I think the laundry basket idea sounds great also. With regard to the Bitter Apple, when Poppy is biting you can spray a tiny bit of the Bitter Apple in her mouth. I think if you did that a couple of times, she would learn very quickly. It sounds horrible, and I think I'd have a hard time doing it, but I don't think it could hurt her. My father and his wife rescued a long haired dachsund when they were vacationing in Mexico last year. They already had two fox terrier rescues, who are really challenging to train because they are true terriers. They were having trouble with jumping and barking with all three, so they hired a trainer. My father's wife is a huge animal lover and is involved in rescue. I know she'd never do anything to harm an animal and would only use a compassionate trainer. This solution worked very quickly. The trainer said Bitter Yuck works better than Bitter Apple. When they jumped or barked uncontrollably, they sprayed a small bit in the dog's mouth. I know I used Bitter Apple many years ago when my babies were puppies. It took Ashley longer than Kiwi and Gracie, but she kept taking the moss out of the silk trees that I had in my house. After the third time of jumping and grabbing the moss, she stopped because she hated the taste with the Bitter Apple. I would check with Poppy's doctor to make sure it couldn't harm her because of her size, but it might be an option. I hate punitive measures and prefer positive reinforcement, but this may solve the problem very quickly without doing something that could be scary for her. I know you'd never do anything to hurt Poppy, but I remember trying the method of shaking pennies in a can with my dogs to get them to stop a behavior. I wouldn't ever do that again because it just scared them and didn't work. I guess you can tell I'm a big softy, but I also know that you can't allow Poppy to keep on biting. She is absolutely gorgeous, and I know you love her. With an adorable face like hers, it must be very hard to resist anything she does. |