Hello everyone. I’m the proud new owner of a 4-month-old goldendoodle we picked up from the breeder about a week ago. I’m hoping someone here can help me make sense of some odd shifts in her behavior.
Needless to say, she’s our first puppy and she’s been a handful. She’s a ball of energy, and the moment she finishes her (forced) naps, she’s running around the apartment, biting anything in sight, and getting bored of her toys almost instantly. We have to hover over her every second she’s awake. And when we put her down for a nap, she whines or barks loudly for 5–10 minutes.
Because she’ll be fully vaccinated in about a week, we’ve kept her in the apartment most of the day. As a result, we haven’t really started leash or harness training; we’ve focused almost entirely on potty and crate training.
Today, after a particularly chaotic round of biting me, the couch, and anything that moved, I put her harness and leash on out of sheer exhaustion and her mood shifted immediately. She wasn’t scared of it, but she instantly became calm, well-mannered, and orderly. She laid on the couch with me and gently played with her toys. I never had to touch the leash to correct anything. And when it came time for the crate, I removed the harness, put her inside, and for the first time ever she didn’t make a sound.
What is going on? It almost feels like positive reinforcement (“good girl,” treats, etc.) and positive punishment (brief time-outs, removing stimulation) aren’t doing much, but she’s treating the collar or harness like negative punishment (something she doesn’t want) and behaving perfectly. Is that a reasonable interpretation?
She’s very smart, and it’s hard not to think she’s learned that she can push boundaries when we use positive reinforcement or mild corrections. What am I to take of this lesson when it comes to training going forward?
submitted by /u/No_Job6259
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