Puppy!

[epchick]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

The flip side is basically time out for the dog. If you're at home and he does something inappropriate (such as biting -- many puppies will do this playfully rather than agressively and have to learn that it isn't appropriate play with humans), then calmly put him in his crate for a little time out. He'll get the message before too long that biting = playtime's over.

That is totally opposite of what i've been always told to do with dogs. When I was at the Vets, they had a movie (or television show not sure which) but they were talking about puppies and how to train.

First of all, dogs HAVE to bite/chew. If you don't teach them when it is appropriate to do it, then it can lead to a volatile situation.

Dogs learn by playing with other dogs. So when your dog starts biting the other dogs, they will let your dog know when he's biting too hard. For people that don't have other dogs (like myself), we have to be the one to teach when a bite is too hard. You don't scold the dog, because he'll either not correlate the scolding w/ the bite or he'll learn that biting/chewing (since a lot of the time a puppy is essentially teething) is bad, and it really isn't.

So if your dog bites you too hard, you let out a yelp---one that is similar to what a puppy would do, and immediately give the dog a chew toy. This way the puppy learns that 1) biting that hard is unacceptable, 2) he'll learn what he's suppose to chew.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by epchick

That is totally opposite of what i've been always told to do with dogs. When I was at the Vets, they had a movie (or television show not sure which) but they were talking about puppies and how to train.

First of all, dogs HAVE to bite/chew. If you don't teach them when it is appropriate to do it, then it can lead to a volatile situation.

Dogs learn by playing with other dogs. So when your dog starts biting the other dogs, they will let your dog know when he's biting too hard. For people that don't have other dogs (like myself), we have to be the one to teach when a bite is too hard. You don't scold the dog, because he'll either not correlate the scolding w/ the bite or he'll learn that biting/chewing (since a lot of the time a puppy is essentially teething) is bad, and it really isn't.

So if your dog bites you too hard, you let out a yelp---one that is similar to what a puppy would do, and immediately give the dog a chew toy. This way the puppy learns that 1) biting that hard is unacceptable, 2) he'll learn what he's suppose to chew.

I know -- I've been told that, too, but (1) it didn't really work for us (maybe 'cause I really can't yelp ), and (2) our trainer, who has degrees in animal behavior and approaches everything based on research, told us to do it the way I described. They both get there, I guess, depending on the dog.

[epchick]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

I know -- I've been told that, too, but (1) it didn't really work for us (maybe 'cause I really can't yelp ), and (2) our trainer, who has degrees in animal behavior and approaches everything based on research, told us to do it the way I described. They both get there, I guess, depending on the dog.

You right. That is why I get aggrevated with the vets at the clinic I take my dog too, because they obviously don't understand that what they tell me to do doesn't work with my dog.

Before I had my chihuahua, I had a miniature poodle. The vet used to tell us to give him these breath mints (little balls, kinda like the icebreakers w/ liquid) to clear up his bad breath. They used to tell us to mix it in w/ bread or something so that he would eat them. Well the darn dog would pick the breath mint out of the bread, throw it somewhere else and eat the bread.

Just cause it works for some dogs, doesn't mean it works for all.