We got a two month old puppy 4 days ago, and are going through all the usual puppy things, chewing, crying all night, housebreaking, etc. Any advice to make this period a little less painful for everyone? One thing I am a little concerned about is that when she is very excited, she attempts to mouth very vigorously, and while I know she isn’t biting, per se, it’s still unpleasant and potentially dangerous. Short of smacking her (which I don’t want to do), is there anyway to eliminate this behavior?
Congratulations! Please don’t ever tell us if you do something cruel to the puppy, like leave it tied to a stake in the yard all night so it won’t pee in your house, because if you do we will make your life miserable (see Cornflakes’ thread from a few weeks ago). I’ve heard an animal behaviorist, Patricia McConnell, maybe? say the best thing to do is redirect it: don’t chew mommy’s hand, chew this dog toy; don’t chase the cat, chase the ball; don’t chew the shoes, eat this treat. The trick is, you have to be there to redirect, so spend as much time with Puppy as you can.
What fun, a new baby! Also, be sure to get a book on training and obedience, and check with your vet, too.
I absolutely don’t intend to do anything of the sort to her, don’t worrry. And because of the housebreaking thing, I am pretty much tethered to her 24-7, except for the two one-hour periods a day when I put her in her kennell, (I have to shower sometime!), and at night, when she is also in her kennell (by my bed), which she really hates.
Congratulations!
Crate train, crate train, crate train!
When our second dog just got home from the parking lot, where we found her as an approximately 7 week old puppy without a home, she cried loudly whenever we put her into her crate. I found that sticking my finger in through the bars where she could suck on it calmed her into sleep. After two days she walked willingly into her crate every night.
Take her out every 2 hours (or more frequently) at first – give her a chance to be good and then praise her long and happily.
I can understand your concern about biting/mouthing. I admit that I never cared about this behavior but my wife did. I would play rough with them and let them bite me, she would say “no bite” and walk away if they bit her. Consequently both of our dogs will bite me when we play (no blood, mind you, just friendly stuff) while I can’t recall either of them ever putting a tooth on her since about 4 months old.
Michelle will have much to add, I am sure.
Eissclam.
As far as mouthing, the only thing that worked for us was going “Yikes!” in a whiny-excited tone and cutting off all attention.
This is the way the puppies tell each other they’re being too rough.
What breed is she? What’s her name? Details, woman, details!
You mentioned that she hates being in her kennel, which many pets do. My in-laws are training their puppy to regard her kennel as her own “den”. I don’t know how they are accomplishing this, but it’s great! The dog goes to her kennel on her own when she wants to nap or have time to herself. However, she does understand she must also spend some time there if she misbehaves.
She’s one hundred percent pound puppy. Her mother had the litter at the local shelter, and when we asked what breeds the mother might consist of, they just shrugged. Mom wasn’t too big, so I’m really hoping Dad wasn’t a Saint Bernard.
Her name is Botzi, which is a Bavarian word that means a rake, a dandy, a dashing, slightly naughty man or woman, and also happens to be a popular name for dogs there.
For the “mouthing”, I agree with the advice to substitute a toy for your hand. It works wonders! Good luck with your pup 
Zette
Love is like popsicles…you get too much you get too high.
Not enough and you’re gonna die…
Click here for some GOOD news for a change Zettecity
Sound advice given thus far. Crate training, visits to the vet, training books, puppy classes…that covers all the basics!
One word of advice: make sure you puppy proof the house the same way you would baby proof a house. Also be very cautious about any chemicals you use around the puppy. Just a few weeks ago we had a woman bring in 5, 5 week old golden retriever puppies who had come in contact with a toxic substance. The puppies were gorgeous and obviously well taken care of. Unfortunately, they were also now very, very sick. It was heartbreaking to see. Out of the five, 2 were deemed healthy and able to go home, 2 had to be put to sleep, and one had to be hospitalized and was later transferred to the regular vet with a guarded prognosis. We had no idea what the puppies got into. At first we thought anti-freeze but they tested negative. The only thing the owners can guess is that they were exposed to some stuff they cleaned the floors with. I guess we’ll never know exactly what it was. But it’s a good example of how careful you have to be with animals in the home.
We got a puppy “Bezoar” shes 9 weeks and nearly 20 lbs. She’s gonna be a biggun.
A shake can works unbelievably well with her as does the whimpering yelping thing. She rarely bites unless worked up.
-Frankie
Lack of charisma can be fatal
Crate training is vital. I just want to second everyone else who brought it up. Also, look into clicker training. This is a really great way to train young puppies, they think it’s a game and they love it! You would be surprised at what they can do. Here’s a link to a clicker site, but there are lots of them if you do any kind of web search. Also, look for classes in your area.
http://www.karenpryor.com/index_netscape.htm
Also, some dogs respond to a tap on the nose as punishment. You don’t want to hit him on the nose, just tap. While redirection is great while the puppy is very young, by eight weeks (maybe earlier) you need to start being strict about the chewing. My other piece of advice: socialize the dog!!! Dogs are so much friendlier if they have met and played with people while still a puppy. Socialize him with other dogs too, but make sure he gets a set a shots first.
He should have more than one round of vaccines before you bring him around other dogs, and of course, the other dogs should have all their shots too.
Terribly sorry to hijack the thread but I need help!!
I have a year and a half old Lab/Chow mix. Our vet told us that based on what we have told her about the dog’s behavior, that she is suffering from anxiety problems and separation disorder. (she and her brothers and sisters were orphaned very early, the people we got her from were abusive, she was also involved in a separation incident with another puppy she lived with for several months—these are the things that apparently led her to this behavior)
She is kept outdoors (except in cold weather, when she is put in an enclosed porch) Anyway, the vet advised us to crate train her so she could be inside all the time and she would not feel as lonely.
I have two questions. (1)What can we do about her disorders? (I feel like I should take her on Jerry Springer or something) & (2)How do you crate train an older dog?
Any help would be appreciated!!
Born O.K. the first time…
If you are born again, do you have two belly-buttons?
We just got a Brittany puppy a couple of weeks ago. She is housebroken now but that first week was a pain in the ass. The first week she was there she shit in my house 5 times!!! I stepped in it 3 out of 5 times too! (See my thread Dog Shit!!)
This is how we trained our puppy to poop in the same spot in the yard… it sounds gross but it’s really not that bad and it works:
Take 1 match from a book of matches. Stick the end that you light up the dogs butt - just the tip of it though, not all of it. And DON’T light it first!! Leave it there and take the dog outside and show her/him the spot where you want them to poop. Take the match out of the butt and tell them to “Get Busy.” Do this the next 3 times you take the dog outside and the dog will poop in the same spot everytime! I saw this done on t.v. and we decided to try it. Believe it or not it worked! There’s something in the matches that makes the dog have to poop. Maybe the sulfer or something.
That John Denver’s full of shit man!
I’ll second Punkyova’s advice about clicker training. My girl doesn’t love her crate, but she goes in willingly and happily, thanks to clicker training. We started her on it from day one, when she was 10.5 weeks old.
Go for it!
Hey Punky… do I know you? I attended several clicker training classes taught by Beth Hatch and Peggy Irish - Good Dog Training Services.
Actually, the match trick is commonly used by people who show dogs. No one wants their prized show dog to poop in the ring, in front of the judges! If the dog won’t go potty right before it is supposed to go into the ring, the handler will put the match up the dog’s behind. It is the stimulus of having something up its rear that causes the dog to have to go. It doesn’t have to be a match. I have found, much to my dismay, that thermometers have the same effect. Still, I don’t know anyone who has actually housebroken their dog this way (except the above poster), and I would have to say, stick with the more conventional methods. (I think a lot of show dog people are nuts anyway.)
So we had our first puppy class last night and Bezoar couldn’t have been more bored. All the other doggies were straining at the leash to get at other doggies but not the Beez. She was laying down almost sleeping for most of the class. What a weirdo!
-Frankie
Lack of charisma can be fatal
Wow, what a bunch of well-informed people! I was expecting advice along the lines of, “If yer dog poops in yer house, rub his nose in it!”. I am new, so I am learning I should expect more from Dopers!
Anyway, yup, all of this advise is great (except maybe the match trick- not that it hurts the dog, I’m sure, but I know I wouldn’t like a match up my butt! ;)). As for the crate training, this is the best way to train a dog. Dogs are den animals, and love to have their very own den. We put a blanket over our golden’s crate, and she loves it! I think even older dogs, like the lab/chow mix, will come to love a crate- make it the dog’s “safe place”. Put her favorite toys in the crate, feed her there, pet her, and talk encouragingly. Don’t expect her to like it right away. Don’t close the door and make her feel trapped. Eventually, she’ll be OK with it, and start going in on her own.
As for bitting, I wouldn’t tolorate it in my golden. She is around kids, and I didn’t want her frightening them. We used the redirection trick- give her a toy when she bit, and it worked well. To this day, my 12 year-old “puppy” will grab a toy when she plays rough with us! If this doesn’t work, try saying “NO” very firmly (loud), and stop any petting or playing. Sometimes you have to be tough with this (not every dog is a golden! :)). I would be carefull with squealing- it might work with some dogs, but it might also excite a wound-up pup even more. For long-distance control of chewing, a shake can is great. Put a few pennies in a pop can and if the puppy is chewing, throw the can near the pup (not at it, of course!). Most puppies won’t even realize that you threw the can; all they’ll know is that they were doing something (chewing) and then something bad happened. But make sure to have pleanty of good toys for the pup to chew. Stay away from rawhide, especially rawhide that is not from the USA. Toys should be hard rubber that the puppy can’t chew small pieces off from.
The most important part of training a puppy is to make sure everyone in the household trains the same way. It is amazing how quickly even a small puppy will figure who they don’t have to listen to! My mom can’t walk our golden: Gracie knows that my mom won’t make her heel, so she pulls on the leash and drags my mom behind! With me, she stays right at my side. Also, a puppy between 4-9 months is like a teenager- expect a lot of sass back and some regression. Don’t worry, stay firm, and it will pass.
Most of all, take photos! It may seem like a trying time having a puppy (and it is!), but one day you’ll look at the photos and remember fondly when she was just a pup!
Good luck!
Dizzy
You people have been holding me back long enough! I’m going to clown college!