Bite

Question
Dear Barb,
I Keep a 3 month male poodle for two weeks. He got 3 habits that make me headache.
He is extremely interested in my husband and my feets. He sometimes uses his tongue to explore but most of time biting our feets and slippers. I refuse and say no every time. Then I use his toy to let him bite so as to distract his attention on our feets. If works, I praise him. However, he is still interested in our feets or even our guests' feets.
He is always crazy to bite his diaper which I stop him at once and using the above method.
He is v. interested in jumping on Sofa, flat tea cupboard next to sofa and even us. We hold him on the ground to let him know it is not allowed.
If he is not in control, we put him back to his crate.
Pls kindly comment and advise.

Many thanks!!

Angela

Answer
Congratulations on your new puppy, Angela.  The behaviors you describe are very typical for a dog this age.  The thing to remember when dealing with pups (or dogs of any age) is that instead of just telling him "no", give him information on what you want him to do instead of the bad behavior.

So, you're doing well giving him another toy to distract him - but do that BEFORE he begins licking or biting your feet.  Have a variety of toys always available for him - different textures, shapes and sizes to keep his interest.  Make a toy from an old shirt or rag that you can drag along the floor and entice him to chase that instead of feet.  The good news is that unless it's being inadvertently reinforced, the puppy will grow out of this foot fetish.

Same process for jumping up - instead of just saying no and holding him down, give him an option of laying on a soft dog bed and rewarding him when he's there - toss him a treat or give him an extra special chew toy that he only gets when he's on his bed.  If he does jump up on you, simply stand up and move away.  Don't give him any attention for jumping up or you will reinforce the behavior.  Holding him down is giving him attention and is likely keeping this behavior strong.

I would recommend housetraining the pup rather than wearing a diaper.  Wearing a diaper doesn't teach him where to eliminate.  If he gets used to be constantly wet, you may never be able to housetrain him.

It sounds like you're doing a lot of things right - redirecting the bad behaviors and using time-outs - but try and set the dog up to succeed rather than waiting until he does something wrong, then trying to fix it.