13 week old GSD, pretty sure she is trying to kill me

[David Taggart]

That's exactly what her littermates would do.[It is also advisable to teach her at home. It could be great if she were a food stimulated character. Don't give her something for nothing, ask her to do something prior to her meal, a few commands. Ask her to bark, for instance./QUOTE]

[Jag]

Frozen wash clothes (just watch her with them) or other frozen things may help her with teething. Grim went through a TON of bully sticks during that time, because he could easily adjust them to where in his mouth he needed to chew.

[hotrod2448]

Well, I'm hoping we've turned a corner with her. She's been so much better about the nipping the last few days. There was a little regression for a few days with my wife when she got back from Italy. I'm willing to trade that she's discovered how to unroll the toilet paper for her stopping about 90% of the nipping.

[hotrod2448]

At this point I don't have much of a problem controlling her nipping me. Usually it's just a tug on the leash, a stern "No!" and then an offer of a bully stick.

The big problem now is with my wife. She does most of the training and Brunie is very on point with her when training. When not training however, it seems she is trying to assert her place above my wife in the pecking order. It is especially bad when I leave the house or room.

I've tried telling my wife she needs to be more confident when dealing with the dog. All it takes is one lunge from the dog toward her hands and through habit, survival instinct or what ever you want to call it they go up like she's signalling surrender. Then when she tries to correct Brunie's behavior the dog has learned all she has to do is go after her again and the wife will pull back. I'm having a really hard time convincing her she needs to put herself out there to potentially get nipped a few times show Brunie she is in charge and to stop this problem long term. Any suggestions?

[Mary Beth]

If you have a trainer in your area who will do home visits, that would be helpful. My concern is that your wife is frightened of a puppy who charges at her, how will she be able to cope as the puppy gets bigger and becomes an adult. The puppy already knows this and has taken advantage. I hate to say this, but if I were you, I would consider rehoming the pup. The pup really sounds like too much dog and would do better in a working home. I also don't think it is fair to your wife to be in this situation and have to live with a puppy who will grow into a powerful dog that she is afraid of.

[Us2Folk]

Hi Hotrod, I've read though your posts and am 100% confident that your puppy is in Stage 4 of puppy development. Here is a great link: I hope it's helpful. Everyone is right on when they say "give it time". Puppy Development: Stage 4 | Cesar Millan

[Jag]

Originally Posted by hotrod2448

At this point I don't have much of a problem controlling her nipping me. Usually it's just a tug on the leash, a stern "No!" and then an offer of a bully stick.

The big problem now is with my wife. She does most of the training and Brunie is very on point with her when training. When not training however, it seems she is trying to assert her place above my wife in the pecking order. It is especially bad when I leave the house or room.

I've tried telling my wife she needs to be more confident when dealing with the dog. All it takes is one lunge from the dog toward her hands and through habit, survival instinct or what ever you want to call it they go up like she's signalling surrender. Then when she tries to correct Brunie's behavior the dog has learned all she has to do is go after her again and the wife will pull back. I'm having a really hard time convincing her she needs to put herself out there to potentially get nipped a few times show Brunie she is in charge and to stop this problem long term. Any suggestions?

My suggestion is walk your wife through what to do and what not to do. If she can't or won't, then YOU need to take over the training. That means that YOU correct for her for pulling this stuff with your wife. If you're not there, the dog is in her crate. I noticed my wife wasn't sitting on the sofa in the evening. Instead, she was standing. I asked her 'why'. She said that each time she sits down, my Pug jumps in her lap and starts messing with Grim, and they start play fighting on her. I said so kick the Pug off the sofa!! She's not the best at 'taking control' either. So I feel your pain. I don't think re-homing is the answer. I think you need to have a heart to heart with your wife, and if she can't get on board, then you need to step up since the pup has more respect for you.

[hotrod2448]

Originally Posted by Jag

My suggestion is walk your wife through what to do and what not to do. If she can't or won't, then YOU need to take over the training. That means that YOU correct for her for pulling this stuff with your wife. If you're not there, the dog is in her crate. I noticed my wife wasn't sitting on the sofa in the evening. Instead, she was standing. I asked her 'why'. She said that each time she sits down, my Pug jumps in her lap and starts messing with Grim, and they start play fighting on her. I said so kick the Pug off the sofa!! She's not the best at 'taking control' either. So I feel your pain. I don't think re-homing is the answer. I think you need to have a heart to heart with your wife, and if she can't get on board, then you need to step up since the pup has more respect for you.

First off, re-homing is not even an option on the table. We knew this would be a trying time and we'll get through it.

What I was saying was that it is odd that the dog can recognize when it is training time and see the wife as an authority figure but, once the formal training session ends it's time to compete for position. This tells me that when the wife has had instruction from a professional she can have the confidence required to get the job done.

The pup can't be in the crate the entire time I'm gone. It just wouldn't be fair to her. I work on a race team and this time of the year I'm at work from about 6AM to 6PM 6 days a week at a minimum. my wife has already pointed the incredibly poor timing of having a puppy coinciding with this time of the year.

[hotrod2448]

Just to keep this up to date, we are making good progress but, there are still several times a day when our little pup seems to lose her freakin' mind and not be able to control herself at all. It's all fairly standard puppy behavior though: Running, jumping, chewing, barking, zero focus, and of course biting. They always seem to start about 30 minutes after she eats which makes sense I guess.

We have decided to send her to a board and train program that our breeder recommended. It's apparent she is very smart and can learn very quickly but, we are just having a hard time getting some things established. She picked up "such" in all of about 20 minutes but still seems to have no concept of "down" or "off". We feel this isn't an issue with her but, more with us and the weakest link right now is our schedules and lack of experience in training.

She ships out at the beginning of March. It's a husband and wife team that went to the same training school as our breeder. I spoke to the wife for about 30 minutes on the phone and felt really good about it. She'll be there for 2 weeks, live in their house with their shepherds. Amy was also aware of her young age and was taking that into consideration with the training program. She warned that she may require some refresher classes later down the line which was comforting as I've heard starting too young can be bad.

I also like that she was honest with what to expect out of the program, in stating that she cannot take a puppy and in 2 weeks return it as a dog that will not continue to need work, it's just not possible. We don't mind putting the work in at all but, we just don't have the knowledge to it right now and our current trainer doesn't seem to be able to help us with a lot of the issues we are having so... fingers crossed.

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

Google FRAP dog. I never stop a good FRAP! I yell CRAZZEEEEEEEEEE! You Are CRAZZZZZZZZZZZEEEEEEEEEEEEE! and get out of the way!

Go to classes with her! It's much more fun, better for all involved.