At what time do your dogs wake up?
Replies
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4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »toned_thugs_n_harmony wrote: »She's still a baby.
The general consensus is they can hold it for an hour per month of age so a 4.5 hour window is pretty spot on for her. It WILL get better, I promise!
Are you leashing her when you take her out to pee? If not, try it. She will learn that she's to pee and then go back to bed, not run around sniffing everything in the yard.
1 hour per month of age? hmmm. my 10 week old puppy (2.5 months) sleeps from about 11 pm until 430 am every day without having to go potty. He goes out around 430 and then usually he goes back to sleep until about 6-630.
My dog was managing the 9 hour window while we are at work by the time she was 10 weeks. I agree some are able to pick up much faster, maybe not all though. I have always crated when not home and never had issues (outside of illness type stuff) after about a 2 week adjustment period.
My puppy confuses me really. I let her out at 2.30am to pee, and she hasn't peed once since. It's been 5 hours. Let her out numerous time, didn't even crate her back after 2.30am.. nothing. She woke me up at 5.45am this morning because she started to play, she clearly didn't even need to pee or anything.
I guess she just wakes up with the sun.4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »CoffeeAndContour wrote: »Sometimes I think I want a dog but then I read posts like this and sleep sounds better.
100%. Puppies are a LOT of work. We adopted a 4 year old mutt 2 years ago and he came to us "ready to go". He's never once woken us up in the middle of the night to go potty. Rescue dogs are the way to go for first time pet-parents. They've been vetted and (typically) well-trained.
Sometimes yes and sometimes no. Most that come from foster situations are pretty well trained and you can get a pretty good background on temperment. I adopted a 5 yo jack russell from the pound that lived outside in a kennel his whole life, hardest potty trainer I have ever had, but even he mostly had it down in a month. Otherwise the most amazing little pup ever, especially considering his absolute lack of proper socialization when he was young!
That's one of the reasons I was a bit reluctant about getting an adult too. Easier to train and handle an untrained puppy than an adult! And most surrendered dogs are surrendered because they are too much work, so I don't really expect much in term of basic training there either (I'm not that picky either - I just want my dogs to know sit, stay, not destroy everything, and be housebroken, lol).
I have volunteered in dog rescue for years and the bolded is simply not true.
Truth.
Most dogs are surrendered for personal reasons that have nothing to do with the dog. (Moving/death/dog got old/people are *kitten*) Or people get a dog and expect said dog to act like a person and then return them because the dog is not a human and has the nerve to act like (gasp) a dog.
Also please give the dog water. Puppies need water. No reason to take it away, all your doing is making the poor thing thirsty and uncomfortable.
I suggest (from much experience) that you work on a schedule and accept that your life is going to suck for just a few months. If you do even a bit of training (treat training when they go outside, consistent out times at night and the morning, slow increases in the morning) it will quickly get better. Puppies are babies. If they were human they would have a diaper and a bottle. 4.5 months, he has a little bladder. The pup will get better and better. They crave training and consistency, give it to them. As well as understanding. And WATER2 -
My dogs are usually ready to get up between
3 & 4 am, they eat at 5am, then go outside to play or listen to other animals in the woods...0 -
4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »toned_thugs_n_harmony wrote: »She's still a baby. The general consensus is they can hold it for an hour per month of age so a 4.5 hour window is pretty spot on for her. It WILL get better, I promise!
Are you leashing her when you take her out to pee? If not, try it. She will learn that she's to pee and then go back to bed, not run around sniffing everything in the yard.
1 hour per month of age? hmmm. my 10 week old puppy (2.5 months) sleeps from about 11 pm until 430 am every day without having to go potty. He goes out around 430 and then usually he goes back to sleep until about 6-630.
My dog was managing the 9 hour window while we are at work by the time she was 10 weeks. I agree some are able to pick up much faster, maybe not all though. I have always crated when not home and never had issues (outside of illness type stuff) after about a 2 week adjustment period.
My puppy confuses me really. I let her out at 2.30am to pee, and she hasn't peed once since. It's been 5 hours. Let her out numerous time, didn't even crate her back after 2.30am.. nothing. She woke me up at 5.45am this morning because she started to play, she clearly didn't even need to pee or anything.
I guess she just wakes up with the sun.4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »CoffeeAndContour wrote: »Sometimes I think I want a dog but then I read posts like this and sleep sounds better.
100%. Puppies are a LOT of work. We adopted a 4 year old mutt 2 years ago and he came to us "ready to go". He's never once woken us up in the middle of the night to go potty. Rescue dogs are the way to go for first time pet-parents. They've been vetted and (typically) well-trained.
Sometimes yes and sometimes no. Most that come from foster situations are pretty well trained and you can get a pretty good background on temperment. I adopted a 5 yo jack russell from the pound that lived outside in a kennel his whole life, hardest potty trainer I have ever had, but even he mostly had it down in a month. Otherwise the most amazing little pup ever, especially considering his absolute lack of proper socialization when he was young!
That's one of the reasons I was a bit reluctant about getting an adult too. Easier to train and handle an untrained puppy than an adult! And most surrendered dogs are surrendered because they are too much work, so I don't really expect much in term of basic training there either (I'm not that picky either - I just want my dogs to know sit, stay, not destroy everything, and be housebroken, lol).
I have volunteered in dog rescue for years and the bolded is simply not true.
I am inclined to agree. For the ones who actually are more difficult and didnt just find themselves with crap owners: some animals are more difficult than others, but usually it boils down to figuring out how they think and what they will respond to. When I took an equine training class in college we played a game where your partner came up with an action they wanted you to do, and without talking you had to figure out what it was. They could snap for "posative" reinforcement and clap for "negative" reinforcement. It was an incredibly frustrating but very impactful exercise, really makes you appreciate the animals point of view.
Unfortunately, there is a huge part of the human population that is just too uneducated or incapable of understanding how to work with animals in a way they can understand. I have had people comment on how well behaved my dogs are, and why aren't theirs that way? Its amazing how frequently you get a blank stare when you ask about how they tried to teach the dog whatever command they are complaining about. I have come to believe some people think dogs are just born knowing basic commands. If only....1 -
4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »toned_thugs_n_harmony wrote: »She's still a baby. The general consensus is they can hold it for an hour per month of age so a 4.5 hour window is pretty spot on for her. It WILL get better, I promise!
Are you leashing her when you take her out to pee? If not, try it. She will learn that she's to pee and then go back to bed, not run around sniffing everything in the yard.
1 hour per month of age? hmmm. my 10 week old puppy (2.5 months) sleeps from about 11 pm until 430 am every day without having to go potty. He goes out around 430 and then usually he goes back to sleep until about 6-630.
My dog was managing the 9 hour window while we are at work by the time she was 10 weeks. I agree some are able to pick up much faster, maybe not all though. I have always crated when not home and never had issues (outside of illness type stuff) after about a 2 week adjustment period.
My puppy confuses me really. I let her out at 2.30am to pee, and she hasn't peed once since. It's been 5 hours. Let her out numerous time, didn't even crate her back after 2.30am.. nothing. She woke me up at 5.45am this morning because she started to play, she clearly didn't even need to pee or anything.
I guess she just wakes up with the sun.4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »CoffeeAndContour wrote: »Sometimes I think I want a dog but then I read posts like this and sleep sounds better.
100%. Puppies are a LOT of work. We adopted a 4 year old mutt 2 years ago and he came to us "ready to go". He's never once woken us up in the middle of the night to go potty. Rescue dogs are the way to go for first time pet-parents. They've been vetted and (typically) well-trained.
Sometimes yes and sometimes no. Most that come from foster situations are pretty well trained and you can get a pretty good background on temperment. I adopted a 5 yo jack russell from the pound that lived outside in a kennel his whole life, hardest potty trainer I have ever had, but even he mostly had it down in a month. Otherwise the most amazing little pup ever, especially considering his absolute lack of proper socialization when he was young!
That's one of the reasons I was a bit reluctant about getting an adult too. Easier to train and handle an untrained puppy than an adult! And most surrendered dogs are surrendered because they are too much work, so I don't really expect much in term of basic training there either (I'm not that picky either - I just want my dogs to know sit, stay, not destroy everything, and be housebroken, lol).
I have volunteered in dog rescue for years and the bolded is simply not true.
I am inclined to agree. For the ones who actually are more difficult and didnt just find themselves with crap owners: some animals are more difficult than others, but usually it boils down to figuring out how they think and what they will respond to. When I took an equine training class in college we played a game where your partner came up with an action they wanted you to do, and without talking you had to figure out what it was. They could snap for "posative" reinforcement and clap for "negative" reinforcement. It was an incredibly frustrating but very impactful exercise, really makes you appreciate the animals point of view.
Unfortunately, there is a huge part of the human population that is just too uneducated or incapable of understanding how to work with animals in a way they can understand. I have had people comment on how well behaved my dogs are, and why aren't theirs that way? Its amazing how frequently you get a blank stare when you ask about how they tried to teach the dog whatever command they are complaining about. I have come to believe some people think dogs are just born knowing basic commands. If only....
But it's pretty much what I said, lol. I didn't say that the dogs are necessarily badly behaved... but that a lot of them are not trained... for exactly the reasons you are both giving.. and like I said, that they are 'too much work' for a lot of people... which is why I didn't really want an adult dog (an untrained puppy will not knock your kids down or steal food from the counter because they are too small).0 -
4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »toned_thugs_n_harmony wrote: »She's still a baby. The general consensus is they can hold it for an hour per month of age so a 4.5 hour window is pretty spot on for her. It WILL get better, I promise!
Are you leashing her when you take her out to pee? If not, try it. She will learn that she's to pee and then go back to bed, not run around sniffing everything in the yard.
1 hour per month of age? hmmm. my 10 week old puppy (2.5 months) sleeps from about 11 pm until 430 am every day without having to go potty. He goes out around 430 and then usually he goes back to sleep until about 6-630.
My dog was managing the 9 hour window while we are at work by the time she was 10 weeks. I agree some are able to pick up much faster, maybe not all though. I have always crated when not home and never had issues (outside of illness type stuff) after about a 2 week adjustment period.
My puppy confuses me really. I let her out at 2.30am to pee, and she hasn't peed once since. It's been 5 hours. Let her out numerous time, didn't even crate her back after 2.30am.. nothing. She woke me up at 5.45am this morning because she started to play, she clearly didn't even need to pee or anything.
I guess she just wakes up with the sun.4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »CoffeeAndContour wrote: »Sometimes I think I want a dog but then I read posts like this and sleep sounds better.
100%. Puppies are a LOT of work. We adopted a 4 year old mutt 2 years ago and he came to us "ready to go". He's never once woken us up in the middle of the night to go potty. Rescue dogs are the way to go for first time pet-parents. They've been vetted and (typically) well-trained.
Sometimes yes and sometimes no. Most that come from foster situations are pretty well trained and you can get a pretty good background on temperment. I adopted a 5 yo jack russell from the pound that lived outside in a kennel his whole life, hardest potty trainer I have ever had, but even he mostly had it down in a month. Otherwise the most amazing little pup ever, especially considering his absolute lack of proper socialization when he was young!
That's one of the reasons I was a bit reluctant about getting an adult too. Easier to train and handle an untrained puppy than an adult! And most surrendered dogs are surrendered because they are too much work, so I don't really expect much in term of basic training there either (I'm not that picky either - I just want my dogs to know sit, stay, not destroy everything, and be housebroken, lol).
I have volunteered in dog rescue for years and the bolded is simply not true.
I am inclined to agree. For the ones who actually are more difficult and didnt just find themselves with crap owners: some animals are more difficult than others, but usually it boils down to figuring out how they think and what they will respond to. When I took an equine training class in college we played a game where your partner came up with an action they wanted you to do, and without talking you had to figure out what it was. They could snap for "posative" reinforcement and clap for "negative" reinforcement. It was an incredibly frustrating but very impactful exercise, really makes you appreciate the animals point of view.
Unfortunately, there is a huge part of the human population that is just too uneducated or incapable of understanding how to work with animals in a way they can understand. I have had people comment on how well behaved my dogs are, and why aren't theirs that way? Its amazing how frequently you get a blank stare when you ask about how they tried to teach the dog whatever command they are complaining about. I have come to believe some people think dogs are just born knowing basic commands. If only....
But it's pretty much what I said, lol. I didn't say that the dogs are necessarily badly behaved... but that a lot of them are not trained... for exactly the reasons you are both giving.. and like I said, that they are 'too much work' for a lot of people... which is why I didn't really want an adult dog (an untrained puppy will not knock your kids down or steal food from the counter because they are too small).
I guess I took the "too much work" as meaning they will be more work than a puppy, possibly due to some sort of behavior issue, which isn't usually the case. People with that mentality (not you specifically, just people in general) who don't understand training end up just growing their untrained puppy into and untrained dog, and end up right where they didn't want to be.0 -
4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »toned_thugs_n_harmony wrote: »She's still a baby. The general consensus is they can hold it for an hour per month of age so a 4.5 hour window is pretty spot on for her. It WILL get better, I promise!
Are you leashing her when you take her out to pee? If not, try it. She will learn that she's to pee and then go back to bed, not run around sniffing everything in the yard.
1 hour per month of age? hmmm. my 10 week old puppy (2.5 months) sleeps from about 11 pm until 430 am every day without having to go potty. He goes out around 430 and then usually he goes back to sleep until about 6-630.
My dog was managing the 9 hour window while we are at work by the time she was 10 weeks. I agree some are able to pick up much faster, maybe not all though. I have always crated when not home and never had issues (outside of illness type stuff) after about a 2 week adjustment period.
My puppy confuses me really. I let her out at 2.30am to pee, and she hasn't peed once since. It's been 5 hours. Let her out numerous time, didn't even crate her back after 2.30am.. nothing. She woke me up at 5.45am this morning because she started to play, she clearly didn't even need to pee or anything.
I guess she just wakes up with the sun.4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »CoffeeAndContour wrote: »Sometimes I think I want a dog but then I read posts like this and sleep sounds better.
100%. Puppies are a LOT of work. We adopted a 4 year old mutt 2 years ago and he came to us "ready to go". He's never once woken us up in the middle of the night to go potty. Rescue dogs are the way to go for first time pet-parents. They've been vetted and (typically) well-trained.
Sometimes yes and sometimes no. Most that come from foster situations are pretty well trained and you can get a pretty good background on temperment. I adopted a 5 yo jack russell from the pound that lived outside in a kennel his whole life, hardest potty trainer I have ever had, but even he mostly had it down in a month. Otherwise the most amazing little pup ever, especially considering his absolute lack of proper socialization when he was young!
That's one of the reasons I was a bit reluctant about getting an adult too. Easier to train and handle an untrained puppy than an adult! And most surrendered dogs are surrendered because they are too much work, so I don't really expect much in term of basic training there either (I'm not that picky either - I just want my dogs to know sit, stay, not destroy everything, and be housebroken, lol).
I have volunteered in dog rescue for years and the bolded is simply not true.
I am inclined to agree. For the ones who actually are more difficult and didnt just find themselves with crap owners: some animals are more difficult than others, but usually it boils down to figuring out how they think and what they will respond to. When I took an equine training class in college we played a game where your partner came up with an action they wanted you to do, and without talking you had to figure out what it was. They could snap for "posative" reinforcement and clap for "negative" reinforcement. It was an incredibly frustrating but very impactful exercise, really makes you appreciate the animals point of view.
Unfortunately, there is a huge part of the human population that is just too uneducated or incapable of understanding how to work with animals in a way they can understand. I have had people comment on how well behaved my dogs are, and why aren't theirs that way? Its amazing how frequently you get a blank stare when you ask about how they tried to teach the dog whatever command they are complaining about. I have come to believe some people think dogs are just born knowing basic commands. If only....
But it's pretty much what I said, lol. I didn't say that the dogs are necessarily badly behaved... but that a lot of them are not trained... for exactly the reasons you are both giving.. and like I said, that they are 'too much work' for a lot of people... which is why I didn't really want an adult dog (an untrained puppy will not knock your kids down or steal food from the counter because they are too small).
I guess I took the "too much work" as meaning they will be more work than a puppy, possibly due to some sort of behavior issue, which isn't usually the case. People with that mentality (not you specifically, just people in general) who don't understand training end up just growing their untrained puppy into and untrained dog, and end up right where they didn't want to be.
Oh I didn't mean that people don't adopt older dogs because they are 'too much work' but that it's often a reason why dogs end up in rescue (or 'I don't have time' - people who don't have time for their dogs probably don't have time to train them either).
I've never trained an adult dog but I'm guessing that puppies are easier to train though - I could be totally wrong (but I know it's harder for adult humans to learn new things, so I figure it's the same for dogs, lol). The main thing really is that a 15 lbs untrained puppy won't do as much damage as a 80 lbs dog.0 -
4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »toned_thugs_n_harmony wrote: »She's still a baby. The general consensus is they can hold it for an hour per month of age so a 4.5 hour window is pretty spot on for her. It WILL get better, I promise!
Are you leashing her when you take her out to pee? If not, try it. She will learn that she's to pee and then go back to bed, not run around sniffing everything in the yard.
1 hour per month of age? hmmm. my 10 week old puppy (2.5 months) sleeps from about 11 pm until 430 am every day without having to go potty. He goes out around 430 and then usually he goes back to sleep until about 6-630.
My dog was managing the 9 hour window while we are at work by the time she was 10 weeks. I agree some are able to pick up much faster, maybe not all though. I have always crated when not home and never had issues (outside of illness type stuff) after about a 2 week adjustment period.
My puppy confuses me really. I let her out at 2.30am to pee, and she hasn't peed once since. It's been 5 hours. Let her out numerous time, didn't even crate her back after 2.30am.. nothing. She woke me up at 5.45am this morning because she started to play, she clearly didn't even need to pee or anything.
I guess she just wakes up with the sun.4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »CoffeeAndContour wrote: »Sometimes I think I want a dog but then I read posts like this and sleep sounds better.
100%. Puppies are a LOT of work. We adopted a 4 year old mutt 2 years ago and he came to us "ready to go". He's never once woken us up in the middle of the night to go potty. Rescue dogs are the way to go for first time pet-parents. They've been vetted and (typically) well-trained.
Sometimes yes and sometimes no. Most that come from foster situations are pretty well trained and you can get a pretty good background on temperment. I adopted a 5 yo jack russell from the pound that lived outside in a kennel his whole life, hardest potty trainer I have ever had, but even he mostly had it down in a month. Otherwise the most amazing little pup ever, especially considering his absolute lack of proper socialization when he was young!
That's one of the reasons I was a bit reluctant about getting an adult too. Easier to train and handle an untrained puppy than an adult! And most surrendered dogs are surrendered because they are too much work, so I don't really expect much in term of basic training there either (I'm not that picky either - I just want my dogs to know sit, stay, not destroy everything, and be housebroken, lol).
I have volunteered in dog rescue for years and the bolded is simply not true.
I am inclined to agree. For the ones who actually are more difficult and didnt just find themselves with crap owners: some animals are more difficult than others, but usually it boils down to figuring out how they think and what they will respond to. When I took an equine training class in college we played a game where your partner came up with an action they wanted you to do, and without talking you had to figure out what it was. They could snap for "posative" reinforcement and clap for "negative" reinforcement. It was an incredibly frustrating but very impactful exercise, really makes you appreciate the animals point of view.
Unfortunately, there is a huge part of the human population that is just too uneducated or incapable of understanding how to work with animals in a way they can understand. I have had people comment on how well behaved my dogs are, and why aren't theirs that way? Its amazing how frequently you get a blank stare when you ask about how they tried to teach the dog whatever command they are complaining about. I have come to believe some people think dogs are just born knowing basic commands. If only....
But it's pretty much what I said, lol. I didn't say that the dogs are necessarily badly behaved... but that a lot of them are not trained... for exactly the reasons you are both giving.. and like I said, that they are 'too much work' for a lot of people... which is why I didn't really want an adult dog (an untrained puppy will not knock your kids down or steal food from the counter because they are too small).
I guess I took the "too much work" as meaning they will be more work than a puppy, possibly due to some sort of behavior issue, which isn't usually the case. People with that mentality (not you specifically, just people in general) who don't understand training end up just growing their untrained puppy into and untrained dog, and end up right where they didn't want to be.
Oh I didn't mean that people don't adopt older dogs because they are 'too much work' but that it's often a reason why dogs end up in rescue (or 'I don't have time' - people who don't have time for their dogs probably don't have time to train them either).
I've never trained an adult dog but I'm guessing that puppies are easier to train though - I could be totally wrong (but I know it's harder for adult humans to learn new things, so I figure it's the same for dogs, lol). The main thing really is that a 15 lbs untrained puppy won't do as much damage as a 80 lbs dog.
We adopted both of ours as puppies. About 6 years ago we adopted an older dog. She bit me twice bit my husband twice and when she started growling at the kids I had to get rid of her. I talked to a trainer and tried to get her under control but it's hard to train a dog you are afraid of. That's the only dog that's ever bit me but she tore my hand up the first time and my husband had to go to the er.
But I think with all dogs it's just luck of the draw. My aunt adopted 3 dogs all different times from the shelter and they are great. But with my kids I Wasnt going to chance another older dog. I really wanted one because I hate housebreaking but It worked out my pouches are great
We were really lucky. We adopted a 10 month old dog who had been picked up as a stray. She obviously had been someone's pet - she was housebroken and had great manners (except she's stubborn as all get out!). She's 14 now, she's deaf and slowing down some but still the sweetest, happiest dog I have ever owned.1 -
4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »toned_thugs_n_harmony wrote: »She's still a baby. The general consensus is they can hold it for an hour per month of age so a 4.5 hour window is pretty spot on for her. It WILL get better, I promise!
Are you leashing her when you take her out to pee? If not, try it. She will learn that she's to pee and then go back to bed, not run around sniffing everything in the yard.
1 hour per month of age? hmmm. my 10 week old puppy (2.5 months) sleeps from about 11 pm until 430 am every day without having to go potty. He goes out around 430 and then usually he goes back to sleep until about 6-630.
My dog was managing the 9 hour window while we are at work by the time she was 10 weeks. I agree some are able to pick up much faster, maybe not all though. I have always crated when not home and never had issues (outside of illness type stuff) after about a 2 week adjustment period.
My puppy confuses me really. I let her out at 2.30am to pee, and she hasn't peed once since. It's been 5 hours. Let her out numerous time, didn't even crate her back after 2.30am.. nothing. She woke me up at 5.45am this morning because she started to play, she clearly didn't even need to pee or anything.
I guess she just wakes up with the sun.4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »CoffeeAndContour wrote: »Sometimes I think I want a dog but then I read posts like this and sleep sounds better.
100%. Puppies are a LOT of work. We adopted a 4 year old mutt 2 years ago and he came to us "ready to go". He's never once woken us up in the middle of the night to go potty. Rescue dogs are the way to go for first time pet-parents. They've been vetted and (typically) well-trained.
Sometimes yes and sometimes no. Most that come from foster situations are pretty well trained and you can get a pretty good background on temperment. I adopted a 5 yo jack russell from the pound that lived outside in a kennel his whole life, hardest potty trainer I have ever had, but even he mostly had it down in a month. Otherwise the most amazing little pup ever, especially considering his absolute lack of proper socialization when he was young!
That's one of the reasons I was a bit reluctant about getting an adult too. Easier to train and handle an untrained puppy than an adult! And most surrendered dogs are surrendered because they are too much work, so I don't really expect much in term of basic training there either (I'm not that picky either - I just want my dogs to know sit, stay, not destroy everything, and be housebroken, lol).
I have volunteered in dog rescue for years and the bolded is simply not true.
I am inclined to agree. For the ones who actually are more difficult and didnt just find themselves with crap owners: some animals are more difficult than others, but usually it boils down to figuring out how they think and what they will respond to. When I took an equine training class in college we played a game where your partner came up with an action they wanted you to do, and without talking you had to figure out what it was. They could snap for "posative" reinforcement and clap for "negative" reinforcement. It was an incredibly frustrating but very impactful exercise, really makes you appreciate the animals point of view.
Unfortunately, there is a huge part of the human population that is just too uneducated or incapable of understanding how to work with animals in a way they can understand. I have had people comment on how well behaved my dogs are, and why aren't theirs that way? Its amazing how frequently you get a blank stare when you ask about how they tried to teach the dog whatever command they are complaining about. I have come to believe some people think dogs are just born knowing basic commands. If only....
But it's pretty much what I said, lol. I didn't say that the dogs are necessarily badly behaved... but that a lot of them are not trained... for exactly the reasons you are both giving.. and like I said, that they are 'too much work' for a lot of people... which is why I didn't really want an adult dog (an untrained puppy will not knock your kids down or steal food from the counter because they are too small).
I guess I took the "too much work" as meaning they will be more work than a puppy, possibly due to some sort of behavior issue, which isn't usually the case. People with that mentality (not you specifically, just people in general) who don't understand training end up just growing their untrained puppy into and untrained dog, and end up right where they didn't want to be.
Oh I didn't mean that people don't adopt older dogs because they are 'too much work' but that it's often a reason why dogs end up in rescue (or 'I don't have time' - people who don't have time for their dogs probably don't have time to train them either).
I've never trained an adult dog but I'm guessing that puppies are easier to train though - I could be totally wrong (but I know it's harder for adult humans to learn new things, so I figure it's the same for dogs, lol). The main thing really is that a 15 lbs untrained puppy won't do as much damage as a 80 lbs dog.
It depends on the dog, they all have different personalities and things that "make them tick".
Interestingly enough, I have had two adult adoptions and 1 puppy, so far my experience is the adult dogs were easier to train on commands and general house rules. They have much better attention spans, already read body language, and have more developed brains so I think they are more capable of understanding a whole situation faster. If there isn't a very serious behavior issue already existing I think adult dogs are much easier to adjust into a household.
As I did mention earlier, house breaking an older dog that has had the "keep your den clean" instinct trained out of them (i rely on crate training for housebreaking) is much more difficult than a puppy, but can be done. Otherwise, that little jack russell was crazy smart, learned his name and come in 1 training session, did all sorts of tricks for me, and was off leash trail riding in a couple weeks. He didn't care about food, I think he was just so excited to have a human after living in a dog run with a bunch of other dogs his whole life. Seemed like he would do anything for you.
My other rescue was house broken already but had "aggression" issues. That really ended up being that the previous owners never taught him to respect people, they let him bite while playing as a pup and decided it was scary when he grew up (into a 70 lb pitbull mix). And I am pretty sure he totally ruled the household with them, first time I told him no was quite and eye opener for him. He is also really smart and a typical food driven dog, so he learns fast and will focus forever if you have a treat. He has been an interesting dog to have, there are a few things he knows from his previous life that I never thought to teach a dog, but once I stumbled upon it has been a handy command. I always find it neat how much we can learn from animals.
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Here's another thing to think about with puppies. You will not know that dogs true personality until they hit maturity at about a year to year and 1/2. The rescue I worked with, didn't like adopting out puppies for that very reason. So many get brought back when the adopter wasn't happy with that dogs personality once they were full grown. My dog became dog reactive at 6 months old and was brought back to the shelter. Puppies aren't always a sure thing just because you get them when they are cute and little.
I never thought of it like this but this is a really good observation.
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Between 5-7. I will let them out to pee and they will come back in and go back to sleep. I go back to sleep too! I used to get p at 5 for the gym. The Dogs just Got on that schedule0
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