BEHAVIOR AND BITTING

[TattiannaTriplett]

Hi, do you have ANY advice on how to get my dog from barking while in her playpen? I have every toy she likes, in there, water, bed ext but she goes on and on barking. And even when I pet her she bits. I know she's teething but how do I get her to know that bitting a person is not the key? And to stop jumping up on everything. 

[Adrienne]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

How old is your puppy? Young pups struggle staying away from their caretakers, especially during their first weeks in their new homes when they were recently separated from their moms and littermates. Her barking is likely her way to ask to be reunited with you. Make sure she has a good balance of exercise, play, exploration, brain games and time with you and some quiet time in the pen. 

We have a guide on training a dog to love the crate and it can apply as well to getting dogs used to staying in a play pen. 

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

I recommend with puppies starting to gradually introduce exercises to foster independence:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-to-prevent-separation-anxiety-in-puppies/

If she bites when you pet her, you may find these exercises for handling helpful:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-to-teach-puppies-to-tolerate-touch/

And here are some bite inhibition games:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/

In particular,  I like to encourage hand targeting to encourage positive interactions with hands.

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/

Other tips for nipping can be found here:

Jumping on everything...this is rather a normal part of normal puppy explorative behavior. It should subside as the puppy gets more familiar with her surroundings and a bit bigger that she can see things/reach things without having to jump. You can help her learn to jump less by training her to sit, if she's jumping a lot on people.