Would love some advice on my pup.

Hi

Well i know some of you will be upset. But i have a 6 week old staffie as his mum didnt want him around her an i was asked if i would take him for his own safety.
Hes a lovely dog an does his thing on his mats.

Although he wot stop biteing me or my parter. He never bites vistors. How can i learn him like his mum would.

Only i dnt want 2 get rid ove him as i love him dearly. Hes like my son.


Please help xxx

Hi Joanne and welcome someone else has been asking the same question today so you may find this thread of help.. http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?t=118625


...see also Wysiwyg's post with helpful advice here ..


http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php...10#post1864610

Thanx 4 that there was a good bit of advise xx

Hello,

I too have a staffie, she is 14 weeks. She was rescued from a breeder who couldn't sell all the litter.

6 weeks is too early as you have acknowledged as he is missing out on socialisation with litter mates and his mother. Socialisation is so important, particularly with staffs. You need to let him meet other dogs of various breeds. Be very careful when you select these dogs. You want well socialised dogs so that they can teach him about calming signals and what is accepted and what isn't. Avoid introducing him to adolecent dogs as they often are unruley and forget there doggy manners, this could teach him bad habbits. The dogs you introduce him to also need to be vaccinated as your pup will be vulnerable. Also be warned about puppy classes where they let all the pups off at once, this isn't good as its harder to monitor if there is bullying going on or if puppies are learning bad habits. Much better to let two off at once.

My staffie also started biting me and my partner. Although play biting is normal for all puppies. We have now stopped it with the occasional relapse. I have noted that its when she gets over excited that the nipping occurs, so try and keep play to 5 minutes and then give her a chew or have nap time. Dogs actually need 17 hrs a sleep per day, puppies need more. So encourage down time, with a chew and blankey. The way to teach a puppy not to bite and is how the mother and litter mates teach it is when he bites make a high pitched ouch noise (similar to a dog yelping). Then turn your body away and stop playing. The punishment is when they bite play time stops.

My last peice of advice would be to get in touch with a local APDT trainer. These use kind handling techniques. The link below has a list of these trainers.

http://www.apdt.co.uk/local_dog_trainers.asp

I hope this helps! Let me know how things go with him

At 6 weeks they have already learned much of what they need to know about being a dog. I do agree that they still need more time with other dogs and it must be ones know to be well cared for. He also needs to start being exposed to the human world if he is going to live comfortably in it.

The period between 6-12 weeks is a dangerous time. One sniff where a sick dog relieved itself in the last 6 months can bring on parvo or another life threatening disease. Fail to expose it to strangers, including men, women, children, noise, etc. and you could end up with a misfit you can't take out in public. They also need continuing contact with other dogs, but it must be limited to ones you know are getting good care.

See http://www.apdt.com/po/news/docs/Messer_Nov06.pdf

Young Labs, which I know best, and other puppies tend to very bad about biting. You see a litter of them, and all the ones that are awake are biting another one or themselves. I am not even sure they realize that when they are alone, if they quit biting, they would quit being bitten. At 3 to 4 months they are getting their adult teeth, and it seems they spend every waking moment biting or chewing. One thing you can do at that stage is to knot and wet a piece of cloth. Then freeze it. The cooling will soothe the gums. Only let the puppy have it when you are there to watch it. I maintain a Lab's favorite chew toy is another Lab. Otherwise they settle for any person they can. They keep hoping to find one that won't yelp, jerk their hand away, and leave.

You just have to keep on correcting them, hundreds of times, not dozens. Provide sturdy, safe toys such as Kongs and Nylabones. Avoid things they can chew pieces off and choke on them. Keep them away from electrical cords. Crates are essential for most young Labs and other dogs.

The pet stores are full of toys that many dogs will quickly chew up into pieces they could choke on or cause intestinal blockages. If you are not there to watch, stick to sturdy stuff such as Nylabones and Kongs. Keep a close eye on chew toys and quickly discard anything that is coming apart in pieces. Rawhide is especially bad because it swells after being swallowed. I don't trust any of the consumable chews. The dogs just gnaw them down to a dangerous size too quickly. These problems are the worst with, but not limited to, large, aggressive chewers such as Labs.

Thanx every1.

I tryed the yelping an turning my bak an he came bak 4 more.
Im gonna take him 2 my brothers this week as he has 2 dogs curtis could soclize with. 1 being his dad. Is this a good idea???

As 4 the sleeping i was begining 2 think he had narcolepsey like my partner haha.

Hes such a lovely dog an would be lost with out him xx

Yes I have seen this with my friends puppy, they think the yelp is more fun. Maybe a stern 'ah' and then stand up and completely ignore him. If this didn't work I would then pop him out of the room for a few mins, so he is alone and has to think about it. It has to be consistently everythime he nips you. Also you need to keep play to a minimum as the more excitable they get the more biting will occur. Encourage down time as I explained before.

Taking about yelping, my staff pup just came belting down stairs and jumped on my labrador, who let out a really big yelp. She then started walking away slowly sniffing (calming signals). Perfect example!

Well im going 2 start as of tomorrow properly. He usualy sleeps 4 about a hour to a hour an a half. Then will wake up ave something 2 eat drink then will play with us 4 15 minutes. then will sleep again

Thanx so much xx

Hi Joanne-Clare

Welcome to Dogsey.

I would persevere with the yelping and turning of back. It does take time but they should 'get it' eventually. I did this with my dog and he has grown up with a soft mouth and still responds to a yelp if he gets overly playful.

Good luck.

As long as you know the other dogs to be up to date on their immunizations and healthy, it is a excellent thing to spend time with him. It is possible his father may be past enjoying bite, bite, bite, and may help teach him not every body likes being a pin cushion.