The Puppy Trials

It seems that Emmy is going to be a hard one to train. She is definintely quite a handful. I know it has only been a week, but it seems like forever and she is still nipping and biting with her razor sharp puppy teeth, picking up random things and running with them, looking for trouble as soon as I turn my back, and just overall not listening.

I know all of this is normal. But I don't remember having this much trouble with Sage. We had her sleeping in the bed the first night we got her, and completely house-broken in two weeks. She never bit us- she did chew on things but we got through that. And when she was bad, and we repremanded her, she would hang her head in shame, not talk/bite back.

Emmy is very defiant. I can tell her know and smack her nose a hundred times and she will still go back and do the same thing. She looks for every opportunity to find something to destroy, even though she has about a million toys. And when outside, she is easily distracted, and instead of doing her business, she picks up sticks, leaves, or whatever is on the ground (and chews on bushes...).

I'm trying my best to be a good mom, but I feel like a bad one. It's like I am constantly yelling, "EMMY LOU! NO!" and worst of all, grabbing her snout when she bites. She's not being good but I still feel guilty about the punishment. I feel like the bad guy. I feel like if all I ever do is yell at her, she's going to think I hate her. I want her to be cuddly and affectionate (and good) like Sage. But instead she's mischievious, spiteful (it seems), and bad.

I love her to death but she is making it really hard to like her right now.

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Comment by Sam on December 8, 2007 at 1:15pm: You dont mention how old Emmy is but I suspect under 4 months of age. Much of this behavior can be attributed to the age she was removed from her mom and siblings, the environment she was kept in prior to coming home to live with you and the amount of human interaction she had prior to coming to you. Puppys explore with their mouths and biting at people is not uncommon. Some require much more redirection than others. Know too that pups dont choose to be defiant they just need to learn exactly what is expected of them. Regarding the chewing of things pups have no clue of what is intended for them to chew on and what is not. That is another job for which you must teach them. Supervision is very important here. I would highly suggest that she is confined to a smaller area when she can not be supervised. Make sure there is nothing available for her to chew other than what you provide. Regarding her toileting habits I suggest that she not be allowed freedom i the yard prior to eliminating. Keep her on lead until she goes then let her play for a time. Many dogs will forgo the potty thing in lieu of play time or exploration. While in the house it may do you well to put her on lead and tie her to you. This offers many benefits such as bonding, the ability to always supervise her and redirect her should you need to and ofcourse helps her learn to behave on lead. Good exercise will also help her be a bit more mellow to live with. A tired pup is a happy pup. As always I do recommend a training class. Best of luck with your new pup.

Comment by Avyon on December 8, 2007 at 10:05am: I'm having the same constant situation with the husky i live with right now..

After a while I got over the "being a bad aunty" because I'd rather have a good dog then one that 'likes' me back for now. Though I haven't figured out a good way to get through the stubborness to train.

Have you thought of taking her to a trainer? More to get evaluated then anything just to find out what gets her attention if scolding wont do it? I would but its not my dog haha so Im not going to put down the money for it... if it was I would though.

Let us know how this goes! Gottah nip this in the butt before it really sets in (like the husky now..) and its just daily routine :(.