# my puppy wont listen to "no!" or "drop it"



## cloudj9 (Oct 20, 2011)

and its really starting to frustrate me.

whether its biting on things that aren't her toys, jumping on my bed, going under or into small cracks, eating random stuff from the floor..

i'd have to tell her about what feels like a billion times, before she gives up, and does something else..

god, it pisses me off. lol

how do i get her to listen?
sorry if this question has been posted before.


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## libbenstein (Aug 23, 2010)

i had a hard time with drop it with one of my boys. i did it by having two toys (food motivation is not a really big one at my house), both of fairly high value, and toss one for him to go get, when he came back i showed him the other toy, said drop it and then promptly loved on him/picked up the first toy. Now toss the other toy and repeat. seemed to work. i am sure there are others on here that have other ideas though.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

Hi! 
How old is your puppy?
In general, a puppy that doesn't respond when you ask her to do something hasn't been properly trained what you want her to do. No offense, intended, by the way.
Here's my take:

"No" is such an overused word. It doesn't really teach a dog anything, it just gets their attention and lets them know you're upset with them about something. It's not like you're saying "No, don't play with that, that's my shoe, not your toy." And, even if you WERE to say that, your puppy wouldn't have a clue what you meant, because dogs don't have the same thought process as people.
Most people say no a LOT throughout their day. I say no when my fiance asks if I need anything from the kitchen, I say no when I'm on the phone and my brother asks if I've heard from my mom that day. I say no to the telemarketer on the phone. 
This is a two prong problem: 1) your dog hears all the times you say no. 2) it stops having meaning.
Also, some people get frustrated and "no" becomes "no, no...NO NO NO!" and, since dogs learn sounds as opposed to words, you're dog isn't going to know that "no, no...NO NO NO" means the same as "no".

Anyway, so I'd ditch "no", and maybe use "hey" or "ah ah" to get your pup's attention.

Here's another thing: when a dog sees their toys on the floor and your shoes on the floor, a dog doesn't differentiate between the two. A dog doesn't think: ohhh, there are my toys, and some shoes, I definitely need to stay away from the shoes." A dog thinks: "ohhh, cool stuff on the floor, I think I'll try chewing on this." Only "this" may turn out to be your shoe.

So, part of being a puppy owner is puppy proofing your home, way more than you think you need to. Who knows what a puppy is going to think is cool?

Also, instead of just telling her "no", re-direct her attention on something else, distract her. If she chews on the shoe, teach the "leave it" command. You see her go for the shoe, say "leave it" and then immediately ask her for a "sit" or "down" or "shake" to get her focused on something else. So, instead of just scolding her, you're giving her something else to do instead.

Since dogs don't think the same way we do, they don't really think of things as right vs. wrong. So, focus on redirecting her, and distracting her. If you distract her from shoes, pretty soon she may not be interested at all in that.

As for jumping on your bed: teach the "off" command. Tell her "off" in an excited voice, and look/point toward the floor. If she gets off, give her a treat. To stop her from making a game out of it and going right back on the bed, immediately redirect her to another command, so her mind isn't on the bed.

Going into small places, just keep her contained. Invest in an inexpensive baby gate. Keep her leashed, just don't even allow her access.

Really, it's more about managing where she goes and what she does BEFORE she heads for something she shouldn't have or shouldn't be doing. More of prevention. And, it's lots of work.


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

Dogs don't know english. Did you teach her what you want her to do when say "drop it" or "no"? Just saying it won't mean a thing to her. If you can't get her to do it without saying a word, she doesn't know what you want. For example, when you teach a dog "sit" you don't just stand there saying "sit.. sit... sit.. sit.. sit.. sit.. sit... sit.. sit.. " until the dog does it. You lure them into the position and then reward because they don't know the word yet. Once they understand what you are trying to make them do, then you add the word.


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## Pawzk9 (Jan 3, 2011)

cloudj9 said:


> and its really starting to frustrate me.
> 
> whether its biting on things that aren't her toys, jumping on my bed, going under or into small cracks, eating random stuff from the floor..
> 
> ...


So what (exactly) have you done to teach her what you want when you say those things? A good puppy class may be useful so she can learn what your words mean. My guess is that she doesn't have a clue.


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## DustyCrockett (Sep 24, 2011)

Couple things to keep in mind.

Dogs experience their world through smell and taste; smell is more important to your pup than vision is to you, and taste is a big part of smell. For a puppy, there's only two kinds of things in the world: those that fit in my mouth, and those that don't. And its her mission to try out everything she sees, to see which category it goes in. 

You don't say how old, but for a young puppy, biting and possibly eating anything she finds is kind of in her job description. It's your responsibility to deny her access to those things which she shouldn't chew.

You can't wait until she has something she shouldn't have in her mouth to teach the "drop it" command. You have to set it up and practice, over and over, when the stakes aren't so high. What has worked for me is dropping a treat on the ground next to her face and saying "drop it" when she drops whatever it is in order to pick up the treat.

Also it's important to avoid giving a command if you aren't in a position to enforce it, and never give a command if you don't intend to enforce it. You want to strive for successful encounters, each one will reinforce her habit of following your commands.

Practicing basic obedience commands every day will help as well -- it kind of establishes and reinforces your relationship, lets her feel like she's part of the team.


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