Help PLEASE Puppy Attitude / Biting is he aggressive or “Normal!”

catlou

Hi all

I am having some problems with my 8½ month old puppy and would really appreciate some advice and feedback that other people have gained from their experience with puppies as I don’t really know who else to ask!

I will try my best to explain the situation thoroughly so you see where I’m coming from!! I had a dog when I was growing up but I have never had a puppy before. So I’m not sure what is just boisterous teenage cockiness or is it aggression?

Background is we have been to puppy training and I have tried my best to do all the things we learnt and to make sure he knows I’m the pack leader I make him sit and wait for his food and before he gets toys etc. he never gets any treats without doing a trick etc. for them. All of this he does fine. He has a Kong and buster cube and various toys that I give him in rotation! He has also been neutered at 6 months old but no change really yet…..

The problem is with disciplining him when he is naughty - mainly for biting he has always been like this since he was 12 weeks old. He just does not like being told off - it’s like he has to have the last word!

We were taught at puppy training when he bites to yelp then walk away but it never really worked with him he would just dive straight in for another bite. I have also tried just telling him “no bite” in a low stern voice. If anything these things seem to wind him up / make him worse. So a typical scenario would be he bites me I yelp go to walk off and then he is jumping up snarling and trying to bite me. So we were told in Puppy training to then grab him and put him in his crate for “time out” which I do and he calms straight away in there.

But he does not seem to be learning his lesson and still does it a lot. I have phoned the person who ran the Puppy Training class and they didn’t seem overly concerned about it and just basically said to carry on doing the same thing. But he is getting older now and I am worrying more about it and feel we need to do something different to tackle it in case he does not “grow out” of being like this. In lots of ways he is brilliant he loves people and has only done it to us in the family! But he just seems to have this awkward streak so I don’t completely trust him with children strangers etc although he has never done anything. I would hate not to be able to trust him when he is older.

He particularly plays my mum up (who I live with) he will bite her feet and then when she tells him off or tries to distract him he then starts going mad and jumping up snarling and trying to bite her.

He only really reacts like this when you tell him off for example he will pinch a slipper or lots of other things that are all normal cheeky puppy behaviour but when you get it back off him he then starts jumping up and biting. So he then goes in the crate etc. Again he just doesn’t like being told and seems to want to have the last word.

So does anyone have any other suggestions for stopping him biting? Am I right to be worried or do you think he is just constantly trying to push his boundaries because he doesn’t like being told?

Hope this post is not too long and any replies much appreciated

Raksha……if you are out there? I would like to know what you think too Please? :T

Cheers everyone.

Catlou

supermezzo

My advice would be to ignore him completely. Turn your back, don't yelp or shout at him or interact with him in any way when he tries to bite/nip you. Whatever reaction you give him is classed in his world as getting your attention, then he gets put in what he classes as his den, i.e. the safest place in the world to him.
By trying several things, you may have somewhat confused him now and by keep reacting to him, you reward him with your attention.
Make a fuss when you see him playing with his toys on his own (try to keep some toys/chews out for him to help himself to, as well as those he has to 'work' for) and ignore him when he nips.
This may well sound a bit 'odd' but has he had a sudden growth spurt? Like I say, sounds odd but very often, 'bad' behaviour can mean that they are due a bit more food.
But mainly, you have a stroppy teenage on your hands and need to make sure that everyone uses the same rules with the dog to avoid confusion and to provide constant boundaries for the dog to get used to and understand. From what you've said, it doesn't sound too bad now, but it does need to be stopped before he really gets any bigger/older and the habit is even harder to break.

Oh, and if he's particularly bad for one family member at any given time (i.e. problems with your Mum), when she arrives tell her to completely ignore him no matter what he does and that she should say hello to anyone else in the house first and then only when the dog is behaving, to say hello to him and to stop making a fuss if he mis-behaves, and to make sure she feeds him whenever shes around at his meal times - Always lets them know who is boss I find. Putting him on his lead when she arrives and making him sit (you'll need bribery and corruption with really good treats for this!) until she's ready to say hello to him is also a firm way of re-affirming the human place in the pecking order over the dog.

HTH

elsien

Ignoring doesn't work if the little so-and-so's keep jumping and biting and they keep going longer than you can ignore the pain. Turn your back and you get a bitten bum and legs - mine's persistance lasted long enough to make a few holes in my leg after which I gave up on ignoring and started yelling and swearing. (Or a firm no, in technical parlance!)
Seriously though, my mutt has "issues" being a rescue dog, so this may not be relevant to you, but I realised mine got handy with her teeth when she was anxious and wasn't sure what reaction she was going to get off me. Especially when I was telling her off - sort of a really OTT fight or flight reaction.
What worked for me was teaching her to grab her toy instead of me. No idea how I did it - probably just yelling toy and sticking it in her gob- and I'm not necessarily advocating it for you, just telling you how it was for us in case any of it might be any use to you.

Mine also attacks mum's feet, especially when I've told her off - she goes straight to my mum and has a bite. It's like she's trying to establish that mum's place in the pecking order is below hers. Perhaps your mum needs to make it clearer that she and you are both the bosses - doing the training with him that you've been doing, that sort of thing.

Mrs_B

I'd say he's normal - and I agree, he's turning into a teenager! However, you are right to want to sort this out now.

May I ask what breed he is? My question comes from wondering whether he is herding or something else.

Pity your Puppy Class teacher hasn't been more supportive.

If he's gone into one of his biting phases, would it be possible for you to put your hand in his collar, and just quietly hold him away - not an aggressive hold, just a very calm movement, no eye contact, just making it clear that you're not impressed, and this is not going to get you to either do anything, or react.

If he's running off with things (like the slipper), will he bring it back to you? If he does you could calmly exchange this for a small food treat or a toy you are happy for him to have. If he's not bringing it back, and you're having to go and retrieve it, he's then making this into a game for himself - and that would be a different problem.

Just make sure he has one of two "toothy" things around too - something like a nylabone that he can chew on safely.

sarabe

Puppies use their teeth when they play. They have no hands.

When they leave their siblings and go to their new home they will continue to try and play in the same way that they played with each other.

We have to teach them how to play with us. Obviously biting our clothes and our skin is not appropriate but biting a toy that we are holding is.

So when you have a new puppy you need to use a suitable toy to encourage your puppy to play with you.

Telling them not to bite or squealing or ignoring them is not actually teaching them how to do it right.

There are going to be various different consequences, learned responses and behaviours depending on how you deal with puppy biting.

Squealing can make them be more gentle but it can also excite them and make them bite harder which is why we give our puppies squeaky toys. It doesn't teach them how to play though or what they are allowed to bite.

Ignoring them teaches them nothing useful and it is very difficult to ignore something that has it's teeth in you. Your pup will probably just think that you aren't in the mood to play so he'll try harder for a bit and then eventually give up and go off and play on his own. That's fine when you are indoors but when you are out with your dog you really need him to want to be with you. If he has learned that you are no fun and that you don't want to play with him and he is used to making his own fun then he'll do the same when you are at the park and go and look for some fun on his own. Once he has found some other dogs to play with you may struggle to get him to want to come back to you.

The problem is with disciplining him when he is naughty - mainly for biting he has always been like this since he was 12 weeks old. He just does not like being told off - it’s like he has to have the last word!

Telling a dog off for biting just gives them a different reason to want to bite you.

He only really reacts like this when you tell him off for example he will pinch a slipper or lots of other things that are all normal cheeky puppy behaviour but when you get it back off him he then starts jumping up and biting. So he then goes in the crate etc. Again he just doesn’t like being told and seems to want to have the last word.

He is trying to tell you that he wants to play but failing to get you to understand.

If he was mine instead of telling him off or putting him in his cage I would be teaching him how to play and how to use his teeth. I would put the games and the biting under my control. Tug is a great game to play with your dog. Use a long tug toy so that your hand and his teeth are a suitable distance apart. Invite him to grab the toy, make it really animated and exciting. Play tug for a moment or two and then let him have the toy. He will either a) drop it once you stop playing, b) come back and ask you to play again or c) go off with the toy and play on his own with it. If a) pick it upand start again, b) play again or c) take a second identical toy and make your toy more exciting than his.

I would only do this outside even if you have to spend a lot of time outside with him to start with because then you'll have a really responsive and energised dog outside and a relaxed and calm dog indoors - eventually.

Try to predict when he is going to start his antics and invite him to play first. If he steals your Mum's slipper go and get his toy and get him to chase you outside to play. Tying the toy to a length of string that you can pull along the ground makes the toy really, really attractive to the dog. Alternatively let him have the slipper and buy your Mum a new pair.

supermezzo

How is the dog then supposed to differentiate between 'his' slipper and any other slipper he finds on the floor?

sarabe

supermezzo wrote: »

How is the dog then supposed to differentiate between 'his' slipper and any other slipper he finds on the floor?

He can't. Everything is a chew toy to a puppy.

Kimberley

supermezzo wrote: »

How is the dog then supposed to differentiate between 'his' slipper and any other slipper he finds on the floor?

I agree. I went into the local pet shop to find slipper toys and soft toys such as rabbits and sheep. It's all daft if you don't want him to chew soft furnishings. If you want him to stop chewing your slipper the last thing you should give him is his own one.

supermezzo

sarabe wrote: »

He can't. Everything is a chew toy to a puppy.

Exactly - the dog will eat slippers for the rest of his life. Only give a puppy the toys you want it to learn are his from day one. If you don't want it o eat slippers of any description, you can't expect to give him one and then understand which is 'his'.

sarabe

supermezzo wrote: »

Exactly - the dog will eat slippers for the rest of his life. Only give a puppy the toys you want it to learn are his from day one. If you don't want it o eat slippers of any description, you can't expect to give him one and then understand which is 'his'.

Exactly. Don't give the dog anything you don't want him to have. He absolutely cannot tell the difference between his toy and your slipper if they are both on the floor.

Kimberley

Since we got our pup the floor has remained tidy :rotfl: