How do I train my pup to stop nipping, shredding, jumping up to bite shirt sleeves & eating furniture?

Question

I have a 9 month old American Eskimo puppy named Captain. He shreds everything! He nips while playing. When he's excited, he'll follow us around and jump and bite at our shirts. He has plenty of different chew items-toys, rawhides everything. He has chewed the corners of my chase lounge down to the foam and the back skirt on my couch doesn't exist. Its extremely frustrating! We've tried "Shoo!" on the furniture but it stinks so bad Febreeze won't even cover it up! We try to distract him with a toy. He jumps up to get papers off the tables and shreds them to bits. I've had plenty of dogs in my life but this one is by far the worst. He's a beautiful dog and funny and fun to play with until he starts going after the clothes! We take him for a run and a walk so he's exercised plenty. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

A water spray bottle does wonders. Just spray him when he does something wrong saying "No" in a firm but not yelling voice. Soon just the word "No" will be enough. Be sure to praise him when he stops immediately or does something right. He doesn't know the difference between his toys and your belongings, so immediately after he is told to stop shredding your belongings i.e. "No", give him his own toy to play with, then make a fuss of him. He'll get the idea soon enough.

Answer 2

I can imagine what your 9 year old does when this happens. He dances around, half shouting, half laughing. Right? The puppy is enjoying the reaction and is playing up to it. All puppies go through this. It is part of being a puppy. Your son should get down on the floor so that the puppy is mouthing an easier part to control, eg. his hand. When the puppy mouths his clenched fist he should take it away feigning injury and with a great yelp as though he is really hurt! Sounds a strange thing to do but it harkens back to when the puppy, whilst feeding enthusiastically from the mother, nipped a teat. The mother would chastise the pup verbally. The pup would release and be relegated to the less productive teats. This is not an unusual occurence because the pup knows no better. Good Luck

Answer 3

Getting him distracted by having toys handy is a very good idea. I had the same trouble when my terrier was young - when I walked, he would grab my pants in a really fun (to him) game of tug. I stopped walking when this happened and held my pants with my hands so he couldn't grab them the 1st time (then after that I wore shorts!) Since it's November, though, this may not be the best option for you. Remember that dogs will keep doing things that are reinforcing (shredding your clothes, grabbing things from tables) unless you control the game, and manage the dog's environment so that it's easier for him to make the right choice. If you are crating your dog to help with potty training, this will be a lot easier to do - take him out of his crate to play, but stay near the crate. Keep him on leash. Get him interested in a toy, if you can. If he goes straight for (whatever you don't want him to have) - pop him back in the crate. Don't be emotional about it - just put him back. You can say, "Whoops!" or something like that, but you don't have to. Try to play with him again after a few minutes. If he makes another wrong decision - back in the crate. This may seem tedious to you or even stressful, but it's important to change your dog's focus to his toys and his chewies, rather than your paperwork! When your dog grabs the toy that you're offering, have a big celebration and give treats, etc. You are shaping the dog to make the right choice - he chooses the toy and gets to stay out and play with you, or he chooses the wrong thing and wins an all-expenses-paid trip to his crate.
I have posted here before about ending any game if you feel teeth on skin. Here's a link - don't worry, you can solve this problem. Many other people have, and you can too.

Answer 4

Keep him on a leash at all times that you can! Yes, this means even in the house. It's a pain and it sounds mean, but it really does work. Keep taking the dog out and runnning with him to release some of his energy. Buy him kennel and use this when you cannot keep him on a leash with you. Feed him in the kennel and have him sleep there. Soon he will be calmer. Implement some discipline! You must tell him that when he does bad things. The biggest thing: REWARD HIM when he obeys you! ALWAYS have treats on hand to reward him.

Answer 5

A dog should be trained on how to eat, walk with you, not to bark, potty training and sleep on its place etc. You can teach anything to your puppy, dogs get trained easily with some good instructions. If you want some good training tips visit https://tr.im/cL6jQ

If properly trained, they should also understand whistle and gesture equivalents for all the relevant commands, e.g. short whistle or finger raised sit, long whistle or flat hand lay down, and so on.

It's important that they also get gestures and whistles as voice may not be sufficient over long distances and under certain circumstances.

Answer 6

I read about this spray that you use to spray on the furniture so that when he bites it, he gets a bad taste in his mouth and won't do it again. I can't remember where I saw it though. I would talk to someone at a pet store.

Answer 7

For chewing and shredding try bitter apple I know my dog hates it or if caught in the act try put a muzzle on him for about 5 mins. As for nipping at you at play everytime he nips say no and put muzzle on him and as for jumping on u try lifting your knee and hitting him in the chest not so hard to knock him over but to stop him from jumping.

Answer 8

You need to be alittle more active with him. He just might be an overly active dog. I have a blue heeler and he is very active but now that he is 2 years, he has calmed down. good luck

Answer 9

your dog needs at least 2 1/2 hours of exercise every day, walk him in the mourning and at night, if you can't walk him fo that long at least give him an hour longwalk. also give him things to chew, when he chews something he's not supposed to say NO and give him something he is supposed to chew, priase him when he chews the correct thing

Answer 10

Sounds like he's not getting enough exercise.