Sweet by day, Cujo by night

[Puppy Madness]

Buster is 3 months old, and in many ways he's a wonderful dog. But at night it's like someone wound him up. He's hyper, mouthy (I have the cuts on my hands and arms to prove it) and just can't settle down. It's been raining almost non-stop, so evening walks aren't happening, which I know would help. Also we've just decided we're not ok with him being on the couch (directly related to his "your body is my chew toy" behavior) and that's amped him up even more. 

 

We're tried:

 

1. Redirecting his chewing onto toys or bones (works for a minute or two)

2. Spray of water when he won't stop chewing (works for a minute or two)

3. Putting him outside (but it's cold and rainy -- don't like this)

4. Putting him in his kennel (don't like to do this till bedtime)

 

Any ideas, or do we just stay the course and ride it out? With appreciation...

[Teri & Clover]

I used to get sooo frustrated with the mouthiness. It's so much better now. One thing that worked for me for mouthiness was putting on her leash and tying it to something stable and immovable. I would sit on the floor and play with her. The minute her teeth touched me, I would say, "Play nice." and leave the room for 15 seconds. Then I would come back and play with her again. Each time her mouth touched me I would repeat the process, but stay away for five seconds longer. Within a week, her mouthiness stopped. Occasionally, I have to retrain because I have people who like to wrestle with her and they allow her teeth to touch them. (Very frustrating.) Good luck! It does get better.

[Aimee Santa Monica]

:)   Sounds exactly like what we went through in our first few months with Storm!    He seemed to like to bite me more as i wiped off his feet, so i took his favorite stuffed toy and tied a rope to it to redirect him everytime he started to bite me or children! That helped us!  We tried spraying water, with a hand held spray bottle, but he only barked more at it.  Most times we would put him in the bathroom to calm down a bit, for a short while.    A few months later, and he does'nt do that anymore!  I'm so glad!  My hands have heeled!

[Monica & Quincy & Charmin too]

We're also getting our puppy in about 8 weeks :-).  My son (will be 8 next month) tends to have allergies to dog saliva (not sure about the pup yet)so with the understanding of how mouthy pups are.....is there any harm in putting a soft muzzle on the pup when he's being mouthy with my son?  (this will be our first dog) Thanks!

[Adina P]

Hmmm...I don't think that's a good idea.  It's far too difficult of an 'immediate consequence' I think.  Plus initially puppies mouth and like to lick with a high frequency.  You'd have to constantly be taking it off and on and I don't think the pup would really learn from that.

[Pam & Trixie]

Glad to hear things are going alot better!

Trixie is starting to be a Cujo at night...So I would like to get it under control as soon as I can.

 

I do think part of Trixies Cujoness is ....the evening people let her get away with biting etc.  Grrr...Even if I ask them not to & tell them to tell her No & give her a chew toy.

[Susan]

I have a 9 month old labradoodle who also acts like Cujo...  I notice it seems to be when he is tired.  In the morning he is the sweetest dog ever.  His playful time is around 4-5 o'clock.  For instance, I took him for a walk before and he started attacking me in the street, very embarassing!  Now that he is 9 months old and 60 pounds he is getting much harder to control.  I put him in time out all the time, that is what the trainer suggested.  I usually don't do it for more than 3-5 minutes b/c he is a puppy (Although before I put him in it for about 20 minutes or so).  It usually calms him down and he stops.  He has been much less agressive as he is getting older, but today I feel like he took 10 steps back????  I would recommend getting him some good training asap, the earlier the better!!!   3-4 months is a perfect age.  If Chip's behavior doesn't get better I might seek the help of a dog behaviorist (which was recommended to me).  GOOD LUCK, keep me posted on any helpful info. also!!