digging, nipping & chewing wood tables :/

hi! walter, 3 mos old, is a great puppy!! he has a sweet disposition (most of the time ;) is crate trained & 90% potty trained (100% when i'm with him :) here are my 3 concerns:

1) he has taken to dig holes in various parts of the yard, mostly in dirt areas (not grass). i want to sprinkle the granuals to get him to stop. any other suggestions?

2) he still follows up too closely and nips at our ankles and feet. i read that you can take him, making no sounds, by the back of the soft skin on his neck, pull up & push his bottom down. when he submits, let him up. any other suggestions?

3) he has plenty of chew items and toys, first of all. we play with him frequently and he is not alone almost at all. but, he takes to biting the wood tables. unfortunately, he's very quiet about it and i did not notice until it was a little too late on my fav, best table...very, very upsetting :(

and as i realize this will cease eventually, i'm just looking for a little puppy advice to get through this period.

Thanks!!

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Comment by Tomi and Story on July 12, 2012 at 7:54pm: Cindi has fabulous suggestions, they will work!

Comment by Cindi on July 12, 2012 at 3:26pm: Hi Walter's Mom,

I'm Cindi and I'm a trainer. I have some suggestions for you...

1. Walter will dig holes. He's a short dog and he can hear every little bug under the ground. You want to be careful what you put down. There are granules at the pet store you can use. But the long and short of it is, he's going to dig. What I've done in the past is get a plastic pool or sandbox. Fill it full of stinky loamy soil. Put some toys he likes in there. When you see him digging in a bad spot, pick him up or lead him with a treat to his own digging place (the pool) and reward the daylights out of him when he digs there. Even have some playtime with him in his digging spot.

2. He's a herding dog and will nip at you. It's a herding behavior. (And it's one of the reasons I don't suggest herding dogs for very small children.) Don't punish him. Redirect him. The last thing you want to do is to try to "muscle" him into being something he's not. If he nips while you walk simply stop. When he quits, walk forward. You'll feel a bit silly but after a bit he'll get the idea that nipping doesn't get him attention. Do not get into a submitting/dominance thing with Walter. You will be setting yourself up to have a dog that bites. If you have questions on this, by all means contact me privately.

3. He's biting the tables and such because he's teething. My parents had one coffee table with my teeth marks all around it! Get some Bitter Apple spray or something similar and spray the areas he likes to chew. If you catch him, simply tell him "no chew" or "no bite" and give him a chewy that's more appropriate. Just like a baby chewing on a rag, it's comforting to a puppy to just like there and chew. Just train him that there are more appropriate ways of doing this.

Remember, treat him and train him in a positive way. Lovingly correct and then redirect his behavior. Stay away from all that Cesar, dominance crap. It's just not necessary. You want to create a loving, respectful relationship with Walter, not an adversarial one. And, again, feel free to contact me privately. I'll be happy to help!

Cindi G.

dogwalkpawtalk@gmail.com