Mouthing
All puppies use their mouths to manipulate the world. They chew on toys, on their food, on their littermates, and when they can, on people. Puppies don’t have hands and so their mouths become their tools to control things in their environment. Unfortunately, puppy teeth are very sharp and can draw blood, and dogs that grow up and continue to use their teeth on people will be in a great deal of trouble. A dog that bites for any reason can be taken from you and euthanized, while you could face criminal and civil procedures. See chapter 8 for more on biting dogs.
Puppies must learn when they are very young that biting is not allowed in any situation. If your puppy tries to bite during playtime, simply tell your puppy, “Ack! No bite!” and stand up and walk away. Stop the playtime immediately at the first attempt at mouthing. You must make this very clear to your puppy. If you allow some mouthing and stop other mouthing, your puppy will never be reliable. Instead, be very clear; it simply is not allowedTemper Tantrums
Puppies (and young adult dogs) can throw temper tantrums when things don’t go their way. Perhaps you took a chew toy away from your dog or told her that she wasn’t allowed on the sofa, and she began barking, crying, growling, and throwing herself around. A temper tantrum is bad behavior. You do not want to ignore a temper tantrum, nor do you want to give your dog what she wants. You need to handle this carefully; if you are aggressive to your dog, you could make it worse. Calmly remove your dog from the situation (away from the toy or away from the sofa) and put her in a quiet place to calm down. Her crate is fine. Leave her for fifteen minutes or so, and let her out with the leash hooked to her collar. If she behaves herself, great. If she’s still angry and tries to get her way again, use the leash to control her and have her do a Down-Stay or some other obedience commands. If she throws another tantrum, put her back in her crate
Dogs jump on people to greet them face to face. Young or subordinate dogs lick the muzzle of older more dominant dogs; it’s a greeting and a sign of respect. Unfortunately, dogs don’t realize that jumping on people can ruin clothes and that hard nails can scratch skin. In worst case scenarios, a jumping dog can knock down a person, potentially causing injury.
If a dog is continually corrected for jumping, perhaps by being kneed in the chest, yelled at, or even by having his paws grabbed and held tightly, his anxiety about greeting this person or persons is going to increase. It’s important to teach the dog how to greet people in an acceptable way where she can perform her greeting rituals and be greeted in return. When this happens, her need to jump up disappears.
If the dog is off leash, as she runs toward you, make sure your hands are empty (drop your purse or briefcase). As she begins to jump, grab the scruff of her neck; all that loose skin is a great handle and does not cause her any discomfort. Tell her, “Lady, no jump. Sit!” and using the scruff as a handle, shape her into a sitting position. Keeping one hand on her scruff so she doesn’t jump up, pet her and praise her for sitting. “Good girl to sit! Yeah!” Let her greet you, too, so she feels she has done her part. Keep a hand on her until she relaxes. Turn away as you let go of her (she’ll be less likely to jump on your side). Do not try to rush this, especially in the beginning. If the dog feels rushed or that she hasn’t been able to greet you properly (in her mind), she will continue to jump When the dog jumps on other people, it’s usually easier to have the dog on leash. That’s easy when you’re out for a walk, but at home that means you need to leash the dog before people come in the house. You might want to post a sign, “Knock, please, but don’t walk in until I leash the dog.” If your dog likes to jump on guests, they will be very happy to wait until she’s leashed! With your dog on leash, have her Sit as your guests walk in. Tell your guests not to pet her until she can Sit without jumping. That might mean you have to hold her collar in the beginning to help her hold the Sit position. Again, give her a chance to greet the people, too, as they pet her. Use the same technique when you’re out on a walk; have the dog Sit before she’s allowed to greet people or people are allowed to pet her
