Penny (aka Princess PP)

Just so you know, Princess PP stands for Princess Psycho Penny :) I told someone at work that we've been calling her that and they assumed it was because she's peeing all over the place. She actually has been doing really well with not peeing in the house, but I was on vacation & home with her all last week, so I was able to take her out frequently. The real test will be today, now that I am back at work. I anticipate a big mess in the laundryroom when my daughter comes home this afternoon.

Anyhow, she is psycho just because of the frapping & the herding, and unfortunately the biting. She is working through it though. She now stops when we say "no bite!" She goes right back to it after a minute, though. It's dangerous to hold her on my lap, she already bit me on the neck. And the cats run, so of course she chases. My cat Russ sits on the couch with his tail dangling tantalizingly over the edge, stupid cat! My son, who is 6, won't stand still if she goes after his feet. I've tried to tell him that he needs to stop moving and just push her away and say no, that when he is "dancing" trying to keep his feet away from her, it's just making his feet more appealing. And then there was the "incident" at the vet's office on Thursday. The vet got down in her face, which I have to say was pretty stupid, but she was giving her the "oh, you're so cute" babytalk. And Penny bit her on the nose. Not just a bite, she hooked her little razor teeth right in the vet's nostril! The vet had to reach down and disengage Penny from her nose. I have to admit I laughed pretty hard when I got in the car, (and then felt terribly guilty for laughing) but it was so Monty Python-esque, I couldn't help it. That's my sick sense of humor!

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13 Comments

Comment by Megan and Penelope on May 27, 2008 at 12:15pm: Must be the name, my girl Penelope (Penny for short)'s worst thing is the biting. She chews everything, including us. We sit on the floor to play with her and she jumps and tries to bite anything she can, hair, jewelry, anything! She got my friend the other day, both of my wrists and arms are full of bite marks :( Sometimes she does well with "No bite", but that is the only command that will sometimes work. I've even resorted to spraying bitter apple on my fingers and toes at times haha. But, I've been sitting with a broken up little treat and trying to reinforce the no bite and when she chews her toys instead. Lots of praise and sometimes little pieces of treats! She will also be starting puppy training this week! I feel your pain, literally!

Comment by Kimberly on May 27, 2008 at 1:36pm: oh thank goodness there are others of you out there with the same problem. I wish I had my camera with me to take a picture of my heel-- it is covered with bite marks. We have done "NO BITE!," a dominant approach, a "turn back and ignore dog" approach, and NOTHING IS WORKING. I don't want to punish Blaze by putting him in the crate, so I'm sorta at my wits end with him. (my 3 year old son does the same thing your son does-- dances around screaming "He's biting me!! he's biting me!!" LOL)

We don't start puppy classes til June 19. It's just nice to have others that share my pain. :-) He is a perfect little pooch otherwise!!!

Comment by Caitlin on May 27, 2008 at 1:55pm: Kimberly, I saw your blog about chewing wood and stealing things around the house...Penny loves to chew on bark, mulch, sticks, whatever....And inside, it's like having to babyproof the house all over again. This morning I went to the bedroom to put a damp washcloth in the dirty laundry pile. I didn't notice Penny following me in, she's not usually allowed in the bedroom, at least not at this point in her life. So I tossed the washcloth and all of sudden there is this little blonde blur racing back into the other room with a wet washcloth in her mouth. It's 7am and I am chasing a small Corgi around the house, playing "get the washcloth"! It was probably hysterical to watch, thank goodness I was the only one around....

Comment by Megan and Penelope on May 27, 2008 at 2:01pm: Yep, Penelope does all the same. She got to my comforter hanging off the bed when she followed me in one day. Part of looks like the top of an air hockey table with all the holes. But, really I was glad to hear the same things b/c everyone talks about how well-behaved their puppies are. She is uncontrollable at times. But if we go for a ride in the car, she's an angel and even in the house afterwards! The only issue I have is the ouchies when she bites! And, we are slowly working on that!

Comment by Caitlin on May 27, 2008 at 2:11pm: Yeah, I love it right after a nap or a car ride because she is so calm, I can actually pet her without having my hand chewed on. Another thing I've been doing is putting my hand around her muzzle, just closing her mouth for a second and saying "no bite" while I do that, then putting her down and walking away. It probably won't make that much of a difference, but it gives me a moment of sanity.

Comment by Megan and Penelope on May 27, 2008 at 2:34pm: A coworker that show whippets told me to do that, I think that really ticked her off more b/c man I would get an even harder chomp. When I can't control her, I say no, get her on the floor, stand up, turn around and ignore her for a bit. Then, she'll come in front of me and lay down (of course giving me those puppy eyes so I have to look at the ceiling) then we can try to play again. Its a mini included time out.

Comment by Sylvia & Timmy on May 27, 2008 at 2:42pm: Megan and Caitlin,
Do the Ooowwww, sort of sharply, quickly with a higher than normal pitched voice and put "yourself" in time out. It shouldn't be too long before the "Penney's" get it. I spent many short time outs in the bathroom reading a whole page of nothing! LOL

Also, to do bite inhibition training. As they become more settled, remember they still will use their mouths and you have to lower the threshold on the bites, so that eventually they will only touch you with their lips or tongue, not their teeth. Have patience and get stocked up on magazines for the bathroom! LOL Good news, it does get better.

Comment by Megan and Penelope on May 27, 2008 at 2:54pm: We've tried the "oww" and she just barks at us. That's why I thought the "no bite" worked. I would go to time out in the kitchen and she would follow me in there usually...so do I need to go where I can close the door? She is getting better, she is slowly getting a less firm grip when she bites.

Comment by Sylvia & Timmy on May 27, 2008 at 3:07pm: Yes Megan, go to where she can't see or have you. That's why I mentioned the bathroom. Sometimes, people will use a bedroom as well. I also used to make a point (to myself more than Timmy), I'd be muttering on the way, "now you've done it" and then close the door with a little more force than usual (not slam) and wait 2 minutes at most, before I 'd come back out. She has to lose what she wants, which is you. She probably will whine or bark or scratch at the door, but hold your ground. Then when you come back out, kind of pretend that she isn't there. I think Timmy's breakthrough came one night when I felt like a yo-yo and had gone to the bathroom five times in about a half hour. All of a sudden next time I came out, he plopped in my lap and has never gone after my hand again. I swear the light from that bulb going off was brilliant and made my life a whole lot easier. Secret, everyone that interacts with Peoplope has to do the same. Otherwise she'll become confused. That's why it took considerably longer with Timmy, my husband at the time thought it was cute and played rough with him.

Caitlin, you've got to get everyone, including the kids on board to be consistant with the biting part. Even one slacker, will make it that much more difficult and confusing for the dog.

Comment by Caitlin on May 27, 2008 at 3:28pm: Yeah, my son in particular needs to work on it, he wants to run away from her when she goes after his feet, and that just makes it worse because then she chases him and thinks he is playing. Although I would think his screeching "no, no, get away" would startle her :)

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