11 week old female basset hound

Question
I have an 11 week old female basset hound puppy, my questions are, first she will lick and nibble my chin with her front teeth this is different than her mouthing which we are trying to break her of, but she only nibbles on my chin should I not allow this also. And second, she whines all the time, I will feed her, take her out, try to play, she has been to the vet and I am not sure why she whines, any ideas? Thanks!!!!

Answer
Hi Rachel...

Congrats on your puppy.  :)

1.  No, this is not different than mouthing...why do you think that it is?  Is this something you've been told?  Teeth on skin = mouthing.  Period.  She can't bite your chin if she isn't in your face.  Teeth on skin stops attention.  It's a simple fix.  This is much easier to cure in an 11 week old than a 5 year old.  People tend to think this is cute with puppies...when she's an adult and weighs 75lbs. it won't be cute anymore.

2.  I'm sure why she whines!  :)  You give her attention.  From your statement if she whines you 'feed her, take her out, play'.  Sure fire way to keep the whining going.  Think of your favorite thing in the world in the hands of your neighbor.  If everytime you went and knocked on your neighbor's door, you got your favorite thing, how long would it take you to figure it out?  That's exactly what you're doing with her.

If she whines, ignore her.  Turn your back, don't make eye contact and don't speak.  When she stops whining THEN you praise her, play with her, etc.

You didn't ask but if you've taken to feeding her because she whines, I'm only guessing that you don't have her on a schedule?  Bad idea with Bassets as they tend to put on weight quickly.  You don't want a fat adult.  This will result in back problems and joint problems.  At her age she should be fed 3x a day.  Look at the back of her food bag, see what the daily allowance is and split that into 3.  Come up with a schedule that works for you and stick with it.  No food other than what she is supposed to have and the occassional training treat.  Her food bowl goes down for 20 minutes at a time and then is put away.  If she doesn't eat, she doesn't eat.  She will once she's figured out her food is only down for a limited amount of time.  IF you aren't doing this already.  :)