Bringing Up Puppy

They wake, crying, every couple of hours instead of sleeping peacefully through the night.

And they act like toddlers in the throes of the terrible twos—chewing everything, nibbling on people, jumping up on guests, and putting everything in their mouths—grass, dirt clumps, socks.
Puppies—they're so cute and cuddly, but so much work.

Karen Barton-Maycock, San Francisco, Calif., just got a Tibetan terrier puppy. She grew up with dogs, but this is the first dog she´s had with her husband and 7-year-old son. After the first few days, the family was in love with their new dog, she said, but getting it to act like a good dog has been challenging.
"He is very smart, adaptive, and sweet," she said, "but there is a part of me wondering, ‘What on earth were we thinking?´ "

It is important to start out on the right paw with your pup from the time it comes home so that it grows up to be a well-behaved, good-mannered dog—no easy task. Here are some of the common problems new puppy owners face and methods for dealing with them.

Sleeping through the night

First of all, get plenty of rest before you bring your new puppy home. You´ll need lots of energy to run after it and you probably won´t get much sleep those first few nights. When Chuck joined the family, Ms. Barton-Maycock was reminded of bringing her son home from the hospital.

"The first night was the worst," she said. "He woke us up three times."

It´s amazing how puppies just happen to start crying, whining, or barking right when you´re blissfully dreaming. Sometimes they simply want you to know they can´t hold their bladders all night long.

Ms. Barton-Maycock and her husband have been taking turns escorting Chuck outside to relieve himself in the middle of the night and at unearthly hours of the morning. They make sure he sticks to business by refusing to play during these outings. The pup is learning the command "go now." When he does, "we praise the dickens out of him," she said. Then it´s straight back to bed.

Other times, puppies may cry at night even if they don´t need to go out.

"The crying is an instinct that they have so their mothers can find them if they're lost. It may, in fact, not even indicate any real pain or loneliness," explained Stacy Braslau-Schneck of San Jose, Calif., a certified pet dog trainer and owner of Stacy´s Wag´N´Train.

"I recommend that owners ignore the crying, as long as they know that the puppy is not in physical distress—in other words, the puppy doesn´t have to go to the bathroom, and is at the right temperature," she added.

David Roos, DVM, of Adobe Animal Hospital, Los Altos, Calif., agreed that it is okay to just let the puppy cry after checking on it for the first two or three nights.

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"Remember, every time you respond to the puppy´s crying, you are teaching the puppy that crying is a way to get attention."

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If you are feeling tempted to give in, consider whether you want the crying to be a permanent problem. "Remember, every time you respond to the puppy´s crying, you are teaching the puppy that crying is a way to get attention," Ms. Braslau-Schneck said. "This is true even if you are providing ‘bad´ attention, like yelling or scolding."

Letting the dog sleep in the same room with you and waiting until it is good and tired before putting it to bed should help it sleep more soundly, Ms. Braslau-Schneck said.

And don´t fret, you shouldn´t be sleep deprived for too long. Puppies quickly learn to sleep through the night, Dr. Roos added.

Chuck is already making progress. On his second night he woke up a few times, but by the third, he slept straight through till 5:45 a.m.

"With each passing day and night he is improving by leaps and bounds," Ms. Barton-Maycock said. "He really seems to understand what we want from him and since he is eager for our love and approval, he is motivated to cooperate."

Chewing, chewing, chewing

Well, now that you´ve got the little guy sleeping through the night, another problem has crept up. He´s chewing everything that´s not nailed down!

Try not to take it personally. It´s not that puppies want to destroy their new homes—really. Turns out, it´s a perfectly naturally part of their development.

"Young puppies, up to 5 months, are teething, and chewing is part of the process of working out the milk teeth and working in the adult teeth," explained Ms. Braslau-Schneck.

"Beyond that age, puppies still have an instinct to strengthen their jaws, so they will continue to chew. Most adult dogs like chewing things occasionally throughout their life; some really pick up chewing as their hobby of choice, especially if they are not given enough exercise or mental stimulation," she added.

So, unfortunately, it´s not something that´s likely to be resolved as quickly as crying at night and it´s not a behavior you can or should completely eliminate.

Although at times it may feel like the dog has teeth-marked the whole house. Shelly Ryder of Tampa, Fla., would know. She recently adopted a chew-happy Boston terrier, EZ Ryder, a.k.a. "Z."

"He is very intent on chewing anything and everything," Ms. Ryder said. "We have a huge selection of chew toys, but he still seems to prefer fingers, toes, anything shiny or metallic, clothing," she said.

But you still don´t have to sacrifice five pairs of good shoes and all the carpeting.

"When he chews any of these things, we say ‘no!´ in a firm voice—which does practically nothing—and immediately provide him with a chew toy, saying ‘good boy.´"

Chuck also chews anything he can sink his teeth into, Ms. Barton-Maycock said, but he has been better about accepting substitutes. If he is chewing something he shouldn´t, she says "off" in a sharp voice and claps to distract him. He, too, immediately gets a chew toy replacement and is praised when he takes it.

Persistence seems to be paying off.

"More and more, he seems to be going straight for the chew toys instead of shoes, furniture, our clothes and hands," Ms. Barton-Maycock said.

Bitter-tasting (but non-toxic) pet deterrent sprays, like Bitter Apple, can be sprayed on rugs, shoes, and other items to further deter puppy teeth.

The problem with Z is that he still prefers fingers to chew toys, so Ms. Ryder said anyone in the family who gives him a chew toy rotates the toy around in his mouth until he has freed the fingers and is chomping on the toy.

Nibbling on flesh

This penchant for human flesh is not uncommon with puppies either. They have to be taught not to bite people at a young age. Ms. Braslau-Schneck teaches this as a two-part lesson in bite inhibition.

"The first is that they should not bite hard," she explained. "This is important because all dogs have a point in their life where they might feel compelled to bite—when they are in pain, afraid and cornered, or protecting something valuable, for instance. If they learn how to bite ‘softly´ they can control their bites and make them warning or ritualistic bites, and not the kind of bites that actually cause injuries.

"I teach this by yelping very loudly and sharply when the puppy bites me," she said. Almost always the puppy will be startled and pull back. Then it usually immediately either licks her or bites again, much softer.

Ms. Braslau-Schneck also teaches the dog not to bite humans at all, this includes not only skin, but hair, clothing, shoes, bags, and other accessories.

"I teach this at the same time. If a puppy is playing with me and bites me hard, I´ll yelp. Then any bites that continue after that ‘apology´ bite or lick will cause me to stop playing with them," she explained.

No matter how difficult it is, owners should ignore the puppy when it bites during this phase. Leave the room if you have to. The dog will eventually catch on to the fact that playtime ends when it bites.

Dr. Roos prefers another method. "My way is a thumb on the floor of the mouth with enough pressure to make the pup unhappy." The dog will almost always stop biting people after two or three repetitions of this method, he said, but if it has a relapse a quick refresher course should cure the problem.

Bitter Apple can also be sprayed on the back of your hands to make them less appealing.