New puppy seems to be immune to discipline!?

Question

Hi I'm Kati!
Yesterday I got a 7 1/2 wk old puppy! His name is Scout. I love him already! OK well I thought I would begin letting him know what's what here from the start, so when he grabbed a napkin from off of the counter, I said, "no no!" and took it away. Of course, I replaced it w/ a chew toy. Then I threw the remains of the napkin, only to look back and find him chewing up more! So I repeated the "No!" And took them away, and gave him back his chew-toy. After I threw all the napkins, he had grabbed my shoe. I figured this meant he wanted to play, so I said, "No!" Sternly and gave him the toy taking away the shoe. Then I took him outside and started running around w/ him in my backyard. He liked that, but soon began to "do his own thing" again. He ran back to the door, and sat there barking. I let him inside again, but he just ran over and started to chew up a teddy-bear o' mine. I was so disgusted, I decided I'd have to put everything up. I put Scout ...

... in his crate and picked up all the things I didn't want him getting into! Then I let him out, and let him play for awhile. He did good until he started yanking at my skirt! So i began playing w/ him again, then he bit my hand! I didn't know what to do, so I gave him a toy and started playing "Tug o' War" and he soon dropped it and found something else that he could rip up - like my flower boquet on the table which he ripped up. I was so upset at this point, I said; "No, no!" and flicked his nose. He's now in his crate, and I just finished cleaning up his latest, "flower craze". It's probably just that he's a puppy--but no matter how much I say no, or flick him on the nose/head, he thinks I'm playing! I have a stern tone, he just doesn't know..how do I make him know?

Answer 1

Kati,
You are doing everything right. Just be patient. Keep doing what you are doing, and keep your cool. It takes many, many repetitions for a young puppy to learn. I have raised a few dogs; my current one is 9 months old. He still needs repetition. I swear they are cute just to keep us from killing them :)

Answer 2

Couple of things - don't flick his nose - it will not have the affect you want and can cause other problems. Also, do not play tug of war with a puppy. This encourages alpha behavior in the dog, as typically the dog will hold on longer than the human, and the dog wins.

From what you've said, it also sounds like often times you are giving in to him, i.e., he was barking at the door so you let him in, he wanted to play so you ran with him outside. It appears like he is still calling the shots at home.

Check with a local kennel, shelter, or college to see about puppy kindergarten classes. This will help get the dog under control, begin to teach the basic obedience work, and also get the dog socialized.

Make sure that he understands you are the pack leader. You have a good base (i.e., taking away what he should not have and replacing it with something of his own). Make sure that everything he needs comes from you, when you want it, not when he does. If he is not responding to the word "no", put him laying down with your hand gently holding him by the back of his neck. This is what a mother dog would do to keep her pups in line, and usually will work. Hold him in place until he stops squirming and relaxes. Then, count to 10 and release him.

Answer 3

This is totally normal puppy behavior. He's still learning. It's pretty normal to have to have all objects you don't want him chewing to be out of his reach. At such a young age, they really have no idea that some things are for chewing and some things aren't. You're doing the right thing by taking innapropriate things away and praising for using his toys. You can also get bitter apple spray and spraying that on things he shouldn't chew. It tastes gross to them, so he won't do it anymore.

Just keep doing what you are going, and try not to get angry with him. If you've had too much, put him in his crate for a break. Raising a puppy is hard work. Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with him. And he will learn, and get better.

Another thing, tiring a puppy out will make him better behaved. Running around in bakc yard was a good idea of yours. When your puppy is sleeping, he won't be misbehaving!

Answer 4

ALL Puppies are like that! There is no such thing as a well- behaved puppy. They don't know what the rules of the house are. You will have to repeat the process you described over and over again with each individual item that you don't want him playing with. Puppy-proofing the house is a good idea so that you get to do nice things with him as well as disciplining him. If all you do is yell at him, he will become "immune" to it. He will learn that this is the normal state of things. Also, be consistent in your tone of voice and body languae when tellin him "no". It's the tone of voice that you use that let the puppy know that you are displeased, not the word. Find a tone that gets his attention and keep using that one. Watch Cesar Milan "The Dog Whisperer" on National Geographic Channel if you have cable, He's the best!

Answer 5

Have some patience. It takes more than one day for anything to stick. He's a puppy and puppies chew and you have to make sure that your house is "puppy proofed' so that there is no temptation lying around and nothing that he can get into that can harm him. Puppies, like small children have short attention spans, so what he is doing is completely normal. Just give it time. And he must be a pretty tall puppy if he is getting things off of the counter already!! LOL!!

Answer 6

Just continue to be consistent. but Remember he is only 8 weeks old, that is still very young and many breeders insist that puppies stay with their mother and littermates until after that. The mother teaches the puppy how to behave and what is acceptable. Now it is up to you and you seem to be on the right track. He is still a baby and he is probably very playful like he would be with his littermates. Just continue the stern No, also you can softly grab him my his muzzle, that is what the mother would do , or put him on his back in a submissive position. For me, what worked the best is a firm NO, and not giving him opportunities to do it again and making the home "puppy proof" and giving him very small time outs, his crate is great for that.

Answer 7

Your doing almost all the right things. Your dog is still very young so don't expect him to be perfect. When hes bold tap him on the nose, say no sternly yet calmly {don't shout} and then put him outside for a minute, then when you let him in don't give out any more or praise him loads just say into bed until he gets into bed. Eventually he will learn not to do the thing he has just done wrong. Remember to play with your dog loads he is probably missing his family a lot and you don't want him to think of you as being the stern one who only gives out. GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 8

I got my puppy when he was 4 months old. He had a few habits that we needed to curb right away...but were having a problem with.

So, "no" didn't work (not for awhile anyway) and redirecting didn't always work...I brought out the bigger guns of Apple Bitter. It tastes nasty but won't hurt them. After he was told no a few times with something and wouldn't listen, I squirted it in his mouth...he hated it. It only took 2-3 times of that before he got the idea. But then again, your puppy is really little. It may take longer.

Answer 9

You shouldn't be flicking him and you shouldn't be using the crate as a punishment.

Puppies will touch everything within their reach. You should go thru the house on your hands and knees and put away everything you don't want him to touch or destroy.

You seemed a little overwhelmed already with your new puppy. You should go to the library and get a book on New Puppy ownership and sit down and read thru so you can see what you can expect next.

Answer 10

Hi, I have the same problem with my sheltie. The only thing that seems to work is to keep doing what you are doing and put everything up that you don't want him to chew. It will take sometime for him to adjust. What I did with the shoe thing is I bought a pair of slippers from the dollarstore and that's what my baby plays with. She is not interested in actual chew toys, so I supply her with household items she can chew! Don't back down though. Keep being stern with your 'NOs' and he will get it!

Good luck

Answer 11

If he's only 7 1/2 weeks old, he may be too young to pick it up quickly--remember, it's like teaching a baby to pick up around the house at this point. He's doing what he's supposed to at this point--being a puppy. Keep trying to show him what he's supposed to do, and eventually he'll get the idea. Right now everything is a game to him.