Hi All, I am a new owner of a sibe, shes a beatiful bubbly bundle and a bit of a handful, which you would expect for a puppy. she has been brilliant and has made training very easy. I have done lots of research before i got her to make sure she was the dog for me and my family. but i have a few things that i need to know as she seems to like to eat socks and when i mean eat i mean swallow is this normal? im concerned that she will get one stuck, fortunatly she has always thrown them back up.. or is this just a puppy thing and will grow out of it. she bullys my son (age 4) and bites him from time to time, not excessivley hard but enough to make him jump, but never has she hurt him. is this a puppy thing also, is it an initiation of play? lastly she also knocks my daughter (age 1) to the floor holds her down and licks her face, never bites her, we seperate them straight away but again is this puppy behavior? i must add she is not a violent dog and im 95% certain its just her being a puppy. she is fine with me and my partner, took a while for my partner to be excepted as above the dog in the pack tho i just need the reasurrance.
Sock eating is highly dangerous. I know a family that lost a Golden a year ago to one. While many dogs can be left loose unattended, others' endanger themselves with chewing misadventures. She could try an electrical cord next. Other dogs may not be as bad as the young Labs I am plagued with. Still your house and dog will be much safer with the dog in a crate when you are away. The dog may be happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. They are harder for dogs to open too. Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered with something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select a crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in. Leave it some toys. Perhaps a Kong filled with peanut butter. Don't leave anything in the crate the dog might chew up. It will do fine without even any bedding. You will come home to a safe dog and a house you can enjoy. A dog that has not been crated since it was little, make take some work. Start out just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going in. If you have been able to trust it with any bedding, put that in the crate. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at feeding time for more than one dog. Crating the dog may help when you can't supervise it and the children. Kids and dogs are a great combination, but you must keep an eye on it.
Oh wow I have malamutes, one of mine is a sock, dish cloth, tea towel well anything she can get in her mouth before I get to her eater. you REALLY need to make sure NOTHING is left about for her to eat, we have learned the hard way, Aspen has had two major operations to remove blockages and we nearly lost her both times, then we got a close call when I notied she had eaten a tea towel, and rushed her to the vets immediately they gave her an injection that made her vomit quite violently she brought it up. We have to crate her each night when our attention is not 100% on her, no bedding in the crate, but the base of the crate is hard plastic, with drainage holes in it and we have a water bowl fixed to the inside of the crate for drinking.I certainly wouldnt crate a sibe all day sorry to give conflicting information to labman, but sibes are a VERY intelligent breed they need mental stimulation otherwise they can become destructive, when out fo the crate, yes crate when tired, or if you have to leave a room and cannot keep you eye on the pup, but please do not crate all day. as for the biting, you need to start teaching her now not to bite, its normal for pups to be mouthy and to be honest you want them like that initially so you can teach them no bite, take pup to some training classes, this will help you build up your bond, the pup will learn to listen to you, you will be shown how to teach no bite, pups are boisterous, and unfortunately kids will get knocked over, going to training classes will help you in teaching her not to jump up at people. mo
Hi, first and foremost... never leave you children alone with your puppy! They are still very young, and your puppy thinks they're puppies too... and if you've ever seen puppies play, you'll know it can get pretty rough and tumble, and when your puppy is tired he can get a little sharp... that's ok for other puppies with loads of hair to bite into.... it's not fine with children... the last thing you want is for your kids to get scared of the dog, let alone be seriously injured (it's unfortunately almost always the face)... I'm not trying to scare you, but it's better safe then sorry! In addition, you really should look into some puppy training.... I don't know what it's like in the UK, but here we have special (private) family training, where the trainer observes the dog in combination with the kids, and can then give you specific tips on how to deal with the dynamics of the family... your children are very young, and if the dog is already bullying your 4 year old... you really need to get this sorted! As for the sock-issue.... now is a good time to teach yourself, your 4 year old and your OH to tidy up.... or if that doesn't work... teach our dog it's ok to pick-up and bring them to the washing-machine (see another thread on this forum... :-D) good luck, Claire
