So far, we’ve discussed how to introduce your puppy to the creatures, spaces, and objects in their new home. But introductions go both ways. One of the most important goals of this article is helping you get to know and understand your new family member. This is especially true if this is your first time raising a puppy. The day you bring them home, you will likely have a few very specific worries on your mind. The reputation of puppies precedes them, and this includes jumping up, destructive chewing, nipping, and excessive barking.
JUMPING UP
We’ll cover this topic in much more detail in The Six Key Commands with the Off command, but for now it’s useful to understand how this problem typically originates.
Think ahead: Yes, a little puppy jumping up and wagging their tail is adorable. Who can resist the urge to lean down and play? You can resist this urge, and you need to resist this urge. Because the puppy who learns this is a fine thing to do will in the blink of an eye become a 100-pound dog who tackles your guests or a 10-pound dog who scratches people’s legs. Good habits start young.
Negative equals positive: Your puppy adores attention and does not distinguish between positive and negative attention. So, if they jump up and you push them down, that was a fun little game—you just rewarded them.
The opposite of reward: A fallacy held by many puppy owners is the belief that the opposite of reward is punishment. It is not.
The opposite of reward is no reward.
It’s taking your ball and going home. The consequence for a jumping puppy should be: absolutely nothing. The consequence for a puppy who is sitting, lying down, or busy with a toy when someone walks in the door (i.e., anything other than jumping up) should be: praise, petting, love, and attention.
Reward the behaviors you want. Ignore or redirect the behaviors you don’t.
DESTRUCTIVE CHEWING
Puppies go through a teething stage during which they feel the irresistible urge to chew on everything in your home. It is a normal behavior for young pups and may become quite intense around teething time, especially around four to five months old.
Chewing is essential: It helps maintain the health of your dog’s teeth, jaws, and gums. The drive is so strong that when your puppy encounters any and all objects in your home, they view them through the lens of “Can I chew it?”
You choose what they chew: Your job is to answer your puppy’s question by letting them know what they can chew and what they can’t. Chew toys, for example, are the perfect target to redirect their chewing needs. Not all puppies are drawn instinctively to chew on a toy—that table leg and that electrical cord can seem much more enticing—so you may need to reinforce that behavior by giving your puppy treats every time they are given a chew toy. You can also stuff many chew toys with treats; see our comments about puzzle toys and using them for feeding (here). Use chew toys stuffed with or paired with treats as a frequent reward to further reinforce your preference that they choose chew toys.
Never punish: If you scold or otherwise punish your puppy for chewing on the wrong thing, this is bad for your relationship, and it will backfire. Punishment will simply encourage your puppy to chew when you are not around, as they will have learned that you are the source of punishment and will avoid this by not chewing in front of you. Instead of punishing, redirect your puppy’s chew drive to a toy and praise, praise, praise.
NIPPING
As we’ve seen with chewing, puppies are mouthy creatures, and their oral fixation will extend to your own body; fingers, toes, ankles, nose, and earlobes are especially alluring.
Boundaries: In the section on introducing your puppy to an older dog, we talked about the puppy pass and how it only extends so far. A similar rule applies to you and your puppy. There’s nothing wrong with your puppy gently nibbling at your fingers for the first few weeks. But you don’t need to put up with pain. If your puppy is nipping too hard, they need to learn where to draw the line.
Ouch!: Your puppy should be playing with toys, not your body. If they nip your hands or arms instead of the toy, simply pull your hand away and say, “Ouch!” and redirect them back to the toy and praise them as they chew it instead of you. If they continue to try to bite you instead of the toy, say, “Ouch!” again, withdraw your hand, and remove yourself from playtime. Ignore your puppy. Go check your e-mail. Your puppy will learn that biting you instead of toys results in the end of playtime altogether, which is not what they want.
Don’t punish or overreact: Note that we said to say ouch, not to yell at your puppy. Never use shouting or physical punishment, as this can damage your relationship, cause mistrust, and sow the seeds for behavioral issues down the road. After all, your puppy didn’t do anything wrong; they are doing what comes naturally and need to learn.
EXCESSIVE BARKING
Dogs bark. It is a natural part of their communication and behavior. We presume you’re okay with some barking or else you wouldn’t have invited a puppy to share your home. Some breeds do far more alert barking than others. Most dogs will bark when someone is at your door or when they hear a strange, loud noise such as a car backfiring.
Intruder alert: We hope you’ll agree that it’s a good thing for your puppy to bark when someone tries to get into your home; this includes knocking on the door or ringing the bell. Being a burglar alarm is a great job for your puppy as long as they don’t sit at the door or window and bark at every passerby.
Exit barking: Adult dogs don’t normally bark when you leave home; if they do, this is usually a symptom of separation anxiety. For puppies, on the other hand, exit barking or whining is a fairly common occurrence. The last thing you want to do is spend your day worrying if your puppy is still at it, causing your puppy undue stress and potentially irritating your neighbors. The best way to handle this is a combination of redirection, distraction, and a stealthy exit. The night before, moisten your dog’s breakfast kibble and squeeze this goo plus a couple of treats into a stuffable toy and pop it in the freezer. In the morning, hand the frozen toy to your pup. This is like breakfast and a crossword puzzle all in one: it’s going to take them a long, long time of deeply focused chewing to extricate their meal. Alternatively, you can use a long-lasting chew such as a bully stick or tendon. While they’re otherwise engaged, off you go, without fanfare. This will greatly mitigate or even eliminate exit barking.
Nuisance barking: If you’re home and your puppy is just barking and barking to get your attention, you should extinguish this behavior. We extinguish behaviors by not reacting to them at all. No reward, no attention. When they’re quiet, on the other hand, heap on the praise. The first time your puppy ever barks for your attention, they’re putting out feelers to see if this will succeed. If you give in and play with them, tell them to be quiet, yell at them to shut up, pet them to calm them down, or anything at all other than ignore them, you’ve just rewarded this behavior. Notice that that list included reactions that are both nice and not so nice. It doesn’t matter. They’ve found a button they can push, and now they’ll keep on pushing it. Instead, do nothing. You can even turn your back and leave the room. That isn’t at all what they wanted. Don’t give in. Eventually they’ll stop. And when they stop . . . that is when you walk over and pet, praise, and reward them. Remember, if you’re going about your day and your puppy is lying there peacefully, take a moment to praise and reinforce this calm behavior.
Comments: 0
Post a Comment