I think that weekend is a Chicago event. Work, work. :(
-big hugs- I didn't know you got another puppy. If you have training problems/questions, you can always ask me. I'm a wealth of useless information and the only celebrity I think I'd swoon over would be Victoria Stillwell. :D
A side note - breaking up (minor) scuffles between the dogs and giving the treat to Toph may actually be increasing Iroh's posessiveness. The older dog needs to feel dominant over the puppy, hence his "This is mine, you can't have it unless I don't want it." hoarding. This is perfectly natural behavior. When you (alpha female, I hope) break it up and give the treat to Toph, you are showing Toph that she is higher up than Iroh...which will cause Iroh to prove his superiority...by biting, fighting, marking and so on. Unless you think Iroh's going to destroy her, you should probably let it work itself out.
I'd try some positive reinforcement/clicker training if you have time (I can see why you wouldn't but dogs are only going to get bigger and more out of control)
Keep some treats in your pocket and a clicker. When you catch Iroh being calm around Toph, give him a command like "calm" or "cool it" or anything you'll remember really. Then click and give him a treat. He should eventually associate with him being calm and patient around the puppy with good things. The same thing works with potty training if you're having issues with it with the new puppy. When they go outside, click & treat.
Positive reinforcement tends to motivate dogs better than negative reinforcement. They're more likely to respond to "FOOD!!!!" than a scolding, especially since dogs have an association factor of only a few seconds...so when you're upset about a mess later, they have no idea why you're mad.
-big hugs- I didn't know you got another puppy. If you have training problems/questions, you can always ask me. I'm a wealth of useless information and the only celebrity I think I'd swoon over would be Victoria Stillwell. :D
A side note - breaking up (minor) scuffles between the dogs and giving the treat to Toph may actually be increasing Iroh's posessiveness. The older dog needs to feel dominant over the puppy, hence his "This is mine, you can't have it unless I don't want it." hoarding. This is perfectly natural behavior. When you (alpha female, I hope) break it up and give the treat to Toph, you are showing Toph that she is higher up than Iroh...which will cause Iroh to prove his superiority...by biting, fighting, marking and so on. Unless you think Iroh's going to destroy her, you should probably let it work itself out.
I'd try some positive reinforcement/clicker training if you have time (I can see why you wouldn't but dogs are only going to get bigger and more out of control)
Keep some treats in your pocket and a clicker. When you catch Iroh being calm around Toph, give him a command like "calm" or "cool it" or anything you'll remember really. Then click and give him a treat. He should eventually associate with him being calm and patient around the puppy with good things. The same thing works with potty training if you're having issues with it with the new puppy. When they go outside, click & treat.
Positive reinforcement tends to motivate dogs better than negative reinforcement. They're more likely to respond to "FOOD!!!!" than a scolding, especially since dogs have an association factor of only a few seconds...so when you're upset about a mess later, they have no idea why you're mad.
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