A night with Bandit

[Bandit]

Hello Everyone

He runs over the the wine rack….. starts chewing the cork in the bottle nearly knocking it out of the rack..... I chase him away.... he runs over to the dining table and starts chewing on the wooden leg..... I give him a tap on the rump...... he growls, shows his teeth and runs away. Next thing I know he's come up behind me and is biting my PJ's along with a whole lot of skin ouch!!!
I give him a tap and look directly into those gorgeous black eyes and say firmly NO!!
He then runs over to the Lowchen Alfie and starts biting his floppy hears...... I hear poor Alfie yelp in pain and next thing I know there is a little dog fight happening where Alfie has had enough and quite frankly so have I :mad:

I know Bandit is still a baby at 11 weeks but he is driving me crazy :eek:
Any help is very welcome......
Angee

[jessi76]

11wks is a baby, who needs to be supervised at all times. if you can't supervise, then contain. use baby gates, a crate, and x-pen, or leash the pup TO you if necessary. a puppy-proof home is also a MUST. keep things like wine bottles out of reach and provide fun irrisistable puppy toys for chewing and playing. (also realize many people have lost furniture to teething pups, it happens. If it's a prized possession, block access to it)

If you've "had enough" and are going crazy now, go buy your ticket to the funny farm. Soon enough puppy antics will be replaced with adult antics.

[ciarasmom]

I would use Bitter Apple (a bad tasting spray you can get at the pet stores) on anything he's chewing on. Then its not so much YOU that is preventing him from chewing, but the object itself is unpleasant. In an emergency you might be able to make up a home-made version searching the web for a recipe. Follow your "no" with something he Should Do, that you can praise him for. Hand him a toy that is okay to chew on, or if he knows "Sit," have him sit, then praise him.
My approach is to try to not let them get into trouble in the first place, because they don't take punishment well, as you've noticed.
Normally I wouldn't use the crate as a form of punishment, but if a dog growled and bit at me, he would get a time out.

11 weeks is probably the start of teething, so ensure he has lots of things to chew on. Hang in there.
Brenda

[JazzysMom]

LOL We tried bitter apple with our older dog when she was young and eating everything we owned….. darned dog loved the stuff! So I'd suggest trying it on one or two items and see how your dog reacts.

Whenever Jazz would grab something she shouldn't have, I'd tell her "Leave it", take it away, and give her an acceptable chewing item.
When she had moods like your little guy, running from naughty behavior to naughty behavior, I'd tell her "NO", and hold her until she settled down.
Once she was calm, we'd head outside to burn off the energy {or in bad weather we'd find an active game to play} -- then she'd take a nap.
Reminded me a lot of my kids when they were two and nap time was nearing.

Growling at me is NOT acceptable EVER, period. She tried a few times when she was new here, and she'd simply be told "NO" and again, I'd hold her until she settled down. The body size was easy enough that I could hold her in such a way that she couldn't reach me with her teeth. She put up a good fight at first, but very quickly learned that it would get her no where.
Now I can do anything with or to her and she is perfectly fine.

We did use the crate for a "time out" space. It sat in the living room, and when she got too snarly w/the old dog or the cats, she would have to go in her crate for a few minutes. She could see them, but couldn't get near them.
This "punishment" did not affect her love of her crate.

[jenwilson]

I am SOOO glad my B was approximately 1.5 years when I adopted her. A teenage/adult/or senior pet is ideal for someone wanting to skip those hard puppy years. BRAT often has adult B's for adoption.

[JazzysMom]

Oh! I wouldn't trade those puppy days for ANYTHING! We had so much fun.

But then again, with my children the years that everyone else calls the "Terrible Twos" were my favorite years, so maybe it's just me. LOL

[Quercus]

Alot of great advice…again, I ditto, ditto, ditto what Brenda said. Try to set them up for success. I try not to use "no" too much, because it doesn't give the dog very much information. I try to give them something that they can do, instead... "off" "leave it"

I also like the technique described by Jazzysmom for mild growling. Holding onto them during a temper tantrum until they relax is a gentle way to let them know you are in charge, and growling won't work...ever.

[Duke]

2 more suggetions advised by friends to me (before I new Duke was Basenji that really worked!)

Lemon juice (fresh) in lieu of Bitter Apple - rub the lemon on things you don't want chewed . . . even works on your hands and arms!

A simple rolled up newspaper! I thought for sure this wouldn't work on my boy, but I when I tried it to get his attention to stop his behavior, I smacked my hand with it and boy did Duke stop and hide under the chair fast! I have never, ever touched him with the roll - yet - he respects that sound more than my voice. Go figure. Now that he's older, it's not necessary, because he will listen to my tone of voice most times. But when he doesn't, I find a newspaper!

[lauralopez]

We call it puppy proofing the house. At 11 weeks, you have to really make things difficult for a puppy to reach. I would suggest creating a section to put the puppy in as a time out. Use the baby gates and section out an area. No growling of any kind should be tolerated (no matter how cute it might seem).

Enjoy these times..however difficult they might be. The time passes by so quickly….

[Quercus]

A note about Bitter Apple. I have had quite a few clients that said their dog didn't respond to it. A trick that usually works is to open the dog's mouth and spray it right in, once. After that, even the most drooly lab seems to avoid the smell of the spray.

[Quercus]

@JazzysMom:

Oh! I wouldn't trade those puppy days for ANYTHING! We had so much fun.

But then again, with my children the years that everyone else calls the "Terrible Twos" were my favorite years, so maybe it's just me. LOL

I agree! I love the puppy stage…but it is tiring

And Jazzysmom...would you like to take an adorable, almost three year old boy off my hands? Of course I am just kidding (don't call children's services!) He has just reached that 'melt down with things don't go your way' stage...but the rest of this age is completely enjoyable!

[JazzysMom]

LOL, I'D do it in a heartbeart Andrea….but let's just say that particular stage was never my husband's favorite! LOL
As as matter of fact, the puppy stage wasn't exactly his favorite either!

Like they say, "Opposites Attract" . LOL

[Bandit]

LOL I must say that with each week passing, I am becoming more in tune with Bandit and his adorable puppy ways. What do they say "Patience is a Virtue!"

When I surface in the morning to start the day, I just love the way Bandit and Alfie run to greet me after I say "Good Morning Boys!"

Wouldn't trade that for anything!!!
Take Care
Angee

[ChaseandZahrasmom]

Angee,

You are so right about the good feeling you get when you wake up to those happy wagging tails. When my husband is deployed it really makes waking up in the morning bareable!

It is great when I get home from work too.

I dropped them off at a kennel today because we are going on a few days vacation before my husband deploys, we are leaving tomorrow but dropped them off today so we could get some running around done. It is so quiet sitting here right now without them. I don't think I could handle this house alone without the dogs!

Jenn