What to do when the walks, toys and bitter apple spray don't work anymore?!?

[danehdee]

My pup is 9 months now and has started to act like he is 3 months old again!! Ahh! He's a teenager and a naughty one! lol

He stopped his chewing and nipping about about 6 months - but it has returned. We walk him 2-3 times a day, play fetch in the back - use bitter apple spray on the couch part that he chews, try new toys.. (the toys work - for about 15 minutes) lol

Anyone please help! He won't stop chewing & nipping! He's not 10 lbs anymore !!! :P

[AthenaClimbs]

I'm in a similar situation and would love to hear others' feedback. Our girl is almost 6 months and she is a TERROR on walks. She looks like a mad dog sometimes. She will jump up all around me and bite anything she can get on me and it hurts! she has started pulling on the leash again and i feel like her behavior has regressed. Full disclosure, we having be taking her out to the dog park for a week because she's sick and on meds. We'll start again in a week so I think that's the underlining cause.

Has anything changed in your household? Have you been keeping up with training? I know when they're teenagers you have to up the training and exercise. At this age the best you can do is exhaust them.

[Emoore]

Increase training, increase exercise and if she's acting like she's three months old, treat her like she's three months old. Time-outs, sleeping in the crate, whatever is necessary.

[southernfiction]

Originally Posted by danehdee

My pup is 9 months now and has started to act like he is 3 months old again!! Ahh! He's a teenager and a naughty one! lol

He stopped his chewing and nipping about about 6 months - but it has returned. We walk him 2-3 times a day, play fetch in the back - use bitter apple spray on the couch part that he chews, try new toys.. (the toys work - for about 15 minutes) lol

Anyone please help! He won't stop chewing & nipping! He's not 10 lbs anymore !!! :P

Can you hire someone's same-age puppy for romping? A tired puppy is a good puppy.

[danehdee]

A puppy play date would be a great idea - more training... should I go back to classes, or do myself?

@AthenaClimbs
we just finished training! He does all of his commands except for 'come' on occasion lol
sometimes the only way to stop his bad behavior is to run him around in the back yard until he is exhausted your right. But was hoping there is some other things I can do

my dog pulls on the leash sometimes - but I do a stop - sit - lets go - and continue until he walks with me... I use a really long leash if we are in a wooded area - he is much better on his walk on a long leash.. well he can't pull but he feels more free. and it works.. so I use it on occasion

Try a time out immediately, or blowing a whistle or slamming a book down when your dog bites you.. it works for me.. but all of the above was used as each wares off imop.

My pup is better with jumping up, he still does it.. but I turn my back to him and totally ignore until he sits then I pet him

[kiya]

Originally Posted by danehdee

We walk him 2-3 times a day, play fetch in the back - use bitter apple spray on the couch part that he chews, try new toys.. (the toys work - for about 15 minutes) lol

Anyone please help! He won't stop chewing & nipping! He's not 10 lbs anymore !!! :P

I could walk my dogs to the moon and they wouldn't be tired. Up the exercise take him out with a bike or rollerblade. If he's chewing the couch I wouldn't let him free in the house, back to the crate, don't give him the opportunity to chew. A 9 month old should have bite inhabition by now, what does your trainer say about nipping?

[billsharp]

This is one of those areas where I don't believe "positive only" training works. IMHO the dog is throwing the canine equivalent of a temper tantrum, and correction is warranted/required.

Liesl is 10 months old and on the back end of this stage (thank goodness). She has occasionally done this on walks--one minute she is heeling well, at my side, gliding along...then something sets her off, and she nips ankles, bites pants legs, jumps around and on me, etc. To the outside observer it would like like I'm being attacked by a rabid dog. Is this what you're experiencing? What I've done that worked:

1. Stop walking and stay calm. Don't dance around and start barking commands and the dog's name in a panicked voice.

2. You should already have a choke/pinch/prong collar on her, for training.

3. Grasp the leash about a foot, no more, above the collar, hold the dog out away from your body, and correct the dog with sharp corrections through the collar and very firm "NO!" You will have to do this repeatedly to get her attention, as she is in a "zone" and not hearing you, and not wanting to obey you.

In my experience you will have to be more forceful than you usually are with these corrections to break her brain spasm. This will require repeated strong corrections until the unpleasantness of the correction surpasses the fun of the tantrum. The reason for grasping the leash no more than a foot above the collar is to give you physical control of the dog so you can hold it away from your body and stop the biting and body checking.

4. Once the dog calms down you can relax the arm holding the leash A LITTLE to allow the dog to come near you again--but DONT let go of your hold one foot from the collar! The dog will often start up again as it senses that you are relaxing, and you want to be able to immediately correct again once this bad behavior starts.

5. You can tell when the dog submits (yes, I said it) to you and is ready to walk like a civilized dog again. If so, relax back into walking posture and resume. However, if the dog is still acting up, maintain your advantageous hold on the leash and correct the behavior as long as it takes. Unless your dog is deranged it will submit within a few seconds (it will seem longer to you) and you can resume.

This is simple psychology. The dog may be excited, hyper, and expelling pent-up energy, but it must learn that those are not excuses for acting this way on a walk. The dog will ALWAYS choose a course of action which maximizes its pleasure, so stopping the walk and administering corrections makes it realize in short order that it is not having fun anymore and needs to change its attitude.

I have gotten flamed on this board before for suggesting this remedy, but I don't care. If someone has a problem and I have experience with solving that problem I'm going to offer it. If anyone else has a better suggestion, please offer it.

[bellamia]

i luv it!! i endorse all wat u said!
always worked for me.