Rafe is 10 weeks old, and of course, he wants to chew on everything! He normally responds pretty well to a firm "No" and re-direction. But the last few days there have been a few times where he will back away from whatever he's chewing on after the firm "no." But then he looks at me and starts barking and will bite at the air. He doesn't attempt to bite me, just kind of snaps his mouth at me. Is this just his way of telling me that he doesn't like being told no, or is it an aggressive gesture?
A 10 week old puppy is not being aggressive. He is feeding off your energy and responding in kind. He is looking for interaction, and responding to you with the same energy you give out -
Puppies don't really understand "no", it's a bit of a waste of time to expect them to. Redirecting is the key, supervising, managing them so they end up with no other choice than to chew on their toys, not on other stuff. Pup is too young to be able to differentiate between okay things to chew, and not-okay things to chew. There are a bazillion choices your pup can make every second of every-day; set them up for success by managing their environment so they are good pups, making good choices, because you set them up to succeed.
It is work, but they are puppies for only a short time, make their puppy-hood a positive thing. When you redirect, play with your pup! Just sticking something in his mouth is boring - make you and his toys waaaaayyyy more interesting than the table leg, or the remote control.
Don't expect your pup to figure this out in a few days - so much information about the world to discover and digest, weeks, months of proper help and support from you before they start to figure it out.
And don't think for a minute that your pup is being aggressive - that is like saying a toddler is being agressive - they might act out, in frustration, in fear, in excitement, in exhaustion from a full day. But they are babies, with little self-awareness and limited ability to interact appropriately and express themselves effectively.
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