Maggies bad behaviour. << Need Advice!!>>

Maggie has been digging up my moms flowers and biting us a lot, I don't know what to do, we have never had a puppy before so I am not sure on just what to do to get her bad behaviour better. :confused:

Maggie is getting to the point where it really hurts when she bites and sometimes her bites break you skin, she also has been digging up my moms flowers and chewing on them, she also doesnt come when called and I went for a walk out our driveway and Maggie ran out on the highway and over to the neighbors house, she has never done this before, I dont know what has gotten into her. I desperatly need advice for any problams.

My mom said that if Maggie's bad behaviour doesnt turn around she is going to bring Maggie to the pound!

Thank you in advance for your advice!

How much training have you done with Maggie? How old is she now? First of all, she shouldn't be off her leash ever until she's completely reliable. She also shouldn't be left alone outside unsupervised if she's expected not to get into trouble. If she has to be outside without someone to watch her, could you put up a small fence or something around the flowers to protect them? Do you have access to a pet store or a community center or somewhere else like that where you can get her into obedience classes? As far as "coming when called", that's a difficult thing for a puppy who's distracted to do consistently. Finn is over five months old now, and, I work with him every day, but, if he's distracted (chasing a squirrel, around other dogs, etc), he usually won't listen to me. I only take him off leash at the dog park (it's all fenced in) or in the backyard. it's not fair to expect a young dog to be 100% reliable. It depends on the breed and how much training has gone into the dog. Try not to let Maggie become a statistic. People who don't train their dogs give up on them and blame the dog, and, they end up in the shelter. As far as the biting thing, is she being agressive? Or is she playing too hard? Give us a lot of details. Someone will have advice for you.

Alright, I just looked back through some of your posts, and, it looks like Maggie is about four months old, am I right? If that's the case, she is definitely too young to be expected to behave like a model canine citizen. It shouldn't be too difficult to teach her, though. Maybe ask your mother for one month, and, then, really work with Maggie. Does she stay outside alone a lot? Do you have her wearing a collar all of the time? Just trying to think of some questions that might help people in here help you!

If she tries to bite, even playfully whack her on the nose. From her viewpoint you are just another dog pack member. If you allow her to bite without any correction she will take more liberties in " correcting you" for intruding upon her personal territory, and/or use it to seek dominance over you as the alpha member of the pack.

Of my 3 dogs 2 of them went through a nippy stage. The latest has graduated from a nipper (with correction) to a licker. He's quite good at sneaking up on me to land a well placed smack on the lips. Yuk.
:D

Obviously they will act more agressively towards strangers which is not a good situation.

Per the flowers you might try boundry training on a leash. Place rocks or some border if one is not present. Then walk her by the boundry. If she crosses pull on the leash with a NO. My previous dog of 11 years would not go within anything that had a circle of rocks around it or the "magic circle".

dont wack her on the nose..

if she is playing hard and bites you, it isnt good..

But if thats the case then I have a pretty good solution for ya, because my great dane went though this too..

First of all put peanut butter on the top on your hand, and let maggie lick it, let her know that it is ok to lick not bite, and she will get rewarded to lick not bite...

if she bites then yell loud in a stern voice *ouch* and turn away from Maggie and ignor her for 2 min, then get her to sit and then tell her she is a good girl after she sits..

try that, tell me if it works for you.

Puppies seem to go through a "teenager" phase. I don't know if it applies to all puppies but Kai certainly did. My mom also threatened to bring Kai to the pound if he didn't stop the behavior.

I think someone mentioned this before on PT. Try putting some kind of yucky stuff in the dirt. Or maybe even on the flowers (as long as they don't kill them! Lol). The rock method mentioned also sounds like it may work.

Kai also went through a biting phase. Everytime he bit, I'd say "no!" sternly and look him straight in the eyes. Kai understood right away that it was a big no-no because I knew he got really uncomfortable everytime I looked him sternly in the eyes. Another method a lot of people use is saying "ouch!" or making another nasty sound when the dog bites.

being sued by someone else later when the dog breaks the skin. Then it's too late for time outs. I really can't think of any bad doggy behavior worse than nipping progressing to biting. Like I said before, mine now 9 months has progressed to licking, and he seems to be a happy little guy. In fact while I was typing this he tried to mug me with his tongue. :p

BTW- whacking on the nose with a couple of fingers while holding their neck underneath with the other hand should not be confused with clubbing them or other exaggerated physical punishment.

I am SO sorry I havn't been able to reply latley...

Maggie is about 4 months old, we did get her to stay out of the flowers now, by putting up a small fence.

She is still biting quite a bit, she doesnt usually bite strangers just people she knows. Yes, Maggie is off the leash unless I am working with her, she is unsupervised a lot and she has been an all the time, outside dog her whole life, she doesn't leave the yard.

Back to the biting thing, it does work to ignore her for a few minutes, but then somethimes, she will bite you when you go back to play or train her. We have experianced the biting thing with Boo Boo, he still does bite a lot, he cant be trusted with kids under 15. He tore my friend Rachels check off, she went to the emergency room, if he injures another person again he has to be put down. :(

Thank you so much for the advice! I hope some of your suggestions work!

There's another nifty trick to curb the biting. It's a spray called Bitter Apple, available at most pet supply stores. It's a really nasty (but not harmful) tasting stuff, originally designed to stop fur biting and things. Arthur, my rotti pup, is starting to grow out of his biting stage now (thank goodness!). I've used bitter apple with both of my puppies and it works wonders. There's 2 ways to utilise it... If Maggie bites your hand you can either a) give her a stern NO! then spray your hand/arm with bitter apple. If she goes to bite it again, she'll get a nasty surprise! :) That's what worked with Charlie when he was a pup. With Arthur, what's working best is b) A stern NO! and a spray of bitter apple in his mouth. He sits and goes plah plah plah for a minute, then instead of biting he gives kisses.

It seems like you're trying to work with Maggie instead of just giving up with her, and that's a good thing! Work with her every day and be sure to nail all inappropriate behaviour now so she'll grow into a well-behaved dog. :) Training classes are always a good idea.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Thanks everyone! I will keep you posted, next time we go to town I will look for the bitter apple stuff, sounds like it might work!

Next spring we are going to bring Maggie and Boo Boo to class, maybe we should bring her to puppy classes? or will she be to old for that?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Toby's my baby
Thanks everyone! I will keep you posted, next time we go to town I will look for the bitter apple stuff, sounds like it might work!

Next spring we are going to bring Maggie and Boo Boo to class, maybe we should bring her to puppy classes? or will she be to old for that? [/QUOTE


If you can get them to classes this year it will be so much easier. The younger they are & the less time they have with a bad behavior the easier it will be to train them.
Good luck

If she still has her puppy teeth, than no wonder it hurts when she bites! Puppy teeth are like little daggers. Sooner or later she'll lose them, but for now just correct her!

-Chrissy, Snowy, and Taffy

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Originally posted by Toby's my baby
[B]Maggie is about 4 months old, we did get her to stay out of the flowers now, by putting up a small fence.

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4 months old -- she's starting to develope her independance .. and unfortunately -- if something isn't done now -- she will only get worse .. now is the time to start working gently with her on training ...

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She is still biting quite a bit, she doesnt usually bite strangers just people she knows.

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She's probably playing, and unfortunately as someone said .. she's got baby teeth, and they hurt .. but the bitter apple spray works wonders .. with the exception of putting it on your hands .. please make sure that you wash your hands THOROUGHLY before eating any finger food .. it won't hurt you, but it will definately make your food taste nasty .. :D

Also -- as she bites ... keep reinforcing "NO BITE"... firmly state NO BITE whenever she bites .. this too will subside ..

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Yes, Maggie is off the leash unless I am working with her, she is unsupervised a lot and she has been an all the time, outside dog her whole life, she doesn't leave the yard.

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As I stated before .. at 4 months old .. she will be beginning to expand her horizons .. you must start working with her now .. regarding the basics of Sit, Stay, Come, and then add on the extras as she is comfortable and reliably listening to these .. My advise would be to enroll in an area obedience training course .. since you stated that you have never had a puppy .. it will only get worse if it's not stopped now .. She doesn't understand .. and will just get more confused, and less disciplined .. :(

Good luck .. :) it takes alot of hard work to take care of a puppy .. and with alittle diligence between you and Maggie .. I think you can make something of her .. I've never met a dog that was not trainable .. alot of times -- it's the owner that needs to learn how to think like the dog would .. (I'm one of them from many years ago .. and once you learn the trick .. it's not that hard .. :) and it's usually FUN !!! )

Good luck ..
Sally & The little Princess :D

OMG, thank you guys so much, I am going shopin' tomorrow so I am going to look for some bitter apple spray. Maggie is in obidience classes now and not to brag or anything but the instructer said she was one of the best in the class. i am so proud of her, but she is still biting.

Maggie is also getting spayed on Thursday, how will this affect her behavior?

Please don't wait till next spring for training , this should be taken care of right away. What happens if she bites someone out of your family. Puppies will be puppies but you must act now and let her know she can't do this. Its just unacceptable and gives our furbabies a bad name.

It also helps to lay the dog on its back between your legs and not letting them get up until they are still for 5 seconds, and then praise them a lot. This helps to establish dominance. Also, make her sit before offering food or treats. Yes, it is very important to really push training now before it's too late. Spaying might not make any difference right now because her hormones probably are not kicked in yet, anyways. But it will definitly help her in the future. Good Luck with her! I'm sure she will grow up to be a wonderful little girl with the proper training.

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Originally posted by CorgiLuvr
It also helps to lay the dog on its back between your legs and not letting them get up until they are still for 5 seconds, and then praise them a lot. This helps to establish dominance.

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We were told to lay her on her side and hold her down by laying one arm across her neck and one by her lower stomch, to help establish dominance.

We still have 2weeks left of dog classes, but we will be in Canada ( and maggie will be at the vet to get spayed) at the time of our next one, and we will be in Karalstad, MN teaching bible school for the last one :(, I hope we can get her into the next "set" of classes in September.

Also, Maggie is extremely good at her classes, doesnt roll-over when she doesnt want to do stuff, bite, jump, ect... is this just because she is not in "her territory?"