Couple more newb questions

[instant-classic]

Ok well Sky is 5 1/2 months old now and is coming on very well, we have pretty much had no problems since we got him with sleeping, doing his business outside (only messed in the house 4 times total) , walking nicely on lead, meeting other people or other dogs, feeding etc. Now here comes the but ..... when we walk he is looking for food on the floor all the time, i've taken bits of KFC off him apple core, doughnuts those little sauce pots you get with takeaways and i know he has eaten a few things before i got them off him, is this a husky thing or do i just have a greedy dog ?? my previous dogs never did this.

Second thing is trying to grab at peoples hands not bite just sort of mouth them, if you stand talking he will try and jump and grab your hand or whoever your talking too's hand, i'm putting this down to him being a puppy and playful though.

I pretty happy that these are the only problems i've ran into

[Kells xx]

my husky pup koda is a bugger for stealing things, i have to work extra hard on the leave it command and the drop it, you will be able to stop the behaviour with time and patience.

koda mouths quite hard and i am still trying to stop this. she only mouths on me at the moment but jumps up at guests, she is generally ignored until she sits nicely and then she is fussed over

[Val (Zebedee)]

Martin, as long as these are the only 'problems' you have come across, you have a wonderful puppy!

Have a read through our training section, we cover both mouthing & eating off the floor, but basically, he is being a typical puppy that needs showing what he is doing is not correct or acceptable & a little training will help wonders!

[Andy]

they want to eat everything. . . Paper leaves poo. . .anything. . .they are garbage bags. . .lol

we are forever pulling stuff out of Kodas mouth. Don't worry it's just a phase.

taste and smell is thier world.

whe we pet Koda she always tries to get our hands in her mouth. . .not to bite more to hold.

All quite normal

[Tikaani&Aiyana]

they want to eat everything. . . Paper leaves poo. . .anything. . .they are garbage bags. . .lol

we are forever pulling stuff out of Kodas mouth. Don't worry it's just a phase.

taste and smell is thier world.

whe we pet Koda she always tries to get our hands in her mouth. . .not to bite more to hold.

All quite normal

Hand holding by a husky is very normal. Its a way of them saying 'trust me'. Tikaani did it with me all the time & sometimes used it to pull me away from my partner when we were play fighting! lol

My sibes were also both always into picking up anything they could on walks and they both eat dirt! Though they will grow out of this eventually. Just keep an eye on what they pick up & always tell them to 'leave' when they pick up something they shouldn't.

Tikaani picked this up quickly so now ehenever i say leave he normally leaves it alone or ignores it.

[Tamz]

hey....you are not alone on this Shiloh does this, he is like a hoover...he picks anything up in his mouth- and i mean anything lol....i shouldnt laugh as it aint funny......he is at puppy training classes at the mo and has jst recently learnt the leave it command so it is getting better for us

i agree with kelly.......really practise the leave it command and eventually you should see some changes

sorry im not much help, still learning all this myself

[instant-classic]

Ahhh so it seems all of these little guys do the picking stuff up on walks thing, well i feel better knowing that. He will drop whatever he picks up if i tell him to but only if i have my hand in front of his mouth and he will leave if i tell him to but only if i see the bit of cake, burger or whatever he likes the look of first. Thats where the problem lies sometimes he will see it first pick it up and try to swallow it before i realise what he's doing. I think i just need to to watch the ground like a hawk on our walks.

I'm not overly worried about the mouthing at hands thing as my Doberman Storm did that when he was a pup but just kinda grew out of it, only difference is Sky's teeth are friggin way sharp hehe. I know he isn't doing it in a mean trying to bite way just well mouthing but it does worry me a little when people come over to pet him on walks and he does it to them sometimes.

I have to say he has been the easiest puppy i've had so far as far as training goes well as far as everything goes really.

Thanks for the advice and reassurance boys and girls.

Awwwww Kelly i'm whistling sevenfold again now

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

i watch skyla like a hawk! on walks if she gos 2 pick sumthing up i give her a firm NO! if she does it agian i go skyla AHAH no! and she leaves as soon as she leaves anything shes gets a excited sounding GOOD GIRL!!!! SKYLA!!! GOOD GIRL!!!!

[Lana]

Lana too did this around the same age. As kelly and other mentioned just some trying should be alright. Get some toys, food in a container with a slot so they can smell it but not big enough for them to get into it. Leave it there and tell him a strong and firm no!. When you give the command leave or no (or whatever command you use) it should be clear and no mistaking in what you mean. When he moves away and not move towards it, reward him with a treat and praise. This is something that will take time ,practice, consistency, and patients. As time goes on you can start to open it more and even get to the point you can leave it plain on the floor, however remember they are still dogs and will be tempted to get it. So dont be so hard on him if he slips but at the same time dont let it go either.

Sibs can be very food driven along with just about any dog. Lets us use that to our advantage with training. He will understand that listening to commands and good behavior will and/or can lead to treats and praise vs. scraps on the ground.

Now when giving treats i would suggest a nibble and not a whole treat to start off in training. This will cause them to be interested, focus, and want more. You can research all the treats you can buy and treats that you can make on your own. Find out what treats your husky loves and which he is not so trilled about. I would also suggest different treats and not the same ones all the time. As time pass you can increase the size of the reward.

Just remember that you are training to the point where he doesn't expect a treat very time he does something good and suppose to do but he can expect love and praise all the time which is just as equally as important.

I would recommend that you have different commands and not use "No" all the time. Good luck!