Hi! Hope you're enjoying your new puppy--they are so much fun! My pup is 5 months old now.
Crating: We were lucky; Buffy loved her crate from the beginning. Maybe this sounds silly, but I think of putting a pup in her crate like putting a baby to bed. I try not to put her in the crate unless she's pretty calm already, and sometimes (especially early on) I woud hang out with her on the couch before bedtime and put her in the crate when she was still groggy.
The other tip is to get her a Kong (rubber toy that can be stuffed with food or treats). We swear by these when we leave. Buffy's favorite thing is peanut butter and kibble, but I've experimented with several other stuffers, including treats, cheese, cream cheese, and plain chicken and rice leftovers.
Sometimes Buffy would whine for a minute or two in the crate but then she would give up and relax after that. Now she does a really sad whine ("Why are you leaving me?!") when I leave for work! But in general she is fine with her crate and will go in voluntarily--as long as we are in the house
. We also have a pen area that adjoins to her crate, which is very handy when doing dishes, other chores, or really anything when you can't monitor your pup consistently. It also helps with housetraining.
Nipping: Just say OUCH in a loud, hurt voice like you are doing, and leave for a minute or two. She needs to learn that if she bites she loses you. Even if she is not hurting you, say OUCH. Be a drama queen. (This is also how other puppies deal with nipping... I have seen Buffy do the same thing when she is playing with other dogs. It's like a mini time-out.) This was one of the cuter training things we did with Buffy... she would give me the sad remorseful eyes when I left and play very gently when I came back.
Puppies do need to nip a little so they learn bite inhibition. If they learn what bites are too hard at an early age they will never bite too hard, even if they are in pain. Here's an article about it:
http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/teaching-bite-inhibition
Here's another general tool: I do a "Settle" sometimes if Buffy is getting too wound up and barky. I hold her under her front legs, say "Settle," and wait quietly until she stops struggling. When she is calm I release the hold. We have been doing this since she was little and it's very handy when she's getting too excited around other dogs or people. Puppies sometimes need to be taught how to calm down.
Herding behavior: I don't know the solution to this and I'm curious to see what others say. How much herding behavior do you let your Shelties get away with? I know Buffy only does this when she is off-leash, excited, and knows I can't catch her easily! I'm not sure how much is too much.
Crating: We were lucky; Buffy loved her crate from the beginning. Maybe this sounds silly, but I think of putting a pup in her crate like putting a baby to bed. I try not to put her in the crate unless she's pretty calm already, and sometimes (especially early on) I woud hang out with her on the couch before bedtime and put her in the crate when she was still groggy.
The other tip is to get her a Kong (rubber toy that can be stuffed with food or treats). We swear by these when we leave. Buffy's favorite thing is peanut butter and kibble, but I've experimented with several other stuffers, including treats, cheese, cream cheese, and plain chicken and rice leftovers.
Sometimes Buffy would whine for a minute or two in the crate but then she would give up and relax after that. Now she does a really sad whine ("Why are you leaving me?!") when I leave for work! But in general she is fine with her crate and will go in voluntarily--as long as we are in the house
. We also have a pen area that adjoins to her crate, which is very handy when doing dishes, other chores, or really anything when you can't monitor your pup consistently. It also helps with housetraining.Nipping: Just say OUCH in a loud, hurt voice like you are doing, and leave for a minute or two. She needs to learn that if she bites she loses you. Even if she is not hurting you, say OUCH. Be a drama queen. (This is also how other puppies deal with nipping... I have seen Buffy do the same thing when she is playing with other dogs. It's like a mini time-out.) This was one of the cuter training things we did with Buffy... she would give me the sad remorseful eyes when I left and play very gently when I came back.
Puppies do need to nip a little so they learn bite inhibition. If they learn what bites are too hard at an early age they will never bite too hard, even if they are in pain. Here's an article about it:
http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/teaching-bite-inhibition
Here's another general tool: I do a "Settle" sometimes if Buffy is getting too wound up and barky. I hold her under her front legs, say "Settle," and wait quietly until she stops struggling. When she is calm I release the hold. We have been doing this since she was little and it's very handy when she's getting too excited around other dogs or people. Puppies sometimes need to be taught how to calm down.
Herding behavior: I don't know the solution to this and I'm curious to see what others say. How much herding behavior do you let your Shelties get away with? I know Buffy only does this when she is off-leash, excited, and knows I can't catch her easily! I'm not sure how much is too much.
Now they herd each other!
One day I watched her herd Justice,Ember and my cat from the 3 season porch to the livingroom(though the kitchen) and back on the third pass I laughed and Ember realized what was happening and froze. Diva nipped her and she nipped back hard. She doesn't herd Ember any more. I've gotten her to stop biting me(while playing or herding) with the puppy yelp but the herding continues. Oh well as long as she doesn't bite.
