Toy Fox Terrier - aggressiveness

Question
QUESTION: I have a new puppy and she constantly nips, bites and scratches.  She is very playful but gets out of hand.  I am annoyed and bloody.  "NO" means nothing and I don't know how to stop her.  Help

ANSWER: Andrea

I'm going to answer this in a bit more of a generic puppy way as opposed to your specific breed. The toy versions tend to be more nervous and anxious than their normal sized cousins.

Any new puppy must be taught to keep it's teeth off people.  And getting some control over how rowdy she is is something her mother would have also taught her given enough time.

You need to teach her "No Bite" right away.  Each and *every* time she puts her teeth on you, hold her muzzle closed, stare her in the eyes and give her a firm (loud is not necessary, but use a lower tone of voice) No Bite.

Then release her, give her an appropriate toy (not treat) to chew on and walk away. You want to ignore her at this point. If she does it again, repeat.  After the 3rd time in a row that you have had to give this command, put her away in her crate for 10 minutes (with a chew toy). Do *not* speak to her, look at her or even acknowledge she exists during this time. You may even wanna through a towel over the front of the crate so she cannot see you.

Dogs hate being sent away from their people and worse yet, ignored.

I know that with conistent training on this she will stop being too active with the teeth in a few days.

-Beth

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Is there a book on training that you would recommend?  There are so many out there I can't chose.  Thanks again.

Answer
Andrea -

You never mention how old your baby is.

If she is a little puppy, I would recommend starting with this one

Before and After Getting Your Puppy by Ian Dunbar

General Training (includes puppies)

Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor

and some really important books for any dog owner are:

The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson
The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell

I encourage you to enroll her in classes as soon as she is old enough in order for you to learn how to teach her better than any book can explain.

Enjoy

Beth