I'm sure this has all been on these forums before...

[erikalol]

Alright, so I'm not sure how to really word this. I'm not trying to write a novel, and I'm sure these problems have been addressed on here already. But maybe you guys can offer me new suggestions? Or encouragement.

We just recently adopted our 5 month old (Roman) for a local shelter. And he came somewhat trained. He knows Sit, Down, and Wait. Currently learning "Drop It" - And he's showing signs of previously being housebroken... unless he just learned in a matter of days...
And I've read that these pups are stubborn... and very smart. We're seeing it now.

At the moment, we're just having one issue with him. And that's his little nipping (teething?) issue. He loves to nip. At our hands, arms, elbows, legs, feet, and his favorite... our butts. Every time, I firmly tell him "NO BITE" and try to redirect him to one of his toys and he'll mouth it for a couple seconds until he realizes he's not as interested in that at the moment and he comes back to us. We've tried the muzzle grabbing thing, again, firmly say "NO BITE" but as soon as we let go, it's like we're saying "GAME ON!" and he acts like it's a game. Some times when we try to grab his muzzle, he runs away like "aaahh haaaa, can't get me" which makes him more playful and more nippy. Seriously, once the toys and muzzle thing don't work... we bring the cat out. The cat (Leeloo) has never struck Roman, just hisses and poofs up and he's somewhat intimidated by her... but we place her in her bed under our coffee table and he instantly calms down. Weird huh.
And I almost feel like every time he nips at us and we give him a toy, does he think it's a reward? Orrrrrr? I mean, I clearly make it known by my tone that biting is unacceptable and when I hand him the toy... I make it known that the toy is good.

And I wanted to address the housebreaking. I take him out frequently and he's actually getting quite good. No messes since yesterday! Yaayy! He pees when he's excited and we've come to terms with that, we're working on keeping him calmer when it's appropriate. But we noticed how he likes to try to trick us. When he goes outside, I will give him a treat when he goes "potty" - and he'll pee as soon as he goes outside. Great! But then he'll "pee" again... he'll squat like the first time and come running over for another treat. But nothing comes out. And oh boy, he's so proud of himself. He'll do this several times. Do I give him a treat for pretending that he's peeing? Each time?

He gets tons of play time when dad gets home and once he's healed up from getting "fixed" I'll be able to walk/jog with him (maybe you'll find me in a heeling thread soon). Unless I'm able to now? He was fixed on the 11/18/12. We'll be taking him to obedience classes soon as well. It's still our first week together, ya know?

Anyway. Thank you for reading this, sorry if I'm all over the place. Any suggestions are appreciated. And we're so in love with this puppy and breed, we know this phase is a tough one... and we're just trying to find the best way to deal with it.

[Leliel]

Not an expert or anything, but have you tried the Yelp method? Yelp like you are really hurt when he nips you (like one of his littermates would) and then cease playing with him/ paying him any attention.

It does not sound to me, from your description, like he is understanding what you mean by NO BITE and muzzle grabbing, so perhaps a different approach is worth trying?

I don't reward fake pees, definitely not once they've made the connection that peeing is what I am rewarding.

Best of luck to you!

[Adara]

Are you sure he doesn't have a UTI and is squatting a lot? It might account for some of the submission/excitement pee also.

How long have you had him? Do you give a treat every time? In the past I haven't given treats just praise for potty. With my current puppy she hated to be on the wet grass so I opted to give treats. BUT after 10 days I went from 100% to say 90% to 85% to about 75% of the time she gets a treat.

For the nipping, definnitely stop grabbing the muzzle if he runs. The last thing you want is a dog who runs from you. I would continue trying the toys. You can tether him to an area so he can't get to you also but is in the same room. And if he can't behave you can nicely and unemotionally let him hang in his crate with a kong. I can see needing quiet time..I have a current biter BUT the cat isn't teaching him HOW to be quiet. My husband does something similar when he needs peace. When Envy is horribly annoying and he can't take it, he picks her up and holds her. While it DOES keep her from getting into anything, it's also NOT training her how to behave. It's is preventing her which isnt' always a bad thing. You just also have to train the correct behavior.

[erikalol]

Originally Posted by Leliel

Not an expert or anything, but have you tried the Yelp method? Yelp like you are really hurt when he nips you (like one of his littermates would) and then cease playing with him/ paying him any attention.

Thanks! I'll try this out!

[erikalol]

Originally Posted by Adara

Are you sure he doesn't have a UTI and is squatting a lot? It might account for some of the submission/excitement pee also.

How long have you had him? Do you give a treat every time? In the past I haven't given treats just praise for potty. With my current puppy she hated to be on the wet grass so I opted to give treats. BUT after 10 days I went from 100% to say 90% to 85% to about 75% of the time she gets a treat.

For the nipping, definnitely stop grabbing the muzzle if he runs. The last thing you want is a dog who runs from you. I would continue trying the toys. You can tether him to an area so he can't get to you also but is in the same room. And if he can't behave you can nicely and unemotionally let him hang in his crate with a kong. I can see needing quiet time..I have a current biter BUT the cat isn't teaching him HOW to be quiet. My husband does something similar when he needs peace. When Envy is horribly annoying and he can't take it, he picks her up and holds her. While it DOES keep her from getting into anything, it's also NOT training her how to behave. It's is preventing her which isnt' always a bad thing. You just also have to train the correct behavior.

I'm not sure about the UTI, he has a vet appointment set up for this upcoming Monday. But I didn't even take that into consideration. I knew I joined this for a reason.

We've only had him for 3 days now. And I give him a treat every time he actually pees, I plan on reducing it once I feel like he "gets it". But it's pretty much the same logic as to why we give him treats. We live in Washington state and where we are, it's chilly throughout the day and the grass is always wet... and cold.

I'll try this as well. Luckily, he came with a baby gate and crate... so that will definitely help.

Thank you!