Aggressive puppy?

[kandya]

Abby Rose is 11 weeks old and has been a little piranha since day ONE. She's doing excellent at potty training, she comes when called, she will sit and sit pretty for treats, but she is a biter.

She gets so excited when my son comes over with his 2 hunting dogs, or my daughter comes with the grand kids, but I can't let her loose because she bites them. Her sharp little teeth grab whatever is in reach and she has the sharpest teeth I've ever seen on a dog before.

I have to keep her on a leash when we have anyone here because she can't seem to control the biting. So far we've tried yelling "ouch", "bad dog", ignore her, popping her on the nose (which just makes her more agressive) and distracting her with chew toys, but she just wants to bite people or other dogs.

It's very difficult to play with her when she is always biting, but I'm at my wits end. Any suggestions on what else I can do?

[bradl]

Sigh, another "aggressive" puppy. I hate that word because when used literally it is often a death sentence. In reality, most "aggressive" puppies are just mouthy and getting away with murder. At only eleven weeks it's now your job to teach her how to use her mouth properly. It's something her mom and littermates should really still be doing. (My opinion only, of course - many breeders do place pups at 8 weeks instead of 12 or 16 - doing so makes it especially important the owner takes on the responsibility of teaching the pup manners.)

Some strategies for dealing with mouthy puppies: yelping, muzzle squeezes, scruff shakes, shunning, time-outs, and so on. If you search the forum for "aggressive" "biting" and so on you'll find quite a number of topic relating to this exact thing. Also, hit the bookstore and get Carol Lea Benjamin's Mother Knows Best for tips on taking over mom's role during this time of your pup's life. It will get better, I'm certain.

[hallswel]

Cairns are typical fast learners so when you finally get her to know you don't like it she will slow down or stop.

With mine I have picked them up help them out feet dangling in the air. They wiggle for a little bit then get still and I put them down, if they bite back up in the air.....they soon learned that biting equaled off my feet in the air and thats no fun. Kind of like time out when my sons were little. I saw an improvement for the first day but I had to be consistant for it to work so it took about 2 weeks before I knew they had it.

She is young and you are her mother now teaching her manners is your job. She is not mean just young.

[Lesley]

The challenge we faced with our young Cairn is the need to not open his mouth when anyone's hand went out to pat him on the head. This was especially tough with the neighborhood kids - who think it's cute to jump and snap in the air. After puppy teeth passed, so did the aggressive mouth. Toy's, chewy things have been the trick. Anytime the mouth came open - I had a toy to stick in it. Always reinforcing chewing on a toy, but not a person or other valuable house item. I haven't attended any puppy classes, and it's been trial and error. One thing we have going for us with this breed - they are bright and if they choose to listen will straighten out real quick. They key is consistency and attention to good behavior. Sending plenty of patience and good luck

[Darcy's Folks]

I agree with everyone. We used shoving a toy in her mouth when she would open it to chew on someone and also the grabbing by the scruff and placing her immediately in time out (a bathroom). It worked well over time. (I say this now as sweet, devillish Darcy is barking and nipping at me to play).

P.S. such a sweet baby! I think we must have the same couches... your fabric looks just like ours.

[Guest rottndobie]

Ok - this is normal puppy behavior but it does need to be stopped - i.e. you need to train them to stop. If you don't they could grow up to be biters and that is something you do NOT want. The following are some links on nipping and general puppy raising:

http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/pupnip.htm

http://www.amrottclub.org/nipping.htm

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets...rough_play.html

http://www.clickertraining.com/karen/artic...g&itemnumber=18

http://www.dogclub.co.uk/advice/puppygrowth.php

http://www.ducatgoldens.com/new_page_11.htm - A Must read...

http://www.canadawestieclub.ca/trainbeh/pupdev.html

http://www.thedoghousetoronto.com/criticalperiods.html

The above should keep you busy for a while

Just found these two links with awesome info:

http://www.bulldoginformation.com/Developm...of_a_Puppy.html

http://www.bulldoginformation.com/Developm...uppy_part2.html

[kandya]

Thanks for all the advise. I had the grand kids out here all day today and every single time she latched onto one of them, I put her in her pen for a timeout. (She hates the pen).

It's to early to say victory, but my 2 grandsons are on the floor playing Playstation and Abbey is sleeping in between them as I'm posting. I wish my hubby was home to see this!

[Darcy's Folks]

Hey, that's GREAT news! At least she was able to calm down to be next to them without eating them up! Too bad you didn't catch a picture of it!

[suedelu29]

I had the same problem with Roxie and the vet suggested time outs or to keep her on a leash in the house and if she tried to nip at company give her a good pull towards me (in other words, I should be in control of her biting). She is two now and hasn't done it for quite some time. She still goes after the feet a little but knows when to stop.

[sj4iy]

I'm about on my last straw with my husband. I've told him numerous times to quit playing rough with the dog, and he won't. So our dog bites him when he comes in. Anyone have suggestions for a disobedient husband?

[Saidi'sDad]

Anyone have suggestions for a disobedient husband? 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well yes, I do Tell us firmly what your expectations are but don

[hallswel]

I ran across this article and thought about your post. I never thought of things like this.

DO Dogs think?

[bradl]

Good article. I particularly like this bit:

They love routine: Nothing seems to make them more comfortable than doing the same thing at the same time in the familiar way, day after day: We snack here, we poop there, we play over here.

Many things excite our dogs and they certainly love adventure and are up for a new experience at the drop of a hat. But for *comfort* - it's all about the routine.

[pjoes_girl]

My dog HAS to touch people, even us with his teeth ,everytime we come home , if he's out of his pen. If he's in it, he doens't. Also when our other dog comes in from outside first it's ok with him, but if he's in first , he has to nip at her...strange, but as far as actually biting, he doens't. but i'm not sure some people would feel comfortable with his mouthiness....when he was a new pup though, he really scared me, with those sharp teeth, and he was more mouthy. I just repeated held his muzzle for a few seconds and said no bite! it justtakes time and consistency . Keep up the good work.