chopsui

My dog is pretty obedient, if I give him the "no" or "leave it", he will. Until I am out of sight that is. I think poodles are smarter than the average dog and know if you arent there to correct they can get away with it. That is my problem.

For example, my mini poodle isnt allowed in the kitchen for fear he will get stepped on, which almost happened a few times. If I'm there and tell him "no" he will ignore it very obediently. If I'm in another room I'll catch him sneaking in and when I catch him he'll sulk out, he knows he's not supposed to be there.

Another example is being around electrical sockets, the crazy guy tries to lick and sniff them. If I'm around he'll leave them alone but as soon as I turn my back there he is sniffing them again.

This is driving me crazy, someone please help me lol

fjm

As you say - poodles are intelligent dogs! Do you reward him for doing the right thing - treats tossed to him on his bed when he stays out of the kitchen, for example? Or can you shut the kitchen door, and remove temptation that way? For the fascination with sockets I would get some of the child proof covers, and fit them to all the ones he can reach - better safe than sorry. He obviously finds these behaviours rewarding - this trick is to give him something even more rewarding to do, rather than expect him to internalise some human concept of "right" and "wrong"!

__________________

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring- it was peace.

~ Milan Kundera

petitpie

Could there be some sort of scent that he is detecting and tasting?

petitpie

I think poodles got their bad rap from all of the goofy things they do. Imagine telling these stories about any other kind of dog! The uninitiated and unimaginative would not want one! LOL

chopsui

Unfortunatelly there is no kitchen door, I've been treating him whenever he stays out of the kitchen but I think this and the other comment about him smelling something might be dead on. He knows there is food in the kitchen, sometimes on the floor so I'm sure he sneaks in to grab it before i can catch him. I havent vacuumed near the electrical sockets because they are around heavy furniture but I bet you anything theres some form of food down there he is smelling and wanting to get at.

Thanks for helping me get to the root of his behavior guys! Great brainstorm.

Also, he's kind of weird with exercise too. Any exercise just makes him more excited instead of him getting tired. I'll walk/run/scooter with him for a long time and he gets home and it's like it just ramped him up even more, he doesnt tire out and lay down to rest hes going and going. When he sleeps he's really calm though, and he prefers to hop in somebody's lap and just sleep all day. What's with this? He slept all night and he's been sleeping on me all day, lol.

Thanks guys you're a great community glad I found you.

fjm

It sounds as if he may be a natural for what my dogs know as the Wheee! game. I take a few tiny scraps of treats - often the bits left in my pocket after a walk - they sit and wait, and I say Wheeeee! and throw the treats in the air! Dogs then race each other to find the most. As you may guess, I am not very houseproud, so a few hidden in nooks and crannies to be hunted out days later don't worry me. Or hunt the treat, where you hide them for the dog to find. Scavenging is such a natural behaviour for dogs it is probably easier to make it into a game than to try an eradicate it.

__________________

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring- it was peace.

~ Milan Kundera

JE-UK

Jeez louise, resounding yes, fjm! We play this game too. Saves him scavenging through the rubbish the teenagers (argh!) have left in the park. I'm amazed at the time he will spend meticulously locating every single tiny scrap.

__________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Yes is so much important than No." Dominique Barbier

sparkyjoe

There's a great book by Jean Donaldson called "The Culture Clash: A Revolutionary New Way to Understanding the Relationship Between Humans and Domestic Dogs" that discusses this type of behavior.

It basically says that dogs will learn that a certain behavior is not acceptable *in your presence* but dogs have no concept of right and wrong so doing the same behavior when you are not present is an acceptable risk.

I have two baby/pet gates set up in the house to keep my new 14 month old SPoo from going into some areas if I'm not present. They were cheap and are easy to remove or step over if I want to access the space.

__________________
Jill and Cally in Central Ohio, & Gable at the Bridge

><>

chopsui

unfortunately my dog is a jumper and gates won't fix his behavior. It's amazing the way cesar milan gets his dogs to respect boundaries, though his techniques may be controversial.

I think a lot of these problems stem from the previous owners of this dog, hes cute and cuddly looking so they probably let him get away with murder. we got him at 10 months and he had no training whatsoever, no potty training, no sit, no stay. absolutely no training. it's really a nightmare and I'm considering taking him back to the pound. He has been returned a few times before, hes like the bad foster kid who keeps going back to the foster home.

I've read a book focused on positive reinforcement, he knows the commands yet he is very defiant unless he knows treats are involved. If things don't work out I really can't take it anymore, I have to watch him like a hawk all day or he will rip up our carpets, pull the tablecloth and lamp down, it's hard to be calm assertive when your dog tries your patience so much and just won't cooperate. I got a dog to have a calm happy companion but he's an energetic OCD mess of craziness. I'm starting to think he's beyond training.

I'm going to be doing positive association training for the next week if he isn't better after that then I dont know, I'm going back to school next month and my parents work full time, nobody can watch him 24/7 and crating him that long would be cruel.

How do I get him to stop bad behaviors such as chewing cardboard, biting/pulling the tablecloth? When I say no he'll leave it then 10 seconds later hes back.

sparkyjoe

I'm so sorry you're having these issues with your boy. My only other advice would be tons of exercise.

As for baby gates, they do make tall gates? That might be an option.

__________________
Jill and Cally in Central Ohio, & Gable at the Bridge

><>