How do you discipline your dog?

[strass]

Hi all! Things are going so well with Murphy, our little mutt that we adopted a month ago from the shelter. He has his routine down, hasn't soiled in the apartment once, and is bonding really well with us. (He's a 2-year-old border collie/terrier/whippet/? mix...has BC markings, but only weighs 25 lbs and has very short hair and a skinny body.)

He has a tendency to playfully bite or "mouth"...not in aggression at all, but just when he's excited, especially first thing in the morning and when we come home from work. He nibbles/bites at our wrists, fingers, and toes. Sometimes it gets a little out of control and it hurts a bit! How do we make him stop? He's very smart but doesn't always seem to understand "no" (or chooses not to!). Sometimes a sharp "EH EH!" works. My dad recommends rolling up a newspaper and slapping it against our thigh, he says the noise will startle him. We do NOT want to hit him at ALL. Any ideas or suggestions? How do you discipline your dog?

[lovemymaltese]

Aw, Murphy sound so cute, so you have any pictures? I do not have to discipline Tango, I guess that I can say that he is finely tuned.

[Dixieland Dancer]

The most effective way to get a puppy to stop nipping is to yell ouch loudly and turn around and ignore him for about 1/2 minute before playing with him again. By doing this you are teaching him what is an acceptable level of mouthing in order to keep the play going. Puppies love to play and start to learn what stops play as early as 4 weeks with their littermates. You are simulating this similar to what he would get in the pack when you stop the play because his bite was too hard. DO NOT hit him or startle him with a newspaper. Your goal is to raise a healthy secure pup who is confident and not to build a fear factor into his training.

[ChrisAK]

Another thing to do, is when you step in the door, put them in a "SIT STAY". Lots of goofy praise when he sits. Then continue on entering the door.

[strass]

Thanks guys for answering! We've tried commanding "sit" (still working on "stay") but it's tough for him to concentrate/obey when he's all excited and happy like that. Friends of ours have recommended a light squirt of water from a spray bottle when we catch him "in the act" (play-biting our toes, trying to chew our flip-flops, etc.). They claim it works really well. But I certainly don't want a fearful dog...(heck, it's hard enough for me to yell at him! I feel so guilty afterwards! But he needs to know what is unacceptable behavior, now.)

[G-Diddy]

Hi Strass...

I'm bored at work and visited this site. I figured I knew who you were by the time I was 1/2 through reading your post. Never thought I'd see "Strass" posting on a dog behavior sight!!


I've had friends who highly recommended "yelping" and ignoring the pup when it bites too hard. Personally, that only worked our dog up and we had to go to the spray bottle. Then again, our dog is a bit of a punk. She is far from fearful of us but now stops whatever she is doing if I so much as reach for the spray bottle.

I've read that having a pop can filled with pennies with you can work. When the dog nips, you give a harsh "NO" and shake the can loudly. Apparently you want to keep the can out of sight of the dog, because ours just proceeded to steal the can and turn it into a toy. However, this is pretty similar to the newspaper/noise thing that was mentioned earlier

Finally, our puppy-school instructor recommended grabbing their snout with your finger nails just lightly pinching into the skin and saying, "NO." Hypothetically it simulates the mother-dog giving the put a "That's enough" nip.

Anyway, hope your enjoying Murph. Sorry to hear he finally put the green-pepper to rest.

E

[strass]

G-Diddy. Cool name.

It's all about Pet Talk. These people are so helpful!

Thanks for the coins-in-the-can suggestion. We read about that awhile ago and totally forgot about it. I'll give it a try--I think I'd rather use that than the spray bottle. Yeah, when we yelp "ouch!" he just thinks we're playing with him. Yelling doesn't seem to work, but loud noises (such as slapping my flip-flop on the ground after he takes it) do make him cease and desist.

Some friends took digital pictures of him and we're just waiting for the email...then we'll send around the photos.

Hugs to Gracie!

[sammi]

I use the spray bottle with water for barking and it really has been helpful. Abby will stop even if she see's us with the water squirter bottle! I have never had a dog become afraid of water or other things from using this method.