When your puppy has learned some of the basic training needs, you can practice by turning it all into fun. For example, put the puppy in a Sit-Stay, back off a foot or two, show him a soft toy and toss it to him. Don’t go for a catch that requires a Superman leap into the air. The idea is to have him actually catch it!
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If your puppy is younger than 16 weeks and are constantly nipping, it’s normal behavior – young puppies mouth a lot. They mouth when playing; they also mouth to communicate their needs. If your puppy starts mouthing, ask yourself these questions: Is he hungry or thirsty? Does he need to eliminate? Is he sleepy? Does he need to play?
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Chewing is usually a developmental phase that puppies pass through to relieve the itch and pain of cutting new teeth. The majority of dogs stop chewing everything in sight once their new teeth are fully erupted, at about 9 months old. The few dogs that do not cease chewing by age 1, either have acquired the habit of chewing from boredom, anxiety, and frustration, or have acquired an unusual gourmet appetite.
Regardless of the reason a dog chews, the behavior of chewing can be very expensive and very dangerous to the dog’s physical well being. Correcting chewing, or any other behavior problem, requires that someone be present to catch the dog in the act. Showing the dog a shoe that was chewed several hours earlier and yelling at him may make you feel better, but there is little chance that he will connect the correction with the idea that chewing shoes is wrong. An unsupervised puppy left to roam the house may develop a taste for dangerous chew toys such as electrical cords, cleaning supplies, and other toxic items. The landscaped yard filled with possibly toxic plants, or rocks and wood that can obstruct the dog’s intestines is a similarly dangerous environment for the unsupervised puppy. Dogs that chew and swallow rocks or other sharp objects often require costly and risky emergency surgery.
To avoid mishaps when you cannot keep a watchful eye on the dog, confine him in an area where only appropriate chew items such as dog toys, rawhides, or knuckle bones are available. You must exercise caution in which chew toys are left in the crate, because dogs have been reported to choke on some toys and rawhides. If you confine your dog to a crate during unsupervised periods, you don’t have to worry about him chewing up prized possessions and furniture, or doing himself harm. You may choose to dog proof the house by removing any prize possessions until the dog has passed through the chewing stage. Products such as Bitter Apple or Tabasco sauce may be sprayed on furniture and possessions to keep the dog from chewing, but check for staining before using them. Ninety-nine percent of the dogs find the taste of these products repulsive, but a few dogs think they are a gourmet delight.
One product that may not be attractive to any dog is ammonia. Be careful not to spray the ammonia when the dog is close by; it could damage his olfactory system and eyes. Read the instructions carefully to determine what is safe to spray on valuable possessions. Your dog should be well supplied with acceptable chew items such as old socks, safe dog toys, rawhides, chew hooves, and knuckle bones. Only knuckle bones are safe; other bones will splinter and get caught in the dog’s throat or intestines. If you are worried that your dog will not discriminate between an old chewable sock and a new sock, you may want to take time to play fetch with the dog and an old sock so the item will become his favorite toy. The old sock will carry the scent of the dog, whereas the new sock has your scent. The dog quickly learns the difference between the socks when you praise him for playing with and chewing the old sock and reprimand him for chewing on socks with your scent.
1. Play with bright balls: Dogs don’t see colors very well, so it doesn’t matter very much what colors the balls are that your dog plays with, as long as they’re not green or red, colors which are hard for them to see. Also, they should be brightly colored rather than muted. Most of a dog’s vision comes from structures in the eyes called rod receptors. Rods are only sensitive to black and white. Brightly colored balls stand out more against the background and are easier for dogs to see.
2. Throw balls across their line of sight: How many times have you tossed a ball right at your dog, only to watch him lose sight of it? There’s a reason for this. Dogs’ eyes are set farther apart than ours. They can easily see movement off to the sides, but they have a lot of trouble seeing things that are right in front of them. They’ll have more fun with balls when you toss them across their line of sight rather than right at them.
3. Set aside some throwing time: Some dogs are born chewers and will work over a ball as enthusiastically as they’ll splinter a stick. Most dogs, however, won’t even notice a ball that’s just sitting there. If you want your dog to get the most fun out of his ball, you have to set aside some time for throwing it.
4. Replace food with balls for dog training: Since dogs often go bananas for balls, you can use them as motivators when you’re doing basic training. Training with balls is actually better than training with food. Balls have no calories. They make it easy for dogs to get a lot of exercise. And they help dogs get used to watching your every move, which is essential when you’re teaching obedience.
Balls are especially useful for teaching the “come” command. This command is tricky because dogs who are playing and having a good time aren’t always paying attention to the person at the other end of the yard. When you’re holding a ball, however, you can be sure you’ll have your dog’s undivided attention.
5. Here is sample training technique using 2 balls: Hold one of the balls in your hand so that your dog can see it. When his eyes are riveted on you, tell him “come.” Wait until he comes and sits in front of you. Then throw the ball. Maybe he’ll bring it right back, and maybe he won’t. It doesn’t matter too much because you’ll be holding a second ball. He’ll want that one just as much as he did the first one. Tell him “come” again, have him sit, and then swap balls for another throw. Dogs love this game because they get a chance to run, retrieve, and play with you. After a while, they’ll come running whenever they hear the word come, whether you’re holding a ball or not.
One very annoying habit of many dogs is that of charging the door when someone knocks. Since the dog is likely to run faster than the resident human, the dog thinks it’s out of your range and hence only under voice control. Now having your dog thoroughly under voice control is a situation to be striven for, but it does not come overnight. In the meantime, how to cope?
I first used one of those chain collars that is supposed to be keyed so it would assault the
dog’s ears when it was jangled, for I had an adult, incorrigible door charger, Heidi. One day when Heidi was charging the door, I couldn’t immediately find the sound collar, so I just grabbed a regular chain choker and threw it, hitting the door at the same moment that my voice hit her ears with the NO. The effect was the same: She backed off. Thus I learned
that one does not need any special equipment; the jangle of any choke chain suddenly landing out of thin air is upsetting enough to cause your dog to heed your NO command. Repeated regularly, this combination of the thrown chain and the NO command resulted in the dog not charging doors anymore—in fact, she charged them a lot less, and finally not at all. I’ve used the technique since on other dogs who learned the lesson in just two or three sessions.
Do not worry about what the person at the door is going to think when you go through your correctional antics. People do not think kind thoughts when they are knocked down or jumped on by a dog that answers the door, so they’re likely to appreciate your efforts to keep their entry safe. Besides using the thrown object indoors to aid training, thrown objects are useful outdoors, too. Put some pebbles into an empty plastic bottle and use it as an outdoor training aid.
The puppy who does not heed your voice command is startled by the rattle the bottle makes landing nearby and is quickly convinced that it is not safe to ignore you. A clod of dirt or a handful of pebbles will do in a pinch. Do not use anything that would hurt your pup if it hit. The object here is to get Puppy’s attention, not to touch him. The combination of the thrown object and your command gets the pup’s attention and improves compliance. Be sneaky about throwing things; you don’t want Puppy to see you doing the throwing, for that could make the pup afraid of you.
