Getting Tough With Beau

November 26, 2013

     Puppies grow up to be dogs, hopefully good ones.  Our hopes to the contrary however, the most attractive little critter untrained, can turn into a rootin', tootin' terror.  Beau, whom I apostrophized yesterday --Beautiful Beau, is showing a dominating, stubborn side that bodes badly for our relationship.  His nipping of my feet has generated more than one "Ouch!"; my hands are covered with tiny cuts from Beau's sharp teeth.  Beau is also leaping to get at my face, and trying to jump into my lap when I sit down.  I can't stop all this a moment too soon.

     I go to the online sources and realize I have to don rubber gloves when Beau is nippy; more, I have to stick my gloved hand into his mouth sideways as far as it will go, until Beau no longer finds the biting pleasurable.  Indeed, when I do this, he tries opening his mouth wider to escape the rubber mass at the back of his mouth, but can't.  After a few tastes of this, Beau is supposed to stop nipping.

     Halting the jumping up is more challenging, as the conventional wisdom is that whenever it occurs, I  have to force Beau down and hold him there until he stops resisting the downward force of my hands.  This is distasteful to me, but if after a few times, it stops the behavior from recurring I will be glad.  He will be a dangerous dog if I can't, and those dogs are put down.

     Holding Beau down is, however easier said than done.  He resists with all his strength, even though one of my hands is pressing on his neck, and the other on his haunches.  It takes all my strength to restrain him, and he only weighs thirteen pounds and a few ounces,.  As I am holding him down he growls briefly, then stops resisting.  I am supposed to walk away now, but instead I caress his back: I have hurt him, and I feel terrible about it.  On the other hand, a 40 pound dog that leaps at my face trying to bite off my nose, is not my idea of the dog I want to have around.

     Fortunately, I have to go out, so I put him in his crate and go out.  When I return, I have been away longer than ever before: by accident not design, I have been away four hours more than I intended. I return worried Beau has not been able to control his bladder, and will have soiled his mattress.  I need not have worried.  Not only has he not soiled his bed, he is delighted to see me, and does not hold my earlier harshness against me.

     More, when I place him on his Wee Wee pad, he lets me stroke his head and back, looking at me affectionately.  Then he "does his numbers" perfectly.

      We will see what tomorrow brings.  After all, as Scarlett O'Hara said, "Tomorrow is another day."  Truer words were never spoken about training a puppy.