Post Your Pets

This is Holly, my 8 week mini ladbradoodle.

So far she has learnt to come on command and sit, and I reckon we're about 50% of the way to lying down - so she seems really intelligent (at times)

she's got her first set of vaccinations on tuesday so we can start going out a little bit, so we need to get on the case with learning what a lead is (i.e. not something to chew on!)

the only issue so far has been biting at fingers and hands but everyone assures me that this will get better naturally, would welcome any other opinions.

If you haven't already heard or read any of "The Perfect Puppy" by Gwen Bailey, then I recommend that you get hold of a copy and give it a read. My family has always owned dogs, although not all of them very well behaved. When I got my first dog on my own I was told to read the book and it really is helpful when it comes to learning how dogs think and how to train them successfully.

Also, with vaccinations, the first set take about 3 weeks then the second set take 1 week before you can really take them out for some proper exercise and interact with other dogs. Do some training with the lead inside the house first and get her used to being led rather than her leading you.

The biting thing is to do with teething. You can make a sharp yapping sound to startle them if they start to bite too hard. It's always good to replace fingers with proper chew toys though and make sure she doesn't start chewing on the legs of tables or chairs.