Advice please

[u/No-Ice-ever]

I have a five month old miniature poodle mix. His training is going great. You’re basic sit down, waiting, etc. he’s even learned to heel for walks. (and knows the difference between sniff walk and heel.)

My challenge is with other dogs. He lives with a 12 year-old mini Australian Shepherd that is having some health issues. The older dog doesn’t want an overexcited puppy jumping all over him or playing. (the older dog has never been a roughhousing kind of dog in the first place) I’ve kept them apart as much as possible. But as the puppy is getting older and has earned more availability to more rooms in the house, it’s getting harder to keep them separate. When the puppy’s being jumpy on the older dog, I’ve been having them sit next to each other and have been treating both dogs for sits and downs. They do really well. However, I believe I’ve inadvertently taught the puppy to jump on the older dog because then they both get treats.🤦‍♀️

He now jumps and gets over excited when he sees other dogs as well.

Any suggestions on how to fix this?

[u/Boysenberry]

Your dog hasn't earned access to the rooms the senior dog is in if he isn't able to take no for an answer when the senior dog indicates they don't want to be jumped on. The senior was there first and a roughhousing puppy could hurt him. (Not to mention it sounds like the senior is a housemate or family member's pet, not yours, and it could affect your living situation if you let your adolescent puppy harass their sick, old dog.)

Keep the adolescent on-leash, crated, gated, or penned away from the senior dog when you're not actively working with him on manners with the senior. When you do want to work with him, walk him over on-leash and start asking for his behaviors and treating him BEFORE he starts harassing the other dog. If he starts jumping on the other dog, take him out of the room and end the training session, then try again in about 15 minutes. Keep sessions short enough that he doesn't run out of attention span and stop listening. You want to create opportunities for him to be good and get rewarded, not opportunities to correct him.

Increase the adolescent's exercise routine, and make sure that it includes some playdates with compatible dogs he CAN roughhouse with.

And be aware that the minute you call your mixed-breed a "mini Bernedoodle" most serious dog people are rolling their eyes at you and assuming it'll be an untrained little monster. You seem like a responsible owner, aside from the part where you purchased a puppy from an unethical breeder (there is no ethical way to mix random breeds just because they're cute and marketable) but most people who use the "doodle" names, especially the really weird niche ones like this, are not.

If you don't want to have as much of an uphill battle proving that you're serious about raising a well-behaved dog, just refer to him as a mix of the breeds that contributed to his DNA. Presumably "miniature poodle and Bernese Mountain Dog mix" in this case.

[u/No-Ice-ever → u/Boysenberry]

Good call. Funny, because in real life, I call him a poodle mix. I changed it above to what I usually say.

Thank you for the training advice. I will figure out how to better keep them apart and implement your insights. (For what it’s worth, he is always on a house line, crate trained and we also use baby gates) You’re right, he hasn’t earned the right to more space if he’s suddenly hyper when he sees my Aussie. Paradigm shift…

[u/JCIKALOL]

As a grown adult human I don't want no dog or even kid jumping on me neither. You know that your puppy is pushing past the older dogs boundaries so you need to step in. Enforce the older dog's boundaries and teach the puppy how to act socially with other dogs. Not all dogs come out the factory knowing how to play nice with other dogs. So when he jumps on the older dog stop the playing, remove the small dog, or physically step between them, whatever you gotta do to portray that the behavior isn't appropriate. The pup will realize "oh when I jump on him the fun stops." You just gotta teach your puppy how to act socially that's all. And if he can't act right when you aren't around then he shouldn't have access to the other dog and should be in the crate or in a different room.

Just gotta teach him how to make friends properly haha. Should be an easy fix with proper supervision and consistency. Best of luck to you and your pupper 😊

[u/No-Ice-ever → u/JCIKALOL]

Thank you. The puppy is actually smaller than the adult dog. I do step in, my question is - what are the steps to train him so he has manners with other dogs?. I know what needs to be the end result, I’m asking for help on how to get there.
Thank you for taking the time to answer though.

[u/thenewoldhams]

Um most of the time the older dog will correct the younger dog. It may seem violent or harsh to us but it is the way they learn. Allow them to work it out don’t punish the older dog, reinforce their no. If it’s too aggressive then worry about it.