It has been a while since I posted last, life with a puppy can be exciting and exhausting. We have been having many issues of late. Samson is very headstrong, and extremely stubborn. Most of the problems, I willingly admit, are my oin wn; it has been such a long time and unfortunately I keep expecting my lovely Samson to behave like Barney - and have successfully forgotten the "adventures" of raising Barney.
I have trained Samson to pee in the house and then happily bounce over to me to let me know what a wonderful thing he has done. I have failed to take him out properly, being so used to an adult dog who went to the door, asked to go out and then came right back in. Puppies dont due that no matter how smart they are. They need to be taken out, told what they are expected to do and then rewarded with treats and loud happy praise.
Our other serious problem is the "mouthing". this is a puppies way of getting to understand the world. Like human children, puppies put everything in their mouths. Especially human body parts. This is a very bad habit which must be broken immediately. A dog will come to believe he/she is dominate over the "pack" ie the family if allowed to use teeth without reproch, the question is how to get a puppy to understand that this behavior is UNACCEPTABLE. As of this time, I haven't been able to figure this out. So I am doing the only intelligent thing I can think of. On June 29th Samson starts Puppy Kindergarden.
I will keep you informed as to what we learn in the next few weeks.