April 21, 2011
My 4 month old puppy bites my hands and barks a lot in our apartment. What can I do?
Full Question:
Right now we have very big problems to make our puppy quiet, his whining and barking (he has a very loud and sharp voice.) Every time something is against his wish. What should we do to make him quiet? (Especially because we live in a block flat with neighbors that want silence!)Another question is about how to make him stop biting our hands, trousers, the leash, etc. (especially our hands)! And the last question I have is about the fact that he already drags in the leash (he is like 30-35 pounds, he is 4 months and he has a lot of power), and I have back problems and it is very hard to control him, how shall we make him not to drag in the leash?
I am very sorry if I bother you too much, but I trust you extremely much (we have borrowed several books and we tried what they were saying in the books but the result was not the one we expected, and therefore, I think that you know best.)
Thank You,
Laura
Ed's Answer:
The best way to control barking is with a No Bark Collar. This may not be legal in your country but it is a great thing. Without that you are going to have to do a lot of work.
Put a prong collar with a very short leash attached to the dog while he is loose in the house. When the dog bites you give him a very sharp very hard correction and then immediately follow this by tossing a ball or a toy that he can play with. If he will not play then given him a very calm stroke on his back and tell he that he is a good boy (he is not biting at the time you give this stroke.)
In the beginning if he fights with you, then you must put a longer leash on him and give a stronger correction next time. Many people do not have the heart for the strong correction this is why their dogs are spoiled and they have such problems with the rank drive of the dogs. Just as important as the correction is the calm praise just after the dog gets the correction. You must show him that you still love him but he must mind you.
You should get the videos titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months and Basic Dog Obedience. You must learn basic training skills if you want to have success with this dog.
Put a prong collar with a very short leash attached to the dog while he is loose in the house. When the dog bites you give him a very sharp very hard correction and then immediately follow this by tossing a ball or a toy that he can play with. If he will not play then given him a very calm stroke on his back and tell he that he is a good boy (he is not biting at the time you give this stroke.)
In the beginning if he fights with you, then you must put a longer leash on him and give a stronger correction next time. Many people do not have the heart for the strong correction this is why their dogs are spoiled and they have such problems with the rank drive of the dogs. Just as important as the correction is the calm praise just after the dog gets the correction. You must show him that you still love him but he must mind you.
You should get the videos titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months and Basic Dog Obedience. You must learn basic training skills if you want to have success with this dog.
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