I can't afford to lose anymore clothes!

[Laura & Chewie]

Chewie (4 months) has a couple true, crazy puppy moments daily. Most of the time these are quite entertaining...running around the house at breakneck speed, etc. Something else he does that is not quite so entertaining is jumping up and grabbing our clothes, running away, coming back, playfully growling. Unfortunately we are wearing the clothes when he does this...LOL. I know it's his way of playing, but he has ruined a couple pair of pants and a shirt because ot this...those sharp baby teeth get stuck on the material.

I have tried ignoring him, standing still, turning my back, but when he's in this crazy mood, it doesn't seem to deter him. I frequently will tell him to sit, give him praise for that and he often will settle down. but this doesn't always work...depends on how wound up he is. Suggestions???

[renae]

I don't have any suggestions but hope someone does because Murphy (16 weeks on Tue) does the same thing but only to my 2 sons. He is obviously trying to play with them and mostly does it when they are running around in the yard playing but it's hard to teach him the difference between playing and nipping!

[Lynne B]

Well, you could put him on a long tether when he's in the house and stay out of range of his teeth when he runs around like that. Otherwise, if you can grab him right at the moment where he grabs your clothes pick him up sharply tell him 'no' and confine him for a very short time, like 2-5 minutes, then let him loose again and repeat this a million times until he figures it out

[Krista, Angel, and Toby]

I agree with Lynne's last suggestion. Angel would do that, but the only thing that worked was to constantly growl NO sharply while grabbing the scruff of her neck. She stopped for a while, but now she's testing it out again. But I do the same thing and she stops MUCH quicker than she had before.

It sounds harsh and punitive, but first of all, it works, and second of all, it's closer to what Momma dog would do. Once your puppy has calmed, then you praise your pup for something else after so they know you're not still ticked with them. But do be sure you set a clear boundary between one task and another. Walk a short distance away to literally distance yourself from the previous act and then praise when puppy follows.

It's worked for me. Hopefully it'll help.

[Kelly Gallagher]

We went through this but it was mainly with my son who is 10. The trainer told us to first keep a leash on Maddy and to step on the leash close to the collar so she has to go into a down position when she won't listen to the "off" or "down" command. She soon realized that this wasn't fun anymore. What tends to happen is our reaction to what the dog is doing is entertaining to the dog and she sees it as play so she keeps doing it. Stepping on the collar ended the play. The main time that we had a problem with this was in the moring when my son woke up. The trainer suggested that my son always have a couple of toys or a ball to throw so that he is in charge of the play. By engaging the dog in something fun right away seemed to do the trick. I have to say that all of this has worked. The leash being on at all times when she is not in the crate has been crucial to training her. She is now 6 months old and doing much better. We haven't had "holey clothes" in over a month and a half. Good luck!

[Krista, Angel, and Toby]

Oh, I never heard of that. I like that! Seems much easier than my method mentioned above! =0)

[Laura & Chewie]

Thanks so much. We do keep a leash on him at all times...it has proven to be a lifesaver many times! I do like the idea of stepping on the leash. I normally try to grab it (or him), but when he's crazy wild like that, he's much faster than me...oh to have half his energy. LOL.

[Mara, Sadie & Zoe]

I'm having the same problems (Sadie 21 weeks) Sometimes an angel and then she gets quite rowdy. I'd tried the tethering but the she grabs the leash with her mouth and tugs.

[Sally, Ditzy Mitzi & Sgt. Pepper]

Amazing, how strange it is that so many behavior problems seem to be "doodle-ish"! Ditzy Mitzy will be turning 2 years old in one month and still jumps up to grab our grandchildren's clothes. Especially when our grand daughter has strings of fabric on her clothes. It has gotten better with age, she is slightly calmer, and is beginning to co-operate with commands.

Yes, she has been to training lessons, she passed and we even had a personal trainer. She is just doodle-stubborn. My only suggestion is to turn your back to your pup and freeze. I do like the idea of the leash being stepped on to the down position, though I haven't tried it with her. Our best success was by surprise. I kept saying "out" to her when she was in the kitchen trying to get into stuff. All of a sudden we realized that one simple word became the key to her behaving. When ever she does something we don't want we say "OUT!" and she stops immediately. Guess a simple one word command worked best for us.

There are lots of discussions in DK about different behaviors that are really worth the time to read. Good luck!

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

When they have their "puppy" moments, we call them zoomies!!! Lucca did all that but stopped grabbing after he had his adult teeth. I have sweats and a bathrobe that have his "puppy" memory holes in them. All of the suggestions are good but they do eventually grow out of it. He still has his zoomie moments.
Wait until he starts eating them!!! We've lost shoes, underwear, socks, socks and socks disappear. Still do. We have to make sure NOTHING is left on the floor and all the garbage pails have tops because Lucca is a Kleenex and paper towel thief!!! and.....today he is one year old!!!!!

[Laura & Chewie]

We actually love seeing him "zoom" ...think it's hysterical, as long as he keeps his teeth to himself!