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Old February 21st, 2012, 12:35 PM
Digston Digston is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: The place I call home
Posts: 182
Your pup is adorable! I can see how you fell in love with her!

Good thing about your problem is that she is a pup and the problem should be easy enough to stop before it becomes habit.

Firstly, I would suggest looking around in your area for a animal behavior/training specialist. I find it easier to see how to correct the behaviour rather than to read how.

When my first dog was a pup we put him into puppy classes. It was more for me then for the dog, as I knew very little on how to train a dog. It was a huge help and I would definitely suggest to anyone to take the time to go to puppy classes! The trainer I went to believes in correction as well as positive reinforcement, not everyones cup of tea but it was exactly what I wanted since my dog is a stubborn lil booger. When we had issues with nipping and biting my trainer suggested we scruff him while using vocal correction. The scruffing action was very quick, just a fast grab of the scruff and a sharp "NO". Releasing the scruff right away. We found it worked well for us. We always followed the correction with slow petting and soft praise. Your pup will feed off of your enthusiasm, so if you are petting fast or using an excited voice they will think its time to play.

There are many training methods out there. Like I said before, some people may not be comfortable scruffing. Some pups are sensitive enough that just the vocal correction will be adequate.

Keep in mind that the mouthing may be because your pup is currently teething. Make sure she has lots of things to chew on to help her along with it. I used a cloth that I had wet and then froze.

The first 6 months of having a pup around are definitely the most trying. After my first pup I swore I would never do it again.... turns out I am a sucker for punishment because I ended up putting myself through it again! Be patient, and remember to never lash out in anger as it will only make your pup fearful.
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"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."
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