Puppy Tips Blog

She has terrible problems of behavior, I try to pet her and she bites, she bites everything, I can’t make her to listen to me when I give her an order, she steels all my clothing and tear it apart, when I wear skirts she jumps to bite it and pull it so… good bye skirt, one more to join the rest of destroyed thing on my house. I am not sure what I am doing wrong, I try to spend as much as I have with her, but I think is not working, she is about 6 hours alone every day, three at the morning and three on the afternoon, I am thinking about giving her away, but I love her so much that I don’t want to, but I feel that she is never going to change her way and it is a problem for me. I really need and advice!!!!! PLEASE!!!!

Dogs form their personalities at 2 and 3 months of age. This is when they need to be trained and socialized with people regularly. This is when they form their first habits, the ones that will stay will them all their lives. Dogs don't learn the right habits by themselves so TAKE HER TO TRAINING CLASSES WHERE YOU CAN BOTH LEARN

My puppy is a mini dachshund. He is 11 weeks old. The only time he isnt biting my hands is when he is sleeping. He has plenty of chew toys, all different textures, he isnt chewing anything else, just my hands.

You always try the most positive method first:
Some ideas for discouraging finger chewing: when your puppy clamps down, let out a very loud YELP in imitation of a hurt puppy. Then, fold your arms and ignore him for 1 or 2 minutes. With very young puppies, this sometimes works wonders - it's the same thing that happens when they get too rough with another puppy. The wounded puppy yelps and runs off, refusing to play for a bit. The yelp must be startling enough to stop the behavior.
That should do the trick, unless she is prey driven, . However, if it doesn't fix the problem this will work:

To introduce an element of "natural discipline", grasp the recalcitrant pup with one hand, place your other hand over the top of his muzzle, gently pressing his muzzle towards his chest as you say, in a low, growly tone of voice, "No BITE". If they begin to throw a tantrum and thrash around trying to bite, just hold the line until they "give in" and "say uncle" (quit resisting). You should not find it necessary to get aggressive with a young puppy. Simple restraint is usually enough to get the message across.

DON"T hit him or flick his nose! this will cause a rift in his relationship with you, and he will never be as trusting.

never had a puppy … but heard that they tend to do that naturally … you can try to view user opinion at

http://www.dogcat101.com

so,we got a new puppy hes 9 weeks old.hes been good lately but just today he just acted so weird,hes been biting everything he sees and hes been crying just all a sudden hes been distant to us for today.can anyone help us on what you think is wrong with him?what can we do to make him feel better if theres really something wrong.

At 9 weeks old he's NOT teething. Puppy biting is common. That's how they explore their world..through their mouth. He's most likely going through a transition period of being away from his mother and littermates. I highly suggest you join the yahoo group SPT. It's a puppy group with a lot of answers, moderated by a positive trainer with lots of experience. If he's biting people, there's info on bite inhibition there as well as tons of other things.

When the new puppy(2 month old lab mix) eats, he will take one piece of food at a time, walk away, eat it and then do it over again. I know its not a bad thing, I find it pretty funny. I was just wondering why he does this. Thanks in advance

It's an instinct left over from the days of the wolf. The pack animals would rip a piece off of the kill and take it away to eat it before another member grabbed it away. Dogs still have this instinct. Especially the weaker, young and older dogs.

Holly is 11 weeks old and is already going after a ball and bringing it back to me. She's 80% house trained. Should I give her snacks when she does her business outside in addition to good behavior? I've broken the bones into small pieces. I'm crate training her and she's doing well with that also.

1. Take some of the food she's supposed to have each day and set it aside. Then use that kibble for treats/rewards whenever she "does good." That way you can be sure you aren't overfeeding her.

2. Yes, a small treat is fine when you're rewarding her for doing her business, especially on command. But don't forget lots of praise. You see, it's not that she remembers the treat, it's that she remembers the FEELING. So if you praise, stroke her back and then treat her, what she remembers is "when I got to this spot and do my business, I feel real good afterwards."

Treat her for everything she does that you like. When you go on a walk, mention her name. If she looks up at you, treat. She's learning her name AND she's learning to focus on you outside. When you call her for her crate, put a treat inside and let her find it–she'll start to associate her crate with fun surprizes.

3. Almost all treats are too big. I have a 20 pound dog (3 years old). His treats are no bigger than the size of a pea (and some are smaller than that).

4. Think of the treats in a hierarchy. You start with the kibble (for doing run of the mill things). Than move it up a notch–maybe something like part of a dog biscuit. Then you have what are called high-value treats. These are the things that the dog goes frantic over. My dog's high value treats (they don't have to be food) are (from lowest to highest value of the high value items): cooked hot dog slices, cooked salmon scales, tugging with his rope toy, cheese sticks, and his soccer ball (he'll kill for his soccer ball). I don't recommend hot dogs and cheese sticks for a puppy but that illustrates the hierarchy. And the reason this is important is that I use the high value treats to reinforce the important stuff. With a puppy, that's probably recalls or "come". Use the lower value treats to reward things the puppy is already doing (like the house training).

However, something I'd bet would be a good high value treat that is the right size would be Zuke's mini-treats. They're a bit smaller than the size of a pea, hold their shape well (so you can put a bunch in your pants or coat pocket and not get left with a bunch of crumbs), are very healthy, I have yet to find a dog that doesn't love them and they chew easy. I've listed the website below–all of their stuff is quality.

we got a new 5 month old lab/pit bull mix puppy a couple days ago. We adopted him from a rescue group. We have a 3 year old golden and I am unsure if they are getting along. The puppy bullies the golden by nipping/biting at him on his face, and body or he takes whatever the golden has. My golden is very jumpy and DOESN'T stop the behavior but the golden seems very nervous around the puppy. My golden will run towards us and gives us this look like "help". Right as my golden sits or lays down the puppy runs and jumps on him. Sometimes the puppy will come up lick his face and keep going, the golden still even jumps or seems extremely nervous about this too. The puppy was in a foster home with two older dogs and did fine, the golden has played with friends dogs many times and was fine. The odd thing is that my golden is not fixed but the puppy is. Should I be worried and what can I do??

The best suggestion I have to offer is be patient. The two of them are getting used to each other still. Likely, the puppy is trying to be playful, and the golden isn't yet sure what to make of the puppy. With the puppy jumping on the golden, it does seem like its being friendly and playful, and the golden may not be used to such a fiesty youg pup. Give them time, and they will quickly be good friends. Unless they outright fight, I wouldn't be conserned, and even then they may just be establishing dominance. Most fights are all bark and show, not actual intentional damage. Don't reassure the golden too much, or it will just rely on you to handle everything. Make sure the dog learns to handle the situation on its own. But, from the sound of it, they will be getting along great in no time.

he obviously knows he's suppose to go outside, he also knows how to hold it. but i feel he thinks he can go inside, if he just gets rid of the evidence before i find it. he's never really left alone for more than a few minutes, and when i'm gone, he's crated. but sometimes i'll smell it on the carpet and smell it on his breath. how do i get him to stop doing this? or how to i get him to tell me he wants to go outside other than standing by the back door?

you can get some stuff from the vet to sprinkle on his food it's tastless when he eats it, but it makes the poop repulsive (as if it wouldn't be on it's own..lol), but anyway the dog won't eat it. it only takes a couple of weeks to break the behavior then you don't need to put it on the food anymore. My puppy was doing the same thing and it worked like a charm.

7 month old female toy miniature schnauzer. Crate training, and doing well with eliminating outside. As we have given more freedom in the house, while we are tending to her… she has been just getting into everything…eating the newspaper, chewing on sofa pillows, eating the plants. We have tried clapping or shaker noise to startle, or water spray to face. Still doing these bad behaviors. I know puppies just like to investigate, but how do you train to avoid these things? She has been good with basic training (sit, stay….).

Your problem is the "freedom." Do NOT give your puppy freedom. She needs to be with you at all times. They are just like little kids–you leave a baby/todler to roam the house and things will get ugly or they will get hurt. Put up babygates in the rooms you are most frequently in. If you are cooking in the kitchen, keep her in there with plently of toys but do keep her in that single room. Do this wherever you go. If you can't keep an eye on her, she will become destructive. You can teach her to avoid things by buying a product called "Bitter Yuck" or "Bitter Apple Spray" that is scent-free and not noticable when you put it on plants and furniture, and she will not like the taste once she bites/chews. However, the most garunteed thing to work would be keep her with you at all times/no freedom.

She has terrible problems of behavior, I try to pet her and she bites, she bites everything, I can’t make her to listen to me when I give her an order, she steels all my clothing and tear it apart, when I wear skirts she jumps to bite it and pull it so… good bye skirt, one more to join the rest of destroyed thing on my house. I am not sure what I am doing wrong, I try to spend as much as I have with her, but I think is not working, she is about 6 hours alone every day, three at the morning and three on the afternoon, I am thinking about giving her away, but I love her so much that I don’t want to, but I feel that she is never going to change her way and it is a problem for me. I really need and advice!!!!! PLEASE!!!!

Dogs form their personalities at 2 and 3 months of age. This is when they need to be trained and socialized with people regularly. This is when they form their first habits, the ones that will stay will them all their lives. Dogs don't learn the right habits by themselves so TAKE HER TO TRAINING CLASSES WHERE YOU CAN BOTH LEARN