Dealing With Normal Puppy Behavior: Chewing
Copyright Denver Dumb Friends League and Humane Society of the United States.  All rights reserved.

Puppies may be just as much work as human babies - maybe more so because puppies can't wear diapers and they have very sharp teeth! It's definitely true that, similar to infants and toddlers, puppies explore their world by putting things in their mouths.  In addition, puppies are teething until they're about six months old, which usually creates some discomfort.  Chewing not only facilitates teething, but also makes sore gums feel better. Although it's perfectly normal for a puppy to chew on furniture, shoes, shrubbery and such, these behaviors can be a problem for you.  A puppy won't magically "outgrow" these behaviors as he matures.  Instead, you must shape your puppy's behaviors and teach him which ones are acceptable and which aren't.

Discouraging Unacceptable Behavior:
It's virtually inevitable that your puppy will, at some point, chew up something you value. This is part of raising a puppy! You can, however, prevent most problems by taking the following precautions:

    Minimize chewing problems by puppy-proofing your house.  Put the trash out of reach, inside a cabinet or outside on a porch, or buy containers with locking lids.  Encourage children to pick up their toys and don't leave socks, shoes, eyeglasses, briefcases or TV remote controls lying around within your puppy's reach.

    If, and only if, you catch your puppy chewing on something he shouldn't, interrupt the behavior with a loud noise, then offer him an acceptable chew toy instead and praise him lavishly when he takes the toy in his mouth.

    Make unacceptable chew items unpleasant to your puppy.  Furniture and other items can be coated with "Bitter Apple" to make them unappealing (see our handout:  "Sample Aversives for Dogs"). 

    Don't give your puppy objects to play with such as old socks, old shoes or old children's toys that closely resemble items that are off-limits.  Puppies can't tell the difference!

    Closely supervise your puppy.  Don't give him the chance to go off by himself and get into trouble.  Use baby gates, close doors or tether him to you with a six-foot leash so you can keep an eye on him. 

    When you must be gone from the house, confine your puppy to a small, safe area such as a laundry room.  You may also begin to crate train your puppy (see our handout:  "Crate Training Your Dog").  Puppies under five months of age shouldn't be crated for longer than four hours at a time, as they may not be able to control their bladder and bowels longer than that.

    Make sure your puppy is getting adequate physical activity.  Puppies left alone in a yard don't play by themselves. Take your puppy for walks and/or play a game of fetch with him as often as possible.

    Give your puppy plenty of "people time."  He can only learn the rules of your house when he's with you.

Encouraging Acceptable Behavior:
    Provide your puppy with lots of appropriate toys (see our handout "Dog Toys and How to Use Them").

    Rotate your puppy's toys.  Puppies, like babies, are often more interested in unfamiliar or novel objects. Put out four or five toys for a few days, then pick those up and put out four or five different ones.

    Experiment with different kinds of toys.  When you introduce a new toy to your puppy, watch him to make sure he won't tear it up and ingest the pieces.

    Consider the various types of toys that can be stuffed with food.  Putting tidbits of food inside chew toys focuses your puppy's chewing activities on those toys instead of on unacceptable objects.

    If your puppy is teething, try freezing a wet washcloth for him to chew on.

What Not To Do:
Never discipline or punish your puppy after the fact.  If you discover a chewed item even minutes after he's chewed it, you're too late to administer a correction.  Animals associate punishment with what they're doing at the time they're being punished. A puppy can't reason that, "I tore up those shoes an hour ago and that's why I'm being scolded now." Some people believe this is what a puppy is thinking because he runs and hides or because he "looks guilty." "Guilty looks" are canine submissive postures that dogs show when they're threatened. When you're angry and upset, the puppy feels threatened by your tone of voice, body postures and/or facial expressions, so he may hide or show submissive postures.  Punishment after-the-fact will not only fail to eliminate the undesirable behavior, but could provoke other undesirable behaviors, as well.

Other Reasons For Destructive Behavior:
In most cases, destructive chewing by puppies is nothing more than normal puppy behavior. Adult dogs, however, can exhibit destructive behaviors for a variety of reasons, which can occasionally be the cause of chewing problems in puppies, as well.  Examples include separation anxiety, fear-related behaviors and attention-getting behavior.  For help with these problems, contact our Behavior Helpline or a professional animal behavorist.

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Developmental Stages Of Puppy Behavior
Copyright Denver Dumb Friends League and Humane Society of the United States.  All rights reserved.

Although feeding time is important, it's also vital to include petting, talking and playing, in order to help your puppy build good "people-skills." Well-socialized mothers are more likely to have well-socialized puppies.  Puppies "feed" off of their mothers' calm or fearful attitude toward people.

Puppies are usually weaned at six or seven weeks, but are still learning important skills as their mother gradually leaves them more and more.  Ideally, puppies should stay with their littermates (or other role-model dogs) for at least 12 weeks.

Puppies separated from their littermates too early often don't develop appropriate "social skills," such as learning how to send and receive signals, what an "inhibited bite" means, how far to go in play wrestling and so forth.  Play is important to help puppies increase their physical coordination, social skills and learning limits.  Interacting with their mother and littermates helps them learn "how to be a dog" and is also a way to explore ranking ("who's in charge"). 

Skills not acquired during the first eight weeks may be lost forever.  While these stages are important and fairly consistent, a dog's mind remains receptive to new experiences and lessons well beyond puppy-hood.  Most dogs are still puppies, in mind and body, through the first two years.

The following chart provides general guidelines for the stages of development:
0 - 2 weeks = Neonatal

   Most influenced by their mother.

   Touch and taste present at birth.

2 - 4 weeks = Transitional:
   Most influenced by  their mother and littermates.

   Eyes open, teeth erupt, hearing and smell developing.

   Beginning to stand, walk a little, wag, bark.

   By four or five weeks, sight is well-developed.

3 - 12 weeks = Socialization:
   During this period, puppies need opportunities to meet other dogs and people. 

   By four to six weeks they're most influenced by their littermates and are learning about being a dog. 

   From four to 12 weeks they're most influenced by their littermates and people.  They're also learning to play, including social skills, inhibited bite, social structure/ranking and physical coordination.

   By three to five weeks they're becoming aware of their surroundings, companions (dogs and people) and relationships, including play.

   By five to seven weeks they're developing curiosity and exploring new experiences. They need positive "people" experiences during this time.

   By seven to nine weeks they're refining they're physical skills/coordination (including housetraining) and full use of senses.

   By eight to ten weeks they experience real fear -- when puppies can be alarmed by normal objects and experiences and need positive training.

   By nine to 12 weeks they're refining reactions, social skills (appropriate interactions) with littermates and are exploring the environment, spaces and objects. Beginning to focus on people. This is a good time to begin training.

3 - 6 months = Ranking:
   Most influenced by "littermates" (playmates now include those of other species).

   Beginning to see and use ranking (dominant and submissive) within the pack, including humans.

   Teething (and associated chewing).

   At four months they experience another fear stage.

6 - 18 months = Adolescence:
   Most influenced by human and dog "pack" members.

   At seven to nine months they go through a second chewing phase -- part of exploring territory.

   Heightened exploration of dominance, including challenging humans.

   If not spayed or neutered, beginnings of sexual behavior

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Dealing With Normal Puppy Behavior:
Nipping And Rough Play
Copyright Denver Dumb Friends League and Humane Society of the United States.  All rights reserved.

When puppies play with each other, they use their mouths. Therefore, puppies usually want to bite or "mouth" hands during play or when being petted.  With puppies, this is rarely aggressive behavior in which the intent is to do harm.  Because puppies are highly motivated to exhibit this type of behavior, attempts to suppress it or stop it are unlikely to be successful unless you give your puppy an alternative behavior.  The goals of working with this normal puppy behavior are to redirect your puppy's desire to put something in her mouth onto acceptable chew toys and to teach her to be gentle when a hand is in her mouth.

Encourage Acceptable Behavior:
Redirect your puppy's chewing onto acceptable objects by offering her a small rawhide chew bone or other type of chew toy whenever you pet her.  This technique can be especially effective when children want to pet her.  As you or the child reach out to scratch her behind the ears (not over the head) with one hand, offer the chew bone with the other.  This will not only help your puppy learn that people and petting are wonderful, but will also keep her mouth busy while she's being petted. Alternate which hand does the petting and which one has the chew bone.  At first, you may need to pet or scratch your puppy for short periods of time, since the longer she's petted, the more likely she is to get excited and start to nip.

Discourage Unacceptable Behavior:
You must also teach your puppy to be gentle with hands, and that nipping results in unpleasant consequences for her.  Teach your puppy that nipping "turns off" any attention and social interaction with you.  After a nip, look your puppy right in the eye, and yell "OUCH" as though you've been mortally wounded, then ignore her.  Leave the room if you must, but ignore her until she's calm, then try the chew bone and petting method again.  It's even better if you can coax your puppy into a sitting position using food. It may take many repetitions for her to understand what's expected.

Nipping and mouthing hands can also be discouraged by loosely holding your puppy's lower jaw between your thumb and forefinger after she's taken your hand in her mouth.  Don't hurt her by squeezing too hard, just gently hang on so that wherever her mouth goes, your hand hangs on.  This will quickly become tiresome and she'll eventually pull away.  After several seconds, release her jaw, but continue to offer her your hand.  If she licks or ignores it, praise, pet and offer a tidbit.  If she closes her mouth on your hand again, repeat the procedure.

A third alternative is to wear cotton gloves coated with a substance with an unpleasant taste such as "Bitter Apple."  In this way, your puppy will learn that "hands in mouth taste bad."  For this method to work, every time she nips your hand she must experience this bad taste.  The possible disadvantage to this method is that your puppy may learn "hands with gloves taste bad and those without gloves don't." 

Remember that any of these three methods will probably not be effective unless you work hard to teach your puppy the right behavior by offering her an acceptable chew toy.

Jumping Up:
When your puppy jumps up on you, she wants attention.  Whether you push her away, knee her in the chest or step on her hind legs, she's being rewarded for jumping up (even though it's negative attention, she's still getting what she wants). 

When your puppy jumps up:
      Fold your arms in front of you, turn away from her and say "off."

      Continue to turn away from her until all four of her feet are on the ground, then quietly praise her and give her a treat.  If she knows the "sit" command, give the command when all four of her feet are on the ground, then quietly praise her and give her a treat her while she's in the sitting position.

      When you begin to praise her, if she begins to jump up again, simply turn away and repeat step two, above.  Remember to keep your praise low-key.

When your puppy realizes that she gets no attention from you while she's jumping up, but does get attention when she stops jumping up and sits, she'll stop jumping up.  Remember, once you've taught her to come and sit quietly for attention, you must reward her behavior.  Be careful not to ignore her when she comes and sits politely, waiting for your attention.

What Not To Do:
Attempts to tap, slap or hit your puppy in the face for nipping or jumping up are almost guaranteed to backfire. Several things may happen, depending on your puppy's temperament and the severity of the correction:

    She could become "hand-shy" and cringe or cower whenever a hand comes toward her face.

    She could become afraid of you and refuse to come to you or approach you at all.

    She could respond in a defensive manner and attempt to bite you to defend herself.

    She could interpret a mild slap as an invitation to play, causing her to become more excited and even more likely to nip.

Never play "tug-of-war" or wrestling games with your puppy if you're having a nipping problem.  These types of games encourage out-of-control behavior, grabbing, lunging and competition with you.  These aren't behaviors you want her to learn.

A Note About Children And Puppies:
It's very difficult for children under eight or nine years old to practice the kind of behavior modification outlined here.  Children's first reaction to being nipped or mouthed by a puppy is to push the puppy away with their hands and arms.  This will be interpreted by the puppy as play and will probably cause the puppy to nip and mouth even more.  Dogs should never be left alone with children under ten and parents should monitor closely all interactions between their children and dogs.

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Re-Housetraining Your Adult Dog
Copyright Denver Dumb Friends League and Humane Society of the United States.  All rights reserved.

Many adult dogs adopted from animal shelters were housetrained in their previous homes. While at the shelter, however, they may not have gotten enough opportunities to eliminate outside, and consequently, they may have soiled their kennel areas.  This tends to weaken their housetraining habits. Additionally, scents and odors from other pets in the new home may stimulate some initial urine marking. Remember that you and your new dog need some time to learn each other's signals and routines.  Even if he was housetrained in his previous home, if you don't recognize his "bathroom" signal, you might miss his request to go out, causing him to eliminate indoors. 

Therefore, for the first few weeks after you bring him home, you should assume your new dog isn't housetrained and start from scratch.  If he was housetrained in his previous home, the re-training process should progress quickly.  The process will be much smoother if you take steps to prevent accidents and remind him where he's supposed to eliminate.

Establish A Routine:
·       Take your dog out at the same times every day.  For example, first thing in the morning when he wakes up, when you arrive home from work, and before you go to bed.

·       Praise your dog lavishly every time he eliminates outdoors.  You can even give him a treat. You must praise him and give him a treat immediately after he's finished and not wait until after he comes back inside the house.  This step is vital, because rewarding your dog for eliminating outdoors is the only way he'll know that's what you want him to do.

·       Choose a location not too far from the door to be the bathroom spot.  Always take your dog, on leash, directly to the bathroom spot.  Take him for a walk or play with him only after he's eliminated. If you clean up an accident in the house, leave the soiled rags or paper towels in the bathroom spot.  The smell will help your dog recognize the area as the place where he's supposed to eliminate.

·       While your dog is eliminating, use a word or phrase like "go potty," for example, that you can eventually use before he eliminates to remind him of what he's supposed to be doing.

·       Feeding your dog on a set schedule, once or twice a day, will help make his elimination more regular.

Supervise, Supervise, Supervise:
Don't give your dog an opportunity to soil in the house.  He should be watched at all times when he's indoors.  You can tether him to you with a six-foot leash, or use baby gates, to keep him in the room where you are.  Watch for signs that he needs to eliminate, like sniffing around or circling. If you see these signs, immediately take him outside, on a leash, to his bathroom spot.  If he eliminates, praise him lavishly and reward him with a treat.

Confinement:
When you're unable to watch your dog at all times, he should be confined to an area small enough that he won't want to eliminate there.  It should be just big enough for him to comfortably stand, lie down and turn around in.  This could be a portion of a bathroom or laundry room blocked off with boxes or baby gates.  Or you may want to crate train your dog and use the crate to confine him (see our handout:  "Crate Training Your Dog").  If he has spent several hours in confinement, when you let him out, take him directly to his bathroom spot and praise him when he eliminates.

Oops!
Most dogs, at some point, will have an accident in the house.  You should expect this, as it's a normal part of your dog's adjustment to his new home. 

·       If you catch your dog in the act of eliminating in the house, do something to interrupt him like making a startling noise (don't scare him).  Immediately take him to his bathroom spot, praise him, and give him a treat if he finishes eliminating there.

·      Don't punish your dog for eliminating in the house.  If you find a soiled area, it's too late to administer a correction.  Do nothing but clean it up.  Rubbing your dog's nose in it, taking him to the spot and scolding him, or any other type of punishment, will only make him afraid of you or afraid to eliminate in your presence.  Animals don't understand punishment after the fact, even if it's only seconds later. Punishment will do more harm than good.

·      Cleaning the soiled area is very important because dogs are highly motivated to continue soiling in areas that smell like urine or feces (see our handout:  "Successful Cleaning to Remove Pet Odors and Stains"). 

Other Types Of House-Soiling Problems:
If you've consistently followed the housetraining procedures and your dog continues to eliminate in the house, there may be another reason for his behavior. 

      Medical Problems:  House soiling can often be caused by physical problems such as a urinary tract infection or a parasite infection.  Check with your veterinarian to rule out any possibility of disease or illness.

      Submissive/Excitement Urination: Some dogs, especially young ones, temporarily lose control of their bladders when they become excited or feel threatened.  This usually occurs during greetings, intense play or when they're about to be punished (see our handout:  "Submissive and Excitement Urination").

      Territorial Urine-Marking: Dogs sometimes deposit urine or feces, usually in small amounts, to scent-mark their territory.  Both male and female dogs do this, and it most often occurs when they believe their territory has been invaded (see our handout: 'Territorial Marking Behavior in Dogs and Cats").

      Separation Anxiety. Dogs that become anxious when they're left alone may house soil as a result.  Usually, there are other symptoms, such as destructive behavior or vocalization (see our handout:  "Separation Anxiety").

      Fears Or Phobias. When animals become frightened, they may lose control of their bladder and/or bowels.  If your dog is afraid of loud noises, such as thunderstorms or fireworks, he may house soil when he's exposed to these sounds (see our handout: "Helping Your Dog Overcome the Fear of Thunder and Other Startling Noises").

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How To Use A Head Halter
Copyright Denver Dumb Friends League and Humane Society of the United States.  All rights reserved.

A head halter is a special kind of collar with a strap that goes around your dog's nose and another strap that goes around his neck, just behind his ears.  The leash fastens to the halter under his chin to a ring that's also attached to the nose strap.  When your dog begins to pull, the design of the head halter causes the dog's nose to be turned back toward you which makes it physically difficult for him to continue pulling.  The head halter is completely humane, as it doesn't cause any pain, and works much better to prevent a dog from pulling than a choke chain or prong collar.  Brand names for head halters include "Gentle Leader," "Promise Collar" and "Halti."

How should it fit?
The head halter must be properly fitted to be effective and comfortable for your dog.  The neck strap should be as high up on your dog's neck as you can get it, just behind his ears.  The strap should be just tight enough for you to fit one finger between it and your dog's neck.  The nosepiece should be adjusted so that when your dog's mouth is closed, it can slide down as far as the beginning of the skin on his nose, but not so loose that it can slide off the end of his nose.  The nosepiece will sit naturally, just below your dog's eyes.  Make sure that the metal ring to which the leash attaches is underneath his chin.

How will your dog react?
Most dogs will resist a head halter, at first.  The amount of resistance varies for each dog.  When you first put the head halter on, your dog may try to get it off by pawing at his nose or rubbing his nose on the ground, on you or on anything your dog can get close to.  The best strategy is to keep his head up and keep him moving by using positive verbal reinforcement and treats.  Most dogs eventually accept head halters.  When your dog associates the halter with going for a walk, he'll begin to react positively to it, and soon, both you and your dog will enjoy taking walks together!

Things to remember:
     Make sure the head halter is fitted properly.

     It should be snug around your dog's neck and high behind his ears, but loose enough around his nose so that the nose strap can slide easily down to the fleshy part of his nose.

     A head halter is not a muzzle.

     A dog wearing a head halter can still eat, drink, pant, bark and bite, if he chooses.

     Never use a hard jerk with the head halter.

     Don't use the head halter with a retractable lead.

     If your dog runs quickly to the end of the lead, it may give itself a hard jerk.

     Your dog should wear his head halter only during on-leash walks with you and/or when you're directly supervising him.

    If your dog wears the head halter around the house, he'll have plenty of time to work at getting it off, and will eventually succeed.

    Read the information sheet that comes with your head halter.

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