Training my Dalmatian puppy :) Questions

If by "pinning" you mean the Cesar Millan thing, ie turning the dog on its back and holding it down DO NOT DO IT.

Please do what I suggested in my previous message and then ignore him until he stops. Once he has stopped, all four paws on the ground and is calm, give him a small treat and say Good Boy [or whatever phrase you want].

No never pin your puppy to the ground, by all means gentle put your puppy in the down position but don't hold him down, you could try putting your hand up & softly but firmly say NO & remove him from where you are, he will soon realise that kind of behaviour is not allowed.

Malka I will give it ago. We haven't tried the pinning technique because we thought it sounded a bit to harsh to be honest with you. So rest assured we will definitely not be using that now .

6JRTs we have tried that technique and he still seems to go for us. In all honesty I know he is still only young but we have young children in the family that like to come visit us and one has quit bad autism and that's were our main worry lies we don't why rush to go for her.

That’s normal puppy behaviour, but he must learn bite inhibition, I used to sit on floor with mine, when they got hold of my hand as long as it was gentle I would praise but once they bit hard id shout OUCH, ‘Gentle’ usually they would let go. If he does praise him softly keeping him calm.The most important thing in whatever method you use you must be ‘consistent and other family members must follow same method.
If he doesn’t back off, ignore him and walk away.
I teach all my dogs the word gentle, if giving them a titbit I say gentle and its useful for lots of situations.

Hey guys quick update on rush. We have stared clicker training with him at home now and seems to be working really well. He comes when call, well almost everytime haha! He sits and lays down on command and is just about there with paw .

We are still tackling the leg biting, growling and snapping at us. The standing up, turning away and ignoring him is working wonders (sometimes).

Christopher and myself are both consistent in what we say and do. We just need to get the family on board using the same commands ect as we do.

GsdSlave we have been using the word 'nicely' when he is having a chew on our fingers and when taking treats etc and for the most part seems to be working. He doesn't like it when we shout ouch!

He loves to help us with the gardening as well bless him he was so funny following Chris around the garden.

What a lovely photo of the little gardener!

when Phoebe went through her jumping up and nipping stage i would get up and walk away without looking at her or speaking to her. If she was being persistent i would tell her no very firm and continue to ignore her. She would usually come to me later putting her head in my lap with sad eyes i would then tell her good girl and give her a fuss. Worked great within a few weeks i could come home, take my coat of, put my bag away, make a brew and go sit down before she would come say hello to me. Seams a bit mean but i dont want to be jumped on soon as walked through the door

Hi Katy that's what we are doing ATM it seems to work most of the time. To be honest he is getting better thank goodness

Rush is feeling a little sorry for himself today had his jab

Hope he's feeling brighter soon!

Pepe my Standard Poodle was fine after his first jab, but so lethargic after the next one I was getting quite worried and thinking about taking him to the vets. Tiny little Chico though was absolutely fine after both his jabs - even though they give the same dose to a tiny Chihuahua as to giant breed!

Aww poor Rush but what a lovely photo of his beautiful face

I hope he feels better soon to. I am not used to him being so sleepy haha! If he doesn't pick up later on I may take him back just to get him checked over . Fingers crossed he just sleeps it off and is back to normal soon.

He seems to be picking up now he has had something to eat and drink. He is full of beans

Hey guys another question for you about Dalmatians. Are they prone to developing a 'twitch'. Rush seems to do like this kind of head bob movement and he eye twitches sometimes.

Phoebe tilts her head and blinks a lot (usually looking at me like im stupid) is it like that?

No the eye twitch is like what we would be like if something came at our eye or if we had something in it. If that makes any sense haha! The head bob at 1st I just thought he was sniffing harder than normal but he seems to be doing it more and not sniffing when he does it. Hope this makes sense

Keep a note of the dates and times he bobs his head, and any other things you think are a wee bit strange.

Yeah think I am going to. I put it down to him scruffing around in the garden with the eye twitching, but it's happening when he hasn't been out. I have made the mistake of googling it though haha now I am thinking worse case scenario :/