I have 7 Doberman puppies that are six weeks old. They are very friendly, playful, but super hyper! As soon as I step into their box, they all scramble over and begin scratching at my shins with their razor sharp claws, and chew at me with their sharp little teeth!
I have a hard time playing with them without being torn apart in the process. They're not aggressive at all and don't mean to hurt anyone. They just don't seem to understand. I'm not sure how to train or discipline puppies this young, but something certainly has to be done. Their mother wants nothing to do with them, and is completely annoyed, so I don't think she's taught them anything. I don't want insults, or un-helpful comments, but if someone out there knows how to calm puppies at this young age, please help me!
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My female had 3 puppies. After the first month of feeding the dogs she got sick and I had to have her operated on. She wanted nothing to do with her puppies after this. It was hard on me because I had 3 very active dogs to deal with. Here is a few things I did to help calm them down.
I would take one of them out of the box at a time. I would spend around 30 minutes with the dog. I would play with the dog and love the dog. Then I would put him back in the box.
After I waited 10 to 15 minutes before taking another one out of the box. I played with them and loved them.
I had to repeat this for several days until they understood that they would all get my attention and be loved. The dogs finally learned when I came to get them out of the box they each had their own turn.
I too have many scratches on me and small bites from their teeth. It took a few weeks for them to get use to taking turns and getting my special attention. Today, I still have 2 of the puppies and I still give them each their time. They are no longer in their box so now I have to let the other one know it is not his time. He waits until it is his time.
Good luck and I know with 6 of them it will be difficult. You are in charge and it is up to you to let them know this. Reward them for being good and scold them when they are bad. One way I found to stop my dogs from biting me was to pinch their mouth shut when they bit. I would look at them and tell them it hurts. This took around 4 or 5 times of pinching their mouth shut with my fingers till they stopped biting me.
Ignored behavior will disappear. I also would make sure they get plenty of exercise outside of the house.
Goodness - what a handful!
Sounds like you have been given good suggestions but unless you have nothing else to do all day for a while then spending a lot of time with each of these is going to be difficult. Do you have anyone to help you with these pups?
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