Toys and Bones

Mary-Ann Sontag April 9, 2021

Don’t let a puppy’s innocent face fool you…

Harper B for Be Gone, Nap Interrupter and Capella, the Nap Interrupter — Harper B for *Be Gone, Nap Interrupter* and Capella, the *Nap Interrupter*

…trusting them to keep themselves safe is a Bad Idea. Puppies have no sense of self-preservation. This is why they are born in litters — so a few survive to adulthood. Our goal is 100%!

It is the job of humans to keep puppies safe from their own bad instincts. This means that puppies should not be trusted off-leash when cars and other dangers are present, and we need to be very careful with toys that have chewable pieces.

A puppy’s need to chew can be deadly and/or result in an obstruction surgery. But yes — they need to chew.

I let Capella have a frozen bone each morning, which is not easy on this squeamish vegetarian…

Yuck! I cannot even show in full bloody color.

3 - 4 inches long seems okay for a puppy but I still supervise bone-chewing. High-end dog food stores often have suitable bones as do some grocery stores.

I also watch Capella closely with toys — if she seems too interested in chewing on one piece, I take it away (and pray she poops out any pieces she may have swallowed).

We cannot be perfect but we can and should be vigilant and aware.

Have a safe day!

Ankle Biting

Mary-Ann Sontag April 8, 2021

The many holes in my pants attest to the skill of the 10+10 in grabbing at ankles/pants. Normal puppy behavior and not a sign of anything sinister.

In fact, nothing a puppy does is sinister — they are just babies, after all.

But it is also okay not to want new piercings on your ankles or more rips in your pants.

So what to do?

Two words: Prevention and Diversion.

Start to notice when the puppy is especially likely to ankle bite — mornings are prime ankle biting time around here. Once you know when the behavior is likely to happen — or where it is likely to happen — you can work on prevention.

They grow out of ankle biting too quickly! Wildflower Buttercup at 10+ months.

When I get up — in order to prevent ankle biting — I immediately do some training games with Capella. I grab a handful of kibble and we practice spins, her name, chasing kibble pieces, sit, down, following, etc. These are short sessions but they prevent/divert her ankle biting tendencies.

Since I know she needs to chew, I make sure that her early morning activities include chewing — Capella gets a bone every morning but you could use a bully stick, a kong stuffed with peanut butter and kibble, or whatever creative thing gives the puppy a chance to use his/her mouth in positive ways.

So, I prevent the ankle biting through alternate activity when I suspect it could happen and then I give her a lot of chances to chew in the morning. What if she ankle bites at another time?

I have A LOT of experience with this as you would know if you saw my pants! The first thing is to stop — don’t run or even walk — just stop. If you move, a great game of tug ensues.

Ask the attached puppy for an alternate behavior — a hand touch or toss a piece of kibble or say their name or ?? Think about what behavior is incompatible with ankle biting and just make that happen. Train the behavior separate from ankle biting so it is easy and accessible to the puppy when you need it.

Finally, understand ankle biting for the endearing intention — the puppy wants to interact you! That is so awesome!! Yay! Relationship is developing!

Bright Star McCovey Sirius and one of his humans

If you think of it that way, you will know not to be annoyed, upset, or concerned but rather to feel good about where you are in the puppy’s world. And then you simply redirect the puppy to a more desired way to interact — easy peasy.

All that said, it is a good idea not to wear expensive pants around puppies because you will no doubt mess up and be inattentive and the puppy WILL grab your ankles or pants. No worries — you are only human, after all. Just keep practicing — you got this!

Getting To Yes

Mary-Ann Sontag April 7, 2021

Training Tip: Word of the Day is REDIRECT.

“No” or “Don’t do that” creates a focus on the undesired behavior and also opens up a void — what is the puppy or human supposed to do instead?

When you see or experience an undesired behavior, shift immediately to “Do this instead.”

Maple Moonshadow hard at work as a Therapy Puppy.

Capella likes to chew my desk chair. If I give her an error message like “NO!” how is she to understand what I am telling her? Am I saying NO! for her desire to be close to me? For quietly hanging out and chewing?

And seriously — how fair is it to tell a teething baby not to chew?!

My strategy — reach down and give her an alternative to my chair, and push her a few inches away with the new chew thing so the chair is not so easily in reach.

If she goes back to the chair, clearly my alternative was not a good one so I try something more chew-worthy.

No error message. No drama. Just redirection. Easy peasy.