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Ask Yvette

Dear Yvette,

My _ Pug _ Jack Russell is going on 11 weeks old and loves to bite at anything, as my hands and wrists will evidence. I have said 'no' and tried to grab around his nose but his snout is so short (the pug in him) and he wriggles away. It is fine for him to bite at his toys, but not good when with people. I realize that it is just in play and he is teething, but I do not want this habit to be ingrained. Please help save my hands, furniture, etc. from further destruction.

Barbara

There are two common reasons puppies nip. A puppy might want someone to come closer, or they might want to make a person go away. The strategy you choose depends on which category your own puppy falls into.

Puppies that want a person to come closer are nipping for attention. Many people accidentally reinforce nipping by scolding, chasing or pushing the pup away. Many dogs see those as attention, play and wrestling. So don't do it. It ain't discipline if your dog thinks it is fun.

For quick results, the punishment must fit the crime. In this case, a timeout is going to be your best bet.

There is a catch. You must execute the timeout correctly. You want your puppy to learn no biting AND to be gentle. To accomplish this, you work on the worst nips first.

Here is the timeout process that you can do at home.

Pick a timeout location. I recommend the bathroom. Puppy proof it.

Start with the worst 25% of bites. These are the ones that cause discomfort.

When you feel a nip, say �Ouch� like you mean it. Then whisper, �timeout.� Why whisper? Because good leaders don't need to yell. Besides, I think well trained dogs listen to commands even if they are whispered.

Slowly and deliberately take your puppy to the timeout location. Don't chase him. Walk slowly and track him down. No talking allowed once timeout has been called. Put him in the bathroom for 1 � 2 minutes. Any longer and he'll learn to have fun. That is not what we want.

Let the pup out and forget about it. Chances are, he will come right back at you and try again. When that happens, you must do the Ouch � Timeout � Follow through again. You must be 100% consistent for the pup to understand. Don't feel bad. You are not causing the dog pain. This technique is almost identical to what you'll see in litters of puppies. They play. Someone nips too hard and yelps. All the play stops for a couple minutes. �Play nice or no one will play with you.�

After a week you should notice that you only have nips that are softer. At that point raise the bar. Work on bites with medium pressure. In week 3, you can add any remaining mouthing.

When it comes to your furniture, there is a product called bitter apple. It works for most dogs. Once in a while a dog likes the item, but most do not. Spot test and then spray items you want your dog to avoid. Then make sure you have a supply of good chew items that you can rotate through. Keep them special by changing them every day or two.

Next week: The exception you must know about.

Yvette is an award winning pet writer and pet behavior columnist. She also is the author of Meeting Milo, a North American dog bite prevention program to reduce the approximately 2 million children bit by dogs annually. She is the owner of AwesomeDogs.ca and works as a behavior consultant in London, Ontario.

This column was originally featured in The Londoner
See more of Yvette... www.awesomedogs.ca
www.meetingmilo.com

Yvette has 2 dogs of her own, KIKI and KAYA. Take a look...

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