Guarding the garden

[Jimyg]

Hugo is now nearly 15 weeks old he is now nearly house trained and doing so well until recently, he has decided the garden is now his and anyone who dares walk down the path has there shoes instantly devoured  at first it was amusing now its just starting to become a problem... Is this normal for a puppy to do? He likes attacking shoes which i dont mind as they are usualy my work boots but in the garden its to a point where he ignores 'No' and it is impossible to pick him up without being bitten! Any ideas?

[cfordham2710]

You need to teach him that this isnt acceptable.  Distract him with something else and get him thinking away from your feet.  Feet are fun cos they move!!

[CockersIndie]

we had this with indie- it was generally only when we walked her and she was frustrated with not being able to do exactly what she wanted to- so she'd bite our wellies, and if we went to correct her, or put her on her lead etc she'd turn round and try and bite us. It definitely became a habit, but eventually she's stopped doing it. We just completely ignored her- made ourselves as boring as possible when she did it. If i sensed it was coming i'd throw a ball to distract her. we haven't had an attack we at least 6 weeks now i also now know she needs quite a bit of stimulation as we go for walks so i have the ball to throw every now and then, and throw it deliberately into thick cover so she has to find it and that has definitely helped. it also helps to distract her away from things i don't want her going near- horse dung for example!