How to discipline?

[Kev63]

I don't think I should have to discipline my pug so title could be misleading however my 9 week old pug has seemed to develop a fetish for biting recently.

• If my partner has a long dress on, he won't let her walk anywhere without biting it. He will growl also when you try to pry it out of his mouth
• He will bite the corner of our sofa and skirting boards. He also goes face first into the carpet and will try to eat that.
• during playtime after food and potty he will have a spurt of energy where he has started biting hands / toes etc.

At the moment I keep picking him up and putting him in his bed or replace with a chew toy but he soon looses attention and will just return to one of the above and start biting again. Biting dresses is the main one it's so hard to get him to let go! He's also constantly trying to jump on the couch and don't know how to stop this. He's so small so can't make the job which results in scratches up and down it. It doesn't help my partner is always picking him up and putting him on her lap whilst sitting on it I guess.

Any help would be appreciated!

[AmberB]

Sounds like you have a normal pug puppy! lol! They are crazy and love to bite things....we call them "piranha Pugs"! They especially love hands, feet, shoes/slippers, pant-legs and other clothes.
You are doing the right thing by redirecting him with a toy...just pop it in his mouth when he's bitey. If he bites your hands yelp or say "ouch" and discontinue play. You can even leave the room for a minute so he loses a playmate if he bites. Eventually he will clue in that biting is not acceptable. It will seem like its not working for ages and then suddenly he will grow out of it.

As for the jumping up on the couch...that might be a hard one to stop since Pugs are companion animals and love to be as close as possible to their family. Cuddling is their mission in life! lol! It might take a fair bit of persistence to train him out of that.

[emilina]

We have the same rule as you with the sofa. Pugsley's allowed on it but only if we pick him up and put him on. Because otherwise you get the scratches. When he tries to jump up just say a firm 'no' and put him back down. It won't take long for him to realise that he's allowed up when you pick him up but other wise not. Just try not to pick him up onto the sofa straight after he's been jumping at it or you'll just encourage it.

With the biting I'm afraid it's a puppy thing and for the most part you'll just have to wait it out. Try not to pull the dress or anything else while he has a grip of it or it ill turn into a game of tug which will ruin your partners dresses but will also encourage him to do it more. try to distract, maybe with a treat, then praise and say 'good boy drop' when he lets go. Trust me, it'll come in handy when he's old enough to go out and starts picking up every bit of litter and disgusting stuff on the pavement.

[CountryPug]

Oh yes, that is typical pug puppy behavior....might tell her to quite wearing long dresses for awhile :) It sounds like you are doing the right things by giving chew toys and alternatives. When he bites you can try letting out a yipp sound in hopes he will realize it hurts. You don't want to yell, that will only scare him. Short time outs are also helpful. Do you have an area where you can put up a baby gate and he can be safe? That might be a good place for time outs and a good place for him when you are busy doing stuff. A crate is always a good thing to have too. Bully sticks are pretty good baby sitters, but you still have to supervise him with it. Believe me it will get better with him, you just have to stick it out until he gets past this stage. When he's old enough, a puppy class will do him good.....a tired puppy is a good puppy!

[emilina]

Oh yes, I forgot to say, if he gets bite-crazy it's probably a signal that it's way past his bed time and needs a nap.

[Kev63]

Oh yes, that is typical pug puppy behavior....might tell her to quite wearing long dresses for awhile :) It sounds like you are doing the right things by giving chew toys and alternatives. When he bites you can try letting out a yipp sound in hopes he will realize it hurts. You don't want to yell, that will only scare him. Short time outs are also helpful. Do you have an area where you can put up a baby gate and he can be safe? That might be a good place for time outs and a good place for him when you are busy doing stuff. A crate is always a good thing to have too. Bully sticks are pretty good baby sitters, but you still have to supervise him with it. Believe me it will get better with him, you just have to stick it out until he gets past this stage. When he's old enough, a puppy class will do him good.....a tired puppy is a good puppy!

Yes I have a crate. He loves it at night, he falls a sleep on one of our laps on the couch and we simply put him in before we go to bed. He wakes up but always falls back asleep again within 30secs. However, If I use it for time out the guy just cries and whines it's so awful I have to let him out I feel bad.

[Kev63]

We have the same rule as you with the sofa. Pugsley's allowed on it but only if we pick him up and put him on. Because otherwise you get the scratches. When he tries to jump up just say a firm 'no' and put him back down. It won't take long for him to realise that he's allowed up when you pick him up but other wise not. Just try not to pick him up onto the sofa straight after he's been jumping at it or you'll just encourage it.

With the biting I'm afraid it's a puppy thing and for the most part you'll just have to wait it out. Try not to pull the dress or anything else while he has a grip of it or it ill turn into a game of tug which will ruin your partners dresses but will also encourage him to do it more. try to distract, maybe with a treat, then praise and say 'good boy drop' when he lets go. Trust me, it'll come in handy when he's old enough to go out and starts picking up every bit of litter and disgusting stuff on the pavement.

Thanks, its nice to know he's allowed on our laps on the couch but the jumping on it can be controlled. We always use the jumping on couch as a cuddle time indicator so instantly pull him up but it's 50% if he will settle or play as hes bored of the current playmate ha. Thanks for the help though it should help for sure.

Regarding the 'picking up bit of litter on pavement'. I'm having this problem already with potty outside and gravel in my garden. I made a seperate thread. Anything to stop this will be great.

[Kev63]

Oh yes, I forgot to say, if he gets bite-crazy it's probably a signal that it's way past his bed time and needs a nap.

Also makes sense, had alot of visitors today. 2 being my 8 and 5 year old nephew and neice who he seemed to enjoy! ha.

Thanks for all the tips guys it seems so obvious when someone else is sharing the advice :)

[emilina]

We've all been where you are now, most of us learning the same way as you too.

Try not to let him out of his crate while he's whining. If you only take him out while he's quiet he will learn than behaving gets him what he wants, whining and creating a fuss doesn't.

[Kev63]

We've all been where you are now, most of us learning the same way as you too.

Try not to let him out of his crate while he's whining. If you only take him out while he's quiet he will learn than behaving gets him what he wants, whining and creating a fuss doesn't.

Thanks for the heads up and reassurance :) I guess i have to keep up the persistence and win this battle :p