Puppy putting owners through mill
Kisses have come to mean something completely different in our house.
Teddy, our almost five-month-old mixed breed puppy (mostly terrier), continues to challenge my lovely wife and me in his education. Instead of becoming an obedient, well-trained canine, I have begun calling him the Hound of the Pletchervilles.
When he is awake and energized, he is a tenacious terrible terrier. One second he will be chewing on one of his toys. The next he will be chewing on me or my wife or the furniture.
When he exhibits this kind of behavior, the dog experts say to distract him with one of his toys. That lasts all of about two seconds before he once more is clamping onto our feet, hands, arms, etc. We tell him “No,” and he just keeps right on doing whatever it is we don’t want him to do.
One of his most annoying habits is chewing on our feet and hands, more specifically our fingers and toes. His puppy teeth are like little needles, and it can get very uncomfortable.
Another expert with decades’ experience in raising dogs recommended a sharp tap on the nose when Teddy misbehaves, which has worked to some degree.
However, while I have taught Teddy to sit and give me his paw, he thinks this command is an excuse to once more try out his teeth on my flesh. After repeated taps on his nose, he will stop trying to bite me. We still have to work on the sit-and-paw trick.
Out of exasperation, I modified the nose tap. Instead of saying no all the time after making contact with his nose, I began saying, “Kisses, Teddy. Kisses are nice, and bites aren’t,” accompanying it with a tiny treat. He caught on real fast.
So, while he still bites (although most times not hard enough to break skin) he has learned that kisses get treats. The problem is his kisses are multitudinous and the long, slurpy kind. Fortunately, still a puppy, his tongue isn’t that large. But it is mighty wet.
And he has taken it to the next level.
While sitting in my chair Teddy will trot over, sit in front of me and begin licking my leg (I wear shorts most of the year). Then he pauses while giving me his best innocent look that seems to say, “Okay, bub, I gave you kisses. Where’s the treat?”
So adept at this has he become that each morning I fill one shirt pocket with treats enough to last through the day. Oh, he still likes to do what the dog people call “play bite,” chomping onto my hand or toes but without major force, but he also gives plenty of kisses to encourage a treat.
Lately, he jumps onto my lap when I’m sitting trying to read or watch TV and slobbers kisses all over my face and head. I hate to discourage him, but I think I have created a monster. And a huge bill for treats. And a rather nasty looking hairdo on me after receiving so many kisses.
Is he ever a good boy? Sure. When he has played himself out and is ready for a nap or bedtime. Then he is as sweet as he could be.
I hope maturity is the answer to a lot of these problems. We continue his training. I figure, too, that if he is smart enough to come up with a plan to get treats by giving me voluntary kisses when I don’t ask for them, then he also is smart enough to learn how not to bite, chew things we don’t want chewed, etc.
Teddy is here for the duration, which means he better listen more carefully to our commands or we’ll really be in trouble.
There has been progress. He is almost housebroken, will come when I call him and he will sit, which is okay as long as I don’t ask for his paw at the same time.
Yes, things have improved since he was younger, and we have made some headway.
After all, we have the scars to prove it.
Have a good day.
James Pletcher Jr. is retired from the Herald-Standard and can be reached by email at J.Pletcherjr@att.net or jpletcher@heraldstandard.com.