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NewOwner67
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NewOwner67 is offline  
Location: Maryland, MD
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 1
Male 
 
29-11-2017, 10:44 PM

Biting and barking

So we got our first dog, a rescue from South Carolina. Mostly black lab, with some 'Plot Hound' (is that a real thing?) We took her to the vet, everything seems to be OK with her health. When we saw her first, with the foster home and family, she seemed pretty timid, and we thought she would warm up to us (me, my wife, two kids aged 11 and 8.)

We have a pretty big home, in a newer development with a lot of young families, and a lot of them have dogs.

Our new dog, Willow, initially had some housetraining issues, but we got her on a schedule, and have been walking her once every hour that she's awake. She sleeps in a crate (usually I get up once a night around midnight, when she barks, and take her out for a quick pee.)

She's been getting more and more assertive, and has been nipping us (just our family.) She gets in an energetic mood, and starts chewing things - shoes, furniture, clothes. Especially when someone comes into or out of the house, tries to put on or take off jackets or shoes, she wants to chew, or play tug-of-war.

The big problem is that she is getting too bitey, and too barky, especially when the kids are home after school (with a very old, somewhat infirm nanny) and the parents are still at work. The thing about saying "ouch" emphatically when Willow bites someone doesn't seem to be having much effect. We've been giving her doggie timeouts in her crate when she gets very nippy and wound up, but I can't do that when I'm at work and the kids are home.

Do folks here have any other suggestions to curb the biting behavior? We have a trainer who's come into the house a couple of times so far, and has given us a clicker to reinforce positive behavior, and has showed us how to train for the command "Off" which would ideally correct some of Willow's behaviors. I just feel awful that I can't make the kids feel safe around the dog when I'm not there. We may try a 'Gentle Leader' if I can figure out how to get it on her successfully.

Any suggestions are appreciated --
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Trouble
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Location: Romford, uk
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 14,265
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30-11-2017, 11:44 AM
Can't you use a baby gate to restrict her to the kitchen so that people can come and go in peace?
Also you could use a special toy that she has to go and retrieve while you are preparing to leave then train her to take said toy to bed.
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seablue4u
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Location: United States
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16-12-2017, 02:58 AM
I'm not familiar with clicker training so I can't say much about it, but teaching them simple commands and having everyone use them consistently is key. How old is the dog? Young dogs chew a lot and if it's a small dog they almost never grow out of it. I give my dog lots of chew toys to chew. I'm also working on the quiet command with him. Whenever someone comes to the door, when he barks at nothing etc. My problem is I went on vacation shortly after we got the family dog and my dad and brother taught him to bark and howl.
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