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11/2/2010 6:11:11 AM EDT
My GF has a puppy, about 8 mos old.  It is a 9 mo old Ratoweenie  It is one of miniature weiner type dogs.

She is having some discipline issues.  She is very opportunistic and steals food off of anyones plate with alacrity.

She barks incessantly and has a loud and piercing bark.

Now, I know about puppihood...I've been telling her that it gets better after the first year.  But...the dog also needs some training.

"Peanut" is also having some issues with house training.  

Any constructive suggestions is appreciated.  Please don't bother with replies about GTFO/eject or about abusing/eliminating the dog, ok?

I'm interested in suggestions that will turn Peanut into a well-behaved dog with proper training....everybody's happy..."win-win"

My take is that Peanut is a good dog that just needs worked with.  Being that she is quite young, I think she is trainable.
11/2/2010 6:15:16 AM EDT
[#1]
I would watch re-runs of the Dog Whisperer and try some of his techniques.
11/2/2010 6:19:12 AM EDT
[#2]
my pup barked and we got him a bark collar. Tried a citrus type one first but it would go off accidentally sometimes which only confuses him.

Then got a Sportdog Ecollar that works great and only when he barks. He is a totally different dog since and doesnt bark at all.

Otherwise its just working with them. I prefer the reward method rather than punishment.

Its not easy or quick by any means though
11/3/2010 8:02:31 AM EDT
[#3]
Bark, bark!
11/3/2010 8:07:44 AM EDT
[#4]
Does she know basic commands?
11/3/2010 8:07:47 AM EDT
[#5]
tackle the dog and make it VERY uncomfortable pinned down on the ground whenever you bust him screwing up.  It'll quickly learn its not the boss.  Everyone must do thi, the GF, her kids, you, etc
11/3/2010 8:13:17 AM EDT
[#6]
Quoted:
tackle the dog and make it VERY uncomfortable pinned down on the ground whenever you bust him screwing up.  It'll quickly learn its not the boss.  Everyone must do thi, the GF, her kids, you, etc


People who study actual effectiveness in dog training kinda put those techniques out the window a decade or two ago.  There are much more effective ways, and ways with much less severe side-effects.

To OP:  Go to a library and get a copy of Ian Dunbar's video on aggressive dogs.  Take the technique he uses, and try it for barking.  It reduced the barking of my dogs by about 50% in just a day.  And if you keep it up, it works tremendously well.  The key is, like opticalc said, consistency.

As for stealing food off of people's plates... ONE of my dogs, who is quite intelligent, realized that if she took some food she wasn't supposed to, she'd get punished.  But if she was fast, she could still get the food before we got to her.  One day, when she grabbed some food, I took it away from her... but instead of throwing it away, I gave it TO MY OTHER DOG right in front of her
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