Is this normal puppy behaviour? Shes 3 months old?
My puppy is 3 months old & I’ve had her a few of days. I’m reading a book on puppy training & it says to use pieces of dried food when she does something right but she doesn’t react to the smell or sight of food the way it says in the book. She has no interest at all so I tried doggy chocolate buttons & again no interest. So finally I tried breaking up a slice of ham & finally I got a big reaction. So I fed her later on (dry food softened with some water) but she didn’t want it. I want her to eat it straightaway rather than free feed & she should be hungry but she doesn’t come running like I’ve seen other dogs do & needs coaxing to eat her food quickly. Right now shes eating a doggy treat shes saved from lastnight but I thought dogs scoffed those things soon as they got them. When outside she tries to eat everything (plants & stones) & now shes started trying to eat coal & my curtains inside, yet shes not that interested in normal puppy pedigree food!! I read online that dogs poop an hour after they eat but although she poops twice a day or so it could be 5 mins after dinner or hours after. The other thing is when shes giddy she makes biting motions. She might be on my lap & kind of nibble & lick my hand or clothes. Usually when shes doing that she rolls around like crazy & lets her tongue loll out. We both discourage it but my boyfriend thinks its playfulness. We were playing with a rope toy today & she was loving it but it seemed like she was jumping up to try to get the side that was in my hand & after a few minutes she got me. Its just a scrape really but I don’t know if it was an accident caused by her getting all excited while we played or if she meant to do it. When I said ow & dropped the toy she ran up onto my lap & started licking me. So does she not like the food & is all this normal puppy behaviour? Should I take the bowl of food away after a certain amount of time to show her she should eat it when its offered? Thanks in advance 
Shes half sheep dog half labrador. I think she gets enough excersise because she tears around the place until shes exhausted & then sleeps for ages! I'm working on the walk thing though, trying to get her to walk on the lead.
I know she was eating pedigree before I got her. Is there something wrong with pedigree? Some people say its good but most seem to go "urgh". Maybe I'll get her something different today
Leave her fod bowl out for 30 min. If she doesnt eat then pick it up and offer it again at dinner time.
Have you tried cheese? Some dogs are just picky eaters. But she will not starve herselfe to death. She will eat eventually. Just a thought: Can you give her something better then pedigree?
For the biting: as soon as she puts her teeth on your skin, yelp really loud, get up and walk away. You have o do this everytime. Thats what her littermates did when playing gets to rough.
October 29th, 2008 at 4:42 am
It would help to know what breed or breeds this puppy is. What are you feeding the puppy? If you are using dry dog food for training treats you won’t get far. Ham is too fatty and can cause pancreatitis, so don’t feed your dog fatty meats. Yes, you should put the food down for a period of time say 10 minutes and then pick it up until next feeding time. With puppies you should be feeding several times per day, and when they are adult twice per day. I’m sure that the biting is puppy behaviour, if the puppy puts teeth on you, yelp and stop all playing and ignore her. This will teach her that it’s no fun for her to get teeth on you as you don’t like it and won’t play. If she is just mouthing you, then get a toy and put in her mouth instead every time. If you let her get away with it even once it reinforces the behavour and she won’t learn to stop it. Good luck with your puppy.
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October 29th, 2008 at 4:43 am
It is good to pick up the dogs food after ten minutes or so. She will learn to eat when you put food down for her to eat. Dogs are smart and will eat when they are hungry. You should definitely discourage her from biting at your hands even if it is playful. This behavior can lead to big problems as she gets older.
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October 29th, 2008 at 4:44 am
I don’t know about all of that but my puppy did some of that. And don’t forget, if you’ve only had her a few days she will still be settling in and getting used to her new environment. If you’re still worried, why not talk to your vet when she gets her jabs? There are a lot of them in the first few months so you should have plenty of opportunity.
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October 29th, 2008 at 4:44 am
Leave her fod bowl out for 30 min. If she doesnt eat then pick it up and offer it again at dinner time.
Have you tried cheese? Some dogs are just picky eaters. But she will not starve herselfe to death. She will eat eventually. Just a thought: Can you give her something better then pedigree?
For the biting: as soon as she puts her teeth on your skin, yelp really loud, get up and walk away. You have o do this everytime. Thats what her littermates did when playing gets to rough.
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October 29th, 2008 at 4:45 am
Your puppy hasn’t read all the books! She’s being herself and herself isn’t particularly food oriented at the moment. She’s also learning boundaries & what is acceptable behaviour & what isn’t.
Feed her at fixed times - at least 3 times a day at her age. If she doesn’t finish the food in, say, 10 minutes, take the food up & don’t feed her again until her next meal time. At the next meal, cut down the amount she is given & keep doing this until she is eating all the food in one go. Sounds hard but she needs to learn to eat when you decide she should eat & what you decide she should eat.
As for the playing - you did the right thing and she reacted in the right way - she learnt that biting hurts you & she didn’t mean to do it. If 2 pups are playing & one hurts the other, the hurt one will yell, and stop playing - that’s how pups learn boundaries. Whenever she bites you, give a short yell, stop playing with her & ignore her for a few minutes.
Good luck, she sounds lovely!
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October 29th, 2008 at 4:46 am
I wouldnt worry about the biting thing, because she is just a puppy and they do get excited, so it wont last more than a year or so. This may sound weird, but what kind of dog is it? some dogs that need plenty of exercise (border collies, big dogs, athletic dogs) and arent getting any develop human behaviors, like not eating what it given to them. but the natural thing for dogs to do i the wild is eat anything and everything that they can before it leaves. I know it sounds weird but take her on a few long walks every day and see if it helps. you want to get her good and worn out, so she wants to eat.
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The dog whisperer!
October 29th, 2008 at 4:48 am
She sounds like a happy playful pup. Maybe she just doesn’t like the food you are feeding. Try switching to another brand but switch over slowly. Whatever food you feed, take it away after 20 min if she doesn’t eat.
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October 29th, 2008 at 4:50 am
Sounds like you have never had a puppy before.
First thing first. Have you had her checked at the Vet since you got her. She needs to have a check up just to make sure when you got her she didn’t have any problems and she needs to get her injections to keep her safe. he will also make sure she is wormed and flee free for you.
Puppies are good fum and love to play and run around. They normally eat everything that isn’t tied down and even that. This is so much more fun that dog food to them.
Stop now and don’t feed them human food, it is so not good for them. more so as apuppy. They have not developed there intestines to handle human food at this stage…not that they should ever be given human food, so much of it is dangersouse to them. You may have to try many foods before you find the one she likes, just like us we don’t always like whats put on our plate. You may have to be patient on your search. Try her on soft food first.
Don’t time your puupy at eating or pooping nature will tell her when she needs both and she will tell you. Try to have a regular feed time if you have started this as she will get to know when mum puts the food down then i have to eat it. Don’t keep changing the pattern or she will become so confused. Don’t go over board on the doggy chews.
She didn’t bite you, she was plaing, they always want the end you are holding onto. When you made the sound and dropped the rope she came to you as she new something was wrong so encourage her for looking out for you.
Enjoy your puppy, she will give you so much love and fun and be so loyal to you. You will think she is your baby with all the silly things she gets up to.
Remember like a car she needs an MOT, keep her health up to date at your vets.
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October 29th, 2008 at 5:03 am
Where did you buy this puppy from? Reputable breeders will normally send their puppies home with a small amount of the food they have been having in the nest, or at the very least, give you a diet sheet and let you know what they have been feeding them. You mention Pedigree - with the greatest of respect, no way!
If you have only just brought her home, she's going to take time to settle down - and often puppies do miss the competition at the feeding bowl that they've had with their siblings. There's lots going on that she needs to explore, and basically food is probably at the bottom of her list at the moment. Once she's settled down, she will eat - healthy dogs don't usually starve themselves to death! Put the food down - at this age she should be on breakfast, lunch and supper for her main meals which once she's an adult, should be down to twice a day.- and if she doesn't eat it, or not all of it, within say 10 minutes, pick it up again and leave it until the next feed time. No inbetween snacks when she's not eating at normal mealtime.
And don't be persuaded to give her human food either - you will only encourage her to turn her nose up at her own food if you do.
The 'biting' - this is how puppies play with other puppies - you are now the 'other puppy' and you just have to turn her attention to her toys when she mouths you and don't let her play rough. But it all sounds quite 'normal'.
If you are worried, the person you should be asking at this point, is her breeder, and if you think it's serious (illness), your vet.
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October 29th, 2008 at 5:05 am
It depends on the author of the book on puppy training is any good as there are so many our there that it is hard to choose which is the best one for you.Just because the book make s general statement it is not necessarily the case in point as pups are basically the same although all have their individual quirks.Choose something she really likes to reward her when she does her ‘jobs’ or obey you by sitiing but it is unwiset to give her ham or bacon as they are very salty and the hardest food to digest.Try the liver treats as l have to see a dog or puppy refuse them although do not give too many or she will have the inevitable reaction re the toilet.l bait my dogs in different ways in the showring,one likes chiken andother likes salami and another lover s squeky furry mouse.Re her not rushing t o her food thia is unusual as pups usually eat their food very quickly.Not all brand name foods are adequare no matter what they print.Try gently changing your puppy to raw mince mixed with growth formula puppy dry.You obviously did not get this puppy from a breeder as they hand out diet sheets.Re her biting or mouthing as it is called stop it immediately as it is something no pupy should be allowed to do as they will not discrimate when they are full grown with teeth and you will regret not stopping this behaviousrOne reason why your pup is doing this going for your hand is a dominance issue even pups do this so assert yourself as pack leader.l find in conclusion a good healthy diet does wonders and too many people do not understand that pups and older dogs need meaty bones,raw mince,chicken wings(unccoked) and even cooked chicken with rice or pasta so be inventive and she will develop an interest in food as at the poment she wants the ham not what you are giving her so stay firm.A dog does not go hungry it will eat eventually biut do not leave fopd down so she can eat at the pups lesuire.If you are giving her snack during the day the pup wil not be interested in food.At this age your puppy should get 3-4 meals a day and l mean puppy food no any adult food.Worm your pup if you have not done so and lastly hopefully inoculations have been done althugh she may not have her last which means no going for walks outside on the pavement.If you still are having difficulties ask your vet as they may point you in the direction of good books or even have handouts to give you.,
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Breeder and vet nurse
October 29th, 2008 at 5:37 am
pedigree is not a good food, stay away from it. it's well advertised so most people think its good but acctually its cr*p. the foods i would recomend are: James wellbeloved, Hills science plan, eukanuba. or the cheaper good foods: burgess supa dog, pets at home own brand. do not leave food down for more than 15 mins, she will eventually get hungry and start eating, even if it takes days, don't give up. i had the same problem with one of my cocker spaniel puppies, he just wouldn't eat, but after almost a week he finally gave in and started scoffing his food. remember, puppies have ver small stomachs so feed little and often, it will say on the food packet how much your pup needs a day, divide that figure by four then feed four meals per day. not all dogs are the same, just because most dogs scoff their treats straight away doesn't mean they all do. as to the "play" biting, do not allow it. it is just playfullness now but as she get older, it will change to more than that. when you are playing with her, as soon as her teeth touch you (even if it didn't hurt one tiny bit and even if it was an accident, she needs to learn to be careful with her teeth) yelp like one of her litter mates would do if she'd hurt them, then straight away take the toy away, put it out of her reach then walk away and don't play with her (or let anyone else play with her) for at least half an hour. also, i don't know what puppy book you are using but you should get a copy of "the perfect puppy" by gwen bailey, it was my bible when i first started breeding, i would always swear by it (except for the toilet training chapter!!=]) good luck and i hope this helps!!
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i have bred german shepherds for 6 years and i'm a proffesional dog trainer.
October 29th, 2008 at 7:08 am
Pedigree contains no meat at all, none, only grains and dogs are carnivores they need meat. Pedigree also contains BHA and BHT which are known cancer causing agents. There is no nutritional value in pedigree so they tend to poop every thing out, feeding pedigree is like eating mcdonalds for dinner every night, not healthy.
Some dogs are not food motivated, we’ve had a couple of rescue dogs that were not food motivated so you have to find what does motivate them, sometimes a toy will or you might want to try boiled chicken or cooked sliced hot dogs. PLEASE do not give chocolate buttons chocolate is poison to dogs it will shut down their kidneys so stop, please.
Her behavior seems perfectly normal for a puppy, some dogs are grazers they eat all day long and some eat immediately, it sounds like your dog is a grazer. Change her food to a higher quality dog food with meat in it and NO GRAINS (wheat, soy & Corn) [grains cause allergies in dogs], avoid corn & wheat GLUTEN, it’s junk. I’ve attached a website that will allow you to look thru a list of high quality foods and see where they rate 1 star being the worst food [pedigree] up to 6 stars being the highest rated food.
Put her food down in the morning if she walks away after 20 minutes pick it up and put it down for lunch, if she walks away wait till dinner. She won’t starve but she might learn to eat when it goes down. If you control the food you can control the poops. Get her outside to potty 30 minutes after her food that way you can get her body on a schedule to poop then it won’t take long as she gets used to the schedule.
If you use your hands to play with her she will become hand aggressive so always use a toy and not your hand or she’ll become accustomed to biting hands. Don’t allow a puppy to get into a bad habit that you wouldn’t want an adult dog doing. If she does bite your hand, cease play and walk away, she has to learn that biting will end all attention. Reinforce a good behavior and ignore a bad one. if she jumps up on your lap to “lick” you after you’ve said ow and dropped the toy, ignore her do not give her attention, in fact just put her on the floor and leave the room.
If you change her food do it slowly otherwise she’ll get diarrhea, if she does a couple of spoonfuls of 100% pure canned pumpkin will help clear it up.
Good luck with your new puppy.
References :
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/