Puppy with Behavior issues, I think

So our puppy is now 8 months old. I'm thinking he's a bit of an alpha dog, and he is just at the age where he is constantly challenging us.
He's a bit of a food monster, and he constantly tries to take our food from the table. When he jumps up I make a noise to get his attention, and grab him by the scruff, and just put him on the ground. Not violent mind you, but just enough to get his front paws off the table. He'll keep trying though, and the more I disclipine I give him, he starts to get frustrated. This usually escalates to him letting out a bark and a bit of a growl, and then sometimes he'll bite me. Not hard by any means, just a little nibble, and he cries when he does it. I'm guessing this is out of frustration.
I do all the normal behaviors that make it clear to him that he's not the alpha dog, we make him wait to eat, and even go as far to putting my face in his bowl before he eats. I also do the same thing when I fill his kong, with peanut butter. I pretend to eat some of it first, then I give it to him.
So anyways, I'm guessing this is just a result of his alpha tendencies (the breeder told us he was the 'gregarious' one of the litter) and his age. But I would feel a little better if anyone has had similar experiences or had some more advice on how to handle him.

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Parker on August 30, 2008 at 11:17pm

I second what Lucy said about the 8 month old pushing limits. I recently posted about the terrible twos with corgis. Grover went through a period there where he really seemed to take a few steps back in his training. I lengthened is walk, which helped and I really hit hard on the training. I think the walk was a big thing. I think we were still doing a puppy walk (about a mile, if that, so half an hour of walking) and he was ready for a big dog walk (now we do a mile and half or more or about 45 minutes). This totally helped to get him back on track. I think he was just filled with energy, testing limits, and needed me to get serious with the training again.
I also second what others have said about crating during dinner time. Grove use to flip his lid when we crated during dinner time, now, after a couple of months, when he hears the plates hit the table he knows he has to hit the bed for a while. We usually treat him after we eat if he's been quiet during our dinner.
Good luck! I'm sure your little guy will be fine!