Our new puppy Daisy is 8 weeks old. We have had her for 2 weeks. It has been 12 years since I have had a puppy, and I am getting extremely frustrated. Any tips are much appreciated. She doesn't come when I call her, she just ignores me. She is hyper and plays very rough and I cant get her to stop biting/chewing on our hands, feet, etc. she of course doesn't bite hard, but puppy teeth are very sharp and she has drawn blood. I have tried several tactics and nothing is working as of yet. When I tell her no she barks and growls at me and gets more excited like I'm playing with her. When she chews on things I tell her no and give her one of her toys. About the only thing that is going well is potty training. Is she too young yet to worry about the other stuff?
new puppy
- Thread starter bdzsaj
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CoraBoxer
Super Boxer
You shouldn't worry, but you should of course start training. I always laugh when i hear someone say that they tell the dog a command, such as leave it, no or come and the dog doesn't listen. Firstly, the pup is so incredibly young that chances are it won't listen. It'll be distracted by something, new, smelly or exciting. The attention span of a pup is pretty much nothing. Next, you really need to bond with the dog, which takes time. She has to learn to trust and respect you. Calm consistency. Also, if she doesn't understand what you're saying.. she can't obey even if she wanted to. Lot's of people seem to have an 'oh' moment with regards to this. Sometimes we become so comfortable and used to what we already know that we don't realise someone/something doesn't understand 
Sounds like you might already be doing this, but try not to focus only on the things she is doing wrong and letting her know what she can't do. Remember to guide her, and show her what she can do and how exciting those things can be. Reinforce with lots of praise even for trivial things.
Hyper bursts and playing with their mouths is to be expected. A lot of people recommend redirecting to a toy they can bite or yelping and retreating. This worked for us also. She really shouldn't have gone home with you at 6 weeks. Usually you want to keep the litter together a bit longer during which time they start to learn from each other that the biting isn't acceptable.
Don't get frustrated. Try not to raise your voice, throw things etc even though you'd be perfectly justified to do so :P You want your pup (an infant) to look to you for direction. You don't want your pup as she grows to react to your instability.
The first 3 years or so raising my Cora were the longest of my life
. But I don't regret a minute and i'd do it again in a heartbeat. They reward you like nothing else and bring so much to your life. Adopting an adult rescue was easier in a lot of ways (all the things you're describing were no longer an issue), but there were other things that had to be addressed.
Sounds like you might already be doing this, but try not to focus only on the things she is doing wrong and letting her know what she can't do. Remember to guide her, and show her what she can do and how exciting those things can be. Reinforce with lots of praise even for trivial things.
Hyper bursts and playing with their mouths is to be expected. A lot of people recommend redirecting to a toy they can bite or yelping and retreating. This worked for us also. She really shouldn't have gone home with you at 6 weeks. Usually you want to keep the litter together a bit longer during which time they start to learn from each other that the biting isn't acceptable.
Don't get frustrated. Try not to raise your voice, throw things etc even though you'd be perfectly justified to do so :P You want your pup (an infant) to look to you for direction. You don't want your pup as she grows to react to your instability.
The first 3 years or so raising my Cora were the longest of my life
. But I don't regret a minute and i'd do it again in a heartbeat. They reward you like nothing else and bring so much to your life. Adopting an adult rescue was easier in a lot of ways (all the things you're describing were no longer an issue), but there were other things that had to be addressed.thanks for the encouragement.. I am happy to report things are getting a little easier now. I am worried that she is not eating enough. She doesn't sit still to eat. She will take a few little pieces and off to play she goes. I have tried making her eat it all at once and she wont do it. I know you aren't supposed to leave the food down so they can eat at random at this age, but Im afraid if I pick it up she really won't eat. I have even tried putting the food in her kennel with her and she wont eat it. I don't believe its a matter of not liking the food because I've tried several things to see if I could find something she would eat better and she doesn't seem partial to any one kind. our vet says if she has energy to play then shes getting enough but it is still worrisome. As I Said, she just wont still still long enough
It will get better. She will learn to eat it all at once. For now I would put it down for 10 minutes and if she doesn't eat, just pick it up. I would put it down every couple of hours. Hopefully she will learn to eat when it is there and then you can gradually increase the time between feedings.
She will learn to eat it all at once. For now I would put it down for 10 minutes and if she doesn't eat, just pick it up. I would put it down every couple of hours. Hopefully she will learn to eat when it is there and then you can gradually increase the time between feedings.
dora
Boxer Booster
Couple of ideas:
"doesn't come when I call her"
- Try being super excited in your voice and animated with your body!! Maybe have treats or toys in your hands! And you can try to run backwards too, which usually gets a pup to want to chase you! Also, she might not know her name yet, so keep saying her name and praise her if she even looks at you when you say it.
"She is hyper and plays very rough and I cant get her to stop biting/chewing on our hands, feet, etc. she of course doesn't bite hard, but puppy teeth are very sharp and she has drawn blood"
- Normal puppy behavior and normal sharp puppy teeth! You said you had her two weeks and she is 8 weeks, if you brought her home at 6 weeks, that is a little bit young. Puppies learn a TON from other puppies in the litter up to the 8 week point on how hard to bite, etc. You need to teach just like other puppies would - bite too hard, give a loud 'yelp! or ouch!' and end the play for a few minutes. From my experience some puppies pick up on that right away, others get more roudy and bite more! So walking away and ignoring for maybe 3 minutes (a lifetime for a puppy!) will help a lot, but it takes a bunch of times to sink in - bite means no more playtime.
"I have tried several tactics and nothing is working as of yet. When I tell her no she barks and growls at me and gets more excited like I'm playing with her"
- At this point, she doesn't know what human words mean, she probably thinks you are making play sounds like other puppies - physically removing yourself when she does things you don't want will get the point across faster. But, you will be surprised, by 7 months, boxers know SO SO SO many words, its kinda crazy! Some words you didn't even teach them, and they just seem to know them! The important thing in the beginning is using clear concise words repeatedly - no, sit, down, stay, etc. - they don't understand when we start using tons of words.
" When she chews on things I tell her no and give her one of her toys. "
- keep this up! it will pay off after a bunch of tries!
"Is she too young to worry about the other stuff?"
- In my experience they are never too young to try to teach - but each will respond differently. Some puppies can be taught 'sit, down, stay, roll-over, etc.' by 10 weeks old, others are more hyper and have shorter attention spans and will learn these by 4 months or later. Just takes patience, repetition, and super over the top praise when they actually do what you are asking!! Treat them like they laid a golden egg worth billions when they do what you were trying to teach!
Hope that helps!! And enjoy your new little one!!!!!!!
Jenny
"doesn't come when I call her"
- Try being super excited in your voice and animated with your body!! Maybe have treats or toys in your hands! And you can try to run backwards too, which usually gets a pup to want to chase you! Also, she might not know her name yet, so keep saying her name and praise her if she even looks at you when you say it.
"She is hyper and plays very rough and I cant get her to stop biting/chewing on our hands, feet, etc. she of course doesn't bite hard, but puppy teeth are very sharp and she has drawn blood"
- Normal puppy behavior and normal sharp puppy teeth! You said you had her two weeks and she is 8 weeks, if you brought her home at 6 weeks, that is a little bit young. Puppies learn a TON from other puppies in the litter up to the 8 week point on how hard to bite, etc. You need to teach just like other puppies would - bite too hard, give a loud 'yelp! or ouch!' and end the play for a few minutes. From my experience some puppies pick up on that right away, others get more roudy and bite more! So walking away and ignoring for maybe 3 minutes (a lifetime for a puppy!) will help a lot, but it takes a bunch of times to sink in - bite means no more playtime.
"I have tried several tactics and nothing is working as of yet. When I tell her no she barks and growls at me and gets more excited like I'm playing with her"
- At this point, she doesn't know what human words mean, she probably thinks you are making play sounds like other puppies - physically removing yourself when she does things you don't want will get the point across faster. But, you will be surprised, by 7 months, boxers know SO SO SO many words, its kinda crazy! Some words you didn't even teach them, and they just seem to know them! The important thing in the beginning is using clear concise words repeatedly - no, sit, down, stay, etc. - they don't understand when we start using tons of words.
" When she chews on things I tell her no and give her one of her toys. "
- keep this up! it will pay off after a bunch of tries!
"Is she too young to worry about the other stuff?"
- In my experience they are never too young to try to teach - but each will respond differently. Some puppies can be taught 'sit, down, stay, roll-over, etc.' by 10 weeks old, others are more hyper and have shorter attention spans and will learn these by 4 months or later. Just takes patience, repetition, and super over the top praise when they actually do what you are asking!! Treat them like they laid a golden egg worth billions when they do what you were trying to teach!
Hope that helps!! And enjoy your new little one!!!!!!!
Jenny
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