Meet Indy!This little terrier looks innocent and shy, but he's really a dog-shaped bundle of unrestrained and excited energy. Indy's mom gave us a call because she knew that having a brand-new puppy in the apartment was going to be a lot of work.
It's never too early to start training a puppy, and eleven-week-old Indy was no exception. Gordon and I arrived in the North End armed with pages of Zen Dog notes and puppy-specific guides to help this young dog's family welcome their newest member.
One of the areas Indy's parents needed our advice on was nipping. Of course Indy doesn't mean to do anyone harm with his little puppy teeth, but a responsible dog owner needs to teach his or her companions that touching teeth to people is never okay. Since this Jack Russell is so young, playbiting is natural and necessary — Indy is literally getting a feel for the world — so we allow puppy playbiting until the sixteenth to eighteenth week.
To get some of his nippiness under control, we played a game called Taking Treats Gently. We wanted to teach Indy that, no matter what, all food or treats are given to him by people — not taken or stolen from them.. By playing this game with Indy anywhere from twenty to thirty times a day, our point will definitely be made. not only that, it's a great way for his parents to feed their happy little dog parts of his meals... all the while teaching him something new.
To learn more about Taking Treats Gently, visit Zen Dog Training Online.
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