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11 week old charging and barking aggressively

2K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  njk 
#1 ·
We have a 11 week old working line and for past few days when ever my kids 7 & 10 are around he will rush in as to bite thier ankles and when my girls tell him no he will bark and move forward toward them as if challenging them and if they move away etc he goes for the feet/ankles.

I had him on lead for the first few weeks, but he is housebroken via doggy door and causes no issues in the house. He is mostly at my feet sleeping or chewing on his toys.

I'm curious to this behavior, I got the lead back on and give him a correction but I don't want to over correct him, he is otherwise a great pup.
 
#3 ·
He's not challenging them, he's inviting them to play. The girls need to have toys on hand to redirect his mouth to the toys. They also need drama lessons - NO BITES - in an authoritative voice not the high pitch little girls tend to make when they're upset (my daughter is 9.)

Then if puppy continues to play inappropriately, they need to dramatically say 'I'm not playing with you anymore' and walk away.

Pupper has too much freedom. The doggie door sounds great but someone needs to be on him all the time until he learns manners. Don't expect that for atleast another 6 months.
 
#9 · (Edited)
It may be cute to you, but this is stimulating the dog's prey drive.
You should be controlling the dog so that it doesn't have freedom to do this to your kids.
Voices should be low and authoritative around the dog, not squeaky. Have toys on hand to engage the dog, make everything fun, and keep the kids supervised when interacting until the puppy is much older.
 
#6 ·
My 16 week old female pup Bella did the same thing a few times. I was laying on the couch eyes closed and the dog just decides to charge you - well you need to put your arm up and having corner of your eye open - to keep an eye on the dog it's not happening so much anymore -- after she ran into my arm a few times...
 
#7 ·
Welcome to GSD puppies!! They are stinkers!!! What your pup is doing us very common. I would have your girls get more involved in his house manners training. Have them feed him, do basic commands and the like. Teach your girls how to handle him.

It takes some pups many many months to stop this, unfortunately they keep growing, so best to get your girls involved in his training. He will learn to look to them for direction and they can learn the appropriate way to redirect and correct if needed.


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#10 ·
Are the kids involved in the obedience lessons? Give the puppy a command that is opposite his action. He can't bite ankles if he's sitting. Put treats around the house to make them handy so when he starts, they can give him a command and turn it into an obedience session.
 
#11 ·
My pup did this at that age. I did think she was being mean at first but picked up pretty quick she just wanted to play. When she'd bite me I'd squirt her with a water bottle to make her get off me, then I'd give her a toy. Now 90% of the time she brings me a toy when she wants to play. Even when she gets a bit rough with the cat and we tell her to leave him alone, she'll go get a toy and bring it to him lol it's kind of sad, yet cute.
 
#12 ·
Wow I wish a water bottle would work on my dog... unfortunately he loves water so much it would just encourage him to play more.

My favorite dog/cat story is when Gunther tried taking the tractor tire to Cleo today. She looked at him like he was nuts. The look on her face was the funniest thing I have seen thus far.
 
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