My husky puppy suddenly bites and growls. How do I calm her down?

Having had Siberians for over 40 years, I can attest to the fact that they can be pretty determined when it comes to doing what they want. That is not to say, however, that they are untrainable. I would suggest that you stop two of your interventions right away. All dogs live in the present. They can't guess the future, nor can they remember the past. So a time out is absolutely worthless as a training tool. Further, offering a toy when a dog is misbehaving is actually offering a reward! Also, you need to be very judicious with hand-feeding, or she may dome to expect to be fed that way, and you'll have to break her of the habit. I can help with your problem, but would need more information. You can click on the prompt to initiate a consult, where we can talk back-and-forth about this issue.

Puppies learn to explore with their mouth. Luckily she is young and can be trained with patience and consistency. First, make sure you have lots of treats handy. Second, have lots of toys handy. When you are playing with Luna and she starts to bite you, make a high pitched squeal. When she stops biting, tell her good girl and give her a treat or toy. When she chews on the toy, tell her shes a good girl. She will get the hang of it. For the crate, you need to get her used to it slowly. When you are home, feed her in there without closing the door. Put treats and toys in there so she can come and go when she likes. Slowly build up to closing the door for short periods. Give treats when shes calm inside the crate. At night, put something in there that smells like you. Be tough, don't crack before she does. Basic training at PetCo is a great idea! Good luck and congrats on your new baby. Sending kisses!

I would recommend purchasing Sophia Yin's book 7 Days to the Perfect Puppy as a resource for puppy training. For these situations, it is recommended when your puppy nips that you give a loud sharp piercing "ouch" yelp as another puppy would make, and then stand up and leave your puppy, thereby removing the rewarding interaction with you. After a few minutes, return and give your puppy an appropriate chew toy. Repeat this interaction whenever your pup is biting you. Reward your puppy when you see her chewing on appropriate toys with praise and treats. If you are unable to make a yelp noise appropriately, you can instead try her "standing like a tree" method, where you immediately stand up like a frozen tree/statue without looking at or interacting with your pup. Ignore him until he stops moving or sits and then give him several treats to reward him for not chewing on you! You can read a little more about her different methods here: https://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/puppy_play_leads_to_nip_marks_on_hands_and_arms/

Puppies are a lot of work, especially when the puppy is high energy. You need to make sure that she is getting plenty of exercise as that will help decrease her energy. Enrolling her in puppy training classes and working with a trainer may help, too. Good luck!

Because Milo is still so young there is definitely time to correct her aggressive behavior. You should start with basic training commands (sit/stay/come) to help establish the fact that you are the one in charge. It is also important to make sure she is getting plenty of exercise. You should take her on fast-paced walks for 20-30 minutes at least twice a day. I would also recommend that you seek the help of a veterinary behaviorist to help you identify and treat Milo's underlying problem. Good luck.

You can work on training her to 'settle' in a certain area like a bed, and then work on having her go to that place for short periods of time while you are in the other room. Over time you can gradually increase the amount of time that she spends in her 'settle' place. Consistency is key - if you're struggling you could always contact a trainer as well. In the meantime while you are training I would recommend either keeping Luna confined to a crate if she is crate trained so she can't see people in the kitchen or open the gates. Try distracting her with a treat puzzle or other toy that will keep her occupied for a little while. Good luck - hope this helps!

This is a very common issue with puppies - they often get overly excited during play, and have trouble controlling themselves :) It's possible that your sister may tend to be louder, more active, or move more suddenly when she plays with the puppy, which often results in the puppy getting more "wound up." If your sister doesn't live with you, this may also be happening because the puppy is excited to see her when she comes over. Make sure that you have lots of different toys available for Sherri - long floppy rope or fleece toys for tugging, plush toys for biting and carrying, and smaller toys or balls for chasing and fetching. Your sister should always use a toy when she is playing with Sherri, so that Sherri has something to bite on. If she starts to get too excited, you can ask her to sit for a treat, or engage her in some other activity that is calmer and less exciting until she settles down. If needed, you can even give her something to chew on, such as a bully stick or a Kong stuffed with peanut butter, and put her in her crate for a while to let her calm down. Her ability to stay calm during play should improve as she gets older, just as it does for human children :) In the meantime, you can help her by redirecting her to a calmer activity when needed.