Bailey's been a little "snappy" lately

[new2saints]

Hi, Everyone,
The last week Bailey has been a little snappy when we correct her.  She has been doing really well, but if I correct her for biting on my kid's clothes she will snap at me a few times and bark.  She doesn't bite at me, she just backs up and snaps a few times and then settles down.  I correct her biting the kids clothes by holding her mouth shut and telliing her no, but that really is not working.  She loves the squirt bottle, so that won't work with her.  Anyone have any other ideas how to show her this is not acceptable behavior?  We are going to start obedience classes at the end of the month, but any suggestions until then would be appreciated.  She is 14 weeks.  Thanks,

new2saints

[newflvr]

It is never okay for your baby to snap at you.  You have to become more dominate.  At 14 weeks, you can still overpower her.  Lay her on your legs on her back and quietly and gently restrain her.  Keep her there until she relaxes and accepts you as the alpha dog.  I really love the Monks of New Skete's "Art of Raising a Puppy".  Their method of training a puppy just makes so much sense. 

[new2saints]

Hi,
I have that book, and agree, I really like their methods.  I tried that with her this morning when she got "mouthy" and it worked well.  Thanks for your suggestion.

new2saints

[newflvr]

Hey....we're in this together!!!  I have a 12 week old Newf, Chester, that I have been doing the same thing to!  Once they get much over 60 pounds, I'm cooked.  Gotta get the reputation of being the alpha bitch in now while I still can!!!

Glad it worked though.  In their later edition of "How To Be Your Dog's Best Friend" they no longer suggest that method.  They say it is too dangerous and the person could be bitten in the face.   I still think with gentle breeds like ours, that it is effective.  Don't think I'd do it with a more aggresive dog, though.

[coonie1970]

I keep reading about everyone having trouble with there St. grabbing at there kids clothes. My son doesnt have 1 T-shirt from last Summer without a hole in the back from Judge grabbing at his clothes. I  was persistent in telling Judge to stop and he is really good now. It kinda seemed like a phase he went through.
Hope you can get Baily to stop his behavour.
Karen

[kildeskennel]

I agree that is is never ok for her to be snappy with you or to grab the kids by the clothes.  I do not allow nor will I tolerate my Kuv's putting their mouths on the kids even in play.  We had one boy who now is placed elsewhere who grabbed constantly, his behavior was hard to correct snappy with Steve or I but learned who was Alpha, unfortunately the correction did not follow him with the kids, he was Alpha with them and finally I had enough, when my youngest was scared to play ouside because he did not want to be grabbed he went to the breeders for intensive training and ended up staying there for alternate placement.  SHe (breeder) told me the whole litter was like that, the mother was very mouthy with the pups and they all were hard to manage unless you were a dominant Alpha figure.  I was told he went to a great home without children and is very happy. Good luck.

[jabear]

She she likes the squirt bottle you may want to try the hot flavor of Binacca. It works as a deterrent really well with certain dogs- not my wierdo though- he loved the taste! Noise makers like rattle cans work really well too!

[Yaz]

Gotta love puppies who think their in charge, eh? I fully agree with everyone about it being an issue of Bailey challenging your rank. The best dogs I've had are the ones who understand their place. Guinness is 13 weeks and I've had to correct him a few time for grabbing at the kids. My 3 year old and 18 month old will trip and fall down when they are running around and Guinness takes this as an opportunity to jump on top of them and start biting at their clothes. When he does any kind of biting I  immediately yell "OFF!" and put him in a "settle" on the leash. The settle command is considered a bit less aggressive than the Alpha Roll (I personally think the alpha roll is a great tool if it's used sparringly). What you do with the settle is to put Bailey on a leash, step on the leash so it's difficult for her to stand up and move around and you wait for your pup to settle into a down position without whining - for as long as it takes. Once they are settled, you keep them in this position for 15 minutes. In fact, it's advisable to do this with your puppy on a daily basis. Not only does it teach them to settle, it also help assert your dominance over them in a calm way. If they start to cry and carry on when you are stepping on their leash, you can yell "HEY!" sharply at them, otherwise, you just ignore them until the time is up.
An interesting theory that I learned from a dog trainer is that your dog will never see your little kids as lower ranked than him, no matter what you do to encourage this. But if you have a well trained dog, it will perform a sit command for the youngest of children. So the key is to ensure you do obedience training past the novice level with your Saint Bernard to ensure dominance issues don't occur when they outweigh us  .

[new2saints]

ARHHH!  She seems to be challenging me at every turn the last few days!  I really thoght she wouldn't do this until she was a little older.  She is nipping at the kids' clothes, stealing things and shredding them, and snaps  and barks when I go to correct her.  I am glad we will be starting obedience classes soon, but until then AHHHHHH!

new2saints

[jabear]

Oh...just look at that little face. How could she do the things that terrible things that you say?    I just wanna give her a smooshy, wooshy kiss...especia lly in the last pic you posted!

[new2saints]

Thanks,
I posted it as a reminder to myself how much fun and how cute she can be LOL!!!  You have to tell me how you get Bear's coat so shiney?? Do you have a secret?

new2saints

[mastiffmommy]

Snapping at you is a no no, but also when it comes to the shredding and chewing of things hehe that is puppy life, you gotta love them. When something is shredded to tiny pieces and they look like "meeeee.... noooooo I did nothing" with a piece of whats left hanging from the corner of the mouth. Galahad who is now 13 weeks, is a bit mouthy, we are doing the "no" and "leave it" a billion times a day it seems like, and even though he is still starting to chew on a hand or foot, he stops right away when you tell him  now, so he is on the right way, it just takes a little time and a loooot of patience. The "leave it" is real good to drill in when they are young. I always start with it as a natural thing at food time, I dont like my dogs to "dive" into the bowls of food, so I put them down and have them sit and use the term "leave it" if they try to start before I tell them to, that way it kinda goes naturally to teach a new puppy that term too. And when they know it, and really listens to it, it is such a good thing for them to know, and a real good help for you. Good Luck with Baily and give her a big kiss from me, she is such a doll.

Marit

[morning_daun]

My Saint is 5 now and when he was a puppy I wouldn't let him play bite or anything. I would just say "No bite" and he would stop(patience and consistency with the WHOLE family). Now the only time he chews is to get away from the vaccuum. Neurotic I say. But ya gotta love the face, I need to invest in doggy xanax.