house full of untrained dogs

[pranaman]

Hey everyone!
hope all is good on the homefront.

anyway, my household consists of 5 dogs, all untrained. The two oldest dogs are potty trained(8 years), the two teenagers(one year each) are not potty trained at all, and the baby is not either( 6weeks).

All of the dogs besides the littlest one barks at everyone and everything outside any window.

The teenage german shephard is really defensive over her food, and has actually injured the baby chihuahua from batting her away with a snarl.

The two teenage dogs find stuff out of the recycling and off the counters and shred it up.

I'm only at school mondays and wednesdays all day till night, and my parents work all week. So I figure I should take charge on training our friends to live well in this environment. But I don't know the first thing to do with so many animals around.

Any help?

thank you

 

[smkie]

I would start with getting everyone housebroken. Set a schedule, observe when they are naturally timed to go and focus. Don't let the little one get the teenagers bad habits. You have to remove as much scent from the house as you can or it will be an uphill battle. I would keep them in the same room with you at all times until they are a hundred percent.

You can start doing daily obedience short lessons for the teens to help establish some control. HOpe you can get your parents on board. IT really takes a family effort to pull something like this together.

 

[Kayla]

Agreed with starting with house breaking- also incase you are not doing so already it is very important to feed your German Shep away from the other dogs- especially since the others are very small and it would not take much for a bite to do fatal damage.

For the two garbage shredders- buy a locking garbage can and locking recycling bin- the easiest way to solve such a problem.

Also this goes hand in hand with training but make sure everyone is getting plenty of exercise- a good alternative to walking/jogging is to buy a 60' nylon line at a hardware store which you can put your dog on once your at a park and throw a ball- frizbee for. This still gives you 100% control over your dog as even with the best of recalls you cant control what other people or others peoples dogs might do.

If you want to start basic training with them there are TONS of great training posts in this section.

I'd personally recomend clicker training- you can read my sticky: Clicker Training 101 and the top of the thread.

Best of luck
Keep us updated
Kayla

 

[lizzybeth727]

I agree with working on potty training first. I'd also highly suggest crate training if you haven't already done that. THere are several threads and a sticky that deals with crate training and potty training.

I think it sounds like you also need to start working on some leadership exercises. Leadership does NOT mean you should bully dogs or "dominate" dogs. It simply means that you control all the resources (anything your dog likes) and they have to work to gain access of those resources. Sometimes work means that they have to do a behavior (sit before going out the door, lay down before getting dinner, etc.), sometimes it means they have to not do a behavior (don't jump on me and I'll pet you, don't paw at me and I'll let you on the couch, etc.).

There are many great articles about leadership and resource management, the best one I've found is in "Click to Calm," Emma Parson's "Clicker Home Management" exercises (great for all dogs, not just reactive/aggressive dogs). I haven't been able to find that online, and I don't want to take the time to copy it here from my book, but I'm sure you could find it at the library or something. Here's another list of exercises I did find, and although it's heavily edited, it's from this website.

How to Establish Leadership
Leadership simply means you, as the owner, tell the dog when it’s time for an activity, and not the other way around.

Eating routine – Rather than offering an all day cafeteria, you decide when your dog should be fed. When she finishes, pick up her food dish, placing it out of reach. Then, when it’s time for that second meal she should be hungry. This also works in potty training. If you let your dog eat at will, anytime of the day, you won’t be getting her into a routine, but will be at her mercy for whenever she needs to go outside and relieve herself.

You initiate playtime - If your dog initiates playtime, ignore her. That’s not to say you don’t play with her because quality playtime is important for bonding, as well as exercise. However, you, as the leader, should be the one to instigate it. Notice when she’s sitting quietly and not begging for attention. That’s the time to toss her a ball and play.

Greeting and jumping –It feels good to know you’re loved and get a warm reception when you walk through the door. However, if you let your dog jump up on you, you’re teaching her bad habits and she’ll jump on guests that visit. When you first walk through the door, don’t give her eye contact at first. If she jumps, turn your back and fold your hands, ignoring her. Then, when she sits and settles down, praise and greet her.

Finally, learn all you can on dog obedience techniques. Before you feed or play with your dog, first have her sit. Also, take advantage of informative television programs, such as Animal Planet’s “It’s Me or the Dogâ€, which incorporates many of these principles. You’ll enjoy your pet much more once boundaries are set and your dog knows you’re the boss.

 

[mrose_s]

Good on you for wanting to change, training kis now my favourite past time, it relaxes me so much I love it.

I think you've got all the good advice you need from people that have already posted but congrats on wanting to help your dogs and thankyou

btw, I have a love affair with my clicker. I will always train with one it seems

 

[bubbatd]

Agree with the above but have a question . Are the 2 one year olds litter mates ??? Or did you get them about the same time ??? Also , where did you get them ???