Puppy Gus - training a big dog
Little Gus is only 10 weeks old, and he's growing quickly (by 2.5 kg/week lately). He's a Great Dane crossed with a Ball Arab (which is not a recognised breed, its a cross between German Shorthaired Pointer, Bull Terrier and Greyhound). So we really don't know how big he's going to get, but possibly close to Great Dane size, which is giant compared to any other dogs we've owned. Gus is our future security system, and with his likely large size, its really important that he is obedient and responsive to commands.
Gus is only the second puppy that I've owned, so I still have much to learn about training dogs. When we got Taz we also bought a set of DVDs on training cattle dogs ("Untold Secrets of Raising Working Dogs"), which has some good general information about puppies and we have a few books as well. The most important point on that DVD is that a puppy's relative maturity should be thought of as months equal to human years. So a 10 month old puppy is equivalent to a 10 year old child in relative maturity to an adult. At the moment Gus is only at a 2-3 year old level, so we can't expect too much from him.
This is what I wrote about puppies:
The puppy box works, even though there was crying at first
Poor Gus did not like being in his box at first, but now he is used to it, he will hop in there anytime he needs a break. For the first few days we put Gus in his box anytime we were away and overnight. After that he made himself at home in Taz' bed overnight, so I left him there. The first morning that I had to leave for work, I had given them a bone each, but still Gus was crying so much that Taz just stood and barked at him! I had to leave them to it (sorry neighbours!). Fortunately things have improved, and although he may still whinge a little, I think he's pretty happy in there now.
Having an older dog around helps with puppy entertainment and discipline
Taz has been a great source of babysitting and they will play endlessly. If Gus can't get the toy he will leap on Taz and bite her neck. She then has to drop the toy to bite him back. So far its all been good fun, but I'm relying on her to teach him some doggy manners if he starts to bite too hard. Its better coming from her than from us. A friend also suggested that teaching him to play ball will help to focus his "prey drive" so he might leave the chickens alone (as Taz does).
Younger puppies can't hold their bladder as long
One of the books we have said that puppies can only hold their bladders for as many hours as they are weeks old (therefore at 7 weeks, he could hold it for 7 hours). For the first week, he wet his bed every day, and there were a few accidents on the veranda (he hasn't been coming inside at all). We didn't get mad, it wasn't his fault. We have a system now where we feed the dogs as soon as we get up. Then we have breakfast and take the dogs for a walk, in which time they will both relieve themselves. Then Gus goes in his box for the day. When we get home from work Gus has a "snack" of puppy biscuits and then I make sure that they both run around for a while so that he goes on the grass (and not the veranda!). This seems to be working and I think it will get better as he gets older.
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| Gus' future collar |
This is what I wrote about puppies:
What I've learnt about puppies
Raising a big dog vs a working pup
More about our training our big dog
The puppy box works, even though there was crying at first
Poor Gus did not like being in his box at first, but now he is used to it, he will hop in there anytime he needs a break. For the first few days we put Gus in his box anytime we were away and overnight. After that he made himself at home in Taz' bed overnight, so I left him there. The first morning that I had to leave for work, I had given them a bone each, but still Gus was crying so much that Taz just stood and barked at him! I had to leave them to it (sorry neighbours!). Fortunately things have improved, and although he may still whinge a little, I think he's pretty happy in there now.
Having an older dog around helps with puppy entertainment and discipline
Taz has been a great source of babysitting and they will play endlessly. If Gus can't get the toy he will leap on Taz and bite her neck. She then has to drop the toy to bite him back. So far its all been good fun, but I'm relying on her to teach him some doggy manners if he starts to bite too hard. Its better coming from her than from us. A friend also suggested that teaching him to play ball will help to focus his "prey drive" so he might leave the chickens alone (as Taz does).
Younger puppies can't hold their bladder as long
One of the books we have said that puppies can only hold their bladders for as many hours as they are weeks old (therefore at 7 weeks, he could hold it for 7 hours). For the first week, he wet his bed every day, and there were a few accidents on the veranda (he hasn't been coming inside at all). We didn't get mad, it wasn't his fault. We have a system now where we feed the dogs as soon as we get up. Then we have breakfast and take the dogs for a walk, in which time they will both relieve themselves. Then Gus goes in his box for the day. When we get home from work Gus has a "snack" of puppy biscuits and then I make sure that they both run around for a while so that he goes on the grass (and not the veranda!). This seems to be working and I think it will get better as he gets older.
You can start training for short periods
So far Gus has learnt his name and "sit". We just keep using all the commands with him, even though he doesn't know them yet, things like "down" and "don't touch", I think the more we say them the easier they will sink in eventually. I've also had him on a leash to teach him to stop jumping up when he's excited (mostly at meal times). He learnt sit in just a few minutes of practice a day (with treats).
Having a puppy is hard work. He's very cute, but I'm just waiting for him to start chewing and destroying things. Do you have any tips to share? Does anyone else have a BIG dog?
What I've learnt about puppies
Raising a big dog vs a working pup
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