Author Topic: temper tantrum  (Read 1568 times)

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Offline Ruby_tuesday

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temper tantrum
« on: October 13, 2020, 05:03:02 PM »
 >:D
Well, today has been interesting. My sweet little Ruby today has had a temper tantrum.
She was playing with her toys, it took several attempts to get her to come to me when called ( yesterday it was no problem - she came straight away). I had her on a lead, i stood on the lead to stop her running off - and "Madam" Ruby had a full on tantrum. Throwing herself around , trying to pull away,lots of grumpy noises and nipping . I think she's tired so - currently she's in her crate napping.

Now, from the off we've told her firmly "no" when she starts trying to bite, this doesn't work no matter how many times its said.She jumps at me and my husband trying to bite.  I read another tip in a puppy guide which suggests gently but firmly holding her mouth shut, and repeating "No". I tried this , I gently held her muzzle and said "No". This made it worse, and honestly - I don't like it, so I won't be using that tip. It usually happens when she's excited and playing, but it has also happened at other times.
She's been quite defiant today to, ignoring when she's called - going in the opposite direction. toilet training has taken a step back as well. She was managing to go on the puppy pads - now it's anywhere but. We restricted her space from the off, keeping her in one area and encouraging her to use the puppy pads, and play etc . when she's slept, played or eaten straight away we go to the puppy pads, and we use the "do it" command. In an attempt to get her to learn to do her business.

She's had a bit of diarrhoea today, which I understand can happen when a puppy is teething. I know the teething is giving her some discomfort, I can tell with the nibbles/bites.
any thoughts, please.


Offline Mari

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Re: temper tantrum
« Reply #1 on: October 13, 2020, 06:29:39 PM »
Hello and welcome!  :021:

I tried to answer briefly, but I felt there was several important things to touch on so sorry for the long post!

Ruby is a baby, she cannot be expected to come when called or understand what "no" means any more than a human baby can. She is a baby so she is completely clueless and exploring the world. She is too young to be defiant, she is too young to understand commands or expectations. You will need to teach her and it will take time  ;)

When puppies that young bites, that's normal. They are exploring the world with their mouth much like a human baby will put everything in their mouth. It is natural for them to play bite and chew on absolutely everything. They learn to be careful with their teeth in time. They learn from littermates because if they bite too hard the other puppies will whine and pull away. So you can do the same, speak a language she understands. Pull away when Ruby gets too wild. Add a "no" or a whine if you want to be very clear, but don't expect her to understand yet. If she bites hard and painful, you will pull away, and she will not get attention for a few moments. She will in time learn that biting is not achieving anything positive and therefore she will stop doing it. As she gets older you can pull away for less painful bites as well. This way she will first learn to use her mouth carefully and then learn not to use her mouth on people at all.

But at this young age she does not know or have any way of understanding why you are saying "no" or holding her mouth. This is just confusing and frustrating and possibly scary for her. I am guessing you came to that conclusion yourself since
 you say you don't want to do it, so that's good. Just pull away, if biting leads to people pulling away she will understand, but it will take weeks, possibly months before you can expect her to fully comprehend this. Please remember as well that babies and young puppies have short attention spans. So pulling away for a short moment is enough, there is no point in doing long time outs as they forget why they are left after a minute or two  :005:

Toilet training will probably go up and down for a while yet. Such a young puppy has a very limited attention span and will forget where to toilet even if they remembered one hour ago. Keep bringing her out after meals, naps and play time as you have been doing. Praise her when she toilets outside. If there are accidents inside then just wipe it up and move on, it will happen, probably many times yet. Another good thing to remember is that baby puppies do not physically have full control of their tiny bladder yet. So even if she wants to go outside, she may still have accidents inside. It's just part of being a puppy. Be consistent with taking her out often and don't worry about accidents  :003:

Recall is also too early to expect from her. Do not call her to you unless you know for sure she is coming. Calling when she is not coming will water out the recall command and she will see it as a request rather than a command. This is all training and she is so young that you have to teach her everything patiently. Even simple commands like "come" and "no" need to be taught. They are just sounds to her now and she is too young to be expected to understand them or to be reliable in her response. Say "no" when you gently, but firmly stop her from doing something and she will connect the sound with the action eventually. Say "come" when she is running towards you and then reward her for coming. After many repetition over the coming weeks she will eventually make the connections and understand what "come" means.

Reward all wanted behaviour. Reward when she comes to you, reward when she pees outside, reward  with attention when she plays nicely. Ignore her when she does something unwanted, gently stop her and move her if she does something that needs to be interrupted. Use distraction and guide the puppy, just like you would with a human baby crawling around doing mischief for not knowing better. They are not disobedient at this age, they are clueless  :D

Most of all, do not worry, everything you are describing is normal for her age and you have plenty of time to teach her how to behave  ;) Just enjoy the baby period and make sure she gets enough rest, overstimulated babies are more difficult to deal with. She mostly needs affection and guidance in everyday life now, nothing too complicated  :luv:

Offline bizzylizzy

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Re: temper tantrum
« Reply #2 on: October 13, 2020, 06:57:44 PM »
Excellent advice there from Mari, don‘t think there‘s anything I would add as its all spot on. Patience is really the key,  remember they need loads and loads of sleep at that age, tiredness is nearly always the cause of a fretful over excited pup and the calmer you remain, the calmer your pup will be. Lots of deep breaths and a long ohhhhmmmm will help!  :005:


Offline ejp

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Re: temper tantrum
« Reply #3 on: October 13, 2020, 08:02:18 PM »
What Mari said  ;) :D

Offline Barry H

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Re: temper tantrum
« Reply #4 on: October 14, 2020, 09:43:11 AM »
What Mari said  ;) :D
Way to go, Mari.  Definitely on a roll there!  Move over Zak George et al...

Offline Emilyoliver

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Re: temper tantrum
« Reply #5 on: October 14, 2020, 09:59:48 AM »
What Mari said  ;) :D
:luv:

And just one thing to add - puppies often behave a bit hysterically - being bitey and yappy when they're over-tired.  So if she is doing this, just pick her up gently and put her in her crate (as you have done).  I have found mine fall asleep almost instantly. And it avoids any confrontation/ arguing with them.
Michelle, Emily and Ollie

Offline MIN

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Re: temper tantrum
« Reply #6 on: October 16, 2020, 11:51:10 AM »
The joys of puppy hood.  :luv:
Run free and fly high my beautiful Gemma
2011 - 2023 

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