Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Momo Taro Lundgren & Mommy pk on May 16, 2013 at 2:58pm

ahhh... young puppy period.  LOL... how much i DO NOT miss those days.  My Momo was quite a lil terror with mouthing, biting, and nipping (mostly on me) from the time we got him (10 weeks old), til he was 5-6 months old.  Momo was sooo bad, that my body had bruises all over my legs and my back and arms and swollen puncture marks all over my legs and arms.  IF one saw me, they'd think my husband was beating and cutting me up with all the damages momo did to me in his early days. 

for BITING and BARKING, i'd suggest TIME OUTS in another room.  
anytime she puts her mouth on you WITHOUT you telling her to do so, she goes into a crate, IN ANOTHER ROOM for time out.  

Momo (now 9 months old), he hated TO BE put into time out crate as punishment, and he learned VERY VERY fast that i do not agree with his biting and barking, and only let him out after he's STOPPED barking and 3 mins of SILENCE, then he can come out.  You dont have to worry about her associating her crate as a bad thing, cuz Momo still sleeps in his crate every night, even after being put into time out for 10-20 mins.

You should teach her BITE inhibitations so she can control her BITE STRENGTH, but she should ONLY put her mouth on you, WHEN YOU TELL HER TO DO SO or when you put your hand into her mouth.

Anytime she nips at your body, pants, clothes, shoes, ANYTHING you don't want her to touch, and you tell her LEAVE IT, and she ignores and keeps going at it, then time her out for 5 mins and after she is quiet from her barking (cuz she'll most likely be angry about timeout) another 1 min or so, then you can take her out.  she'll learn fast after a few days of CONSTANT time out for nipping and biting.  If she is anything like Momo, she'll NOT WANT to be left alone.

i'd also suggest you teach her to ring a bell to go outside/potty outside.  Momo learned soon that whenever he rang the door bell it meant he gets to go outside.

Good luck! Young puppy days are tiring time, but they are darling, once you have their respect and have listened to your rules.
Yes, once she loses ALL HER baby teeth, her gnawing and biting will lessen, but you must make sure she learns to NOT BITE... by the time she is 5-6 months.  No teeth on skin, period at that age.

<3

*edit*
also, you shouldn't allow your puppy to dictate to you WHEN she wants to eat or drink.  YOU should be controlling what she eats and when she eats.  When you have her eating habit down, you can also control when she pottys... and are able to be able to tell WHEN she needs to go.  You're the parent/master, you should be controlling WHAT HAPPENS in your home with her.  You know what is BEST FOR HER. 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Carla Fernandez on May 16, 2013 at 3:26pm

Thank you so much for your thoughtful response!! :-) All of this information really, really helps!! I will try the time out technique for sure! 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jane on May 16, 2013 at 5:54pm

Time outs worked the best for us. Heck my dogs are 3 and 4 and I can still threaten them with the dreaded "do you need a time out?!"

However, I would not suggest using his crate as a place for time out. You want their crate to be happy place and some dogs WILL associate it with punishment and start to hate it. We used the laundry room for our time-out space, but you could easily just babygate a bathroom or something.

• ▶ Reply