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View Full Version : Puppy not listening.


demonbrat711
Jun 3, 2008, 10:31 AM
So I have a morkie(maltses/yorkie) that just turned 8 months old... and the only problem I have with him is he doesn't listen to me.. I mean he does but only to a point.. if I say teddy come here he comes but if I got to pick him up he runs away... if I go to pick him up to put him in his cage its like a chasing game for 10 minutes... and my other problem is when someone else calles him saying teddy come here he listens and he lets them pick him up... I am with him most of the day... am I with him too much?. I think he thinks it's a game when I try to get him and its not... but yet if I go somewhere and one of my sisters or brother watches him he crys and crys and crys.. and when I come home he jumps on me and I can pick him up then so I don't understand can someone please tell me what's going on here lol thanks:)

carolbcac
Jun 3, 2008, 05:55 PM
The puppy may associate your picking him up with being put in the crate and the end of fun. Start calling him to you several times a day, reward him with a small treat or a toy and let him return to play. In a couple of days, start picking him up to give him his reward, then set him back down to continue playing. Slowly begin to substitute petting and praise for some of the food or toy rewards.
Of course you will still have to put him in the crate sometimes, but what you are creating is a human"slot machine" for him. Occasionally he loses and has to go to bed, but most of the time he has a good experience and gets to go back to play. Once in a while he gets a "jackpot"--a treat or favorite toy.
People get addicted to gambling because of "intermittant reinforcement", a proven technique in behavior modification, and it has the same effect on animals. Money is a strong reinforcer for humans; treats, toys and pleasant social interaction works for dogs.
Also, never punish him for coming to you, even if that means he has been a total brat for half an hour before he finally did what you wanted--you reward the LAST thing he did, which was to come back to you.
He obviously loves you, its just that you are the person who probably has to make him mind, so he skitters away when he thinks he is going into his crate. Don't chase him, that just starts a game of keep-away. Make him come to you to see what he has "won"!