A little advice needed

Hi everyone, post number two for me

I'll confess I'm new to training as I've only ever had re-homed/rescue adult dogs before. I currently have two staffys, one who is 17 months old and one who is 4 months old. Tilly, our youngest is a rescue she gets on great with Zeus they play all day but she isn't trained at all. We've had her 3 days now and I couldn't be happier with her but I need some help and advice training her.

I've started to toilet train her and give her basic commands. I would never smack a dog an try not to raise my voice when she's chewing or gets to giddy with Zeus. When she starts playing up I tell her "no" and point at her. If by the second time she hasn't stopped what she is doing I put her in her crate for a few minutes with the door shut as a cool off. Is this the right way to correct behavior? When she listens I go over the top praising her and give her a soft dog treat.

She's learned to come when I call her and sit when I tell her to, she occasionally growls if I stroke her whilst eating or playing with a toy but when she does I take the food/toy away and tell her "no" then give it her back 30 seconds later and try again. She is getting better with this.

When it comes to the toilet training, we try to take her out every hour. I've booked two weeks off work mid April to spend totally on this. When we take her out we say "wee wees" and go outside. When she has done her business I praise her and give her a treat (I also praise Zeus and give him a treat in front of her when he does it to show her). At night she sleeps in her crate with the door shut and I take her out periodically throughout the night (every 4 hours or so). We have a puppy pad by the back door for when she needs to go urgently but we don't reward her for going here. She has a habit of going out for a wee then coming in and doing a poo in the living room. If she poo's or wee's anywhere other than outside or on the pad I pick her up take her over to the spot and point to it and tell her no. Is this right? I don't discipline her for this as I've read not to.

I also have a young daughter who she jumps up on, I've told my daughter when she does this to push her down and tell her "down". The command I've chosen for her when she starts mouthing our hands is "no biting" (the same command we use for Zeus).

If anyone can give me feed back on the way I'm doing things good or bad it would be greatly appreciated. If you need more information just ask

Thanks in advance,
Mike

Hiya seems like you are doing all the right things, the only thing I would say is when she jumps best not to push her away as she will see this as a game. Best to just turn your back and ignore her tell her the command and as soon as she has all 4 feet on the ground then treat her. xx

It sounds like you are doing well and it will just take time for her to learn
The only thing I'm not sure of is that taking her to the accident spot and telling her "no" actually works as it may be too late for her to relate the "no" with the accident. I was always told to just ignore it and act like nothing has happened.

When you say playing up, what exactly do you mean by that? I would recommend being careful about using the crate as punishment, you don't want her to see going into her crate as a negative thing.

If she growls when you're taking things away, she's telling you that she's uncomfortable and by doing this you may even create a problem. 30 seconds is way too long to wait before giving her the item back, you need to give it back in 2-3 seconds. I'd recommend swapping the item that you want back for a treat, or adding food to her bowl whenever you're around it, rather than taking it away. This way, she was always have a positive association with what she feels to be her possesions being taken away.

The first part of the toilet training sounds fine, but the pointing won't mean much to her. If she toilets and you don't see her doing it, clean it up and carry on. If you catch her in the act say no whilst she's doing it, pick her up, take her outside, give your positive toilet command and praise when she's been.

How old is your daughter? To some dogs that push away will be a reward, as it's still touch and attention to them. I'd always recommend turning your body away and saying the command, rather than pushing. Walk away and ignore if they continue to jump up, but be sure to reward massively when all paws are on the floor.

Thanks for the feedback guys.
I was concerned about making her crate seem to be a punishment so I will stop doing this, I do this when she eats Zeus's food as well and it seems to be working but how would I go about this issue without putting her in her crate? She also tries to take food from my plate if I'm eating on the sofa, I tell her the command "down" and sit her back on the floor is this right?

I'll also ignore if she goes to the toilet in the living room from now but what if when I take her out she no longer needs to go? How long should I wait outside with her?

I will stop pushing her back as like you say she seems to think it's a game when we do this and instead tell my daughter to turn her back on her then when she stops reward her.

In regards to her growling it's not that I'm taking anything away from her it's that she occasionally growls if she's touched whilst eating. This usually wouldn't be an issue but as we have a child (4yo) it is something I need to stop her from doing as much as telling my daughter to leave her alone whilst she's eating. Zeus is great around her  he's like a different dog, he is so gentle and this is how I want to train Tilly to be.

Also should I let them play as much as they like? They both seem to love it and their tails are wagging but I get the feeling that Zeus sometimes doesn't want to but ends up getting dragged in to it. He is much larger than her and doesn't snap at her or even growl. I stop them mid playing every so often but Tilly seem just wants to start playing again immediately. Any idea's how to go about this or should I leave them to it? I've just been inviting them both on the couch when I think Zeus has had enough and if they either starts to play he/she gets put back on the floor in the hope that they understand they can't fight on the couch it's just for relaxing time.

Once again thank you for the feedback and advice it really is appreciated!
Kind Regards,
Mike

Instead of the crate just try a time out, try a sit and stay instead.

I wouldn't worry too much about a pup growling, it's not aggression at that age. But again a time out May help.

Let them Play but if it seems to be getting too much for either of them just desperate them.

If you need a time out the crate is fine with toys/kings etc to keep her occupied, but telling her off and then shutting her in isn't really recommended. As Saz has said, I'd send her to her "place" maybe a bed? Rather than shutting in the crate. I think you need to differentiate between commands a little more, if she's trying to take food I'd probably go with a "leave" rather than a "down" as that's what you use when she jumps up right?

Go out with her or 5 minutes or so, if she doesn't go just if back in and try again in 15 minutes or so. When out in the garden don't play or fuss, just make yourself really boring and only fuss when she's been.

I never approach a dog when they're eating out of respect more than anything, Biscuit doesn't have a problem with food but will still grumble if someone touches her when she's eating something special. If you can't stop your little one from touching her when she's eating perhaps just feed her in her crate? Otherwise it would be you adding really tasty bits of food to her bowl whilst she's eating, so that she knows that whenever people are around her bowl she gets something good.

It's good to teach them that "enough" means to stop playing, if he looks like he's had enough break it up and redirect her attention to playing with you and a you/some other kind of interactive toy that will keep her attention. Biscuit is mega playful and some fosters that I've had don't enjoy it, they usually just walk away from her and I tell her to stop, but she's a fully grown adult with much better impulse control than a pup!

She's still very new give her some more time to settle in, her behaviours might change again yet!