He isn't driving me that nuts just want to make sure he doesn't keep biting like he is. Its not an all day thing but something I want to put a stop to before its too late.

How is distracting/redirecting him onto a tug toy going?

When I take him outside I'll carry a toy with me have him sit then give him the toy, then proceed outside. It distracts him for a while then he usually drops it when we go outside. The new problem I'm having is when I attach the leash to his collar he tries to fight it

I am not as experienced as many of the handlers here. I've been on the board and doing marker training for about a year.

So, here is my half cents worth. If you aren't already, start marker training. The sit is the easy one (they sit all the time).

Then, keep a treat with you and do the sit to put on the leash. ALWAYS wait for the sit before you hook the leash. Same thing when you come back in.

When I started the marker training, I would do two, three, four, five, five minutes sessions every day. As many as I could get in. When you do markers, you gradually stop giving treats. If you haven't already, read/watch the free articles and videos here about markers. Also, as funds permit, order the DVDs. Best investment I ever made.

If I'm not explaining this the correct way, I'm sure someone with more experience will chime in here.

Always be consistent. Also, practice the packer leader stuff, ie, always walk in front, go thru the door first, up or down step first, etc.

Good luck and happy training.

Distracting doesn't mean handing him a toy and expecting him to amuse himself.
YOU have to make the toy more interesting than your hands.

A dead, motionless toy is no fun to a pup. Not when your hands, legs, etc are moving. Much more fun to chase and bite LIVE prey.

Notice how the puppy in this video is teased by the quicky, jerky movements of the rag:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqjMU1uRNwo&feature=related

You have to make the toy come alive, make it "prey" so the puppy wants to chase and bite IT, instead of your hands.

Maggie, any luck?

My puppy has the same biting issues and I've been most successful when I have a toy in each hand. I also have learned that by moving the toy in and out of her reach (like when I play with my cats and entice them with a toy by wiggling it and moving it around quickly) gets her a lot more excited about the toy and builds her prey drive. She gets a lot more excited about the toy if I don't let her grab it every time. I thought it odd at first that my dog would respond to toys the same way my cats did, but I guess they both have prey drives and that's why it works! We even played with her with one of our cat toys one time - a mouse on a string - and she loved it...until she broke it.

Also, we rotate the toys, so she doesn't play with the same toy every day. We try to keep them new this way and save ourselves from having to spend $20 every week on new toys.

When the toys finally stop working and she starts getting snotty, we'll either do a quick clicker training session, or put her in her crate if she gets really bad. She is really good about going into her crate (we just have to grab the treat bag and she runs into the crate expecting her treats), so we don't worry about using the crate as a cool off time for her to settle down.

Hi...I'm a novice 4-month-old-puppy owner and have had her for 3 weeks. I have been done lot of research and watched 8-wk-to-8-mth, Basic Obedience, and Pack Structure DVDs on how to properly raise a puppy. So, I have been crate-training the pup. And, I would say she is doing quite well in the crate and keeping it clean

I have done obedience training with the pup everyday, at least 3 sessions a day for about 2 weeks in the kitchen. There is one situation that I would appreciate any advice or comments on. I started to take her out to a yard to play. And, all she wanted to do was sniffing and eating grass and other craps she could put in her mouth on the ground. She wasn't interested in me, toys, or even treats (although she has one heck of a food drive). And, needless to say, no commands worked for her. She acted like I didn’t exist. So, I'm a bit lost on what I should do. I would like her to play with me or at least walk so that she would get some exercise and be tired and, hopefully, makes a bit more bonding with me. But, nothing seemed to work. And, I got quite frustrated, more like with myself, on not knowing what to do. I know I shouldn't be because the dog could sense it. But, I just couldn’t help it. Any thought or comment would be greatly appreciated.

 Quote: pat khan

Hi...I'm a novice 4-month-old-puppy owner and have had her for 3 weeks. I have been done lot of research and watched 8-wk-to-8-mth, Basic Obedience, and Pack Structure DVDs on how to properly raise a puppy. So, I have been crate-training the pup. And, I would say she is doing quite well in the crate and keeping it clean

I have done obedience training with the pup everyday, at least 3 sessions a day for about 2 weeks in the kitchen. There is one situation that I would appreciate any advice or comments on. I started to take her out to a yard to play. And, all she wanted to do was sniffing and eating grass and other craps she could put in her mouth on the ground. She wasn't interested in me, toys, or even treats (although she has one heck of a food drive). And, needless to say, no commands worked for her. She acted like I didn’t exist. So, I'm a bit lost on what I should do. I would like her to play with me or at least walk so that she would get some exercise and be tired and, hopefully, makes a bit more bonding with me. But, nothing seemed to work. And, I got quite frustrated, more like with myself, on not knowing what to do. I know I shouldn't be because the dog could sense it. But, I just couldn’t help it. Any thought or comment would be greatly appreciated.

Hi, Pat,

You need to go here:
http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/postlist/Board/14
and clock on "new topic" in blue, upper left, and start your own thread.

This is called hijacking, to tack your questions onto someone else's thread.

Thanks!


P.S. Do it asap, because you will get help here.

Edited by Connie Sutherland (03/26/2009 09:31 PM)
Edit reason: p.s.

Alyssa I just got online today so I'll try that tonight. I just tried to put it leash on and gave me some major scratches on my arm, how can I make him calm when I put his leash on?