I bought a blue heeler about 3 months ago and was having very good luck training her. But now its like she started to back step in her training. She's going back to the same ways as when I bought her. Now I'm having a hard time training her. I'ts like she doesn't want to listen to me. What should I do? I try to scold her and she tries to bite me. She's only 7 months old. And now she has this thing with springing in the air and jumping on not only me but anyone that comes in the house. How do I break her of this, and is there anyone that has any training advice for me. This is the first heeler dog I ever owned, I thought she would be a great dog for living in town, but I guess I should have looked for a different dog? Would someone please help me?

Even though I know you have had your puppy for a while, please read the following link:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/1...ing-67659.html

As one of the other members wisely suggested, you might want to find someone who has experience in training heelers. You could check the websites I supplied in that response. You may also want to ask your local vets if they are aware of anyone who has experience.

Unfortunately, your pup is starting to hit our equivalent of the terrible twos. That happens quite often with all breeds. Training is one of those things that we are constantly doing and reinforcing throughout their lives.

Our resident expert has some links at the top of the dog forum with training tips. I am sure he will stop by at some point to weigh in here.

Spay her if not already. It is no cure all, but can make a dramatic difference. I have to disagree with RPB, it is not the twos, but the teenager years. This could even be part of her coming into season.

The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position

Consistently is very important in correcting jumping and other problems. Quickly correcting her every time she jumps on somebody is very important. Something bad has to happen each time. People are successful with a number of different things. One of the most gentle is to grab her front paws and hold her up. The traditional knee to the chest or step on her paws work well too. In each case apply ''Bad dog, its name off!'' in a firm, but not loud voice. Go ahead with it even if she is too quick to add a physical correction.

I was impressed at a training seminar I went to last fall. The presenter asked for volunteers with dogs that jumped on people. I wouldn't have admitted my dog had a problem. Several others did. She demonstrated turning your back and walking away. The dog at first sort of stood there and looked confused. After only a few tries, it gave up jumping on her.

I tend to see larger variations within a breed than from breed to breed.
Difficult dogs may be more common in some breeds. My daughter took in a problem Blue Heeler, and they straightened her out using what my daughter learned raising Labs.

You are right labman. I was about to log off last night when I saw the question pop up. I was tired, I did mean the teenage years. I usually tell people that the dog's mentality in general is like dealing with a two year old. It is me, me, me all the time. They don't grasp the concepts of right and wrong and, there is no guilt. They only know that we are unhappy with their behavior.

I didn't even think that she may not be spayed yet. Yup, lilblu, spaying helps with many behavioral problems as labman suggests.

In any event, you need to get the nipping under control. The herding instinct is so intense in these dogs that if it is not dealt with early on, it can become problematic. Try labman's techniques first.

Hey fellow Blue Heeler owner! We got our Maddie on Valentines day and she is now 4 months old. She loves to jump as well and we actually encourage it with toys, they are good frisbee dogs and want to take advantage of it. I think you need to show her when it is a good time to jump and when it is enough. We just have been saying OFF and STOP and when she does we give her a small treat and say good girl, then we get a toy and practice jumping with that so she knows it is OK to do that with her ball and frisbee. I know what you mean with the whole selective hearing, I have a co-worker with a red-heeler with the same issue. I pick her up and lay her on my lap and sort of pin her down until she calms down a bit, that works for me and shows them who is boss in a non threatening way. She'll grunt and whine for a moment then she'll give a sigh and you know she gave in and will behave. Same with the biting, I pin her down or hold her like a baby and hold her mouth shut and say NO, then I grab a toy for her to chew on. Otherwise stand up with your arms folded and look away for a minute, she'll catch on.

Keep in touch !

I've owned and raised heeler's since 2000, the best advice I've had was being told about a book called Heeler Power. The jumping she's doing is normal, when our dogs do that when we see them coming we stop put our hands to our sides, when their on the ground beside us we praise them. After a while they stop jumping, when they realize it's not a game. Heelers are active dogs and are good loyal working dogs, if you hit the dog or beat it, chances are it's not going to work for you. You might need to take her to obedience classes, sounds like you and her both need to be trained. I took a dog to training classes and we both came away a lot smarter. I hope you and her get things worked out, if you don't please take her to a heeler rescue center if you get rid of her.

Best of Luck
FeliciaT

There are a couple of books I really recommend to new dog owners or people who have been having trouble house breaking their pups.

You can take a look at those recommendations as posted in another thread by following this link:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/p...ng-280196.html

My quick 5 second guide...

First tip... Energy. These dogs have a lot of it and thus not a dog for the lazy and elderly.

They're built to work all day long. This is not a good family pet for someone who doesn't know anything about canine family structure and canine instincts. If you do not have a yard for them to run in, take it on walks at the least (runs are better), or plan on putting it in a lot of work, find a good owner now while it's still cute. If you want to understand the canine, get something on wolf packs. It's not 100% applicable, but it will explain a lot of behavior.

Second tip, Blue Heelers are very dominant dogs.

They will (very much throughout the first 2-3 years, less there after) check to see if you're still worthy of being in command. Although some (albeit sissy) owners do not believe in it, negative reinforcement is a good thing in this case. If you are going to believe in negative reinforcement, at the same time, you need to believe in positive reinforcment. Now, I'm not saying you beat the holy hell out of your dog 3 times a day. You need to be (or at least seem) very angry when they do something wrong, and very happy when they do something right.be consistant. If you use "No" one time and "Stop" the next, they will not understand it. They will be 2-3 years old before you can issue commands in complete sentences, but I assure you, it'll happen.

Third tip: They are worth the work.

These dogs are more loyal then you could ever realize. They are physically strong, obedient, protective (yet controllable), and always eager to please. Note that last part, you need to demand something out of them unless you want them to go "find something fun" which normally has something to do with your possessions and chewing.

[QUOTE=lilbluenova;307590]I bought a blue heeler about 3 months ago and was having very good luck training her. But now its like she started to back step in her training. She's going back to the same ways as when I bought her. Now I'm having a hard time training her. I'ts like she doesn't want to listen to me. What should I do? I try to scold her and she tries to bite me. She's only 7 months old. And now she has this thing with springing in the air and jumping on not only me but anyone that comes in the house. How do I break her of this, and is there anyone that has any training advice for me. This is the first heeler dog I ever owned, I thought she would be a great dog for living in town, but I guess I should have looked for a different dog? Would someone please help me? [/QUote/


Hi,
I think I got a answer when she tries to jump on you stick your knee up and hit her in the chest should help.