Trying to push my buttons

woody · 10-31-2011, 11:02 PM

My female pup 5 month old is really trying to push my buttons. For instance she will jump up onto the sofa & bite my arm. I will tell her off by giving her a little smack on the nose (as instructed to do so at puppy training) & an "a a a". She will normally respond by trying to bite me again or by barking at me. Other than that no issues, she is good with the basics, sit, stay, focus etc...but when she gets into one of these boistrous moods it's very hard for me to dish out any form of successful discipline.

Any thoughts on how to handle this?

cowboy17 · 10-31-2011, 11:33 PM

giving her a little smack on the nose (as instructed to do so at puppy training)

They are fired...
Pure wrong. You think she bites your hand now, keep it up and see what happens.

Seriously, the alligator in her will deminish but you have to get some things established.
Keep lots of things to bite on handy. When she bites, or starts to go for it, get that toy and put it in her mouth. If that doesn't work, walk away and ignore it.

There is a ton of info on this site about landsharking and how to deal with it.

tolerance and patience for the leader of the pack is what will prove to beneficial in the long run. What puppy is going through is completely normal.

smack it on the nose again and you will leave a permanent imprint that could build fear of hands.
What is the first thing people do when they meet a new dog....

patience and offer good things to bite on.

billsharp · 11-01-2011, 12:00 AM

Quote:

Trying to push my buttons

No, this is what a nasty human co-worker does. Dogs don't think this way. Her mouth is her hand, and she is tapping you on the arm with her hand and saying "I'm bored, please give me some attention."

The advice from Cowboy is correct about using a chew toy and ignoring the dog. When these don't work (the dog is persistent) the most aggressive negative thing we do for that puppy nipping is to hold the snout shut gently, look into the dog's eyes, and calmly but firmly say "no bite!" Holding the snout focuses the dog on you, and reinforces what "no bite" means. Allow a little mouthing when you are up for it as it is a natural expression for a pup.

Don't swat the nose. It's not as effective as "no bite" and will train the dog to snap at hands over his head.

ShenzisMom · 11-01-2011, 08:13 AM

Your 5 month old puppy is trying to get you to play with her. You never taught her how to play with your rules. When she gets into a boistrous mood, is it possible that like a child she is exhusted and doesn't know better than to take a nap? Or is it zoomies? If it is because she is too tired, put her in her crate and make her calm down. She'll fall asleep in 10 minutes... haha.

BlackPuppy · 11-01-2011, 08:20 AM

If you don't want her on the sofa, say "off" in a normal voice and with one finger in the collar gently lead her to the floor. Repeat often.

When she puts your arm in her mouth, shove a tug in it and play a game of tug. Let her win sometimes, let her lose sometimes. (My boy is so strong, it's impossible for me to win, LOL! Sometimes he lets me.)

Use your tug time to teach an "out" command. Anytime she lets the tug out of her mouth naturally, mark it with an "out".

Play time can be training time. And that's the best way to learn! Just like young children, dogs will need consistent repetition to learn.

beta7 · 11-01-2011, 08:55 AM

I'd like to jump in on this one. I have a 6 month old (just today!) German Shepherd does this often. No discipline method works. The "no" is disregarded, holding his muzzle and saying no bite works until I let go and then he bites again, and I've tried holding him a little off the ground by either side of his face/neck and saying no. As soon as the correction is over, the dog continues to bite. When I walk away to ignore, he will either bite my feet as I walk or jump and nip my back.

I crate trained my dog, and in doing so was taught to never use the crate as punishment. So I've been putting the dog outside when he gets in these moods. What is everyone's feeling on that? Any suggestions?

LaRen616 · 11-01-2011, 09:18 AM

My puppy will be 5 months old on this sunday.

It sounds to me like your puppy is bored. She needs more exercise to wear her out. Physical exercise may not be enough for her, you also have to give her some mental exercise. Give her some kibble in a Tug-A-Jug, give her an Everlasting Treatball or an Everlasting Fun Ball to chew on. That will occupy her for a while.

I bought this toy for my female because she is a chewer and she loves the dang thing.

**MaggieRoseLee** · 11-01-2011, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beta7

I'd like to jump in on this one. I have a 6 month old (just today!) German Shepherd does this often. No discipline method works. The "no" is disregarded, holding his muzzle and saying no bite works until I let go and then he bites again, and I've tried holding him a little off the ground by either side of his face/neck and saying no. As soon as the correction is over, the dog continues to bite. When I walk away to ignore, he will either bite my feet as I walk or jump and nip my back.

I crate trained my dog, and in doing so was taught to never use the crate as punishment. So I've been putting the dog outside when he gets in these moods. What is everyone's feeling on that? Any suggestions?

You don't use the crate to punish. So you can't toss them in when you are furious.

HOWEVER.......... if you calmly take your dog by the collar, or just call him to the crate for a TIME OUT, that's allowed. But zero anger/punishment. Just a calm leading/taking him to the crate.

THEN COMES THE TRAINING FOR YOU... because the puppy needs to learn by YOU learning to manage him better. If they are inviting you to play by biting you (and that's what is going on, not like the OP is suggesting with the 'testing'), and you don't like it, then how can you better MANAGE your puppy to TEACH TEACH TEACH TEACH them a way to invite you to play that isn't so painful.

So we can use the crate time to re-evaluate and come up with a better plan.

It may be that I've been too busy to go outside and play with the puppy today (past few days). It may be that I need to finally sign up for those puppy classes I've been putting off. It may be I need to pack the pup up in the car for some socialization and off leash activities. It may be that I need to go purchase some more long tugging toys for around the house and TEACH my puppy to get one of those when they want to play, and bring it to me to play (rather than the biting to play).

The reality is there is alot we can do to teach a puppy how to play that doesn't involve PUNISHING the puppy. The idea of punishing for a play behavior is seriously wrong in my books. CLEARLY we need to stop the pain

But we are supposed to be the smart ones in the picture. Punishing is fast, it's easy, and involves NO THINKING. It's just a stupid reaction that isn't teaching a puppy how to play with us properly.

Instead it teaches avoidance, hand shyness, breaks part of a great bond we COULD have had with our puppy, may take a great training tool (playing with us) we could use as a reward.

This is what we SHOULD be doing to teach our pups to play RIGHT with us...notice the long toy!

Michael Ellis: Tugging with puppies - YouTube

Michael Ellis Talks on Playing Tug with Young Puppies - YouTube

The Power of Playing Tug with Your Dog - YouTube

southernfiction · 11-01-2011, 11:07 AM

My puppy didn't learn not to bite too hard for attention/play/teasing until she turned 6 months old in October. Nothing I tried worked consistently until then. I guess you'd call it maturing. We can now play really rough together.

cowboy17 · 11-01-2011, 04:12 PM

My guy just turned 6 months and is finally starting to get it.
It took persistance and a lot of patience.
EVERY time he started to chomp, he was redirected to a toy. If he dropped the toy and went to chomp again, he got the toy again.
I can see him make the decision now. He will make the move to chomp and will then, with a burst of energy, run to his toy and pick it up comping away and bring it to me. He will then drop it at my feet and chomp on my arm, clearly indicating that he wants to play.
It's been frustrating, it has tried my patience in every manner, it's caused arguments and some tears from kids. It's all part of it.

Personally, I'd rather the few months of chomping, than have a 2yr old 80lb GSD fearfull of hands, or pissed off for being disciplined and not understanding why.

10-31-2011, 11:02 PM	#1 (permalink)
woody Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 64	Trying to push my buttons My female pup 5 month old is really trying to push my buttons. For instance she will jump up onto the sofa & bite my arm. I will tell her off by giving her a little smack on the nose (as instructed to do so at puppy training) & an "a a a". She will normally respond by trying to bite me again or by barking at me. Other than that no issues, she is good with the basics, sit, stay, focus etc...but when she gets into one of these boistrous moods it's very hard for me to dish out any form of successful discipline. Any thoughts on how to handle this?

11-01-2011, 08:13 AM	#4 (permalink)
ShenzisMom Master Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Brampton, ON Posts: 839	Your 5 month old puppy is trying to get you to play with her. You never taught her how to play with your rules. When she gets into a boistrous mood, is it possible that like a child she is exhusted and doesn't know better than to take a nap? Or is it zoomies? If it is because she is too tired, put her in her crate and make her calm down. She'll fall asleep in 10 minutes... haha. __________________ -Cassie Handler For: Shenzi: Female GSD Zira:Female Dobermann

11-01-2011, 08:55 AM	#6 (permalink)
beta7 New Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Ohio Posts: 5	Same problem... I'd like to jump in on this one. I have a 6 month old (just today!) German Shepherd does this often. No discipline method works. The "no" is disregarded, holding his muzzle and saying no bite works until I let go and then he bites again, and I've tried holding him a little off the ground by either side of his face/neck and saying no. As soon as the correction is over, the dog continues to bite. When I walk away to ignore, he will either bite my feet as I walk or jump and nip my back. I crate trained my dog, and in doing so was taught to never use the crate as punishment. So I've been putting the dog outside when he gets in these moods. What is everyone's feeling on that? Any suggestions?

11-01-2011, 09:18 AM	#7 (permalink)
LaRen616 Crowned Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Northern Illinois Posts: 10,582	My puppy will be 5 months old on this sunday. It sounds to me like your puppy is bored. She needs more exercise to wear her out. Physical exercise may not be enough for her, you also have to give her some mental exercise. Give her some kibble in a Tug-A-Jug, give her an Everlasting Treatball or an Everlasting Fun Ball to chew on. That will occupy her for a while. I bought this toy for my female because she is a chewer and she loves the dang thing. __________________ ~ Sinister 3 yr old black male GSD 3.11.09 ~ Malice 9 mth old black female GSD 6.19.11 Cats: Chaos, Monster, Wicked

10-31-2011, 11:33 PM	#2 (permalink)
cowboy17 Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 143	giving her a little smack on the nose (as instructed to do so at puppy training) They are fired... Pure wrong. You think she bites your hand now, keep it up and see what happens. Seriously, the alligator in her will deminish but you have to get some things established. Keep lots of things to bite on handy. When she bites, or starts to go for it, get that toy and put it in her mouth. If that doesn't work, walk away and ignore it. There is a ton of info on this site about landsharking and how to deal with it. tolerance and patience for the leader of the pack is what will prove to beneficial in the long run. What puppy is going through is completely normal. smack it on the nose again and you will leave a permanent imprint that could build fear of hands. What is the first thing people do when they meet a new dog.... patience and offer good things to bite on.

11-01-2011, 08:20 AM	#5 (permalink)
BlackPuppy Crowned Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 4,420	If you don't want her on the sofa, say "off" in a normal voice and with one finger in the collar gently lead her to the floor. Repeat often. When she puts your arm in her mouth, shove a tug in it and play a game of tug. Let her win sometimes, let her lose sometimes. (My boy is so strong, it's impossible for me to win, LOL! Sometimes he lets me.) Use your tug time to teach an "out" command. Anytime she lets the tug out of her mouth naturally, mark it with an "out". Play time can be training time. And that's the best way to learn! Just like young children, dogs will need consistent repetition to learn.

11-01-2011, 11:07 AM	#9 (permalink)
southernfiction Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: central Mississippi Posts: 90	My puppy didn't learn not to bite too hard for attention/play/teasing until she turned 6 months old in October. Nothing I tried worked consistently until then. I guess you'd call it maturing. We can now play really rough together.

11-01-2011, 04:12 PM	#10 (permalink)
cowboy17 Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 143	My guy just turned 6 months and is finally starting to get it. It took persistance and a lot of patience. EVERY time he started to chomp, he was redirected to a toy. If he dropped the toy and went to chomp again, he got the toy again. I can see him make the decision now. He will make the move to chomp and will then, with a burst of energy, run to his toy and pick it up comping away and bring it to me. He will then drop it at my feet and chomp on my arm, clearly indicating that he wants to play. It's been frustrating, it has tried my patience in every manner, it's caused arguments and some tears from kids. It's all part of it. Personally, I'd rather the few months of chomping, than have a 2yr old 80lb GSD fearfull of hands, or pissed off for being disciplined and not understanding why.

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