Diva's finally home!!

Chrystie22 · #1 11-10-10, 09:05 AM

Hi all! That's it, Diva is finally home! We collected her from the breeder's last friday and it's been non-stop since so havent had time to post to let you all know about it yet

She is great, learning very fast, was house-trained in 3 days (she now knows to scratch the kitchen door when she wants to go potty for us to take her outside!), hasnt been car-sick so far, sleep well at night only waking once about 1:30am for a wee. She is responding well to training and knows to sit/ stay/ wait/ down/ give her paw..The only downside is she still waiting for her final vax this friday so is not allowed to be put on the ground outside of our property, and we have to carry her everywhere for that all important socialization, and she is fine for the first 5mn and then really wants to go on the ground, bless her.
She is nipping a bit and we are trying to curb this but I guess she is still only 8.5 weeks so you cant expect too much from her. Any advice on stopping the play-biting very welcome!!
I'll post some pics soon I promise..

Caryll · #2 11-10-10, 09:20 AM

Fantastic news! She sounds a little angel!

When she play bites, tell her a deep, firm "no". I know a lot of people favour giving a yelp to stop them, but I've never found this works! If the "no" doesn't work, put her down & leave her alone - totally ignore her - till she calms down & then give gentle praise. Most play biting is over excitement anyway.

Chrystie22 · #3 11-10-10, 01:43 PM

Thanks Caryll, have tried doing the standing up and ignoring technique but it's not easy when she grabs trouser legs or sleeves, as soon as you manage to take her off it she grabs it again so it turns into a big 'plaything' for her! She usually nips when she is let out of her crate or when she gets excited during playtime so I guess this is normal behaviour (it reflects the behaviour of the litter) but we want to nip it in the bud now not wait when she is older and has sharper teeth!!

Caryll · #4 11-10-10, 01:47 PM

OK, when you go into the room where she's crated, don't let her out straight away. Walk around, if you're in the kitchen make a cup of tea or coffee. Say hello quietly and then ignore her. Once she seems calm, let her out but don't fuss her. Let her calm down again before you greet her.

If she carries on nipping when you've said no, put her in a quiet place for a couple of minutes - another room, her crate, whatever. When she's calm, let her out, but again, keep iy calm. She'll soon learn.

Chrystie22 · #5 11-10-10, 02:44 PM

Great advice Caryll. The only thing is her crate is currently in our bathroom upstairs (closer to our bedroom but actually NOT in the bedroom at night, and quieter for her when she is resting in it during the day) and so we have to carry her to go downstairs/ upstairs; we do all the things you are recommending, ie ignoring her if she is excited and only letting her out of the crate if she is quiet but as soon as she is in our arms, she starts licking (which I dont mind) and nipping (which is not so good)...Apart from that, she is great, we cant imagine life without her now!! It's amazing how much joy such a small bundle of fluff can bring!!