The last pup I really had was in 2010. I was able to train her to the point I could even walk her off leash. She was stolen from us in 2014 and I didn't plan on adopting another until we had the money to buy an already trained therapy dog. Then Dogmeat showed up and well... she needed us as much as we needed her. We found her 'owner' and they didn't want her back - they didn't want her to begin with. I've ran into a few problems and I am not willing to throw in the towel yet. I need advice because 'mommy brain' and lack of time seems to be effecting me being able to fix them. To make matters worse, the few trainers I have found in my area keep saying shock collars, which I don't want to turn to. 

Issue One - The cats run, she chases. Right now she is just trying to play with them. I am just worried about when she gets bigger. Redirection is not easy with her. At all... 

Issue Two - She has zero motivation to please. Food, treats, love, praise - none of it works. This makes teaching her kind of hard when she doesn't want to listen. She loves to be in the backyard, but when the neighbors let their three aggressive dogs out the try to get her through the fence (she doesn't engage with anything but doing play bows at them) and she won't come to the door at all. I have to go drag her in. 

Issue Three - We kennel at night and when we aren't home. Thursday I was putting her up to run to the store and she tried to jumped at the kennel, snarling and growling trying to get to our male cat. It made me rethink keeping her because this cat is the kitty that we had that got attacked early 2015. I don't want to give up and it only seems to happen when she is in her kennel? I have never had this happen before. 

I honestly have no idea.  I've had difficult dogs before but they always had some sort of motivation.  I'm really at a loss and the only thing I can offer is bumping this post to see if another HPer has some input.  Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

I found a dog treat that motivates her to an extent. She has learned sit, lay, go to bed, load up, and down since I posted this. Progress.

still having issues one and three and when she's in my fenced in back yard getting her in before she's ready is impossible still! Unless I go physically pick her up.

Some dogs get aggressive in the kennel because thats their home... so they may get territorial over it.

Im not a dog person, but thats just been my experience with the dogs weve had or ive heard about.

My dogs are smaller than my cats so theyre afraid of them! Lol

Its definately hard when you dont get them as a puppy.

my mom had a cattle dog that wouldnt listen when we called her either...

She ended up giving her away to a ranch owner because she was too hyper...

Maybe try using like a long line and let her do her business and then call her and if she doesnt come use the line to real her in?!

I orderd a 100ft long lead the other day, waiting very impatiently for it to come in the mail. According to her owners (the ones that dumped her and no longer want her) she was approx. 2 1/2 months when we got her. she is not around 3 - 3 1/2 months. They only had her a day or two before dumping her (long story short - mom and dad are getting divorced, dad moved out bought daughter, age 14, a dog. mom dumped dog. -.-). I am taking her to get her third round of puppy shots on the 18th and then I am going to start walking 2-4 miles a day with her to see if that improves her behavior in the back yard. 

The main reason she loves it out there is the neighbors three dogs are trying to eat her through the fence. She doesn't realize they aren't trying to play. So their three dogs are jumping at the fence, snarling, growling, and snapping their teeth together. What is she doing? Wagging her tail, play bowing and running up and down the fence with them as if it is the best game ever! We try to alternate when the are outside so they aren't out there together, but sadly they have zero control over their dogs either. I honestly think I can train thsi behavior out of her cause she is young, but their dogs are 3 years . 

Well i hope it all works out for you!

Sounds like she is young enough to train it outta her!!!

Kennels are amazing with that being said some dogs get over protective of them, one of mine is to an extent, just with other dogs

clicker training, and positive reinforcement works.

also look into BAT training, its behavior modification 

but other then that lots of walks, and try to find a postive reinforcement trainer stat 

bigger the dog gets bigger the problem the longer it takes to undo a behavior 

Since finding the treats she likes, she has shown major improvement already. She has came when called the past two times I've let her out back. She laid down and cuddled with the cats today, but I am almost 100% positive she is possessive of her kennel. 

Another thing I wanted to ask about, she will not eat dry puppy food. We started with Taste of the Wild and worked our way all the way down to store brand (small bags) and there isn't a single one she likes. I have to mix in wet food (a spoonful or two) in order to get her to eat at all. This isn't ideal for us, but if it is the only way I can get her to eat it is what will be happening. any advice about that? 

Some dogs are texture phobic so you can try to soak the dry food in water to sometimes trick them into thinking they're getting a special treat without spending a ton on canned food. One of my dogs actually loves to eat the soggy food. 

My other suggestion is to just slowly give less and less canned food until you're not feeding any at all. We actually had to do this with a dog staying long term at our clinic. He's been there like a month or so and went from only eating canned to now eating dry like a champ. Just slow and steady.

what trig said :)

also look up kiko pup on youtube

I will have to look up Kiko pup after I get some housework done. 

Just a quick update - know those dogs that try to eat her? Yeah, she called one of their bluffs today. Only one was outside, thankfully, and she dug into their yard to arrange her very own play date! I am super annoyed at her at the moment, but it's okay. I put down rebarr, chicken wire (a foot on the fence and a foot on the ground) and then I put up another layer of chain link so hopefully she is contained, but boy I am tired! Thankfully my husband is off today to help with the baby. 

Now to limit outside time to on leash only until these habits are nipped in the bud and to expand my search radius for a positive reinforcement trainer. 

Quick update for those who care XD 

100 ft training lead came in the mail today! Whoot! I haven't put it on her yet, BUT I am hoping for good things. I also bought one of those things you cork screw into the ground and attach a cable to. I also bought a 60 foot cable. It gives her access to half the back yard. So it keeps her from pushing under the fence for now until I can go get some more chicken wire and rebarr. I let her outside with me today and she did the ignoring me thing again, so the outside without a lead days are really over for her until she improves. The only way I can describe it is this: You know how when a dog gets loose from containment and it ignores you and runs and ignores you some more? That is her behavior in our fenced in yard which is roughly half to three fourths of an acre. 

Indoor and on leash training has been going amazing (pre-100ft lead). She knows sit, lay, shake, down, up, load up (truck), go to bed (kennel), no, leave it, and easy (for taking treats and just being around the toddler in general). She has so much potiential, I can see it due to the way she listens while inside and on leash. It's just a pain to try to get her to behave in the back yard. 

Oh my God that poor thing. She had such a rough and chaotic start but at least she found her way to people that really care. 

As for the food issue, you can also try a little low sodium stock if she's looking for some flavor. It's pretty inexpensive and you can always just use the rest in your own food. When Mordred wasn't drinking with his bladder infection, I would flavor his water with chicken stock and soak the prescription dry food to make it more appealing. 

Most of my experience is on the cat end of things, naturally. But if she's to a point where she's crate trained when you're not there to supervise her I wouldn't worry too much about the cats. Her behavior sounds playful rather than aggressive and if the cats aren't having any of it, most dogs I've seen learn their place after the cat puts them back in it. And this was a 6 pound senior with a young rottweiler, followed by a large shepherd mix, plus at rottweiler/hound, plus the world's biggest train wreck of a bulldog. 

That being said if you're seriously gonna call her dogmeat you need to get her little bandannas and a pair of doggy goggles because that was the best part of fallout. 

Link Tree

Choatic - That is in the works for this Halloween! :D I cannot wait and of course I will upload pictures! I may even bite the bullet and buy everything before then, we will see. I cannot find the military looking ones he is wearing in the game, but I have found black ones that may have to do. 

The harder I work at training her (clicker and positive reinforcement only) the more she dislikes me? I have her on a 50 cable out back (she can reach pretty much the whole yard) when she potties and she came in and went straight to her kennel and refused to come when I called? I've come to the conclusion she isn't happy with me about the cable, but I've never gotten the cold shoulder from a dog before... 

Last round of Parvo shots on 2/18, plus rabies and kennel cough. Four months old, 23 lbs. Still bet curious about what exactly she's mixed with.  

http://imgur.com/8PIaeyk

http://grishastewart.com/ its really a life saver. 

one of my dogs woke up one morning and hated dogs including ones she was raised with.

shes also leash reactive. 

I will have to check that site out here in  a few after I get my private shows up. 

Today I met a trainer at home depot to talk over a few things. We walked around Home Depot with her and then moved over to Petsmart and Michael's Arts and Crafts. AFter three hours with the trainer, honestly she's easy to train. The issue happened as I was trying to load up the puppy and the toddler. Some how the pup backed out of her harness and we were by a busy highway. First instict was for me to chase her - but I stopped. All I did was yell COME and she stopped in her tracks and came right to me. I have always tried to round her up in the back yard too. Going to be trying a few different things now, but if she will come to me in an area full of other dogs, people, kids, cats (It is adoption day at our petsmart on weekends. We had three different dogs rescues outside) then she should come in the backyard too - with more work. The trainer didn't seem to think she was really needed based on the way the dog behaved with her around and she is recommending that I consider training her to be a therapy dog if she does continue training for us.

It's a big decision and I am going to think on it for a bit. Today was hectic and a toddler and a puppy (four legged toddler) was a lot for me to handle but it was fun and rewarding. Even with the big scare at the end. xD