16 week old Cane Corso - need input on puppy phases

[DadOfVino]

Hi there - any input would be appreciated.Our boy Vino is growing fast and we are wondering about his phases. From 12-15 weeks (first 3 weeks with us) he was very mellow and easy going (other than wanting to put EVERYTHING in his mouth). Fast forward a couple weeks, and it seems like he is acting up and testing all the time. Example: he is not allowed on furniture, so he props his front legs up on the couch and barks to get our attention if we are not in the room - basically saying - ha,ha I'm on the couch!. We give him firm 'OFF' and pull him down. Last few days he is wanting to play a bit rougher and is lunging at us during play time when we are on the floor with him. Again, not intent on hurting us, but just a bit wild. We have him in obedience training and is good at sit, watch, down, etc and with leash walking. My guess is that he needs more daytime exercise to deplete his energy a bit. Is this a a normal phase and is there any other feedback?

 

[season]

I don't get caught up in "phases". Puppies and dogs will test their boundaries and its up to you to establish them. If you don't want them on the couch don't let it on the couch. If it tries to get on give it a no or whatever word you want. If it's playing too rough then put a stop to it. In my opinion exercise or lack of has nothing to do with it. But how you choose to live with you dog, what you enforce and what you don't has everything to do with it. Puppies and dogs will do what works for them. Just be consistent and solid with your expectations and rules. Obedience classes are good (never used one) but being able to sit and down and stay etc doesn't mean the dog is well behaved. Continue to work on things in the house. Waiting for food. Crate work. Thresholds. Place/duration work. Structured play. Impulse control. Do your best to make your dog work for things. It's very easy to do. I play with Solo every day but within that play we are working on things like impulse control. He doesn't know it, to him he's just playing but he is consistently being reinforced rules, boundaries and limitations. Yes, dogs go through different periods of development, but it's not an excuse (and many use them) for bad behavior. It's your job to show them what you want and don't want.

 

[irina]

Agree with said above. He is a child and will test boundaries. Don't get mad. Be consistent. Decide what you will and will not tolerate with an adult dog and stick to those expectations. Practice obedience at home to build relationship and respect. It will get better if you work at it. Ours was a nightmare at 9 weeks.

 

[DadOfVino]

Thank you both for your input - some very solid advice there! Putting a stop to play once he starts getting out of hand is pretty key. Last night he had his 'moment of energy' he gets right before bed time and started tearing through the living room and acting up. I called him over, put on the leash and took him for a short walk out front (we live pretty rural). During the walk we worked on a leash manners and impulse control, and 10 minutes later we entered the house calmly and took him directly to his crate and he went right in and was out for the night (this was about 10pm). Great input not to use the puppy phases as an excuse - consistent rules and responses is the key. Thank you again for the input, that is exactly why I joined up on this forum so that I could reap the benefits of seasoned CC owners!

 

[Tosa]

Your puppy reminds me of my Tosa when she arrived at our home. I can remember our first night when she wanted to get up to our bed. I think it took us about 20 minutes - she was constantly trying, walking around bed and whining. Every time she would put her paw on the bed, i said NO! and moved her away. She didn't want to give up. She was stubborn as hell but fortunately, i was worse than her After 20 minutes she gave up and went to her bed. Even today, she never comes up without permission

I think it is really important for you to stay calm and firm every time you ask him to do or not to do something. Your word has to be the last one - never ever give up on that.

 

[season]

Thank you both for your input - some very solid advice there! Putting a stop to play once he starts getting out of hand is pretty key. Last night he had his 'moment of energy' he gets right before bed time and started tearing through the living room and acting up. I called him over, put on the leash and took him for a short walk out front (we live pretty rural). During the walk we worked on a leash manners and impulse control, and 10 minutes later we entered the house calmly and took him directly to his crate and he went right in and was out for the night (this was about 10pm). Great input not to use the puppy phases as an excuse - consistent rules and responses is the key. Thank you again for the input, that is exactly why I joined up on this forum so that I could reap the benefits of seasoned CC owners!

Also, I would start working on a place command with him....it's a great tool....works on duration, impulse control etc. It's work for the dog. It can be used in many different situations but it's simply a great tool for your dog to learn that this is where you go. It may be used when you need some alone time. When you have guests over. When ppl come to the door etc. If you want any vids or info let me know. Place is really a magical tool that everyone should and can use.

 

[DennasMom]

Yep... more exercise. Physical and mental, both, will help.

It sounds a little like a cry for attention, too... he wants you to play with him, and he's learning what works to get your attention (good or bad)... if climbing on the couch means you grab the leash and go for a walk, you can bet he'll be doing that more often! That's the trouble with smart puppies... they learn your buttons and push them... often...

We have a "no zoomies in the house" rule - so if those start up inside, a quick "OUTSIDE" for zipping around helps to burn the energy and get it out of the puppy's system (a fenced in yard is a must in that case). Adding in an extra walk, some flirt-pole time and/or a visit to a new & exciting place (or just the outdoor mall) for some socialization is then added to the next day's activities, for some extra-energy burn-off activity.

Puppies and dogs (and human kids) also like structure... it removes some of the 'unknown', which can be frustrating or scary... so consistent rules with firm, confident, and benevolent enforcement can go a long way to shaping the puppy's behavior, too. I agree with Tosa, too... be sure you out-stubborn your mastiff! Only give in today what you're willing to give up tomorrow, too...

For the couch issue - work on "place" - and be sure you randomly reward the puppy being on his bed/place - even when you didn't ask him to be there. Make him start to anticipate what you want (using that smart brain of his) - in order to maybe get a treat, or a pat on the head, or just a 'good boy'.... instead of needing to get the "NO! OFF!" attention that he's currently getting - just so he can have some interaction time with you.

As for "a phase"... sure - we all have 'phases'.... if we have extra energy to burn, our phase will be to test the limits, and get crazy... if we've had a great day hiking all over a mountain, our phase will be to curl up in front of the fire for some cuddle time.... diet, exercise, hormones, sunshine, moon-phase... anything and everything can change the 'phase' we're in (I'm talking about me, too)... so, consistency across all phases is important. As is recognizing the source of unwanted behavior - like you said, a need for more exercise is often the culprit.

 

[DadOfVino]

Also, I would start working on a place command with him....it's a great tool....works on duration, impulse control etc. It's work for the dog. It can be used in many different situations but it's simply a great tool for your dog to learn that this is where you go. It may be used when you need some alone time. When you have guests over. When ppl come to the door etc. If you want any vids or info let me know. Place is really a magical tool that everyone should and can use.

Yes, any vids would be appreciated! Thank you in advance.

 

[season]

[video=youtube_share;OIGq_5r0DeE]http://youtu.be/OIGq_5r0DeE[/video]


Carpe Diem

 

[mikshyle]

Also, I would start working on a place command with him....it's a great tool....works on duration, impulse control etc. It's work for the dog. It can be used in many different situations but it's simply a great tool for your dog to learn that this is where you go. It may be used when you need some alone time. When you have guests over. When ppl come to the door etc. If you want any vids or info let me know. Place is really a magical tool that everyone should and can use.

I can relate to alot of this discussion with our 15 week old Rosie. If possible I would love some more info the above mentioned stuff like place and impulse control....Thanks so much

 

[DennasMom]

For impulse control... search youtube for a video titled "It's Yer Choice".... simple and effective.

Clicker/marker training can really teach you how to communicate with the puppy, too (teaches timing, which is important)... and get them to pay more attention to you at the same time.

 

[season]

I can relate to alot of this discussion with our 15 week old Rosie. If possible I would love some more info the above mentioned stuff like place and impulse control....Thanks so much

The video I posted on place is the big piece. You work on impulse control while doing place. U can also do it when u feed. Make your dog wait. Any time u work on your dog waiting for things it wants right now is key. Affection. Walking through thresholds. Coming out of its crate. I'll post a vid I did to show our feeding routine. We use place for that as well.
[video=youtube_share;og2ZnRBjLwk]http://youtu.be/og2ZnRBjLwk[/video]


Carpe Diem

 

[season]

I can relate to alot of this discussion with our 15 week old Rosie. If possible I would love some more info the above mentioned stuff like place and impulse control....Thanks so much

Here's a quick one I did on a snow day. We are just playing but u see how he sits and gives me good eye contact. That we worked on too. Another example.
[video=youtube_share;YDMUO-5Ch3A]http://youtu.be/YDMUO-5Ch3A[/video]


Carpe Diem

 

[lexinrose]

Hi I have a cane corso pup same age she's hitting 16 weeks next Tuesday and we also have a 3 year old pit bull male 99 lbs and she is terrorizing him like crazy. What I have read so far is you need to let her know your the mommy or daddy and when she get rough or acts out correct her everytime this is the age where she's trying to figure out what position she holds in the house hold

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[season]

Hi I have a cane corso pup same age she's hitting 16 weeks next Tuesday and we also have a 3 year old pit bull male 99 lbs and she is terrorizing him like crazy. What I have read so far is you need to let her know your the mommy or daddy and when she get rough or acts out correct her everytime this is the age where she's trying to figure out what position she holds in the house hold Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

Um, being the "mommy or the daddy" really has nothing to do with it. This is a dog, not a human. Rules, boundaries, structure, routine, consistency, guidance, patience etc. All of these tie into being a leader for your dog. There are plenty of "mommy and daddy" situations out there and I'd bet my money that it's also one of the many reasons we have dogs in shelters and being put down. Way too many "mommies and daddies" and not enough leaders. Now before some get their pants in a knot...I'm not saying not to call yourself your precious fur baby's mommy or daddy...do right ahead. I just hope the new people reading this that are still trying to find their way think that it's all about sunshine and rainbows and unicorns. All the lovey dovey stuff is easy and fun. But that will screw up a dog faster than anything if it isn't in balance with the things that aren't as fun. Like rules, structure, accountability and discipline.

 

[Boxergirl]

Hi I have a cane corso pup same age she's hitting 16 weeks next Tuesday and we also have a 3 year old pit bull male 99 lbs and she is terrorizing him like crazy. What I have read so far is you need to let her know your the mommy or daddy and when she get rough or acts out correct her everytime this is the age where she's trying to figure out what position she holds in the house hold Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

She's not trying to figure out her position in the household. She's being a puppy. Until we show them what we *do* want, they don't know what appropriate behavior is. Decide what behaviors are acceptable and encourage those. If there's something you don't like, don't let her do it. Teach her an incompatible behavior. She can't jump if you teach her to sit when greeting. She can't pester the other dog if you teach her to go to her place (mat, whatever you want to call it) and lay down when you ask. She should not be allowed to terrorize your boy and he shouldn't have to correct her for it (if he hasn't yet, he will). It's your job to make sure she doesn't terrorize him.

 

[lexinrose]

That's true

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