I yelped and he stopped but he's been a little pill tonight. I think he's hungry and I thought I was supposed to feed him at 10 so I exercised him/played with him in the yard for an hour. I put him in his kennel and he let out LOUD barks / growls protesting.


How would you handle this?

When would I scruff him for this behavior ?
i've tried miss direction but's like he doesn't like his current toys. His favorite is a tug rope. He has a red kong ball and 2 chew toys to put stuff in but i haven't because of my issue with feeding.

 Quote: Nick Logan

When would I scruff him for this behavior ?

Nick... you would never scruff your pup for this behavior. He has been in your home for around 24 hours and you have not even BEGUN to train this pup.

Did you ever read anything on MARKER TRAINING yet?

Ummmm... I think we all warned you about the being a little alligator aka: pill.

HE'S A PUPPY!!!! a high energy puppy. They act crazy. This is very normal. You DON'T scruff him. Period. Stop.

Give him something to chew on in his crate. Take your rice and freeze it in a kong to give him something to work on and keep him busy.

Nick, the best way to handle crate/kennel issues is to simply walk away and ignore them. Don't yell or scold him, don't fuss or get mad, just calmly put him in with a toy (love the frozen rice idea) and walk away. MAKE SURE you take him out in a few hours to go potty, then quietly back in the crate.) If you give in or give him any attention, it is teaching him "THIS" is what I have to do to get attention from dad!

After you read the info on marker training we can get into how to incorporate that training into crate issues.

NO rough stuff. Nadda. Zip. This is puppy.

Roger I have read them. He's in the living room kennel I didn't want him to be alone. I guess I'm wrong there? Should he be in HIS bed room kennel now?

 Quote: Nick Logan

Roger I have read them. He's in the living room kennel I didn't want him to be alone. I guess I'm wrong there? Should he be in HIS bed room kennel now?

There is really no right or wrong whatever makes you happy and works for your family. The pup will adjust to whatever arrangements you make for him. When I first brought my puppy home I stayed on the couch with his crate beside me to let him settle in and make sure I got him out ever 2 hours over night (he was 8 weeks old). Within the first week he was putting himself to bed and sleeping soundly so I moved back to my bedroom and he did great in his crate in the den.

The biting is very normal and does not require any type of correction; redirect and if that doesn't work put him in his crate with something to chew. Ignore the crying and whining and don't worry so much. None of the behaviors you have mentioned are cause for concern; they are normal.

In all honesty though Nick; it's likely to get worse before it gets better and you will very likely move from teeth imprints on your hands to bruises. PATIENCE, MANAGEMENT AND BONDING are the big three imo for the first few weeks.

He is not dominant; you do not have to put on a show of Alpha and you have help here before you try something that might damage your yet to be established relationship with him.

And don't forget HAVE FUN!!

Yep, be prepared for a lot more. For about 2 months my arms were literally covered in bruises and scabs.

It gets better when they're through with teething though. My pup is 5 months old now, and is almost done getting her big girl teeth, and the biting is waaaayyyy better. She'll still bite a little when she gets overstimulated, but nothing like before.

For now, try to always have a toy or treats on hand to distract from the human biting. As others have mentioned, the crate is definitely your friend when he gets too wild.

I think you should take a look at what M.E. has to say about bad behavior. http://leerburg.com/flix/player.php?id=554

 Quote: alan hood

I think you should take a look at what M.E. has to say about bad behavior.

A HUGE difference in what ME is talking about in this video and what Nick is talking about is that the dog in the video is an adult which has already been trained in obedience and completely understands the commands VS a BRAND new pup to the house which has not bonded with anyone in the household and who has not begun ANY training. It is absolutely correct that you don't want to allow any unwanted behavior to escalate and become bad habits, but I just want to stress and clarify that Nick's pup is not being "bad" and that there is no need for any corrections; we are in the very first stages of TEACHING.

Nick's puppy is not doing at this point which is to be construed as "bad behavior". He is being a normal puppy, brand new to the home, who has yet to be taught the human's language and the rules of the house.

And the biting, nipping, etc... is only going to get worse for a while which is one of the reasons we cautioned about young children around and mal pups at this age. Since there is no way the young girls are going to be able to redirect the pup or protect themselves, it is going to require all of Nick's calm management skills to keep children and puppy apart.

You said he was five months old? He is teething. My pups have all loved a washcloth that was soaked with water and then frozen. It would help soothe their gums/teeth...I supervised them with this "toy".

But again, all of this is completely normal.

Oh, and it is very helpful to keep treats on you at all times. If he won't redirect to a toy, I bet a treat will work. Then you can even start to work on training in short increments as the opportunities arise. If he is handling chicken, try little bits of it. I tend to use pieces that are the size of piece of kibble.