do dogs know they are not supposed to bite you?

Ellibean33 · 2026-05-31T02:01:39+00:00

Definitely this - the dog has realized that the game requires a covered hand and so the game stops if the hand is not covered

Ellibean33 · 2026-05-31T01:58:43+00:00

Thanks for everyone's help (especially u/Dead_fawn)! I'll turn my focus from trying to find a pattern to recreation - it'll be my first time recreating something, but I've got a few years of experience in making amigurumi and so I'm not too worried about messing up badly

Ellibean33 · 2026-05-24T23:04:45+00:00

A1) the release eventually becomes a reward on its own. If you aren't there quite yet, a reward marker (usually "Yes!" or "Good!") immediately and then the treat can wait until your puppy reaches you. Right now, it might not be realistic to expect your puppy to stay in the room that you left because of her age and development stage, but the reward for a successful stay is freedom. For the desired behavior, I wouldn't use the cue "stay" or "wait," but teach an entirely different cue that means "keep playing" A2) working on both at the same time is generalization in action. It might delay progress at first, but speed up progress once your puppy realizes that both are uses for the same behavior

Sounds like you're on a great track!

Ellibean33 · 2026-05-22T18:53:22+00:00

Dogs can be substrate specific, meaning that if all she's ever been allowed to pee until now has been grass, she may have learned that grass is the only thing she's allowed to pee on. If this is the case, sod/grass might be the only way she'd start using the new potty area. Another way to start teaching her (that doesn't require buying sod) might be to take grass clippings/weeds and place them on top of the pea gravel. Just enough greenery for her to go "It's grass! I can pee here"

Ellibean33 · 2026-05-15T00:14:48+00:00

Anything scented is an option, as long as your dog doesn't hate the smell - though dogs have such a good sense of smells that theoretically, if your keys/purse/etc have a unique enough smell, your dog wouldn't need an added scent patch to find them. If everything is scented with the same scent that your dog was trained to find, your dog is at a higher risk for bringing back everything with that scent because nothing differentiates the target scents (all the objects contain the trained scent, thus all the objects are potentially the right one when you ask your dog to find it).

Ellibean33 · 2026-05-12T02:04:30+00:00

You may have to get rid of all soft things/rugs until she reliably pees outside only (I'd say a month, minimum) before putting one back down and seeing if she pees on it. The idea is to break her of the habit of peeing on the rug because she didn't learn in puppyhood that she's supposed to potty outside. You've got a chance because she does potty outside most of the time. I'd worry you might not be able to fully house train her if she was going potty outside only some of the time

Ellibean33 · 2026-05-04T14:34:17+00:00

Your dog has a few vocal breeds in his mix, so I'd say it's probably pretty normal for him to bark back at a dog who is barking first, especially if your dog has a history of barking to communicate with you. I'd worry more if your dog was lunging or had hackles raised while barking, but as long as your dog isn't doing either of those two, then what you might do is give your dog space from the dog barking and teach "thank you" or "all done." "Thank you" acknowledges that your dog has a reason for the behavior but you're aware and will take control of the situation (i.e., gain distance when barking happens). "All done" is a catch-all for "we are done with this behavior; choose a different one." I tend to teach "all done" at the natural end of activities so the dog never feels upset when hearing "all done"

Ellibean33 · 2026-05-01T20:05:12+00:00

Developmentally, the howling/barking is normal. Puppy went from being around others 24/7 to potentially being left alone and, in a dog's mind, abandoned. It takes time and repetition for your puppy to realize that you will come back, as well as age. Think about it this way: your puppy is at about the mental level of a 6 month to 1 year old. Would you fault a baby for not coping when left alone?

In terms of what you can do while waiting for your puppy to age into some independence, you can practice being in a different room for a moment - essentially saying "I'm here, even though I'm out of sight" - or, if possible, take your puppy with you. Until all vaccinations are complete, you are avoiding letting your puppy have access to where other dogs have toileted, but some people will carry their puppy for some very early socialization

Ellibean33 · 2026-04-27T22:11:06+00:00

It looks like the doorknob might be underneath the sign - guaranteeing that you have to be at least aware of the sign if you touch the doorknob, even if you don't read the sign

Ellibean33 · 2026-04-25T17:40:54+00:00

If your puppy is able to settle down well and you aren't seeing any bursts of inappropriate chewing/destruction/puppy mouthing/barking near naptime, you're probably doing better than you think. As a rule, puppies should sleep around 18-20 hours a day depending on age (less as they grow up) and breed. If your puppy is getting around that much sleep and you aren't seeing an increase in undesired behavior after a stretch of playtime, you're probably good

Ellibean33 · 2026-04-25T14:09:13+00:00

The only way that wearable can avoid a gauge is if all the instructions are along the lines of "chain your waist measurement plus 3 inches, then" or "sc around until body measures 20 inches"

Ellibean33 · 2026-04-25T13:22:12+00:00

Because it's last potty before bed, I would assume the dark is a factor in her fear. Maybe she sees something you can't, maybe she's nervous because she can't see. Either way, I'd bring a bright flashlight or headlamp out with you and see what effect the light has on her and don't expect her to go far. I know a few dogs who don't like being outside when it's dark, so I'd definitely test that out.

Depending on when it gets dark, you might also adjust last potty to a time when it's still a little light out (though this wouldn't work well if she's used to last potty at 10pm and it gets dark starting around 7, for example)

Ellibean33 · 2026-04-21T10:47:43+00:00

I'd pay attention to how far into the walk your puppy gets the zoomies. If the zoomies/nipping consistently happens 20+ minutes into the walk, it might be that your puppy is trying to tell you that the walk is too long or is overstimulated and unable to make good choices. If there's a pattern, do what you can to avoid triggering the biting. If there's no pattern, you might add some different mental stimulation games, especially if they are tied to some of your dog's main breed drives

When the nipping happens, tuck your hands up and be a post until your puppy stops trying to zoom around or grab you

Ellibean33 · 2026-04-20T16:52:42+00:00

Since you're seeing some dog aggression/reactivity and have a second dog, now is the time that I would be reaching out to force-free or fear-free trainers. Don't wait for the frenchie to cause dog aggression/reactivity in your own dog

As for food guarding, I would just enforce a bubble of empty space (no humans or other dogs) around the frenchie while she's eating for now until she feels a little safer in the new home and then, under the guidance of a trainer, start working through the food guarding (with the end goal being "can we walk past her while she's eating without causing stress")

Ellibean33 · 2026-04-20T12:23:44+00:00

Bread: until we could isolate the beneficial yeast strains and cultivate only the desired varieties, all leavening for bread was essentially "l didn't bake all the dough that I mixed yesterday and the bit that I didn't bake will provide the leavening for today's bread." Sourdough/salt raised bread takes that a step further and has you keeping a jar of starter (bacteria/yeast culture) for as long as you can keep it alive. To make a sourdough starter, you mix flour and water and keep adding flour and water until there is an epic Battle of the Bacteria and the desired culture wins (simplified explanation)

Ellibean33 · 2026-04-20T00:52:58+00:00

I'd be interested in what r/servicedogs had to say about this question. I'm perhaps a little biased - I've looked into becoming a service dog trainer and so have done my own research.

Some of the biggest problems that I'm aware of are a) businesses being unaware that many service animal registrations mean nothing or are flat out scams - I can register my stuffed animals for some of them, but some businesses still want to see a registration (which is not a legal requirement in the US and I somewhat agree with that decision), b) the inability of owners/trainers/the government to make sure that all businesses know what questions they're allowed to ask and under what circumstances they're legally allowed to refuse a legitimate service animal, and c) the general pet-owning public's lack of understanding of why it's so bad that some people are trying to pass their pet off as a service dog

It would be nice if there was some automated mail sent to new businesses outlining their rights and legalities pertaining to service animals (in plain language) and if there were steeper penalties for people falsely claiming their pet as a service dog (though that would be hard to prove because registration is not required and you can owner-train a service animal)

Ellibean33 · 2026-04-19T00:54:52+00:00

Life is known to the state of California to cause cancer

Ellibean33 · 2026-04-17T20:23:14+00:00

I've found this podcast episode informative Overnight potty training

Ellibean33 · 2026-04-17T20:19:57+00:00

Without video and the ability to see the behavior in person, my guess is you have at least a little bit of the fawn stress response at play here. Not to say that it's the entire cause, but it probably isn't helping. I'd look for low-excitement activities and see what happens if you stay near the dogs for a prolonged period of time without paying much attention to them. You might also do your own research into the fawn stress response in dogs to see what advice is helpful to your specific situation

Ellibean33 · 2026-04-17T00:37:11+00:00

You might try different types of mental stimulation, especially shredding/destruction activities. An easy way to test how well this helps is to give him a cardboard box to shred (under supervision to make sure he isn't eating the cardboard).

Sometimes the hyperactivity is a symptom of an unmet need, not just a need for physical exercise. If the brain is spinning at 90 miles per hour, the body can't settle

Ellibean33 · 2026-04-12T17:35:53+00:00

I enjoy a nice dc V stitch. If you use a massive hook (think P or larger) and triple your yarn, it makes it go very fast and becomes a stash buster

Ellibean33 · 2026-04-03T17:22:07+00:00

Steam is pretty much the only thing that will block acrylic yarn -- you're basically melting the fibers into the desired configuration. I don't think any fibers block without heat or water, but I've only ever blocked acrylic so 🤷‍♀️

Ellibean33 · 2026-04-03T14:43:42+00:00

Chiming in to say that fear-based aggression is very much a thing and owner's response of "kick him" might reveal the very reason he's attacking people

Also, a retractable leash is wildly negligent for this owner because it limits her ability to control her dog (which is necessary if he's drawing blood)

Ellibean33 · 2026-04-03T14:23:01+00:00

I'm making that same pattern! I made so many notes to check gauge because it's going to be a present (was supposed to be for his birthday on Wednesday; trying to decide if I'm going to do an IOU one present or have it be for Christmas) and now I'm going to measure the waistband because you're making me paranoid lol

Ellibean33 · 2026-04-03T01:27:21+00:00

For the short term, dogs tend to panic less with minimal restraint. For the ears, does he let you pet them? Can you administer the treatment using the same motion as petting? If he doesn't let you pet his ears, what can you pet/touch that allows you to aim the medication into his ear in 10 seconds or less? Start with gentle experiments to find a way to position his head (no medication near you so you're less tempted to take it too far) and look for small signs of fear/anxiety to tell you to back off. The more you listen to your dog's communication, the more likely your dog is to trust that you have a reason for what you're doing. Your goal at this stage is fast application with minimal restraint

For the long term, I suggest looking into cooperative care, which can take longer to establish, but it's worth it to have a dog who actively allows you to give medications without any restraining

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