My wife just got an eight week old great dane.This puppy is crazy we have
To follow him every where he goes in the house.He will grab every thing in sight.We have chew toys for him and he does use them but he still chews on every thing else also.We have only had him two day's.She went to the pet supply wherehouse and got a few things for him and picked up a book with some traning tips.We read some things about crate training and we picked up a crate today.He is doing really good in it.At first he makes a little noise and we tell him no and he quites right down and lay's down and crash's out.We get him out and take him out side and he goes to the bathroom and play's a little and then comes and hang's out with us a little and we took him for our first walk together eairler and then feed him and he laid around for a while and I took him out side and he took a crap and I brought him back in for a bit to hang with us before we put him in his crate and we put him in there and he crashed pretty quick.Ya the little monster is asleep for now:D .
So really every thing seems to be going pretty good so far except for we read in the book that we are not suposto spank him.
Well when he pinches us with those sharp little puppy teeth it hurts pretty bad.The book says to just kind of say no real loud but it does not seem to help
So I guess we need to yell loud and hopefully that will start working.
It is so hard not to spank him.Every dog I have had before I have always spanked them and they learned but I do remember the look on there face was not good and it probobley caused mental problems with the dog.
Does Any one have any tips on getting him to obey with out spanking him?
Me and my wife just want to raise a good dog.
Thank's Doug and Elizabeth

Hi Doug, I will start by saying I am no expert but I too recently got a lab. Since you just got him and he is a puppy, instead of you following him around you could leash him to your belt or use baby gates to restrict his movements. The crate will work as well but I try not ot use it as a means to confine my dog when I am at home. Labs are known for their mouths as well. When my lab would use his teeth we just simply say "OUCH" and then stop playing with him for a few minutes. Remember he is a puppy and needs to be taught acceptable behaviour. They are like little children and you will have to watch him especially in the beginning. My lab is 9 months old and for the most part he is always in the same room as us. I agree that spanking is not the answer as he does not know what is right and wrong. You are the leader and need to teach him what is acceptable and what isn't. Spanking him may get the message across but he will also be afraid of you and it will be harder to bond with him if he doesn't trust you. When he does grab something other than his chew toys, I would say off in a firm voice but do not yell (yelling now will teach the dog to listen to you only when you are yelling), take it from his mouth and replace it with one of his chew toys. Good to start with the crate early. We leave our lab in the crate when we are at work and it works out better than him being alone in the house. He actually runs to his crate after his morning walk as he knows we are going to be leaving and that is where he is going to be. It does help that he gets a tasty treat whether it be a cookie or a kong filled with peanut butter or cheese or sometimes both. We all want a to raise a good dog but it takes time for them to be comfortable with their new surroundings and environment. I would also suggest a good obedience class when he is around 4-6 months. Try and find one in your area that shares the same values as you do in regards to teaching/training. We found it helped tremendously with Tiko. I would not do a puppy socialization as I find they are a waste of time and money. Good luck.

Hi, Doug,
Here is a site with some very good tips and tricks on puppies and dogs chewing on anything in sight!
http://www.perfectpaws.com/chew.html

I hope it will give you some new ideas to try, and I do wish you the very best of luck.

I think the only way we have survived 14 little puppies since 1991, is that they sleep so much. Some puppies are more active when awake and more determined than others. It is not easy training them not to bite, and loud voices only excite them more.

Young Labs, which I know best, and other puppies tend to very bad about
Biting. You see a litter of them, and all the ones that are awake are biting
Another one or themselves. I am not even sure they realize that when they are
Alone, if they quit biting, they would quit being bitten. At 3 to 4 months
They are getting their adult teeth, and it seems they spend every waking
Moment biting or chewing. I maintain a Lab's favorite chew toy is another
Lab. Otherwise they settle for any person they can. They keep hoping to find
One that won't yelp and jerk their hand away, or growl "Bad dog." and clamp
Their mouth shut. Then offer a chew toy. They keep trying despite hundreds
Of corrections. Another good technique is to quit playing and go away. Be
Sure to praise them when they are playing nice and not biting.

You just have to keep on correcting them, hundreds of times, not dozens.
Provide sturdy, safe toys such as Kongs and Nylabones. Avoid things they can
Chew pieces off and choke on them. Keep them away from electrical cords.
Crates are essential for most young Labs and other dogs.

The pet stores are full of toys that many dogs will quickly chew up into
Pieces they could choke on or cause intestinal blockages. If you are not
There to watch, stick to sturdy stuff such as Nylabones and Kongs. Keep a
Close eye on chew toys and quickly discard anything that is coming apart in
Pieces. Rawhide is especially bad because it swells after being swallowed.
These problems are the worst with, but not limited to, large, aggressive
Chewers such as Labs.

Try to keep him in the same part of the house as you, close doors, use a gate, and some do use the leash the puppy to you. You can also use a short chain to keep the dog near places like the computer desk.

Accidents and damaged possessions are the fault of whoever was watching the puppy. When you are watching it, immediately correct it as soon as it goes for anything except its own toys. In a quiet, but firm voice ''Bad dog, its name drop!''. Gently remove what ever and replace it with one of his toys, or when older, hold eye contact until the puppy drops it.

Come back when you have more questions. I don't take time to evaluate every link posted here, but I do make time to share the experience and training I have. It is one way to thank some of the great people that helped me in the past.

I am by no means an expert, I just posted a question about my Dane a few days ago... Anyway, I have a 7 month old male Great Dane who was terrible at nipping. I got him at 4 months and it was pretty tough to get him to stop and I have 4 kids so I needed him to do it quickly because it does hurt! When he nipped, we would firmly tell him no and stop playing with him for a minute. Then we would grab one of his toys - a rope worked great - and played tug of war with him. So far that has worked really well. Everynow and then when he gets really hyper he will nip but a quick NO! And he stops. When we first got him he was also into chewing everything but his toys. Again a firm NO! And replace whatever he is chewing with a dog toy. Try and keep as much up as possible (and trust me I know that's not easy - I have 4 kids that like to just drop things all over the house LOL) and he'll eventually get it. I've noticed that my Dane is very sensitive and they don't like yelling and mine is very eager to please and from what I've read and heard, that is common for Danes. I also agree with leashing him to you - I did that with mine and I also would block off the room I was in and whenever he went potty outside I immediately praised him and gave him a biscuit - within 2 weeks he knew to go to the door to go outside. Good luck!