[ferraros]

Hello everyone. We have a Samoyed puppy and she is 13-14 week old. She has a really nasty habit of peeing inside the house, barking and BITING. When we try to discipline her and tell her "NO", she responds with barks. When she bits, we tell her "NO" and sometimes make slapping sounds with our hands, but she barks and continues biting anyway. She may be young, but there has to be a way to solve this?? I would also like to add that we have to lock her in a cage at night, and when were not around or else she does her business all over the place. are obedience classes necessary?? She isn't neutered BTW...

Any help would be greatly appreciated, Thanks!

[dogs rule]

First thing is, you have a very active and can be stubborn dog. If she is jumping up biteing and barking and so on, what I have found to work for me, was just to ignore it. Now, I know this sounds crazy, but if she doesn't get any attention from what she is doing then she will stop. As soon as she does stop, rewards her right away. Treats, praise, make a big deal out of the good stuff that she does.
Walk her, play with her, get all that puppy energy out of her.
Also, if this your first dog and even if its not, maybe puppy classes would be in order. She can make some friends that she could run and play with.
One more thing, females are spayed, not neutered, and I'm not sure, but I feel 13 weeks is too young!?? Maybe someone else could answer that better.
All the best, it takes time. Enjoy your beautiful pup!

[ferraros]

Thanks alot for the response. We try ignoring her but she tends to follow us right after and bite our legs and tug on our clothing. We do have a muzzle for the dog if she decides to bite or bark. Should we refrain from using it and do as u said to ignore her instead? Although for some reason she decides to bark like no tomorrow inside her cage at 4 in the mornings :roll:

[cigwyllt]

Your dog is still a very young puppy. Generally a puppy isn't mature enough - physically or mentally - to understand what is required in toilet training until he or she is about 12 weeks. Your pup is only a week or so beyond that so there is no need to despair. You just need to train her.

Go back to basics and treat her as you would a puppy that has just left its litter. You need to take her outside at least every hour, take her out after every meal, every time she wakes from a nap, any time she seems distracted, if you see her sniffing the floor in a circle. If you do this and praise her like mad when she goes in the "right" place - where ever you want that to be - she will learn what is required. Don't allow her full rein in the house. Supervise her closely. If you can't be watching her for any reason then put her in a place that is easy to clean. Freedom is a privilege that the dog has to earn.

As for the biting - Dogsrule's advice is exactly what I would say. Lots of play (not long walks along the road but playing fetch etc) and simple obedience exercises will help her to use up lots of energy. One of the worst punishments for a pup is to be ignored. So if she is nipping and biting you and she doesn't respond to a firm "No!" then walk away and leave her alone for no more than a minute. She will soon learn that that sort of thing results in her being "abandoned" and she will stop.

Also, make sure she has lots of appropriate teething toys - hard rubber, maybe a kong filled with paste and frozen. She is teething and her gums will be sore so give her things to help with that.

Her behaviour is very normal puppy behaviour and she will grow out of it.

[dogs rule]

Originally Posted by ferraros

Thanks alot for the response. We try ignoring her but she tends to follow us right after and bite our legs and tug on our clothing. We do have a muzzle for the dog if she decides to bite or bark. Should we refrain from using it and do as u said to ignore her instead? Although for some reason she decides to bark like no tomorrow inside her cage at 4 in the mornings :roll:

Biting and tugging at the clothes is exactly what my first dog did to me and my children, who were young at the time. I taught them (the kids) to stand like a tree, arms crossed and looking away from Islander. After all, Islander didn't want to play with a "tree". She very quickly learned that this behaviour was getting her nowhere fast. Stand perfectly still until she has stopped.
As far as the muzzle goes, I've never used one. I feel that the muzzle would be used for aggression issues only, and your pup to me is just learning the rules of the pack. No aggression there.
As for the 4am "wake up call", maybe she needs to pee. Try and wait before getting her out and each night try and make longer and longer, until she can hold it all night. I never used a crate either, my pups had the downstairs bathroom as their room. I would just put a baby gate across the door frame.
Would love to see a picutre, the Samoyed is a beautiful dog.
All the best.

[lange]

You have to remember a 13-14 week old puppy is not in full control of their impulse. Along with standing like a tree and making it absolutely pointless like mentioned, you should try to redirect the puppy. As it gets older you can do more corrective training with the redirection. When they are very young you should be softer, yet firm, with correcting.

I also agree about taking her to training classes. You'll be grateful you did in the future. Everything you put into your dog in the 1st year of life will come back MULTIPLE times and pay you most especially in the future. You need calm, consistent training every day. And until you house train her fully, no one should expect her to not poo in the house. Please train/judge/measure a dog by it's age, breed, and what amount of time you have put into the dogs training before dismissing it as bad behavior. Some breeds need more work then others and almost all problems in dogs lie with owners who are confused on how to work with them.