Chug Dog

Some find the art of training their chug puppy daunting. However, when you step back, it is actually simpler than it seems.

Training your chug puppy can be both frustrating and rewarding.  You may not want to torment your poor chug puppy for months on end with commands that to him may seem irrelevant and unncessary.  However, when they finally start to obey, it will only strengthen your relationship.  After all, uneaten furniture makes everyone happy, right? He has learned that when you are happy you give him treats and he has also learned the things that are most likely to make you happy.

This is of course a beneficial relationship for all concerned.  You get what you want and the dog gets what he wants, making everyone more pleased.  Some people say that the dog is actually happier because it craves rules and boundaries.  Dogs will test you to see how far they can push you because they want you to define their limitations, to give them their place in the household.  I am not sure how convincing I find this argument but it makes some sense, in the way it makes sense that children with rules and boundaries tend to be better adjusted as well.

So what does this mean in a nutshell – stay consistent and dilligent with your chug puppy’s training and you both be happy as a result of your loving compromise.

We’ve had our chug puppy max for a month now and have taught him to sit, rollover and play dead. Suprisingly he has been easy to train thus far.

Training your chug may be something you do not want to take on by yourself. There are a lot of professional trainers advertising in the industry today which makes trying to determine who’s truly qualified to train your chug dog an overwhelming task. Chugs are a rare breed, so make sure that the person you select actually has experience with chug dogs and chug puppies.

Here are a few things to look for when finding someone to train your chug:

• A good reputation, ask around and get recommendations from your vet, other chug dog owners, or local kennel clubs.
• Experience. – Inquire about their background,  i.e. number of years experience.
• A genuine love of and devotion to dogs. Try and find someone who is passionate and not just in it for financial gain.
• Up to date and knowledgeable. Dedicated trainers keep themselves educated by attending training and animal behaviour courses, conferences, seminars and other workshops.
• Memberships with credible associations, organizations and training clubs.

Here are some sites that may help you find a trainer for your chug dog:

http://www.dogtrainersdirectory.com/trainers_locations.html

http://www.dogtrainersearch.com/

I spend a good amount of time in the evenings working this site. During those times, I often let our chug Max roam the upstairs unattended. Whenever I leave the office for the moment to take a phone call, I come back to find our chug puppy nibbling on my computer wires. My office has 3 computers in it, external hard drives, Wacom tablets, speakers and other items he has deemed chewable.

Tonight, I came back into the office to find my second computer turned off and my external hard drive laying on the floor.

Few Words of Advice for Keeping Your Chug Puppy Away from your Wires:

• Use a multiple zip ties to keep wires bundled tightly and organized.
• Tuck your wires underneath the carpet or mount them underneath your desk.
• If you leave your office door open, turn off electronic devices to prevent your chug puppy from getting electrocuted.

Last week we posted on our 10 week old chug puppy’s nipping habit and decided that we would give the spray bottle method a test. After 4 days of using this method, we are pleased with the results. Our chug has begun licking our hands instead of biting them. At first, we felt bad about spraying him since he looked frightened but he is now behaving appropriatley. When you think about it, it is less cruel to give your chug puppy a quick spray of water than it is to hit him or lock him in his crate. We have also learned that locking your chug puppy in his crate is not a good idea, since it is where he spends a lot of time and you do not want him to associate part of his home with fear, angst or pain.

Update 12/9/09

After about a month, our chug puppy has started biting with less force. He now playfully nips only. However, we are still not satisfied with our chug puppy’s behavior because he is often possessive of his toys and refuses to drop them when asked. We think it is mostly due in part to the fact that we let him play a lot of tug of war games with his friend who is an older minature pinscher.

Possessiveness aside, we still have to stop our chug puppy from biting completely, even if it is not a strong bite.  We searched a lot of articles online and liked this one the best. It has many useful tips such in addition to the ones we found earlier (see above) such as:

• Try and teach your chug puppy to stop biting before it is 4.5 months old.
• First try to control the the force of the chug puppys bite, then try and control the frequency.
• When chug puppies start bite you, even if playful, stop interacting with them completely. If they do it again, place them in a room that does not have anyone to play with.
• Do not make whining sounds when your chug puppy bites you, or he may think it is part of the game.

Last night we tried the putting our chug puppy in the spare bedroom when he bit us. He began to understand why we were doing it after a few times.

Remember since chug puppies are part pug, they will have some stubborness so be consistent and patient.

Updates to come…

As with most puppies, Chug puppies have a tendency to have some anxiety when they first leave their mother. When we first brought our Chug home, he was constantly crying and running up to us when we left the room. We have had our chug for 2 weeks now and his seperation anxiety has gotten better.  We did this by following a few guidelines we researched:

How to cure your chug puppy’s seperation anxiety:

1. Get a training crate and start putting your dog in for short periods of time. At first we left him in all day when we went to work. We did not see any improvement in our chug’s behavior. Soon after realizing this, I worked from home more and put him in the crate for shorter periods of time and the whining began to stop.
2. Give him lots to do. There are plenty of toys to keep your chug puppy occupied. Our chug puppy prefers to chew on Ziggys. They are available at pet smart.
3. Exhaust your chug puppy before leaving. Let him run outside or play with toy in the house.
4. Turn on the radio or TV before you leave. Chug puppies are generally calmed by the ambient noise.
5. Don’t make a big scene when you come home. This type of behavior will encourage the chug to anticipate your arrival more eagerly.

These tips should help cure your chug puppies seperation anxiety. Above all, it is important to love your chug. The more you demonstrate this, the more independent he will become.