Hi All - Maggie is a 16 week old apricot female standard poodle. We've always had Goldon Retrievers before but after our last one died, my husband wanted to get a poodle. Maggie joined us 5 weeks ago and we just love her. We are doing pretty good on training but do have a few issues I'm hoping I can get some help with. The first issue is that she wants to put everything she finds outside into her mouth. We live on a large acreage with free range guinea fowl and wildlife that goes with living in the country. She eats the guinea poop and I've pulled dead birds and other stuff from her mouth. It's disgusting. I really need help on how to stop this. I hate to have to tie her when there is so much room for her to run. Other issues are puppy nipping, jumping on us and barking when alone. So I hoping to learn a lot from this forum.
Congratulations on your new Poodle.
Eating stuff.... Dogs in general and puppies in particular like to put stuff in their mouths: sticks, leaves, rocks (very bad for teeth) etc. They also LOVE to eat the poop of grass eating animals. It is like crack cocaine. I know we all like to think that our Poodles are oh so above it all, but in my experience Poodles are just as fond of cow, horse and goose poop as the average mutt. The droppings of Wild Guinea Fowl? How fabulously delicious and upscale!
Ok, seriously. I get that we don't want our dogs eating poop and too much often leads to diarrhea. The thing is, though, that your puppy has to be taught to avoid or leave these things. You need to teach the leave it command.
Refresher. You can't give a command that you can not enforce or at this age treat. This means that Maggie has to be on leash, you have to be in the yard with her and you have to have suitable treats to offer. I like to use a long line. This is a thin, typically nylon cord that has a clasp at the end. You will have to make it yourself, but you can get the materials at any hardware store. I like to make them about 20 M long. Anytime Maggie is outside, she should be dragging the long line (this is also a great tool for recall training). If she goes for something that you don't want her to have, you should say LEAVE IT! If she instantly drops or moves off of it, PRAISE PRAISE and offer TREAT. If she does not, COLLAR POP and then PRAISE PRAISE and offer TREAT. If you are consistent, she will quickly learn the LEAVE IT command. The thing is, that you will not be able to just turn her out onto the acreage and expect that she will not eat Guinea Fowl poop unless you are there to give her direction. Keep her in the house with you and go out every time with her. NEVER, EVER, EVER TIE up A DOG! This is a dangerous and bad practice.
I am also a first time poodle owner. With regards to nipping a trick I've found helpful is the yelp out in pain and pull your hand/foot back or whatever's she nipping at the time so she knows it hurts. I did it a few times and my poodle learned pretty quick - even if it's just soft nipping. Obedience class I find is also very very helpful! 4 or 5 months is the perfect age for it.
