Puppy Advice (merged)

FluffyFiFi

I've got a German Shepherd and we had the same problem when he was a puppy, our trainer said they this is how they learn the strength of their jaws and he will outgrow it. He did and he is now the most gorgeous dog. At the time I just said no and and left him on his own. I good chewing toy helped and if you put it in the fridge it might help too.

Mely

Suki the owner said the dog was trying to be dominant :rolleyes:

Mely

No,we think the behaviour is out of character as well. This is our fourth Goldie and we cannot recollect this type of behaviour with any of our previous dogs. I think perhaps it could be a dominance thing with him. Maybe we haven't established his place in our pack yet.
Thanks for the quick reply.


^^^^^ see.

supermezzo

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

i would not recommend squirting water at this dog.

Me either. IF there is a physical reason the puppy is biting (discomfort or just plain teething pain) then it will only serve to aggravate the problem and he could well bite you 'properly' - he may well also end up scared of water.

If it's not a physical problem and is a dominance thing then your best bet IMHO is to address his place in the pack as an overall issue, rather than dealing with just this one aspect.

I would suggest that, if you don't already have it in place, a feeding routine which all the family take turns with is put in place. Ours have to sit for their 'dinner' (use any buzz word you like really) and they have to wait until the whistle is blown 3 times before they eat it. You don't need a whistle - just a simple wait then 'go on then' or whatever is just as good. If all the family take turns and stick to the same plan, pup will very quickly realise that everyone else in your house is in charge of his food and ergo, above him in the pack and it should reassure him as to his place therein and make life in general a lot easier.

The feeding routine is also a fabulous 'training' ground for recall as they associate the whistle with food so (mostly :rolleyes: ) coming dashing back to you thinking tis tea-time!:rotfl:

Milford_Cubicle

As far as I recall, water squirting is only reserved as a last resort for older dogs who haven't grown out of the dominance/biting thing and should only be used by those trained in such techniques? I certainly wouldn't be using water on a puppy to teach them right from wrong.

Water pistols get used in our family to deter unwanted furry/feathery intruders...

Incidentally, does anyone have any tips to deter a biting kitten...I look like I've been self harming :rotfl:

Mely

Use the water pistol? .......lol

foreign_correspondent

Mely will not be happy till someone squirts some water at an animal!!:rotfl:

Mely

squirt!!! squirt!!!:rotfl:

suki1964

Mely wrote: »

Suki the owner said the dog was trying to be dominant :rolleyes:

Dont care who said it first - I dont see it being dominant behaviour at all - just normal puppy behaviour

No,we think the behaviour is out of character as well. This is our fourth Goldie and we cannot recollect this type of behaviour with any of our previous dogs. I think perhaps it could be a dominance thing with him. Maybe we haven't established his place in our pack yet.
Thanks for the quick reply.

And how the hell can a pup find its place is a pack of humans?

You may have guess by my comment that I don't go for this pack theory across species - sure his place in a pack of dogs but HUMANS are not his pack

I still maintain that its normal puppy behaviour and that by the constant ignoring the bad and rewarding the good behaviour pup will learn that its behaviour we humans dont like.

There are many gobby bolshie wee pups about who us owners are quick to call dominant,viscious, untrainable - because its hard work but Im afraid there is no quick cure - only hard work and consistancy from everyone in the family

louisdog

Our cocker x was a bit nippy too, we used to just "yelp" and then immediately stand up and walk out of the room or to the corner of the room and stand there, arms folded and back to him, and count up to 100. He realised that he mustn't be rough or he would not get any attention, and he soon stopped.