Not getting nowhere .. dog may have to go

[NicoleThomas1990]

I am 33 weeks pregnant, I have other children already and I am preparing my dog for the arrival of the new baby. I have a 1yr old husky x lab and we have a problem with nipping and jumping up, me and my partner have got a dog trainer in and we are following her instructions by turning our bodies when she jumps up, we are training her with a doll and including baby cries to the training too but she is nipping the dolls feet, hands and head and is now barking at the crying sounds, we have been doing the training with her for over a week since the trainer suggested it.
The main problem that we have with her is the nipping as she has already bit my daughter's foot without drawing blood.

[JudyN]

Could you give a complete run-down of your, and your dog's day, please? From the moment she gets up until bedtime, what does she do? Detail her walks (on or off lead, how long, what sort of environment), any training/games/play, and 'quiet' times. Does she have a favourite place such as a bed in a quiet spot,or a crate?

How old are your other children, and how do they generally interact with her, e.g. boisterous games?

What seems to trigger the jumping up & nipping? Is she generally obedient when it comes to commands like 'sit', 'down' etc.?

Also, what do you feed her?

The more complete a picture we can get, the more the experts will be able to help.

[NicoleThomas1990]

So starting from the begining of the day ... My partner will get up at 6:55am to get up and get ready for work and I will get up at about 7:15am, when we come downstairs, before my breakfast I let Bella (dog's name) out for her to go to the toilet and when she comes back in I leave her out in her room until I take the kids to school about 9am and then I am home at 9:10am, I let her out of her room and she has the run of the kitchen-living room and her room.

I will get on with doing the washing, then putting clothes away, doing the dishes and hoovering all dowstairs while Bella is occupied with her Kong (tough rubber toy). I will usually take about 1hr to do all my morning chores, once I am done I will give Bella a fuss and play with her Kong with her. As I am preparing her for a new baby I have been told by our dog trainer . She will then usually sleep for a couple of hours on and off.

Before I pick up my youngest daughter (who is 4) up from school Bella goes out to her room where she stays until I am home, I pick her up at 1pm and when when we are home I let Bella out of her room, my daughter loves seeing her and they are excited to see each other so they are both a little wound up at first. All my daughter has to do is sit on the floor and Bella automatically instigates the play, she is rough with my daughter with mouthing and when my daughter cries out as Bella is mouthing my daughter, Bella goes in harder and that's when I have to step in and correct Bella with a firm no.
When I have to go to collect my other children from school aged 9 and almost 7 year old, Bella is again put out in her room so I can leave the house, when I return Bella is let out of her room and again she is excited to see my other children, it's not until they sit on the floor that Bella goes to play and mouthing again and when they cry out when she is getting too rough the mouthing they try and get up and she is then nipping at them and has go for their face and that's when I have to step in and correct her again. But she still carries on knowing that she has already been told off for doing it.
I think what does trigger her being like that is excitement but she knows what she is doing is wrong. She eats wagg adult dog food which contains no artificial colours or preservatives. When my partner comes home from work at 6pm he will have his food and then take Bella for an hour's walk up the beach which is only up the road from where we live. When she is out with my partner she pulls for the entire walk.

[NicoleThomas1990]

I do also have video's of Bella with the kids when she is nipping at them and I am asking if it's ok to post one of these video's up.

[JudyN]

Yes, that could be really helpful - go ahead

I have some thoughts but I'm not an expert so I'll see if anyone more experienced wants to comment first.

[Catherine.J]

Hi Nicole , is there any way of Bella getting another walk maybe in the morning at least 30 mins..pref 1hr . With her being a Husky mix this would help get rid of some of her energy.. as its a long time for her to have to wait 24 hrs for her next walk.

I wouldn't advise Bella being left alone to play with your children.. any mouthing , or rough play needs to stop especially with another little one on the way .( As soon as Bella starts to mouth or be rough she should be removed from the room and put somewhere she can calm down ..when she is calm she can go back in the room . Repeat as many times as it takes .This may take a while but Bella needs to learn this behaviour is unacceptable ) .

Some other interactive toys as well as the kong may help as well .

Hope this helps .

[JudyN]

Yes, I think you have a very understimulated dog - it's not surprising she gets overexcited and can't control herself when the children come home and play with her.

As Catherine.J has said, she could do with a morning walk - could your husband get up earlier to take her? But on top of that, she will need plenty of mental stimulation. I would give her all her food from Kongs, treat balls and the like. There are a load of ideas for exercising your dog's mind here: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1135

Correcting her for nipping is unlikely to help. Don't let your children play boisterous games with her, but encourage them to train her, or play games like hide and seek (where they hide a toy or treat and she has to find it). if she does nip them, don't tell her off but tell them to immediately turn away, walk out the room and shut the door behind them. They only need to stay out for 10 seconds or so, then they can go back and resume the game. But they must be really consistent, and always keep calm (which may not be realistic for your younger child at least, but is what you should aim for).

Finding the time and energy forf all this while pregnant or with a young baby won't be easy, but it is important. A previous forum member with four dogs had a baby a couple of years back, and a couple of threads she started should give you lots of ideas for training and for coping: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=20068 and viewtopic.php?f=11&t=20845&p=146413#p146413

Wagg isn't a great food - have a read of the review on the All About Dog Food website: http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/dog-fo ... g-complete But I doubt it's a factor in her behaviour, so probably not something you need to worry about right now.

Hope that helps - very best wishes for the birth of your child!

[Erica]

I would suggest putting Bella on a leash when the kids first get home, and keeping her from the exuberant and mouthy greetings. If you get a handful of treats or kibble, you can try to get her to sit and reward her for remaining calm when the kids are around. When she has settled down again after the kids are home, you could let her off leash again. Every time she practices the mouthy greeting, that behavior is ingrained more as the "right" thing to do - so preventing the behavior from happening is going to be a stronger way of changing that greeting than trying to correct it after it happens. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and all that!