our cute little puppy that I worried was too quiet has now turned into full on crocopup!! The honeymoon period is well and truly over. She is constantly chewing on hands and she likes to jump up at the kids and grab their clothes. Especially school uniform. Maybe that's just when my attention is elsewhere! School mornings are a mission especially as hubby goes off early to work. How do I discourage this? I have a lot of questions this morning. Will post separately.
I think the easiest way to manage on school mornings would be to get up in time to spend 15 minutes in the garden with your puppy before the kids are up and then to put her in a separate room, crate or pen so that she can't get to the children. Then at other times, when they're wearing old clothes and you don't have time pressure, you can teach them to 'be a tree' - stand tall and still - when the puppy jumps up, or show them how to cue a sit and reward.
Yeah, my kid's clothes bore the brunt of Xena's teeth, but she wasn't a jump+grab, rather a sit next to you+grab. The only thing that got us through was management (and not always successfully, either) : get dressed for school last to minimise clothes-ripping opportunities; sit up at the table or on the table (yep, we resorted to that); distract dog with a box to destroy; leave the back door open and hope that the dog will potter around outside etc. It's like being held hostage by a furry terrorist. Then one day, out of the blue, the croc will start to disappear and your entire household will heave a massive sigh of relief.
We have this too, especially when the older one leans forward and she can jump up at her tie! Truffle does know to sit nicely for a reward instead, so it's mostly a case of managing their first appearance in the morning, keeping her calm and reminding the girls to grab the treat pot and get her to sit instead. What usually happens is they come in, squeaking excitedly at the pup, then wonder why they get leapt on. If I can intervene in time it goes much more smoothly.
Hey - how long did your honeymoon period last? My OH is worried our puppy is reallly quiet and laid back but I keep saying he's not even 9 weeks yet and he isn't settled! Hope the clothes nipping stops soon, have you tried clicker training yet?
I find the mornings are the worst for crocopup...I don't know if it's coincidence or not but whenever I apply his teething gel, he always calms down considerably. I'm using this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/VetIQ-Teet...1475315459&sr=8-1&keywords=vetiq+teething+gel
