How can I stop this (growling)

How old is she now? Three or four months? I'd probably just ignore the growling and give her attention when she's quiet. 

 She is 3.5 months old right now (she'll be 4 months April 12th).

We are trying to ignore her, just doesn't always seem to work and she can get pretty persistent- jumps up, and tries to nip you or bite the back of your leg.

Hi, NILF for everything IMO.  She doesn't get anything unless she sits for it.  I thought by your original post that she might be younger than 3.5 months when you mentioned she hasn't finished her vaccinations.  But, if she is this age, she should be starting to learn what "no" means.  No hard corrections at this point, but a stern "no" should be understood.  Its great that you tether her to yourself; she surely doesn't need freedom right now.  Tethering her also teaches her that you are the leader, what you say goes...where you go, she goes.  That really helped for my girl, but when I started NILF I saw an amazing change in her.

Even if you are unable to take your first obedience class right now (isn't she still too young at this age?), you should be spending time with the basics; and I believe you are.  Maybe 15 minutes each session is a bit too long for your girl.  Try 5 minutes sessions every chance you get.  Just work on sit until you are sure she masters that, then down, etc.  Remember that sometimes its hard to know if they really understand the command given.  Repetition and consistency will work.  Are you taking her for loose leash walks?  That's also a great thing for both teaching who's the leader as well as tiring her out.  A tired puppy is a good puppy. 

You should also start practicing  "look at me" or "watch me" which can be a fun game to teach.  I'm sure you can find the instructions in the training forum here if you haven't started that yet.

I don't know anything about Poms, but I do have a very hard tempered, strong willed, pushy little broad myself in a GSD.  Your girl just needs to know where she stands in the "food chain."  She'll learn; it takes patience, time and lots of hands on work.

I'm sure you will get lots of good advice here...good luck!

CoBuHe has given excellent advice. I agree completely.

I would make a point of ignoring the growling. I mean don't even LOOK at her. It sounds like she may have gotten some response from doing it and that may be why she continues. Don't play with her when she growls. In fact, all playing and attention should stop immediately when she does. That will (hopefully) teach her that growling gets nothing good.

Liv

Oh, and I have no clue obviously how to teach her a "quiet" command.... if you couldn't already tell. How do I do that?

You say she barks? One way to teach her NOT to do something is to teach her to do it first. For example, if she barks, teach he to do that (speak or talk) on cue. Then you can teach her "quiet" or "hush" on cue. I have taught my dogs to "jump up" and then "get down" so I can use "get down" to keep them from jumping. 

I know you've read that puppies aren't aggressive but there's always an exception to every rule. Not saying she is, I'm just saying I wouldn't close off to the possibility. This is definitely something I would want to stop, too. I'm assuming she came from a good breeder who breeds for good temperament.

With a dog that small, you could teach her some games in the house. This would give her some mental stimulation as well as physical exercise.  

CoBuHe

Even if you are unable to take your first obedience class right now (isn't she still too young at this age?), you should be spending time with the basics; and I believe you are. 

 

Puppy classes can start very early.  Selli started hers at 10 weeks.  As long as all the puppies are up to date (as far as they can) on their vaccinations and the class is held in a place where all the dogs are vaccinated (a training facility), there is little danger.  Many experts are currently recommending that the socialization period prior to 16 weeks is so important that it outweighs the risks of a puppy not being fully vaccinated. 

Okay so NILIF for everything, gotcha. So should I put her toys away then, and then give them to her? How exactly do I go about doing that. We have been working on "no" since the second we got her. Her reaction is either to run away or jump and nip whatever is closest to her. She does the same when you "yelp" when she bites. She will lunge at you, and try to bite. She is very reactive to that sound- sometimes for the good and she stops, sometimes its bad and we have to ignore her. I am liking the tether so far it has made it easier to keep her out of trouble. And its easier when guests come over she isn't able to jump all over them.

I will try to cut down my training time with her. Generally when its her feeding time I would use her kibble as her treat and make her work for about 10 kibbles. Switching between "sit" and "leave it". Those two are improving quite a bit. I intended on taking her to puppy classes which start here as early as 10 weeks. I think basic obedience is 14 weeks+? Not 100% on that though. I can't take Aisha for loose leash walks yet, other than around the house. There have been alot of parvo cases in my area and I would rather wait until after the 4th when she goes in for her final puppy vaccination.  I know once I get my backyard finished this is going to be alot easier to tire her out. Aisha LOVES to play fetch. It's one of her favorite games. So having a yard will make all her more physical training better. I just have to wait another month, month and a half.

I've never heard of "look at me" or "watch me" I'll search the forum after I post and see how it works. Thanks for the suggestion

Pom's are definitely head strong dogs with huge personalities. I swear I'm trying to be patient lol. *I* just need a little encouragement sometimes to keep going, and to know it won't last forever lol.

 We do ignore her 100% when she growls or barks, no eye contact either. Play stops immediately, and I generally walk away. I read a few posts on here about barking and that was mentioned- no eye contact, so I do that as well. Its just me and my son home all day until DH gets home. So the hard part is not ignoring her, its getting her to understand that the behavior isn't going to get her anywhere. Its like she gets hyper when you ignore her.

I have heard of teaching a dog something to get them to not do something. I taught my old pom to bark and for whatever reason she would not learn the "quiet" command. I'll admit I'm a little freaked out to teach Aisha to bark incase it gets worse. But I will for the sake of trying anything, teach her it.

Aisha's did come from a good breeder, and all this has refreshed my memory of what its like to own a puppy lol. My old pom was a biter/ barker too until she was about 8 months old. I know that there is always the chance that even with two well bred dogs there can be some issues, but Aisha has been fine otherwise. She is very hyper girl. I'm still thinking I'm not tiring her out enough and that is why she is the way she is.

I like the idea of trying games in the house. The only one we currently do is fetch. I'll look into that too after I'm done writing. I was actually hoping someone would suggest something indoors, because of my current situation.

 

Thank you everyone for the advice. I knew getting into this it was going to be fun, tiring, frustrating, rewarding...the works. Right now I'm REALLY wishing I could have gone to those puppy classes! But for now I'll rely on my books and you all on this forum. Thanks everyone, alot!
 

 

Liv

. We have been working on "no" since the second we got her. Her reaction is either to run away or jump and nip whatever is closest to her. She does the same when you "yelp" when she bites. She will lunge at you, and try to bite. She is very reactive to that sound- sometimes for the good and she stops, sometimes its bad and we have to ignore her.

That's exactly how Honor used to be.  A "yelp" would only spur her on to nip more and get extra excited.  The best way to eliminate that reactive behavior is really to just ignore it.  No eye contact, just walk away.  My best training tool with Honor was to step over the baby gate in the kitchen.  Then, I could still watch her out of the corner of my eye, but there was no opportunity for the behavior to continue.  And wait her out.  I remember that Honor used to circle like a shark, just waiting for me to come back over so she could go nuts, but I had to learn to wait her out.  Once she settles down, ask for a sit, and praise.  I'll fully admit that it takes a while though, so don't get discouraged if the behavior doesn't improve immediately. 

Liv

I have heard of teaching a dog something to get them to not do something. I taught my old pom to bark and for whatever reason she would not learn the "quiet" command. I'll admit I'm a little freaked out to teach Aisha to bark incase it gets worse. But I will for the sake of trying anything, teach her it.

I actually taught Honor to "Quiet", before I taught her to "Speak".  She actually learned it in conjunction with learning to not bark in the crate.  When she was little, she used to bark a lot in the crate (actually it was more of nails-on-chalkboard screeches!), and everytime she stopped I would praise her RIDICULOUSLY "Good quiet!  Good Honor!  Good quiet!".  She learned that being quiet got the praise, and I discovered that she applied it to everywhere when I asked for quiet at Petsmart one day and she complied.  So while I think that it's usually easier to teach "speak" first, you can do it in reverse.  So maybe if Aisha's barking at something out the window, the second she stops (even if it's just to breathe), praise her for quiet.  I would definitely teach her both commands though.  Beyond being practical, people always think it's cute when a dog can speak on cue!

Liv

Okay so NILIF for everything, gotcha. So should I put her toys away then, and then give them to her? How exactly do I go about doing that.  

 

In my own experience with my pushy girl, I have found its best to keep the toys up and give them to her at an appropriate play time (when I say so).  Heidi has a tendancy to claim and guard things as her own.  And, IMO, all things are mine, she just gets the privaledge of playing with my things when I say OK to do so.  Its funny, because with all the dogs I've ever had I didn't need to worry so much about the strictness.  But, this girl will take an entire mile if I give her an inch.  So, yes this will be part of an exercise where she will learn you are the keeper of all good things.  And, in order for me to have good things, I best be good.  Of course, that is the wide screen view of it all, right?

I know what you mean about needing encouragement...I had quite a difficult time with her as a puppy because she is so hard tempered.  It sounds like you are doing all the right things...it will get better and she will settle down.  And, I think once you get into your training class, you will feel much better about things.  You'll have a trainer and folks who are in the same boat as you.

Good luck.

Liv

So the hard part is not ignoring her, its geting her to understand that the behavior isn't going to get her anywhere.  Its like she gets hyper when you ignore her.

My understanding is that's a sign that it's working.  It's called an extinction burst.  Basically, she did something and it got her something (attention? I don't know) she wanted, so she keeps doing it.  You start ignoring her so she tries *harder* (so in this case, more growly) to get what she wants, becuase it worked before.  Eventually though, she will realise that it doesn't work anymore.  My trainer just kept telling us, it'll get worse before it gets better, but it will get better. 

You are losing valuable time - you need to get her socializing with other puppies/dogs BEFORE she is four months old, and that's stretching it.  Postponing puppy class might be the worst decision you ever had to make with regard to growling and nipping.  Puppies teach each other valuable lessons about bite inhibition, and you don't want a dog that will be fearful of other dogs for life.  This aspect of puppy rearing is quite important and her socialization period is virtually over:-((  If you can't do class, get her into a good dog day care a couple of days per week, just until you can get to class.
 

Meanwhile, here's an interesting take on how to teach puppies not to nip: http://www.clickertraining.com/node/168
 

 

FourIsCompany

I would make a point of ignoring the growling. I mean don't even LOOK at her. It sounds like she may have gotten some response from doing it and that may be why she continues. Don't play with her when she growls. In fact, all playing and attention should stop immediately when she does. That will (hopefully) teach her that growling gets nothing good.

Excellent point.