# Puppy Training Help - whining + jumping



## littlemonstermaple (Dec 30, 2020)

Hi Vizsla Family, 

I'm a new dog owner here. I got my vizsla puppy at the age of 6 weeks (my opinion, this is so young - I specifically kept asking the breeder if this was too young and she kept saying, "it'd be fine". The next day of getting the pup, I ran into another breeder and was told I should be reporting the breeder who let me pick up our pup so young). At the end of the day, I felt like there was nothing we could do and I wasn't just going to abandon a super young puppy due to breeder negligence. 

She's now about 9 weeks and she seems to be doing OKAY, but we'd like your help. 

The puppy whines early in the morning and nothing stops her unless we pick her up. I feel like this is only reinforcing bad behavior. We take her to potty and she doesn't have to go, then put her in the crate and she'll continue to whine. It seems like she has a lot of energy this early (so we play with her) but we want to train her that whining is not okay.

*What are strategies to help address the whining? *We've read that spraying with a water bottle can help (But isn't negative reinforcement bad?). 

Another challenge we're having is teaching her not to jump on furniture (tables, cabinets, couches). She jumps on everything and I'm not sure how to train her to stop. 
*
Any suggestions on how to prevent her from jumping and scratching on furniture? *

Thank you for your help.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Lets take a little step back here.
That you got the puppy earlier than it should have been let go is now water under the bridge. Most breeders let them go between 8 and 10 weeks, but it is acceptable to let them go at 7 weeks, but not the norm any longer. Regardless, she is now nine weeks old, so we're in the ballpark.
Don't try to compare her development with someone that has had their puppy for three weeks and got it at 8 weeks. It doesn't work that way. Don't expect more of her than a 9 week old puppy can give, and that's not going to be a lot at this moment.
The good news is that they develop very rapidly between weeks 10-12, so you got a little bit to go.

A nine week old puppy is not ready for "discipline" just yet. You can expect to repeat yourself a zillion times over the next month, and reinforce the expectation gently. She will forget a lesson, or correction, 5 minutes after it takes place. If you were to spray her with water at this age, she wouldn't understand why, and you could create some negative behaviors down the line. You can expect to instill and reinforce the stay off the furniture behavior for many months. Vizlsas want to be where you're at.

She is going to whine. Whining is her only known mechanism of communication with you. As she, and you, develop other means of communication cues, the whining will diminish. Right now, she is going to whine. She's to young.


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## Jakub (Dec 26, 2020)

What works best for me to calm Arya down once she is trying to fall asleep again in her cage is to seat next to her cage, put my hand through the cage wall, under the cover so she can chew on my fingers, usually after few minutes she is calm and falls asleep.


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## derwos (Nov 10, 2019)

Jakub said:


> What works best for me to calm Arya down once she is trying to fall asleep again in her cage is to seat next to her cage, put my hand through the cage wall, under the cover so she can chew on my fingers, usually after few minutes she is calm and falls asleep.


I do the same! 👅🤣 When Aly was 8 weeks, I didn't even try to leave her side when she was trying to goto sleep. Within a week, she would begin to settle with me just being close in the room, where she could see me... and I'd occasionally settle her with a little touch and soft voice. On Monday, she'll be 10 weeks... and at this point she settles pretty well simply by me being someplace in the living room with her or the adjacent kitchen.


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## littlemonstermaple (Dec 30, 2020)

gunnr said:


> Lets take a little step back here.
> That you got the puppy earlier than it should have been let go is now water under the bridge. Most breeders let them go between 8 and 10 weeks, but it is acceptable to let them go at 7 weeks, but not the norm any longer. Regardless, she is now nine weeks old, so we're in the ballpark.
> Don't try to compare her development with someone that has had their puppy for three weeks and got it at 8 weeks. It doesn't work that way. Don't expect more of her than a 9 week old puppy can give, and that's not going to be a lot at this moment.
> The good news is that they develop very rapidly between weeks 10-12, so you got a little bit to go.
> ...



Thank you! I thought I replied to you ages ago but it looks like I never did. She's doing so well now! She's honestly so well-behaved. My only issues are her whining when she's alone, but that's it!


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