Trigger is now ten weeks old. He has had his first injection which went surprisingly well (he bit the vet, not me) and will have his second this Friday. A week after that, we’ll be free to roam and formal training will start.
Trigger has already learnt to toilet outside and to let us know when he needs to go: the only accidents we’ve had in the last week have been because we weren’t listening! I think that’s pretty fast learning for such a young pup.
He’s sleeping slightly less in the day now and eating more. He has grown: it’s not so easy to pick him up and carry him these days.
We are still struggling with the razor sharp teeth he likes to use when ‘playing’ with us and the fact he never, ever listens when we tell him to stop doing something he’s not allowed to.
According to the dog training books I've read, you should NEVER, EVER, ignore bad behaviour. But they also say shouting, yelling, smacking and anything else all lead to out-of-control dogs. There is no advice as to what to actually do to stop them chewing your leg or your furniture. Standing completely still and silent seems towork, though, as Trigger soon gets the message you're not playing and wanders off (this doesn't work if his teeth are actually sunk into your flesh since the odd yelp is bound to come out). But isn't that the same as 'ignoring' the bad behaviour? The only other methods are physically stopping him by either grabbing, or pushing him off or away. This works for five nano seconds, so you have to be patient and keep doing that for hours on end while he alternates between ignoring you and trying to gnaw your hand off. Distraction with toys also helps - again for a nano second each time.
I’m told by other dog owners that they do grow out of it eventually. I’m glad because he’s shredded three pairs of trousers already.
No comments:
Post a Comment