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Posted by PHAthena on August 28, 2002 at 07:24:00:

In Reply to: new dog posted by shmoo on August 26, 2002 at 19:00:21:

:My girlfriend just adopted a probable border/shepherd cross. He's apparently about 7 months old.
:He has two major problems...he barks...and barks...and barks....for attention mostly Even
:when you are with him, but not interacting. The second is that he mouths your hands constantly. That
:might be solved with the application of bitter apple. Both problems seem to be attention getting
:behaviours. Any solutions?

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH...the joys of puppyhood. (G)

As I haven't had a puppy in the house in over 15yrs, I'm prob only going to be able to offer sympathy.

I vaguely recall that when a puppy mouths your hand, exchanging the "limb" for an appropriate toy will establish the NO BITE while reinforcing there are indeed things that it's okay to gnaw on. My dog's favorite toy is a KONG. It's virtuously indestructible & can be loaded w/treats.

The barking is something I've really never had experience w/at all. Friends w/"barkers" have told me that actually teaching the dog to bark on command can silence the "entertainment" barking. The dog gets the idea that there are definite times it's OK to bark, and only to bark w/the owner's approval.

Hope that helps!

PHAthena

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