Friday, August 17, 2012

No bite and no bark!

Training your puppy not to bite and to be quiet in the apartment need to happen ASAP! Your neighbors hate it when your puppy barks, and you will end up getting sued if you don't curb your puppy's nipping now.

Training these skills uses negative punishment, or taking away (negative) something your puppy does want (punishment). So if your puppy wants your touch, eye contact, and for you to talk to him, what should you do when he nips you?
Yelp like a puppy would when hurt "Ouch!"
Walk away.
If he does it again (which he will), give your negative marker as soon as teeth touch clothes or skin, and then immediately walk out of the room and close the door for 10-20 seconds. Come back in and ignore him for a bit before coming back to play.
* Approach your puppy with a toy so he has something to chew on when he's playing with you
* Spray your shoes and pant legs with bitter apple

Okay, now let's talk about how to keep him from barking.
No bark, puppy!
This uses the same principles as no bite. Take away what your puppy wants the second you hear him barking. 
No Jumping!
By some weird ironic twist, I can't find a puppy to jump on me. It's really strange. I'll just describe what to do:
Same principles of negative punishment:

     As soon as your puppy's paws leave the ground, give your negative marker "Uh-uh!" and turn around. Avoid touch, talk and eye contact for 10-20 seconds.
     Turn around and interact with the puppy again- as soon as his paws leave the ground give your negative marker and then leave the room!
   Give your puppy touch, talk and eye contact when he has four paws on the ground.

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