Puppy Raising 101

[Kara & Dexter]

Hello Everyone and Happy Holidays!

 

Dexter is now 14 weeks old and he's been a wonderful addition to our lives (It's hard to think of a time when we didn't have him and that was less than 2 months ago!). 

 

We are  having a little trouble with the puppy nipping though and his teeth seem to just get sharper.  We've tried gently rolling him on his back and softly holding the top of his nose down so he has to look us in the eye, we've tried a water bottle, we always redirect to something he is allowed to chew (like a toy), praise him when he is doing the behavior we want him to do, giving him time-outs in the kitchen behind a baby gate (which def calms him AFTER the incident) but I'm just wondering if anyone has done anything else that's been successful for them?  I know he's still a puppy and will eventually grow out of it but John has 3 nieces and nephews (very young still) and they're already a little afraid of an actual living moving puppy.  We supervise them whenever they're around each other but he thinks everything is a game and I'd hate for one of the kids to get nipped at.

 

Also.....we brought him home November 5 and he had a few accidents in the first two weeks.  For the last 4 weeks he's done wonderfully though (no accidents!).  He rings his bell when he wants to go out and even when visiting others homes he's done great.  Last night he woke from a little nap (I know you're supposed to always take puppies out right after a nap but we usually don't even have to remind him, he's right on the bell letting us know bc he loves being out) and was following my boyfriend around the kitchen.  He sat back down on the couch and Dexter walked right in front of him and started peeing on the living room floor.

 

I'm wondering if anyone has any insight as to why a puppy might do this behavior when he has been so good in the last month with letting us know he needs out?

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

First - the nipping.  In addition to what you're already doing, our puppy trainer suggested that each time Sedona nipped at us too hard we "yelp" - like a mother dog or litter-mate would if nipped too strongly.  The trainer said that rather than stopping mouthing altogether, we should help Sedona calibrate the intensity of her "biting".  As a two-year-old, Sedona knows how to use her moth in play, but never exerts pressure of any sort.

As for the peeing in the house after making so much progress - I think that's pretty typical of puppies.  We'd think that Sedona was successfully house-trained, then out of nowhere she'd have an "accident".  I think she was just experimenting to see what the rules really were.  After lots of steps forward, peppered by a few steps backward, she really finally "got it".

Good luck.  Dexter is a cutie!! 

[Christine & Shelby]

Agreed!   Yelping.... stopping play immediately, even pretending to lick your wound. 

Good news is... around 4 months, Dexter's puppy teeth will begin to come out - This is a great day!

Dexter is adorable!!!

[Jess and Pippin]

Dexter is a cutie.  Try giving him a toy to hold while you are playing (eg a rope).  That way the mouth is occupied!  As for the "accident", they happen.  Pippin had a few as well.  If we caught him "mid stream", we'd shout NO, which startled him, rushed him outside to finish the job and praised him outside.  We boarded Pippin when we were on vacation this summer (he was 8 months old).  He did great with the family we boarded, but had an accident when we got home.  It was almost like he forgot where the door was! 

[Kara & Dexter]

Thank you both.  It's nice to hear similar stories that end well after you have that moment of, "oh no he's been doing so well!"

[Becka]

Dexter is very cute! At 14 weeks puppies don't really have complete control over their bladders, so I'm guessing that because your boyfriend didn't immediately escort him outside after the nap, he just let loose when he had to. I wouldn't consider it a setback. Sadie was more or less completely housebroken at 12 weeks, but she continued to have an accident once or week or so for another month, and it was always my fault for not paying enough attention to her signals. (And once was on 4th of July because of all the fireworks.) Sadie was also a big nipper for a while there and I found that the yelping method (and then turning my back to her and crossing my arms) helped a lot, although what helped most was being able to take her to the dog park regularly after she had all her shots. It sounds like you're doing a great job and Dexter is a lucky pup!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Both behaviors sound perfectly normal for a 14 week puppy. I used the "yelp" too and DH didn't. He didn't feel it would matter. Well needless to say my two nipped me a whole lot less and he had the scratches to prove it. He also played with them a lot more at that age and I think they did it more when they were excited. Not sure when it stopped. Sometime soon after all those razor sharp puppy teeth fall out.
Potty training is a process and there will be some " oops" even at 4-5-6 months. We got our money's worth out of the Pet Spot-bot!

[Moe]

My puppy is 14 weeks also and she does get bighty sometimes. When new people come in or she gets excited she tends to nip. Holding her on her side with my hand in a "C" until she is completely calm seems to work. Afterward I give her a chew toy to redirect. Works pretty good. My vet said it would get worse before it gets better as her puppy teeth fall out and adult ones come in.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Perhaps when the children are visiting you could us an ex-pen or child play yard to keep him separate from the kids for some of the time.  Doesn't matter who is in the pen - Dexter or the kids.