching out to help make this work. The last thing I want to do is send her away. Honestly if that were to happen, I'd not get another dog. Getting rid of her would hurt me as well as the kids.

 

We called her Piper. I'll put some pictures up from my phone in a bit.

 

I believe the Cur is now mainly breed for hunting purposes like coon, bear, mnt. lion hunting and etc. So when out and about the natural instinct is going to be nose to the ground and wanting to follow the scent. Very active dogs. My suggestion is also for an e-collar. I bought one for my 6 yr old Walker that would practically drag by his leash when we went out hunting and if I was to let him out of the kennel was just taking off. Now, does great on a leash and stays with us at the house while out of the kennel. I still put the e-collar on just in case he needs a gentle reminder. I ordered mine through gundogsupply.com and with your purchase they also give you a basic obedience e-collar dvd which is very helpful and teaches you how to properly use a e-collar. They have a e-collars buying guide to help you pick one that would work best for you and your dog.

Temperament
For people who hunt, no other dog will do. Among this swift hunter's quarry are boar, bear, coon, squirrel and deer. With medium-sized game, the Black Mouth catches and kills it with no questions asked. This dog never retreats. It is also proficient at treeing and baying. During the hunt, trailing is semi-open or silent, with a chop or yodel acceptable on tree or at bay. Curs rarely trot, even while hunting, going from a walk to a ground-covering sprint. These dogs are avid hunters, yet can also work with cattle. Breeders say a pup will train himself treeing, protecting and/or bunching and penning cattle by six months of age. As relentless and overpowering as this cur appears at work, he is kind and protective with his family. Loyalty and fearlessness are the norm. They have a burning desire to please their master. Good with children, this breed needs an owner who projects a natural authority over the dog. The owner must set rules the dog must follow and stick to them. They must be stern without being harsh, remaining calm and confident. The dog must be convinced he is below humans in the pack order. It is paramount that this dog receives daily mental and physical exercise. Curs that lack in exercise can become high strung and rammy. When not working out on the hunt they must be taken for daily walks where they heel beside or behind the owner, never in front as the pack leader goes first. Intelligent, predictable, with an even temperament, the Southern Curs are loyal to their families, giving their lives, if necessary, to protect them. Start training the Black Mouth puppy as soon as you bring it home. Training sessions should be short and frequent to keep them from becoming bored. This working dog should not be trusted with non-canine pets.