 Barked: Sun Jul 1, '12 4:14pm PST |
 | |  | | We started with the book How to be your Dog's Best Friend, and I felt like it taught me a lot. I didn't agree with every part of it, like never letting your dog sleep on the bed or smacking paws to teach off, but all the big stuff- potty training, leash training, basic commands, etc, is step by step and positive, reward based. So I highly reccomend it, but taken with a grain of salt. I think with babies, positive interactions with people, a good mama, and playtime with siblings is most important. Winning mama's trust may be tricky. I think letting her come to you and giving her high value treats whenever she does might work best. Also you will do the puppies a favor by teaching them not to nip /gnaw/mouth humans from birth. I'm a big proponent of yelping (on the first nip) and then getting up and walking away on the second nip, and ignoring the pup for a few minutes. It's really tempting to let it go, because it's so cute and nonthreatening at that age (and because the payoff often takes awhile) but if they get consistent guidance, by the time they're done teething (and people are starting to see their jaws as a threat) you'll be virtually guaranteed of a pup who doesn't nip. Once mama is comfortable, help them get used to being picked up, carried, and touched all over. |  |  | |  |
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for the poor scared momma dog, I hope you're able to help her.