kwhite30

But I still love him.

Diesel is a great puppy. Probably one of the best I've ever had but he has a few issues that I can't seem to figure out. The first is that he refuses to go on walks or really walk anywhere far from our house. He loves being outside but he never will let me take him far away from the house. He'll just stop and if I want him to go anywhere I have to pull him to get him to go. He needs to be able to go for walks not just to get outside and socialize and kill some energy but for my sanity as well. I think part of it is he is terrified of anything that makes noise and sacred of other dogs. He's scared of his own reflection on our patio door. He goes nuts and starts barking at it. Other dogs he'll just do everything he can to run away from them. As funny as this may seem the only other dog he actually got along with was another Doberman. I get that he's only 10 weeks (11 tomorrow) but he needs to discover all these things and I feel like he should be interested in exploring new things. He's also scared of the vacuum. He runs around like crazy and usually pees and then hides in our room. I'm trying to get him used to things and thats really the only thing inside that scares him. The last thing is his crate. I am trying to do the crate games with him but no matter what I do he HATES it. You'd think I was cutting off his leg. We live in an apartment so I can only work with him during the day really when people aren't home cause he is so loud in there. I have tried to wait it out and not give in but he'll go close to 30 minutes crying with maybe a 2 minute break. He needs to learn to like his crate nothing can ever get done because I have to constantly be with him. Other then that he's great about everything else it's just these few things and there starting to drive mommy nuts*

Btw sorry for such a long post.

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kwhite30

Oh forgot to mention! He tries to eat the crate and he's gotten stuck once which scares the crap out of me. He has a blank in there and toys that I know he can't destroy yet but none of that helps him.

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CashKO

My suggestion is to reward him as often as you can around things he does not like. Teach him that the vaccuum is not bad and good things happen when the vaccuum is out. You can use treats, praise, toys or anything that makes his little butt wiggle. You can start small and just let him investigate the vaccuum when not on. Then take another step and turn it on. He only gets treats when you want to reward the behavior you desire. You may have to lure him to the vaccuum. They will eventually think, hey everytime this thing is moving around, good things happen!! You can try this method with everything youre talking about. They catch on quick, but be patient and consistent. You just have to wait it out on the crate... I know you live in an apartment, but you cant give in to whining. My pup whined all night the first night. They eventually get it. Good Luck!!

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kwhite30

I didn't even think to reward him when hes around the things that scare him! I'll try that out. Thanks!

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Lori Z

Be careful HOW you reward him. You just don't give him treats for acting scared. You treat him when he is calm, when he looks at you etc.

Can you gate off your kitchen? Even in an open concept home you can buy gates that work for that situation. Then he can have a larger space to be safe in, play with toys and not feel so confined. You must take him everywhere with you. I would also suggest a puppy socialization class where he is around other puppies only and they can teach you how to train him. Do not comfort him for being afraid just be matter of fact. Take him in the car, take him to the store and sit outside with people going by. Take him to the post office same thing. Take him to home depot, push him around in the cart etc. Take him to friends homes but for now keep their dogs away. If you have a friend with a really gentle dog bring him and let him be in the house or yard with this dog and ignore his fear. Don't let other dogs mob him even if they are friendly. The more you do with him the calmer he will become.

kwhite30

I could gate off the kitchen. I'll look into a puppy socialization class. I do take him a lot of places I'm just worried cause he still has about 3 weeks till his last set of shots and I don't want him to get anything. I was thinking of setting up some playdates with dogs I know are up to date with there shots. Thanks for the suggestions. We'll go on a lot of adventures this weekend

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stac2277

Sonya was scared of the boxers that live next door. One of my dogs loves them and runs to them wagging her tail wanting to play. The other one runs at them and barks like crazy. Sonya watched that dog and thought the boxers were scary. So I had to start making my mean dog stay inside when the boxers were out so Sonya only saw my nice dog having fun with them. Finally, yesterday Sonya got the courage to go to the fence and meet them. They touched noses and wagged tails, it was so cute. The boxers are both therapy dogs so they're really calm. It's important to get puppies around other dogs that have good manners. Do you work during the day? I'm at home most of the time, we really should meet up soon. Your only about 40 minutes away! I'll look to see if there's a park or something in the middle.

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kwhite30

That is too sweet. She's is a cutie btw I have a similar situation. My neighbor has two very vocal dogs that are tiny which makes me laugh cause Diesel doesn't know that soon he'll be bigger then them but the second he hears them bark is when he gets scared but he does like if he can see the dog that's coming at him it seems to calm him some. We definitely should meet up! I work till 5 everyday. My boyfriend stays home with the puppy while I'm away but I'm off every weekend so lets try to find a place to meet. How old is you're little girl?

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