Puppy

[happygolucky6]

Just after a bit of advice regarding puppy training.

I have a 16 week old female french bulldog.
She on the whole has been easy to train, she's toilet trained, can do sit, stay, lie down, paw.

The last week she seems to have changed towards my partner and my step daughter. She is trying to nip them and lunge at them and jumps from the floor onto them or onto the sofa. I'm usually sat at another sofa.

She never ever does this to me. She never mouths me, bites me or lunges at me. She's good as gold for me.

I've been sat in the front room with my partner tonight and I've witnessed her lunging at him jumping up onto the sofa and biting the air.

We aren't sure if she's "playing" or if this is her being annoyed but we don't know why she's suddenly doing this.

We've tried the ignoring her technique to see if that would help but it doesn't change anything. We've told her off when she does it and she just runs around and runs back and try's again. We've had to resort to putting her in her cage when she gets like it to prevent her hurting herself or someone else.

We thought maybe she was coming into season it surely she's too young? We don't know what to do!! She's so lovely I don't know why she's doing this.

[fivedogstofeed]

At 16 weeks this kind of behaviour won't be anything to do with a season but is more likely to be down to tiredness.
Puppies are like toddlers- they can go from adorable to Tasmanian devil in a very short space if time if you don't manage them.

[Shambolical1]

She's being a puppy.

As the previous poster said, this can be a sign of being over tired or over stimulated or it can be just plain puppy exuberance. You're bound to get some behaviour like this as it's what puppies do; they have 'mad half hours' just like kids sometimes do, and they do need to play.

She's probably also teething.

If, however, she's doing something you don't like, then you need to show her you don't appreciate it and then give her something to do that you do like and that you can reward her for.

If you don't want her jumping up onto the sofa or onto laps, when does, say nothing but put her back on the floor and stand up, immediately. Don't offer her any attention at all. Just stand up and ignore her. No touch, no noise. If she jumps up again, put her on the floor again. When she's calm and quiet, reward her quickly (with a treat, or a toy, or play - whatever floats her boat) and then sit down again and engage her in something more productive like a sit-stay or down-stay practice.

Basically she gets nothing rewarding from you unless all four paws are on the floor. If you want her on the sofa for cuddles, invite her up, but any sign of mad behaviour and back she goes to the floor and up you stand again.

They very quickly pick up that jumping up and being a hooligan gets the opposite of what they want (attention, play on their terms) but you need to make it clear that's what you're doing with your body language. No fuss or attention (not even 'telling off') until she's doing what you want her to do, then lots of praise/reward.