Growing puppy? Or mean puppy? :-( majorly frustrated
 

Hey friends... I'm finding myself very frustrated... My two month old is starting to become somewhat out of control.. Oh the biting! Ankles, faces, and hands. It hurts, too! He has plenty of teething toys, which he loves, so why does he try to go for mommy and daddy face? And ankles and hands? And arms! I don't want to give up! My husband says if we can't break the habit we must rid of him. I would die! Has anyone else had trouble with this? If so how to help break it !? I've heard bite him back, newspaper to the nose, crate him, I haven't known anyone who had been successful with those tactics, so if anyone has any advice please share... I love my little boy but he is becoming a pain in the you know what! & sometimes, he just doesn't want to be around me! My husband doesn't like him as much as I do but the dogs crazy about him! I'm jealous! My mother said it's because I'm stressed so he senses the tension and wants to avoid it.. I just feel like I've hit a brick wall! Thanks for your time.... :animal-pa

Hi and Welcome to YT!


This is why there is a recommendation to leave the puppies with their Mom until they are 12 weeks old... they learn socialization skills and bite inhibition from momma and their siblings. But, too late for that. Training will take some time. I've had super fast results acting like a momma dog, and by that I mean that I growled at my puppy, trying to mimic what her real mom would do in that same situation. (After 4 days and nights of no sleep and many war wounds, I would try anything! Lol, my coworkers thought I had a new kitten!) I had to try a few different type growls until I hit the right tone, volume and pitch, but I swear that puppy stopped dead in her tracks, laid down next to me and fell sound asleep. Over the next fews weeks, I would growl to get her attention, and added English words along with the growls until she learned what the words meant.


Also I had the best results using Positive Reinforcement training methods. In a nutshell, ignore/downplay the bad, reward and encourage the good (behavior).


Good luck, and I hope your ankles get a break!

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

My 2 cents... (good luck with your little guy)

When he bites, yelp as if you're really hurt and turn your back to him. Refuse to play or interact with him for a few minutes. Repeat as needed.

Also when he's in a bity mood,but hasn't bitten you yet.. give him another option/toy to bite and play with him, with that object. As soon as he bites you, yelp and take yourself away from him.

Good luck. If you're worried about his bond with you, relax yourself, then do some training with him. If you feel yourself getting frustrated or tense, stop the training session. Always end on praise, ask him to do something you know he can..ie sit.

Also be aware of your movements and of those around you. They respond to movement and loud sounds, if you are calm, slower, quieter, it has an effect. Try having massage sessions with him, it'll calm him, it might take time before he lets you hold him, while you massage his shoulders, belly etc. He'll learn, don't get down, if at first he's too wiggly.

He's VERY young and has so much to learn about the world and you. It's very early for you to be giving up too. I'm surprised you'd want to give up so soon. Perhaps consider training classes, once he's had all his shots. Also read up on reward based, training. Training will bond you. Giving up now, is like having a baby, and giving it away, because it's not potty trained at 8 weeks. It's very early for the pup to have learnt how to behave.

You have a lot to learn too, in order to train him to be the best he can be. A well trained dog is a joy to own, a badly trained dog, can be a burden and leave you and him unhappy.

He is just a little baby,I had all my babies at 8 weeks old, I called it "humanizing" them lol, but, I would incite them, make them go crazy, I loved to see them get wild and crazy, my hands always has razor cuts from their lil shark teeth. But that was me. Just like a 2 y/o human baby, you have to teach right from wrong. It takes more time to train terriers, you have to be consistent ALL THE TIME and have lots of patience, it's not an over night thing. Avoid things like putting your face close to him, always use the command word NO BITING. It takes time but he will get it, follow what other members advised, suggested. Remember this is JUST A BABY, it is up to you and your family to teach and train the baby.

I don't have any more advice to add, just words of encouragement. He is still a baby, and like a toddler, has to learn how to behave. This does not happen over night or even in one month, but it will get better with time, patience, and training. I'm guessing your husband has never have a puppy before. You need to get him on board with training too. My sweet 7 month old girl, barely ever bites anyone except my husband, but that's because he let's her play rough with him. Give it some time, it will get better!

I LOVE THIS!
:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thum bup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Oh I would never give up on little harley! I'm just getting frustrated for I felt we have come so far and then two steps back. That's okay though, you guys are right he is just a baby and he is confused and doesn't know right from wrong yet! Part of the problem is my brother I believe... When he comes here he doesn't consider how he acts toward the pup is vital, always after being around him he is cranky and aggressive e.. My husband and I will have to talk to him and tell him to tone it down a few notches! And as for my husband he has had the "luxury" of getting a pre trained puppy so it is new to him however the experience I wouldn't trade for the world! Always learning something with this little guy ;-) thanks for the positive reinforcment! Sorry for the dumb questions !!

There are no dumb questions. Good luck with your little man, have fun. ;)

No question is ever a dumb question, that's how we learn anything and everything, by asking questions. I am sooo happy you will not give up on this lil baby. Yorkies want to be the leaders, the boss, you have to show him you and DH are the pack leaders. Maybe your DB should be told to not incite him, if your baby gets away with that kind of behavior then the pup thinks it's ok to behave that way with everyone. Training is a team effort job,not a one person job. you may want to consider obedience school, we have to train our in order to properly train our puppies. Good luck

I have a funny story about obedience school actually... My aunt took her shepherd there for 6 weeks and at the end the pup passed but she failed LOL! Also another question, I know vets do it and mother dogs do it ... But is picking pups up by the scruff of their neck really ok? My dumb brother insists that's ok and it makes me cringe... I told him I paid a lot of money for this dog and if he couldn't treat it how I want him to then he can't come visit anymore! He only did it twice and the pup didn't yelp but it made me so upset I cried! This is an on going brother sister battle with us... Even if you guys told me it's ok for him to do that I still don't think I'll be okay with it... By the way who ever mentioned the pretending to be a momma dog thing? Props to you! Harley loves it we have a lot of fun and he listens and obeys ( most of the time ;-) ) also, the training with treats thing.. Not to keen on it because I don't want him to get an upset tummy and have an over load on treats after a "sit, stay" session. Any healthy tiny treat reccomendations? And did anyone else take obedience class? There's a pet smart near me but if anyone knows of any better places let me know! Ps harley is starting to love his crate and thinking of it as his happy place, and his comfort zone! No more whining he gets really excited at night time now and loves to curl up in there and nap! AND he didn't whine all night! Got up at 5 and he went out and went potty for a whole minute straight! Getting better at holding his bladder And alerting me when he's about to go! Day two no peeing inside and day 5 no number 2 inside!!! I'm so proud!! He's growing up so fast!!! Thanks for all the helpful advice if it weren't for you guys I would have lost my mind by now!

Mine love regular, plain Cheerios for training. Get so much done and doesn't fill them up! Glad things are improving... Scruffing a dog is not necessary, can piss them off but usually won't physically hurt them. I wouldn't allow it, IMHO.

Yeah it definitely pissed him and I both off! Poor guy, my husband is going to talk to him next time he comes over! I'll buy him a stuffed dog and tell him to rough house it all he wants just don't touch my baby! ;-) Cheerios, great idea! Thank you!

With the biting, ignoring the behavior just didn't seem to work. I would turn away from her and she would just come to be and keep biting. What did work was cupping my hand over her muzzle (not too tight). Enough to where she could slightly open her mouth, but not enough to bite me. I would do this and say no bite. If she continued to try to bite I would continue to say no bite until she started licking my hand. When she started to lick, I would let go and say "good girl" and give her lots of attention. This worked very well for her!

You'd be surprised how many ppl fail obedience school lol, in order to properly train your pup, you have to be properly trained. From my own experience with yorkies, I have to fight with myself to be firm when needed, one look at their face, those eyes and their cute little attitudes makes me want to laugh, cuddle and kiss them to death lol, I have to be very strict with myself when it comes to behavior training. As for your brother picking up pup by the scruff of the neck, iyiyi I would never allow this. I have heard it doesn't hurt them, but I still would not allow anyone to do that to a puppy of mine. Glad to see his potty training is going well, they grow so fast, enjoy these puppy days as frustrating as they seem to be, there will be a day you will look back and laugh at what is driving you crazy now lol.

My puppy is 12 weeks and just starting to calm down. It does get better with time. He is still in major teething of the sides upper and lower jaw. try to introduce a new toy or new behavior every day to give him something else to concentrate on. I wear socks and shoes around him and he doesn't find my feet interesting or bite worthy anymore. It will pass, just enjoy your pup - they grow and change so fast. In two months the majority of it will be over.

Thanks for the advice I would be so much more stressed without you guys! Good to know I'm not the only one! & yes I have a pair of rubber crocs... He l o v e s them... And they kind of squeak when I walk.. That must be it!!!! Thank you!!!

Ok I'm really worried... I have been taking my pup to get his vaccinations and I'm reading that vets only do that and tell you to keep getting them every 3 weeks to make money and because they know the vaccinations cause things like bone cancer and that their plans don't cover that so in the long run you will be paying much more and that pretty much the vaccinations have killed and could kill my dog and give him serious issues and that he could die from it I'm really worried and I just don't know what to think or do... I know you shouldn't listen to everything you hear but it's kind of making sense I know someone who died from a flu vaccination plus what did dogs do before vets were here to vaccinate them? I'm so confused and worried...

Honestly, I would put those people in the same category as those who try to convince you not to vaccinate your kids. The risk of not vaccinating far outweigh the risk of vaccinating. As far as splitting up the vaccines, that is for the safety of your pup. It IS dangerous to get too many vaccines all at once.

They're giving them to him every 3 weeks is that too much ???

My vet does the DHPP vaccine at 8, 12, and 16 weeks. Lexi already had her 8 weeks done while with the breeder. Make sure your vet does not give the rabies vac with anything else. Little dogs don't take multiple vaccines together very well.

I see... Well the guy I got him from says he "did them himself " but the vet says no way of proving it plus he was too young and that the guys freaking scanned the paper so it all looked really fake and also he had ear mites from unsanitary conditions as a younger puppy and when I got him he was sooo dirty so was the guy... so now he has to get them every 3 weeks until around 6 months since the guy lied to me... I just don't know what to believe/do anymore

What do you mean by every 3 weeks. Literally every 3 weeks until 6 months or every 3 weeks until all the shots are done? And what shots? If you got him at 8 weeks the shots he got with the breeder are worthless anyway. Lexi got an extra DHPP vaccine because the first one she got from the breeder was to early. The last shot she got was rabies at about 5 1/2 months old. Then got spayed at 6 months.

Yeah he have the shots too early "if he gave them at all" they said every 3 weeks until he was 6 months...

Gave not have *... He's almost 3 months now and he has to get the shots all over because the "breeder" didn't administer them correctly and it wasn't signed off by a doctor so who knows if they really did them blablabla I just don't know what to do plus the guy we got him from lied and said he got them done where I'm getting them done now... I'm so overwhelmed

After the pup is 12 weeks old, they need to get DHPP 2 times, ideally 4 weeks apart. This is due to the mother's antibodies being present in the pup's system. By 12 weeks of age those antibodies are gone, and the vaccines will definitely be effective after that. The Rabies is given last, between 4-6 months of age (check state law). Then at one year of age, one DHPP booster, then 4 weeks later, the Rabies booster. Then it's every 3 years for Rabies only (per MD law) DHPP is not required by law in this state.

Also see Dr Dodd's protocol...

Ah I see...thank you

Second Opinion?
 

Honestly, I would get a second opinion. Every three weeks seems kind of extensive, but I can understand the vet wanting to make sure your pup is fully protected. In my opinion, I would go to another vet and get a second opinion if you don't mind paying for another visit. You can never be too sure when it comes to your baby's health!

My thoughts exactly! Thank you!

Here's some info on vaccines:


http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/die...-overview.html


http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/die...tz-2-10-a.html