jimmyandthegiraffes:

aniseandspearmint:

justslowdown:

Reminder that puppies are babies. They are learning. The human world is VERY confusing for human kids, let alone infants of an entirely different species. They aren’t “assholes” and they don’t do anything to spite you or make you mad. They interact with the world with their mouth because they don’t have hands.

 When playing, they’ll bite you harder than you like because they just don’t know it hurts!  And yes, they’re going to chew on things.

If you aren’t watching a puppy and they chew something you don’t want chewed… that is not a choice they made. They aren’t being naughty. That is the puppy being a baby, exploring the world with the only tool they have.

 Plus… teething is hella uncomfortable. Their mouths hurt! Chewing helps. That’s why you buy them all kinds of chewies, and keep anything else they can fit in their mouths out of reach. That’s your responsibility. 

Confinement areas are so important. Playpens, not just crates. If you aren’t watching your puppy and they chew on a shoe or poop somewhere, that’s on you. Again: that is not a choice they made. If you can’t watch your puppy, put them somewhere safe. Personally, I use x-pens with a crate, a pee pad, a water bowl, and tons of things to satisfy their teething instinct on.

I’ve raised four puppies now and I’ve learned a lot. The most important thing I’ve learned is patience and compassion. Try looking at things from their point of view before you get angry at them.

When your puppy bites too hard, don’t yell at it, yelp. 

Cry. 

Make a fuss like it actually hurt you (not hard since a lot of pups have freaking NEEDLES for teeth lols but ham it up) and stop playing with them for a few minutes. Your pup will quickly get the idea that what they did hurt you and they need to not do that anymore.

Puppies often learn this by playing with their siblings, but ‘forget’ when they go to their new forever home.

^^^ if they bite you a lil too hard, the higher pitched the yelp, the better. the closer you can get to sounding like another puppy, the more your puppy will understand the language

This is exactly how I got Arthur to stop biting me and I’m trying this to get him to stop standing on my feet. (80 lb dog standing on a broken toe is the opposite of fun.)

It worked like a charm when he was teething and he’s gotten a lot better at not stepping on me lately.