[allymcbeagle]

Molly's DNA results show she will be on the larger side (Dad was 15" and Mom 13"). Predicted weight of 26 lbs. I thought so when I saw those paws! I am in the midst of "I want it my way". She's almost 5 months and danged determined. I love that she doesn't have the fears Ally had. Ally was afraid of everything and never considered challenging authority. At 8 pm, the demon slips out and she is a maniac no matter how much exercise / training she's had. I'm structuring her play to keep her in control - she hasn't learn to settle herself down yet, it's on/off. And, she's a biter! Not teething bites, my way bites. She can also leap. She started lunging off the fireplace hearth, then onto the couch (uninvited), then to the top of the couch - out of nowhere. She will be perfectly calm one minute and leaping lizards the next. Then the inevitable happened, she leapt off the back of the coach (no walls - open concept). Thankfully, no injury. Her nose reaches the dinner table. I'm sure it won't be long before she gets taller and starts counter-surfing, lol. I'm taking it all in stride determined to be a puppy survivor once more.
It's really hard keeping a straight face when I reprimand her (gently) and she barks back at me 😂. I don't want the puppy stage gone to fast, she's already changing so much but I will be glad when behaviors are better controlled. Puppy classes start soon!

 

[Mollys Mom]

Molly is a character! My first beagle had a taller dad and short mom he it was a challenge at times to keep his weight down with his short legs. He was such a cutie.

 

[Natty Boh]

I did several exercises with Natty Boh, when he was a puppy. You may want to try them too.

First : I sat at the counter or kitchen table with Boh's leash under my butt. I allowed him enough slack to lie down. He was completely ignored, while I read, worked on the computer, or did crossword puzzles. Eventually, he would lie down. I did this for 30 minutes every day. The exercise teaches them to relax. Before long, he was lying down immediately. He was so conditioned to do this, he would do it wherever we went - even the vet office.

Second: I believe that teeth should never touch human skin. I hand fed Natty Boh a portion of his kibble every meal. Before I offered the kibble, I would quietly say, "Gentle". If he took it gently - "Good boy! Gentle." If he caught my fingers with his teeth - "NO TEETH!" And I was not nice about it. Before long, the dog understands "Gentle" and "No teeth". At that point you can incorporate it into other aspects of the dogs' life. Gentle - with children, toys, other people. NO TEETH - any time she gets mouthy. It's not allowed.

I also used the hand feeding to incorporate training. Hold a piece of kibble near your eye to teach "Watch". It's a good command, because you want your dog to focus on you. The dog will look at the kibble. Because it is close to your eye, she will soon make eye contact with you. "Good girl! Watch!" Soon you can just hold your hand by your eye without kibble and she will watch.

Remember that tired puppies are like tired children. Sometimes you have to put the child in her crib and sometimes you have to put the pup in her crate. That way, they don't kill themselves. LOL!

Molly is adorable. Enjoy every moment.

 

[allymcbeagle]

Molly is a character! My first beagle had a taller dad and short mom he it was a challenge at times to keep his weight down with his short legs. He was such a cutie.

Molly has longish legs, she’s quite a character. I can deal with everything but the biting; she has to have a time out when that starts. One night she pulled my pajama bottoms down! 😂

 

[allymcbeagle]

I did several exercises with Natty Boh, when he was a puppy. You may want to try them too.

First : I sat at the counter or kitchen table with Boh's leash under my butt. I allowed him enough slack to lie down. He was completely ignored, while I read, worked on the computer, or did crossword puzzles. Eventually, he would lie down. I did this for 30 minutes every day. The exercise teaches them to relax. Before long, he was lying down immediately. He was so conditioned to do this, he would do it wherever we went - even the vet office.

Second: I believe that teeth should never touch human skin. I hand fed Natty Boh a portion of his kibble every meal. Before I offered the kibble, I would quietly say, "Gentle". If he took it gently - "Good boy! Gentle." If he caught my fingers with his teeth - "NO TEETH!" And I was not nice about it. Before long, the dog understands "Gentle" and "No teeth". At that point you can incorporate it into other aspects of the dogs' life. Gentle - with children, toys, other people. NO TEETH - any time she gets mouthy. It's not allowed.

I also used the hand feeding to incorporate training. Hold a piece of kibble near your eye to teach "Watch". It's a good command, because you want your dog to focus on you. The dog will look at the kibble. Because it is close to your eye, she will soon make eye contact with you. "Good girl! Watch!" Soon you can just hold your hand by your eye without kibble and she will watch.

Remember that tired puppies are like tired children. Sometimes you have to put the child in her crib and sometimes you have to put the pup in her crate. That way, they don't kill themselves. LOL!

Molly is adorable. Enjoy every moment.

She chewed through 2 leashes already. I might try one of those with a chain the first 6 inches. She takes food and treats from the hand gently; she’s learned sit and paw. We’re working on stay and down (inside). It’s too distracting to train outside but while on a walk I will stop at a corner and ask her to sit and then sit and give paw. She bites to get attention, when excited, and during play. Nothing has worked yet and I’ve read every article and tried every thing I’ve read. I even have a blood blister on my arm where she bit through two layers - shirt and hoodie! “No bite” doesn’t work, nothing works. Sigh.

 

[allymcbeagle]

Oops, I forgot to add here photo in my first post!

 

[Natty Boh]

She chewed through 2 leashes already. I might try one of those with a chain the first 6 inches. She takes food and treats from the hand gently; she’s learned sit and paw. We’re working on stay and down (inside). It’s too distracting to train outside but while on a walk I will stop at a corner and ask her to sit and then sit and give paw. She bites to get attention, when excited, and during play. Nothing has worked yet and I’ve read every article and tried every thing I’ve read. I even have a blood blister on my arm where she bit through two layers - shirt and hoodie! “No bite” doesn’t work, nothing works. Sigh.

I might get some flack for saying this, but I'm gonna say it anyway. Extremely mouthy dogs that I have owned got bopped under the chin. Always up, never down. It is an old school technique and in the 'positive only' school of thought it wouldn't fly. But danged, if my dog is going to use teeth on me. It's not a hard bop. Do it to yourself once. It makes a slap noise. Bop! NO TEETH! Yes I do yell. It's something I nip real fast. I'll tell you what, I never had to bop a dog more than a few times to teach them no teeth.

 

[Natty Boh]

Hope I am not getting on your last nerve. Had another thought. How big are the treats that you give Molly? I use a portion of Boh's kibble for treats. I feed Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream. The individual pieces are tiny. If you put a piece in the middle of a dime, you would still be able to see most of the dime. And - the pieces are flat. The thickness is about 3 millimeters. In other words, when I hold a piece between my thumb and finger, the piece of kibble is pretty much covered. Boh has to lick the piece of kibble out of my fingers.

I also used this method with my German Shepherd. Even with her huge mouth, she could gently lick the kibble out of my fingers. If either got a bit too exuberant and touched teeth to my fingers. NO TEETH! Teeth are not allowed to touch skin period. If your kibble isn't tiny, most better pet stores sell sample size dog food. It makes good treats, because it gives your dog a taste of something different. My dogs don't care. Boh is so food motivated. He is perfectly happy with his regular old kibble.

I hope any of this helps.
Boh sends kisses to Molly. 💕

 

[allymcbeagle]

I might get some flack for saying this, but I'm gonna say it anyway. Extremely mouthy dogs that I have owned got bopped under the chin. Always up, never down. It is an old school technique and in the 'positive only' school of thought it wouldn't fly. But danged, if my dog is going to use teeth on me. It's not a hard bop. Do it to yourself once. It makes a slap noise. Bop! NO TEETH! Yes I do yell. It's something I nip real fast. I'll tell you what, I never had to bop a dog more than a few times to teach them no teeth.

My son used a flick to his Yorkie's nose to stem the biting. It worked easy as you say, didn't work on Molly. Her breeder gave me some advice too, that didn't work. First we tried the advice of a water squirt - a good squirt - not a mist. It didn't work and so I was advised to keep squirting, not just one squirt until she got the idea - ha, her face and ears were soaking wet and she went down into play pose and started barking at me. Also I tried a kind of karate chop across the bridge of the nose that I read about, that didn't work either and I was afraid of hurting her. I will try the bop. We have used an old school method of sound - when she's doing what she shouldn't (like biting furniture). We have one of her chew toys that we whack against the couch (The couch is leather and the toy a tightly woven cloth, so it makes a sound between a smack and a thud). That seems to get her attention off what she is chewing and she will stop (until she moves on to the next object). We use it only when she is chewing furniture.

 

[allymcbeagle]

Hope I am not getting on your last nerve. Had another thought. How big are the treats that you give Molly? I use a portion of Boh's kibble for treats. I feed Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream. The individual pieces are tiny. If you put a piece in the middle of a dime, you would still be able to see most of the dime. And - the pieces are flat. The thickness is about 3 millimeters. In other words, when I hold a piece between my thumb and finger, the piece of kibble is pretty much covered. Boh has to lick the piece of kibble out of my fingers.

I also used this method with my German Shepherd. Even with her huge mouth, she could gently lick the kibble out of my fingers. If either got a bit too exuberant and touched teeth to my fingers. NO TEETH! Teeth are not allowed to touch skin period. If your kibble isn't tiny, most better pet stores sell sample size dog food. It makes good treats, because it gives your dog a taste of something different. My dogs don't care. Boh is so food motivated. He is perfectly happy with his regular old kibble.

I hope any of this helps.
Boh sends kisses to Molly. 💕

Of course you aren't getting on my last nerve! I'm also searching on here as I know Cassie posted a lot of puppy info. It's been 21 years since I had a puppy so I'm a bit out of practice. Her kibble is tiny and round, NutriSource. I use it for training treats, I can hold them between 2 fingers and you can't see it. I've been saying "no bite". I'll try "no teeth". Who knows?? She's loosing her baby teeth, a found a molar last week and a canine today; less to bite with but I want this stopped before her adult teeth grow in! I also stop any activity when she bites, walk away and ignore her. She follows jumping at me and biting my clothes, sometimes catching skin. Hubs asked, "were our other dogs this way and we just don't remember?" I've raised 7 dogs from puppyhood and never had a biter.

Molly sends kisses back to Boh.🥰

 

[Natty Boh]

It's good that you ignore her, when you don't like her behavior. Do you leash her in the house? If you leash them and let them drag the leash, you have something to grab to get them under control.

I know I throw a lot of stuff out there. The thing is, every dog is different. One thing doesn't work for every dog. It's all about finding what works with your dog. I am confident that you will find what works for Molly. Cassie is 11 and Boh will be 11 in June. So - Joann and I haven't had pups in awhile either. LOL! The dog I lost in November was 8, so even her puppy years were some time ago.

Only other advice.... a tired puppy is a good puppy. They are super smart, so work her brain. It will help to drain her excess energy. Do this by upping her obedience training, puzzle games and working her nose. You can buy puzzles, or make your own. It is as simple as putting some kibble in an empty water bottle and having her figure out how to get it out. Hold a treat in one hand. Make fists and have her tell you which hand. Start making it harder. Hide some treats for her to find. My husband brought a bunch of boxes home for me to pack up my books. I put a few pieces of kibble in one box. I randomly stacked them up. Boh had to find the right box, open it and retrieve the treats. It's really fun to watch them do what they were bred to do.

I promise Molly will get better. She won't be a puppy forever. 💕

 

[allymcbeagle]

It's good that you ignore her, when you don't like her behavior. Do you leash her in the house? If you leash them and let them drag the leash, you have something to grab to get them under control.

I know I throw a lot of stuff out there. The thing is, every dog is different. One thing doesn't work for every dog. It's all about finding what works with your dog. I am confident that you will find what works for Molly. Cassie is 11 and Boh will be 11 in June. So - Joann and I haven't had pups in awhile either. LOL! The dog I lost in November was 8, so even her puppy years were some time ago.

Only other advice.... a tired puppy is a good puppy. They are super smart, so work her brain. It will help to drain her excess energy. Do this by upping her obedience training, puzzle games and working her nose. You can buy puzzles, or make your own. It is as simple as putting some kibble in an empty water bottle and having her figure out how to get it out. Hold a treat in one hand. Make fists and have her tell you which hand. Start making it harder. Hide some treats for her to find. My husband brought a bunch of boxes home for me to pack up my books. I put a few pieces of kibble in one box. I randomly stacked them up. Boh had to find the right box, open it and retrieve the treats. It's really fun to watch them do what they were bred to do.

I promise Molly will get better. She won't be a puppy forever. 💕

I leash her in the house - she chews them in objection (even the metal part). I'm on the 3rd leash. When I try to control her with the leash, she rolls around like an alligator! She pulls hard on it if I am not holding it (e.g., sitting on it - I made the mistake of wrapping the handle around my ankle, so I could watch TV, not good. I have her confined to whatever room we are in so she can't freely roam the house. When I'm not holding the lease, she is too fast for me to grab it. Every day - 3 obedience sessions - she gets bored or has a short attention span - even with treats. She also does the limp dog routine. I have two puzzle games for her, she mastered the puppy hide n' slide (we play with it anyway, she's done in minute finding the kibble and we do it several times. Have a ball that's flat on one side and distributes treats, that keeps her interest for about 5 min. I bought a bigger kong, she destroyed the puppy one. Have a snuffle mat, again 5 min depending on how much kibble I want her to eat but she will also pull at the fabric and eat it. Boxes are chew toys. She swallows what she bites off - Ally McBeagle would chew but she would spit it out. I had to take all stuffed toys away. I have to be careful with the amount of kibble, she throws it up if she's active. We also play pick the hand that has the kibble. On advice of vet, I feed her 4x a day, twice in am and twice in pm about an hour apart. I looked up a bunch of game on the internet and we play them.
On walks - picks up everything - sticks, mulch, grass bits, dead worms, leaves (we walk on a paved sidewalk). I walk her with a harness. I tried a halti and didn't like the way it came up toward her eyes, even though it's a puppy. Yesterday after our afternoon walk, she threw up grass and mulch (at least she threw it up). I pull at least 12-13 items our of her mouth on a short walk to the point where now she's clamping her mouth closed or gulping it down.

It's just good to be able to share this because I know everyone has gone through it - therapy for me in typing it, lol.

We met a lovely a chocolate lab, Cocoa, on our walks - she's 1.5 yrs old, the hugest lab I've ever seen and still a playful puppy. Molly goes bonkers for her, I can barely restrain her. Her owner is very nice and knowledgeable and we let them greet, Molly tries to jump at her face. Cocoa takes for a bit and then she gives her a sound (not really a growl but clearly telling her to stop that behavior and Molly doesn't respect it). Yesterday he extended an invitation for them to play in their fenced backyard. We've kept the interactions short enough so Cocoa doesn't get riled up. I'm a bit hesitant because I'm afraid Molly will push Cocoa to her limit. I can't let people greet her because of the jumping and biting. We'll start group puppy class and if that doesn't help then I'm getting a 1:1 trainer. I'm sure there's something I'm not doing correctly that is kicking off this behavior.

Thanks for all your suggestions!!! 🐶

 

[Natty Boh]

I put took Natty Boh to puppy obedience classes. One of the requirements for the class was a prong collar. (It's more of a pinch collar) and has a quick release. I wasn't opposed to using it, because my German Shepherds always had prong collars - the big ones. LOL! I am older, have some joint and hand issues. I can't tolerate being yanked around. It is important the the prong fit properly and you understand how to use it. It is basically self correcting. If the dog pulls hard, the collar tightens and gives a pinch. If he/she doesn't pull, it stays loose. I rarely had to give Boh a correction with it. He quickly understood how it worked. I can walk him on a prong with one finger through the leash loop.

Unfortunately, his prong is 10 years old and the clasp no longer holds. I haven't found the right size replacement yet. I can walk him on his regular collar. Tell you what, though, he knows he's not wearing his prong and he is not as good. LOL! As with any tool, a prong might not be right for your dog. It is just a tool you can try.

 

[Natty Boh]

I like this prong. Herm Sprenger is the best. This one is not a quick release. I want this one for Boh. But his neck is too big. Need to find the right size.

Amazon.com : Herm Sprenger 2.25 Chrome Pinch / Spike / Prong Collar Small : Pet Supplies

Amazon.com : Herm Sprenger 2.25 Chrome Pinch / Spike / Prong Collar Small : Pet Supplies

www.amazon.com

 

[allymcbeagle]

I like this prong. Herm Sprenger is the best. This one is not a quick release. I want this one for Boh. But his neck is too big. Need to find the right size.

Amazon.com : Herm Sprenger 2.25 Chrome Pinch / Spike / Prong Collar Small : Pet Supplies

Amazon.com : Herm Sprenger 2.25 Chrome Pinch / Spike / Prong Collar Small : Pet Supplies

www.amazon.com

I used a prong collar initially for a Brittany rescue that I walked for my cousin - she had been a stray for who knows how long but and she was just too strong for me to walk. I didn’t like it, granted it worked but it felt wrong and can so easily injure so I stopped using it. She responded well to his training and became a fabulous bird retriever -didn’t need it after that because she was so attentive to commands. I would go down private training route before I’d put one on Molly. For now, I stop when she pulls until she relaxes, so often we don’t get very far in distance but she needs to be exposed to sounds - lawnmowers, cars, birds, etc she thought the goose flying above us was the greatest thing! I’m old too (67) and I knew she would be my last puppy as age would prevent me being able to manage a pup. I’m also out of shape so I’m feeling the pains post walk! It’s good as she has got me out walking at least rather than sitting behind my work desk for 12 hours straight! And bonus I’ve lost weight! I watched some online training videos that were very helpful. Fingers crossed that puppy class will help! She was with her litter for 11 weeks, so I know she wasn’t away too soon. She’s very independent- she didn’t even cry the first night away from her littermates. She was a middle dog in the litter, but all hell broke loose as an only dog! I think she views me as a sibling and I have to establish I’m the leader and not her. Thanks again for your suggestion!

 

[Natty Boh]

I used a prong collar initially for a Brittany rescue that I walked for my cousin - she had been a stray for who knows how long but and she was just too strong for me to walk. I didn’t like it, granted it worked but it felt wrong and can so easily injure so I stopped using it. She responded well to his training and became a fabulous bird retriever -didn’t need it after that because she was so attentive to commands. I would go down private training route before I’d put one on Molly. For now, I stop when she pulls until she relaxes, so often we don’t get very far in distance but she needs to be exposed to sounds - lawnmowers, cars, birds, etc she thought the goose flying above us was the greatest thing! I’m old too (67) and I knew she would be my last puppy as age would prevent me being able to manage a pup. I’m also out of shape so I’m feeling the pains post walk! It’s good as she has got me out walking at least rather than sitting behind my work desk for 12 hours straight! And bonus I’ve lost weight! I watched some online training videos that were very helpful. Fingers crossed that puppy class will help! She was with her litter for 11 weeks, so I know she wasn’t away too soon. She’s very independent- she didn’t even cry the first night away from her littermates. She was a middle dog in the litter, but all hell broke loose as an only dog! I think she views me as a sibling and I have to establish I’m the leader and not her. Thanks again for your suggestion!

I understand. It's a personal choice. Honestly, if used correctly, they do no damage. The majority of my dog friends use them. I have used a prong on multiple dogs and have never had an injury.

 

[MJS]

She certainly looks like she’s full of mischief. Like a chess player she’s probably several moves ahead of you. I’ve heard all the stories about how the puppy years can be but either Buddy was the rare “Good Boy” or maybe I was just unaware but I didn’t think it was bad at all. I was always interacting with him, playing, walking, taking him places. I guess I was just keeping him physically and mentally exhausted. He’s the first dog I’ve had so I was just doing what seemed right. He was never destructive. Maybe I was just lucky.

 

[allymcbeagle]

She certainly looks like she’s full of mischief. Like a chess player she’s probably several moves ahead of you. I’ve heard all the stories about how the puppy years can be but either Buddy was the rare “Good Boy” or maybe I was just unaware but I didn’t think it was bad at all. I was always interacting with him, playing, walking, taking him places. I guess I was just keeping him physically and mentally exhausted. He’s the first dog I’ve had so I was just doing what seemed right. He was never destructive. Maybe I was just lucky.

You hit the nail on the head with several moves ahead. Prevention is way better than correction! My breeder reinforced this and I'm trying to anticipate those gears turning and head her off at the pass! Ally McBeagle was the same as Buddy. She went through a destructive teething phase, but it was soon over. She continued to rip the stuffing out of toys (she didn't swallow it) until I found the unstuffed ones. Ally never ate mulch etc off the ground, she just sniffed a lot - I walked her in the state park (wooded with trails and a stream) plus loops around the neighborhood if it was raining.

Even though I work, my husband is retired so Molly is with him all day - it's not like she is not getting attention. We use the same training commands. Molly is determined to get what she wants! She was hellion on Saturday - by end of day we were exhausted and yet a perfect angel yesterday. I tell Molly she is is lucky that I'm not about to give up on her else she'd be given back, lol. I have seen people have issues with dogs and I've said it's the human, it's not the dog,,,,now I'm not so sure, lol.

My beagle/lag mix, was a bit of a nightmare, but not as bad as Molly. She was home alone all day - so you can imagine the destruction. She really calmed down after training class, I'm hoping to achieve some semblance of order with Molly. I will learn if/what I'm doing wrong, lol.

 

[allymcbeagle]

Molly has her first doggy friends! We have a huge Labrador Retriever population in our neighborhood. On one of our walks we met Cocoa, the chocolate lab. She is 1.5 yrs old and still quite excitable but she and Molly got to greet, Molly jumped all over her face any time I wasn't holding her but Cocoa was calm. Cocoa is huge, her face is the size of Molly's whole body. We greet Cocoa every time we're out at the same time. Today we met Bauer, a yellow Laborador Retriever and spent a half hour with him; he is five years old and was very good with Molly and as time went on she became better with him, more sniffing, less jumping. Yesterday we met a black lab but we couldn't greet because Molly was out of control on our walk yesterday (I finally just carried her the last part). I am happy for these little meet and greets so she has an opportunity to know what is right/wrong before we start puppy classes.

I've started her training over from scratch. Found some really good online video's. Also found out one of my neighbors is a trainer; however, she is not avail as she is recovering from some health problems but the facility she recommended was the one I decided to enroll Molly!

Yesterday, Molly tried our patience so much; we had to have time-out's about every hour to calm her down. Thank goodness today was better! We didn't walk, just practiced "leave it" to stop leash biting and putting collar on/off (this is the start of biting my hands) and sitting outside with distractions. Training (inside) went pretty good, still biting the world - she lost another tooth yesterday so her mouth is really bothering her. She likes the "frozen" bone but I purchased the wrong size; on amazon, the chart was difficult for me to understand as it's categorized as puppy, senior, adult but there wasn't a category for puppy aggressive chewers.