Wont go into chill out in her crate PLUS snapping

[chrisUK263]

Hi guys, thankyou for all the advice me and my OH have made a real effort all day yesterday to keep her entertained and then let her chill out when she needs to. We spent A LOT of the day doing the exchanges with her and it seemed to work by the end of the evening she would give up anything. When she was nice and chilled out on the floor I would also give her high value treats so that she knew she would be rewarded for just relaxing. But then at about 9:00pm she went crazy and started running all of and barking and jumping on the sofa's and stuff. Was that just the regular 10 minutes of madness? cause it was much more than normal. also how do I get her off the sofa without picking her up?

[Mel]

Sounds like the Wall of Death moment. Get a high value treat, put it in front of her nose, drag it down so to get it she has to follow it off the sofa. As she does say 'off' and as her front legs hit the ground praise and give the treat. Also, every time you notice her getting off the sofa just say 'off' and as her legs hit the ground praise her.

You need to follow the advice given very methodically as consistancy and repitition is the key here.

[Dimples]

All puppies will have their moments of madness. Robbie (15 weeks) has one most days in the evening., He just tears around the place barking and going loopy basically. When he first did that I was worried - I now know that this is normal for a puppy. We basically leave him to it and dont try and intervene as he would then think we are playing and we end up with a nip or 2 or 3   I add here that when he is doing it he is in the garden so he is not at harms risk to himself - us - or our furniture.

He has however not attempted with the furniture yet although i imagine that could come. I personally would not attempt to pick him up at all as that could prove disastrous. I personally would tell him a firm 'NO' and then try and encourage him away with something else. However something tells me this wont work perhaps with Jess. So, in our case we have french doors that open from our lounge onto the garden - I would open them up and take him out the garden where he can let off his steam harm free out there.

He needs to have 'time out' and be taken away from the situation - but - not by hands - by encouragement to go elsewhere.

Can i ask - is your house generally a calm house or not?  Its just that i would say ours is as our children are older and we all have the time and patience for Robbie - i know for a fact that this has a huge impact on their behaviour. The odd day where i have been stressed and rushing around - kids are busy etc - robbie picks up on this and misbehaves. I detected this immediately so now make a conscious effort not to let this happen too often.  Dogs are like children they pick up on your moods and the environment they are in. If you create a calm and safe haven for them - equally adding time, fun and play into it - your dog will feel safe and comfortable with its surroundings and as a result hopefully a loving pet.

Have you considered whether Jess is right for you? Have you considered that he may not be?  

[chrisUK263]

After paying £550 for her, i'm not going to get rid of her. Also I don't just want to give up on her I love her

[ladylola]

Use a houseline in the house, you can get them at P@H.

Then you can gently lead her away or off the furniture.

[chrisUK263]

Use a houseline in the house, you can get them at P@H.

Then you can gently lead her away or off the furniture.

Yeah we have one, but do I keep hold of it at all times or just let her walk around with it on?

[Karma]

A houseline can be left on all the time, and just picked up when you need to use it...    If you use the houseline I would recommend combining it with using the treat to lure her off as Mel described... (so you can gently guide her using the line at the same time as luring with a treat... or if you don't have a treat to hand, you can gently guide her off and then make a great fuss and either play a game or go and get a treat!!!) You won't always need to use a treat, but while learning the behaviour rewards need to be given consistently.

After paying £550 for her, i'm not going to get rid of her. Also I don't just want to give up on her I love her

That's good to know!   
Please rest assured that virtually everyone on here has gone through the puppy weeks with lots of stress and tears, even from adults with no children.     It can be a very unrewarding time, and I know I was reduced to tears with Honey with her biting/hanging off my trouser legs etc - and I didn't have any children to consider at the time. 

The wall of death is normal - my 3.5yr old still gets the odd mad moment!!!  That's just the moment to sit back (keeping the children well out of the way) and laugh at your loon of a dog!!! 

[SkyeandOllie]

After paying £550 for her, i'm not going to get rid of her. Also I don't just want to give up on her I love her

You may have paid £550 for her and love her, but can you honestly say (hand on heart) Jess is enjoying herself with you? she sounds like a very stressed out pup,  the number one priority in this is that Jess has a happy, structured upbringing.  you are at risk as some have said, of the issues your having magnifying even more so than the bite she gave already.  Sorry to sound harsh, Im feeling sorry for this pup.

[chrisUK263]

Usually this behavior only happens on an evening when she's over tired and a bit grumpy the rest of the time she's lovely and loves playing with me and going on walks round the big field near our house. She loves performing tricks too.

[SkyeandOllie]

Usually this behavior only happens on an evening when she's over tired and a bit grumpy the rest of the time she's lovely and loves playing with me and going on walks round the big field near our house. She loves performing tricks too.

If thats the case,  please please follow the advice given before, seperate her from the children, my pup was horrible, but now at 9 months he is wonderful

[Eno]

Firstly I would point out I am no expert but this screams to me that the pup is getting over tired and stressed.

I have a 7 month old pup and a 3 year old boy and I have taken the advice of Hurtwood dogs (Hannah) and kept them seperate when not supervised or when my boy is eating or playing with toys that my pup regards as high value.  We have spent alot of time out in the garden over the past month together and as soon as the pup starts getting over zealous I pop him back in the kitchen where he promptly nods off to sleep.  The pup is like a young baby still, they need there naps and quiet time.  They also need a place where the kids will leave him alone and he feels safe.

[PennyB]

Hi guys, thankyou for all the advice me and my OH have made a real effort all day yesterday to keep her entertained and then let her chill out when she needs to. We spent A LOT of the day doing the exchanges with her and it seemed to work by the end of the evening she would give up anything. When she was nice and chilled out on the floor I would also give her high value treats so that she knew she would be rewarded for just relaxing. But then at about 9:00pm she went crazy and started running all of and barking and jumping on the sofa's and stuff. Was that just the regular 10 minutes of madness? cause it was much more than normal. also how do I get her off the sofa without picking her up?

Yes thats a normal wall of death mad time - I've had it with every pup I've had here

Teach her to get off the sofa - I did with all of mine - I do the luring off with a treat/toy, then I point at floor and say 'off' firmly, then when they have all four paws on floor they get their reward (and praise like mad).

I practised it a lot (Roobs would growl at me otherwise if I tried to push her off - she was also going through that challenging phase when she hit 5/6 months as she wa salso very stubborn and confident ).

Now, no treats are needed (may be the odd 'good girl') and 'off' works like a dream (for both my dogs)

[september]

nothing to add to the advice given but just to say we used a house line with Roxy when she was a pup mainly for jumping up but also to get her off the sofa.  It worked really well.

She is nearly 4 and we still use it occasionally when we have a lot of visitors.  a houseful can make her a bit manic and often other people can't be trusted to follow instructions!! The house line means we can lead her away with no confrontation.

[Mel]

As Karma said we have all been where you are now. And we have all pulled our hair out. We all do things slightly differently, e.g. Penny waits for 4 paws on the floor before praise, I do 2, but you need to evaluate the advice and do it the way it works for you. A long line is great but combined with the lure/reward especially with treats, will help Jess with any potential guarding issues.

Tali drove me mad during his first year. It wasn't that I didn't know what to do, it was just not seeming to work. But I can assure you it really does, eventually. Just try not to do everything at once. You have plenty of time, even old dogs can learn new stuff

[mlynnf50]

Hello Chris as all have said we have all been through this and some are still going through it, Selby is a stroppy teenager, but I have followed most of the advice on here and we do seem to getting somewhere, although must admit when I say that he goes back two steps, I have had dogs all my life and used to breed red setters and also have had German shepherds and Gr's and have found the cockers to be the most challenging and at times have been at my wits end with him, and then all of a sudden they just seem to click, 1 months ago I was desperate about his recall but now he is amazing!!!! Just keep doing the training and keep the children away from her or only with her when supervised.

I know what you mean about the evenings Selby is still quite challenging on a evening and we seem to spend most nights saying down and good boy until we have had enough and then we pop him in his crate for both our sakes and he is 17 months !!!!

I don't know how they manage to creep so much into our hearts but they do, it must be those eyes.

Just keep trying I am sure it will pay off one day.