Help! We've had this one year old terrier for (westie mix, we think) almost two weeks. She doesn't know the meaning of the word "no," and never seems to have a clue when she's being scolded, no matter how growly we get.

Well, we can't punish her by kenneling her, according to all the advice, and you aren't supposed to hit. So...WHAT!? I can't have her barking at the cat and nipping at us. It's all playful, but it still needs to stop. Those are really the two behaviors that are the biggest problems. Please, can anyone help us?

It's a terrier what dd you expect?They are small and were bred to bark at prey items, the dog is seeing the cat as prey so it barks.

Get your dog to a professional trainer and learn how to train your dog. Obviously it was never taught not to nip a trainer would be able to show you how to address these problems.

Im not an expert but this is what i find works best with my puppy (who also likes to nip). When he bites me he does it to get attention. So when he bites I sat NO firmly and stand up and dont even look at him. When he stops biting and is being good again i reward him with attention for NOT biting. The dog will see that biting will make you pay less attention to it. Like badkittyamy said terriers are pretty hyper and bark-y to begin with. This is what our breeder reccomended to us. Hope it helps.

Well, I expect her to be willful and bark. It's barking at the cat that's the most problematic. It hardly helps with the adjustment.

We need to be better about walking away when she bites. My guy will only ignore her for about 10 seconds, then start playing with her again.

Still, I have to teach her what "no" means. She came to us with no vocabulary. Right now, "no" is just noise to her. I'm stumped on figuring out how to teach her "no." Considering pairing it with a water squirt when she barks at the cat.

I don't know how to spell it but you could say "Ah-ah" instead of "no". And when you stand-up, cross your arms and turn your back. Then when te dog stops, praise. When your guy does it for ten seconds, tell him that the bad behaivor will NEVER stop if he continues to do what he's doing. He needs to WAIT until the dog is calm, then play. If he still doesn't get it, smack him upside the head (lol).

SHE MITE BE DEAF!!!!!!!!!!! wait dose she look at you when you talk? if she dose not look at you you should go the vet and check

Not deaf, just stubborn. We will certainly work on the body language, which seems to be a recurring theme, and try the "uh-uh." (There are easier methods for disciplining human sweeties.)

The good news is that she just had her first bath with us and did VERY well. She was even calm enough for my DH to trim around her hiney so we don't get those lovely dingleberries anymore.

After two weeks together, she's starting to get out rhythms down, comes when called, is housebroken, but we haven't mastered "sit" or "no" yet.

Am I wrong to think that having her sit and stay until she's calm would also help with the playful nipping? Or is it a bad idea to mix the training?

Hmmm when you say no clap loudly to get her attention. It will get her attention plus the loud noise will startle her a little. Pair the clapping with a firm NO. When she gets used to the fact that the word NO means that she will hear that unplesant clapping noise, she will learn not to make you use that word lol. This is what worked on my puppy when teaching him the word no.

If your dog didnt mind the bath that much then he might like water or not mind it. If this is so then squirting him with water will not teach him not to do something.

I'm glad she's not deaf and "uh-uh" dose work good and you should take a treat and hold it up and gently push her bum down and say "sit" and when you have her siting give her the treat and instead of "no" try to poke her in the neck nice and gentle but a enough to startle her a little.

Prancingpaws placing a dog in a sit is a very outdated method of training and is not recommended because dogs have an opposition reflex. You push them one way and they want to oppose that.

Modern day methods of training even ones by ed frawley say this old method is a last ditch method. The modern method is through luring whether with toys or food. Placing a dog into a sit does not make it think and the more you make a dog think the more responsive the dog will be to future training and you will have a happier dog who enjoys training.

Oh ok I did not know thanks for telling me I'll do that next time.