New here...I have puppy questions.....

[AmysMom]

We adopted our Dane puppy about 6 weeks ago.  She is about 4 months old.  It has been a very long time since we had a puppy, and we have never had a dane puppy.  We LOVE her.  She is so sweet,  but we often wonder if it is unusual for her to be so WILD!!!  Don't get me wrong...we completely expect her to be a puppy, but she has NEVER settled down for "some lovin' ".  She is always on the go and usually trying to eat us alive.  When she lashes out we yelp and turn our back to her.  When  we do this most often she looks bewildered and comes back lovingly and we reward with attention.  Sometimes though we turn our back and she just eats us from behind!! Is this level/ intensity of play normal for danes.....She never quits!!!!
I appreciate any info or advice, we really want to be good dane parents!!

[MustLove Dogs]

my new pup is kinda like that too...

anyone have any suggestions?? How do you get them to stop biting and playing tug of war with their leash??

[henrysmomma]

There are a few things you can do. The yelp works well, but at the same time, offer an appropriate chew toy. If the pup persits I give it a time out and I go into another room or just actively ignore the puppy. These techniques combined appropriately tend to work out great.

Good luck with the pups you two!

Rose

[jupiterjenny]

haha my dane girlie is like that to..and the bad news is, shes not a pup. LOL. you just need to wear her out, danes dont require huge amounts of exersize but sometimes there brains do. also i would get her into some obediance training, it stimulates them mentally and phyically. and she would really benifit from going to dog parks, or somewhere she can play with other dogs, other dogs are not gonna let her knock them over without correcting the behavior. or course supervise that these corrections dont hurt her or anyone else. And dont go to the dogpark untill she's totally completed her vaccinations. hope you post some pics of your new baby- i would love to she her!

[AmysMom]

Thanks for the great ideas and thanks for taking time to help me in this matter!!  I like the idea of letting her start interacting with other dogs more now.

[brigid67]

Willow still runs around like a crazy maniac....She is 6 mos.  She is pretty good with the biting thing though.  We always just correct her and say no bite.  Now she just likes to act like she is going to bite.  But she doesn't.  Although sometimes she acts like she is frustrated with not being able to bite us that she will bite herself - weird.  I often think she needs some Dane therapy

[ZooCrew]

I can't help you with the wild and crazy part, as Gunther is an anti-dane and has never really been that way.  He briefly went thru a biting phase when we first got him, but we did the "no bite" thing and traded our arms for a toy.  It worked for us.  He is now allowed to mouth, but not clamp down. 

Unfortunately, hubby lets him bite and now when he stayed at a friends house he play bit them, too (of course her husband let him too........... .what is it with men?).  I guess mom is the only one he respects, but it is definitely not allowed behavior with me, and I certainly don't want him doing it with others either.

[jinx athena's mommy]

my athena is 4 mnths too and they sound exactly the same i find the off lease workes great she runs and does zoomies in the grass and will come home and sleep for hours the biting thing i myself have not totally solved yet so no help there sorry

[lins_saving_grace]

Grace is a little wild still too at 10 months. 
The biting thing was the first habit we broke for both our girls.  When a little slap on the nose didn't work...we grabbed her muzzle and squeezed till she yelped.  It worked after the second time.  Lady didn't like that.  And Lady was the one who taught Grace the no biting rule.  Grace loved to nip Lady and Lady turned around and bit back a few times.  Gracey needless to say doesn't bite.
The leash thing.  Well...I'm still working on that one too.  The girls only do it to the end of the driveway and after we commence our walk they forget all about the leashes. 

[Yaz]

One of the best techniques I learned years ago in puppy kindergarden classess, was the settle technique. The trainer, an excellent woman who had years of experience told us that if all we remembered from her class was the settle technique it was well worth the money.
What it entails is, with your pup on leash, 20 - 30 minutes a day you have the dog settle by stepping on the leash so that they are forced to lie down. You can do this in the evening while you are watching TV, for example. If the pup crys or fusses you tell it no sharply and ignore it. It will eventually settle. We would do this in class for about five minutes and even the most hyper of pups learned to settle when the command was given.
The trainer said that this command is invaluable for teaching energetic pups to calm themselves and as they mature, you can use this command when you take your dog to the bank, to a friends, etc. It really does work - it is one of the first commands I teach my pups.

[my3dogs]

Congrats on your new pupper!!! 

Daisy was just over 5 months when we adopted her.  She was a crazy playful biter.  It was all in good fun to her but geesh did it hurt! 
Turning my back was no good because she would just bite the backside.
She thought everything was play.......gra bbing her muzzle, pushing her cheek into her mouth so she would bite it if she bit down, taking her down and flipping her on her back.   
A squirt bottle worked for us.   We never had to fill it with anything but water although I've heard some people have added a couple drops of baby shampoo  (bad taste) or vinegar. 
She didn't like getting squirted in the face. 
Of course, I had to buy a bunch of these and have them all around the house but it worked.  We still use it from time to time.  Funny thing is that I don't have to squirt it.
She sees the bottle, stops the bad behavior, then shakes as if she was squirted.

Enjoy your new pup!   Can't wait to see pictures!

-Wendy

[WhiteShepherdDog]

The simplest and best thing I ever taught my dog was to sit quietly on a tied leash.
We did this routine 4 times for 4  days in a row and reinforce it intermittently and it is wonderful.
Don't change anything (person doing it or location) for 4 times a session per day/4 days (so dog gets pattern)- then change person and repeat or change location and repeat 4 times/4 days etc.
1.) Choose a place where you and partner can sit nearby to a spot where pup is tied to stationary object.
Like you are at an outdoor restaurant.
(sort of face away dog - but keep eye on what he is doing) So while you are waiting for him to display appropriate behavior you are chilling, too.
2.) Tie dog to tree or other stationary object with 6 ft leash. Be sure only to use a flat collar or martingale collar-no slip collars!
Your dog will likely fuss to get free for a while--so look out of the corner of your eye to be sure he is safe.
3.) Wait til dog quiets and/or sits on his own. IGNORE all other behavior.
Idea is to only reward sitting quietly. Do not look at the dog until he quiets and sits.
The second that dog quiets down (Ideally sits down)-JUMP up/run over smiling to dog and PRAISE- "Good Dog!" and pat him on his side (to signify-"free") and say FREE!
Untie leash and walk him around for break about 1-2 min between tie-downs.
Don't give him attention while on break....
---
This exerice shows how you can get a behavior - without treats---just with PRAISE and attention----
by ignoring all other behaviors.
Most dogs get it right away. They sit or quiet down and get what they want: your attention and to be free.
Each time we did this, the length of time to get the desired behavior got shorter and shorter.
By the 4th time in the row-the second day we did this-Jasper sat almost as soon as we tied him to tree! So of course, we returned to untie him and take him for a little walk around the yard.
Most dog owners get it too---"Oh, I am reinforcing the behaviors I am giving my attention to!"
The idea is you are creating the desired behavior with PRAISE--no need for force (the settle technique described above)or aversives to punish (Spray bottle or vinegar)...
you are rewarding the behavior the dog offers on his own at first---then he repeats it to get your POSITIVE EMOTION>which is what he wants> your attention.
(Works with kids, too---not the tie-down part )


You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

[Anakalia]

Great suggestions from everyone!  I'm going to go out on a limb here, but this happened to a friend of ours with a dane pup.  Totally crazy dog with energy 24/7.  Come to find out...they were feeding him puppy food a big NO when you're dealing with giant breeds.  They switched to adult food and he calmed down a bit enough for them to start obedience.   

Andi