Don't judge me I knew having a puppy was going to be hard. I just need some encouraging words from those who have gone through this.. which is probably all of you!

As some of you know, this weekend my family went to PA and I had to leave Snow with my best friend who kindly watched her at my house. Apparently sometime during the weekend one of the barriers that lead to the back of the couch came down and my bf put it back up but not the right way. Snow got behind it and pooped back there and my bf didn't know it. I found this gift after we'd been home for 30 minutes. A bit after we got home she went to the front door and she usually paws and whines. Not this time. She peed right in front of the door. Yes, I know dogs have accidents (puppies) but this just seemed so out of character of her. At least of the puppy I knew before we went to PA. Now she goes to that spot and just sniffs... I need to clean it better I think. My husband did the cleaning and I don't think he did a good job.

Also, she is so mouthy. Especially with my two kids. I am constantly telling her no but that seems to make her more hyper and she continues to bite my hands and even snips at my face. We have a time out bathroom but so far she hasn't gotten the connection. I know it takes time and consistency. Like I said, I'm just looking for words of encouragement I don't even allow my kids in the living room anymore which is what Snow is confined to, because it ends up in a shouting and crying match between my kids, me and Snow

It's frustrating. We tap Cato on the nose and say NO. It has started working but at first he didn't understand. When we first met him he was nipping, and out breeder said "bop him on the nose, he doesn't know English." He does know our tone of voice now, so we are sure to have the firm No added with the bop. Now, we just have to say No and he is fully aware of what it means.

Clean that spot extra-super-clean. LOL are you using an enzyme remover? These take out all the left over residue.

It is Woolite pet + oxygen cleaner?

Woolite is good, but get another cleaner on top of that. We use Nature's Miracle and it works for us. Cato isn't a repeat offender.

Make sure you clean the spot with an enzyme cleaner. Nature's Miracle is available in almost any pet store. Regular cleaners (even bleach) will not get rid of some enzymes that dogs can smell-- we cannot. So it looks and smells clean to us, but dogs still think it's okay to go there.

As for the mouthing-- if she's not getting the hint, you need to be more clear. If she starts mouthing, you (and hubby, the kids, EVERYONE) needs to give a firm "No!" and then walk away. Don't let her follow. Put a door or a gate between you and her and IGNORE HER. It needs to be very prominent. Koda didn't get it until I started shutting myself into the bedroom.

ETA: I wouldn't recommend nose popping her. It usually results in dogs that are hand shy and can do a lot more harm than good. While it may work sometimes, it's generally frowned upon as a training method.

Will it work the same way if I pick her up and put her in the bathroom and shut the door when she bites? And how long should I leave her in there?

LifeInSnowMotion wrote:

Will it work the same way if I pick her up and put her in the bathroom and shut the door when she bites? And how long should I leave her in there?

That didn't work for Koda. We used to put him in the bedroom and he thought it was a game. What worked for us was removing OURSELVES from the situation.

Makes sense. She probably does think it's a game, lol. How long should we stay removed?

Oh goodness have I been there, and I'll tell you, it gets better the first few months are the hardest. Try cleaning the spot where she peed with an enzymatic cleaner like Nature's Miracle or an equivalent. As for the puppy biting, I've tried it all (yelping, timeouts, loud noises, bitter sprays, etc.), and the only thing Kale responded too was gently grasping his muzzle closed, looking him straight in the eyes, and giving a very low "no". The key for me was to remain very calm and steady; then I would get up and playtime would be over. I think he didn't responded to the yelps and time outs because I got him so young and he didn't learn much from his mom and siblings. I also worked on the "gently" command, and would only give the treat if he took it with his tongue or front incisors. That REALLY helped. It didn't happen overnight though and it takes consistency. Kale was TERRIBLE and I would bawl my eyes out when he would finally go to sleep after a stressful day, but it gradually got better and better and the weeks progressed and now he's and angel... (almost)

Koda wrote:

ETA: I wouldn't recommend nose popping her. It usually results in dogs that are hand shy and can do a lot more harm than good. While it may work sometimes, it's generally frowned upon as a training method.

we aren't hurting him, it's a light tap to break his concentration. I wasn't implying a painful bop. It's like a tap right on his nose. I'm not sure how this could be taken badly?

LifeInSnowMotion wrote:

Makes sense. She probably does think it's a game, lol. How long should we stay removed?

Until she calms down. Koda would stand at the bedroom door waiting for me to come out. As soon as he laid down or walked away, I'd come out and ignore him for another minute or two and and then give him attention.

mheath0429 wrote:

Koda wrote:

ETA: I wouldn't recommend nose popping her. It usually results in dogs that are hand shy and can do a lot more harm than good. While it may work sometimes, it's generally frowned upon as a training method.

we aren't hurting him, it's a light tap to break his concentration. I wasn't implying a painful bop. It's like a tap right on his nose. I'm not sure how this could be taken badly?

I understand what you were doing and what a "nose pop" is... but it's generally frowned upon as a training method. Imagine if someone tapped you on the nose. Not hard, but lightly...it jars you and makes you flinch. Doing that makes the dog hand shy. There are much better ways of correcting and training your dog than nose popping him.

Fair enough. That post probably sounded defensive but I didn't mean for it to. I was just confused

Definitely will try the firm no and then leave the room. It is just so disheartening that I feel like the kids can't come into the room. I don't know how well it would go if she nipped them, and then I tell her no and then proceed to lift the kids over the gate and then leave myself. Would that be confusing or produce the same results?

Have you taught her the "Leave it" command? Honestly, that's going to be something you'll want to train in order to help. That way you can teach Snow to leave your kids alone.

Honestly- your kids should not be left unattended with your puppy anyway, not until she's trained. How old are the kids? If they aren't old enough to defend themselves, say no, and walk away, then they aren't old enough to be left unsupervised. If you are with them, then yes, I'd say an immediate and loud "NO!" from you and removing yourself and the kids from the room for a few minutes would work.

How old was Snow when you got her?

We are teaching her the leave it command. She's good with leaving objects but when it comes to biting not so much. My daughter is old enough but my son is only 2. I never leave them alone with her anyways Snow was 8 weeks when we got her... probably a little older. She was born March 25 and we got her on May 19th. I suck at math, lol! But no, I never leave them alone with her. I spend most of my time if not all of it in the living room with Snow so I can watch her. But the kids will want to come in with me and sit on the couch but I try not to let them so it doesn't end up in a battle :/

We went through this with Raven. Mouthing and nipping the kids and jumping at faces. It does get better. Things that worked for me was using the command ” leave it” and then putting a toy in her mouth immediately and repeating it.

If she was too excited or nipped at my face I would do as Tori said stop playing walk away and shut my bedroom door. She would whine on the other side. It takes time and patience and is really frustrating but it does get better. Hang in there!

Also Snow is still quite young and just like a human toddler that's over tired puppies get over excited and rougher. You can put her in her crate for a nap.

Yes, after our last battle I took her out to potty and then put her in her crate and she fell right asleep Nap time is always a happy time for Mommy!

We have actually had some similar experiences minus the couch incident. We had to leave Kairi two weeks after we got her with my family for a week. We had just got her into a routine and we pretty much had to start over once we returned and she did have some potty incidents that she hadn't had before we left. It took about a week to get her back into her routine and she's been fine ever since so don't give up it will be just fine.

As far as being mouthy that is a constant battle we struggle with as well but we have also started saying no sternly once and if she doesn't stop going in our bedroom and closing the door for a few minutes and she is slowly learning. Kairi tends to be mouthy when she is trying to get our attention or wants us to play so it is a constant struggle but we are finally making progress I think. We tried placing her in time out but it actually became a game for her that way because she would nip at our feet and then take it as a chasing game for us to catch her in order to put her in time out. Walking away and closing the bedroom door works much better for us. Good luck and stick with it, things will get better I promise

First off don't think your alone. No one was more mouthy and nippy then my almost 1 year old lab. Many times I had to leave the room in tears because I wondered if she would ever be the dog I thought I got lol. She would dive-bomb us running at us 90 mph to nip us with those needle teeth they have, I have scars on my arms to prove it. I have never encountered such a nippy puppy in all my life. I contemplated giving her to a trainer it was so bad. But miracles of miracles with proper and consistent training, (and teething being over ) she got better and better. Now she wouldn't dream of putting her mouth on us! Balon (husky) is a little nippy, anytime he nips he is told Balon no bite! . He is still teething and at 3 1/2 months hasn't lost any teeth yet, so we have a ways to go with him. But he is far easier then Ruby was.

Don't give up on the housebreaking either, Balon knows exactly what he should do and still I will be putting him on the leash at the front door and he will just pee! But I tell him No Balon, outside, take him there and he will go again. Plus I have stopped giving him so much water which is helping.

Snowflake will be fine, it will just take time, they have minds of their own, we need to be sure every member of the family is on board with the rules. They are smart, they will all get it in time! Good luck!

Everyone has offered excellent advice on the nipping and biting. The potty training just takes time. I second the use of Nature's Miracle.

My concern is the relationship of the dog with the kids. I would make sure that the kids are spending supervised time with their puppy. They need to know what you are doing to train him. I think if you are consistently telling the kids what constitutes naughty puppy behavior and how you leave the room to discourage this behavior, they will begin to understand that you are trying to make their puppy a more pleasant playmate. You do not want them to feel fear or frustration when around the puppy, but rather hope that one day all will be good! You should say things like, "His puppy teeth are way too sharp for us to allow him to nip our hands, so we will leave the room until he calms down. See, he wants to be with us, so soon he will learn that biting means that we leave and he will stop biting and he will be more fun!" I know you are frustrated, but it's probably a good idea to not show the kids just how frustrated you are.
I also do not think that you should pop the nose to correct him. If the kids see this and copy your behavior the puppy may snap at them and hurt them. I have occasionally put my hand around Sabaka's snout loosely to show him a closed mouth position while saying, "No biting!" I do not do it hard so that he can feel it but just so he will have his mouth closed.
My youngest child was 10 when we got Sabaka and even he freaked out some about the nipping and craziness.
Again, make sure that the kids find a fun activity for them to do with the puppy...like a walk, or fetch, or tug a rope... This will also exercise the puppy and get some of the "wiggles" out!

Good luck!

My heart goes out to you! I was in your shoes just a few short months ago. Our little guy, Qannik, is 22 weeks old today. My husband and I do not have children, so when we brought Q into our lives, it was total disruption and choas. Although I loved our new little puppy, I struggled emotionally in the beginning. The sleep deprivation was dreadful and the general sense of frustration and being out of control really did a number on me. The best thing we did was associate ourself with a trainor. We actually had her lined up before we took him home. She came and did a home visit within two days and was open to us anytime by phone or email. She gave (and is still giving) us the tools we need to mold him into a nicely behaved dog. We use clicker training and I can honestly tell you it works! It's takes a lot of dedication and consistency. I would strongly urge you to get Snow signed up for Puppy Kindergarten. She will love the puppy socialization, and the little bit of focus you do at class will help enormously from week to week. We actually notice, that Q is not as well behaved if he misses a class. But even when you think you have things figured out, they regress. It's going to happen. It comes and goes in waves, but the waves get smaller and further apart. It will get better.

djannitto wrote:

I would strongly urge you to get Snow signed up for Puppy Kindergarten. She will love the puppy socialization, and the little bit of focus you do at class will help enormously from week to week.

Since we live in the same area, I will make a recommendation for a good training business: Teamworks Dog Training (http://www.teamworksdogtraining.com/)

We took the Puppy Confidence and Agility class with them when Faolan was little and it was a great class. They go over basic obedience and they do little exercises on confidence with agility obstacles and different floor surfaces and stuff. It's meant for puppies who have already been introduced to the basics, though. They have a regular puppy class, too, but we didn't take that one so I can't comment on it. We plan on going back to them at some point to do the CGC class.

*sigh* Such great advice from you all! Today I thought Snow was going to bite my hand off. It got to the point where I was almost in tears. I will take all of this advice seriously and try my best to apply it to her.

She actually rang her bells 3 times last night and each time I looked she had immediately sat down to be taken outside. So that made me feel much better. It's just this biting..

The biting will stop eventually as long as you are consistent. I felt the same way about Ghost for the longest time, and we had tons of teethmarks and holes in clothes. It's difficult, it's frustrating, but stick to your guns and you will get there

Good on Snow for picking up on the bell training!