please try this. put a leash on him, and stand on it , when folks come -do not take him away from the problem but go towards it,. keeping them away is a tease to them. first , step on the leash at the door, so that he cant jump up. then tell folks no eye contact, no petting, go sit down. then allow him to approach them but on a leash that you can step on again. to keep him on the floor. make him sit, then allow the visitor to feed a cookie-but only after sit, he will be relaxed and his brain in a good state. and he will learn , NO SIT NO TREAT- I like children s circus cookies to train with ,unfrosted of course. no attention if he is not sitting and waiting. do not touch while he is tense or excited- it promotes the wrong feeling at that time. touch when relaxed.
bully sticks- {pizzles} are the only safe thing to give, make sure it is a Merrick one. not an off brand.
pigs ears a re treated with a chemical and also get soft and they try to swallow them whole.
be very careful what brands you use- a lot of the brands of treats have been recalled from time to time.
Merrick is always good .
try the treat way, reward for allowing you to pet him. mini vanilla wafers work well, and have safe things in them.
hey there.
i read some of the responses (but i admit not all). you seem to have gotten some good suggestions already.
i wanted to reiterate the value of redirection. every dog is different, just like humans, and some respond better to one way of correcting than another. whatever you choose, consistency is important.
my dogs know what 'no' means. i believe in positive reinforcement as much as possible to encourage good behavior instead of only correcting bad behavior. it has made my dogs and foster dogs 'want' to do the right thing instead of only avoiding the wrong thing to avoid correction.
spray bottles are a good correction tool as is saying 'no' (not yelling, just said in a firm manner), and then giving them something that they can chew on. puppies, like children don't automatically know what is and isn't ok. we have to teach them. so if you correct and tell them they can't chew your hand, or shoe, etc...then it's a good idea to follow up by giving them something they ARE allowed to chew and praising them for chewing it.
teething is a really chewy phase. LOL. some dogs and some breeds chew more than others.
besides teething, puppies often play by biting. my first eb diva dog would always just want to start playing as soon as i'd try to pet/love on/cuddle her. it's just how she was. she's still not a huge cuddler--only when she wants to be. my boy eb is a HUGE cuddler. each has their own personalities.
in litters, puppies chew on each other when they're rough-and-tumble playing. although my animals are my family and treated as such (and spoiled rotten!)), i am also their 'pack leader' and as such, they want to follow my direction and do not treat me as they would another 'equal' litter mate in how they play (ie, biting, getting too rough, etc). For me, it's been important that all humans in my home-regardless if they're visiting or staying for a while-establish themselves as a pack leader, per say.
in the wild, dogs have pack leaders. there is a natural structure to things and even out of the wild, dogs instinctively want a pack leader, or they'll establish themselves as the pack leader.
socializing also has been effective in helping some of my foster dogs that like to bite/chew when being petted. through socializing, they learn to enjoy being petted as much as they enjoy playing. take your dog everywhere (once vaccinated) and let everyone that wants to play with her, pet her, cuddler her. expose her to as many noises, new experiences, environments as possible. you'll end up with a very well adjusted dog.
as for pig ears and raw hides: i use to give mine pig ears every evening. my oldest (and eb) started choking on them (after YEARS of eating them with no problems). she'd chew it until it was sloppy and flacid and then end up with half of it down her throat. on 3 separate occassions she started choking and i had to open her mouth and pull the mushy pig ear out of her throat. my alapaha bulldog also choked one time on a pig ear and i had to do the same thing to remove it. since then, i've stopped with the pig ears. again, my eb went YEARS with pig ears without ever having a single choking hazard, then suddenly started. her teeth are in perfect condition. the vet wouldn't even clean them this year bc he said they didn't need it. so i'm not sure what it's about.
the same is true with raw hides once they get gooey-as far as choking hazards go. i still give them raw hides, but only when i'm there, in the room with them, chilling.
ask around about the raw hide/pig ear thing and then do whatever you think is best. almost any kind of etible chewy treat can become a choking hazard. as a rule of thumb, i just ensure i'm there when they're having that treat, just in case.
hope that helps. sorry it's so long.
with kennel training, i NEVER use the kennel as a 'time out' area or in correcting. most dogs/pups don't like the kennel at first. using it as a 'naughty corner' only encourages them to dislike it. instead, at first, i only give them treats when they're in the kennel and feed them in their kennel, etc. until they start to realize it's a positive place to be.
Last edited by Mugzilla; 03-31-2010 at 12:56 PM.
we've always bought nylabones for Horse to chew. while they are expensive, the one we bought (the hardest one they make) when he was a puppy still gets chewed on every day and he's almost 4, so definetly a good investment. our experience with pig ears is that Horse sucks on them until they are really soggy, then chokes, so we don't give them to him.
please consider bully sticks. they are the only safe chew on the market. they do not shred or tare. do watch that when they get down to a few inches, take them away. pigs ears get soft and swallowed before they are small enough. rawhide has SO much chemicals on them from the removal of hide, that they are harmful and they also shred and can pierce the intestine and require surgery. 12 in bullys sticks are a great chew. or cow hooves, that don't chew up in to tiny pieces. have fun.
bully sticks. yes. i agree with linda. great suggestion.
thus far, none of my 4 dogs have ever choked on a bully stick--but like linda, i always take them away once it gets to the last bit (ie, if there's none left to hang out of thier mouth, it's a choking hazard and i throw it away).
bully sticks can be expensive in stores. i'd suggest looking online to buy in bulk, or, if you go to infodog.com or onofrio.com and look for dog shows in your area, they almost always have booths at dog shows that will sell bully sticks waaay cheaper than stores. i bought a 4ft (yes four FOOT) bully stick for $6. i ended up using a mini hack saw to make that one giant stick into several 12 inch ones. it works out to be a LOT cheaper that way. i've never seen the giant ones anywhere else other than a dog show though.
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