My Puppy will not understand the concept of NO
 

My puppy is 12 weeks old today and I have had her for a week and a half now. She is doing really well with her potty training, she uses her pee pad and goes outside. She is already learning sit, stay and come commands very well. I'm completely puzzled why she will not understand or listen to NO when I try to tell her. The most reoccuring issues are when I am trying to clean with a swiffer, or paper towels, she always tries to bite and attack them. When I try to have her up on the couch with my boyfriend and I she will bite the wires of our computers and try to lay on the computer keyboards. I also knit and she will attack the needles first and then the yarn.

I always start with just saying no in a stern voice, removing the problem item and replacing with a toy. When that doesn't work I cup her face in my hands and say no. And lastly I pick her up, give her a shake and say no. I have read a dog training book and those are the methods offered. Even after the most stern third time of telling her no she just goes back to repeating the problem. I then have to pick her up and take her off the couch or put her on the other side of the room for her to stop only because the problem is no longer accessible.

Any tips or better training methods would be greatly appreciated. I have been patient and consistent but this one command is just not working. I am open to all suggestions, thank you!

At twelve weeks she is just a baby, too young to understand "no". They explore their world with their mouth. Biting, chewing and "attacking" are what puppies do, how they play with one another. You using a Swiffer or wiping with paper towels looks like a game to her.

I'd suggest crating or penning her while you are cleaning, etc. It will keep her safe, too.

Ignoring her is the best way to deal with inappropriate biting. That's what her dog mom did. She will learn that the fun stops when she bites.

Okay, thanks for the advice. I guess she is doing so well with everything else I may have too high of expectations. I will definitely try ignoring her and keeping her crated.

Sorry but I disagree that she is too young to be taught the word "NO" (The Sooner the Better). She has to learn what is appropriate behavior and what is not. Yes .. Play time is a must in a young pups life but leadership and discipline are also just as important, If not more!

Take this example for instance: my husband always let our pups at a young age chew on his goat tee. It was out of control, they would lunge at him every time he was holding them. It was so out of control that they started to do it to the rest of the family and even tried to do it to my friends daughter who was only 18mo old at the time. I would always catch him allowing them to do it .... And I would correct the pup and the husband. Finally one day he was sitting in the chair and up came the pup and bit him right on the chin! Pretty hard, that it drew blood.

My point is that it is learned behavior.....If you do not nip it in the bud, put a stop to it right away the behavior becomes part of who they are and will be harder to correct and rectify later in life.

I say pick your battles.... Let the little stuff go, but never sit back and allow a pup do something that could become a problem in the long run.

I always use the Shaker Can method with my pups. You can find the direction for use on my web site.
http://dawnsyorkies.piczo.com/?g=33521666&cr=7#

:thumbup::thumbup: I agree that it is never too young to train. Of course, you cannot expect them to get it every time or right away because they are babies. However, you need to consistently offer correction every time so that they eventually will learn.

I personally used a combination of ignoring, yelping, "no," and the shaker can when training Rylie. I would yelp, high-pitched like a puppy and stop playing if she nipped me because that's what litter mates would do. I used a stern "no" for things I didn't want her to do and gave her an appropriate replacement activity (e.g. one of her toys in exchange for a sock :p). \

If I noticed that "no" wasn't working after some time and she kept repeating the behavior, I would use the shaker can. I keep the shaker can in special reserve because she really hates it.

However, I would ignore/timeout her if she got on a terrier kick and refused to listen or behave (I don't know if you know what I mean, but it is a kind of frenzy/over excitement when playing).

Anyway, I hope this helps or someone else can offer some better advice! Have you done a search on YT for the topic? I am sure there are threads out there somewhere that may help you. :)

Please dont cup a 12 week old puppies face. You should not allow her around any wires. Why dont you invest in an Xpen. That way she will be safe.

I've had to stop knitting since the day I brought my furbaby home! lol

Jazi argues with me and ignores me when I say No. It's her way or no way!!
Once I get her attention and say NO sternly, then she gets it.
When you baby does something good, make sure you reward her!! She'll eventually learn the difference.:p

I definitely will not stop disciplining her. Just will try not to get so upset when she doesn't listen, time has been helping, and reinforcing the lessons. The shaker can is a great idea, I am totally going to start using that for the most important lessons. Thank you.

I am never forceful with her. I wouldn't cup her face hard just put my hands on both sides of her snout when I say no. The play pen is a good idea, I am getting one from my mother that she use to use for our old family dog.

Oh my, I couldn't imagine stopping knitting. I hope it doesn't come to that! After all this trouble with her and my needles I made sure to only do it while she was napping today. Hopefully she'll get it soon.

Thanks everyone for all the feedback.

:thumbup:They're persistant little stinkers aren't they lol? Alice is my first Yorkie and she was a bit of a surprise in her resiliance to ignore me compared to any other dogs I've had. The shaker can is a great idea or some other loud, quick, distracting noise - I use "ahh" (not sure if I "spelled" that the actual way I say it lol but you get the idea).

I also found that Alice especially responds much quicker to my body language or a quick "touch" (think Cesar Millan lol) than any vocalizing. For example - my biggest correction I'm working on with her right now is the random barking and my cats, the other dogs, my husband, a fly on the way, a shadow, you get the idea:rolleyes: typical Yorkie as far as I've learned but she still has to learn that when I tell her she has to stop, she has to stop. If I just tell her "no" she'll either look at me and them keep going or completely ignore me. I have to go towards her and get in front of her and that's usually all it takes. If she's on my lap doing it, I'll say "ahh" once, if she won't stop I touch the side of her neck quickly with one finger (which usually snappers her out of it) and if she still won't stop, I put her on the floor (that ALWAYS works because she wants to sit with me;)).

When you're sweeping and she goes for the swiffer, I agree, it's probably best to put her in a pen for safety reasons too, but give her a treat or toy while she's in there so she doesn't get a negative association going on with you cleaning the floor and her getting put in a "time out":)

Definatly consider her age of course, the wanting to play with everything and chew on everthing is normal, but it is good to start teaching her now what is ok to do that with and what's not. And if she's being really persistant, after you "correct" her and get her to stop, even if just for a few seconds, stop what you're doing if you can and give her some extra play time. Since she's so young she needs lots of stimulation, plus it will tire her out so you can have "lap time" and knit in peace.:D

Hope this helps, I'm no professional, just lots of experience with dogs, lots of research and learning, and trial and error:) Good luck with her