How do we discipline our boy?

[marissa]

He is not listening to "NO" anymore and just seems to be getting more and more unruly everyday. He's 11 weeks old so we know a lot of this is puppy behavior but we just want to maintain control and keep him in line. He needs to know that we're in charge. He doesn't get that all the time. Help! Please! We are beginning to lose patience.

 

[Trish727]

Your kidding.....11 weeks old......he is like an infant. You do go through a baby stage. There are other's on this board that will help you with their knowledge.......I can only tell you I took Domino to obedient school for 12 weeks and I just keep after him...it's something you have to do over and over but it's well worth it. I have a wonderful well behaved big boy of 5yrs old now.
Good luck....just remember he is just a baby.....don't expect too much.

 

[Cami]

Aside from the normal everyday puppy behaviors what is he doing that you are constantly telling him no? If it is picking up undesirable items that you don't want chewed on, say no then immediatly replace that item with an allowable one. Also you can start teaching the drop-it and leave-it commands now.

As far as mouthing or biting skin, it's never too soon to start curbing that behavior. Again, use no but you can also try saying ouch! or something similar to get his attention to stop. Also stop play when this occurs.

Help build his confidence by catching him doing something right and praising him like crazy. Even something as simple as laying down in his bed, as soon as you see him doing it, say Good boy! He will soon not have to be told no nearly as often and will grow into a very well mannered boy.

It does take time and lots of patience but it is well worth it in the end. There is nothing like a Boxer to complete a family.

 

[Tulsa-Dan]

If I stood there and yelled "NO" at you all the time, you'd ignore me as well.

There is NO NEED to discipline your pup. You need to train the dog to do what you need him TO DO, not what you don't want him to do.

I suggest getting a copy of Jean Donaldson's "The Culture Clash" and read it and live by it. Good information in that book.

 

[tyson&ali]

appicon well said appicon although I have to admit that the challenges both my babies present can be a little overwhelming from time to time!

 

[Jade010103]

I feel that the word 'NO' is just overused with alot of people training their dogs and the dogs just start to ignore it. Try using different words or sounds for different things. Along with the word 'No' I also use the word 'enough' and 'uh ah', it just depends what they are doing for which word I use.
Example: when they are constantly barking I tell them 'enough' and when I was working on the stay command I used the 'uh ah' when they got up when they weren't suppose to, this way they aren't constantly hearing the word 'no'. Just don't overuse the word.

Also, like the others said, 11 weeks is just a baby, he's not 100% sure of anything your saying right now. Consistancy is the key!

Good Luck!

 

[brocky101]

The word no is a VERY common word that everybody uses to discipline their dogs.. Its not a good word to use because after saying "Rufus, NO! Rufus NO, Rufus No!" over and over and over again, he'll begin to think thats his name. (Rufus as an example )
Try using SoUnDs like "Agh!!" or "Hey!" and use a loud growly sound.
He is Much to young to be disciplined though- but later when he can AcTuAlLy get into things and be quite naughty.. (when he knows he's being naughty) use the sounds and words i gave you.
dont try to just stick 2 one word!

GoOd lUcK!
-Lauren&Brocky-

 

[Rlr.Giraffe]

I agree... if you're saying no to him getting into things, start working on "leave it" or "not yours" and then congratulating him when he leaves things alone. This works a lot better than saying "no" in my experience :D . Pups can be frustrating! 11 weeks is very young though, and believe me, it gets worse before it gets better!!! But the reward of having a well trained dog is huge lovicon

 

[BoxerLuv82]

I agree with everyone else when I say that using the word "no" too much can cause problems with training. Not problems, more like confusion. I try to avoid using those words, only when he is about to do something or get something that will cause him harm will I give a strong "NO" and Rocky freezes automatically. Other than that I use, 'hey', 'ah-ah', 'ouch'.. so on.

Also the book Culture Clash is a really good book for insight on how to train your furkid. It allows you to see things from their perspective as well. Best of luck to you!

 

[brwneyesk8]

Whatever you decide to do....PLEASE don't use the dogs name along with the 'NO'. As in 'Rufus NO' or something like that. They begin to associate their name with bad behavior and anger/discipline from you. A simple 'NO' if that's what you chose to do should be fine.

It is hard to break the 'NO' habit.....I'll admit that was a troublespot for Dave and me. I can't even remember how we trained him after we decided we said 'NO' too much. Must have been magic or something. hehe.

I'm pretty sure what we did was praise good behavior and just tried to keep him from hurting himself with scolds. I would try that book as well!! Sounds like one I'll get when I'm closer to getting another boxerpup. Good luck. You're frustrated and it's tough....but you can do it! Your pup loves you and is still so young. :D