Imprinting Puppies Question - Page 2

Yes , it starts before the pups enter this world, a femaled that is nourished correctly, two weeks before I start the cottage cheese, yougurt and raw liver daily, and then into the birthing box and I play music in the nursery 24/7......I start handling the pups the second day and cuddling them and getting them use to human hands.....after the second week, and the eyes and ears open, I begin the conversations with each pup, examining them daily.....at three weeks old I start banging pot and pans together, tapping on box, raising my voice, knocking on wall of birthing box, clapping hands and rattling a coffee can with a few pebbles of dry dog food. in it....at four weeks old I start scratching up and down the wall away from the pups and watch them to see who runs to the noise first and then I run a stick or spoon along the screen wire to make a different sound , up and away from pups, still watching to see who , and how long it takes each one to get interested ,,,I also am curious at 3 weeks to see who is first out the birthing box door......clapping hands still, I start with hanging old white socks around the box at the height they have to stretch to get and watch the amount of pull and aggressive tug and growling I get and from which pups...I also log what pup barked at me first, or growled...first   I put small balls in box and other noisy objects like the vitamin bottles with dry food in them   as soon as they get old enough to start chewing remove and put a baby kong or the ball with the light in it from  wALMART.....These objects all increase awareness in pups and get some of the interest off of each others eats , necks and legs that become bite parts......I roll a gunny sack up and duck tape ends 1" from ends and one around middle   , put on a rope and start teasing and moving away from pup and back and forth and dragging away and It is amazing at how early an age you have several in Litter at three weeks old , already latched on the sack and can swing them around an even pick them up off floor.....

At five weeks old, I have to seperate pups , too many dominant ones, into two in puppy kennels, and then at 6 weeks some  of them have to go into their own kennels as they are pretty bad at the feed time or even get very dominant over one another and an old timer from germany that was a trainer, told me you do this for nighttime sleepy time and half of each day to let each dog make his own personality without another pup either dominating it,or not letting the pup start its own independence......they play together for afternoons or mornings and mom suppervises and teaches them some things about decipline...I start them following me over logs, over gravel and running to catch me...By this time they havae one shot in them so can go all thru the property and soon get the first bath. The sit and using the treat is very cute to see how natural it is

Yes , it starts before the pups enter this world, a femaled that is nourished correctly, two weeks before I start the cottage cheese, yougurt and raw liver daily, and then into the birthing box and I play music in the nursery 24/7......I start handling the pups the second day and cuddling them and getting them use to human hands.....after the second week, and the eyes and ears open, I begin the conversations with each pup, examining them daily.....at three weeks old I start banging pot and pans together, tapping on box, raising my voice, knocking on wall of birthing box, clapping hands and rattling a coffee can with a few pebbles of dry dog food. in it....at four weeks old I start scratching up and down the wall away from the pups and watch them to see who runs to the noise first and then I run a stick or spoon along the screen wire to make a different sound , up and away from pups, still watching to see who , and how long it takes each one to get interested ,,,I also am curious at 3 weeks to see who is first out the birthing box door......clapping hands still, I start with hanging old white socks around the box at the height they have to stretch to get and watch the amount of pull and aggressive tug and growling I get and from which pups...I also log what pup barked at me first, or growled...first   I put small balls in box and other noisy objects like the vitamin bottles with dry food in them   as soon as they get old enough to start chewing remove and put a baby kong or the ball with the light in it from  wALMART.....These objects all increase awareness in pups and get some of the interest off of each others eats , necks and legs that become bite parts......I roll a gunny sack up and duck tape ends 1" from ends and one around middle   , put on a rope and start teasing and moving away from pup and back and forth and dragging away and It is amazing at how early an age you have several in Litter at three weeks old , already latched on the sack and can swing them around an even pick them up off floor.....

At five weeks old, I have to seperate pups , too many dominant ones, into two in puppy kennels, and then at 6 weeks some  of them have to go into their own kennels as they are pretty bad at the feed time or even get very dominant over one another and an old timer from germany that was a trainer, told me you do this for nighttime sleepy time and half of each day to let each dog make his own personality without another pup either dominating it,or not letting the pup start its own independence......they play together for afternoons or mornings and mom suppervises and teaches them some things about decipline...I start them following me over logs, over gravel and running to catch me...By this time they havae one shot in them so can go all thru the property and soon get the first bath. The sit and using the treat is very cute to see how natural it is

Depending on what your definition is, there are many things you can do. However, on another board there is a breeder of Airdales that doesn't mess with the pups at all until 4 weeks I think??? and then I think he just moves them to a different area.

I find this to be very interesting from the standpoint of all this handling and stuff that we all do gives us a false impression of what a pups natural temperament is going to be, at least I think so. I am not saying all the music and stuff is wrong, but I have had litters and didn't do all the stuff I used to do and still had really nice pups. Did not see a whole bunch of a difference, so I tried doing all the stuff to one litter, and just some stuff to another. I really did not see much of a difference in anything that mattered, but the pups that I messed with a bunch were a bit less reactive to stimuli, so the other pups were a bit "sharper" for lack of a better word. (not that "sharp" definition just quicker to react maybe???)

Curious to see if anyone else has had experience with this.

hi, I have a litter of pups that are pretty hard to live with. At 7 weeks they really bite, they lunge to grab thighs, buttocks, and face if close enough. They re-grip if they only get cloth (I have to wear heavy/thick pants) and hit with wide open hard bites. They will bruise and puncture and they need to be picked up and held by loins, can't pry them off.

So they are very social and pretty fearless. If i pin one and hold it it won't bite me as hard nor as high when I release if I am strong enough, but it does make them mad and sometimes they come in harder and faster; but i am VERY worried this might not be good 'imprinting'. !

What do you do? Avoid the pups? I try to wear protective clothing and re-direct the behavior. They have been separated from eachother but it is not helping. They do NOT bite ankles or feet they want a higher body bite, they all have great prey drive but when they grab me they hurt and counter and it is really tearing my skin.  I have experience with working litters that have produced very nice strong working dogs, but this set is a little much for me to figure out.

How would you offer control yet support the puppy confidence and biting behavior? I am at  a loss with this group.

thanks.

cindy g

Hi cindy g.  I've had litters like that too, and I know it can be real frustrating and painful.  I was lifting the most persistant and hard biters off me by the armpit area and rolling them backwards gently, and pinning for less than a fraction of a second, with a mild vocal reprimand.  Ed Frawley quickly advised against that, and I don't really disagree with him, because an alpha-roll type response can have a negative impact on the weaker ones.  The other ones I don't really believe it mattered to them, made them come back harder.

This is where again, the whip toy I described or something similar can offer you a extended destraction from away your body so you can walk freely.  Those knee high cowboy boots I would wear weren't always enough, and it's really hard not to get them under your feet.

I follow similier to the process Yellowrose follows, and pend alot of time with each pup from day one.Actions such as rubbing feet, gums etc..

cindy g.

Here is what you do. Send the hardest biting one to me, and I will take a look at your problem. In about ten years when I have the solution, I will let you know. : )

Agar, Remember everyone does their own thing.  The succes that I  have had has come by me spending quality time with the pup. I crate train my puppies, so when I let them out to go potty then T train with them for about 2-3 minutes and then its love time.....Make sure you show them that you are the most fun part of their day.....

Gieske, it sounds like you have a very nice working litter. At a young age if I want the puppy to be for sch,PPD etc I dont stop the dominant behavior such as biting and things of that nature. I encourage a strong bite, and the re-gripping.....As they get older you start making sure that they are bitting the right equipment and body parts. Also if you are teaching them OB and feeding them you are establishing the dominant roll with them. If you have a puppy that is trying to bully you around than yes you can show them that you are the boss, but make sure that it is age appropriate...

Thank you everyone especially yellowrose and darylhret for the step by step process from beginning to end.  The pup I have right now is 41/2 months old, is a little backwards and even a little under weight IMO.  I'm pretty disappointed with the lady who had this litter as to the fact she is breeding working line dogs but really has no interest in doing it the proper way- on paper the breedings look appealing BUT IMO if you are selling "top quality pups" and you expect to get "top dollar" then you should be putting in the time and committment in preparing them for their new owners in order to make that good first impression.  I'm new at a lot of this but I've learned just enough so far to know this particular situation with the pup I have is gonna take some backtracking to get him caught up to where he should be right now.  She never even seperated the puppies, no crate exposure- the first night was HELL on wheels.  I imagine the next several days will be the worst but hopefully by the end of next week I'll notice a little change.  I don't want to start doing too much too quick with him since he just got here but slowly I am gonna try doing some things you all have suggested; just hope for the best. 

All in all he's a complete loverboy right now; a little sweetie.  I just think I would have done some things differently up to this point.  Another learning experience.