New Puppy help!

[golfgal]

Ok, Dublin has been very good at home. She goes outside to go to the bathroom eats and sleeps well (all night!!) the problem is when we go elsewhere and she meets new people. She barks like crazy and tries to bite. The first time she did that was at the vet's office and I thought it was just all the dog smells on the vet. We took her to a park and there was another dog being walked and she did the same thing to that dog and her owner. Then we were at a friend of DS's house and his grandma came out to the car to see the puppy, they don't own a dog, at first she was ok then she barked like she was going to bite but didn't get a chance to get any farther because I grabbed her nose and yelled "no bite".

NOW what do I do???? I can't have a vicious dog. She hasn't done that to anyone that has come to our house. She is great with the kids. She is a lovable puppy otherwise.

She is a 12 week old Rat Terrier if that makes a difference. We have only had her since this past Friday (Dec 23rd).

 

[DVC Jen]

sounds like you puppy is "protecting her pack" when she does that. I would address this issue and NOW before it gets any worse. She needs to know that is not acceptable. I would ask the vet if there are any good training book and or classes you can take to nip this behavior in the bud. You don't want her biting someone and having to be put down. That would be incredibly sad.

 

[ItsonlyExperiment626]

Watch the Dog Whisper on National Geographic Channel. He usually use a short leash, positioned at the right spot on the dog's neck. When the dog starts to bark and attack, he would give the leash a tug and just say shhhh. Another thing he always tells the dog owners is to take the dog out for long walks to drain them of their energy which makes it easier to train them.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Not being snotty, but may I ask why she is around strange places, parks, dogs, and other people without all her shots? She is much too young to be out - her health can be endangered. With the exception of the vet, I would not take a young pup away from my yard and home until all shots are done.

As far as the behavior, I think part of her issue is the newness of all these strange places she is being opened to so quickly. She hasn't had time to adjust to her new life yet or learn who are her friends/family yet and has had to go out in the open already. She is so young.

Dogs don't come with manners. Unfortunetly. Our 8 month old is FINALLY getting some manners after months of hard work, patience, training, and time. I didn't take him out on a leash until he was well behaved on it. We didn't introduce him to strange people until several friends came over so he could practice his manners. He didn't meet another dog until he played well with our older dog and met some friend's dogs. It was a progression...

My Shih Tzu doesn't react well to strangers. He's terrified of them if we're in a place he's uncertain about and quite hostile (well, he barks and barks - doesn't touch them) when they are at our home. My other pup is everyones best friend - but even that is bad manners as he wants to lick and jump on people. We're still working on that =)

I think providing safe environments for her to meet new people, new dogs, new experiences is a good place to start. Practice on the leash in the house or in your yard until she is vaccinated. Begin to ask around about training classes once she's old enough - they are such a great thing but some trainers are terrible. Your vet may know of a reputable one or ask friends and neighbors. Practice commands at home like 'sit' 'settle' 'stay' 'come' etc. Then you can use a command to get her to sit when you meet new company.

Good luck! =)

 

[golfgal]

Pretty much everything I have read said that between 8-14 weeks is critical socialization time and that they should meet as many new people, dogs, animals, experiences as possible during that time. I guess I was trying to do that as much as possible. I need to have a friendly dog, she is great at home. We have too many people over all the time and I need her to behave around new people.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

What do you need to know? She is young. I don't know about the socialization factor that young? I never heard of that. Who told you that?

 

[golfgal]

Pretty much every article on this site:

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/tpuppy.html

and every other dog training site I have looked at. Are they wrong? Should I stop trying to get her used to other people, dogs, etc????? I am stumped. Like I said, she is GREAT at home. Maybe it is just too much too soon??? I don't know. This is the first puppy I have had since I was a kid, we usually got older dogs and never really had this problem with them. She is a 5 lb dog that thinks she is a 100 lb rottweiler when we are around other dogs.

 

[kilee]

I would strongly advise looking into obedience classes. This will help put you in control. Fortunately the dog is still a baby and you have time to work with it to make it a wonderful pet.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I think you are misreading the sites. I know it is overwhelming because I am doing it with 2 puppies.
Your job right now is your home and basic training. Start slowly and build.

As soon as he can be taught to walk on leash and has had his puppy shots, take him everywhere with you. Let him investigate everything.

 

[Aimeedyan]

I agree that socialization is important but not this young - she is way too young to be out among other animals and people (esp since many people don't vaccinate their dogs and your baby is not protected). She needs to learn basic manners and social skills from home right now - have people to your house that you know are safe.

I know you're trying hard to form her into a wonderful puppy and she will be but she is too young to be flung into all those situations. Most breeders hold their pups until 10-11 weeks even (which is what I am most comfortable with, I picked up my Shih Tzu at 11 weeks) because time at home with the pack is important.

Slow down and work with her at home. She needs to learn the pack order in her house first - she doesn't even know that yet so she certainly can't understand pack order outside of the house. =)

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Slow down and work with her at home. She needs to learn the pack order in her house first - she doesn't even know that yet so she certainly can't understand pack order outside of the house. =)

Yep. We had to "redo" our stuff with one of the dogs. I thought I was being firm at home with discipline and it turned out I was not. It was embarassing for me to get corrected.

The good thing is, once you realize you are doing to much, too soon, and hunker down the dog begins to trust you and listens because you are the boss.
Social situations were slow with our puppy Butters.

The other dog is a collie mix and LOVES everyone, except the vet. The scared one likes the vet. Figure that one out! They have different personalities.