Beddy Whippet Puppy - high Energy with biting, growling, etc.,

[Elizabeth]

Hello,

We have a 9 week old Bedlington Terrier x Whippet. She is an intelligent, energetic and curious pup. We have taught her how to sit on command and she's pretty good with toilet training and sleeps well in her crate for day naps and overnight. We have been socialising her by using a sling (which she doesn't enjoy so much now), and we have a large backyard for her to run around in and go to toilet until she is fully vaccinated. As of this week she has started whining a lot if we are not around her during the day or if she doesn't want to be in her puppy pen (she learnt how to jump out of it today). So we take turns to spend time with her whilst trying to build in a bit of a routine (we both work from home). 

Whilst she is very gentle and chill when she's tired or woken up after a nap, once she's wide awake we've noticed she can be quite nippy and mouth our hands/arms. She will also nip/bite my partners feet and does that with me too from time to time. We've recognised a few things, mainly that sometimes she seems to do this or whine when she is telling us she is 'hangry' or needs to go to the toilet. Also, we were originally carrying her up and down our stairs but she's learnt how to climb these so she's out of our arms more now. 

Sometimes she'll nip when she has been playing and is excited, she can also growl when she's playing tug with some of her toys. If she is chewing something she shouldn't, we have a tin full of coins we shake to get her attention. She doesn't like that and will bark at us if we do it repeatedly. We were advised some methods such as grabbing her collar or scruff of the neck and reprimanding her when she bites but this seems to aggravate her behaviour and I'm cautious about making her feel like she needs to be aggressive. 

So, instead when she bites us we have been yelling 'Ouch' and walking away, substituting our arms with a toy (when available), and today I have also started asking her to sit and then rewarding her after she's done that. I have also just started doing the 'target' command you recommend when she is calmer to try and change her behaviour.  

It would be helpful to know if her behaviour is normal and whether we are on the right track? Due to her mixed breed, I recognise she has a decent prey drive, it's obvious with how she 'attacks' certain toys, are there things to be mindful of so we can let her grow into a happy, confident pup? 

 

Thanks,

Lizzie

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[Adrienne]

Hi Elizabeth, 

Welcome to the forums!

Your puppy is very young and she seems to be exhibiting rather normal behaviors (although I cannot ascertain that 100 percent without seeing her). We can certainly though start working on some of the behaviors you have observed so that we can help her adjust in a new home and start from the right paw. 

At 9 weeks, pups are very young and vulnerable and feel quite insecure when left alone. They have left behind their mom and siblings and it takes some adjustment time to get used to living in a new home with different sights, smells and sounds. Actually, we must consider them to be quite resilient after all as it's not easy. So whining when you leave the room is not unusual. It is great that you are taking turns watching her as puppies benefit from being around us. When you must leave the room it helps providing an attractive chew toy or stuffed Kong to keep busy so to create positive associations with being left alone. To create some anticipation, I like to leave these goodies out of reach but in a way that the pup can see it and smell it and then provide it contingent upon us leaving the room. 

Here are some ideas on how to create more positive associations with confinement (this can apply to pens and crates):

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

A little growling during tug is normal too if it's playful, I would aim though to train a final drop it cue when you are done playing swapping it with a treat or kibble or other toy rather than removing the tug toy without warning. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/drop-it/

Nipping goes hand-in-hand with puppyhood. I like that you are training her to sit and hand target so that she learns to engage in these alternate behaviors.

I would however skip shaking coins, grabbing her collar or scruffing her neck as this may lead to fear of noises and possibly defensive biting. To stop her from chewing things, I would suggest using the techniques outlined in this guide:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/behavior-training/chewing/

I hope this helps,

Let me know if you have any other questions. 

Best,

Adrienne