New puppy and new poster

I can only help you on a few things, but I am sure the other members will soon be around, theyre great []
 
First off, welcome to the boards!
 
You should really post a pic of your pup, we love seeing puppies! As for the nipping, Corgis are herders if Im not mistaken and what worked for my Collie (she used to herd my son) was to say 'NO' in a loud voice. Some people recommend yelping like a pup would and then ignoring the pup. Whatever works best for you.
 
About the toys: Your pup seems like he is an agressive chewer. IMO there are 3 different types of chewers: the agressive chewer, the relaxed chewer, and the non existing chewer. I had a foster who would not play or chew with ANYTHING. My moms Golden Golden is a relaxed chewer, she doesnt like the hard toys, mainly stuffed animals. Lizzie is the same.
 
Now if your pup tears up the stuffies, try getting him a Kong or Ropes, Bones and other hard chew things so he enjoys it more and isnt destroying all his toys.
 
When you see that he has to go outside pick him up. If you are too far from the door he may not make it outside. Until he is older and has better control of his bladder you should carry him out. Lizzie had the habit of peeing right after she got out of the crate so I had to pick her up to go outside. Shes to heavy now and thankfully i holding it better.
 
Good luck with your pup!

ORIGINAL: LizzieCollie


You should really post a pic of your pup, we love seeing puppies!

Thanks for the advice, though.  Keep it coming.  Buddy and I need your help!  lol
Sue

Sorry, this picture is huge!  I found some that I did for another web site.

Corgis are herders, but this sounds like the pup isn't practicing bite inhibition. In my experience, dogs don't know what NO means, Try saying OUCH loudly and then walk away. Pup bites = no more play time. He should catch on.

Hi Sue,
 
My puppy was a real chewer too, although now at nearly 8 mo's old she does seem to be growing out of that.  She has/had lots of toys too (she would destroy some of them too), but what I found worked best for her chewing issue was pig ears and pig snouts. 
 
I know how gross that sounds.  I was horrified when a friend told me she gives them to her dog, and didn't even want to try it initially.  But I will say my pup just LOVES them and she can chew and chomp on them for hours. 
 
You can probably find them at pet stores, but I purchase them at bulk at Dr. Fosters and Smiths ( [linkhttp://www.drsfostersmith.com/]http://www.drsfostersmith.com/[/link] ) in the "treat" section, or in search bar on left type in snouts or pig ears. They have a lot of items on sale right now, and I believe the ears on are sale as a matter of fact.

I'm sorry, I am trying to be kinder and gentler, BUT, pig ears are just nasty piles of added chemicals and preservatives......there have also been reported cases of salmonella caused by pigs ears......

ORIGINAL: Sue and Buddy

- Buddy will attempt to eat many things he finds outside.  He is learning the command drop it.  I feel like all my walks are filled with me growling no and pulling stuff out of his mouth.  Is this normal?  Is there anything else I can do or do I just ride this out?

This is SO normal.   Puppies are very curious about their environment and they inspect it with their mouths.  Like someone else said, commands like "drop it" and "leave it" are more effective, but you'll still be saying them a lot.   It does get better!   My puppy is 6 months old now and we've only recently gotten to the point where she doesn't need to stop and chew every single piece of paper/wood/food/whatever on the sidewalk.   I always carried a bunch of treats with me to work on 'leave it' and 'drop it' while we were out; it was so time consuming, but it really paid off.

Edit.   Also, about him sitting down and not wanting to move:   you can start working on "Let's go" (or whatever command you plan to use).   Lure him with a treat and say "let's go", then reward him when he comes. 

On walks, you want to be more preemptive and keep him away from things before he grabs them - teach a good "leave it." In my experience it's a lot easier to get a dog to not pick something up in the first place, than to get him to drop it when he's already got possession of it.
 
Leave it is easy to teach, harder to proof. Begin by sitting with your puppy and holding a treat right in front of his nose. He will try to grab it, just hold tight to it and don't let him take it - the moment he pulls his nose back even just for a split second, say "Leave it," then praise like crazy and give him the treat. Do this over and over until you can ask him to leave it and he will comply with that.

Step two is toss a few treats on the floor. To start a little easier, toss low-value treats like kibble on the floor. Have your dog on leash and walk him by this pile. He shouldn't have much slack on the leash, so you can walk him by the pile without letting him sneak a treat. Say leave it as you walk by. If he complies by not lunging, or even by lunging but then turning his head away from the treats, praise like crazy and reward with a much better treat from your pocket. Repeat until you can walk by the treat pile and say leave it and he makes no motion to go for it.
 
Out on the street, it's harder. A pile of kibble is not as intriguing as the stuff you can find on the streets. I live in an apartment in the city and on our walks we have encountered thousands of donut wrappers and tissues, chicken carcasses and chicken bones, crusts of pizza, even once a whole, intact hamburger patty! You just have to keep working on it and be super vigilant for detritus like that whenever you're walking your dog.

Glenda,
 
It is my understanding that these treats are nutritious, healthy, and safe alternatives -- as opposed to rawhides (which I've heard horrible things about, ie: dogs choking and dying from, similiar to greenies).
 
I've never heard such things about pig ears, as you have claimed.  Can you advise me of where/how I can get the information that you speak of.
 
My dog(s) love them.  Meaning my new pup, as well as the other dogs I've had through my life (and my parents dogs; they are breeders of Britney Spaniels).
 

[linkhttp://www.doglogic.com/rawhide.htm]http://www.doglogic.com/rawhide.htm[/link]

Hi, thanks.  But I'm still not seeing it --
 
I don't see anything about their content (ie: nasty piles of added chemicals and persevatives vs. actual meat).  In fact if salmonella can be caused, this is a disease caused from actual meat.
 
All I am deciphering from this 1999 press release is that there was a warning about a batch of unsanitary roducts.  (I know this happens from time to time with human consumption prodcuts as well).  Is it safe to resume 7 yrs later the FDA has resolved the issue? 
 
Consfused.

I didn't check her site today, but honestly, she did have all sorts of warnings and scarey stuff there.

sorry to be highjacking this thread..........
Rawhides are bad for dogs??  How so?  Thanks []
 
As for puppy going when you take her out.......the same command and the same exact spot each time works for our puppy and worked for our older dog when she was a baby too.....  I take her out to the same grassy spot and we dont move until she goes. lol  I say "go Potty" and just wait in this small area until she goes.  Sometimes I have to tight hold the leash but she totally has it now after just two weeks and knows she has to go before she can move and she goes.  ( this sounded kinda rough so Im coming back and editing it....lol........the area is a big enough area that she can pace from side to side, but we dont leave that area until she goes.  Normally she will pee right away but it will take walking back and forth a time or two before number 2 is on its way. lol )HTH's
As for nipping.......pretty normal.............we do the "ouch" sound and move away.  I try to give her something else that shes allowed to bite on and say "good girl thats your toy"  And she has really come a long way in two weeks with that as well.  Of course she has Daisy showing her the ropes as well.
Your puppy is absolutely adorable.

Thanks for all the advice...it has helped.  The accidents in the evening are getting better.  I think it is a little of me reading him better, a more structured schedule, and him holding it a little better.  The chewing is still going strong...lol  I have started to yelp "ouch" and walk away from him into the kitchen.  I have a pretty small apartment, so it can be hard to get away from him.    When I do this, what should his response be?  He doesn't run after me.  He just seems to wander a bit and then settle down with a bone or something.  When I come back, he will approach me and sometimes start to bite me again.  So, we start all over. 
 
Thanks again,
Sue