9 weeks old puppy - am I expecting too much too soon?

[ChristopherSpiteri]

Hello Adrienne and everyone,

We (family of 4, 2 daughters ages 10 and 6) brought a German Shepherd female puppy two weeks ago, she is now in her 9th week. She is bonding rather well i would say, she seems to seek me most, cuddling up and gently nibbling on my hand. She has no health issues although she still cannot go on walks until she gets her last vaccine in about 3 weeks time.

I have a already thought her to sit and lie down. I am reinforcing these every day, for eg. sitting before feeding her, lie down before i open door to enter the room, etc. 

I'm aware at this age they have teething problems but I am running out of toys and ideas on how to go about it. She is starting to nip and bite at my daughters heels, and our shoes when we walk. Some questions I have are:

1. Redirecting her to teething toys is no longer alluring for her, and neither rotating them (taking some away for a few days and then give them back). She keeps biting at our heels and hands, although sometimes she reduces the pressure and looks at me as if saying 'is this ok?'. Should I keep buying new toys at this stage to keep her interest in new things to bite? Am i expecting to much in expecting her to quit biting after a week she has been with us?

2. What are some realistic timelines by when she is expected to stop biting, provided that we keep our redirection attempts?

3. Separation anxiety: sometimes i take her in the basement office with me when i work. I keep her in the room next to mine which is separated by a glass door so she can see me, but she still takes some time to settle down despite having a lot of toys and couch. Should i try easing her in for a longer time before i walk out, or should i ignore her?

4. Sometimes she has bursts of energy and when this happens i take her out in the yard to steam off with her toys. How do i calm her down afterwards? is 15 minutes of this enough?

5. Housebreaking seems to work sometimes, we can recognise when she needs to go because she starts sniffing around and we take her out, but there are times where she would leak inside. Again, if we keep consistency from our end, when is it realistic for her to stop leaking inside?

7. We are using a crate only for the night. She whimpers a bit but then she settles after i go next to her and sort of reassure her. Is this ok? Can we avoid crate training during the rest of the day?

Thanks in advance for your help. 

Chris

 

 

 

 

 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there!

Welcome to the forums and congrats on your new puppy! I will try respond to your queries in the order asked. Please be patient as I address each issue one by one. I will start posting shortly (dog needs a potty break). 

 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

1. Redirecting her to teething toys is no longer alluring for her, and neither rotating them (taking some away for a few days and then give them back). She keeps biting at our heels and hands, although sometimes she reduces the pressure and looks at me as if saying 'is this ok?'. Should I keep buying new toys at this stage to keep her interest in new things to bite? Am i expecting to much in expecting her to quit biting after a week she has been with us?

Teaching a puppy not to bite, takes time. I know, the puppy biting stage seems to last forever, those puppy teeth are so sharp and sometimes it can be difficult to teach these pups other ways to interact with us that doesn't involve biting. Fortunately, with time, most puppies grow bored of this way of interacting unless we encourage rough play or allow them to perpetually keep on biting us without providing alternate activities.  

In order to better understand why puppies seem to be keep coming back to us for biting rather than chewing on their chew toys, it helps to take a look back into their life in the litter. At 9 weeks, your pup  recently left his litter mates which entailed for a good part biting and chewing on each others' ears, legs and tails. A good amount of their day was spent this way, so once welcomed inside our homes, they'll want to play the same way with us.

With no more litter mates to play with, these young pups are eager to play with us and they'll do so by engaging in the only way they are most familiar with: nipping! And this means they'll be nipping our feet, legs, arms, fingers, pants, skirts, hair, ties, hoodie strings and even shoe laces!

Fortunately, by the time the puppies are ready to go to their new homes around 8 weeks, most have learned to play a little more gentle. This is because when they played too rough, their playmates squealed and withdrew from play. Play session after play session, bitey pups learned to bite with less and less pressure. However, us humans have really sensitive skin compared to their litter mates so these pups need to learn to interact with us in a whole new level. 

While it's true that puppies attracted to toys, once the novelty effect is over, they'll get pretty boring. If your puppy sees the same toys each day laying around, after some time they become quite irrelevant. Rotating them is a good idea, but if your puppy keeps going back to you after maybe playing with them a bit, it's a sign that the chosen toys may not be entertaining her enough, she has excess energy to disperse and she may need more mental stimulation. So let's look at what may be going on and see what we can do about it.

Perhaps, the biggest reason why puppies ignore their toys and choose to bite us owners is the fact that toys are rather static and lack the level of interaction they crave. In other words, what stimulates dogs the most is movement. The average dog chew toy is pretty much static when it's laying on the ground and even if your pup carries it around, it's not likely to move around as much as you do when those sharp teeth make contact with your skin. Us humans therefore likely rank as the best thing around to play with, at least the closest to her former playmates she has left behind and misses playing with.

 Here are some tips that come to mind. 

• Not all dog toys are created equal. Some toys are more attractive to others for specific pups. Particularly appealing toys may be toys that smell like animals (like tug toys made of real rabbit fur), toys that emit squeaky sounds (always supervise as pups have been known to ingest squeakers leading to costly surgical emergencies) or toys offering an intriguing auditory and tactile sensation when crushed (crackle toys such as water bottle toys such as Spot Skinneez Crinklers). 
• Try offering interactive toys. If your dog is coming towards you with the intention to bite, stop him in his tracks by tossing the opposite way a ball the bounces so that he'll go after that or grab a flirt pole toy that he can chase and grab to keep entertained. You may find it helpful to keep several balls in your pocket ready to launch at a moments' notice or carry a flirt pole around your waist like a belt. You can also ask for a sit and toss a kibble for each sit. It is best to redirect your puppy before he has had a chance to bite since by then, he'll likely be too focused on biting than anything else.
• Teach your puppy alternate ways to interact with you rather than nipping. Hand targeting, tugging a toy with you and fetching are good options. Here is a guide: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/
• Offer food puzzles. These can keep your puppy busy for some time and often require a dose of your puppy's daily allowance of kibble. Why not use kibble to keep your puppy busy by working for his food rather than just pouring food out of a bag and into a bowl allowing you pup to wolf it down with no effort? A great food dispensing toy is the Kong Wobbler.
• Play brain games such as the Bottle Game, Muffin Game and Hand Targeting.
•  If possible, avoid wearing shoes with shoe laces, long skirts and wide leg pants. Instead, wear tall boots (like Wellington boots) and gloves: many puppies lose interest when biting on tall boots and gloves also because we are less likely to get hurt and move. Movement is what mostly attracts puppies so lack of movement makes feet/legs lose their big appeal.
• If possible, once your vet gives you the green light once your puppy has complete his vaccines, organize play dates with other puppies or even better, enroll him in puppy classes. This way your pup can romp around and play, learn new skills and drain excess energy while further refining his bite inhibition. 
• Finally, consider tiredness and overstimulation. Young puppies need to play, be socialized and trained, but they also need to sleep and they can get cranky and bitey when they are tired, but unable to fall asleep. If all your puppy's needs are met, give your puppy a safe chew to gnaw on his/crate in a quiet dark room. Your puppy should find his/her off switch and should soon fall soundly asleep. 
• Here are some tips for stubborn cases and puppies nipping children: 
• https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/topic/41-biting-clothes/?tab=comments#comment-121
• https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/topic/96-nipping-at-ankles-and-pulling-on-clothes/?tab=comments#comment-385

 

 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

2. What are some realistic timelines by when she is expected to stop biting, provided that we keep our redirection attempts?

This is difficult to answer with accuracy because there are several variables. Just to give an idea, here are several:

• The puppy's breed and drive to bite (some dog breeds are more propense to biting, but there are also individual factors to keep in mind)
• The puppy's overall energy levels (more energy, more biting)
• The amount of training/exercise/mental stimulation provided (these outlets can decrease biting)
• The purpose of the biting (play, attention, exploration, teething, anxiety, self-soothing)
• The level of compliance of all household members (are all members on the same page?)
• Are there children in household? (Certain types of child play/activities may encourage nipping and allow it to persist)
• Are there family members encouraging rough play? (Wrestling games with the pup may allow biting to persist)
• History of physical corrections triggering defensive biting (scruff shakes, grasping the puppy's mouth, pulling the tongue)

So as seen, there are several variables. On top of this, biting doesn't stop all at once, but is rather a gradual process. If we were to draw a chart, we would lots of peaks and the occasional valley, then more and more valleys as we measure the effects of our training. In general, we hope for most biting to be curbed by the time the puppy is 5-6 months, considering that round that time those jaws gain more and more strength and doggy adolescence is right around the corner. 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

 3. Separation anxiety: sometimes i take her in the basement office with me when i work. I keep her in the room next to mine which is separated by a glass door so she can see me, but she still takes some time to settle down despite having a lot of toys and couch. Should i try easing her in for a longer time before i walk out, or should i ignore her?

When very young, most puppies are very clingy to their humans, it's a self-preservation instinct. It would help to make sure her needs for exercise and mental stimulation are met prior to going in this room to ease her up a bit and settle. If feasible, therefore, a romp in the yard or a few games that tire her out may help.

It may also help if, rather than offering a regular toy, an interactive toy such as a Kong stuffed with her kibble and some peanut butter (make sure it's not the sugarless type as xylitol is toxic to dogs) would be offered. It may help to place it on table so that your pup can see it and smell it while you are there with her, and then you provide it when you are moving to the next room. This to build some anticipation and to create positive associations (possibly easing a bit the anxiety) with you moving away. 

Sometimes, it helps to do gradual transitions to create positive associations with departures (for these dogs, even if they see us, they still sense them as being left alone as they always want to be underfoot) 

For example, you stay with her and sit on the couch, then you get up walk a few steps away toss a kibble, then once done eating, return

Next, move towards the door,  toss a kibble, once done eating,  return

Next, move towards the door, open the door,  toss a kibble once, done eating, return

Next, open the door, enter the next room, toss several kibble, close the door, once done eating, return

Next, open the door, enter the next room, toss several kibble, close the door, sit on your chair, once done eating return

Next, open the door, enter the next room, give the stuffed Kong, close the door, sit on your chair, once done eating, return

And then you gradually build more time, stuffing the Kong in more challenging ways for longer lasting stays. 

If your puppy seems to be stressed, you may be going too fast and need to go back a few steps. 

Fortunately though, most puppies become less clingy as they mature.  Starting at 4 months, they may enter the flight stage when they become more independent. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/flight-instinct-period-4-8-months/ 

 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

4. Sometimes she has bursts of energy and when this happens i take her out in the yard to steam off with her toys. How do i calm her down afterwards? is 15 minutes of this enough?

You are likely seeing the beginning of the "puppy zoomies" although not to their full extent as when they get older. It's perfectly fine to allow her to steam off some energy in the yard. Once your dog is calmer, you can take her back inside. It can also help tossing her a ball until her tongue is sticking out panting, and then once inside, you can encourage some lower level of  activity such as doing some treasure hunts games or getting a portion of her meal out of a Kong Wobbler. 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

5. Housebreaking seems to work sometimes, we can recognise when she needs to go because she starts sniffing around and we take her out, but there are times where she would leak inside. Again, if we keep consistency from our end, when is it realistic for her to stop leaking inside?

Just as with children, dogs attain bladder control at different times and even here there are several variables. Variables include:

• How close the door is to where the puppy spends most of the time
• Whether the puppy is being trained to go potty on command (recommended) see here; https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/potty-on-command/
• Whether a crate of the right size is being used (recommended)
• Whether an enzyme-based cleaner is being used to clean up messes (recommended, a great product is Nature's Miracle)
• Whether punishment-based are being used when puppy has an accident (scolding, pushing puppy's nose in poop, newspaper swatting). These methods encourage puppy to hide to pee and poop and inhibit pre-potty signs)
• Whether the puppy is supervised at all times
• Whether there are other concomitant forms of urination occurring (excitement urination, submissive urination)
• The size of the dog (smaller breeds take longer)
• Whether the breeder started good hygiene habits from an early age (creating areas for soiling, substrate preferences)
• Source of the dog (dogs from puppy mills, pet stores are harder to potty train)
• And more...

In general, we expect full bladder control to occur once the until the puppy is 5 to 6 months old. If we were though to implement the perfect potty training system starting at 8 weeks, we would see accidents decreasing over the course of 3-4 weeks. A dog is considered in general fully potty trained once it has reached 4 to 8 consecutive weeks without having any accidents. 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

7. We are using a crate only for the night. She whimpers a bit but then she settles after i go next to her and sort of reassure her. Is this ok? Can we avoid crate training during the rest of the day?

Where is the crate located at night? 

I would not totally avoid crate training during the day, but at least offer the crate with the door open (latch it to the side so it doesn't scare her) and offer goodies in there. If you have another crate, even better, so that you do not need to transport it back and forth.This because a time may come when we need to crate her during the day to keep her safe from eating things/engaging in destructive behaviors when left alone and want her to feel comfy in there. Advanced planning is always good. Also, these positive associations may help her feel more comfy in the crate at night so it's not always associated with social isolation. 

Here is a guide to help a dog love the crate:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/

[ChristopherSpiteri]

Hello Adrienne, 

Thank you so much for your time in answering each and every question.

I'm not going to reply to every post because it would end up taking a lot of replies back and forth and i don's wish to take up more of your time, but based on your replies,  I'm now feeling reassured knowing that if we keep practicing your suggestions consistently we will see the concerning behaviours gradually decrease over time. We already putting most of them into practice, such as the food puzzles, carrying toys and kibbles around in our pockets all the time to distract her from biting, etc. and we are already noticing improvements overall. I now realise that i was expecting too much too soon, and I'm fine with adjusting my expectations.

Allow me to congratulate you on the content of the rest of the site. It's very useful, easy to follow and understand, and structured very well.

I'll keep checking the forums regularly for more posts from others.

Thanks again!

Best regards,

Chris

 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

You are very welcome!

Thank you for the kind words. Keep me posted on how things go and feel free to ask any other questions you have.

Best,

Adrienne