Nipping the nipping in the bud?

[Jeri Jessee]

I would be hard pressed to smack a 4 month old puppy that I'd only had for 2 weeks for nipping. I would be more inclined to say NO BITING very harshly and redirect her to something she is allowed to be mouthy with (chew toy).

 

Maggie never bit me but she chewed on a lot of things in the house when I first got her (4 1/2 mos). But she grew out of it when she stop teething.

 

Her itchiness may also have something to do with her behavior---Maggie went thru a very itchy stage with seasonal allergies and she was acting like a complete wild thing.

 

You really have to establish a routine for the crate and be consistent. If you're sure she is not in some sort of discomfort (needs to go potty, the itching, etc) then you have to just ignore her. I would be shocked if she doesn't quit.

 

Good luck, its really hard to raise a puppy. Maggie was my first in 15 years and I've had to learn everything from scratch again. You can do it.

[Oko]

When my sister's dog (not a border collie) was a puppy, he could be quite mouthy. One thing that helped that you could try is we would do exercises with him when he WAS calm (and relatively sleepy still!), doing stuff for five minutes at a time. We did training sessions with reaching over his head, grabbing at him, handling his paws, running past him, shuffling past him, and skipping, all while feeding him a continuous stream of treats for not trying to nip/mouth clothing and hands. Gradually, he got treats spaced farther apart when he could control himself more, until he didn't react at all to these things.

 

He could get pretty excited when someone squealed after he nipped (haha! I've got her now!), right after he nipped, just getting up abruptly and walking into the corner of the room and facing the wall helped.

 

Just a warning, not all puppies lie low after having been swat. My sister's was not a puppy to be smacked. She mainly trained with positive reinforcement and time outs (putting him in his crate/leaving the room), but she tried it once when he was caught up in a naughty puppy mood; he mouthed her back. Not hard, but pointedly. She figured it was a fair response to being hit and didn't try it again.

 

Good luck, it can be pretty rough!

[Tiga's_mom]

It's really great to get some perspective. The day seems to have turned around a bit. She really hasn't been so bad today. I keep telling myself that it will get better and to keep my patience. She's been crating well today as well and didn't even cry when she was left alone while we ran out to do some errands. I know she's young and we're all still adjusting.

 

How much walking do you all do with your puppies when they're this young? I don't want to over exercise her, but I want her to get enough to tire her out.

[Tiga's_mom]

Bah! It's just one thing after another. Now I'm pretty sure her UTI is back. She peed on the floor again this evening and was having trouble peeing again outside. Normally she only has one pee and we went on a little walk and she peed 6 times with very little coming out.

[bcnewe2]

little urine coming out is a good(bad) sign for UTI but just for perspective, Faye pees about 3 times almost every time I let her out, if I let her hang out for a while.

 

To bad you don't have a place Annie could run around off lead, it really helps the zoomies, I also let Faye and Dew battle it out in the evenings, unless they get to rowdy I really don't mind them wrestling. It tires everyone out and Dew calls the shots so it works for us.

 

I have 15 give or take acres where we walk almost everyday. We usually end up at the pond or a stocktank. I don't have anyone on lead so to my 1/2 hour walk they do about 20 times that much in running and chasing each other or any little critter they might scare up. Faye's latest is turtles. She wants to carry them around in her mouth. NOT! That's not counting the countless times they run around the yard while I water the garden or tend animals. Unless Faye is going to get into sheep she always come out with me.

 

And BTW...if all anyone got out of what I wrote in the above posts is that I think she(the OP) should hit her dog, then you really weren't reading what I wrote.

[Jeri Jessee]

How much walking do you all do with your puppies when they're this young? I don't want to over exercise her, but I want her to get enough to tire her out.

 

I live in the city (suburbs) and when Maggie was young, I took her for a walk around our block once or twice a day, usually in the morning before work. Luckily I have a yard so I was able to let her play off leash frequently during the day. After she had all her shots, I took her to the dog park to play and we had a field trip of sorts every weekend to Home Depot, etc and walked all around the store. We played a lot of ball in the house.

 

Somebody else mentioned the mental thing...I do think that tires them out as well...puppy class will be good because you'll have things to practice every night.

[Tiga's_mom]

She normally only pees once when we're out. Twice at the very most. She was acting just like she did when we first figured out she had a UTI. I just took her out again and she's acting exactly like she did when she had it before and she has a bit of diarrhea. I'm so sad. Such a rollarcoaster.

 

We do have a backyard that's mostly fenced in and she did have a good run out there this evening which really seemed to tire her out. Her and Tiga do play quite a bit but he's older and she's relentless so I don't let it go on for too long. We did take a few more short walks today and that really seemed to help as well.

 

One day at a time.

[Jeri Jessee]

Poor girl and poor you---hard when they don't feel well. I hope both of you will have a restful night.

[MommaLove]

Frustrating day already. My other half is ready to get rid of her. Some days are better then others I guess. It's just really frustrating when she doesn't listen and then cries and barks and goes crazy when she's crated. I even took her for a longer walk this morning hoping that would help. I'm trying really hard not to take it out on her. I'm just a bit lost on how to deal with her. Sorry for the vent but I really want this to work without it tearing my house apart.

 

Oh, sorry! What are you doing to encourage her to listen? With our dogs, I carry treats on me in the beginning. Every time they focus on me, they are rewarded. When they respond quickly to my requests, they hit the "jackpot" and get several treats at once. I use clicker training, but it can work without the clicker as well. Rewarding all focused attention means they are more likely to listen when they're worked up. When they don't listen, into the crate they go. They can come out again when they're calm and quiet.

 

Your pup may go crazy in the crate now, but she will learn very quickly that the only way to come out is to be calm. Once she figures that out, the craziness will stop. At first, let her out after 30 seconds of calm. Work your way up to 1min, then 2mins, then 5mins. Soon calmness will be the default!

 

Juno was freaking out about being crated the first two days we had her, but I only let her out when she stopped crying and scratching. By day three, she was crating calmly. I also give her bones & Kong when she is calm, if I'm not ready to let her out.

[Tiga's_mom]

The only thing that she really likes is cooked liver and chicken hearts. I carry that with me most of the time. She'll focus on me more when I have that. We've also been using a clicker which we've had some success with. She ended up having a pretty good day after yesterday. We're back to the vet at noon so they can take another urine sample to get more meds for her UTI. I was up every couple of hours with her last night to go out and try to pee.

[Lewie'sMom]

Tammy, a word of encouragement on the behavioral front:

 

Lewie was the naughtiest puppy I've ever had, but he has matured into the best dog I've ever had. These are phases and as you said, this too shall pass (one of my favorite mantras ). Puppy is stubborn but you have to be a little more stubborn. Puppy will get frustrated, but you have to stay calm (it's obvious you already know this and practice it).

 

Lewie was a terribly naughty puppy. His two big things were mouthing and tugging on pant legs. I believe he viewed them both as horrible enemies needing to be killed. Every time I tried to hold him in my lap it was all-out war on my hands. After three weeks I was beginning to feel and look like hamburger. I was at my wits end to figure out how to stop the teeth-to-skin contact. I was beginning to think I was going to lose the training battle on this front and I don't give up easily.

 

I remember the turning point so clearly that I still chuckle about it. He was in my lap and all I wanted was a cuddle with my darling little man. He'd have none of it and was, as usual, treating my hands like his mortal nemesis. Mentally, I was racing through my training files and finally asked myself, "What would (dog) mother do?"

 

I grabbed the scruff of his neck and gave it a little shake accompanied with a growl. He stopped cold, looked up at me as if to say, "Well, why didn't you just say so in the first place?" The look on his face was priceless. I swear, that was the end of the mouthing.

 

My point to this story is, there is probably a discipline method that will resonate with her more than others. You just have to figure out what it is.

 

There are two books in my personal library that I've owned for decades. I still go back to their methods time after time. One that may help you is Carol Lea Benjamin's Mother Knows Best - The Natural Way to Train Your Dog. It's available on Amazon for less the $25.

 

 

Keep the faith. You will get this puppy trained into a great dog!

[Tiga's_mom]

Oh Patty! You made me laugh so hard! I needed that. Something seems to have clicked in her last night and today. She's actually responding to "NO BITE"! I don't know what happened or why but hopefully the trend will continue.

 

We just got back from the vet. She actually cuddled in my arms very calmly on the drive there. They took a urine sample with a needle into her bladder. We gave her a 2nd de-wormer this morning too and we saw them in her poop. Yuck! We're waiting on the results from the urine sample to see where we go from here with antibiotics. She's quietly sleeping in her crate again. I think she's starting to get used to her routine a bit now and we're starting to understand her signs as well. She seems to get the most nippy and zoomy when she's hungry or has to poop.

[bcnewe2]

Oh yeah....the poop zoomies. It happens here too. I think its a sign that for some reason isn't always clear to me that they have to go.

[Tiga's_mom]

Just a little update on little Annie. We got the results back from her urinalysis and just as we suspected, it's back and needs more antibiotics. She went back in today for a shot that will last her 2 weeks and she'll get another in 2 weeks. Other then that (and the itching) she's doing a lot better! Her nipping has decreased substantially! She's still not a huge fan of the crate but will go in with good treats. We're working on it. She's improved so much that friends have noticed, the staff at the vet noticed and even strangers that I see frequently outside when I walk her have noticed. I suspect I was just being too impatient and we all needed to adjust to the new life. She's extremely smart. She's also growing like crazy! She was 21.4lbs when we took her to the vet the first time on June 5th and she's now up to 26.4lbs!

 

Do puppies shed their puppy fur? She seems to be shedding and I'm wondering if that could be contributing to the itching.

 

So overall things are going well. We fall more in love with her every day. <3

[bcnewe2]

I've not noticed puppies shedding to much. I'm wondering if she was carrying a big enough worm load that her hair is effected so she's losing part of it. Or her diet was poor before she got to you, another reason she could be shedding.

 

Let's see what others have to say.

 

Nice to see the improvements. Everyday makes one more day to being "home"!

[urge to herd]

Tammy, how many UTI's has Annie had? Is this the second one or has she had more? If she's had more than a couple, I'd consider having a closer look at her.

 

Getting the urine cultured, if that hasn't been done, is helpful. Also some little girl pups have a misshapen vulva, which leads to a few drops of urine being held there, which leads to infection.

 

Might not be anything, but it might be worth that closer look.

 

Glad she's feeling better and doing better!

 

Ruth and Agent Gibbs

[Tiga's_mom]

This is her second since we got her on June 3rd. It came back 2-3 days after she'd stopped her antibiotics. They took her urine sample with a needle this time and sent it away for testing that took 48 hours. They said it was a growing bacteria, e-coli bacteria, or something similar to that (my other half took the call, I was napping). He gave her different antibiotics for it this time in a needle and we get another in 2 weeks. If that doesn't work then we'll start looking into other potential problems. I will mention the misshapen vulva. Poor thing has been through so much already.

[Tiga's_mom]

I've not noticed puppies shedding to much. I'm wondering if she was carrying a big enough worm load that her hair is effected so she's losing part of it. Or her diet was poor before she got to you, another reason she could be shedding.

 

Let's see what others have to say.

 

Nice to see the improvements. Everyday makes one more day to being "home"!

 

I didn't realize those things could cause shedding. She's not shedding a ton, but enough that I see her little fuzz balls of fur around the house and in her kennel.

 

Another benefit I've seen since we got her is that I've lost 10lbs in the last month! She's been keeping me pretty busy.

[bcnewe2]

They don't cause them to lose hair but being unhealthy does so if the worms were bad enough to cause her health to be compromised then hair loss might happen.

It makes for a dull coat and just an off look about them. Not to mention the little pot bellies not puppy fat bellies but pot bellies that look strangly big.

 

I wish Faye had me losing weight instead of my mind sometimes!

[Gideon's girl]

Yes, puppies slowly shed their puppy coat as their adult coat comes in. Worms keep a pup from getting all the nutrition in their food. The lack of nutrition affects every aspect of coat quality. You'll see a difference pretty quickly when the worms are no longer an issue and you'll see quite a difference in type of coat as her adult coat comes in.

[bcnewe2]

I guess with all the hair round here I've never noticed anyone shedding a puppy coat. But I've seen yucky hair from other things.

[Tiga's_mom]

Thanks! I'm hoping the itching will stop when her adult fur comes in.

 

Our biggest issue right now is that she will not leave Tiga alone. We've noticed some scabs around his neck from her nipping him. He doesn't really tell her to back off. We have to intervene and crate her to get her to settle down. I don't want Tiga's neck to get worse so we're pretty much eliminating play time for now. We generally walk them together but bitey face is not allowed right now. We've been putting some polysporin on his scabs. Any other suggestions to help it heal? Also, any suggestions to keep her from pestering Tiga? He's been very patient but I can tell he's annoyed at times.

[Tiga's_mom]

I'm finding puppy life a bit more overwhelming this time around. There's so much information these days online about what to do and what not to do. We're hanging in there and most days are great. I see her progressing and learning every day. She gets more affectionate every day. Some days are frustrating, today was one of them. I guess such is life with a puppy. Overall, she's doing well. We're trying to have a good balance of letting her be a puppy and training. She still won't stop pestering Tiga and she has a TON of energy. We were supposed to start puppy classes this week but they got cancelled as there were only 2 of us signed up. I did find a substitute though and we're starting a clicker training puppy class on the 9th. I'm excited about that. I think it will be good for all of us.

 

I'm a little nervous about this weekend. We had a trip planned long before Annie came into the picture and so she's going to stay at a friends place. Our friend has her own boarding for dogs but is bringing Annie into her home with her pack. Tiga is going with a different friend. I'm worried she'll think we're abandoning her. She hasn't even been here a month and I'm shipping her off for 4 nights! Any suggestions to make it easier on her/me? I'm a nervous Nellie as it is.

[Gloria Atwater]

Is there any way to keep Tiga separated, like giving him his own part of the house, or keeping their outside times separate? Maybe give her x-pen space when he's roving around the house?

 

Also, I'm actually okay with a bit of corporal punishment, such as whacking with a newspaper when she's refusing to let Tiga alone. A big NO and a whack might do wonders to get the point across, and then separate them. Maybe it's not practical to keep them separated, and of course I don't advocate terrorizing puppies! But when they fixate on an undesirable behavior, such as pestering an older dog, I'm not above the occasional instant of shock to get their attention.

 

Best of luck with your little one.

 

~ Gloria

[bcnewe2]

I wouldn't worry about her thinking you're abandoning her. Puppies think in the minute. An older dog might really miss you, a puppy that gets proper feeding and attention should be fine for a few days.

Most of all, enjoy your trip. and try to enjoy the break you are getting from the little devil dog!

 

And keep saying it....this to shall pass. Look at Tiga as I look at Dew. Dew is 6 or so and she was a hellion as a pup. She is a wonderful stable calm adult. They do grow up and you'll miss the little puppy!