What do you think of puppy parties? I feel we need to get hollie meeting more dogs but the ones around home are older or not well trained/socialised so don't want her picking up bad habits????? Will this help with the REALLY hard biting as the other pups will tell her off??? The biting is our only problem with her, she has drawn blood and the kids are starting to avoid her it isn't just when playing, if we stroke her she starts then we have tried everything if we yelp...she barks at us, if we use a high pitched sounds or clap our hand she looks at us like we are stupid!!!!! if we shove a toy in she avoids the toy and clamps down on hand/arm/leg/face any part of anatomy she can get hold of, not good for hubby we have said nicely every time we touch her which is a word she knows but probably associates that with treats, we use a no biting que which she ignores, we turn around and ignore her but just she bites the bits at the back. We end up having to put her in her crate but I'm worried she will start to associate that with being bad (she isn't at the minute and is still happily sleeping 1am-7am in there and iwhile we eat as it is is the dining room) Any other tips GRATEFULLY received
Re: Puppy party I think it's critical young pups meet lots of dogs - don't worry about whether they are well trained or not, just so long as they are ok around young pups (and most dogs are very tolerant of young puppies, if not other older dogs). So yes, definitely take your pup to puppy parties but also get it out meeting as many nice adult dogs as you can. I doubt it will help with biting humans, really, all the other pups have a nice thick coat too and not thin human skin to worry about. But it will help with your pup being ok around strange dogs when it grows up.
Re: Puppy party The danger of puppy parties which are not well run is that some pups can get bullied and some become bullies. I don't agree with a free for all. The puppy classes I went to were well run and we never let the pups play together. The pups could see each other and would have careful introductions on the lead.
Re: Puppy party Umm...well, I have to say, I have the exact opposite view (of free running, not of proper supervision, of course). I don't see how dogs can socialise properly on lead - they can't be free to interact, learn manners of play and approaching and greeting in a friendly manner. I think they have to be off lead with other dogs in order to learn their doggy manners and communications. Although it is very sensible to have similar sized puppies together, I never saw anything that could be described as "bullying" in very young puppies. Later, as the pups grow up a bit, it's a different story. I'd put money on the bullies being the ones with limited exposure to other dogs while they were young though - the ones who didn't learn what's ok, and what's not, when they were very young.
Re: Puppy party How old is Holly? Has she had all of her jabs? Will the other puppies be the same age/size and have had their jabs? Those are the questions I would ask. I just missed the puppy classes so Chepi only started to socialise at doggy day care where she was quite nervous to start with. She is ok now and really extrovert. It is important to socialise so I would look into puppy parties, my vet organised them. I have heard people who were disappointed with them. Chepi chewed my hands and arms and snatched at my clothes in an over excited way. I distracted her with a game, some clicker training or carried her up the down the road for a walk before she could go on the ground. I resisted putting her in the crate but there were a few times when I had to, for 30 seconds up to about 2 mins, just to calm her and trying to keep a happy voice up all the while. At 22 weeks this kind of behaviour is rare now.
Re: Puppy party Hollie is nearly 15 weeks, we are doing puppy classes but there are only 2 other puppies and they aren't allowed to interact. The local pets at home do puppy parties which I'm going to look into but was worried that as a 'business' it will be all about money and not the welfare of the pups. I know the biting is normal behaviour and distracting her with a game or a toy just fuels her desire to hit bone!!!!!!
Re: Puppy party [quote author=Holliesmum link=topic=8042.msg113482#msg113482 date=1411986092] Hollie is nearly 15 weeks, we are doing puppy classes but there are only 2 other puppies and they aren't allowed to interact. The local pets at home do puppy parties which I'm going to look into but was worried that as a 'business' it will be all about money and not the welfare of the pups. I know the biting is normal behaviour and distracting her with a game or a toy just fuels her desire to hit bone!!!!!! [/quote] Bouncer has the same issues, I have not socialised him with other dogs yet, apart from those he sees when he is on his carry. Second jabs tonight so will look into some puppy parties etc.
Re: Puppy party Oh dear. How about stuffed kongs? It's hard work isn't it? I bet she'd enjoy a play with other pups. We found a few in our local park too. She is still very young, persistence will get results in a few weeks from now.
Re: Puppy party I live in an urban area, and my view on the importance of a well socialised dog to other dogs might be influenced by that. It's possible that people have different priorities elsewhere. But I think puppy play is just so very, very important - I meet so many under socialised dogs where I live, and it seriously affects the quality of their lives. I considered myself on a deadline to get my pup out and playing with as many other (appropriate) puppies and nice adult dogs as possible before he was 4 months old. I don't think there is any time to waste. And dog to dog bite inhibition is very important (even if dog play bites still hurt humans). They are teenagers, and a different set of problems come up, before you know it...
Re: Puppy party Sadly you are at the worst point for your pup nibbling on you. I tried EVERYTHING and it made no difference until on magical day I realised it had stopped She was about 5 months on that glorious day, so not too long for you now. Since then, I would trust her mouth anywhere. Adolescence was awful, but even when she was jumping up at me, biting at the lead etc she never did me any harm, so I think in those awful bitey months she learnt to control her jaws.
Re: Puppy party I've no experience of puppy parties but I agree that making opportunities for your puppy to meet other dogs (and people) in these early weeks is vital. With my last dog (choc Lab, Rolo) I didn't do this very well, what with following the vet's advice to keep him in until 14 weeks and then for convenience, as I owned a horse, just taking him to the stables with me and walking him on private land. (He was brilliant with livestock of all kinds though!) Rolo was never confident with unfamiliar dogs or people when in confined spaces (if he had space he would run away from them) and I feel sure his lack of early socialisation was to blame. So with Molly I went overboard on getting her out and about early and now she's a year I feel I have a dog I can take anywhere. You say that dogs local to you are not well trained, but I don't think this matters, unless you mean they're really aggressive - and most dogs are tolerant of puppies. Why not try your local park / recreation ground? I found this a good place to meet lots of different dogs, especially going at different times of the day. The biting is AWFUL isn't it - I also tried everything, but nothing seemed to work. But it stopped (I think Molly was about 4 - 5 months) and Hollie will grow out of it too. Hang in there!
Re: Puppy party I am no expert and I'm sure we're making lots of mistakes with Pongo, but one thing I do know is that the BEST thing we ever did was start taking him to doggy daycare every couple of weeks or so. We did it out of necessity but boy it is great for him! He absolutely loves it, spends all day playing with his friends (there are usually 10-20 dogs there), and it has also taught him that once the boisterous greetings are out of the way then it is nice to just trot around playing gently and lying down together for a bit of a think.... . I can see the difference between him and a couple of other dogs that we sometimes meet on walks, who don't regularly get off-lead time with others and who just don't seem to know how to calm down... ever... even when they're clearly tired.... It has not, however, helped with Pongo's dedication to dashing madly towards every dog he sees on his walk - completely deaf to us - hugely embarrassing. :-[. But I'm not sure we'll ever crack that one... I'd say go to the puppy party and enjoy!
Re: Puppy party So since my last post hollie has been to pets at home (not being carried) for the first time and met some nice people, the puppy party sounds good but she is the only puppy signed up Met a very happy little toddler also on a lead and Hollie was such a good girl didn't jump up or anything. Met some 'barky' dogs in their gardens on our little walk and then my neighbour who is looking after her grandsons terrier who decided to frighten the life out of hollie to the point she pulled out of her harness...he was just excited not aggressive. I picked her up and let her calm down giving her treats, I then put her down on the floor all the time treating her when the terrier came for a sniff, we stayed for 5-10 more minutes getting the gossip and Hollie was letting him sniff her and vice versa....I hope I dealt with that correctly? At least I know I needed to tighten her harness
Re: Puppy party Molly used to go to an outside, enclosed field, puppy romp. We were told to ignore our dogs and that the trainer would intervene if it was necessary. I think it was a very good idea, but we all found it very difficult to ignore our dogs!
Re: Puppy party Our vet does 3 free puppy parties for all customers which they run every couple of months. When Mira went there were 2 German Shepherds, a Bassett Hound, a Springer, a Border Terrier and a Flatcoat (sigh!). They were allowed free run and there were various toys around including a tunnel to run through. Mira was the youngest and the only one who would go through it There was a vet, a vet nurse and another assistant there to supervise & discuss puppy issues, but there was never any need for intervention due to bad behaviour. The mop and bucket was needed though It is a great idea and had the added benefit of meaning that Mira is still excited to go to the vet ;D
Re: Puppy party That sounds perfect - my vet did something very similar, and there were play session at puppy class too. As the puppies got a little older, there was sometimes the need to split up the group so the larger puppies got to play without overwhelming the smaller puppies - by 11 weeks Charlie was a big, clumsy, over enthusiastic oaf compared to the chihuahua pup (he is gentle playing with tiny dogs now though ) but it was good for pups to have a little down time out of the group anyway.
Re: Puppy party Our vet runs free puppy parties for when puppies have had their first injection until they are allowed outside. It was all very calm; two or three puppies were chosen (matched for size, confidence etc) to have a play on the floor whilst the owners had a chance to ask any questions. We also played pass the puppy on which meant all the puppies were handled by lots of different people. The first week we took Bess she spent more time watching than playing but by the time she 'graduated' she played confidently. Bess still likes going to the vets.
Re: Puppy party I so agree Julie. From the time Edsel finished his shots I have tried to give him as many opportunities as possible to interact with all types of dogs. His Golden Retriever cousin has had very limited exposure to all but Edsel and 1 older dog and the difference in their behavior and confidence level is remarkable. Edsel is so comfortable and seems to really be able to adjust his play and interaction to all the different temperaments and personalities. I think the free play has been an essential part of his first year so far. Lori
