Bobby started to mouth.. So I intro'd the word Teeth.. just one simple word.. If he is being snugly and then goes to mouth I say 'teeeeeeth' in a particular tone and don't move my hand.. He then carries on being a love.. I feel if I was to jerk my hand away i would be turning it into a game. And he would mouth more..

If he picks up something I don't want him to have.. I shout 'Bobby' in a very excited voice.. and pat my leg as if meaning come.. he trots over I say sit.. then retrieve the object then give him praise in an excited voice to make him think he was doing it all for me.. and he gets a great fuss..

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He's a baby he only knows what he's been taught. I really think you shouldn't be discipling him, discipline is really for a dog that KNOWS how to behave. A pup as young as yours, I'd be distracting him, if he's chewing something he shouldn't offer him something better so he leaves the previous item. Reward the good behaves and IGNORE the bad ie nipping give him no attention for those sorts of behaviour.

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Ok guys thank you so much, so basicly what i gathered from everyones post was to not shout and just replace with a better toy that i show to him and he takes that instead. Do they really learn that whatever they were chewing on they werent supposed to be, when i just replace it with something else? I am all open for suggestions, oh and trust me my house is puppy proofed. im talking about table legs and electrical cords. : P relentless. LOL

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Sincerely Sarah

Absolutely. No matter how loud you shout a foreign language he won't understand

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No he won't learn what he is not supposed to chew because that's waaaaay too much to ask. Think of all the things we don't want our dogs to chew - its thousands if not millions of objects. Therefore its an inefficient way to teaching as it would take forever.

Dogs chew because they have to, for several different reasons. The main reason being that it is beneficial to their behaviourial health as chewing causes dopamine to be released in the brain and this is an important stress busting chemical.

So the idea is to turn your dog into an addict for chewables that are acceptable. We do that by making sure the only way he gets his chewing kicks is on these appropriate items.

If your puppy has access to chewing table legs or elctrical cords then its not sufficiently puppy proofed. If its not possible to eliminate his current access to these things then supervision needs to be stepped up. The key is to provide only appropriate chewables and prevent his access to all others.

This is people training more so than puppy training

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Anne, owned by Rufus & Tripod

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