Puppy Training
 

Ladybug is full of energy. She's now 16 weeks old and we've been trying to teach her to sit and stay. She does great some days, then the next day or maybe even a few hours later she acts as though she's never heard the command. She listens to me only sometimes but listens to my husband all the time. She jumps at my 2 daughters and bites at their feet and legs all the time. She barks and growls at my girls and even me sometimes.
Now that she's had most of her shots I've started taking her out in the backyard for potty training. (She's completely pad trained inside:D) I know she's excited to be out of the house besides going to the vet, but she runs wild and tries to eat every leaf, every piece of tan bark anything she finds. Racoons, Deer, and even Wild Turkeys are in and around our backyard. I am terrified of her eating something and getting sick that's why I've waited so long to take her outside. I now take her in the backyard on her leash so she won't get into anything. I just can't seem to get her to listen or calm down enough to listen to me. I spend more time with her because of my husbands work schedule so I can't rely on him to do all the training. HELP!!!! What do I do or where do I begin:confused::confused::confused:

TIME for PUPPY Classes : Now she is old enough for regular puppy training classes. This would be one of the first things I would suggest. It is extremely important to have a schedule so that your doggie developes a good routine. You need have a time slot for training every day. It is ok to keep her on a leash in the house. Hook the leash to her harness and to you. This is called Umbilical Tethering. If she is not crated or in a gated safe area, she should be tethered to you. You will see a huge change in one week. At first she may not like it. But it is wonderful for teaching her boundaries, rules and acceptable behavior.
Choose cue words like ENOUGH, SIT, WAIT and use them for the same thing every time. Teach your children and hubby to correct with the same words.
Everyone needs to use the same words and actions to train the dog.
If your children are running and giggling or screaming when the pup, growls, jumps and tries to nip, the pup thinks this is a fun game. She is getting a reaction and attention. She has too much freedom and will teach herself how to behave if you don't show her the right thing to do. I suggest getting this book, it will give you a good guide to puppy behavior and gentle training methods the book is
by Sarah Hodgson Dog-Perfect the user-friendly guide to a well-behaved dog
Let us know how things go, and hope this helps,from The Just Right Yorkie Gang

Thanks so muc
h for the info. I'll definitely keep you posted on Ladybug's progress!

I would try a puppy class. When Callie was nipping at feet we used a squirt bottle and squirted her and said no when she did it and she caught on pretty fast and would not even try to do it if she saw the person with the squirt bottle.

Squeaky toys can be an excellent way of diverting her attention away from unwanted behavior, and starting a game of play. Be sure she has lots of chew toys & offer them as an alternative to feet & hands. Saying 'ah ah' in a corrective voice when she's doing something you don't want. Oh geez... I couldn't begin to count how many times I said that in her early months. It paid off though. Now I can whisper it very quietly & she will stop whatever it is I don't want. luv it! Be consistant & patient! Teach her well now, and you can relax more & enjoy her as she gets older. Good luck!

All wonderful advice, of course! :)

On top of all that, when we first let Harry out into the garden, we got him one of those long training leashes that attaches to his harness so that we could give him a gentle tug accompanied by a sharp 'no' when he started getting into something that we didn't want him to get into!! It worked for us! Sally + Harry x

Thank you all for your input. Yes Ladybug has plenty chew toys that she loves. We've tried the spray bottle, but believe it or not she likes it. I'm going to keep up with the leash training. I think I do need professional help (puppy classes) because right now it feels so overwhelming that I will ruin her if I don't do soemthing about her puppy behavior right away.