[Sammy25]

My puppy is 9 weeks, and I got him when he was 7 weeks. So he's still super young. He is also my very first dog that I'm training. When I tell him no, he seems to understand and stop what he's doing that's naughty. But other times he sasses me, as in he'll bark at me. He does that when he's biting/chewing on my hands, feet, or ankles. But other times he just straight out bites me way harder than what he was doing. He'll even nip/bite me on other places than my hands, feet, or ankles. He's lunged at my face a few times as well. So I'm not sure if that's just him playing or not because he does seem to understand the word no. When he does do that he chases me sometimes when I try to go get a toy if I'm not by one. My mom told me I should squirt him with some water. Which does seem to get him to stop but he starts back up a lil after or once I turn my back.

 

[McGloomy]

No, he's not aggressive. He's a 9 week old German Shepherd puppy. And do NOT squirt him with water.

 

[tim_s_adams]

Not aggressive, just a spunky puppy! You'll have many more months of this bitey behavior, so figure out what you can redirect and what you just can't tolerate! With the latter I've found that a square stance and a loud STOP was pretty easy to teach!

Timing is the key. Puppies have short attention spans. So square up, shoulders sqaure, standing tall, maybe even moving toward him, loudly say STOP then reward and praise the second the puppy stops the unwanted behavior!!

Then immediately lead him to an acceptabe outlet for his bitiness. Honestly, they don't yet understand and can't help their desires!

What I did when my puppy was young was keep the floor littered with plastic milk and soda bottles that were going to be recycled anyway.

That way something to chew on was always at hand. The house was a bit less than presentable for a few months...but anyone who spent a few minutes around that little LandShark understood and appreciated the mess LOL!

Just be sure to remove the little plastic rings that stay on these containers when you open them, before giving them to your puppy, and be sure to swap them out when they start to get too frayed!

Congratulations on the new puppy, and welcome to the forum!

 

[Sammy25]

Not aggressive, just a spunky puppy! You'll have many more months of this bitey behavior, so figure out what you can redirect and what you just can't tolerate! With the latter I've found that a square stance and a loud STOP was pretty easy to teach!

Timing is the key. Puppies have short attention spans. So square up, shoulders sqaure, standing tall, maybe even moving toward him, loudly say STOP then reward and praise the second the puppy stops the unwanted behavior!!

Then immediately lead him to an acceptabe outlet for his bitiness. Honestly, they don't yet understand and can't help their desires!

What I did when my puppy was young was keep the floor littered with plastic milk and soda bottles that were going to be recycled anyway.

That way something to chew on was always at hand. The house was a bit less than presentable for a few months...but anyone who spent a few minutes around that little LandShark understood and appreciated the mess LOL!

Just be sure to remove the little plastic rings that stay on these containers when you open them, before giving them to your puppy, and be sure to swap them out when they start to get too frayed!

Congratulations on the new puppy, and welcome to the forum!

Thank you for the advice, I really appreciate it! I'll start doing that with the bottles and take your other advice too!

 

[Sammy25]

No, he's not aggressive. He's a 9 week old German Shepherd puppy. And do NOT squirt him with water.

Oh what's wrong with the water?

 

[Blu_and_Redd]

Aww...your puppy is still so young. Patience is key. GSD's are so full of energy so they have to be redirected often. There are lots of posts on this forum that'll help!

 

[tim_s_adams]

Oh what's wrong with the water?

Squirting the puppy with water is a correction, it's mild, and a lot of trainers advise it, but IMHO it's wrong because you haven't yet taught the young puppy what's right.

It's a baby puppy, so baby steps are totally in order! Redirection is a way to show your new puppy what is okay to bite! He doesn't know, so you show him by redirecting and playing with him. They catch on pretty quickly. And it's a lot of fun and a bonding experience as well.

With little puppies, instead of correction, I like to think more about leading. Lead them toward what you want. Manage their environment, such that there's minimal chance for them to get into mischief they shouldn't, lead them in all kinds of fun play and adventures, and build a dialog regarding what's good and what isn't.

But bear in mind they are infants. Much of what they do is either impulse or instinct. Teach them gently! Like you might with a human baby. It'll pay off huge dividends in the future!

Save the water bottle for the 5-7 months stage LOL! You might need it then!

 

[Stuckey]

No, he's not aggressive. He's a 9 week old German Shepherd puppy. And do NOT squirt him with water.

My pup (six months old) nips while playing sometimes. I’m trying to get her to stop but she’s not at all aggressive. She’s just playing. I’ve realized that the most effective way to get her to stop is to redirect her attention and stop playing with her. DO NOT SPRAY HIM!!!!

 

[squirl22]

Sounds like a good old 9-week old puppy to me. They are learning 😁. Keep up on your training with him and be consistent!! Start training now!

 

[McGloomy]

Spraying dog with water is a temporary correction and if you keep it up, that means you'll have to carry water-sprayer everytime.

GSDs are very nippy, they're herding/working dogs, even my 2 and a half year old boy can get nippy when he's way over excited. He was very bitey up until he was around 6 months old. I corrected him with a firm no and ignore everytime he did it, and was absolutely constant with the correcting.

If your GSD was aggressive, he would full on charge at you, not nipping.

 

[John T24]

Oh what's wrong with the water?

Water:
One of our favorite summertime activity's is swimming in the pool ....
I try not to do ANYTHING that will spook them or make them shy away from water.... especially important with a small pup.

sounds like your pup is a normal rebellious shepherd pup.... keep at it, he will come around.

funny, my 11 year old is still rebellious... He follows commands but if he don't really want to, he lets out a moan and groan as he does it... LOL !