Newbie, Have a question on our puppy

[Sadie2972]

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Hi, I am Sadie's owner, She is a German Shepard puppy, 11 weeks old.
She has been a dream for my DH and me. I just need to know how to keep her from eating her poop, and how to keep her from biting she has such sharp teeth. I have been told the next year will be the "fun time" training. Our SIL bought the dog for my DH, and he is sure happy with her. We have had her for almost a month, and she is learning how to go outside when its time to potty, and also how to sit and we give her a treat, we bought a kennel last week and she is doing good going in there, sometimes she doesn't want to, because she wants to play more, but I tend my two granddaughters and one is 21 months and Sadie is so big she knocks her over and starts mauling her; which scares her. she loves the dog, and feeds her her food, but she is just not big enough to protect herself.
So any advice that you have to give is more than welcome, as we are new comers to the dog world...

thanks Sadie's mom

[DogLover8]

Welcome to Global Paw.

I am sure someone here can give you some information.

[IceyBlueSibes]

Welcome aboard! Congrats on your new addition!

The only thing you can really do as far as her not eating her poop is to just pick it up. The other thing I have heard of is sprinkling a little bit of meat tenderizer on their food. It's supposed to give it a bad taste.

As far as the biting, this is typical puppy behavior. Once she bites, yelp really loud (like their puppy sibling would) and walk away. She should end up figuring out that biting means the play time stops. Or, if you notice the yelp gets her more excited, just quietly get up and walk away. You can also play the trading game. Once her teeth hit your skin, give her something she's allowed to chew on, such as a bone or toy. You can also do the trading game when she's chewing on something she's not supposed to. Simply interupt her with an "Ah-ah!" or "No!" and then immediately give her a toy. The interuption is enough to break her focus on chewing the inappropriate object, and then realizing "Hey, if I stop chewing that, I get my cool toy!"

It's good that she's taking to the crate well. Allow her to get comfortable at her own speed, and she should enjoy it more and more as she gets older. Never use it as a form of punishment. You can put her in there for a "time-out", but if you do, be sure to do no scolding. Just quietly place her in. You can feed her in her crate, put lots of toys, and close her in with a really YUMMY chew toy/bone that she normall doesn't get. Kongs are great chews/toys while crating your puppy. Stuffing them with peanut butter, frozen yogurt, or kibble mixed with either of these two is a great way to keep them busy. But remember if you use kibble, subtract however much you use from her normal meals in the day time. You don't want to give her any extra food she normally wouldn't be eating.

Try leashing the puppy while your babies are out. She needs to learn how to properly act around young children, and not be sheltered away from them. This will be good exposure. Make her sit when your baby approaches. If she jumps up or gets too excited, put her away in the crate for about 5 minutes and try again. Puppies/dogs thrive on human interaction, and this is a great way to have your puppy/dog learn to properly behave around smaller children.

Hope that helped some. Hope you enjoy the forum! We would love to see pictures of your new baby!

[Rivsky]

Welcome to GlobalPaw

Won't add to Icey's advice because as usual I think it's spot on!!!