10 Month Old Female being a teenager?!

[SteveRogers86]

Hello,

My 10 month old female GSD has seemed to hit here teenage years im guessing. I am having a few problems and i been using techniques but want to know if im doing the right thing. She doesn't really do it to me, but when my girlfriend is over and sitting on the couch or playing the Wii etc, bella likes to bite her feet if standing up or if on the couch like biting her hands. She will do it to her also when she on the phone with me. Now these bites are not ones that break the skin but more like a light bite but enough to make your feel her teeth. If you say Bella No, she will stop but start barking (in a soft whimpy sound, not deep) and at the same time like to quickly put her mouth on your hand not biting hard then quickly pull away. Then when you get up, she will then run around the kitchen table as if she playing a game. I usually set up a gate to trap her then take her to time out for 10-15 mins. Once she gets out of time out, there is a 50 50 chance she will do it again or move on to something else.

So my question is, does this seem to be a normal thing she going through at her age of 10 months? I have a feeling she thinks being chased around the table is a game so she does this to get us to chase her?

She does this to me sometimes but only on my hands, not my feet. She does it more to my girlfriend and people i have over but the wierd thing is its only when it at my house. If i take her over to my parents, she a sweetheart. MY girlfriend spents equally time with her and take her for walks, plays, and feeds

[GSDkid]

I would just grab a chew toy and redirect it if you're worried about the biting.

Unfortunately, I can't relate to the teenage/adolescence stage because I don't think my dog ever expressed any bad behaviors during that phase. It sounds to me that she just wants a lot of attention.

[tami97]

Shasta does the same thing. She will run under the table to get us to chase her when she wants to play. And she like to bite our ankles too, but only when we have socks on. go figure. She did this since she was little. And yes right now she is going thru the teenage stage. 1y on the 17th.

[SteveRogers86]

Originally Posted by tami97

Shasta does the same thing. She will run under the table to get us to chase her when she wants to play. And she like to bite our ankles too, but only when we have socks on. go figure. She did this since she was little. And yes right now she is going thru the teenage stage. 1y on the 17th.

Yea mine does that also with certain clothing. If out on walks, if you are wearing gloves, she tries to get them off your hand and keeps trying for the first minute of her walk. If your not wearing gloves, she walks with no issues.

[Holmeshx2]

not sure Id say its part of the "teenage" phase exactly but pretty sure it's just her way of trying to get attention. What you are describing sounds like mouthing not biting. We get mouthed all the time we redirect her if we don't want it however we rough house alot with our girl so don't mind it she doesn't do it to other people just us. Our kids (12 and 10) have tried to get her to rough house with them and she wont just my husband and I. Gloves are a big issue with her mainly because my husband used to put them on for some protection before rough housing with her so now if she sees you put them on her tail goes a mile a minute an out come the chompers. Probably not IDEAL behavior but depends on what you are ok with. For us we are fine with it, however, she does end when we say enough which is a big thing. If you are ok with the game then allow it but make sure she knows to end it when you stop, don't chase her to end it thats just a game to her, if you're not ok with the mouthing then make sure to redirect it to a toy or completely ignore it then reward when she backs off and plays nicely.

[dawnandjr]

Hi Steve, My Bella is just 11 months and will do just about the same. They are at an age right now where you can not tire them out. They just want to play, play, play and play some more. She is bored and is trying to get you to play with her. The mouthing is what her and another dog would be doing if they were playing. She needs more stimulation, play time, training (mental stimulation) than you were offering her before. Her needs have changed, and you must adjust to fit those needs.

[teriod]

Originally Posted by dawnandjr

Hi Steve, My Bella is just 11 months and will do just about the same. They are at an age right now where you can not tire them out. They just want to play, play, play and play some more. She is bored and is trying to get you to play with her. The mouthing is what her and another dog would be doing if they were playing. She needs more stimulation, play time, training (mental stimulation) than you were offering her before. Her needs have changed, and you must adjust to fit those needs.

Very nice

[JennaMFar88]

Im steves girlfriend and i have got to the point where i need to make a name and talk about this haha.. I dont understand why she is always after me and never really attacks my bf. Walks are okay till she sees me on the phone or with gloves or just feels like attacking me. I knnow you will say dont wear gloves or be on the phone but thats not always. When she attacks me biting she does draw blood somtimes, im not saying she is a bad dog but she was never like this it just started happening in the last month or so. She was like this when she was younger ( 3-5 months) and then stoped but now being 10 months i thought she grow out of it. She also do this when sitting on the coach or when my friends will be over it gets very annoying to them that they have to run away from my dog trying to bite them. I also think she does it as a play bite but doesnt realize it its def not a mean bite i dont think. She will start barking at you when you start yelling at her to stop and then runs around all crazy and still trys to bite, Until we put her in "time out" in the kitchen with the gate up. For the walks we have used treats to give her and it does help alittle. DOes anyone have any advice on what i can do to get her to stop this? Please help!!

[JennaMFar88]

When i said draw blood its very rare so dont think she is a bad dog it happen once

[GSDkid]

Originally Posted by JennaMFar88

Im steves girlfriend and i have got to the point where i need to make a name and talk about this haha.. I dont understand why she is always after me and never really attacks my bf. Walks are okay till she sees me on the phone or with gloves or just feels like attacking me. I knnow you will say dont wear gloves or be on the phone but thats not always. When she attacks me biting she does draw blood somtimes, im not saying she is a bad dog but she was never like this it just started happening in the last month or so. She was like this when she was younger ( 3-5 months) and then stoped but now being 10 months i thought she grow out of it. She also do this when sitting on the coach or when my friends will be over it gets very annoying to them that they have to run away from my dog trying to bite them. I also think she does it as a play bite but doesnt realize it its def not a mean bite i dont think. She will start barking at you when you start yelling at her to stop and then runs around all crazy and still trys to bite, Until we put her in "time out" in the kitchen with the gate up. For the walks we have used treats to give her and it does help alittle. DOes anyone have any advice on what i can do to get her to stop this? Please help!!

That definitely is not a teenage behavior. I don't think putting her in time out or yelling at her will stop this behavior. When my girl went through something like this and would not listen to me, I went back to the basics as if she was a pup again. She had a leash on her all the time. Supervised every action that she made and always paid treats for the good behavior and corrections for the bad. I did that for 2 weeks straight (I basically had no time for myself). So she had to learn all her basic commands again, get house broken, crate trained again, etc... That way, whatever you missed in her training, I'm sure you got it this time.

Or I would consult with a trainer.