New family member

[Mizzely]

Have you tried a lick mat or similar? Or perhaps a favorite toy to distract her?

Otherwise I've not had experience with this specifically.

 

[SumitaSinh]

What is a Lick mat?

 

[Mizzely]

It's a piece of silicon with bumps and grooves on it that you can spread peanut butter or wet dog food (my preference) into. Linking releases endorphins which can sometimes help the process... Plus it distracts them!

 

[SumitaSinh]

It's a piece of silicon with bumps and grooves on it that you can spread peanut butter or wet dog food (my preference) into. Linking releases endorphins which can sometimes help the process... Plus it distracts them!

View attachment 460860

Ohh good! I'll place an order right now. Thank you so much.

 

[Emma&pico]

You can get salmon oil too for dogs that they love and keep spraying bits on lick mat to keep them still you can also stick it to cupboard etc to keep her at a good level to brush her what I do will mine and to shave them

 

[SumitaSinh]

You can get salmon oil too for dogs that they love and keep spraying bits on lick mat to keep them still you can also stick it to cupboard etc to keep her at a good level to brush her what I do will mine and to shave them

That's a good suggestion. Thank you. I was thinking about the spread I should use.

 

[Sparkles99]

If the lick mat doesn’t work, I suggest a frozen Kong stuffed with something irresistible. If none of that works & her priority remains stopping brushing, go back to basics firmly petting her everywhere, all up & down her sides, back, belly, all around her legs, all around her head, playing with her ears, counting her toes, her nails & her paw pads with your fingers. Obviously, you’ll make this happen over time, perhaps while watching a movie. She’ll get intermittent but unpredictable rewards. You want a dog who loves being handled.

 

[SumitaSinh]

If the lick mat doesn’t work, I suggest a frozen Kong stuffed with something irresistible. If none of that works & her priority remains stopping brushing, go back to basics firmly petting her everywhere, all up & down her sides, back, belly, all around her legs, all around her head, playing with her ears, counting her toes, her nails & her paw pads with your fingers. Obviously, you’ll make this happen over time, perhaps while watching a movie. She’ll get intermittent but unpredictable rewards. You want a dog who loves being handled.

Awesome suggestion, I'll try this at once.

 

[Sparkles99]

The credit honestly goes to @Toy , but I can vouch for it!

 

[Toy]

I instructed every new owner of one of my puppies to rub, touch, pet, etc., from head to toe, including inside their mouth, as it helps to desensitize them. It allows better outcome not only for vet visits & grooming, but daily interaction.

Hunting dogs are often given a wooden natural scrub brush to fetch, chew on, etc., to keep them from biting the game when retrieving. It's said to give them a softer mouth.

You also need to teach him "no" means "no/stop". When he's doing something you don't want him to use a firm voice, but do not shout, & say NO. If he refuses to listen try adding a gentle tap on his nose with a finger. A Mommy dog would rip into a pup if it was dong something it shouldn't & grab him close to his ear & growl & snap. I bred & raised toy poodles for 51 years. I've seen Mommy dogs do this many times. It puts the pup in it's place & teaches it to behave. However the more gentle approach with a firm NO & a gentle finger tap often works. Once he learns NO things get easier. Talk to & explain things to him like you would a small child. The same as with parrots, keep commands consistent so as not to confuse him.

 

[SumitaSinh]

What I feel, raising a puppy is no different from raising a human kid. I'm going through puppy blues like post partum depression!

 

[Jayced!!]

 

[SumitaSinh]

@Mizzely yesterday the lick mat has arrived. I used it and it worked. Though she was getting a bit uncomfortable while cleaning her paws, she didn't interfere with the brushing.

Thank you so much for this idea.

Bella with her mat

 

[SumitaSinh]

@Sparkles99 I am also using a slow feeder sometimes. I place some dry food into it, she becomes busy and I clean her. I'm getting her accustomed to touch as you advised but I thing she feels ticklish

 

[Mizzely]

@Mizzely yesterday the lick mat has arrived. I used it and it worked. Though she was getting a bit uncomfortable while cleaning her paws, she didn't interfere with the brushing.

Thank you so much for this idea. View attachment 460981

Bella with her mat

Yay!! So glad it helped!

 

[thedogtor]

@SumitaSinh I highly recommend the book "Perfect Puppy in 7 Days" by Sophia Yin. It's a quick read but an excellent foundational resource for puppyhood.

I have a bluetick coonhound and my last dog was a beagle. Both have done well with my birds.

These are headstrong, stubborn hounds and do best with a lot of structure and training. They are slaves to their noses and hunting instincts sometimes. Please only choose a positive reinforcement trainer. If you have access to a cooperative husbandry class, that is an excellent resource for working on brushing and handling for grooming and veterinary visits. A Fear-Free certified veterinarian would also be great. Luckily, beagles don't require significant grooming, but to distract from brushing or other handling, it is best to redirect with food. Lick mats work well for this. Just with any training, it is best to break the behavior into smaller steps - with the act of running the brush through the hair being the final goal. That might mean starting with having the brush on the ground, scattering treats near it. Biting the brush results in immediate removal of the stimulus and redirection on to something more appropriate. Then you can work to picking up the brush (feeding treats with your other hand), touching the brush to the shoulder (maybe start with the smooth side, not the bristles), then stroking, then ultimately brushing. Teaching your dog to have a "place" or "stand" cue is also helpful, but going to be a more advanced behavior for an 8 week old puppy with next to no impulse control. I also am a huge fan of teaching a chin rest behavior for handling. At this stage though, you're looking to solidify more basic behaviors such as sitting, laying down, relax in place, crating, loose leash walking, and not jumping up. You have to have a base of "good manners" and understanding of training on both ends of the leash before you can start working on more advanced behaviors.

I am a veterinarian and have extensive formal education in animal behavior. My coonhound drove me to tears just about every other day at this age. The puppy stage is DIFFICULT! He's going to be 10 years old this fall and I've been training him (both formally and informally) his entire life. He still needs to walk a minimum of 3 miles a day in order to be sane, still loses his mind regularly when he smells something exciting or sees a deer or squirrel, and keeps me on my toes constantly.

 

[Sparkles99]

He’s gorgeous!

 

[SumitaSinh]

sitting, laying down, relax in place, crating, loose leash walking, and not jumping up

She's already learnt sit and lay down. Please tell me how to teach her to relax in place and not jumping up!
Thank you so much for your valuable advise

 

[Emma&pico]

She's already learnt sit and lay down. Please tell me how to teach her to relax in place and not jumping up!
Thank you so much for your valuable advise

If fury jumps up when he was a puppy I just turned by back to him said no once he stopped I would turn around say sit treat and stroke if he jumped again would do same thing he got it pretty quickly learnt he got attention when not jumping
Puppy stage is so hard I found having a treat bag attached to me constantly helped as I could treat behaviour I wanted

 

[Sparkles99]

Ruby is small, so she jumped up a lot. I would just guide her head to all four paws on the floor & treat her. She learned pretty quickly that she’s never fed unless all four feet are on the floor.