12 week puppy growling

[Dawnspell]

Some suggestions for your impulse games. Make sure it's easy wins to start.
Play it when he's relatively calm this gives him a head start. So not if you've just been playing but maybe after doing a few sits.

Instead of your hands use a big yoghurt pot of plant pot upside down. A heavy terracotta one is ideal.

Tip the pot and put food under but don't cover it. Let him get the food a couple of time from under the pot. Then put food under but cover it with the pot, you can just use a finger on top to hold it down. Chances are he'll nose or scratch at the pot, the second he stops you lift the pot and tell him get it. At this point don't expect him to back off keep it really easy. He will learn to get the treat stop scratching, then you can up the difficulty a little bit by seeing if he can just stand. Remember to keep going back a stage every so often to give him an easy win to keep him engaged.

I've advanced this with Jasper using a heavy terracotta pot. The treat goes under, I walk away from the pot ( he can't get the treat the pot is heavy) laying down by the pot doesn't work he's got to leave the pot and come to me then we race back to the pot and he gets the treat. I'm now introducing when he comes to me he has to do a nose touch or something before we race to the treat. This also teaches listening while in arousal.

[Ludvig2021]

Some suggestions for your impulse games. Make sure it's easy wins to start.
Play it when he's relatively calm this gives him a head start. So not if you've just been playing but maybe after doing a few sits.

Instead of your hands use a big yoghurt pot of plant pot upside down. A heavy terracotta one is ideal.

Tip the pot and put food under but don't cover it. Let him get the food a couple of time from under the pot. Then put food under but cover it with the pot, you can just use a finger on top to hold it down. Chances are he'll nose or scratch at the pot, the second he stops you lift the pot and tell him get it. At this point don't expect him to back off keep it really easy. He will learn to get the treat stop scratching, then you can up the difficulty a little bit by seeing if he can just stand. Remember to keep going back a stage every so often to give him an easy win to keep him engaged.

I've advanced this with Jasper using a heavy terracotta pot. The treat goes under, I walk away from the pot ( he can't get the treat the pot is heavy) laying down by the pot doesn't work he's got to leave the pot and come to me then we race back to the pot and he gets the treat. I'm now introducing when he comes to me he has to do a nose touch or something before we race to the treat. This also teaches listening while in arousal.

That sounds like it might work better with Ludvig. I will definitely try it, thank you so so so much for being so helpful on this forum. It has been of great help to us

[zeta1454]

I would agree with the breeder that VOM raw food would be much better than a kibble which is a highly processed food. The processing to make kibble destroys the naturally occurring nutrients in the meat which are then added back in. Many kibbles also contain grains and other starchy foods as a filler which are harder for dogs to digest. I do think that any creature being fed a diet which they are biologically best adapted to digest will be healthier than one on a highly processed food with additives. The healthier the dog is overall, the less likely they are to suffer physical discomfort or illness and more likely to be calmer and more relaxed.

There are a couple more links here you may find interesting to read through. The first specifically about the links between raw feeding dogs and calmness:

https://dogsfirst.ie/health-issues/hype ... nutrition/

The second is a link to the VOM website. We don’t feed our dogs this particular brand but I know a first class standard schnauzer breeder in Sweden who does use VOM food for their dogs and they are beautiful dogs with a calm and steady temperament.

https://vomoghundemat.uk/produkter/raw-pet-food/

[Ludvig2021]

I would agree with the breeder that VOM raw food would be much better than a kibble which is a highly processed food. The processing to make kibble destroys the naturally occurring nutrients in the meat which are then added back in. Many kibbles also contain grains and other starchy foods as a filler which are harder for dogs to digest. I do think that any creature being fed a diet which they are biologically best adapted to digest will be healthier than one on a highly processed food with additives. The healthier the dog is overall, the less likely they are to suffer physical discomfort or illness and more likely to be calmer and more relaxed.

There are a couple more links here you may find interesting to read through. The first specifically about the links between raw feeding dogs and calmness:

https://dogsfirst.ie/health-issues/hype ... nutrition/

The second is a link to the VOM website. We don’t feed our dogs this particular brand but I know a first class standard schnauzer breeder in Sweden who does use VOM food for their dogs and they are beautiful dogs with a calm and steady temperament.

https://vomoghundemat.uk/produkter/raw-pet-food/

He was getting vom when we just brought him home. His breeder gave us some, we will try to give him some Vom, hopefully that’ll have an impact as well

[Ludvig2021]

Hi again!

We have been training with all of your tips, and Ludvig is so good at the impulse training now that I can walk away from the treat, and then say yes before he goes for it! Same with toys! So thank you so much for your great tips!

Buuuut we have another issue, Ludvig is teething and we have a bunch of appropriate toys for him, like chewing sticks, raw cow bone, squeaky toys, teddy bears and so on, but when he gets overtired (due to not knowing how to nap), he attacks our legs like crazy. It is impossible to make him stop. I use a sharp no and gently push him down, but it doesn’t help at all. Redirecting him with toys or treats doesn’t do the work either. So I’d like to ask, if you guys have some tips for us

[Dawnspell]

Those baby crocodiles, my son was 10 when we got our 1st dog and he was terrified of him so much so he would jump across the furniture to avoid putting his feet on the ground until we got him some wellies to wear inside.

It may not seem like it but saying no and pushing him (which I would advise against) is a reward by giving him attention whether good or bad, so he carrys on.You need to stand like a tree with no movement or verbal while hes doing the behaviour you don't like, be boring. As soon as he stops give calm praise and reward. Keep it very calm and very slow it's all about reducing the excitement level. At this point he could go in his crate for a nap or just to calm down with long lasting chew.

[Ludvig2021]

Those baby crocodiles, my son was 10 when we got our 1st dog and he was terrified of him so much so he would jump across the furniture to avoid putting his feet on the ground until we got him some wellies to wear inside.

It may not seem like it but saying no and pushing him (which I would advise against) is a reward by giving him attention whether good or bad, so he carrys on.You need to stand like a tree with no movement or verbal while hes doing the behaviour you don't like, be boring. As soon as he stops give calm praise and reward. Keep it very calm and very slow it's all about reducing the excitement level. At this point he could go in his crate for a nap or just to calm down with long lasting chew.

Haha that is basically what we do at this point. We almost have to jump on chairs for him to stop. He even does it when we sit on the couch... we have tried the ignoring part, but his stubborn little mind keeps going for our pants and legs, and he has drawn a bit of blood on multiple occasions on legs and arms. It is so so hard to ignore when his sharp puppy teeth get a hold of your leg or hand/arm.. 🥲