new sheltie puppy

Greetings :)

My shelite puppy is the same age and I'm dealing with her gnawing on my hands too. I toss her a toy and make it seem like that toy is soooo fascinating. She leaves my hands alone and starts working on the toy.

Maggie hates her leash too. She itches at it, bites at it and wants nothing to do with it. I put it on her for a few minutes only and we walk a little around the backyard. If I start to run/jog she chases me (short distance only for her sake) and she starts to get it. Shelties are so smart, they'll get it, just be patient, repetitive and rewarding.

It takes time but they will get over the biting. Enjoy your new little one. I have three and Maggie tries to bite the big girls' tails!!!
 
Emmasmom said:
Barkbusters is an obedience training organization. I looked into them but they can be pricey. They do a lot of training one on one with problem dogs and also come right to the home to do one on one training.

With Noah and Emma, and now Liam, I worked in the hallway with them on the leash to get them to walk on the leash. Worked well as it was an enclosed area and they couldn't get away to either side.
Click to expand...

I've heard good things about bark busters, apart from being very pricey. However like Emmasmom mentioned, they will come to your home and the training is not only transferable (should you for some reason not be able to keep your dog), but its also for the lifetime of the dog.

8 weeks is still VERY young so don't have your expectations too high yet. At that age I found redirecting the behavior to be the best. If he's biting and lunging at your hands, encourage him with a toy and praise him when he bites and lunges at that instead. I think you'll find this will probably work till he starts teething, then he'll go after hands again. Thats when I found the loud 'Ouch!' and turning your back works well.

The leash training will come. Again, 8 weeks is very young so don't expect too much right away. Keep trying and give lots of praise. All of the suggestions you've gotten so far are great.
 
Petsmart has puppy class that are cheaper, and they answer a lot of the usual puppy questions and concerns.

As far as biting goes, Zoey was like that too when we got her. When the dog put their teeth on you, you should say a loud "ouch" to startle the dog and stop the playtime, so the dog understands that biting is not good. Wait a few seconds then start playing again.

For leash walking, my personal experience is that it takes a lot of patience, practice, and consistence to reach a point where it becomes pleasant to walk. I would say Zoey was around 6 months when I started appreciating the walks (less pulling, more following, less excitement and whatnot).

And pictures please.
 
Welcome to the Forums! :biggrin2:

I believe in interrupt and redirect method as a great way to train against the puppies mouthing... Interrupt the mouthing offer a toy etc...

Here is a video from a trainer I totally admire! Please read up on clicker training it works SO WELL on our very smart and sensitive Shelties :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c77--cCHPyU

Here is the methodology behind clicker training if you want to know even more, lol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clicker_training

Have fun, puppies are growing up wayyyyy too fast :)
 
Toffee's Mom said:
Welcome to the Forums! :biggrin2:

I believe in interrupt and redirect method as a great way to train against the puppies mouthing... Interrupt the mouthing offer a toy etc...

Here is a video from a trainer I totally admire! Please read up on clicker training it works SO WELL on our very smart and sensitive Shelties :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c77--cCHPyU

Here is the methodology behind clicker training if you want to know even more, lol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clicker_training

Have fun, puppies are growing up wayyyyy too fast :)
Click to expand...

Forgot to add here is another step by step one that I found very easy to understand and fun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_486612&v=gzLT5ujGPK4
 
Wow I did not realize I had replies on the second page!

Thank you all :)

Leash training is going ok - harness is working tons better... but we will have to see how that goes.

Biting is getting a lot better, I think, but WOW does he nip. He is terrible at growling at your feet and going crazy once you start walking. Is this normal, as well? He knows "off", and he stops, he looks up, and I KNOW he is expecting a treat. Because if you praise him, start walking again, right back at the feet...

I will definitely be watching the youtube videos, as well, and I finally got a picture! Will be adding after this post :)
 
i finally uploaded a picture i took with my phone - he's only still in his crate so it looks like he's behind bars!!! but that's the best picture i could get of his body & face :)

thanks to everyone again for the help...i will definitely continue using this website throughout truffle's life!
 
The nipping is herding... they do that a lot. When Zoey is excited, she'll nip our heels. I usually stop walking and wait until she calms down when she does that.
 
Hi, puppies are so much fun!! When Sandstorm used to mouth hands or puppy bite, we would say "no bite", then get up, ignore, walk away. He would jump up at our backs, but would soon get the message when we ignored until he stopped the jumping too. I have to add that we did not get Sandstorm until he was 5 months old, so this problem did not last long at all. We had lots of nylabone chew toys for him also, and he is still a chewer at 14 months. Good luck, consistency will work.
Karen
 
Did your puppy have any littermates?
He needs to learn bite inhibition which is biting but not hurting anyone.

What we did with Eva because she was a singleton was every time her teeth touched us whether it was painful or not, we let out a scream/yelp and left her immediately.
 
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