[Patch]

My Staffy is 9 and a half weeks old. We have had him a week and a half. He is an outside dog, but comes in when my husband and I are home.
We have overcome the problem of him urinating or pooping in the house, basically by asking him every so often if he wants to pee (which he understands) and we take him outside.
The nipping is a problem, but nothing we can't handle because it's usually only when we play.
He tends to chew on things, like the rug, etc. but we usually overcome this by saying "No" quite sternly and then giving him a toy to chew on... he is slowly understanding this.
My husband has a stronger view on discipline than I do. lately, when he does something he shouldn't (like running through the house when we are trying to put him out for the night, or biting, or digging holes in the garden, he taps him on the nose, says "No", and either puts him outside and ignores him for 10 minutes, or ties him up on his leash for 5 minutes. Once he releases him, he is usually obedient.
Does anyone else think like me... let puppy's be puppy's....
or like my husband... that you have to teach them young???
I'm confused..

 

[deuce's mommy]

Well I had the nipping and I think its just a puppy thing, but you should try to regulate it. Deuce is starting to grow out of it now. Just be patient b/c he is a pup, and he doesn't know what is and isn't ok. You have to teach him. I started Deuce with sit, stay, etc, at 10 wks. He picked it up really quickly, and it is helpful in other situations when you need him to obey. Not an expert, but just my experience so far.

 

[Cookies Mom]

just correct him so that way he'll learn what is right and what is not.

 

[augrad]

It's never too early to start correcting unwanted behavior, and it sounds like your husband is being gentle about it. If you let him dig holes now, he may always dig holes. :roll: Yes, you should let puppies be puppies, but there is play time and non-play time. Don't worry, new mommy - y'all are doing okay on that.

But.... Have you guys considered crating him at night and when you're not at home instead of leaving him outside by himself? Inside in a crate is much safer for your puppy - he can't possibly eat anything poisonous, get attacked by other animals, get stolen, get his head stuck in a fence, or any of those other horrible things if he's in a crate inside. There are just so many bad things that can happen to him if he's unattended outside, not to mention that hole-digging thing. He will get bored out there alone, and will find ways to entertain himself - and you will not be nearly as amused by them as he is.

Just my 2 cents, anyway. I think you will find that most of the folks on this board believe strongly in using crates with their dogs, and can give you some more really good information about using them.

Welcome to the forum! :hello2:

 

[attitude]

education starts the minute you pick your puppy up. teaching boundaries and acceptable behaviour is important and best started young. my obedience, as well as manners, start right away, 8 weeks

 

[ambulldogpup]

Starting obedience and boundary training is easier at around 3 months. Really though, the earlier you start the better. We started at 3 months with Abby and she knew all the commands, and caught on quickly to new ones like roll over or paw. So I would definetly start the training now.

 

[Lisa]

I start my obedience right away using positive reinforcement (food), but no corrections. I prefer to crate puppies when they get out of hand, rather than correct. Crating prevents accidents in the house and also eliminates any destruction the pup may do to to teething or normal puppy mischief. All the nipping and chewing of stuff will usually go away on its own eventually anyways, so I find it easier to just crate them through the difficult puppy stage. Of course not all the time, but unless I can give my 100% attention to a young puppy they are in the crate where they cant get into trouble. IMO anytime an accident happens in the house or something gets chewed up its always the owners fault. If I had a pup that just laid around all day I would think something was wrong with it!!

 

[Patch]

Thanks for all the feedback!!
I suppose what my husband is doing is correct - we need to start obedience training now!
(I suppose it explains why Patch listens to my husband, and TOTALLY ignores me!)

I am SO new at this... could someone explain CRATING to me?
I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving Patch indoors while we are at work, etc because he would destroy my home.
We have a lot of breakables.. i collect glassware from all over the world, and our furniture is all new...
He is pretty safe in the yard. We live in a townhouse but the yard is quite big. Patch has heaps of toys, and his own little kennel, and he can't get out in any way because we've sealed off the fences, etc.

 

[-removed-]

I too am new at this, but when I recieve my pup next week or so Im gonna arstt his boundry training immediately..

If your trying to teach them something is wrong is it ok to tap their nose and say no? I always thought you just ignore them for 5 to 10 minutes then go back to playing with them until they learn?

 

[Patch]

Well i don't think ignoring him teaches him much.. in my view, i think it agitates them.
when you tap their nose, and say no.. they understand that it is wrong... i've seen the effects it has had on Patch.
my issue is with tying him up for 5 minutes... i think that's cruel, but my husband (who's had a number of dogs in his life) says it's the only way to teach them..
It works with him though....
It's SO hard disciplining a dog!!!! :?

 

[Crackavasion]

Well i don't think ignoring him teaches him much.. in my view, i think it agitates them.
when you tap their nose, and say no.. they understand that it is wrong... i've seen the effects it has had on Patch.
my issue is with tying him up for 5 minutes... i think that's cruel, but my husband (who's had a number of dogs in his life) says it's the only way to teach them..
It works with him though....
It's SO hard disciplining a dog!!!! :?

Taping or firmly grabing the nose has always worked for dogs i had growing up and it wored on Angel too.

 

[deuce's mommy]

Ignoring them works well for some dogs. If they bite or something like this, just leave the room or isolate them in a restroom, etc, for about 2-3 minutes. They want to be with you, so this is punishment for them. I think it also gives them a minute to calm down. There are some great threads on here about punishment that may be very helpful. The tap on the nose works for some dogs as well, but Deuce just gets irritated and tries to bite at our fingers. It all depends on the dog. Hope you find something that works.

 

[Beetle]

I don't think your hubby is being too strict. I think he's going about it the right way. You do need to teach them when they're young, but also don't overdo it. They do need to be puppies, and their entire life can't consist of disciplinary actions. Don't expect perfection; they're still learning.

If you don't correct things like digging holes and chewing on the rug when they start doing it, then they will assume it's okay to do those things. They will make it a habit, which will be much harder to break later. Once a dog, especially stubborn breeds, gets it in his head that something is okay to do, it can be very difficult to reprogram his behavior later in life. When they're puppies, they're learning. Everything is new to them, and they expect to be taught by you what is correct and not. Structure is very important in puppy development. Without structure and boundaries, they'll just make up their own rules and be their own boss.

 

[Patch]

THANKS BEETLE!

Thanks Beetle!

All your advice has been great. I guess because i'm such a softie.. i find it hard to discipline such a cute little puppy!
But this weekend, my husband was working, so it was just me and Patch.
Patch dug up the backyard like you wouldn't believe!!! he dug right down to the pipes, and also dug near the fence and i tell you, if he kept going he could've been playing with the neighbours dogs!
So.... i took the plunge... and when i walked out and saw him digging i took hold of him, tapped him on the nose, yelled "No" and tied him up for 5 minutes... i went inside and continued going about my way (actually, he was crying so i went upstairs and watched him from the bedroom window... it broke my heart!!!)
But he didn't dig for the rest of the day (maybe because he was inside with me....??)
This morning though... i went outside to give him breakfast and there were holes everywhere again!!!!!!!

Goodness me.... this is going to be a tough one!

I can't wait for 2 more weeks when we start obedience school!!!!