How to calm a puppy

Factual Questions
1

So I have a dog. She’s a pug, and about 15 months old. She is the biggest little ball of energy I’ve ever seen. Ever. I worry that the problem is that she lives in an apartment, and spends sometimes 4 or more hours bored in her crate if mine and the bf’s shifts overlap. So when we’re home, we play with her, but other than that, she lives in her crate and sleeps with us. She also loves other people, to the point that we almost can’t take her outside of the apartment without the leash, because if she sees someone new across the parking lot (a distance of some 200 feet and down a set of stairs, the way our buildings are set up), she runs to meet them, unless tricked otherwise.

Any dog barking or doorbell ringing (real or simulated) sets her up for a barking session, sometimes with endless high-speed laps around the coffee table.

Anyone with any suggestions? Wait it out? Is it solely a function of our small yard? Anyone else with pug experience?

2

Training class will work wonders, by bringing out the best of her behavior, teaching her how to be intelligent, and giving you tools to stop her from barking at the TV. Find a weekly class offered in your area and go, ASAP.

My apologies for getting a pug, but best wishes and good luck to you otherwise! :wink:

3

You should never take her out on the street without a leash, anyway. Presumably she’s leash trained? If not, get thee to a training facility if you don’t know how to train her to walk on a leash and to respond to your commands. You can also teach her to stop barking when you tell her to.

Why is she in a crate when you’re away? Surely, she’s housebroken by now.

Is there an enclosed area, a dog park of any kind within reasonable distance? She has to have a chance to exercise, and enjoy all her energy.

4

Your puppy needs exercise. Your puppy needs to also always be on a leash when not inside your apartment.

To calm a puppy (or any dog, really) for the moment: Sit on the floor with your legs outstretched and lay the dog on its back, between your legs. You will probably need to restrain the puppy between your legs and hold either the scruff behind the ears or the tops of the front legs. Keep eye contact with the dog. Sit like this for a while and the dog WILL calm down.

This is going to seem absolutely impossible at first - sometimes getting a dog down and then on its back is incredibly hard. It will wiggle and squirm, it will definitely want to leave.

But getting a dog on its back and held still is the ultimate show of dominance. It’s also incredibly relaxing to dogs once they figure out what’s going on. Keeping a lock on its eyes keeps them dominated, too.

If you do it on a regular basis it won’t be hard to get the dog into the position.

I did this just twice with my aunt’s crazy boxer, that I rarely ever spend time with, and now if I sit on the floor at my aunt’s house she comes to me to be “held.”

5

We have a Pug. Got him from a highly recommended breeder as a puppy. He’s now 6+ years old. BY far not the first dog we’ve ever had, but the first Pug. But we know a lot of other people with Pugs, so my experience with them is far beyond 6 years.

I’m a little surprised at your comment about “barking sessions”. All Pugs I know of only bark a bit at certain noises and then give it a rest. Yours is still a pup, I guess. They get over it and get lazy after 2-3 years old. They are not yappers by no means.

Get a good trainer, preferably one with Pug experience.

Be warned: Pugs are very smart, but 100 times as stubborn!! It’ll be your will against theirs! You MUST take active participation in the training, and you MUST “win”, if you know what I mean. After that you will have the most delightful creature ever!

6

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7

Just wanted to add that ZipperJJ’s advice is great provided that it doesn’t interfere with your dog’s breathing. Pugs are notorious for having respiratory problems because of the way we messed up their faces.

And yeah, only off leash when outside if at a dog park and only then if established friendly dogs are around.

8

Oh goodness. I will have to ask around and find some sort of training facility. We live in a small town, and so there’s not really anything that I know of around here.

To answer some questions: She’s leash-trained in the sense that she doesn’t freak out on the leash, and is content to trot alongside/slightly ahead of me, unless there’s an interesting smell or person. I don’t really know what leash-trained means, because growing up, we always had a yard, and so we let our dogs just run free.

As far as the barking, I’ve found that a loud clap will usually shut her up, and I accompany it with a “STOP IT” with whatever expletives I have handy mumbled more quietly. She gets petting afterward if she comes back to me. Sometimes she likes to sulk after getting scolded.

She’s in a crate because she gets into EVERYTHING. Her curiosity that I referenced earlier applies to anything in the house. She especially likes paper. She would find and eat paper until her stomach exploded if she could. The main problem being that her primary source of investigation is her mouth. Sometimes she’ll find a bug, and put it in her mouth, then let it go and watch it scurry, and then put it back in her mouth, etc. Or lick strange new things in the house. (She tried investigating a wasp with her mouth once. Oops.)

I can make her lay down on her stomach no problem, especially at bedtime, because she loves cuddling her fat dumb (cute) head in my armpit, and loves belly scratches, so when it’s not 1 AM, we’ll have to try it in the floor.

Note to all: This is the bf’s dog, originally. I tried convincing him that a pair of students who work full time (now he’s graduated, but still works full-time) living in an apartment don’t need a dog, especially one that the interwebs told us was so high-energy). But he decided that his need for a dog was greater than his capacity for rational thinking, and bought the thing. She prefers me because I’m the one who usually feeds/waters her and plays with her. I feel like a parent whose kid wanted a puppy, but my kid is older than I am and had the financial means to support one.

9

Adding, also: No dog parks, and not even a park, unless you count the fact that there’s a plot of land down by the river that I think dogs are allowed on. When we first got her, we tried playing with her outside, but then she associated “outside” with “play” and wouldn’t potty. Then we changed the association to “outside = potty”.

10

Leash training means the dog will not pull or strain on the leash, and will walk with you, ideally at your side, or as you permit. Thus the term, or command, “Heel,” which means the dog must walk next to you.

When dogs are taken for a walk, they really, really want to do more than just “potty.” There are so many smells they feel they need to investigate, mark territory, etc. We call it “reading the Pee-Mail.”

We made a huge mistake with the first St. Bernard we had. We were mostly at work or school, and during her puppyhood she did not have a lot of interaction with people or other dogs, and became terrified of strangers. She would bark ferociously when a stranger came up the walk, which was fine if it was a Jehovah’s Witness or other proselytizer, but less so when it was a friend. She was not in the slightest bit aggressive once the person came in, and would have gone through a wall to avoid being touched by someone she didn’t know. But she was well trained (as must be with a huge dog) to sit, stay, or heel on command, except in that one case where she just too terrified. An expert told us we should have taken her on walks in the park, or to the outdoor mall, anyplace where she’d get used to people besides the two of us.

Does your dog have toys of her own that she could play with when you’re out? Is it possible to move anything she’d damage, or that would be harmful, out of her reach? Do you intend to have her spend that much time in a little crate for her whole life?

11

Dogs are pack animals and need constant social contact.
Is there a neighbour who would like to dog-sit?

Unfortunately a dog shut in a crate for hours at a time will be unhappy and develop bad habits.

12

Two pugs here.

They do get a bit mellower with age, but by no means do they get lethargic. At least, mine haven’t yet, and my oldest is going on five. When someone comes to the door, it’s a bark fest. In fact, we could disable our doorbell; they let us know someone’s here long before they reach the door.

Any chance you could get another dog? Ours play together all the time, and I really can’t imagine what it would be like to have only one. It might end up being less work for you to have two pugs. Plus, you can get rid of the TV and any other entertainment devices. Just watch the pugs when you’re bored.

Oh yeah, where’s the pictures? Board rules state any threads about pets, especially pugs, require pictures :smiley:

13

I feel good about her socialization, in that she LOVES strangers and strange dogs. Unfortunately, we don’t have any near plans of moving into a larger living area that would allow us to get her another dog friend. (we shouldn’t have ever gotten her to begin with!) What about a baby gate, that would keep her confined to the kitchen/dining room area? She’d have access to her water bowl, and some space to run around. She does have toys to play with, but I realize it’s not a substitute for human interaction. The reason we got the crate to begin with was because the BF thought it’d be an easy way to housebreak her, and so we got a crate and left her in it for hours on end like the pamphlet said was OK to do. If it makes you feel any better, it’s not a little pet taxi kind of crate. It’s one of the bigger steel cage kind of numbers.

For those wanting pictures, you can look at the “morning routine” set of pictures I took for my photo class here . (Click on the one that says Photo Story - Wrinkles’ Morning Routine, of course)

14

Crate theory actually says that you should have a crate just big enough for the dog to stand and turn around in, and that it should be enclosed. What you’re trying to do is simulate a den or a cave. Although I don’t crate train, I know that my pugs loooove to be in small spaces. My girl is constantly wanting to be under the covers or under the footstool or under the table.

Four hours doesn’t seem excessive at all. Mine sleep a lot of the day. Our routine is roughly get up in the morning, go outside, have a treat, then sleep for another 3 or 4 hours. Then they might get up for an hour or so, then back to sleep. They really wake up in the evenings, between about 5 and 10, but even that isn’t every day - I’d say they just keep sleeping for most of that time maybe every third day.

Mr. Athena and I both work at home, so we’re here all the time, so they can really adjust to whatever routine they want, and that’s what they’ve worked out.

From what you’ve described, it sounds like your girl gets enough love and attention. All the other behaviors are just basic pug things; they love people, they love attention, etc. She’ll calm down as she gets a little older.

Oh yeah - those pictures are CUUUUUUTE. I loves me some black pug!

15

Do you have a cite for this? I’ve always crate trained my dogs, and they’re all wonderful and happy with no bad habits.

4 hours of snoozing on her own per day is nothing for a pug, even a teenager (with is what 15 months is in pug years). She sleeps away the time, safe in her little den. If she’s not wetting or soiling her crate, it’s not too long for her.

But yes, play with her lots when you’re home, indoors and out. If there’s no fence, she should be on a leash, even for playtime. While playing, you can allow her as much lead as is safe for your area, but when it’s time to walk, a simple, “Heel, Wrinkles,” should be enough to signal that play time is over and her spot is next to and slightly *behind *you. Never in front. It’s called “heel”, 'cause she should be walking by your heel. (Okay, maybe not, but it’s a good rule of placement anyway.) The more active exercise the better, but be aware of her breathing and let her rest when she needs to. I’ve almost never had more than one dog at once, but if you play with them, they’re fine with that.

Yes, please get her (and you!) trained. Some pugs are bright and some are…not so bright (in general, they score as one of the stupider dogs on intelligence tests) but they are all incredibly lovable and trainable, and any dog is much nicer to be around when well trained. Pet Smart offers decent classes, it doesn’t have to be an expensive private trainer. But both you and your boyfriend have to commit to it - maybe not both of you at every session, but both of you have to be consistent in using the same commands and same expectations. Dogs, like children, will play their “parents” against one another if given the chance!

What I find most useful for the barking at noises is praise, not punishment. The poor dog is just doing her job - she’s letting her pack know that there’s something unusual that needs to be checked out. When you yell, it sounds to her like barking, and so she takes that as encouragement - if you’re barking, that means she should be barking. Instead, try a calm, bright, happy, “Thank you, Wrinkles, that’s enough!” and a scritch near the tail with an enthusiastic “Good girl!”

Obligatory sweet pug story: My very first pug was a little guy named Butch. He was trained to stay off the furniture unless invited up. So if I was on the couch, he’d sit on the floor in front of the couch and look up with that cute little cocked head. “Come on up, Butch!” I’d say, patting the couch, and up he’d come.

One night, Mom and Dad had a party, and someone left a plate of cheese and sausage and crackers on the couch. I was sad because Butch hadn’t come to sleep with me that night. In the morning, we found him sitting in front of the couch, his little chin resting on the edge, staring at the still full plate of food.

Of course, he got a fantastic breakfast of cheese and sausage that morning, the little angel!

16

Well, that sounds reassuring. Time to go put her in her crate for the next 5 hours while I’m at work!

17

I don’t have a cite. :o

But I was worried that dogs left on their own for hours would get unhappy…

18

Not true. All of the dogs I’ve owned have been crate trained and it’s been nothing but a positive thing.

19

Caveat, I have no experience with pugs, but I have raised a boxer to be a perfect gentleman, and boxers are the craziest breed in the world (for good and bad). Dogs bark for a number of reasons. Having basically the vocabulary of one word, they use inflictions to convey different meanings. It might have been a Larson comic that pointed this out to me, but a dog that barks is basically saying ‘hello’, as in:

Hello there. How you doin’? (to a bitch in heat)
Hell-oh! Did ya hear that at the font door? (When the door bell rings)
Ooooh, I’m so lonely! Anyone else out there? Helloo-o-o-o-o-ooooo! (Wailing and barking alone in the back yard)
Hello buddy, don’t come here and try to act tough! (growling, followed by maybe a bark)
Mommy, mommy, mommy, it’s scary (short dry barks, barely having time to breath)
ASF.

Why I bring this up is because I got a wonderful advice before I picked up Buster. In stead of scolding him, acknowledge that he’s trying to communicate something and praise him for it. that has worked wonders for me. When the door bell rings, Buster rushes up, gives a few loud barks (‘Hello there, we heqard you and I’m the one with paws in this house’ i.e. not frightend, nor challenging, just loudly declaring his prescence to whoever rang the door bell and telling me that he’s ready).
So I praise him and the barking immidiately stops. It seems counter intuitive but has worked wonders for me. However, boxers are working dogs, guard dogs and not prone to yapping. And I started when he was eight weeks. It might be too late for you.

20

You’ll generally notice by behavior. If, as I said, she’s not wetting or soiling her cage, and if she’s not chewing her wrists or a bald spot into her tail or belly or chewing up stuff when she’s out of the cage, and if she’s not overly anxious when people get home (excited =/= anxious) and if she doesn’t resist going into the crate, then she’s fine.