Fierce pup: how to handle?
I have two 4 mth old pups. One is a unfocused clownish cheerful boy who is constantly up to fun related mischief. his bites are usually light. The other is a serious, fairly affectionate n very focused boy who will bite hard ( drawing blood) when he gets angry. His anger could have been built up within him because he was the smaller of the two pups and his brother has been pouncing on him, invading his space etc even when
they were being nursed by their mom.
I am very against the Koehler type of training (I was trained in tt before) but I am unsure of other ways( from the positive school) of controlling his violent responses. Please advise.
Tks
they were being nursed by their mom.
I am very against the Koehler type of training (I was trained in tt before) but I am unsure of other ways( from the positive school) of controlling his violent responses. Please advise.
Tks
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Edison on
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The usual way of teaching a puppy to lighten up on the biting is to say, "OUCH!" or "NO!" very loudly when the hard bites happen and then ignore the puppy for a few seconds. If they continue to bite hard when you return to playing with them, end the play session entirely and do something else for a while. Removing your attention is a surprisingly terrible punishment for most puppies. In my experience, this results in an apologetic (anxiously licking the injured hand) and gentler puppy almost immediately, though they usually forget and have to be reminded regularly.
Are you sure that the your pup is biting because he's angry? Puppies often play in a way that looks like pretty fierce fighting, and it might just be that he doesn't know his own jaw strength or that it's bad to bite that hard.
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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I always responded to teeth on my skin with a very loud, high pitched screech followed by very dramatic, over acted annoyance. I did this every time no matter how small the bite. If the pup continued, they got a time out in the kitchen for a little while. With mine, Sparty will always be the one to let me know when he is unhappy with me but he doesn't bite and will follow his growl with a whine and a lick. He is also big on the closed mouth woof to talk back. I think if I had trained him with a rougher method he would have turned into a viscous dog. Having two at the same time does make your situation a little more difficult so I would go to obedience classes if at all possible especially with the one with more attitude.
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Permalink Reply by Cindy on
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When they are playing rough, do you intervene? If so, that's the wrong thing to do. Puppies learn bite inhibition from each other starting in the whelping box. We usually let them handle squabbles themselve unless they choose to have them on my lap or next to me. Then I gentle remove the two trouble makers to another area and let them handle it. They learn very quickly how hard to bit and how much it hurts.
Use the "ouch" method as stated earlier. And ignoring the pup when it's too rough or placing them in an area for a "time out" works also. Sometimes if my older guys get into it, we will seperate them into different rooms in the house to let them cool off. Ignoring them until such a time that I feel that I can let them out together again and watch them closely so that it doesn't start up again. Most of the time a firm voice and wag of my finger or a stomp of my foot will be enough to remind them to play nice.
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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on
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I would definatley recommend obedience classes or a private trainer. Especially if he is starting to act aggressive toward his brother. It can be problematic to have two male siblings in the same house and you need to curb his aggression while he is young, also neuter him as soon as he hits 5 to 6 months to take the hormonal aspect out of his behavior. If he is playing rough thats one thing, and you could probably deal with it on your own, however if he is truly being aggressive you may need professional help. For a somewhat aloof dog he may not respond to the yelp and ignore approach since he's not one to seek your affection to begin with. I can't say enough about the benefits of obedience classes or puppy school to teach impulse control and bite inhibition. Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by L KHOO on
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Thanks, all. I forgot to give the context: it's not playtime. It's when I tried to trim his paw fur. He attacked mr when I refused to let him squirm off....
Interestingly he is the more affectionate of the two pups.
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Permalink Reply by Bax & Zigs & Rosie on
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I would suggest trying to make any trimming/nail sessions a pleasant thing for the dog. Try using treats to coax him into feeling comfortable while you touch and handle his paws. If he is really anxious, just sit with him and give him treats while you're handling his paws to show him that it's ok without introducing the trimming tools. Some dogs can be sensitive about their feet. =) If he's nervous about the tools you use, try showing him the tools without actually trimming to get him used to them.
Baxter has been very good about laying down on his back while I trim his paws. But when he sees me pull out the ear cleaner, he is hell bent on NOT sitting still. We had an incident the other day where he was laying nicely and getting trimmed. He even let me clean the outside of his ears. When the time came to put the cleaner in his ear canal, he trusted me to do one side but then he flipped out. He would not let me do the other side. I tried to get him to lay down again, but he wouldn't budge. After a cry that sounded like I was killing him, I realized that anything I would do from this point on would be way too forceful and would make this a horribly unpleasant experience for both of us. So it's back to the starting board for us when it comes to ear cleaning. Next session will be full of treats and praise and just getting him used to being in the same room as the ear cleaner bottle.
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In that situation, you will need to come at it a little differently. Again, the rule is that you control everything-his food, his play time and his body. You are allowed to touch any part but you need to start slowly.
Start by having him sit on your lap, touch is paw, give a treat and reassure him it's a good thing. Touch another, treat. You can use a clicker but I think you have your hands full with him so just using a cue word-good, nice, pretty, etc and a treat will achieve the same results. At any point the he would snap, growl or show teeth, then immediately pick him up, set him on the floor and ignore him. Start over again. This is the same technique that you would use on training to trim toenails. Don't try to do it all at once, but build up a foundation where the dog is comfortable with you touching him-any where.
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