# Will my puppy grow out of being mischievous?



## EasyBreezy (Mar 19, 2011)

Or do I have to train him out of it? 

He's a 5 and 1/2 month old chihuahua and we've had him since he was 2 months. We feed him at 3 set times a day, and take him outside 3 times a day to pee/poop and get exercise. Then he'll spend most of the day running around the house or in his crate. 

But when he's not in his crate, he's always such a little trouble maker. Even when I'm watching him, all he wants to do is mess around with things that aren't his. He loves standing up and knocking stuff off tables, or grabbing my brothers toys, grabbing socks, and recently he started pulling on cables. Oh and he loves loves loves loves loves looooooooooves paper. We've tried puppy proofing the house as much as possible and leaving nothing where he can reach it, but somehow, SOMEHOW he always finds something bad to play with, something I wouldn't have even thought possible. Or sometimes we'll forget to close the bathroom door and theres toilet paper all over it. 

I'll tell him no and he'll stop and run away, but sometimes if he has something he can run and hold in his mouth, he'll run away with it. I don't want to chase him because then he'll think its fun and i'll encourage him. So sometimes I'll get a treat out so he drops it, but he'll drop it somewhere far away from me and come to get a treat, and if I move towards the object (usually paper), he'll run back to it and protect it until I stop then he'll come back to the treat. I usually have to trick him and throw the treat in another direction so I can grab the object.

I don't know what to do to stop this behaviour though. I don't want to leave him in his crate all day, but whenever he's out, the only thing on his mind is "okay what can I grab and mess with." It's getting worse too, every week he does something new that he's never done before, no matter how much I try to prevent it. Turn around for a SECOND and he'll run off and look for something to mess with.

Another issue, is that this dog is supposed to be a family dog. However, he only really respects me. I don't know why, I've never had a dog, but if I tell him no, he'll stop and listen to me. He never bites me or even nips at me. If I call his name, he'll come. If I tell him to sit, he'll sit, if I pin him down, he'll lay there.

But its as if he hates my mom and brother. It seems like he loves them since he gets so happy when they come home, but then after that, he loves nipping at their hands, biting their socks, pulling on their pants. They'll try to do what I do and tell him no and be firm with him, but he wont care. If I tell them to be dominant and not give in to him or pin him down until he stops biting, he starts growling at them and tries to bite them even more. If they don't pin him down and put him somewhere by himself instead, he'll just do it again next time he comes out.

Sometimes he'll be biting my moms fingers or pulling on her hair, and then when I come into the room, he'll stop and look at me and lick her fingers. Then once I leave he starts biting her again. He'll bite and pull on my brothers socks, and if I'm there I'll tell him no and he'll stop. But if my brother tells him no, he'll keep doing it. My brother will say NO NO NO NO NO NOOOOOO and he won't care. 

Theyre getting really frustrated with him and I'm starting to think they don't like them anymore, I wish he treated them like he treated me. I keep telling them to be dominant and do what I do, but that never works.


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

Leash him to you when you can't fully supervise him. Give him things that are appropriate to chew on, and stay out of reach of inappropriate things. Keep an eye on him and reward him with a treat whenever he does something you like, like lying quietly at your feet chewing his own things. He will most likely grow out of chewing, but he is forming bad habits and he won't grow out of those. By leashing him to you you are preventing the bad habits from forming in the first place, until he calms down a bit more.

Also work on a solid 'drop it'. Work on this with things that's he's allowed to have, that way you can reward him for dropping it by giving it back to him. If you're always taking stuff off him, he will start guarding his objects. Play tug with him, tell him to drop it, and when he does, immediately give the toy back and continue playing. Practice with bones etc. Play the trading up game as well, when you take something off him, give him something better in return.

When he bites and steal things, put him in timeout. He will have gotten desensitised to be yelled at, and will have realised that it doesn't mean anything. You need to give him consequences. Put him in a really boring, safe room (like laundry or bathroom) for a minute or so. Repeat as needed. Reward him when he behaves the way you want. There is no point punishing bad behaviour if you don't teach him what the correct behaviour is.

Dominance has nothing to do with it, he knows you're not a dog. It's all just bad habits.


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## luvntzus (Mar 16, 2007)

Don't pin a dog down. "Alpha rolling" is very outdated and doesn't work.


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## EasyBreezy (Mar 19, 2011)

lil_fuzzy said:


> Leash him to you when you can't fully supervise him. Give him things that are appropriate to chew on, and stay out of reach of inappropriate things. Keep an eye on him and reward him with a treat whenever he does something you like, like lying quietly at your feet chewing his own things. He will most likely grow out of chewing, but he is forming bad habits and he won't grow out of those. By leashing him to you you are preventing the bad habits from forming in the first place, until he calms down a bit more.
> 
> Also work on a solid 'drop it'. Work on this with things that's he's allowed to have, that way you can reward him for dropping it by giving it back to him. If you're always taking stuff off him, he will start guarding his objects. Play tug with him, tell him to drop it, and when he does, immediately give the toy back and continue playing. Practice with bones etc. Play the trading up game as well, when you take something off him, give him something better in return.
> 
> ...


I've been trying to work on drop it, fetch, trading, and all those things to get him to give stuff up, but ive been failing at it. If he has something thats not his, he knows he's doing something wrong, and will run away if I even get close. If I get a treat, he leaves the thing where it is (usually across the room) then comes to me for the treat, unless I start walking towards the object he'll just grab it again and put it further away. I've never tried doing that with tugging though, all Ive heard about playing tug games with dogs is that its bad because it teaches him to fight for his things. But I guess I'll try that.

When he nips and bites at my mom and bro, they put him under a laundry basket (lol) and in a different room. But he doesn't learn, he just cries and cries and once he's out, he goes right back to doing it. I'll try that technique when he grabs things too. He doesn't really chew anymore. He doesn't chew on shoes, we leave our shoes all over the place and he leaves them alone. He gets tired of his actual toys. I think youre right though, my mom and brother punish him, but dont usually reward him. 

Also, only reason I suggested pinning him down is because he used to nip at me and I did that and he stopped.


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

It's a myth that tugging is bad. Tug is an excellent game that wears them out and a lot of dogs loooove it. It's also a really quick way of teaching them to drop things, because they are excited and they learn faster in an excited state

So you'd play tug, then stop tugging, say 'drop it' and make sure you're not continuing to tug with him, because then he will have no reason to let go. You may have to grab his collar to stop him tugging the first few times. As soon as he lets go, pull the toy away from him, praise profusely then offer the toy back, say 'take it' or 'ok' or whatever word you want to use, and continue the game. Repeat about once every 30-45 seconds, but stop playing before he gets sick of tugging.

When I did this with my poodle x, she learnt the 'drop it' cue in about 2 minutes.

I guess your body language is different when you go to take something off him that he's not allowed to have. He can tell the difference between the fun trading game and when you're about to take something off him. I know it's a bit difficult, but try to always make it a game. If my puppy has picked up something I know he shouldn't have, or I don't know what it is and need to check it out, I very cheerfully ask him 'what's that puppy?' and casually walk towards him as if it's no big deal. Usually he drops it instantly and will look at it as if he's really proud of himself for finding it. Unless it's something dangerous I give it back to him as a reward.


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## jasper21 (May 26, 2011)

EasyBreezy said:


> But its as if he hates my mom and brother. It seems like he loves them since he gets so happy when they come home, but then after that, he loves nipping at their hands, biting their socks, pulling on their pants. .


Hi there, I am just learning too. My puppy is like this with me more than my husband but I've come to the conclusion that this behaviour is play - he's not biting out of badness he just wants to play.



EasyBreezy said:


> Sometimes he'll be biting my moms fingers or pulling on her hair, and then when I come into the room, he'll stop and look at me and lick her fingers. Then once I leave he starts biting her again. He'll bite and pull on my brothers socks, and if I'm there I'll tell him no and he'll stop. But if my brother tells him no, he'll keep doing it. My brother will say NO NO NO NO NO NOOOOOO and he won't care.
> 
> Theyre getting really frustrated with him and I'm starting to think they don't like them anymore, I wish he treated them like he treated me. I keep telling them to be dominant and do what I do, but that never works.


If you are doing 'the pining down thing' could he be behaving like this because he is frightened of you and not the others?


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## Labmom4 (Feb 1, 2011)

EasyBreezy~like your name btw  Forget the 'dominant' thing. Dont pin him anymore and stop saying 'no'. 'No' is a bad habit that is way too overused and needs to be saved for the absolute worst offenses, like eating a cat or something. This is a tough age and it's going to a bit worse before it gets better, sorry  It doesnt have to be awful though! Lil Fuzzy has some good advice. Definitely keep your pup leashed indoors until he earns his freedom. Keep him either with you or tied to something out of harm's reach. I use a tie-down with my puppies; it's a short, indestructible, lightweight cable with a hook on each end. I have mine mounted to the wall but it can also be hooked to a piece of furniture or something. If I cant hold the leash, I put the pup there with a bed and some toys. The best invention in the world!


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## EasyBreezy (Mar 19, 2011)

I haven't pinned him in months. He actually acts respectful, calm, and obedient towards me. The problem is when he's with my other family members, or if I leave him alone/take my eyes off him. We tried the leash thing today but he cries and cries and cries and it makes me feel so bad, and while I can put up with it, I'm afraid my neighbors will think I'm abusing him or something. He's definitely not frightened of me, if he would he would never come near me, but he follows me wherever I go.

He listens to No though, what else can I do? If he's doing something bad, I'll say no and he will stop. I don't mind that he's been naughty because I realize he's still young and just a puppy, I'm just hoping he will stop eventually.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Just telling him "no" doesn't tell him what you want him TO do. So he stops doing something because you said no. . .then what? It's better to tell him what you want him to do rather than just make him stop doing something. So tell him to go lie down on his bed if he's begging, or tell him to sit if he's jumping, etc. (of course you have to train him to go to his bed and sit first! ).


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## Labmom4 (Feb 1, 2011)

Willowy said:


> Just telling him "no" doesn't tell him what you want him TO do. So he stops doing something because you said no. . .then what? It's better to tell him what you want him to do rather than just make him stop doing something. So tell him to go lie down on his bed if he's begging, or tell him to sit if he's jumping, etc. (of course you have to train him to go to his bed and sit first! ).


Very good advice, Willowy, and something that's easily forgotten in a moment of frustration. It's something I need to work on remembering more also.


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## EasyBreezy (Mar 19, 2011)

I understand, and lately I've been telling him to sit when he gets riled up. Like when I start putting on my shoes and getting his leash, he gets so excited, and it was hard to calm him down. So lately I've been getting the leash and treats, and telling him to sit, then when he sits I put the leash on and give him a treat and then we go outside.

Does anybody have any advice on the other part of my thread though? He doesn't respect my family members. He doesn't even spend most of his time with me, so that can't be it.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Really, everybody makes their own relationship with the dog. I don't think there's anything you can do about it. If they're OK with how he behaves with them, I guess they're OK with it. If they're not OK with it, they need to learn how to train him to behave otherwise. 

People are harder to train than dogs .


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