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Originally Posted by kaiatbh  Thanks so much, everyone. I guess I'm just very overwhelmed and need to relax. We had a dog many years ago who we had to rehome. We got him as an adult and he was severely dominant and aggressive. He bit my sister badly, so we absolutely had no choice but to rehome him (me and my sister were very young at the time). So, because of this bad experience, I am paranoid. When I read up on Cesar's philosophy, he makes it seem like even a very young puppy should obey you or you're in for trouble. He goes on about dominance, energy level, etc. And he makes it clear that how you act around your puppy and how you choose to train your puppy is crucial to your puppy's development and could make him or break him. This naturally scared me. I just want to make sure I do everything right. And despite all of the wonderful replies, I am still confused. Should I do away with the whole dominance thing (feeding him after I eat, not letting him enter a room before me, etc.)? I thought being the alpha would make him respect me, and therefore not bite me unless invited to do so through play. Everyone seems to be reminding me that Yoni is a baby. Well, I know that... but Cesar says it's dangerous when people use that excuse for a dog behaving badly.
By the way, I'm using a clicker when I train him. That's how I taught him to sit and stand. Should I use the clicker when I'm correcting him and he listens? Like, if he's attacking me and I get him to stop, should I click and give him a treat? |
If you are using clicker, remember it used for positive reinforcement. So, when you click you are clicking for good responses, also don't forget the treat as soon as you click.
At 12 weeks of age, you are expecting way too much from this puppy. He's growing, teething, everything is hurting right now.
The nipping is due to his teething. He doesn't know he's hurting you. An easy way to correct this is just by letting out a loud ouch.....believe me it works.