Re: Please tell me it gets better
Hi,
Very cute girl.
Hey there's no reason why you shouldn't start proper obedience training now, the earlier you start the better. Three months is the ideal time to start as puppies at this age are (in general) so eager to please.
I'm probably going to set the cat amongst the pigeons here as I have always approached biting/mouthing with zero tolerance, and I teach my clients the same approach.
Puppies baby teeth are very sharp but their jaws are not strong, as puppies lose their baby teeth the adult teeth are less sharp, but boy does the jaw get very strong.
Puppies start to loose their baby teeth at 3 months and typically by 8 months all baby teeth will have been replaced with adult teeth.
The reason I have zero tolerance toward biting/mouthing is that by the time a puppy is 5/6 months, their jaws will be stronger and adolescence will be kicking in - another phase where your puppy is likely to challenge you in various way, one of which could be biting. So it is vital that your puppy has learned appropriate mouth etiquette by this time, even more so if you have small children.
This approach is only suitable for young puppies of up to 4 months max (if your puppy is older than this I will recommend a modified method following this one).
Whenever your puppy goes to bite or mouth you gently place you hand around your puppy's muzzle. This should NOT be done in a threatening way, you should not grab, and don't apply any pressure. As you do so also say 'NO BITE' in a pleasant but firm voice. Wait a few seconds then remove your hand. Then immediately introduce a safe chew toy to your puppy's mouth, play with your puppy with the toy and give lots of praise.
If at any time during play your puppy should try and bite your flesh, or gets mouthy, or growls, you should stop play. Give your puppy a 'time out' for a couple of mins by placing him/her in a separate room. When you do this do not be angry, be calm, but also matter of fact about it, and give no verbal/eye contact.
Resume play, and only end play on a positive, i.e you've both enjoyed a 5 minute play session without your puppy trying to bite/mouth and no growling.
Consistency in this method with serve three purposes: It will condition your puppy to understand that biting/mouthing of human flesh is not appropriate in any way, even if done gently. In addition it will teach your puppy appropriate mouth etiquette during play, and at the same time teach your puppy appropriate chewing.
The only time you should ignore biting/mouthing during play is if you know for sure it was accidental.
If your puppy is 4 months or older, you should employ a modified approach. It's not too dissimilar from above, but you will not be placing your hand around your puppy's muzzle at all.
Instead whenever your puppy tries to bite or gets mouthy, give your puppy 5-10 mins 'time out' in a different room. After this time open the door and call your puppy to you and introduce a safe chew toy. Make sure the play session is enjoyable with no inappropriate behaviour, but if your puppy does try to bite/mouth, then again another 'time out'. Always resume play after a time out and end play on a positive note.
And it goes without saying lost of praise for good behaviour.
Some clients prefer to use the second method with their younger puppies, which is fine, but I have found that younger puppies learn faster with the muzzle method.
Of course it is perfectly okay for a puppy to learn bite inhibition with its littermates, and it should be encouraged. But human flesh is not like dog flesh, it easily tears and blood can (and will) be drawn. This is why I think it is kinder to a puppy to teach this early on.
Okay, I know I'm going to get a lot of disapproval for this and that's fine. But I have used and still use this approach to great effect with no harm done to puppies. There is nothing negative about this method as you are always ending on a positive.
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