New Puppy, New Problems

I would NOT leave the dog alone with the baby. He may be little but he can bite her in the face - even when playing. Sorry but you might have jumped the gun a bit!

Get a spray bottle of vinegar and squirt it in his mouth when he starts to chew on you, THEN give him his toy.

Everything you need to know about training a puppy http://www.dickrusselldogtrainer.com/

Congrats on your new puppy! Dogs are a lot of fun & love in the house, I hope you have many years of that to look forward to.

I am so happy that you are bringing up behavioral issues right away - the best time to address bad behavior is when it starts, not after it becomes a habit.

You are correct with the crate time-out, this is the most effective way I've found to deal with hyper, mouthy behavior. Let me offer some tips so that you are successful:

1. When your puppy starts to get hyper or mouthy, start by removing the stimulation & saying "no". When Pooch stops the bad behavior, proceed with interaction, but tone it down a bit so he doesn't get out of hand right away.
2. If the behavior occurs again (within a couple of minutes), or if it never stopped to begin with, that's when you calmly, without any fuss, put Pooch in his crate for 30-90 SECONDS.
3. Open the crate without any preamble & let Pooch out. Wait a minute or two before engaging in any play again.
4. If the bad behavior occurs again, repeat steps 1-3.

The key here is 2-fold. First, you need to be consistent. Don't let Pooch get away with bad behavior because it's cute, but then correct him later because it's inconvenient. Second, more than 2 minutes is a LONG time for a puppy to be crated & calm down. After the first minute, they forget the reason they were put into a time-out.

It can take quite a few times, and as you've found out, multiple times a day, to curb the behavior. During this time, remember to redirect whenever possible. Give a toy to eliminate Pooch from chewing on you. If he gets very hyper excited, maybe some activities shouldn't happen (maybe tug-toy gets him too revved, so no more tugging, for example. This is like not giving really hyper kids candy.)

My puppy owners love this method (Rhodesians are big dogs, like Boxers, & bad behavior has to be addressed right away!). I've gotten feedback that behavior was curbed in as little as 1 day (with a sensitive dog) to 1 week (with a very stubborn, strongwilled puppy!!). But so far, no one has come back & said it didn't work. And I love that it is non-confrontational for the dog. They are truly learning to make the decision to be nice, without it being forced on them.

I would never suggest force against a dog, such as holds, hits, or yelling. The dog will react to your reaction, but not truly learn the correct behavior, and you risk having the dog act out against the aggression you are asserting.

Now, very important!! Pooch & Baby cannot play together without you RIGHT THERE. And Pooch should be calm first. If Pooch starts to act up & take it out on your daughter, remove HER from the situation first, then address Pooch. Safety first.

Finally, I strongly suggest you find a positive-reward trainer in your area & take some basic Manners classes. These may come with social time for puppies to play together. I would stay away from classes offered by pet stores, unless it is a reputable, independent trainer leasing space.

Good luck, & feel free to message me with any specific issues/questions!!

T. - Breeder/Owner/Trainer Rhodesian Ridgebacks - 13 years

okay, since I've had 3 pups in the last 5 years.....here goes:

You're doing it ALL wrong. Please contact your vet & find a Puppy Socialization training class.

Everything he is doing is NORMAL! He's a pup & doing a danged good job at it.

#1 rule with biting/chewing/nibbling: don't let him. Don't push him away. Stick a freakin' chew toy in his mouth! Just like with kids....you have to redirect him. What he is doing is normal....what you're doing is not teaching him the proper way to behave with humans. :)

A "bite" hold on the muzzle helps, as does flipping him in your arms & making sure he submits to your dominance. The "bite" hold is your thumb under his mouth, with your 1st/2nd fingers on either side of the muzzle. Hold his mouth & say "no". Flipping him is also easy....gently, but firmly, flip him back in your arms. Holding him like a baby, basically restrain him until he settles & submits to you. Be prepared for some facial scratch marks until both of you learn this skill!

Hyper mode: yep, he's a pup. This is normal! Here's how the system should work: when he's released from the crate, take him immediately outside to do his business. Actively play with him outside to get that energy out. Walk him in the yard. If it's raining, walk him in the house! He'll be better behaved if you allow him to release that pent-up energy!

Do NOT yell at your pup. That's ridiculous! Do you seriously want him complying through fear....or wouldn't respect be better? & you can earn his respect by praising/rewarding good behavior. Every single time he behaves well, praise him....actually saying the word/phrase. Seriously! You need to say, "good, Sit"...."good, Stay"...."good, Come" (that one is sooo wrong & sounds soooo funny in class!).

I'm not opposed to using the crate for time-outs, but don't overdo it! Our trainer recommended it when the pup is non-compliant. But he insisted we use better methods first. Sooo, like I said in the beginning: find a class for the pup. My theory...once YOU learn how to train, the puppy will follow along....as will all subsequent pets. & with our last 2 pups, my teenage son was the handler in class so he also learned a LifeSkill. :)

First of all, you don't necessarily want to establish the crate as a "bad" place - then even when you send them there when you are leaving the house, they think they are in trouble.

Second, it sounds like you need to establish your dominance. When puppy is jumping at you, pushing them away is an invitation for puppy to retaliate and bounce right back. If puppy does something you don't like, you need to "put him on his back" and that is exactly how it sounds. You need to basically tackle him and pin him, and calmly hold him there until he calms/stills. That shows him you are the boss and what you say goes. You can also do this gently when he is not "in trouble" and when your daughter is around so he sees her as "higher rank"

Now, a word of warning - your daughter is young, a puppy might not have been the best idea for a birthday gift...with that said, you need to remember that puppy is going to grow faster than she is. Before you know it, a boxer will be a big, SOLID dog who can easily knock your young daughter over. I know this from experience...we got a goldendoodle about a year ago when my son was barely 2. Puppy was 16 pounds, small, controllable size when we got him, but he is now 70 lbs and as tall as my son (now 3) when puppy is sitting. Because he is still very much a puppy, he often knocks my son over and that is hard to handle because he is big.

Ask your vet to show you dominance exercises to do while puppy is still young that might help. Puppy class is a good thing too. Another good thing is exercise...taking puppy for LONG walks will tire him out. I wouldn't encourage/engage in the rough play you mention (tug, wrestling, etc.) because that teaches puppy that type of play is okay.

Good luck...

We had Boxers (they passed away of old age eventually, so we don't have them anymore). Please realize that your puppy will act like a puppy all of his life - only one day, he will be 70 pounds of puppy. :) Boxers were originally bear-baiting dogs, so they are bred to be exuberant and brave, and not all that bright. Still, they can make great pets if you train them properly. What we would do with our big guy is if he put his mouth on us when he was playing, we would hold his mouth shut and say, "NO BITE!" firmly. As soon as he showed a sign of submission (rolling over to his side, or putting his head down), we would let him go. Keep doing that. Every. Single. Time. Do not allow him to sit on the couch with you or sleep on your bed. He must understand that he is NOT the alpha in your household, and that even the baby is above him. He is the "low man on the totem pole," so to speak. Once he understands this, he will not try to bite. The other thing about Boxers (and the reason they have the name) is that they like to come at you with their front paws. Do not allow this. Same thing - he comes at you with his paws, hold him down on the floor and say, "NO JUMPING!" When he acts submissive, let him up. Whenever he greets you appropriately (no jumping, no biting), praise him.

Bottom line, Boxers can be very dominant dogs if you allow it. Obviously with a big, energetic dog, he needs to understand his place in your family. Once he does, he will make a very good pet, and even your toddler will be able to manage him.

One thing to remember... he is playing with you as he would with his littermates.

When one of them bites, the other yelps and that sometimes startles them into stopping. You might try a high-pitched yelp to let them know that it hurts....

http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/guide/biting-puppy-how-train-p... (This article has some GREAT suggestions!)

Also, growling at them sometimes reminds them of "pack rules" .....

But yes, a firm NO! and removing the toy/excitement/ etc. will also help.

Also... one thing to help them calm themself....

Do NOT pet him unless he is sitting down...... that teaches him that the only way he will get petted is if he is sitting down. A young puppy jumping on a person is "cute", but when that dog is full grown and 80-100 lbs, it is just too much.

Any time I meet a strange dog (at a garage sale, for example), and I ask if I can pet them, I make them sit down before I pet them... and the owners always ask if I am a dog trainer! No, I'm not, but that is how we trained our last 2 dogs.... we would only pet them when they were sitting down..... it is the "good" thing (petting) that reinforces their sitting down.

A boxer for a one year old was probably not the best choice. He will outgrow/out weigh her in no time. They are extremely strong and muscular and solid. His just bumping into her is going to knock her down for many years to come!

I just read a traning book because we also have a young dog. As for the biting/nipping it said to say "No" and then turn away and refuse to play with the dog anymore. It said that that's how a puppy in a litter learns what is acceptable or not - the litter mates will turn their backs and refuse to play with one of their siblings who has done something offensive. I tried it with my dog and it seems to work. He will do things to my hubby that he doesn't do to me because he knows I will quit playing.

As for jumping up, teach your daughter to put her knee up when the dog comes at her. The knee will get the dog in the chest and they learn very quickly not to jump up if the knee is up. I also use this with my dog and it works wonders. When we first get home, he is VERY excited. When he runs towards me, I put my knee up and he stops short and NEVER jumps.

Good luck and enjoy your new baby!

Don't wave your hands around his face because it is an invitation to go after your hand.

When our yorkie was a pup, he would snap at the kids sometimes and I wanted to break that habit really quickly. So, if he bit one of us we would firmly and loudly say, "OW! NO BITE!" and then would walk away from him. Then anytime he would lick us, we would say, "Good boy, kisses". Over time he learned that kisses were good and biting was not! So now when he tries to nip at or playfully chew on the kids, we firmly say, "NO BITE!" and then in a friendlier voice we say, "Kisses!" He always stops and starts licking. May sound goofy but it worked for us. I have 2 family members who were seriously bitten by dogs and ended up in the emergency room so it is very important to me to train them not to bite. Along the same lines, I would start petting the puppy when he is eating. It will prevent it from being possessive of it's food, another reason some dogs bite.

Sign up for puppy training, obedience classes, whatever they call them in your community. Pretty much every town offers something like this, at a reasonable price, it's totally worth it.

You got the puppy for you NOT your daughter, shes a baby and could care a less about having a puppy. Just be careful even under the most watchful eye accidents happen. We had thought about getting a dog, a boxer too and after learning more about them we opted out. At least til my daughter is older. I would put him in formal training.
Added we opted out of the boxer because my friend who breeds them said they tend to be jumpers and nippy when playing. Both NOT good around babies.

Please don't use the crate for time outs, he will become afraid of it or never go in when you need him to.

Try a water bottle with just water and give a squirt with a firm no. You can also make a yelp noise when he does this so he knows that it is hurting you. This is the best way since that's how they learn from other puppies and dogs.

I have found that positive reinforcements work the best with dogs. They are so much like children and only want to please you.

omg, a puppy and a 1 year old??????????
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khairete
S.

You're right. He's a puppy. He needs to learn rules and boundaries. He's social, and he needs to play and interact with you. He's also teething probably, so gnawing on things is natural and comforting. He will grow out of the teething part, and he will not grow out of the desire to play.

The crate is a place of refuge. It is not advisable to use it for punishment. Dogs don't associate it that way. A time out works for kids because you explain it at the same time, but the dog won't get that.

The crate has to be a positive location only - for sleep, for relief from a child or house guests, and for containing him when you got out. It's also useful in the puppy stage for housebreaking. Therefore, it should never be used for punishment. It confuses them, makes the crate a place they dread, and it doesn't work. There's too much time between the "offense" and the crate - by the time you get him in there, he's in another room from where the offense occurred and he's lost any connection.

Puppies like to play, as do young and middle-aged dogs, so that's normal. It's more effective, when the puppy does something wrong (like grabbing your hands) to stop what you are doing, look him right in the eye (put your hand under his chin if you have to so he's facing you) and correct him. Trainers use "correction" instead of "punishment" - that's very important. Say "no bites" or whatever phrase you choose. "NO" is such a general term and they just don't get it. They may think it's okay to bite in another room, or to bite another person or the other hand.

Our dog was a rescue, and we have no idea what kind of training she had before. We do know she was abused. So we had a lot of correcting and re-training to do. The shelter (a very well-respected one) gave us a huge packet of helpful hints. They also told us not to use the techniques you see on TV with the Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan. Despite his hype, those techniques can create more aggressive and stressed out dogs.

Keep all of his toys in one place - we use a basket not far from, but not in, our dog's crate. Dogs need several significant walks or play sessions per day - puppies probably need more and of lesser duration. After that, they will settle down and nap. Your dog needs to learn what he can play with and what he can't. So do the correction EVERY TIME he nips or chews the wrong thing, and then immediately substitute something else that's acceptable and praise him - be sure the tone of your voice varies and that your frustration doesn't carry over into the "praise" part. Dogs have a very short memory - you have to catch them in the act and correct them. It something occurred 5 seconds ago, it's history. If you punish, they think you are punishing what they were doing at the moment (like looking at you) and not what they did 5 seconds ago (like gnawing the toddler). Don't just give the dog a chew toy; the dog learns "Okay, bite the baby, get a toy." Does that make sense?

I know it's incredibly frustrating to have to watch them both at every second, so don't try to correct every single offense if you aren't right there. It's also hard to keep the aggravation out of your voice when you see the dog bite the hand for the 50th time and your daughter is upset. Your daughter will forget quickly, and so will the dog. Try to keep your voice firm but even, and your daughter will eventually learn not to yell at him too.

Your dog wants to please you. It takes patience and consistency. If necessary, you can get a trainer to come to the house or take your dog to a program. Dogs are social animals as you know, and they want to fit in. Yours needs to learn his place in your family, and he will. Choose language and a system you can stick to. Sometimes it helps to get a training DVD - you might try your public library, which may have something or may be able to borrow something from another library in its network. It's free and you can try more than one if necessary, but definitely find a system quickly and establish rules.

Good luck.

Yelp to let h know and.disengage from play and or redirect to something else. Chew toy, stuffed kpng, etc. Crate as needed, just reward for crate too. Sorry can't type well on a half dead phone. Boxers are jumpy and pushing is a game. So called alpha rolls and other things to try and establish dominance are a bad idea. Since she knows sit, once you have her attention you could have her sit or down for a second or two to calm down too. Just make sure to reward the calm so you don't end up with negative assoocations towards anything. It sounds like you are doing pretty good with her and puppies take time.Have fun and look for a positive trainer in your area too, always nice too have a

Our dog is the same where she gets excited and then chews or nips. She is mostly just ending her puppyhood but we just adopted her. I find positive reinforcement does work best. When she licks we say good girl nice kissy kiss when she nips or chews we say no bite kissy kiss or no chew chew kissy kiss. She now will actually stop the chew or the nip and start licking. Also we stop playing immediately when she does that to reinforce. She is getting a lot better does not do it that much anymore though. We also make sure she gets a run outside and gets to play soccer with us wiht an old deflated soccer ball. She loves to grab it when we are kicking it around and run with it. Just make sure you do not hit the ball to hard to hurt the puppies mouth.

We are getting a puppy (poodle) in a few weeks and I've been reading a book that I think has great advice/recommendations. It's called Good Owners, Great Dogs. The book offers great training tips, etc. I've renewed it twice now from the library and think I'll probably order my own copy before puppy comes home. Maybe take a look at that. Good luck. :)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0446675385

We just bought my son a Vizsla puppy...we are in the exact same boat as you!!! She is very very smart and stubborn too!! I've tried all the suggestions below and have really found timeouts are what work best for her. Generally speaking when she doesn't listen to our commands she's over tired and truly needs a break/nap (and so do we usually).

The other method I find works if I cant intervene fast enough for my boys (5 and 3...she doesnt bother my 1 yr old at all) is tucking their hands under their armpits and walking away. If she attacks from the back (which she does a lot with my 3 yr old) I have him turn back around and continue to walk straight into her space (hands still stuck under their armpits but with elbows out to protect their face) after awhile she gets it and will either sit or walk away. When I get there she goes straight to timeout depending how wound up she was!!

I found the yelling, spray bottle, yelping, alpha roll etc just egged her on more and more. A quick visit in the backyard/crate alone has really worked the best for her...hoping it lasts;) Good Luck at just 15 weeks I can already see much improvement with the jumping/biting/nipping puppy craziness!!!

Smart dogs can be alot of work to train but it's a great reward in the end. We have had a dumb dog, who was passive but difficult to train, and a smart dog, who was tough to train but things are easier in the end. Dogs are such a huge investment of time and money between initial vet costs and training costs. Get yourself and your dog into puppy school as soon as you can. In the meantime figure out what your dog's "money" is as our trainer said, what is the best reward for them and keep rewarding any good behavior. She was big on never reinforcing bad behavior (and attention for bed behavior is a reinforcement). For jumping she told us to knee the dog and then to not look at them or even speak to them until they stop jumping, then reward the good behavior, it worked well if you are consistent...although I'm not sure how to deal with that with your dtr since she isn't tall/big enough to do that. For chewing she just said to get lots of chew toys and direct the dog to the chew toys until their adult teeth have been in for awhile. She did finally have us get a muzzle for our dog for a few instances because she was concerned about our son, but we did this with the instruction of a trainer, exactly how she described and the exact circumstances. There is not one answer for how to train a dog, it works differently depending on the dog's personality. It's very important to invest the $ in a good trainer. It was more $ for us to go to the trainer with 20+ years of experience with dog behavior vs going to local pet store or YMCA, but in the end, with a dog that is a smart dog, it is well worth the time and money.