there is a tiny reason for my busyness

Meet Madeline.  Maddie for short.

Puppies take about the same time and effort as newborn babies and I forgot this fact when we brought her home!  My eyes were soon opened.

Maddie seems to be housebroken already (lucky us!) and she has learned the command "come".  The boys have been working with her everyday and they are in love with her.  She is going to be VERY spoiled!

Our problem is biting.  She bites everything, all the time.  Is this normal puppy behavior?  Any suggestions on stopping her from doing it?

Here is Maddie playing basketball with Micah:

She helps Craig with the lawn-mowing:

This is where my cat can be found these days:

I am posting a little earlier than I had planned because I accidentally made my "be back soon" post sound like something was wrong, and I wanted to let you all know that we are fine, just preoccupied with an adorable pup.

We will be fixing our fence this weekend so that Maddie has a place to hang out where we don't have to supervise her 24 hours a day.  We will also be working on "sit" and "stay", and making sure that we keep our shoes away from our resident biter!

Have a lovely weekend!

 

Comments

[momrn2]

What a cutie!! Yes, biting is very normal behavior!!

Buy lots of chew bones and anytime you see her biting something else give her one of those. And when all else fails... puppy proof your house!

That's nothing scientific, but that's what I remember we did. Our dog eventually grew out of it.

[Laura]

She is biting because she is teething this is very normal...yet hurtful. Chew toys and lots of them! Also gentle reminders about no biting and do not let her get in the habit of biting fingers and toes. It just takes time. She sure is cute! Trust me it is all worth it, I have two 120 pound labs and they are members of our family.

[Mymsie]

She is ADORABLE! I would suggest getting a bunch of chew toys, the rope ones in particular. Then anytime she bites something she's not supposed to, calmly say "no" and put the chew toy in her mouth. Good luck!

[Renna]

What a LOVABLE face she has! You guys are going to have so much fun. You're right, though, about puppies being like babies. They're like toddlers, actually, since they do usually sleep through the night.

Their bladders are like babies, too. Even though she appears housebroken, make sure to take her out frequently, as they don't have the ability to control their bladder yet, the same as a full grown dog can. She's obviously a large dog breed, and any large dog we've ever owned seem to 'naturally' be housebroken.

About the biting thing, I'm no help. Our Min Pin's over a year old, and she still likes to bite. It's strictly a playful bite, but her teeth are sharp.

As to chewing, Maddie will be doing that for several months (maybe longer?), so keep her a plentiful supply of acceptable things to chew. Our Leyna loves rawhides.

[adrienne]

Oh how cute!!! The kitty picture really made me laugh!! LOL

[Susan D]

I have definite opinions on the matter. Our puppy turns one next week. Biting is very normal. Chewing releases hormones and calms then down. They MUST have appropriate toys to chew on. Stay away from raw hide. It is very dangerous to dogs. It does not break up and they can swallow long pieces of it that can get intangled in their intestines. Bully Sticks are by far the best chew bone. It is actually beef tendon and very safe. Nylabone is great too. Knuckle bones, cow hooves are great too. If the dog bites on your hand, grab his nose to shut his mouth and squeeze sternly and say NO BITE. They will learn. Puppy proff your house. Let no forbiddens on the floor, especially shoes. Whatever the dog gets away with they will think it is ok. Remember that the dog is always training, always learning, good or bad behaviors. IF your back is turned and he gets away with a shoe, he will learn shoes are ok. By about 6 months their baby teeth fall out and they will chew less but they still need to chew. Some breeds naturally chew more, like labs. My dog loves stuffed animals and he gets his own, but sometimes he gets the girls. I say they have to keep them up high and if they get chewed up then they learn to put their stuff away. Good luck.
Susan

[Mymsie]

She is ADORABLE! I would suggest getting a bunch of chew toys, the rope ones in particular because they're super durable. Then anytime she bites something she's not supposed to, calmly-but-firmly say "no" and put the chew toy in her mouth. Then praise her lots when she chews on it. Good luck!

[Genny]

What a cute dog! The pets on my blog today aren't as adorable, but they are growing on me. I enjoyed stopping by your blog!
Genny

[Kelsey Smith]

What a absolute cutie!

[Becky]

Yep, biting is normal for puppies. It lasts a few months, and the chewing lasts about a year. I remember my kids having bloodied ears when they played with our pups.

She is adorable. What a wonderful addition to the family.

[Tracy]

She's a cutie. Biting is normal. Give her lots of chew toys.

[Judy]

Oh my she is soooooo cute. Our Sadie was that small not too long ago, and yes the biting is normal. I would just give her something to chew on instead. Good luck with her.

[Thimbleanna]

CONGRATULATIONS! How exciting for you and your family. She's just adorable. Her little teefies hurt -- hopefully she won't relieve them on your shoes!

[cindy]

So cute! What kind of pup is he? We just got a new baby ourselves that I can't wait to post about. A little "weinie" dog! The strawberries on your banner look so fresh and yummy. I rarely get a chance to see the decor of anyone's blog these days because of Bloglines. Maybe it's time for a switch!!

[noodle]

Sweet little pup! I concur with the rest -- the biting is normal. Buy a bunch of different chewies, and she'll decide which one(s) she likes best.

Enjoy the new addition to the fam!

[Pieces]

Sooooo cuuuuute!!!!!

[Fiona @ Dragonfly-Crafts]

What a gorgeous puppy and what a lovely choice of names. Although it is also the name of my daughter, spelt the same too. I'm sure you will have lots of fun.

[Roberta]

What a sweet little puppy. Our family recently got a yellow lab and she is a wonderful dog...(and after 3unsuccessful attempts at having a dog I am GREATLY relieved to say that!) She chews and plays and very much sees herself as part of our "pack". We kept the toys simple, 1 chew ball and 1 plush butterfly, which she takes everywhere with her. Our Gemma sleeps indoors with us, if your Maddie does I highly recommend crate training.

[miss chris]

Oh what fun (and work!). Maddie is adorable... Good thing the housetraining bit is going well -- no tips on the biting from me, I am afraid, though.

I wish you luck. She's an awfully cute diversion. xo

[Kimmie]

Randi;

What a cute baby with fur on. Love her eyes and I can imagine that she will keep you busy for quiet some time with her sweet puppy ways.

Enjoy her!

Kimmie
mama to 6
one homemade and 5 adopted

[Sandra~My Inspired Heart]

Oh, Randi....what a little sweetie! And, such a sweet name, too :) My husband and I are looking for a little puppy right now for our kiddos....we hope to surprise them very soon! I can't wait!

[Linda]

Randi, she is adorable! Yep, puppies bite on things. They teeth just like babies do. Lots of chew toys, and put things away where she can't get them if you don't want little teeth marks on them, or worse! LOL
She should outgrow some of that eventually.

[Robin in New Jersey]

SHe's adorable. What breed is she?

[Julie]

Our dog chewed on things and was very mouthy when she was teething. She didn't really bite us, but she got a little mouthy. Our trainer told me to pretend like it really hurt, so I'd waaaay over-react (yell OUCH!) and leave the room for a minute. I only had to do that twice and Dixie never did it again.

[Christine]

We have no pets except hermit crabs, so I can't help you there! Seems like your cat has the right idea though...

:) Have fun!

[Susie]

Maddie is such a cutie! I imagine you do have your hands full. Lucky cat to have a nice observation post!!
xo

[LeeAnn]

Maddie is so cute! She looks kind of like a lab or maybe I have labs on the brain (like I do in my house).

Biting is normal, but I had low tolerance for it. Our puppy liked plastic bottles about the time he started shredding everything within an hour. Cheap, plastic water bottles. I never laughed or petted him when he bit. Sometimes I flicked him under his chin, lightly slapped his mouth (and I emphasize lightly) or turned away. They do outgrow it, but I think he became aware of (and stopped) it sooner because of my response.

[elizabeth of course]

chewing is totally normal puppy behavior. Just keep your shoes out of sight like you said, and don't let anyone talk you into giving her an old shoe to have. It'll only teach her to like shoes. (I didn't read the above comments, I hope I don't offend anyone)If you have a problem with her chewing furniture or corners of cabinets (it seems like every one of our dogs tried that)try putting spray deodorant on it. they don't lick that much before they learn. good luck. she's a great looking dog.

[Mommy, the Human Napkin]

AWWWWWW!! She's too cute! I have no advice to offer... our puppies are rotten and they live outside. They're cute, though!

[ComfyDenim]

Oh, she's cute!!!

[Islandsparrow]

She will outgrow it - her mama would nip her on the neck if she did something wrong - so we would give our pups a little shake by the scruff. And a firm no.

If she nips you I'd push her head down and say no!

and keep the shoes away.

She'll soon figure out who alpha dog is.

My biggest problem was with dogs and littler boys - they wanted to wrestle and that can spoil a dog. They think the boys are part of the pack and all is free game. it was easier to train my dogs when my boys were older.

[Christy]

What a cutie doggie! I want to kiss her! :)

[Ellen]

You can't help but say 'aw' when you see a puppy. Maddie is so cute. How my children would love to have a dog, but one is highly allergic.

[Lyn]

my aunt always gives new puppy parents this book: No Bad Dogs The Woodhouse Way by Barbara Woodhouse. My aunt has trained dogs, raised dogs and loved dogs all of her life.

[Dawn @ My Home Sweet Home]

The puppy is cute, but the picture of the cat is hysterical!

I'm house breaking a toddler this week. :-)

[Michelle]

Wow, looks like you got a lot of advice. Erin told me this one and someone already gave you this advice - we used it on Paso and it totally worked. When she bites, grab her nose with both hands and have her look in your eyes and say no. Chew toys are so important also. Paso is a lab and they love to bite. He's grown up a lot. I think Samson has helped him grow up. Have fun! I'm going to post a blog and use the pics you sent. Thanks! they are great!

[Cindy]

Oh how adorable, puppy love! Yes they are time consuming to say the least but so much fun. Too bad they can't wear a diaper haha.
As far as biting goes, all doggies are different some like to bite. I have used a spray called Bitter Apple for my Jack Russel. When she was a pup she like to chew and I sprayed that on things that she was attracted too like shoes or furniture legs, or I would spray her during the act. It is harmless just smells bad and tastes bad. It worked pretty good. Congrats on the sweet little pup!!

[missy]

she's so cute :) she's mouthing....her sharp little teeth make it painful! give her lots of things to chew. the mommy would correct her by shaking the scruff of her neck, you may try that. it's loose skin, and shouldn't hurt her.

she views your sons as litter mates. make sure she knows they are dominate. ohhhhhhhhhh, i've had so many puppies. enjoy her puppy breath :)

missy

[julie]

What a cute puppy... and the cat picture made me laugh! How wonderful to have her housebroken already! We're still struggling with potty training a 3 year old child!

[Lu]

nothing like a new puppy...

[Beck]

Your cat on top of the china cabinet made me burst out laughing!
Is your puppy a lab? Oh, they're fun!

[Morning Glory]

Oh, she is a cutie!!

[rohanknitter]

Haha, your poor cat! We had a lab years ago when we were first married and he was great but we always said he had an oral fixation! Lots of chewing - needed lots of nylabones, rope bones, etc. For a pup that bites a person, we'd say OW loudly and then substitue an appropriate thing to bite on. Our weiner dog Max is very "chewy" and he's over a year and we still can't leave shoes laying around. ; )

[Jodi]

Oh.so.very.cute!

[Felicia]

Oh, what a cutie cakes! And poor kitty!

[Beth]

Maddie is adorable! Sorry that I don't have any tips on the biting.

[Diane]

What a cutie pitootie puppy!!! Who could resist such a cutie?! I don't think anyone mentioned this biting help idea - altho I just quickly scanned the ones above. But, a friend at work trains seeing eye dogs (actually future seeing eye dogs) because she gets the puppies to work with and socialize. So the dog comes to work with her every day, and when this last one she had was a little pup would LOVE to chew on all of us coworkers also. What she said you do is to squeeze near the joint of the jaw (not too hard) but enough to get the puppies skin to go over their own teeth in the back there - so that when they bite, they are also biting themselves. You do this along with saying - "no bite!". And at first the dog continued to do it, then later she wouldn't bite the owner/mom anymore, just the rest of us, and eventually she no longer bites anyone. It seemed to have worked great! So that seemed to work for her, so just a suggestion! Have fun! Diane