training a schnoodle

Question
We have a male schnoodle who is now 8 weeks old.  About once
or twice a day, he seems to go sort of crazy- jumping around,
nipping, biting, pulling on socks, shoes and any kind of limits
we've tried (holding his muzzle briefly, saying no, walking away
--he just follows after continuing to nip) ) seem to agitate him
more and he just continues.  As a last resort we confine him to
his crate....my son, 11, is actually afraid of him when he gets
like this.  Do you have any advice?  What should we do?  

Answer
My, that sounds like quite a little terrorist you have<G>, but do know that this is pretty normal puppy behavior. First of all, consider what his mother (or littermates) would do under similar circumstances. They would get very angry with him and tell him off... maybe biting him back a bit to tell him to behave as his behavior is quite unacceptable. You must do something similar.

Pick him up by the scruff of his neck and hold him up in the air directly in front of your face as you stare him in the eyes and roar LOUDLY into his face. Tell him what a NAUGHTY puppy he is! Don't put him down until he has settled down, and then I would give him a toy and encourage him to take it. Sometimes I have pried open the puppy's mouth, put the toy in, and then held his mouth shut while telling him what a GOOD BOY he is.

You might consider signing your son and puppy up for puppy classes together so that your son can get over his fear and learn how to handle the puppy better, and make sure that NO ONE plays tug-of-war games with this dog.

Also buy the paperback book, How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With, by Rutherford and Neil (Alpine Press). This is an excellent puppy book!