ankle biter

[MariaGL]

Oliver is my 4 month old sweet boxer boy. He's a fast learner and his training is going well BUT when we go on walks he constantly bites my shoe laces and jumps all over the place. Granted we have only been going on walks for about a month so it's not like we have been working on this forever but goodness gracious it is frustrating the heck out of me! I feel like we have made no progress at all. Towards the end of a walk he is much better, but its because he is tired. Can't really tire him out BEFORE the walk. I've tried just stopping every time he does this, and it simply results in me stopping every 2 feet and our half a mile walk takes like 45 minutes. I've tried saying "NO" and "EHEH"and he doesn't bat an eye. I've tried just (gently) keeping my stride so he would maybe learn to avoid my feet, but he seems to like that even more...leg weaving, a new boxer puppy sport! He normally picks up on things so quickly but he definitely isn't picking up on this. I am going to assume this is not a problem only I am having and it is a wide spread puppy problem, so I was hoping for some advice on how some of you handled this with your puppy?

Thanks!

Maria

 

[Jan]

Trying spraying your shoes with Bitter Apple (Grannicks is best). Make sure you shake it up as the bitters sink to the bottom. You can also try carrying treats to get his attention away from your shoes. You can also put some peanut butter or liver paste on a wooden spoon and hold in front of his nose. You can hold it up and just drop it down for a lick when he is being good.

Good luck!

 

[LILYLARUE]

Here's another option for you. Get a piece of dowl rod, about 1/2 thick and 14" long. Drill a hole in the cut end and screw in an eye loop. Tie a piece of twine about 20" long in the loop and tie a scrap peice of felt or fur on the other end. Now you have a teaser pole! Every time the pup goes for your shoes, or ankles, say "eheh" and then drop the furry end of the pole onto the ground about 12" away from your shoes. Tease the pup with pops and wiggles to the furry end. When the pup goes for the tease, say "good pup" and let him play with it for a minute. Remove the teaser and go on walking. You can then contiue to walk, teasing directly in front of the pup to keep his attention on the teaser and not your shoes. Stop teasing every so often, commanding a sit-stay, and proceed with walking. Then use the pole only to redirect the pups attention. Whenever the pup looks at you, giving you eye contact, surely awaiting the drop of the teaser again, praise him. He is directing his attention to you, not your feet. Giving him another option, that is easy to use during walks can be a god send! You can then incorporate this later with other training like meeting people or other dogs by redirecting his energy to the teaser and not the other things. The teaser can be a great reward for good behavior, inside or outside the house and also uses thier minds and body to exert pent up energy. Much better than the lazer lights that can cause fixation and obsessive issues.

 

[FuFuBear]

Tripping hazard

Every time the pup goes for your shoes, or ankles, say "eheh" and then drop the furry end of the pole onto the ground about 12" away from your shoes. Tease the pup with pops and wiggles to the furry end. When the pup goes for the tease, say "good pup" and let him play with it for a minute. Remove the teaser and go on walking. You can then contiue to walk, teasing directly in front of the pup to keep his attention on the teaser and not your shoes. Stop teasing every so often, commanding a sit-stay, and proceed with walking. Then use the pole only to redirect the pups attention.

I have the same problem and I think I will use this idea or the peanut butter wooden spoon. My problem is a little worse though my fufu bear is a tripping hazard. It never fails that he chews, nips, bites my shoe, slippers, toes or fingers every time we get near him or pet him. We tell him "NO" or "STOP" he will only stop for a split second then goes back to biting and scratching. When you walk around the house he zigzags between your legs, bites, jumps and scratches my legs. I normally re-direct his attention to his squeaky rubber chicken or toys but they aren't always accessible. WILL HE GROW OUT OF THIS???

 

[LILYLARUE]

I'm sure he will outgrow it as soon as he's too big to fit between your legs! HAHAHA Seriously, he most likely will. If not because he gets stepped on once or twice, but when he finds other play options more fun.

But, just to let you know now - boxers are infamous velcro dogs. They are always wanting to be close.