Biting, Barking, Exercise for 11 Week Pup

by Mimi
(Seattle, WA)

We've had our pup since she was about 8 weeks and we are coming up on 11 weeks. She is a sweetheart and terribly smart - we are enjoying training her. We are thrilled to have her!

I have the following questions and would appreciate any experienced help:

1) I live in the forested suburbs of the Pacific Northwest. She is not yet fully vaccinated and I don't have a large yard, but I do have a ton of open green space around me. Unfortunately for her, dogs are everywhere up here. Where and what kind of exercise can I give my pup while protecting her until her last vaccination? We go out 2-3 times a day to covered parking lots and short stretches of green. Can we go on walks on concrete?

2) She is biting/nipping and when she is feeling particularly confident, she really goes bites a lot. Will this phase go away? She doesn't seem to be all that affected if I yelp or calmly get up and leave, which I've done frequently.

3) Additionally she barks at me when I offer her a correction - mostly when she nips and bites me. Even just giving her a look makes her bark. She does offer to sit (which I assume is her attempt to cooperate) but she does not look at me and she barks before walking off. What does this mean? Should I correct it? Is this a challenge?

4) She also tries to herd me during our walks by cutting me off. I try to jog slowly alongside her but it's only a few steps before she cuts in front of me, very dangerous.

Are these things normal? Thanks for your help!

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