[kjc]

I got my first puppy too young (but way before anyone knew it was best to leave them with Mom longer) andthe 3rd night she wouldn't stop barking and whining. I decided to try her in my bed as she was missing her littermates. She would not settle down, kept licking me in the face and waking me up. I tried everything, nothing worked.

After my 3rd sleepless night, thought about what her Mom would do, so I growled at her. She stopped dead in her tracks and gave me the strangest look! I growled again and she laid down and went promptly to sleep. Talk about happy, I was over the moon!

After seeing how well growling worked, it made sense bc she hadn't learned a word of English yet, she had no clue what I was saying to her. I've noticed quite a few puppies will get wild when their Mom is no longer around, totally out of control. Like a teenager almost, don't know when to stop. They don't even stop to eat, just keep bouncing off the walls! I was so tired, and really regretting ever getting her. But things changed drastically after that, and we understood each other very well.

I only used the growl when she would get overly excited, and always used words right after. After a week or two, she understood and responded to words only.