Puppyhood is a difficult time for all puppy parents, especially first-time dog owners.

Fear Not!!!

We have an easy to follow guide to help you out with some of the unwanted puppy behaviours, including biting, toilet training, stealing items, jumping up and attention barking.

The first thing you need to know is that you are not failing as a puppy parent and the second is puppyhood is HARD!!! Just when you think you're making progress... They hit adolescence and it feels like you're back to square one. This is a totally normal event, all dogs go through it, some just have it easier than others.

Puppy Biting

Puppy biting is one of the most frustrating parts of puppyhood. This isn't because your puppy doesn't like you or is it because they're "mean". This is a phase of puppyhood, where they're learning the boundaries of play with their new family and also learning bite inhibition (not to bite hard). It's especially bad when they start teething, they then chew on things they wouldn't normally chew on, to try and ease the discomfort in their gums whilst their adult teeth come through.

To best manage the biting phase, we recommend that when your puppy starts to bite at your clothes, instead offer them a toy that they're allowed to chew on and try to initate play with the toy rather than your clothing. If they're not interested in toys and have recently woken up from a nap, try offering them a long-lasting chew or a stuffed KONG to redirect this energy into a productive behaviour.

If neither of these options seem to be working and your pup seems hell-bent on biting you, it's likely that they're overtired or overstimulated. Try popping them in a crate covered by a blanket for enforced rest for 30mins. By covering the crate you are taking away the visual stimuli that would normally keep them awake, whilst introducing their own safe space that no one else enters except them. By shutting the door on the crate, it prevents them from walking around and finding more shenanigans, they still have lots of room to spread out in their crate and move around, but they're more inclined to rest, compared to when they are given complete freedom.

Stealing Unwanted Items

When your pup has stolen something that you don't want them to have, do not chase them!!! This leads them to believe that you're playing a game and it's the BEST GAME EVER!!! Instead swap them for something that they want, such as their favourite toy, a tasty treat or a chew. Whilst this may look like you're rewarding them for stealing the item, you are actually trading them for something they find more valuable than your shoe. Therefore taking the value out of the stolen item and making it boring to them.

If you have a pup who really LOVES the chase of trying to trade, try leaving a longline on them during their free-time around the house, this will allow you to reel your pup back in gently and prevent them from practicing playing keep-away.

Making a trade also helps with preventing resource guarding of stolen items when they're older, as you coming towards them when they have something in their possession, then means that you're bringing something nice to them. Rather than you only going over to them to take their new found treasure away from them and that you must be stopped.

Toilet Training

Some puppies take longer than others to get the hang of toilet training, whilst others almost seem to transition naturally to toileting outside.

Controversially, we don't recommend using puppy pads... We recommend taking them in the garden for toilet training (where possible), as no unvaccinated dogs have been there, there's a very slim chance of them catching anything nasty during brief toilet trips.

The general rules of thumb with toilet training is to take them out:

• After every meal

• After a big drink

• After a nap

• After playtime/zoomies

• First thing in the morning

• Last thing at night

• After a training session

• After a chew or brain game

• Once an hour throughout the day

Feeding their last meal just before bed, will help them to sleep in longer in the morning, but can run the risk of overnight poop-explosions. Try to avoid repeating their toilet cue word whilst you're out with them, ask once, wait a few mintues then ask again.

When they do go to the toilet, make it a celebration with a big exciting cuddle party and a treat with "good, toilet" (or the word that you use as a toilet cue). This will encourage them to go to the toilet when asked to do so, as they find your praise very engaging. If they don't go within 10mins, bring them back inside and pop them in their crate for 10mins (to contain any possible accidents), then try again until they go.

DO NOT tell them off or make a big deal out of accidents inside the house, they don't understand why you're upset and just think that you're telling them off for going to the toilet in front of you. This will discourage them from going to the toilet, in front of you when outside and delay potential progress with toilet training.

Jumping Up

Puppies jump up for a number of reasons, the main three are: excitement, frustration and anxiousness.

When puppies are excited they can forget their manners and jump up at you to try to initiate play. When they do, simply move them back to the floor calmly and offer a toy as an alternative. Try to play a low tug game or if you're trying to practice their calm behaviours, ask them for a cue such as "Sit" or "Down", then calmly reward in place after a few seconds. This shows them that keeping their feet on the floor is getting them the reward of play or a treat.

Frustration can also lead to them jumping up, try not to get cross with them during this stage as this isn't productive and the interaction will not end on a good note. Instead, the same as with excitement, you're going to calmly move them back to the floor and ask them for a preferred behaviour such as a "Sit" or "Down". If they're adamant about jumping up and ignoring cues, they're likely overtired and need an enforced nap in their crate.

When pups are worried about something or have been spooked, they might jump up at you for reassurance. It is imprtant that you don't make this a big event, as it can reinforce their worry. Instead, calmly move them to the floor, give them a calm gentle stroke down the side of their body and scatter-feed some treats to the floor or in the grass to allow them to decompress and think about something else. This reassures them that there's nothing to be worried about and makes whatever spooked them, a non-event (noise-sensitivity - e.g. fireworks, thunder, etc - desensitisation is different).

Attention Barking

Attention barking is when your busy doing soemthing or just trying to relax and watch some TV, when suddenly you have your own personal pesterer, who barks and yips at you, because they're not getting 100% of your attention in that exact moment. It can feel like it starts out of nowhere and can be very frustrating to tackle on your own. There are a few things you can do to lessen the attention barking, here are just a few top tips:

You can introduce a safe place for them to go to, when you're busy, this can be in the form of crate training or bed training, aka boundary games. If you're watching tv and want them to learn how to settle around their favourite people, you can use a dog bed to mark their safe place, for them to go to and relax. This is easier said than done for some puppies, but chews and brain games can help to keep them from wiggling all over the place and give you 10+ minutes of peace. You will often find that this wears them out mentally and they'll have a little nap afterwards.

Other puppies have absolutely no sign of an "off switch", it feels like a permanent witching hour!!! These pups need a bit of extra help with enforced rest in a crate. We make the crate a positive place to be, by building up its value to the pup, by feeding in there, giving them a snack, some treats or a chew each time you pop them in there and it will quickly become their favourite place to be at nap time.

Destroying the House

Some pups feel like they're destroying your home, this can be due to a number of reasons, such as teething, boredom and seperation anxiety.

Crate training is a huge help for ensuring that your house is exactly how you left it when you've popped out for a little while. It is also a guaranteed way to keep your pup safe whilst they're not being supervised, it gives you peace of mind that they aren't chewing through any wires, or launching themselves off of high surfaces that they're managed to climb onto.

We recommend starting with short periods of being left on their own and slowly building it up over a few weeks or months. It is important not to rush this, it takes a few months for pups to feel fully settled into their new home and to shape their response to being left alone. Leaving the house isn't a big event, make it boring for them - desensitising them to putting on your shoes or picking up your keys, will help them to learn that these are not super exciting events.

Begging for Food

Begging for food is a well-known common dog behaviour, our food smells amazing to a young pup, it's new, it's exciting and it's not something they're regularly allowed!!!

However, having a pup attempting to steal your food off of your plate or tripping over them whilst trying to cook dinner isn't a desirable event.

Having a solid bed cue/boundary games are a massive help, they're no longer under your feet nor jumping/stealing your food out of your hands. Giving them a chew or a brain game on their bed in the same room, can help to keep them in a preferred place whilst still being under supervision to be sure that they're not getting into trouble in another room.

If they're really struggling with staying on their designated spot, you could employ a stairgate in front of kitchen door so that they can see you, but aren't under your feet or under the dining room table, begging for scraps. This can cause attention barking, so crate training and an enforced rest around human mealtimes might be a better solution for your household.

Not Listening

Puppies, especially during adolescence like to turn their ears off. It can feel like they are completely ignoring you or sticking up two fingers at you before doing whatever they want...

It is part and parcel of puppyhood, you haven't done anything wrong, and their are ways to build up their interest and value towards you.

Engagement games are a great way to increase their want to listen to you and engage with you, different dogs value different games more than others. For example trying to play tug with a non-toy motivated dog, won't be as enjoyable for you or your dog, whereas a food obsessed dog would love a lotus ball, clam ball or training dummy that you can hide treats in, will spark their interest much more and visa versa. Your dog decides on whether it finds something enriching or not.

Free check-ins will super-boost your dogs focus on you and want to be around you when out and about, these are as simple as they sound!!! Anytime your pup returns to you by choice or looks to see where you are, they get a reward whether that a tasty treat or a quick game of tug, before continuing on their walk. Some pups need a little help to get this started so you can play a bit of name game with them or make strange noises to get their attention and trigger them turning to look at you. Eventually they'll make these decisions for themselves and you become the best thing since sliced bread.

Most importantly... Be EXCITING!!!

New sights and smells are going to be farrrr more enticing to your pup, than their human stood still shouting their name; it's a whole new world out there for them!!!

Use a silly noise, baby talk to them, run around, make fun playful movements, you may feel silly doing it, but anyone with a pup has been in your shoes before. You won't have to do this forever and it'll make you a lot more fun for your puppy, compared to the leaf blowing across the ground or the mole hill or even that new best friend in the distance.

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