Marley, where are you based? UK or US? And, if you can give a more rough area/city that would help even more to point you in the direction of a behaviourist or two to look at. Deer antlers you should be able to get from pretty much any pet shop these days, especially the slightly more upmarket ones - or any that stock raw foods. Otherwise, you can also order them online if you check out Amazon. Stop using them when your pup gets his adult teeth, as they can fracture or break their teeth, the antlers are so hard - but for little puppy teeth and jaws, they can keep pups preoccupied for hours...
All puppies are individuals so some need the more tough deer antler. Of our five, two of them have loved the antlers, while the other three were content with the Nylabone. The antlers are quite expensive (here in the U.S.) but they do last for a very long time unless you have a ferocious chewer. One thing that I have learned is to watch what puppy is chewing on to know which of the chew toys to offer instead. For example, Roamin' will go behind my lazy boy chair and begin to mouth it, so he gets his soft "cow" offered to him as a lure to get him out from behind that chair (he also has a house line/lead on so that if the luring doesn't work, he gets an encouragement through the lead). Or he'll be lying at my feet while I work on my laptop and suddenly, I'll hear that tell tale sound of him gnawing on the desk leg, so the offering is his Nylabone. Much of puppy rearing is based upon observation and anticipating a behavior with a quick correction/distraction which is why the regular and scheduled use of a crate is such a plus in these early months of teaching house behavior. When you can't be observing and anticipating, the safest spot is in a crate with a Kong or a Nylabone or a Deer Antler. Working on those will either keep them occupied, or finish the job of making them ready for a nice long nap....in the meantime, your brain gets a much needed rest before you begin to observe and anticipate all over again...
My antler is a godsend, buddy loves it, try an independent store, about half the price of the big chains, pretty easy to get hold of!
Yes I saw a video that mentioned about matching like toy to what he's chewing, so I got him a soft toy as he keeps going for furniture etc.. and because of this soft toy he's literally not touched anything which is great progress.. I've been using the kong today whilst he goes in his crate aswell... loves the mashed banana lol. We are having a more positive day today,took him for a walk somewhere he hadn't been before and he walked so well and then was able to go in the training field and let him off to work on his recall which he did super seeing as it was first time. He loved meeting all the other dogs aswell I think the walk done him well and he's now currently laying on his bed, as we stopped the sofa now and he's having a listening day!! So feeling bit better till the next time lol... baby steps.. I'm going to look online for the antlers. There seems so much online about them good n the bad etc... Thank you everyone for keeping me sane lol.. He's not mouthed at all either it's first day we haven't had any of that... so fingers crossed.
I'm going to use the crate more when I can't be supervising so I can prevent more instead of trying to correct once they've already done the behaviour..
Hi yes it is exhausting! We had a better day today as my hubby was home and helped. Back to the grind on Monday though,lol we'll both keep trying and maybe our pups will be wonderfully behaved very soon
We can only hope lol I'm glad your day went better aswell..We will get here in another 7months or so we won't know how we could say anything bad about them lol.. xx
Here are some trainers/behaviourists to check out: http://www.dogsnaturally.com http://www.rightstartdogs.co.uk I don't know these people, I just found them by searching reputable directories (they are both APDT). I have a good 'doggie' friend in Kent, so I will also send her a message and ask if there is anyone she would recommend.
PS - My friend just got back to me and highly recommends Laura at Dog Communication in Surrey, if you can travel to them: http://dogcommunication.co.uk
Hi thank you for that. I will have a look at the links Surrey unfortunately is abit far from where I am in Kent. But I shall look through links and Google. Can i ask what the APDT is?is that what I should look for in behaviourist. Xx
The APDT stands for the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and in the UK this is a force-free organisation. (Confusingly, in the US, the US APDT is NOT a force-free organisation!). See www.apdt.co.uk There is also the APBC - the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors - which is LARGELY force-free. (There are still a very small number who joined the organisation when it was first set up and had rubbish assessment criteria, who I've heard use some force - but you are unlikely to come across them.) See www.apbc.org.uk However, I looked at Kent for you on there and there are only 2 coming up - one only works with cats and the other had no website and I'd never heard of them. I don't know whether you specifically need to see a behaviourist, as a good trainer should be able to spot problems and implement prevention in a 6 month old puppy, so I think you can be looking at both behaviourists and trainers. You could also try messaging Anne Bussey on FB, who is fantastic as both a behaviourist and trainer, and an APBC member - she used to teach on the MSc in Animal Behaviour at Southampton - she used to live in Kent and whilst I think she has moved away now, she might be able to recommend people she knows there, from living there: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005470727362 Are you attending puppy classes with him? THat's pretty important too, since your class tutor would be supporting and advising you through issues like these... Take a look at http://puppyschool.co.uk
Thank you for your help, I'm starting a puppy class on weds with him so fingers crossed. I spoke to the trainer and he said we can have a discussion after class
