We have a nine week old lab - Monty - and we are having a lot of
trouble with him. Despite trying to handle him properly (we have bought
and read a number of books on dog behaviour and handling) he is
developing bad habits and his behaviour is getting worse.

Typical behaviour includes peeing in the house, nipping and biting, and
chewing just about anything in sight. He will 75% of the sit in
command, but rarely 'Comes' and won't respond to any other command.

He will last the night with out peeing, in the house and waits until we
let him out into the garden, but during the daytime, he occasionally
pees in the house, especially when he is excited.

The process of him chewing or nipping and us telling him "Off" has just
turned into a game to him and we are unsure of what to do.

Obviously the biting and nipping is a great concern becasue we have
young children in the house.

Matt MacLeod wrote:
We have a nine week old lab - Monty - and we are having a lot of
trouble with him. Despite trying to handle him properly (we have
bought and read a number of books on dog behaviour and handling) he is
developing bad habits and his behaviour is getting worse.

Typical behaviour includes peeing in the house, nipping and biting,
and chewing just about anything in sight. He will 75% of the sit in
command, but rarely 'Comes' and won't respond to any other command.

Yup, this is typical puppy behavior. You've had him for at most two weeks, I
assume? The fact that he sits 75% of the time at 9 weeks means that you are
making excellent progress. Chewing and teething is best dealt with by
removing enticing chewables from his reach, and providing a steady supply of
acceptable chewables, such as toys and edible "bones." Within the last few
months there was a long discussion of methods for inhibiting puppy biting
here. I suggest you do a google search on "puppy biting" restriced to this
ng to find it. (Didn't your children teeth or suck their thumbs or a
pacifier? Make the connection.)

He will last the night with out peeing, in the house and waits until
we let him out into the garden, but during the daytime, he
occasionally pees in the house, especially when he is excited.

He is very young, and you are still in the process of housebreaking him. The
fact that he makes it through the night means he is making good progress.
I'm sure it is in your books, but instead of "letting him out" you should be
taking him out to the same spot each time (after meals, naps, and play, at
least), using a repeated phrase when he begins to relieve himself, and
praising performance to the skies. Expect to do this for a number of weeks.
And of course treat the accidents with something like Nature's Miracle to
remove the odor.

The process of him chewing or nipping and us telling him "Off" has
just turned into a game to him and we are unsure of what to do.

See above.

Obviously the biting and nipping is a great concern becasue we have
young children in the house.

With your help, he will grow out of it.

"Matt MacLeod" wrote in message
news:2005101711284016807%matthewmacleod@maccom...
We have a nine week old lab - Monty - and we are having a lot of
trouble with him. Despite trying to handle him properly (we have
bought
and read a number of books on dog behaviour and handling) he is
developing bad habits and his behaviour is getting worse..
Typical behaviour includes peeing in the house, nipping and biting,
and
chewing just about anything in sight.

Hi Matt,
He's not developing bad habits, he's being a puppy and a young one
at that. Remember when you read child care books so you were
prepared
and then you had them and there was reality? It's the same for pups
They are hard work.

He will 75% of the sit in
command, but rarely 'Comes'

That's pretty good for the sits but keep practricing and rewarding
him. Make your self more interesting and encouraging so he wants to
come to you. Call him when he is not being distracted so you are more
likely to have a successful outcome and it becomes a habit.

and won't respond to any other command.

What sort of commands are you trying to teach him ? He can't learn
everything
at once.

He will last the night with out peeing, in the house and waits
until we
let him out into the garden,

That is really good for a nine week puppy. Be grateful

but during the daytime, he occasionally
pees in the house, especially when he is excited..

Make sure he has enough opportunities to wee outside.
You have to be vigilant and watch for the signs he is gong to wee.
He can't help weeing out of excitement. His bladder is small and the
muscles aren't strong yet. Its very important that he gets lots of
praise and fuss when he goes outside
and ignore any accidents inside .
Alison

in article 2005101711284016807%matthewmacleod@maccom, Matt MacLeod at
wrote on 10/17/05 5:28 AM:

We have a nine week old lab - Monty - and we are having a lot of
trouble with him. Despite trying to handle him properly (we have bought
and read a number of books on dog behaviour and handling) he is
developing bad habits and his behaviour is getting worse.

Hi, Matthew...

I'm really glad that you bought some books - most folks don't bother. But
are any of your books specifically about puppies? One handles puppies much
differently than adult dogs. If you don't have a book about puppies, I
suggest that you get one.

Typical behaviour includes peeing in the house,

This isn't a behavior "problem" - He just hasn't been housebroken yet. Nine
weeks is quite early to expect any great compliance. I suggest that you buy
a crate if you don't have one, then do a Google search on "crate training
puppy" (not in quotes). Or your puppy book should have some information for
you. You may also want to adjust your expectations - I really don't expect
even *good* compliance with housetraining until the puppy is about 4 months
old, and some dogs don't develop good control and reliability until they're
6 months. Get a good enzymatic cleaner like Nature's Miracle and after you
clean up the spot, saturate it with that stuff and let it dry.

nipping and biting, and

Also not a behavior "problem" - this is normal puppy behavior. It is up to
you to teach him that putting a human hand in his mouth is not acceptable.
One way is when he nips you, yelp LOUDLY, and ignore him. If you're playing
with him or petting him, STOP. The yelping tells him in dog talk that he has
hurt you, and by ignoring him, he learns that nipping makes all the fun
STOP. You should be very consistent with this.

When I have a die-hard nipper (and I've had more than my share!), every time
the little sucker puts his mouth around my hand, I gently but firmly grasp
his jaw (upper or lower, doesn't matter). Brace yourself for a moment of
pressure from those baby needle teeth - I've never had one puncture me yet,
but it can get uncomfortable! You see, dogs don't really like the taste of
human skin. Hang on for a moment - the puppy will start to try to spit your
hand out of his mouth. I hold them for just a moment longer, then say "DROP
IT" as I release the jaw. If you do this when you feel pressure from his
tongue, you will teach him to spit something out of his mouth on that
command. But I want my puppies to learn that if you put a hand in your
mouth, it's going to STAY THERE until I decide it's time to let go.

Then offer him your hand again - if he puts his mouth around it, repeat the
procedure. Usually by the third offer, you'll see him thinking about it and
deciding not to mouth your hand.

chewing just about anything in sight.

This is also not a behavior problem - it's the way a puppy explores his
environment! It is not only normal for a puppy to do this - it is essential
to learning. Your job as his surrogate parent is to make sure you "puppy
proof" his environment - don't leave things out that he can hurt himself on,
and supervise him at all times. When he grabs something inappropriate, grab
a toy of his that *is* appropriate and direct him away from the thing that
is not. This is a stage that all puppies go through and he will outgrow it
eventually. But you must teach him what's appropriate to chew on and what
isn't.

I always suggest tying a puppy to you with a 10-foot piece of clothes line
whenever he is not in his crate. This way you will always have him in your
sight - you can stop him if he's chewing something inappropriate, or if he's
about to have an accident, you can pick him up and take him outside.

He will 75% of the sit in
command, but rarely 'Comes' and won't respond to any other command.

I hope that you understand that puppies aren't born understanding English,
nor are they born trained. He doesn't respond because he hasn't learned yet!
He's just a baby - barely more than an infant. It can take many months to
train a dog to respond well to commands, and his baby brain isn't even ready
for that kind of training. I suggest that you find a puppy class in your
area. You may also want to get a book on play training. You can start
teaching him what commands mean now, but he won't be ready for serious
training until he's more mature - 5 or 6 months minimum.

You say you have young children in the house. Would you expect a 2-year-old
to respond to a written command? I hope not! Why? Because he can't read yet!
Your puppy is a young "child" dog. He needs to be schooled, just like a
young child.


He will last the night with out peeing,

That is exceptional for a 9-week-old puppy!

in the house and waits until we
let him out into the garden, but during the daytime, he occasionally
pees in the house, especially when he is excited.

Okay, so you know this. Anticipate it! I've had puppies that have to pee
every 10 to 30 minutes! Take them out immediately after eating, drinking,
playing, or waking up from a nap. Watch him closely - if you notice him
sniffing around a place where he's peed before, pick him up and take him
outside. When you can't watch him, put him in his crate.

The process of him chewing or nipping and us telling him "Off" has just
turned into a game to him and we are unsure of what to do.

Follow my advice above. Dogs will always do things that reward them in some
way. If you notice that your puppy has made a game of something, DON'T PLAY.
Be a post. Freeze. If you have learned a particular method for dealing with
an issue and he has made a game of it, if you don't know an alternative
method, either Google it, look it up in some puppy books, or come to this
list and ask for suggestions.

Obviously the biting and nipping is a great concern becasue we have
young children in the house.

This is normal and he will outgrow it. You may have to teach your children
how to avoid getting nipped. Don't allow them to engage in rough play with
him. Always supervise when the kids are interacting with the dog - always!

You can google "dogs and kids" for a lot more information.

Hope this helps, and keep us posted on your progress!

Do you mind if I ask why you chose to get a puppy rather than an older dog?
I teach puppy classes, and I'm really interested in knowing what motivates
people to get puppies. I'd also like to know more about what you were
expecting, if you did any reading about raising puppies, etc. I'm not asking
to be a smart-ass - it's just that I don't think a lot of people know what
they're getting into, and I see a lot of high expectations like yours
(coming when called, understanding commands without training, instant
housebreaking). I'm curious to know how you developed those expectations. It
would really help me in dealing with clients.

Kind Regards,

Tracy

I might add:

If you have been playing rough with your dog, you must stop or play
differently! Your dog does not know the difference between acceptable
and non-acceptable forms of play aggression, so if you or anyone in your
household plays with your dog by teasing, poking, wrestling, tossing
clothing for your dog to grab and pull, etc., you must stop immediately.

If you must indulge in that type of play, use pull toys, rope, or other
non-personal parts or clothing, so the dog learns pulling and grabbing
is OK for toys -- but not people.

n

Hi Matt

I don't know if it is of any interest to you, but I'd like to tell you how i
handled my dogs' puppyhood.

I didn't have high expectations, in other words i was prepaired for
accidents happening now and then until the puppy was 4-5 months old. I got
my puppies at 8 and 7 weeks old. For the first weeks i would not let the
puppy be unsupervised - even small puppies can do alot of stupid things =).
I would let the puppy run around the house, but mostly it wanted to be where
i was. When it wandered off i went to see what it was up to, and usually
that would be enough to get it to follow me back. Sometimes it had accidents
with me in the room, sometimes it had wandered off and i found the puppy
peeing. It was a nuisance when it happened on a carpet, but i tried not to
get stressed by it.
I guess my point is that even if accidents happen it doesn't mean the dog
will never get housebroken.

When they were young they would nip and bite, irritating to say the least.
When stuffing toys in their mouths, wimping or saying no didn't help, i
refused to play for a while. Then invited the puppy to play again when it
had calmed down.
I can see how the nipping and biting could be a worse problem when you have
kids. I have very little experience of small children and dogs. I remember
being told not to complain and leave the puppy alone if it bothered me =)

Disclaimer:
None of the above are recommendations. More of a reminder that there are no
absolute truths, all owners and dogs are different and may have different
needs and goals =)

Rosa

From: "Rosa"

Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2004 02:01:00 +0300
Subject: Vomiting - should I worry?

My older dog has been a puker almost all her life,
if she drinks too fast - burp, up it comes again.
If she hasn't eaten in a while, burp - there's a
pile of undigested kibble in froth on the floor.

No vet has ever found anything wrong with her,
and she doesn't seem to suffer from it, she
doesn't strain to throw up, and has even thrown
up while walking, and continued to walk..

She also sometimes throw up bile if she hasn't
eaten in the morning, so does a friends dog.

When they have breakfast they sometimes throw up
froth and part of their breakfast. We've figured
that if their stomachs are empty for too long,
they get irritated.

My dog doesn't throw up much anymore as long as
she gets a little breakfast and a late night snack,
my friends dog is ok with a light breakfast and
late dinner, doesn't need a late night snack if
she gets breakfast.

Your dog might throw up for some other reason,
taking him to the vet would be the safest solution -
but trying a late night snack shouldn't hurt =)


From: "Rosa"
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2004 15:13:42 +0300
Subject: Near the end of my rope....

I have a dog with SA too, the clingy type -
following me around. Even though I have
been very lazy, she has gotten better.

When she was younger I would tell her to wait
for me in another room. The same thing outside -
"I'll be right back" and then I would walk away.

After a few times I would walk round a corner,
and then come back. She learnt pretty fast that
I will not flush myself down the toilet even if
she isn't there to watch me. I can leave her alone _
outside_, and sometimes in the car - but at home
it is usually max 30min before she howls.

There is medication too, not sedatives but psych.med.
for dogs. It won't cure him, but it might make training
easier. There is also an evaporator with dog appeasing
pheromones, D.A.P. that might help.

If you want to work on the problems, then you could
use the drugs and pheromones to make it a little bit
easier - it won't do any harm anyway.

Rosa

From: "Rosa"
Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 14:08:33 +0200
Subject: Dog stealling food

I've only had to deal with dogs stealing food from
children a couple of times. What worked then was
making the dog give up the food before it had the
chance to eat it, and scolding it a bit.

Sometimes kids don't understand that if they shove
their food into a dogs face it will take it as an
invitation, so teach the children not to tease the dog.

When it comes to dogs that steal food from tables,
sometimes it helps to catch the dog "redpawed" and
discipline it, but only if you catch the dog in the
act.

I beleive that with some dogs the temptation to steal
is so big, that to get them to give up their habit
isn't really worth the effort - supervision is easier.

In my family we had a dog that would steal anything,
even if she wasn't going to eat it, so whenever the
table was set, someone kept an eye on her. After a
while the other dog in our family took on the job of
guarding the dinner table - she would lie under it
and growl if the "thief" came too near, very practical.

I think your dog needs something to do, he is probably
very bored and has found something entertaining to do.

Negative attention is better than no attention.

So longer walks, let him use his brain.

Rosa


From: "Rosa"
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2004 02:53:32 +0300
Subject: travel sick


Most puppies seem to grow out of it. My male used
to be car sick, he didn't even want to get into the
car. I think he was about 6-7 months when it got
better, he could stand up to 2-3h without any problems,
some panting - but sometimes he would just lie down
and relax. Today he is 2 y old, and has no problems
at all.

Rosa

From: "Rosa"
Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 00:16:31 +0300
Subject: knee problem

He doesn't have a luxating knee. The vet that
suggested waiting is an orthopedic vet.

From what I understood my dogs knee menisc might
heal, but if it does heal it should do so within
6 months.

If someone has experience of this kind of injury,
and how it was treated, I'd be very thankful for
any information on the healing process, with or
without surgery.

Rosa