Discipline with new puppy?

shootist · Post by **shootist** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 5:05 pm

Hi guys. I got a WPG puppy this past weekend. He is 8 weeks old. What suggestions do you have for letting him know to stop doing something? I know he is just a pup, but I need to have some control over him. My three main problems are:

1. Biting. He likes to play bite, especially my 6 year old. When he starts play biting me I just hold his mouth shut and tell him "bad". My six year old can't hold his mouth shut.

2. Jumping. He likes to jump on people.

3. Going where he shouldn't. Example... he keeps going under my front porch. I don't wnat him to go under there. I pull him out and scold him but he goes right back.

I don't want to put him in his crate as punishment, since that is supposed to be his "safe" place. Dad used to "spank" them with newspapers, but I don't want to scare him from loud noises since I hopefully will be shooting birds over him.

What do you do to correct a puppy?

Post by **kninebirddog** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 5:30 pm

Q1. Biting. He likes to play bite, especially my 6 year old. When he starts play biting me I just hold his mouth shut and tell him "bad". My six year old can't hold his mouth shut.

What I like to do is take 2 fingers and place them side ways in the mouth with my thumb holding under the jaw and with the other hand hold behind the head..this is so that the pup can not get your fingers out of his mouth and you can restrain the pup so he can't get hurt...when the pup stops struggleing you ask for the fingers rolling them back and the pup will open his mouth take fingers out then place hand in front of his mouth the pup should lick your hand...If the pup offers to even mouth your hand repeat above ...I have found this method to work the quickest with the best results over the long term

Q2. Jumping. He likes to jump on people.

This is very common with little pups...There are lots of little tricks that one can do here ...Having only one pup makes it easier...I would try a few things...one is grabbing the front paws and firmly hold them and keep the pup in an upward position verytime the pups jumps...
another techinque that can bee used along with the previous one is once the pup is one the ground is to take one hand under the flank area and the other by the collar and simply place the pup ( don't not be rough just set him ) to your side and when the pups go to move lift up when the pup stops squirming and squiggling around place back down..movement is up and hold settled and still is placed back down..when down and standing give the pup a few strokes down the back

Q3. Going where he shouldn't. Example... he keeps going under my front porch. I don't wnat him to go under there. I pull him out and scold him but he goes right back.

Barricade these areas or when in these areas have the pup on a lead...If you do not have control of the pup and he gets under something and you can't not stop the behaviour at the time of the infraction which is before he starts to go under.....reprimanding once you have him and have drug him out only is punishing for him allowing you to get him

Post by **ezzy333** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 5:50 pm

I think you will have to put up with having a puppy for a while. Yu can work gently at correction but you have a puppy and not a robot. Woork on the biting and jumping. there is nothing wrong with a slap or what ever when you want him to stop.

As far as going where you don't want it to, the correction is to fix it so it cant get under the porch. Remember you have a puppy, and you won't have instant control. Thats why they stay a pup for a year so it gives you time to train the behavior you find acceptible.

Good luck and enjoy.

Ezzy

NDBDHunter · Post by **NDBDHunter** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 11:51 am

Putting the pup in the kennel is not a bad thing. Especially if you can't pay attention to him/her at that moment. Even if you scold the pup before putting him/her in there it shouldn't sour the dog to the kennel. Just be sure you catch or scold the pup while it's in the act so it knows what it has done wrong.

Post by **Ayres** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:19 pm

As for the "going where he's not supposed to go" thing, one thing you may want to try is really keeping an eye on him and set him up to fail. I know this sounds harsh, but tempt him a little bit. Then correct him before he goes under the porch and, if possible, just as he thinks about it. The best correction would probably be a verbal warning while tugging a check cord.

Done consistently, every time the dog thinks about going under the porch he'll be greeted by your verbal warning and a tug on the check cord. (When you can't watch him like a hawk, make sure he doesn't have the opportunity to go under the porch to ensure consistency.) Eventually the pup won't want to go under the porch because every time he gets close he has been corrected by you.