# Biting, Barking, Attention Seeking



## maple_the_v (Nov 5, 2017)

Hi All, 

We have an 11 week old V puppy named Maple. She is definitely exhibiting textbook V puppy behavior. She is either super sweet, trying to crawl in your skin or conversely biting, barking, whining, the whole nine. We are slightly at odds with how to address this behavior. Over exhaustion/stimulation definitely makes matters worse, but this behavior is not solely limited to these times. For instance this morning she tried to bite me when I went to picked her up, a characteristic she has only recently developed. Furthermore even if she is exhausted we find it unacceptable for her to be biting us and or other people. 

On to the barking. When we were prepping her food this morning she began to bark at us. She has also whined, yelped, and or nipped if she is seeking our attention for pretty much anything. We are aware they are a vocal breed, but the barking is persistent, sharp, and assertive- not standard sweet V talking.

We don't find any of these behavior acceptable and would like to nip them in the butt ASAP. We've read about the spray bottle technique but are curious about any other suggestions. 

On a different topic she is quite hand shy, not liking when people try to pet her with their palm up. Is this normal? Do you allow people to pet her with treats, in the interest of having her to realize they are not threatening or do we need to take an easier approach due to her sensitivity? My only concern is that she doesn't always want treats. Other than during a play session how can we make experiences enjoyable that she is not fond of? 

Warm Regards, 
Mike, Paige, and Maple


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## Laxdog (Aug 15, 2017)

I hate to say it but I think biting, barking and whining just are inherent puppy behaviors. We have a 5 month old now and while past most of what you mentioned we are dealing with the joys of jumping and pulling everything off the counters when our backs are turned. 

I?m no expert but what worked for us in terms of barking was figuring out what he wanted and NOT doing it until he stopped. We experienced your food example and how we managed to deal with it was put the food bowl on the counter out of reach and not let him eat until he was quiet. It only took a few tries until he was silent while we scooped his food. Whining can be tackled in a similar manner. We have had the most success by avoiding shushing him or telling him quiet but instead just completely ignoring him. Exercise and mental stimulation help as well.

In terms of biting I feel like it?s something you just have to wait out for the most part, just have constant toys on hand to shove in its mouth and redirect her. Again exercise and metal stimulation help alleviate this but an over tired pup is also a biter, so it?s all about finding the right balance. Also if you are vocal about it hurting with a yelp or an ow! You can help your puppy realize you don?t like it. Lastly, ignoring and walking away from your biting pup can be effective to teach them you don?t like it and are not playing if they bite. 

I?ve heard to use a spray bottle as well but I?d personally advise against it as you are not teaching proper behavior as much as you are teaching them to fear a spray bottle. Some dogs may catch on and only behave when the bottle is present. 

Lastly, our young pup hated most store treats and dog foods but he has grown less picky with age. Still tho to peak his interest we give him cooked plain chicken as treats whenever we are out of the house or learning a new command. Cooking chicken can be a pain but it?s cheaper than most treats and has been a godsend in teaching reliable recall

I forgot to mention that in terms of head petting my old family lab has never liked it much, he tolerates it but prefers a back rub. I think it?s just her preference and you will be able to teach her to tolerate it with time but she?ll still prefer you pet her elsewhere. Nothing to worry about, it?s just her preference. I would try to get her tolerant of it tho as most strangers will attempt a head pet, often without asking you first.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

You need to keep in mind 85-90% of training a puppy is through positive reward.
That only leaves 10-15% of the training as neutral, or unpleasant to them. 
If you find you are getting on to her more, than you are praising her. You need to take a step back, and rethink the way your training.
Praise everything she does right, and she will start doing more things right. That alone will lead to having to correct her less. 
Don't get me wrong, I do correct my puppies. And I do have a spray water bottle. But that is a very small part of their training 

I haven't seen a puppy be hand shy with its own family, unless they were made hand shy by someone in that family.
Is it strangers that she is like this with, or everyone?


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