Is my dog ADHD?

[Jenn]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Aug-18-01 AT 06:41AM (PST)[/font][p]I am the owner of the annoying 6 month old charl pup who was bitten by his female friend. We've been separating out two dogs for a week now, and I have been watching them while we are home. Our pup is a puppy. He a bouncing, trounching, annoying little (okay big) guy that is just not too smart. He is not standing up to our female, he just can't seem to quit trying to play rough. When she gets after him, he backs off for about 30 seconds, then starts in again. He bites at her rump and tail, grabs at her collar and pulls on her. He's a brat, but not trying to assume any positions. Here's what he does when he meets new dogs. He is very shy at first. He puts his tail between his legs and tries to hide behind us while he's sniffed over by the smaller dogs. Then as soon as he sees they're not going to hurt him, he tromps around full speed jumping and grabbing, lips flapping. When the other dogs get fed up with the weirdo, he doesn't notice and continues. What the heck!?
We left him locked in the kitchen yesterday for about 2 hours. We can home to mess. He unlatched the doggie gate, pushed over a fan to open it, and proceeded to pile everything in the laundry basket in the living room. After he was done with that he tore up a magazine and chewed on some wood.

What do we need to do to get this little guy to settle down? Just give it time? He is getting some training - he knows how to walk on a leash and to stand for examination, but to be honest with you he's not the brightest light bulb out there. He's terribly food motivated. I've tried baiting him, but he jumps and bites at my hands until I get fed up. I don't want his training to escalate into a struggle, but about the only time he really listens is if he's verbally scolded. He's awefully cute, but I can see why our female is fed-up.

[danelvr]

RE: Is my dog ADHD?

hello,
now i am know i am no genius with great danes yet, but this sounds liek it could happen to any dog breed, any time. the problem is that they are just big, and they are harder to control becasue of that. you need to go to a light handed trainer. they can really help out a lot. depending on how old he is, hye could attend puppy kindergarden with you. that way he will have the distraction of other puppies, but he will still have to pay attention to you. with the chewing make sure he has tons of toys, he might be going through those swful puppy teething stages, which happens twice.. with the destruction thing, does he get enough attention, and exercise. i know my last dog was really REALLY hyper and the only way we could get him to calm down was to get him tired out by exercising him. this was all the way up till he was two years old. he was rottie/aussie. so he was stubborn, and hyper basically. he had the same problems you are having, and for the life of me that gosh darn dog loved people and would just love to come up and give 'em a big wet one when they walked in the dorr. it was a real struggle to get him to calm down, and stop jumping. even with the training techniques etc.

basically everyday i took him out for a long walk, 2-3 miles, and he was still not tired. i turned him loose with his puppy playmate outside in our humungous 20 acres of a yard(hes a year and a half at this point) than i ake him to our pond and swim with him for a while. and finally take him back to the house and give him a chew toy. we praised him, and gave him treats when people came in the house, and he obeyed our sit command and stay. gave him treats for just being calm!! ! well i hope that helped, sorry for rambling
sarah
good luck! !

[DCP]

RE: Is my dog ADHD?

I am by no means an expert but here are a few things I would start with:
1.crate, there are many links on properly crate training and the crate is used as a haven and relaxation , not a punishment.
2. Teach "leave it" and "take it" Put treat in hand while dog is stand/stay or sitting hold treat out and say"leave it" close hand if dog goes for it, keep saying and closing hand until dog waits for cue"Take it" to take the treat. This is not as hard as it sounds.
3. If I take my dog out for practice and he is going nutso I hold the leash and stand still until he stops or I start walking and ignore the craziness. It takes 1-2 minutes at the longest for him to settle and realize that this is not play. By the way that 1-2 minutes seems like 7 hrs. Don't get frustrated.
I do all this with my 7mo old and trust me he isn't MENSA, just a lovable goofball.
Since it seems like you are trying to teach conformation showing, a show person may want to correct what I told you, I am just training a responsible family member.

[jpy]

RE: Is my dog ADHD?

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Aug-19-01 AT 08:30AM (PST)[/font][p]Go read (& download?) Suzzane Clothier's (free) online article:
"He just wants to say Hi!". This dog isn't likely "ADHD" (although a for of this does exits in dogs, it doesn't sound like from your description he has the typical signs). He may need more exercise; he certainly needs a more structured environment. Were he mine, given the sort of matriarchial female pack-leader I normally have, I'd let her sort him out, come what may. Given that's not an option, someone (human?) is going to have to teach him, both at home & away, that such pushy behaviour is unwelcome. Given your description of his canine-canine reactions, he sound very pack & rank oriented. Unusual in Danes (to this extreme), this is a fairly common "problem" (actually a normal behaviour, if annoying at times) focus (to obsession) with many dogs. Beware NOT putting him in his place, promptly & regularly. Since you describe him "testing the waters" routinely, best to let him know the rules & the limits each & every time he asks. Talking to some folks who own more traditional working breeds (e.g. Rotts, GSDs) may be enlightening. Suzzane Clothier's stuff will likely help you gain insight on his drives. I'd box in his life with stiff rules & regulations, be both demanding & insistent he comply with every resquest promptly & completely (so he knows who's boss), and given the dog a sense of purpose (some kind of job, even if it's made up). If he's intact, BTW, prepare for it to get worse between 9-18 months & likely escalate to posturing & even fights with males he meets even in neutral places. Good luck with it.

[danelvr]

RE: Is my dog ADHD?

hello,

i do not know why i did not think of that. the clothier articles are great, i downloaded them, and printed a few. they are wonderful ! ! actually after reading them, i ahev been training my neighbors dog(they feel she does not need to be trained, but allow me too anyway) i started different training practices with the dog, and it seems to be working. shes only a little lhaso apso, so the owners decided they did not have to teach her to leave other dogs alone, and to stop jumping and peeing on everyone. they also decided she did not have any real risk of getting sick, so they did not get her vaccinated, until i said i would driver her there(illegally) myself to get ehr vaccinated. they then took her. these people arent the brightest, butt heir dog is turning out nice because of clothier! ! 1 thanks sorry for rambling
sarah

[gmac]

RE: Is my dog ADHD?

I have a good book called "surviving your dog's adolescence" (sp?). I don't have the author's name, but ordered it from Amazon. It is well-written and has a lot of lot of great tips. I had a male pitbull that was a total handful, and I also enrolled him in obediance school, which helped. He chew-chew-chewed his way through a couch, several bags of empty soda cans, my grandma's antique doll (chewed his way through the closet door to get to it) and really, the book would have saved me a lot of anguish if I had it then. Neutering helps! Can't say that's an option if you're going to show him, though. He isn't ADHD, he's just a teenage boy! And we all know what they are like :-)