I'm having a big problem with my almost 10 week old puppy. I'm working hard to train her but getting discouraged. The main problems I'm having is her chewing everything which I am trying to remedy by giving many toy options changing them out for her and many things to chew and keep her busy. I am home with her around the clock so she gets several walks a day and a lot of attention and time playing fetch. But every time I take her out she eats something she shouldn't. I live in India and it's impossible to have every single thing picked up outdoors. I've tried putting her on the leash to take her out but she only chews the leash even when I put lemon or chili or vinegar on it, she doesn't care, she chews it too and won't go to the bathroom when she's on the leash. I worry she will eat something that will harm her. And then off the leash, she won't focus on going to the bathroom outside because she is too excited to chew on new things she finds. Should I muzzle her when she needs to go out to keep her from chewing? She's smart too... when she gets something in her mouth she runs away from me because she knows I'll try to take it away. I don't even play that game anymore to try to chase her because I realize it's a game to her. So question #1 should I muzzle her to take her out to protect her from eating things she shouldn't? #2 how do I use a leash with her when she only wants to chew on it and play tug of war with it? Even using bitters and chili and lemon and vinegar on the leash hasn't deterred her... she acts like she likes it! and #3 she will NOT come to me. I don't call her or say come if she's in trouble and have been working on rewarding every time she comes but this dog completely ignores me when I call her or say come or try to stop her from doing something she shouldn't. She has been with us 6 weeks now and still doesn't come or know her name or obey any commands despite us working with her with rewards every day. Is this normal? Please tell me it will get better! I'm getting discouraged and my husband who has never had a dog in his life is beginning to think I'm lying about how wonderful dogs can be. I love her and want to help her be a good dog especially since we have a children's home and I think once she is trained she will be good for the kids. Thanks in advance for your advice!
Hi Erin (I assume?) First off, it's great that you're involved with training your puppy with rewards rather than punishments. That's a wonderful first step on the path to having a wonderful family member, who is engaged and confident with you. Your post has a lot of things to address, so I'll take it bit by bit, if I may. As I'm sure you're aware, although it appears the cultural norm for breeders in India to sell the puppies very early, it's a really awful situation that must be discouraged. As well as four weeks being far too early for the puppy to be leaving their litter, and many puppies this age will actually die because of the early removal, it can lead to ongoing behavioural challenges, which can cause problems for the new owners. I say this not to judge, but in the hope that maybe you can help spread the word in your country that this culture should be challenged and changed, for the good of these puppies. Here's an article which will explain more - http://www.thelabradorsite.com/when-can-puppies-leave-their-mother/ It's not uncommon for puppies to object to being on leash. Imagine if you had a collar and leash attached to you. I'm sure that you'd rebel against it, too Your puppy just needs to learn that it's part and parcel of going out on a walk, and that far more rewarding stuff happens when she isn't chewing on it. So, that means rewarding her for ignoring it, with treats or games. Start this off around the house before moving it outside, to make it easier for her to succeed. Each time she bites the leash, distract her with something else - a toy, maybe - and make it into a fun game. Puppies explore the world with their mouths, and so it's perfectly normal for her to be doing this. I absolutely wouldn't be muzzling a puppy this age to stop her picking things up from the floor. Again, it's perfectly normal behaviour and it's something you can train against. You just need to work on having a strong "leave it" and a strong "drop" cue. You'd start these around the house again, with things that are easy for her, and then build on the level of difficulty. If there is a lot of litter on the floor, it's also worth training a "default leave", so you don't have to keep nagging "leave it" all the time. This is done by placing something on the floor, in such a way that she can't get to it (either because a helper picks it up if she tries, or she's on a leash so you can prevent her reaching it), and treating her if she looks away from it. You'd eventually work on adding proximity (ie, moving closer), level of distraction (making it something tastier) and movement past it. Make it a party every time she succeeds in ignoring something she'd really like to have. In the meantime, when you're out and you've not yet managed to train this yet (because it does take time), use something rewarding, like a piece of roast chicken, stuck right on her nose, to get her past the things on the floor. It's up to you to be vigilant and pre-empt her grabbing them. The "coming to you" part is split into two sections - one is getting a rock-solid recall. The book Total Recall (pictured to the right) is a brilliant resource with a step-by-step programme to teach your puppy to come back to you, every time. The second half is when you're calling her to get something away from her. This is a slightly different issue and requires you to train a "give". I wrote a post about this the other day: https://thelabradorforum.com/threads/6-month-old-puppy-woes-need-help.19547/#post-299534 The same process can be used when calling her away from something she really wants. You can use that thing (as long as it's safe) as a reward for coming away from it. You can set up scenarios to train this, so you're not just reacting to what you have to deal with out and about. It's called the Premack Principle and is a very strong tool indeed. Puppies can be very trying - I have a seven-month old myself, so, believe me, I do know! But, it really sounds like you want to go about things the right way, which is wonderful. I hope I have helped, and please do come back with any more questions or comments you may have.
Hi. Thank you so much for your response. I was looking in my email to see if anyone responded but I am guessing now that I must have not checked the box to receive email. And I am just now seeing your response. I am going to look into getting the book you suggested. I hope that if they don't have it here, maybe I can order it for my Kindle. And after I type this I'll go check out the link you posted too. Pepper is doing so good with her leash now and she loves walks. She is also sitting when prompted and I'm so glad to see that she can learn something. Especially when the other things seem so difficult to teach her. We did get the muzzle for her to go outside to go to the bathroom. But it's mostly because we have all trees around our house and it's impossible to keep the leaves and sticks and these seed things from falling to the ground and she's so fast, she swallows things whole or runs from us. After the first couple of days, she doesn't mind the muzzle. I make it loose so she can pant and she can even bark with it on. She just can't pick up and swallow things. We put it on right when we go out with her and take it off as soon as we walk in the door. I actually came on here today to post some other questions I had and that is how I saw your response. Thank you!
