Violent Puppy

[jocoyn]

What kind of toy are you using for redirection? I liked something soft like a rolled up handtowel and how are you tugging. Growly or Squeeky? Sometimes a dog will be intimidated if you are being growly and wont take the toy.

[onyx'girl]

I think Leerburg has changed the freebies into pay per view, not much selection in my above link.

This video is a great example for training a pup, you can do this even if you aren't training in SchH. The pup in the video is a couple weeks younger than yours, and if you click on the blog in the thread other videos should link(or the youtube acct)
Bully sticks can be too much sometimes, I would get her a nice raw beef knucklebone to work on when she is crated(supervised) that will help while teething and if her ears aren't up yet, the cartilage in the knuckle will help along with strengthening the head muscles from chewing.

[Gracie's My Girl]

Originally Posted by jocoyn

What kind of toy are you using for redirection? I liked something soft like a rolled up handtowel and how are you tugging. Growly or Squeeky? Sometimes a dog will be intimidated if you are being growly and wont take the toy.

We use her favorite toy that looks like a basketball that squeaks and has two ropes coming out of it. I use a squeaky/happy voice when playing with her and redirecting. Also, while I will move the toy around to get her attention...I will not tug on it hard because she is teething.

[sit,stay]

You might want to try different toys, until you find one that she is really crazy for. And remember that she can always change her mind about which toy is fascinating, so be prepared to rotate the high value toys.

Also, it might help if you get a little more proactive in redirecting her. It sounds like you might be waiting too long to try to redirect her. She is already locked onto you/whoever. Can you try to redirect her with a toy or obedience work a little earlier, before she is so focused?

Good luck! Puppies are a lot of work. Some even more than others!
Sheilah

[BR870]

Hang in there... Be consistent, firm, and fair... It will get better if you do your part

[msvette2u]

Originally Posted by Gracie's My Girl

Sure.

8:00 - Breakfast and 3/4 mile walk
8:30 - crate
10:00 - Outdoor playtime and training
11:00 - crate
12:00 - 3/4 mile walk, lunch, training, play
1:15 - crate
3:00 - play, grooming, training and another walk if she needs it
4:00 - crate
6:00 - dinner, play, training
7:00 - socialization outside of the house
8:00 - bedtime

I am no expert here, but you're putting puppy in a crate for 6 hrs. Granted it's broken up (what I'd recommend too) but is there any way that instead of being stuck back in the crate the puppy can be loose in the house with playtoys, tugs or chews, and gate it somewhere safe?
Why does she need crated so much?
Also bedtime's awfully early. Our pup goes to bed when we do, around 9-10pm.

The reason I mention this is our puppy is insanely mellow. But I've noticed he becomes pretty hyper if kept crated more than a few hrs. He spends most his time during the day out and about.

Not that crate time is bad by any means, but if our dog, being very low-key, gets hyper after a few hrs. in a crate, yours, being a "drivey" dog, could probably use more play time and less crate time?

[JakodaCD OA]

I'm kinda hung up on the crate thing to, and it's just me, so don't take it personally.

I don't know if your home all day but assuming you are, since she's in and out of the crate off and on all day..

When I have a puppy and I'm home all day,,the puppy is usually not in a crate, Sure if they need downtime or I need a break, they may go in the crate for a time

But the majority of time they are out of the crate, and yeah you do have to keep an eye on them, but hey that's why I get a puppy

Also agree that crate time is NOT bad, many people work, so it's a must, but I just feel if I'm home, no big deal, they are out with me

[MicheleMarie]

what are you doing when she starts biting you??? until my guy was done teething i had a soft plastic bottle and i put layers of socks around it. it's really soft on their teeth (like your skin muahahahaha). or even just socks knotted together. i had an old leash too that he loved to chew on because he could get it all the way in the back of his mouth. at 4 months i started to correct him for biting (which he does when he wants to get you to play) and i would scruff him and say no.

in the beginning stages it may seem violent but it's just a crazy hyper puppy with sharp sharp teeth and she doesn't know what to do! puppies are fun but i am SO glad my dog is now almost 9 months. we have other problems-but at least my scratches are healing lol

[Lucy Dog]

I actually like the idea of using the crate throughout the day for a puppy. Just like pretty much everything else you do at this age... it's training.

It gets them used to going in it. Puppies are constantly sleeping in and out all day... I figure they might as well do it in the crate, so it's not a "culture shock" when they go in it for hours at night.

Now as an adult, trained dog and assuming you're home all day... that's a different story. As a puppy, I see no problem with the in and out of the crate all day thing.

[PaddyD]

At 18 weeks, which is a little over 4 months, that crate time doesn't seem excessive to me. I think you both need that time for reasons of sanity. That age is a very bratty age and my girl was very much like yours (she's a total sweetheart now). She was very mouthy and out in the yard she just went nuts. She still does now sometimes. The only thing that worked for us was a firm NO and we made sure we were facing her with good eye contact. Different dogs respond to different things .... don't know what works for yours. According to all of your training success it seems
likely that you will succeed in solving this problem. Keep up the training. Keep asserting your leadership role. She will catch on, but right now she's a teenager and
a part of that is surviving her testing testing testing.