yipping

[marlafish]

Our pup is now 10 weeks old and yips...... What do we do to have her be still..... We also have an old dog (12) that Lucy (pup) is barking at to get the old one to play...... I try to intervene and play with her often but she barks and we just want a calm dog.....Any suggestions>???

[Dawn]

If I saw a ten week old puppy that was calm, I'd take it to the vet to see what was wrong with it. You'll simply have to let it grow out of it. Until then, you can encourage it to be calmer. Do not give him attention unless he is being still and quiet.

[fullhouse9873]

My 4 year old, Chance, still does that. If he wants you to play - or if he just feels that you're not giving him attention - he'll start barking at you. I ignore him - and it's worked pretty good. My husband, on the other hand, gives in and plays with him. So Chance will sit and bark at my husband until he gets what he wants.

Also, look on the bright side. You have a young, healthy energetic dog. Once she's older - you'll look back and remember how cute she was when she barked and ran around and played.

[marlafish]

You are both right..... now onto biting...anything there...ive heard not to swat the mouth the scruff of the neck!?

[Dawn]

This is what I did. It might not work for other dogs or other people. My mom and I both had puppies at the same time that were littermates. When they were young, I allowed mine to chew on me, and she allowed hers to chew on her. Now if they would start to chew on the wrong person, we said no in a sharp voice. It usually distracted/startled them enough that they would stop. This is the same thing that a mother dog will do with young puppies. When they are still babies, they will chew on her. As they got older, we would let them chew when we were just holding them and as they were getting ready to go to sleep. The rest of the time, we would tell them no. Then as they go even older (around 8-10 months I believe,) we did not allow them to chew on us at all. We do not have any nipping, biting, or chewing problems now. As far as hitting them, it is a good idea not too. Most of them time hitting them, especially in the face, will cause the nipping to become worse.

[fullhouse9873]

For a physical correction - I like to use a scruff shake. You grab the dog by the back of his neck and give him a little shake. Be careful not to be too rough on a little dog, but you may need to use a little more force on a bigger dog. This is what a mother dog will do to her pups when they are mis-behaving.

I only use the scruff shake as a last resort. Just remember not to be too rough. I think I've only used this on my pup once in the last 2 months - when he wouldn't stop nipping at my 4 year old son.